Selective sourcing is best practice

A survey of business and IT executives reveals that selective sourcing is the most effective form of IT outsourcing, according to a Logica-sponsored survey at Templeman College, Oxford.

The college looked at various outsourcing experiences in order to define a best practice for outsourcing in the future. The most successful method is the use of selective sourcing with the use of managed contracts. It is thought that this produces the most risk-free scenario. This compares with total outsourcing which respondents said can lead to hidden costs.

The findings also reveal that outsourcing decisions made by senior executives and IT managers together rather than alone faired better than those made by just one group. It is also thought that shorter term contracts fair better than long term contracts, in terms of the end results.

Bob Fawthrop, business development manager for outsourcing at Logica, said: “The report clearly recognises selective outsourcing as best practice for IT … with selective sourcing, organisations can have the best of both worlds with the flexibility to select a best practice supplier while maintaining overall control of their IT practices.”

A survey by ITNET puts the UK IT outsourcing market at #4.4bn a year and growing faster than any other computer services sector. It is thought outsourcing now accounts for 25 percent of all external spend on software and computer services.