Product Description

Outsourcing permeates the IT world and has had a profound impact on the work of IS professionals. Nearly all will, at some stage in their careers, work with outsourced services as customer or supplier. Elizabeth Sparrow's insights into the benefits and pitfalls of this complex area will help IS professionals tackle the challenges of outsourcing. Combining relevant background information with practical guidance this book covers the whole outsourcing process, from the initial decision to outsource through to managing the outsourced services on a day-to-day basis. Successful IT Outsourcing considers: - The objectives behind outsourcing - The selection of a service provider - The management and measurement of the performance of outsourced services - The role of the outsourcing contract - Why outsourcing sometimes fails and how to turn failure into success Features and Benefits: - Describes the origins of IT outsourcing, and recent developments - Examines the way in which an organization might determine whether to outsource and how it can choose a service provider - Discusses how to develop effective outsourcing relationships- Provides context and advice to assist IS professionals, whose work is being outsourced, as they consider their future careers and the possibility of transferring to a new employer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #426545 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

Review
The book is a step-by-step guide to the process of IT outsourcing. It assumes a standing start, so the history lesson comes first. For example, EDS was doing it 40 years ago. There is a thoughtful debate on the arguments for and against outsourcing before a study of the objectives and how to find and measure your service provider. The main strength of this book is the quality of the case studies and examples. The author comments on real-life situations and creates a sense of inclusion. She has clearly seen many technology projects outsourced in various ways and her comments are from the real world of IT management, not an ivy-clad business school. This is a very useful book for any manager thinking about outsourcing or anyone who wants to improve an existing relationship. The comments on project risk and delivery failures are direct, and ensure the book does not sell outsourcing as a panacea for broken systems. It is an authoritative guide to the process of IT outsourcing and I strongly recommend it. --Mark Kobayashi-Hillary MBCS - 'Computer Bulletin', May 2004 (Book of the month)

David Taylor, Author of best-seller The Naked Leader
"At last! A book about outsourcing that provides practical clarity rather than total confusion!"

Rudy Hirschheim, Bauer College of Business, University of Houston
It is well written, easy to understand and spot on. This is an excellent read for anyone contemplating IT outsourcing".

Customer Reviews

Wealth of practical advice
Sparrow has done an excellent job here. This book is easy to read either in sections or straight through. Detailed sections, such as SLA creation are covered with enough detail to be useful, but without feeling like an academic text. This book is a very useful tool for any manager involved in technology outsourcing.

A brilliant book on IT outsourcing!
A very well written book by Sparrow which briefly describes the types of outsourcing and sets the scene for the later chapters which focus on the essential parts of the outsourcing process. These concentrate on contract management, outsourcing programme management, Service Level Management and one I first came across in this book Security Management.

Sparrow gives a good account on Application Service Providers and Wireless ASPs as alternative outsourcing supply models and her thoughts on what the future of outsourcing may be. The glossary at the end of the book explaining the outsourcing terminology mentioned in it, is the icing on the cake.

While I was reading the book, I got the sense that Elizabeth Sparrow is rightfully one of the leading personalities in the UK outsourcing arena. Her writing style possesses the confidence necessary to explain certain complexities in IT outsourcing management.

I would highly recommend the book to every IT professional interested in a better understanding of how effective outsourcing currently stands and where it's heading.