Outsourcing
- "Is
running an IT department our core business ?"
- "Are
we getting value for money?"
- "Can
we trust anyone else to manage our IT ?"
Today
almost every company runs its own IT department because information
technology is becoming increasingly pervasive. The growing
importance of IT and the dependance of the business on its
IT infrastructure have caused many executives to ask these
questions.
One
of the primary reasons to consider outsourcing is when it
is outside your company's core competence. Investing man-hours
and budget in unfamiliar tools and technologies reduces your
team's effectiveness. Turning to an outside provider with
expertise in a different OS, a complex SDK, or a new communication
protocol is smart.
Also
software development for different requirements requires specialized
knowledge. The right talent and expertise can make the difference
between success and failure; but finding, hiring, and integrating
new staff is difficult and expensive. A quicker solution is
to hire an outsource firm that has already recruited talented
engineers and designers with the expertise you require.
Focus
your talent on your business.
We focus ours on your IT Infrastructure.
Outsourcing allows customers to realign
resources so they can focus on their core competencies. Customers
don't need to worry about day-to-day technology operations
support.
It is difficult to quarrel with
cost savings, and the companies that approach outsourcing
with careful planning save money.
In a usual scenario a client company can save up to 50% of
its IT costs comparatively to an in-house, on-site, traditional
software development process.
Traditionally, companies have outsourced
for tactical reasons - reduce costs, free up cash, obtain
resources not available internally, and improve their performance.
Outsourcing some functions can shift costs from fixed to variable,
thus enhancing a company's ability to manage costs more effectively.
If a company is moving into a new arena, outsourcing enables
it to add new functions with minimal impact on internal resources.
Organizations today also approach
outsourcing as a business strategy. Nowhere is this more evident
than in high-tech companies, such as Sun and Microsoft. Drtina
(1994) described these firms as "intellectual holding companies"
because they focus so strongly on their core technologies
while they purchase other services from companies that excel
at delivering them. Thus, their entire operations function
at a high level, yet they do not have to maintain everything.
They get world-class capabilities without the risks involved
in developing all of them.
Outsourcing is synonymous
with flexibility.
Advantages of Outsourcing:
Cost effectiveness
The savings your company can achieve
can go up until 50% from your actual software development
budget. In the mean time the quality and the schedule remains
the same if not better.
Specific skills
You are able to use specific skills
(for particular technologies) for a certain period without
having to hire them or train them. Also if you think that
you could retrain the team you already have you should take
into account that you could have a better one working on your
project in a much smaller time frame.
Ramp-up time
The time to setup a new project is
reduced drastically compared to the time a project meets all
the conditions to start in a traditional organization.
Flexibility
Your are able to use the IT resource
for as long as you need and then stop the collaboration without
having the problems you would have if you would hire a team.
This means you can always switch the technology and choose
a team suited for that technology.
Talent pool
It is very complicated to find and
to train a talent in a certain field, therefore instead of
retraining your old staff to fit a new technology you should
change the working methodology and outsource your software
development offshore.
Off-load of non-challenging work
You can outsource the routine work,
the work that keeps you from focusing on the core business
and creation of new features or new products.
More
Information? Questions? Comments? Contact
us.
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