Outsourcing has become one of the most important trends used in managing the enterprise during the last ten years and is now transforming the corporation. At the same time, it is one of the most talked about and hotly debated topics of our times. This book analyses these trends with leading outsourcing practitioners providing a strategic look at how the modern corporation can succeed through outsourcing, the pitfalls and hidden costs of offshoring, what to include in an outsourcing contract, and what outsourcing will look like in the future.

This book offers a broad perspective on issues relating to the sourcing of systems and business processes in a national and global context, examining the client's and the vendor's involvement in sourcing relationships by putting the emphasis on the capabilities that each side should develop as a result of their interactions with each other.

"This book covers a wide range of topics involved in the outsourcing of information technology through state-of-the-art collaborations of international field experts"--Provided by publisher.

The decision to source software development to an overseas firm (offshoring) is looked at frequently in simple economic terms - it's cheaper, and skilled labor is easier to find. In practice, however, offshoring is fraught with difficulties. As well as the considerable challenge of controlling projects at a distance, there are differences in culture, language, business methods, politics, and many other issues to contend with. Nevertheless, as many firms have discovered, the benefits of getting it right are too great to ignore. This book explains everything you need to know to put offshoring into practice, avoid the pitfalls, and develop effective working relationships. It covers a comprehensive range of the important offshoring issues: from ROI to strategy, from SLA to culture, from country comparisons to provider marketing. Written for CTOs, CIOs, consultants, and other IT executives, this book is also an excellent introduction to sourcing for business students.

This research study seeks to understand the nature of organisational change with respect to offshore outsourcing of information technology services in a multinational pharmaceutical company, and to examine the effectiveness of approaches used to manage this change so that lessons may be drawn from these experiences. Despite the abundant literature on effective organisational change management, the key factors that need to be managed properly at different stages of the offshore outsourcing process are not well understood. The research adopts a processual view to paint a broad picture of the issues involved in these different stages. A generic process model of change, based on the review of the change literature, was first developed to represent how change was intended to occur. This model focuses on the following four stages in the change process: context, diagnosis and planning, implementation, and institutionalisation. The research employs an interpretive case study approach and draws on fieldwork from three independent information systems departments (cases) of the company, where offshore outsourcing programmes were implemented. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, direct observation and document analysis are analysed by applying the generic process model to produce a detailed account of the way in which change was managed in the case organisations. The findings reveal that a combination of contextual factors, both external and internal to the company, influenced the adoption and use of offshore outsourcing in the case organisations. Externally, the economic forces were found to be the main catalyst for the change, while internally the role of the executive leadership and the lack of internal resources further explain the motivations behind the adoption of offshore outsourcing. The study illustrates that achieving successful outcomes from offshore outsourcing activities critically depends on the organisation adequately addressing a number of factors, such as conveying a sense of urgency, developing and communicating the vision, identifying the benefits of change and how they will be delivered, generating short-term wins, providing education and training, developing a fit between the change and organisational culture, etc., throughout the change process. The findings also highlight the effects of offshore outsourcing on the case organisations, including change in job roles and responsibilities and organisational learning activities that enable corrective actions to improve change management efforts. An important contribution of this research is the development of a model providing a more comprehensive understanding of the change process associated with the implementation of offshore IT outsourcing. Recommendations for policy makers and change managers to improve change management practice based on the research findings, as well as recommendations for further research, form a significant part of the conclusions.

"This book discusses the considerations and implications surrounding the outsourcing and offshoring of professional services, such as software development computer-aided design, and healthcare, from multiple global perspectives. This book, offers industry professionals, policymakers, students, and educators with a balance between a broad overview and detailed analysis of offshore outsourcing, would make an invaluable addition to any reference library"--Provided by publisher.

This book walks readers through an outsourcing transaction step-by-step: analyzing the benefits, selecting vendor, structuring the deal, managing the relationship. Provides managers with an organized methodical approach to the often intimidating prospect of relinquising absolute control of every aspect of a company's business.