Managing Change In It Outsourcing

Features

Description

IT outsourcing is considered a mature business strategy that provides an exquisite opportunity to quickly cater to changing market circumstances. Due to the extensive growth of outsourcing client IT functions in the last decade, a new provider industry has developed rapidly. As a result, the IT landscape is becoming more varied, with different outsourcing arrangements.

Considering the multidisciplinary character of outsourcing, providers experienced with that arrangement complexity have increased substantially. Providers have to deal with various aspects such as strategy, capabilities and organizational structures. These aspects will clearly affect the providers' organizations and their performance towards their clients.

Thus, starting an outsourcing venture means starting a change that requires adaptive behaviour. This involves the capability and willingness of the providers' employees to support this change. In the next decade, the most important challenge for providers will be to manage this change in order to provide a sustainable performance for their clients.

Few studies in the field of IT outsourcing relations include the role of service providers in sourcing arrangements. Previous research has identified a provider's lack of sustainability in service performance as a recurring problem, that is the continuous delivery of high quality services over time.

It can be argued that IT outsourcing providers who manage to establish a dynamic fit between sourcing capabilities and their own organizational structure are less susceptible to changes in their clients' environment. The author of this volume selects three provider organizations and uses evidence from these cases to highlight that a link between sourcing capabilities and organizational structure contributes to a positive sourcing performance.

His research reveals that providers who are able to adapt to changing client circumstances, whilst establishing a fit, succeed in achieving a sustainable performance. Review: 'Many books have been published on IT outsourcing; however, the vast majority of them assume a client perspective, shedding little light on how IT providers develop their strategies and compete in this fast growing industry.

Based on original research and his extensive experience in the outsourcing industry, Albert Plugge offers in this book a detailed account of the provider side in IT outsourcing relationships. This book is a must read for managers and executives from the client, provider and intermediary organizations attempting to strike a 'win-win' outcome.' Prof.

Dr. Ilan Oshri, Loughborough School of Business and Economics 'Based on actual case studies and extensive research, Albert Plugge has produced a valuable resource for continuously adapting outsourcing services to changing internal and external conditions in the client organization. One of the enduring challenges of outsourcing relationships for the past twenty-five years is how to provide sustained business value as the market conditions change and demand fluctuates for the client organization.

Albert Plugge's dynamic fit model is a creative design and adaptation process that directly addresses that challenge and takes us way beyond traditional outsourcing management approaches. This book is a comprehensive and valuable outsourcing reference for both service providers and client companies concerned with improving outsourcing services over time.

It is destined to become a 'must-read' for all executives and IT service delivery managers in the outsourcing business.' Dr. Wendell O. Jones, Outsourcing pioneer and Thought Leader 'Albert Plugge is an aspiring academic in the field of IT outsourcing. His book Managing Change in IT Outsourcing intertwines his know-how as sourcing professional at KPMG and his experience as a researcher at the Delft University in the Netherlands.

In the face of globalization, changing industry economics, and intensified competitive pressures, appropriate outsourcing of IT capabilities may help to drive down costs, to improve the IT infrastructure, and to focus on core