Offshoring and security: IT managers, network admins divided on risk
Does offshore outsourcing make an IT organization more vulnerable to data loss or attack? Or are offshore providers actually improving network security for their customers?
Stories by Stephanie Overby
IT outsourcing: What HP's new strategy means for customers
The specifics of Hewlett-Packard's planned shift away from hardware remain unclear, and opinions about the company's stronger focus on enterprise software and services have run the gamut from "corporate suicide" to "it's about time."
Should you sue your offshore outsourcing provider?
Dispute resolution is always an important consideration when outsourcing IT. If that fails, however, you can always sue if your provider has breached the contract.
Offshoring pioneer GE to hire 1100 American IT workers
To those who know their IT outsourcing history, GE and offshoring are practically synonymous.
Whistleblower presents evidence of alleged visa abuse
The Infosys employee who is suing the Indian IT service provider for allegedly violating visa and tax laws in order to increase its profit margins has gone more public in recent weeks, providing written testimony of his claims to Congress and instructing his lawyer to share internal Infosys documents and emails with CIO.com that appear to back up some of his assertions.
Why IT outsourcing deals are getting smaller
IT outsourcing deals aren't what they used to be.
9 ways to stop your IT outsourcing deal from leaking money
If there were a relatively straightforward way for an IT leader to boost his company's bottom line by millions of dollars a year, chances are he wouldn't ignore it. But that's just what many CIOs are doing as a result of poor outsourcing management.
No. 1 gripe with outsourcers: Lousy service
IT outsourcing as we know it is more than 15 years old, yet service quality remains a big concern for CIOs. The results of the 2011 IDG Enterprise Outsourcing and Service Providers Survey bear that out: While 44 per cent of the 1,176 IT leaders who responded to the online survey said their service-level agreements (SLAs) were tighter than they were three years ago, they cited poor-quality service as the top risk of IT outsourcing-ahead of security, loss of internal knowledge and hidden costs. Lax internal governance and an overreliance on contractual obligations may be to blame.
iGate Patni CEO on his merger of unequals
When iGate completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of Patni Computer Systems in May, the two offshore outsourcing providers instantly leapt over their mid-tier outsourcing peers to become one of the biggest IT outsourcing providers in India.
4 ways CIOs can get outsourcers to focus on business value
When it comes to cutting costs, outsourcing is delivering the goods, according to the State of Outsourcing 2011 survey conducted by analyst firm HfS Research in conjunction with The Outsourcing Unit at the London School of Economics. Of 1,135 survey respondents (which included outsourcing buyers, providers and analysts), 95 per cent agreed outsourcing was an effective way to reduce operational costs.
IT roles shift with move to cloud
When Jim Honerkamp was hired as CIO of Steel Technologies last summer, he immediately identified a major problem on the company's IT org chart. Of the 34 technology professionals employed by the $1.6 billion processor of flat-rolled steel, nearly half were working in IT infrastructure. The anemic business-analysis group had a staff of three.
Outsourcing customers focus on SLAs
Business strategy is getting short shrift in outsourcing relationships while outsourcing customers and providers focus excessively on basic service level agreements (SLAs), according to a recent survey conducted by Accenture and the Shared Services and Outsourcing Network (SSON).
Outsourcing's odd couple: Xerox & ACS, one year post-merger
It's been just over a year since Xerox officially acquired business process outsourcer ACS for $6.4 billion. But as students of successful mergers understand, the real work of integration -- combining the technology, processes and cultures of the two organizations -- has only just begun.
Offshoring: Preparing for India's proposed privacy rules
The Indian government has finally taken a step toward creating a comprehensive set of data protection rules to safeguard privacy, but the proposed regulations released this spring are likely to have a major impact on the global enterprises doing business with Indian outsourcers.
IT outsourcing in China and data privacy guidelines
China's data privacy protection has long been considered one of the world's weakest. But the government's proposed data security guidelines may go too far in the opposite direction.