Research: 2011 Outsourcing Survey
Outsourcing 2011: The Incredible Shrinking IT Team
Our second annual InformationWeek Analytics State of IT Outsourcing Survey shows a steady increase in the number of respondents using service providers now, and the vast majority plan to increase their outsourcing activities across all categories—hardware, telco, data center, software development and public cloud/SaaS—despite ongoing concerns over value and just how much time and money we’re really saving. Respondents say they’re three times more likely to be able to engage a contractor than to bring on staff.
Let that settle in for a minute. We’re 32 months into a slowdown that began in August 2008. That’s over two and a half years of turmoil and transformation in your business, let alone the computing changes that have occurred during that time period. Not only have IT operations had to morph based on economic realities, you’ve had to adapt to expanded virtualization options, data center convergence, exploding storage volumes, and the rise of mobile devices and consumerization as well as evolving compliance standards for everything from PCI to Web security.
Given a whole new set of strategic variables plus fewer resources, it’s no wonder IT’s looking outward. But we’re not figuring out how to be smart about applying outside talent as a means to deliver quality IT services. We’re just chasing fast and cheap, and that’s no way to excel. (R2100411)
Survey Name: InformationWeek Analytics State of IT Outsourcing Survey
Survey Date: March 2011
Region: North America
Number of Respondents: 513
Table of Contents
5 Author’s Bio
6 Executive Summary
7 Research Synopsis
8 What’s Out?
13 Types of Outsourcers
17 What Are We Gaining?
20 Good Hires Avoid Bad Fires
22 Lessons From Software Firms
24 Data Center Outsourcing
26 Core Hardware Outsourcing
28 End User Support
29 Cloud and SaaS Applications
32 Application Development
35 Think Different
37 Appendix
53 Related Reports
About the Author
Mike Healey is the president of Yeoman Technology Group, an engineering and research firm focusing on maximizing technology investments for organizations, and an InformationWeek Reports contributor. He has more than 23 years experience in technology and software integration.
Prior to founding Yeoman, Mike served as the CTO of national network integrator GreenPages. He joined GreenPages as part of the acquisition of TENCorp, where he served as president for 14 years. Prior to founding TENCorp, Mike was an international project manager for Nixdorf Computer and a Notes consultant for Sandpoint Corp.
Mike has taught courses at MIT Lowell Institute and Northeastern University and has served on the Educational Board of Advisers for several schools and universities throughout New England. He has a BA in operations management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an MBA from Babson College.
He is a regular contributor for InformationWeek, focusing on the business challenges related to implementing technology. His work includes analysis of the SaaS market, green IT and operational readiness related to virtualized environments.
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