Hiring Difficulties Biggest Reason for Outsourcing
According to a business-IT alignment study of 154 companies conducted by Cutter Consortium, 29 percent of companies cite hiring difficulties as the greatest factor in their decision to outsource. When asked what primarily motivated their organization to map their IT insourcing/outsourcing options, the top three factors were difficulty hiring skilled IT professionals (29 percent), lack of in-house skills (20 percent) and budget (14 percent). Business changes and CIO/senior management mandates were also cited as contributing factors.
Mike Epner, a senior consultant at Cutter, observes, "It's interesting that budgetary concerns were cited by only 14 percent as the primary motivator for contemplating outsourcing. Most respondents seem to view suppliers as a means to meet an immediate internal need, rather than as part of a long-term outsourcing strategy backed by a solid business case. This short-term focus and lack of planning can leave an organization ill-equipped to handle the demands of managing a supplier and maintaining a viable IT staff. It can also lead to unsuccessful projects, schedule delays and questions about what could have been done differently."
For more information, visit the Cutter Web site at www.cutter.com/consortium.