ComputerWeekly.com has a quick read about the variation of outsourcing called "insourcing."
This has many definitions, but the one used in "Use outsourcing standards to reap in-house benefits, users advised" defines it as "an internal service… run along commercial lines." In other words, the services that would be outsourced are provided by an in-house group but run as if a service provider were in charge.
If you see your IT services as offering a competitive edge, insourcing may be an effective approach to arming the IT organization with the teeth it needs to stay effective. The article quotes Morgan Chambers, a UK-based consulting firm, which provides this list of rules for a successful insourcing structure:
- The IT director must have a deep understanding of outsourcing business models, tools and techniques and, importantly, be able to keep this knowledge up-to-date
- The process must be represented at board level to get ongoing support
- The IT director must have a significant budget to keep pace with a changing market
- IT can only make insourcing a success if there is a governance structure and an education/training programme in place
- The business must accept that the insourced IT operation needs at all times to be run, managed and measured as if it is an external service provider.
Read the article to learn the questions you should ask yourself to determine whether this approach would work for your company.
