Designing and executing the right IT sourcing strategy

Shared services and outsourcing gives organisations the opportunity to improve service standards and achieve efficiency savings.

IT sourcing has been on the CIO agenda for many years but has not proven to be the one-size-fits-all solution that many once hoped. CIOs and boards of directors are now looking for improved outcomes, particularly against a backdrop of changing business requirements, sky-high expectations, increasingly sophisticated technology and challenges relating to effective integration.

In this environment, the effectiveness of an organisation’s IT function relies heavily on its relationships with partners and third-party suppliers. As independent advisors, PA understands how to organise and transform these relationships and thereby help CIOs:

• manage in a multi-sourced environment – identifying the inter-relationships, governance, standards, technology architecture and IT skills necessary for a multi-supplier environment

• outsource, in-source or re-source – assessing, evaluating and formalising how IT services are sourced, in part or in whole, while maintaining effective IT operations to fulfil business needs

• use cloud and crowd options – guiding clients through the latest techniques for sourcing applications, platforms, infrastructure, business processes, and discrete programs of work in highly flexible asset-free arrangements

• leverage offshore talent – helping identify and implement the right mix of offshore labour, location strategy, and structure for effective operations

• manage IT delivery performance and governance – addressing service issues and performance problems in strategic relationships and developing the IT solutions to effectively address them.

Our consultants are experts in sourcing, technology and service excellence. We have advanced information technology skills that will ensure that sourcing and service excellence projects deliver results for:

• IT practitioners – with many years’ experience working in IT organisations, our consultants understand the domain, the organisational implications and the technologies being implemented

• IT architects and strategists – in addition to experience in sourcing and commercial operations, our team can design architectures and solutions, select products and support implementation

• ITIL and service integration teams – with many years’ experience in ITIL and service management, we bring deep experience in IT operations as well as infrastructure and service integration.

Our work in IT sourcing and service excellence is characterised by a commitment to independence, working to your agenda without restraint or conflict to realise the best outcome for your organisation. Evidence of our successful track record delivering shared services and outsourcing, PA Consulting Group was recently ranked in the top 10 for the 2012 International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) World’s Best Outsourcing Advisor awards.

To understand how PA can help your organisation take advantage of changes in the IT Outsourcing industry, please contact us now.