Outsourcing your information systems? Perhaps the health crisis has revealed the need for IT outsourcing within your company. When it comes to outsourcing information systems, it's important to consider both the opportunities and the risks, to ensure that you adopt the right practices.
37%
of CIOs believe that the ROI of outsourcing their IT infrastructures to the cloud is higher than that of traditional outsourcing, hosting and managed services.
Do you need to outsource your information systems?
According to the latest Cloud Observatory survey by cloud observatorythe health crisis of 2020 led to a 3.7% reduction in investment in France. As a result, CIOs have had to rationalize their IT project portfolios and reduce operational management costs, while keeping strategic projects under control. CIOs need to move towards agile governance(see our full report).
However, IT infrastructure spending is set to grow by a further 4% overall, driven by business demand for cloud services. IDC estimates that the cloud will be the most dynamic segment in 2021, with the market growing by over 10%.
Indeed, in order to ensure that their information systems keep pace with their short- and long-term development, companies are adopting agile, high-performance digitalization strategies. For this, the cloud is one of the most suitable levers. A survey of 85 companies conducted by Markess International shows that 37% of CIOs believe that the ROI of outsourcing their IT infrastructures to the cloud is higher than that of traditional outsourcing, hosting and managed services.
But while the cloud has its advantages, it's also vital to ensure the security, stability and efficiency of outsourced services.
Optimized costs
Greater flexibility
Quality services and materials
Accessibility
Leveraging resources for innovation
The risks of outsourcing information systems
Dependence on the service provider
Outsourcing can make a company dependent on its suppliers. In fact, outsourcing requires the acquisition of new skills to master the relationship with the provider: knowledge of service models and deployment models (public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud...), knowledge of risk analysis and of cybersecurityknowledge of risk analysis and cybersecurity, proficiency in auditing and managing service providers, ability to lead an implementation strategy...
Data hosting
Best practices for successful IT outsourcing
Define your needs
It is essential toidentify the activities concerned by the information systems outsourcing project at an early stage, and to clearly define the needs of each. These needs must then be formulated very precisely in the service contract service contract with the service provider.
Choose the right service provider(s) to outsource your information systems
Evolve your organization to control the service provider relationship
- Allocate in-house technical and human resources to ensure that the service provider's offer matches the company's functional and technical requirements.
- Set up supplier performance measurement indicators (service availability, response time, security level, service quality, etc.).
- Regularly re-evaluate the sourcing strategy in line with changing functional and technical requirements and indicators.
- Control the risks of remote access Implementing secure gateways dedicated to outsourced service access and remote maintenance is a must.
In conclusion, outsourcing certain IS is an opportunity
The health crisis has enabled the most digitalized companies to react more reactively than others (telecommutingsupplier/customer/administration exchanges, remote access to data, etc.).
From this point of view, and if any were needed, it has been a powerful revelation of the importance of digitalization. For companies that decide to initiate or accelerate this transformation now, outsourcing certain IT services is an opportunity to move faster. Provided they adopt the right practices.
Further information
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