Clean up your company before outsourcing

If you sign up for an outsourcing contract when your own house is not in shape, you are in trouble, according to Discovery Communications CIO David Kline. Speaking at the Global Sourcing Forum and Expo in New York City on Nov. 11, Kline said it's important for companies to virtualize and streamline before going outside.

"If your mess is a mess, and you turn it over, it's still going to be a mess," Kline said. "You could do an offshore...where your management staff is saying, 'It's over there. It's not my problem anymore.' And that's not true. IT's still your mess. Get it as clean as you can get it."

He said that virtualization and consolidation are key to getting a company's IT infrastructure "clean" for outsourcing. Part of the process is making sure employees are in the right place. And it may be preferable to locate key workers in other parts of the United States or overseas with the outsourcing center.

Nevertheless, an article by eWeek.com warns that the very idea of outsourcing will present an emotional reaction from U.S. workers. It cites a September survey by Amplitude Research, which found that nearly two-thirds of the 350 IT professionals surveyed reported an unauthorized intrusion in their outsourced systems in the last two years.

For more on getting your IT shop ready for outsourcing:
- see this eWeek.com article

Related Articles:
Outsourcing is not a dirty word
IT outsourcing in flux
Clinton sidesteps outsourcing controversy