Introduction Outsourcing is a technique for companies to reassign specific responsibilities to external entities. There are several motivations for outsourcing including organizational, improvement, cost, and revenue advantages (Ghodeswar & Vaidyanathan, 2008). The assignment research objectives were (a) to gain insight into securing strategic partnerships in the information technology (IT) arena; (b) to understand the choices made to reduce information and security risks by exploring the different outsourcing techniques, and; (c) to understand how business process associated with outsourcing will stimulate awareness on how the process is interlinked with human behaviors. The topics covered include an evaluation of the specifications of information security consultants to become strategic partners assisting in the reduction of information or security risks, an examination of four factors that were omitted in the specifications that add value to the selection process, and an explanation of the value of the four factors. Specifications Information Security (INFOSEC) consultants help client companies through strategic partnerships (Ghodeswar & Vaidyanathan, 2008). A short review of United States outsourcing creates a prospective baseline for outsourcing endeavors of private institutions (Ghodeswar & Vaidyanathan, 2008). Despite the fact that the vendor has accountability and duties (detailed in the statement of work), the client is predominantly in charge of supervising strategic partnerships (Ghodeswar & Vaidyanathan, 2008). Evaluate the Specifications of Information Security Consultants (vendors) to Become a Strategic Partner Assisting in the Reduction of Information or Security Risks Due to economic demands... ... middle of paper ... ...e of practice for information security management (1st ed.). Geneva, Switzerland: ISO/IEC. ITGI. (2012). COBIT 5.0. Rolling Meadows: ISACA. Marquis, K. (2011). Insourcing and outsourcing for U.S. Department of Defense IT projects: A model (Tech.). Retrieved http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a549027.pdf Ray, M., & Ramaswamy, P. (2007). GTAG: Information Technology Outsourcing (Vol. 7). Altamonte Springs, Florida: The IIA. Reinhard, J. (2012). IT Governance Integration. Internal Auditor, 69(4), 51-54. Rossiter, C. (2011). How internal audit adds value to the governance process. Protiviti, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.protiviticonsulting.com/en-US/Pages/How-Internal-Audit- Adds-Value-to-the-Governance-Process.aspx Tutorialpoint. (2014). Statement of work. Tutorialpoint. Retrieved from http://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/statement_of_work.htm
Outsourcing simply means acquiring services from an external organization instead of using internal resources (Butler, 2000). By using outsourced resources, organizations can gain a competitive advantage by utilizing contingent staff to accomplish strategic goals without incurring the fixed overhead. By focusing on the leading edge and highly specialized skill sets, outsourcing providers can often offer higher quality services, or at a lower price than the client organization. Typical reasons for outsourcing go beyond simple contingent staffing. Outsourcing providers are able to maintain economies of scale with regard to specialization (...
The proponents of contracting out assume that outsourcing in the IT sector is useful in strategic, technological, and economic reasons. (Gonzalez, Gasco & Llopis, 2009) They believe that outsourcing enables an organization to get the same or better services with lower cost. First, strategic advantages enable organizations to refocus on strategic and core functions, and provide flexibility for organizations because organizations need not to concern about routine tasks (Gonzalez, Gasco & Llopis, 2009). OPPGA (1998) also support these strategic advantages. It asserts that outsourcing can provide organizations with great flexibility in personnel and facilities in short-term projects. Outsourcing providers can provide better services for clients since they usually use new and developed technologies. Second, proponents think that outsourcing gives organizations opportunities to access to technology and reduce technological obsolescence without large investments (Gonzalez, Gasco & Llopis, 2009). Lastly, Pros assume that contracting out can save s...
In many cases outsourcing has proven to be beneficial for businesses. It can help a business’s management by allowing executives to focus on the core structure of the firm rather than every specific element. Production, manufacturing, or additional servic...
Outsourcing is obtaining goods or services from a foreign supplier in place of going in the country for these things. There are many debated effects of outsourcing on the economy, and there are several pros and cons to this practice. Even though there are many pros, the overall economy of America would be better off with minimal outsourcing.
Globalization along with the rise of information technologies, have led to changes in the global business arena. Outsourcing is when a business hires another entity to perform their functions. It can be on-shore (in the same country) and off-shore (in other country), but this paper will be based on off-shoring since the Global aspect has to be taken in perspective. First off the emergence of outsourcing will be discussed followed by the reasons and scope of outsourcing. Then the paper will focus on the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing.
The significant level of outsourcing programs used across all business sectors is well documented in the literature (Bender 1999; Quinn 2000; Dun and Bradstreet 2000; Klaas, McClendon and Gainey 2001). Past research has progressed along several paths. First, some researchers have focused on motivations and reasons for outsourcing activities (Conner and Prahalad 1996; Greer et al. 1999; Sinderman 1995; Mullin 1996; Grant 1996; Frayer Scannell and Thomas 2000). According to this perspective, the global imperative for outsourcing accelerates as firms evolve from sellers of products and services abroad to setting up operations in foreign countries and staffing those operations with host countries or third party nationals (Greer et al. 1999). Most corporations believe that in order to compete globally, they have to look at efficiency and cost containment rather than relying strictly on revenue increases (Conner and Prahalad 1996). As companies seek to enhance their competitive positions in an increasingly global marketplace, they are discovering that they can cut costs and maintain quality by relying more on outside service providers for activities viewed as supplementary to their core businesses (Mullin 1996; Grant 1996).
As more companies expand their business globally, they are seeing more opportunities and an increased set of threats to the market. Threats like war, political revolutions, new currencies, and natural disasters can affect growth and political stability throughout the world, so in order to successfully compete in the international market more companies are faced with the decision of relocating part of their operation offshore. This paper will address what key elements companies in this situation need to address, such as, quality of customer service provided, security of confidential information, and the possibilities of cost savings, in order to be sure that outsourcing is the best solution for their company.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the strategic advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing information technology (IT) functions. More importantly, it is to discuss the viability of outsourcing specific strategic functions, such as software development, hardware maintenance and network management, which have been among the most common non-core functions outsourced organizations. In exploring the strategic advantages and disadvantages of IT outsourcing, several sources were used, specifically research by Draft, Kaplan, Porter and other credible researchers on the subject.
No matter how big or small a business is, a business is able to outsource services that they could not do profitable on their own. Outsourcing is shifting all of the costs — accounting costs, including personnel, plus the risk of failure and the responsibility for action — to the third party. In return for assuming costs, the third party benefits by controlling the operation (Coughlan 167). This is the basic definition of outsourcing. Outsourcing has been around since the beginning of time.
Outsourcing has been utilized by companies in sundry industries for many decades as a key business strategy (Ghodeswar and Vaidyanathan, 2008). Harmancioglu (2009) argue that several successful companies depend on outsourcing to continue being responsive in coping with market changes as well as to expand their operations globally. He also stated that outsourcing was primarily perceived and employed to reduce costs, however recently it has become a prevalent and essential tool to gain competitive advantage. There are various reasons that lead companies to outsource some of their functions, these include: cost cutting, entrance to new markets, and to concentrate on main activities (Ghodeswar and Vaidyanathan, 2008). Wright (2004) mentions a number of functions that a company can outsource, these include: human resources, customer care service, and information technology functions.
Outsourcing is a business strategy that moves through a number of functions, processes, activities and decision responsibility from within an organization to outside providers, in order to reduce the costs of an organization. This is done through negotiating contract agreements with a vendor who takes on the responsibility for managing it. The decision to outsource is a major strategic most company, since it involves weighing the potential cost savings against the consequences of a loss in control over the products or services.
A disciplined approach to management eying leading employees, improving the management team and building the business strategy. Instead of treating each problem as a one off. They design systems and structures that make it easier to handle in the future. (Techrepublic, 2015) 2.2. Risk of exposing confidential data: When an organization outsources HR, Payroll and Recruitment services, it involves a risk if exposing confidential company information to a third-party Synchronizing the deliverables: Some of the common problem areas include stretched delivery time frames, sub-standard quality output and inappropriate categorization of responsibilities. At times it is easier to regulate these factors inside an organization rather than with an outsourced partner Hidden costs: Although outsourcing most of the times is cost-effective at times the hidden costs involved in signing a contract while signing a contract across international boundaries may pose a serious threat Lack of customer focus: An outsourced vendor may be catering to the expertise-needs of multiple company at a time. In such situations vendors may lack complete focus on your organization 's tasks. 2.3. 1.Know the
Singh, Anil (2006). Managing the Risks When Outsourcing Offshore. Hanu Software, Retrieved July 2, 2007, from http://www.hanusoftware.com/html/brochure/Outsourcingwhitepaper.zip
The first thing that we must consider about Information Security is that there is not a final destination at which we can arrive. IT Security is an ongoing set of processes and activities that requires attention and expertise on a daily basis. It is important to understand that systems are not secured by themselves and it is our responsibility to maintain and improve them periodically as required. It is of vital importance to establish the appropriate mechanisms and requirements in order to support the company’s CIA triad. The following report will provide you guidance about auditing and hardening techniques applied though the 7 Domains by utilizing IT Security Best Practices.
Outsourcing is the process of subcontracting operations and support to an organization outside the company to replace performance of the task with an organization’s internal operations. (www.hjventure.com) Simply stated, outsourcing takes place when an organization transfers the ownership of a business process to a supplier. What makes this process so important is the fact that no matter what the product, there is a continuing effort to ship it outside of America to make it cheaper. This is the number one single reason for outsourcing, reducing or at least, control operating costs. It has been reported that on average, companies have seen approximately a 40% reduction in costs through outsourcing. (www.intozone.com) Because of this large reduction, it makes it almost impossible for similar companies to stay competitive unless they to begin to outsource.