• Is space an issue in your organization? Would it be a factor in this decision?
• If the service provider is off-site, how far away is it located? (Close means it’s more accessible, but far away could be better for disaster contingency.)
• How much control would you lose (or perhaps gain) by outsourcing?
• Is the outsourcer stable? Likely to merge?
• What has been the experience of other organizations that have chosen the same provider? (Be sure to check references.)
• How does the outsourcer address disaster prevention and recovery?
• How will customer service be handled? Will the change improve or degrade customer service on campus?
• What are the qualifications and experience of the employees that the outsourcer will provide? How is performance assessment and monitoring handled? Recourse?
• How difficult will layoffs and reorganization be at your school?
• Will quality suffer when you become a “little fish in a big pond”?
• How is security handled?
• What changes need to be done to the campus IT infrastructure and WAN links? What about present assets and investments?
• Does your technology infrastructure lend itself easily to outside services and management? What about integration with other technology functions?
• To what extent does your outsourcing decision limit choices in the future?
• What arrangements will allow you to sleep best at night?
SLAs are ‘critical’
Service level agreements (SLAs) are “critical” to the success of any IT outsourcing project, Tritsch said. A good SLA should define what the outsourcing company will do and how, as well as acceptable response times and your recourse if these aren’t met.
SLAs must be measurable and enforceable … but don’t go overboard with them, or you’ll risk ruining the relationship, Tritsch said. The purpose is to “get all the issues on the table,” so there are no surprises when problems arise.
When drafting an SLA, consider how performance will be measured—and by whom. “You need independent metrics,” Tritsch said. “Don’t just rely on the outsourcer’s.”
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