The Problem

Chapter 4 - Maintaining the Own Responsibility: Selected Information Systems Architecture, Selective Outsourcing and Organizational Learning as a Base for a Sustainably Positioned Information Technology Service
Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities
by Gerry Gingrich (ed)
Idea Group Publishing 2003

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The Problem

In the 1990s the outsourcing of IS services became a dominating trend, especially in SMEs. It is indisputable that outsourcing can be a possibility to reduce costs, to participate in new technological developments, to reduce the time to market, to increase the reliability of IS, and so on. But the discussion about outsourcing was guided along the requirements of large enterprises and international companies and along some actual trends just like e-commerce. Also the arguments for outsourcing have been the same for the last decade, while business strategies, organization structures, and techniques have changed.

For this reason it seems to be helpful to discus the problem of outsourcing now again. Only a few publications treat IT outsourcing and SMEs. So, the following concept bases upon the author's own experiences, mainly from financial service companies and discussions with IS managers and consultants from several branches.

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