HOW TO MANAGE AN IT OUTSOURCING ALLIANCE

COMPANIES ARE INCREASINGLY OUTSOURCING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR A VA RIETY OF REASONS, SUCH AS CONCERN FOR COST AND quality, lagging IT per formance, supplier pressure, and other financial factors. The outsourc ing solution is acceptable to large and small firms alike because stra tegic alliances are now more common and the IT environment is changing rapidly. The authors offer their suggestions for determining when to outsource and how to structure and manage the resulting alliance. Most important, they suggest, is to view the outsourcing agreement as a st rategic alliance and manage it as such.