Overview and Expected Benefits
The Outsourcing Lifecycle and Key Considerations
****
Contents:
Framework for service
level requirements (for RFP)
Sourcing Education
Feasibility Assessment
RFP Development
Service Provider Evaluation
Contract Negotiations
Transition Planning
People, Process and IT Transition
Contract Management & Compliance Reviews
****
The feasibility assessment is dependent upon a company having a firm understanding of its service level requirements
Faulkner Information Services has defined the following framework for service level requirements:
§ Objective: the business reason for measuring the service level
§ Definition: a description of exactly what is being measured
§ Method: describes exactly how the measurement data is captured and from what sources
§ Service level agreements (SLAs): defines what constitutes target, minimally acceptable, and unacceptable performance
§ Impact: a rating (high/medium/low) of the relative importance of this measure to the business operations.
§ Affected area: the users, departments, and business units affected by this measure
§ Responsibility: who is accountable for performing the tasks to maintain this service item
§ Period: the time period over which the measure is evaluated (e.g., 95% uptime over a month)
§ Resource range: a limitation on the conditions under which the service level must be maintained (e.g., PC installation time of half a day, as long as volume per week does not exceed x units)
§ Report: a sample of the report that will be used to display the data for all parties
§ Action: what happens when service level is not met
****
For services to be outsourced, the service level framework can be used to generate the RFP for services. The RFP should include the following sections:
§ Business objectives and scope that outsourcing is intended to address
§ Policies and procedures by which the vendor operates
§ Procedures for updating the SLA
§ A systems summary
§ The performance metrics the vendor is responsible for
§ How the vendor will work with the company’s security policies and procedures
§ Problem management, including setting priority or severity levels
§ Service-level penalties and incentives
§ Performance reports on SLA achievement
§ Other terms and conditions
****
Criteria to evaluate web hosting outsourcing providers
§ Network architecture
o Bandwidth
o Server location
o Server redundancy
o Synchronization
o Security
§ Management and configuration
o Configuration and changes
o Management and monitoring
§ Project Management
o Single point of contact for technical issues, with veto power over that person
o Status meetings
o Escalation procedures
o Application problem response
o Outage planning and reporting
o Location of outsourcer in relation to Scripps outsourcing manager
§ Technology refreshment of servers (e.g, upgrade processors every 3 years)
§ Facilities for growth
§ Ability to provide high availability and redundancy
§ Traffic and usage analysis
§ Capacity planning and forecasting
§ Configuration/release management
§ Functionality
§ Security and audit
§ Deliverables
§ Content and application competencies
§ Site transference
§ Business continuity
§ Connectivity
§ ESM capabilities provided
§ Pricing
§ Customer/Technical support
§ Reputation
****
§ Pricing structure must be well-defined, e.g., costs for all traffic volumes, not just the anticipated traffic volume
§ Service levels and measurements must be well-defined
§ Penalties and incentives must be well-defined
§ Continuous measurement--monthly report cards must occur
§ Exit strategies--all contracts must have an “out” clause, e.g., if vendor gets below a 1.0 on 50% or more of the items, the contract can be terminated at no cost to the company
§ Ownership--companies should specify upfront which technologies IT will own and which will belong to the service provider. Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined
§ Mechanisms for SLA improvement must be included
§ Mechanisms that allow for the changing technology environment and the changing business environment must be included
****
Overview and Expected Benefits | The 3 Types of IT Outsourcing | The Outsourcing Lifecycle and Key Considerations
Home | Outsourcing - IT focus | Outsourcing - HR focus
Updated on January 20, 2003
© Copyright 2003 Allan Low. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this Web Site, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from the author is prohibited.