Risk Reduction
Another reason for outsourcing is to reduce risk. First, outsourcing can cap financial
risk. In a typical outsourcing contract, the outsource vendor will agree to provide, say,
computer workstations with certain software connected via a particular network.
Typically, each new workstation will have a fixed cost, say, $2,500 per station. The
company’s management team might believe that there is a good chance that they can
provide workstations at a lower unit cost, but there is also the chance that they will get
in over their heads and have a disaster. If so, the cost per computer could be much
higher than $2,500. Outsourcing caps that financial risk and leads to greater
budgetary stability.
Second, outsourcing can reduce risk by ensuring a certain level of quality, or
avoiding the risk of having substandard quality. A company that specializes in food
service knows what to do to provide a certain level of quality. It has the expertise to
ensure, for example, that only healthy food is served. So, too, a company that specializes in, say, Web-server hosting, knows what to do to provide a certain level of service
for a given workload.
Note that there is no guarantee that outsourcing will provide a certain level of
quality or quality better than could be achieved in-house. Google might get lucky and
hire only great chefs. The TV station might get lucky and hire the world’s best Web farm
manager. But, in general, a professional outsourcing firm knows how to avoid giving
everyone food poisoning or having 2 days of downtime on the Web servers. And, if that
minimum level of quality is not provided, it is easier to hire another vendor than it is to
fire and rehire internal staff.
Finally, organizations choose to outsource IS in order to reduce implementation
risk. Hiring an outside vendor reduces the risk of picking the wrong hardware or the
wrong software, using the wrong network protocol, or implementing tax law changes
incorrectly. Outsourcing gathers all of these risks into the risk of choosing the right
vendor. Once the company has chosen the vendor, further risk management is up to
that vendor.
International Outsourcing
Many firms headquartered in the Uni
đang được dịch, vui lòng đợi..
