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There are very few IT infrastructure components you should be housing internally – outsource everything else. Your Challenge Outsourcing infrastructure through co-location, managed services, and IaaS has become extremely popular in the past few years: The growing expectations for constant availability from customers call for a higher level of capabilities than the internal IT infrastructure can cost-effectively provide. There are more IT infrastructure outsourcing options available now than there ever have been before – there is a suitable option for every organization. Almost every organization is outsourcing a part of their IT infrastructure. However, only 42% of Info-Tech’s clients receive the benefits they expect to in the first year of IT infrastructure outsourcing. Our Advice Critical Insight Success results from making the right outsourcing choices and building a strong partnership with your service providers. Decide what to outsource based on criticality of applications and risk factors involved. Cost and strategic fit should both be factors in the deployment model decision. Develop an RFP based on both your current and future requirements. Treat your vendor as a partner – collaboration works much better than penalties do. Impact and Result Maximize your chances of success by following these steps below: Conduct due diligence when deciding what to outsource. Evaluate and select the most appropriate deployment method. Identify infrastructure requirements before developing an RFP. Assess and select the most appropriate provider for the organization’s needs. Manage the transition and vendor relationship.
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Outsource Your IT Infrastructure to Improve Your System Availability, Reliability, and RecoveryThere are very few IT infrastructure components you should be housing internally – outsource everything else.This research is designed for: Infrastructure Managers/VPs, IT Directors, and CIOs that are considering outsourcing parts of the organization’s IT infrastructure (co-location, IaaS, cloud) Infrastructure Managers/VPs, IT Directors, and CIOs of all organizations that have a disaster recovery mandateOutsourcing success is elusive. Only 42% of Info-Tech’s clients receive the benefits they expect to in the first year of IT infrastructure outsourcing. Make the right outsourcing choices and build a strong partnership with your service providers to maximize your success.Decide what to outsource based on criticality of applications and risk factors involved.Cost and strategic fit should both be factors in the deployment model decision.Develop an RFP based on your current and future requirements.Treat your vendor as a partner – collaboration works much better than penalties do.Description: • Assess whether the organization is ready to outsource its IT infrastructure.• Determine what to outsource.• Select an outsourcing deployment model.Insights: • Don’t be afraid of outsourcing the infrastructure supporting your most critical applications.• The best deployment model for your context should align with your business’ risk appetite, competitive landscape, and rapidity of growth.Description:• Define project goals.• Clarify project roles and responsibilities.• Develop a business case to achieve management buy-in.• Determine metrics to measure success.Description:• Develop an RFP that reflects your short-term and long-term requirements.Insights:• Don’t select a provider for what your company is today – select a provider for what your company will be years from now.Description: • Select the best vendor for your needs.Insights:• Select providers that offer a breadth of offerings, including co-location, managed services, and cloud-based offerings, and those that have more than one data center location.• Demanding exceptions to standard processes does not result in exceptional service. The vendor will typically have a standard SLA, which should be used as the basis of negotiation.• Don’t expect financial penalties for non-performance to protect you from underperformance or poor service levels.Description:• Plan for a smooth transition to outsourcing.• Build a collaborative ongoing vendor relatioship.• Measure your project success.Insights:• Managing the transition requires attention to technology, process, and staffing changes.• It takes approximately 0.7 FTE (full-time equivalent) to manage the vendor relationship.
