Business Process / IT Outsourcing
Whether you are considering outsourcing a specific business process or a technical aspect of IT development and support, it is essential that an Outsourcing Readiness Assessment be conducted.  This will determine the receptiveness of the organization towards outsourcing, as well as the appropriateness of the application or process being outsourced. 

Outsourcing initiatives can encompass a broad scope of activities.  They range from tactical short-term projects oriented towards achieving cost savings to strategic long-term objectives directed towards establishing permanent revenue and profit enhancement derived from the introduction of a global perspective.  Each individual initiative has to be analyzed and evaluated on its own merits.  For example, how prudent is it to outsource ALL technical knowledge and support for a critical core business application?  The answer to that question may largely depend on the nature of the business and not necessarily the technology being outsourced.  If the marketplace is fluid, dynamic, and subject to rapid change, then outsourcing all technical knowledge is not appropriate, as the ability to introduce change is materially restricted.

Intersecting Business Management with Technology
Outsourcing Readiness Assessment is a disciplined approach designed to assist in the analysis and evaluation of the feasibility and desirability of outsourcing business processes and/or associated IT support services.  In almost all instances the assessment consists of a review of the business process itself and the technology that supports it.  Today’s business processes are either currently supported by technology or the utilization of current technology will be required to facilitate and support the outsourcing of the business process.  Our approach assesses the business processes and associated technical IT support from strategic and tactical, operational, and financial viewpoints with a risk assessment overlay applied across all three viewpoints.  Some of the questions raised and answered during a typical assessment are:

• Strategic & Tactical – Are the outsourcing objectives consistent with and do they correlate with the long-term strategic and short-term tactical plans of the company?
• Operational – At a more granular level, what exact functionality is going to be outsourced and how will it interrelate and integrate with the remaining resident functionality? How will this work?
• Financial – What are the cost benefits to be derived?
• Risk Assessment – What are the quantified risks associated with the contemplated outsourcing initiative and are they incorporated into the service level agreement?

PCS’ consultants are experienced and have gone through this exercise many times. They bring both a veteran business and information technology perspective to the project and provide additional insight and perspective.