Understanding organizational skills and sourcing requirements/gaps and identifying how to address them is fundamental to providing effective IT services. The choices are broader than merely in-sourcing or outsourcing. Outsourcing considerations such as onshore, near shore, offshore are not often easy; as is service provider selection within the respective geography. For those resource gaps met by outsourcing, it becomes essential to ensure that the relationship and governance processes are in place, as well as understanding/addressing the overall organizational impact. Having experienced legal counsel during contract negotiations and management is vital.
Staffing/sourcing remains the largest component of IT budgets: 59% (including consulting and outsourced staff). Both internal IT staff and domestic outsourcing are actually declining and anticipated to continue to decline, while offshore staffing and offshore outsourcing are on the rise. Leveraging less expensive offshore workers is an initiative that most organizations continue to consider. Whether domestic or offshore, the proficiency for selecting and managing outsourcing services is essential.
Like the rest of IT, the advent of robotics process automation/cognitive computing, internet of things, Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Computing, Blockchain, and SMAC (Social, Mobile, Business Analytics, and Cloud) have caused outsourcing to evolve from being purely a cost-savings initiative to a driver/enabler of business transformation. This must be done in light of budgetary constraints, scarce resources, regulations, and the demand to beat the competition. In addition, these new technologies will have a profound impact on outsourcing service providers.
The following considerations have become essential:
- How to innovate to increase margins, accelerate time to market and agility, and boost customer satisfaction
- The demand for global arbitrage
- Embed real innovation with demonstrable business value
- Align sourcing strategies with IT-business strategies
- Reinvent the RFP, contract, and governance processes
- How will emerging technologies transform clients, service providers, and vendors
Select at least 4 courses from the following:
(All courses are available
synchronously/face-to-face
)
1. Deriving a Sourcing Strategy
This course will cover the formulation of a sourcing strategy to include topics ranging from determining whether to source an initiative in-house or to outsource it, the evaluation of candidates for strategic sourcing through supplier selection and the transition to the new sourcing provider(s). Potential sourcing initiatives include all aspects of information technology (IT) – e.g. application development, maintenance, support services such as help desk, infrastructure (e.g., cloud computing and shared sourcing along with more traditional models), etc. Outsourcing options will include selecting vendors from onshore, offshore, nearshore, and rural. Addressing the impact of emerging technologies (e.g., robotics process automation/cognitive computing, analytics) on sourcing strategies is fundamental. The emphasis of this course will be on the formulation of a strategy and the practical applications related to its execution.
2. IT Outsourcing Governance & Relationship Management
The purpose of this course is to describe the important governance considerations necessary to manage IT sourcing. The material in this course will be valuable to students/companies who are undertaking IT sourcing activities (clients) and to students/companies who serve as the service providers or advisory organizations. Topics will include strategic decision making, feasibility considerations, day-to-day management functions (e.g. managing Service Level Management using dashboards effectively, measuring and assessing value, project prioritization, resource allocation) and the “sunset” decision to close out a sourcing agreement and reintegrate the functions and processes within the firm. Students can combine the knowledge and skills gained in this course with the more specialized knowledge in the other three IT sourcing courses to create a valuable skill set for today’s marketplace for all organizations: foreign and domestic, corporate, non-profit and government.
3. The Organizational Impact of IT Outsourcing
This course concentrates on the organization and people considerations that take place during an outsourcing initiative. It will discuss these issues from both the service provider and client perspectives. Topics include change management, culture (organizational and population specific), organization structure and reporting, assimilation, skills, leadership, careers, retention, separation, communications, team building , emerging technologies (e.g. cognitive computing,/robotics process automation, analytics), and the overall impact on the organization. The course will enable candidates to take a decision about whether to outsource or not, as well as prepare for the future.
4. Legal Issues & Contract Management in IT Outsourcing
The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the specialized legal aspects governing IT outsourcing arrangements. The course addresses negotiation of the outsourcing contract, including terms relating to legal risk, as well as terms, negotiation techniques and contract structures relating to the memorialization of the business deal. Additionally, the course addresses contract management as an on-going aspect of the outsourcing relationship, including dispute resolution, managing change, re-negotiation, and managing termination of the IT outsourcing relationship. No prior legal training is required to take this course. Successful completion of the course allows the student to achieve a useful level of specialized management knowledge.
5.
Courses from the following certificates can also be considered:
