Managing IT Vendors & Sourcing Program
The courses in this program:
Courses focus on preparing IT and non-IT managers, as well as service providers, with emerging strategic, tactical, and operational considerations for sourcing digital initiatives, in light of Agentic AI and other emerging technologies.
While focusing on IT outsourcing, the courses will also address other outsourcing initiatives, including Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Professional Outsourcing, Project Outsourcing, Offshore Outsourcing, Onshore Outsourcing, and Nearshore Outsourcing, as well as AI’s impact on current SaaS models.
This program (described below) prepares IT and non-IT managers, executives, and internal/external consultants to deliver high-value advisory services and drive strategic enterprise change. Participants will learn to:
Strategic Gap & Sourcing Assessment
Evaluating organizational capabilities against target architectures to identify sourcing needs, vendor dependency risks, and service gaps.
Building business cases and risk profiles to evaluate build-vs-buy decisions, cloud/SaaS transitions, and emerging tech integrations.
Contracting, Implementation & Governance Planning
Structuring IT outsourcing agreements, SLAs, and pricing models that assign decision rights, performance metrics, and accountability.
Establishing vendor governance frameworks to mitigate risk, enforce compliance, prevent scope creep, and align provider incentives with enterprise goals.
Relationship Management & Strategic Negotiation
Navigating multi-vendor dynamics, contract negotiations, and disputes to foster collaborative, high-value vendor partnerships.
Leading organizational change and stakeholder alignment when transitioning services to internal, offshore, nearshore, or third-party providers.
Sourcing Frameworks & Service Delivery Models
Applying industry-standard frameworks and evaluation models to streamline vendor selection, RFPs, and contract administration.
Standardizing service delivery processes to ensure consistent operational performance across diverse sourcing and delivery models.
Performance Review & Continuous Improvement
Conducting systematic vendor audits and scorecard reviews to measure ROI, service quality, and contractual compliance.
Adapting sourcing strategies and vendor models dynamically to leverage advancements in Agentic AI, automation, and digital transformation.
Required Courses (all four must be completed):
(All courses are available synchronously/face-to-face )
1. Deriving a Sourcing Strategy
This course will cover the formulation of a sourcing strategy, including 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 (including Multi-Cloud Governance) and shared sourcing along with more traditional models), etc., in light of AI and other emerging technologies. Outsourcing options will include selecting vendors from onshore, offshore, and nearshore. Addressing the impact of emerging technologies (e.g., robotic 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, Cyber Resilience and Zero Trust, third-party risk management, vendor access controls, and incident-response coordination with providers) and the “sunset” decision to close out a sourcing agreement and reintegrate the functions and processes within the firm. Candidates 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 organizational 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 (e.g., workforce impact of Agentic AI-driven outsourcing), culture (organizational and population specific), organization structure and reporting, assimilation, skills, leadership, careers, retention, separation, communications, team building, emerging technologies (e.g. AI, cognitive computing,/robotics process automation, analytics), and the overall impact on the organization. The course will enable candidates to decide 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, including Zero Trust access requirements and Cyber Resilience/incident-response SLAs with vendors. 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.
Courses from the following certificates can also be considered:
Service Thinking
CIO Certification
IT HR
Supply Chain Management
Business-IT Management Consulting
Business Process Management
