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What makes some outsourcing arrangements successful, while others fail at the first hurdle? In order to identify the reasons behind outsourcing success and, conversely, failure, sourcing consultancy Quantum Plus and law firm Bird & Bird surveyed people involved in managing outsourcing relationships.

This is a very high-level bird’s eye (1000000-feet) view of the issues and challenges facing any outsourcing deal out there. There are many points mentioned in this article that I agree with. But on the other hand, it leaves out some crucial piece of information that might have made this article a great read. It does not mention the profile of companies or people surveyed. It does not talk about the composition of service buyers versus service providers. Overall, I would like to see more details on the survey population. But having said that, this is definitely a great piece to get a general understanding of some of the most commonly experienced issues with outsourcing.

To summarize (in case you don’t find the patience to click on the url and read the whole thing), the most often seen issues in outsourcing are -
1. Expectation mis-match between the client and service provider
2. Reliable measurement of service levels rendered
3. Lack of innovation from the service provider
4. Internal expectations mismatch, between the expectations of an outsourcing engagement and internal management expectations

Overall, the stress is on expectations mismatch and the various reasons for which this mismatch occurs.

Happy reading, and if you like it, Digg it!

On a related note, I would like to hear what you think about these issues? Do you agree with them? Do you think this applies only to a certain types of deals and this is a gross generalization of the issue?

The original research findings summary is available here – http://www.softage.ru/outsourcing/index.php#34

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