Thought Leadership

Network Infrastructure is Key to IT Outsourcing Success------By John Talieri

Network infrastructure is just as important to the success of application maintenance and development outsourcing as a high-performance engine and tires are to enjoying the full capabilities of a great sports car.

AM/D outsourcing can only achieve rapid deployment, world-class quality and reduced costs for an enterprise if the technology services provider handling the work has the benefit of development and maintenance facilities built on a rock-solid IT network with built-in redundancies.

Lured by the potential for immediate savings of 20 to 40 percent, more and more enterprises are considering outsourcing their application maintenance, development and business processes, predominantly to offshore locations such as India. Industries with notoriously thin margins, such as financial services, retail and manufacturing, are particularly drawn to outsourcing such work.

In offsite and offshore outsourcing scenarios, vendor teams should have seamless, remote access to systems or use distributed development techniques. In either case, the infrastructure over which that activity occurs is crucial to the enterprise.

An IT partner with a deep, flexible and well-designed outsourcing infrastructure can provide your enterprise with a seamless and transparent experience, one in which the maintenance and development work is not only highly productive but also appears to be occurring virtually on site.

There are three infrastructure proof points to look for when evaluating whether a technology services partner has the network to protect an enterprise’s IT investment and deliver on its AM/D outsourcing promises.

» The single most important capability required is a network that has the ability to deliver 7x24 support for critical applications and development. Enterprises should be looking for vendors who can leverage an appropriate wide area network (WAN) and multiple, high-speed communication links, including high mbps fiber-optic channels and high kbps routes. The vendor should be able to provide leased lines directly to the client site. Voice-over-IP capability is also becoming an increasing important tool in the outsourcing kit.

»A network that offers the enterprise the ability to track and manage outsourced application development and maintenance is also critical. Your partner should be able to provide video conferencing on demand, as well as real-time tracking and project management tools. Near flawless system-up time is another obvious necessity. An enterprise IT executive should be able to check on the progress and delivery schedule of an outsourced AM/D effort as if it were occurring down the hall.

» An infrastructure that offers built-in redundancy and well-designed contingency and disaster recovery capabilities is a key consideration to safeguard your IT investment. Even the most far-fetched scenarios involving geo-political clashes, natural disasters and terrorist activity are unfortunately on the minds of many IT executives at global brands these days as they consider outsourcing programs. Particularly for enterprises considering offshore outsourcing of AM/D initiatives, their IT partner should be able to provide telecommunication redundancy through multiple fiber-optic links, VPN-based links and excellent bandwidth for voice, data and video. Alternate delivery centers in Europe and/or North America are important to supply near-immediate resource continuity if needed. And established disaster recovery procedures, including security and confidentially provisions and work product back-ups, are critical as well.

Behind all three of these important network infrastructure capabilities should stand a highly expert group of professionals -- the human resources that staff your project and run your IT partner’s network and communications resources.

Seamless and productive AM/D outsourcing requires experienced, onsite project managers at the client location to provide a high degree of expertise and comfort to the client, as well as project professionals at the remote location who are committed to high-quality, error-free work and on-time delivery.

No one would spend tens of thousands of dollars on a sleek, highly polished Ferrari with a four-cylinder engine and no-name 14-inch tires. If you haul tons of scrap metal for a living, you don’t buy a high-priced SUV to do it.

Enterprises considering entering the AM/D outsourcing market or increasing their current investment need to look under the hood and know what to look for when considering whether the IT partner they are considering has the network infrastructure to deliver on its promises.

AM/D performance is an important benchmark, but so is productivity. The best way to get both is with an expert IT partner backed by a fail-proof network infrastructure.

John Talieri is the chief information officer of Covansys Corporation (a CSC company), a global consulting and technology services company specializing in industry-specific solutions, strategic outsourcing and integration services through its unique on-site, offsite, offshore delivery capability.