Search

Information Technology (IT) outsourcing is a set of IT services that require providers to manage a long relationship with multiple services that have a high degree of variance between clients. IT outsourcing operational contexts display multi-input and multi-output variables, so managers need guidance on developing suitable approaches in order to identify the set of variables to analyse. This work proposes a model based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is a linear programming technique able to manipulate multiple inputs and outputs. DEA allows the identification of the most efficient operation, which in turn enables providers to set the best operational strategy to follow. The results demonstrate the importance of quantitative measures in a dynamic business environment like IT outsourcing. To develop the authors' research, design science research was applied, and eighteen IT outsourcing contracts were used to demonstrate their model's utility. This work is a major contribution for measuring efficiency in IT outsourcing operations.

During the last decades, information technology (IT) outsourcing gained considerable management attention being considered a strategic decision to promote success. IT outsourcing providers deliver services using complex service systems composed by people, technology, and information, resulting in operational contexts displaying multi-input and output variables that many times originate high degree of variance between contracts and clients. Consequently, service providers have an operational context to be improved. The focus of this research is to study the balance between standardisation (mainly for productivity increase) and customisation (primarily for client satisfaction) that is a major issue for providers serving multiple clients. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a linear programming technique used to manipulate multiple inputs and outputs. Design science research allowed was to develop and test an artefact based on seven service dimensions, with 24 service items applicable to a single service or a multi-service configuration. The results obtained allow identifying the best operational strategy to follow. Future research is possible as adapting the artefact to other service sectors.

IT outsourcing contracts are known for their use of a fixed price. This happens mainly due to the need of the customer to accurately budget its IT operation costs. However, nowadays, the use of fixed price is regarded as an unfair approach for customers, consequently, private and public organizations demand flexible prices. As a result, IT providers are asked to abandon the fixed price and find new service delivery models suitable with a flexible price. This research seeks to develop a pricing model capable to help on service delivery whilst adds price flexibility on IT outsourcing contracts. The major contribution of this research is based on service unit identification, demand estimation, price setting and cost calculation, which are essential steps for a good contract execution. To develop our research, design science research methodology was applied. The desired flexibility is added through the balance between fixed and variable demand resulting in a mixed approach that satisfies customers and allow profit optimization. The proposed model is adaptable to each business deal.

During the last decades, IT Outsourcing gained considerable management attention and is considered a strategic decision used to promote success on its variable dimensions, like: cost reduction, quality improvement, access to new technologies, among others. The existing literature presents many studies on IT Outsourcing. However, there are few studies from the provider's perspective. Therefore, the objective is to focus on providers' critical success factors and their relationships in IT Outsourcing contracts. To analyse this subject a qualitative approach based on cognitive mapping process was applied. Cognitive or causal maps are widely employed in problem-structuring, since they permit a rich representation of ideas, through the modelling of a complex network of actions. This approach is innovative compared to the traditional quantitative methods used. As a result, they were able to map a network of means and ends and in parallel were found new success factors like service standardization, price flexibility, cost management and service catalogue, which allowed obtaining new insights into the structure of today's IT Outsourcing contracts.

During the last decades, the IT service sector has been one of the fastest growing segment in the global economy, consequently, Information Technology (IT) outsourcing providers face several challenges: contracts are based on a multi-service configuration; high degree of variance between clients; market dynamism through rivalry, accelerated innovation, client requisites and relationship management. As a result, service providers employ several tools and methods to find the best fit between standardization (mainly for productivity increase) and customization (primarily for client satisfaction), because IT outsourcing operational context display a multi-input and multi-output set of variables that need to be known and managed, thus efficiency measurement is essential to delivery optimised IT operations. The purpose of this work is to identify, describe, evaluate and present a model based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is a linear programming technique able to manipulate multiple inputs and outputs. DEA allows the identification of the most efficient operation that enables providers to set the best operational strategy to follow. To develop our research, design science research was applied, and eighteen contracts were used to evaluate our model's utility the results show the importance of quantitative measures in a dynamic business environment like IT outsourcing. This work is a major contribution for measuring efficiency in IT outsourcing operations.

IT Outsourcing contracts are a specific and complex set of IT services that require providers to give special attention to manage a long relationship at optimal cost. The challenge is to identify the best cost structure, cost methodology and IT services variance, in order to manage a service with the highest level of standardization. Due to the specificity of this work, the research methodology chosen is case study research applied to seven contracts. This research shows that IT Outsourcing providers suffer from several sources of variance in services and increasing contract costs. However, due to economic downturn and competition, organizations are pursuing cost reductions, and providers should take this opportunity to trade-off customization (a characteristic of IT Outsourcing contracts) for standardization (a quality of cloud offering). The conclusions of the research show that providers need to have a well developed cost management system and mechanisms to control services variance in order to gain useful information about how their performance in a contract might affect a different one, because some contracts are silos, but others can use a common structure.

In this chapter we will raise the main challenges deriving from the increased use of online social and business networks and their impact on the way businesses are being done today. We believe that social and business networks are at the basis of a future revolution on management fundamentals, and we will emphasize in particular those concerned with strategy’s conception, implementation, and control.

Today, more than ever, organizations face daily environmental changes. The source of change may be a new regulatory law, competitor, business model, hype in technology, new service trend, or the lack of skilled human resources. In order to understand the factors of change and their impacts on business strategies, organizations need to have in place a set of tools, methods and procedures to allow an instantaneous reaction, and foresee proactively the highest number of variables that will have impact in the organization’s competitive advantages. One of the central tools that managers have at their disposal to face these challenges come from the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which are entering into a new stage. The maturity of some Internet technologies, business intelligence systems and outsourcing business models allows the availability of new services, based on cloud computing. The rise of new service trends are taking place, and if an organization is able of combining the advantages of those trends, it might gain competitive advantage, throughout Business Intelligence as a Service (BIaaS), and what began as a way to achieve operating savings, will eminently reveal its true disruptive potential throughout the Internet.

In times of crisis like these, a cost-effectiveness analysis database for surgical procedures is the best tool to have. A number of clinical variables were defined to complement the cost-effectiveness analysis with one of first operation room expenditure’s database implemented in a public hospital. This study is based on the same cornerstone of the ACS-NSQIP program. Some variables were collected automatically from the information systems available in the hospital, and the remaining are entered in a custom developed application be the surgeons. The indicators to provide are being defined with the surgeons and implemented in the form of dashboards. The result of this project will provide a tool for the hospital surgeons, manager and administrators to make better decisions.