A simplified definition of offshore sourcing is the provision of a service that is physically carried out in a geographically distant country (i.e. offshore), in order to obtain optimal performance in economic terms and, more generally, in the methods of execution.
The recent growth in offshore services has come about in part because of the availability of reliable and relatively cheap communications, following the expansion of the internet and telecommunications in the late 1990s. Although the main reason for the move to offshore sourcing is often economic savings, this is not the only reason why the offshore option is taken.
However, the promised advantages of moving to offshore sourcing must be weighed against the many risks and problems. To avoid these risks, minimise the problems and materialise the advantages, you need experience and expertise which it is often not practical to develop alone. iCONS is an expert company that has always made use of offshore sourcing for developing products and solutions, both for its Clients and for in-house needs. The company is therefore in a position to make a determining contribution to the success of initiatives in this area.
The services offered by iCONS are:
- Full package projects (or partnership projects) conducted for (or with) your company, with our (or new) sourcers;
- Operating models and tools to assist with initiatives;
- Training and preparation of organisations to manage sourcing
- Help with searching, assessing and choosing outsourcers
- Contractual support
- Audits and suggestions for improving existing sourcing models
- Services to help with adopting reference models (IS lite, ITIL®, CMMI, CobiT®)
Below are some examples of measures taken to enable sourcing.
1. Assessment
Assessment of the maturity of the typical processes necessary to govern sourcing. For example, one or more of the following areas can be analysed:
- Demand management
- Application development (using the process model described by CMMI)
- Management and running of systems and applications (using the ITIL® process model)
- Project management (using the process model described by PRINCE2®)
- At the end of the assessment an analysis is done of the areas for improvement which, once shared, forms the basis for preparing the intervention plan.
2. Focused interventions
- Provision of training in the areas of greatest interest (PRINCE2®, ITIL® and CMMI)
- Definition of the processes-to-be (including roles and responsibilities, support tools) in the improvement areas identified
- Project and change management for the evolution of processes
- Assistance with revising contracts with sourcers
- Supply, installation and training on tools to support the processes
3. Projects
Full package projects
If you want to take quick advantage of the benefits that offshore sourcing can bring, iCONS can supply full package projects, independently selecting the suppliers that are best suited to the production of the deliverables required.
Here, cost containment is particularly evident, while all the other aspects are rendered transparent by the work done by iCONS and the sourcer as a team, in accordance with tried and tested processes and operating methods.
Projects in partnership
Taking part in the implementation is, for many, the best way to learn: learn by doing.
This is why iCONS offers its Clients the opportunity to conduct the first sourcing projects in partnership, while the responsibility for the deliverables remains with iCONS.
The customer company's resources take up governance roles and take part in projects transparently, so that they will subsequently be able to independently conduct future initiatives.
ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.
PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.
The Swirl logo™ is a Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce.