Software outsourcing in government - A survey
Business Drivers
Many organizations are outsourcing their GIS data maintenance and other Information
Technology (IT) activities to reduce costs, improve turnaround and operate their systems
with near 100 percent reliability.
In the GIS environment, the very nature, size and complexity makes data maintenance a
difficult challenge. In addition to the challenge of maintaining the database with the
latest changes, the organization must also control costs in order to be competitive. The
situation is referred as “doing more with less.”
Some of the quantifiable benefits of software outsourcing are:
Economy and Efficiency
Instead of paying a fixed cost for a dedicated staff, organizations that outsource pay only
for actual work accomplished. The service provider is dedicated to data conversion,
whereas the organizational staff have a variety of functions. In addition, since the service
provider has many years of data conversion experience working on a variety of projects,
they can offer a number of unique data processing techniques that lead to a more efficient
process.
Currency and Quality
Knowing that data would be accurate and up-to-date would allow organizations to focus
on value added activities.
Flexibility
The service provider is able to support fluctuations in the maintenance work cycle,
providing quicker turnaround time, reducing rework for users and relieving checkout
pressures.
Double Productivity By using the “Follow the Sun” Strategy
For example, organizations, by outsourcing to global IT service providers in countries
like India, would enjoy double productivity due to the time difference between the U.S.
and India.
Priority Reengineering
Through the off-loading of non-core activities, the organization can refocus its resources
to activities that provide higher value and return on investment.
The number of companies that are leveraging global resources and looking beyond
national boundaries to meet their IT needs is growing. More and more organizations are
turning to service providers that use resources outside the U.S. In many cases, these
services are purchased and managed through service providers headquartered in the U.S.
The service provides three delivery and execution models:
Onsite
Offshore
Hybrid (Onsite followed by Offshore)
These companies are not only looking for outsourcing partners but actually at
“rightsourcing partners”.
