IT Technical Support Unit 12. Outsourcing

Transcription

1 IT Technical Support Unit 12 Outsourcing

2 WHAT IS OUTSOURCING? Outsourcing is subcontracting a process, such as product design or manufacturing, to a third party company. The transfer of a business function to an external service provider. source The process of externalizing tasks and services previously performed inhouse, to outside vendors.

3 INTRODUCTION TO OUTSOURCING Outsourcing of jobs to offshore companies has been around since the 1960s when the United States began outsourcing automotive manufacturing jobs to Japan. Outsourcing is the delegation of tasks or jobs from internal production to an external entity, this can be local, National or International. Recently outsourcing has become defined as the elimination of local (national) staff to staff overseas, where salaries are distinctively lower: see also geosourcing jobs may remain in company but move overseas. Outsourcing is a form of globalization, where ideas from one nation are spread to another nation through jobs. Through this form of globalization, the global economy becomes more interconnected.

4 OUTSOURCING STATS India produces more than 870,000 new IT graduates a year and produces more than a million engineering graduates a year, plus 16 million others with engineering diplomas. The UK struggles to turn out just 8,000 IT graduates a year. 230,000 jobs are lost each year in America as a result of outsourcing. One in 5 UK workers at risk from outsourcing have difficulties reading and writing.. Outsourcing saves money for corporations which means lower costs for consumers, and higher dividends for pensioners who own 75% of US and UK wealth.

5 OUTSOURCING -TASK Work in two teams: Team 1: Will give the reasons for outsourcing being a good idea for Dodge and Profit Team 2: Will give reasons why outsourcing would not be a good idea for Dodge and Profit

6 OUTSOURCING Activity The outsourcing model is already being adopted by 40% of the top 500 companies including GE, Lucent, Oracle, Microsoft, Motorola - the list goes on. The offshore outsourcing model can bring cost saving of 50% to 70% depending upon the onsite and the outsource resources. By taking advantage of the increasing number of sourcing options, IT groups can now focus on building their organizations' revenue-generating aspects.

7 Individuals Can Outsource Individuals can outsource

8 Produce 2 tables providing at least 5 advantages of outsourcing and 5 disadvantages for each table. Task Table 1 will relate to the impacts on a business or organisation. Table 2 will relate to the individual. ADVANTAGES Cost savings DISADVANTAGES Creates potential redundancies

9 COMMUNICATION ISSUES It's usually difficult to avoid the inherent problems of communication. Telephone conversations are limited, but and communicating via some instant messaging program online takes even more time. Dealing with an overseas vendor, the time zone problem may arise - the difference between your vendor and you may be seven hours or more. Standards of correspondence may be different to the extent that they cause misunderstanding. If you are having any problems while corresponding with your potential outsource service provider, you should try to work out some standards that both of you will find easy to follow, or you'd better start looking for another vendor. Language and/or cultural problems might contribute to a mix-up.

10 THE HLC HELPDESK TECHNICIAN ROLE? Reset user passwords Order new equipment Install new applications /uninstall unnecessary applications Reimage a machine Install new computers into a college room Administrate exams Assist staff with software problems (incompatible drivers, unable to find work, printer will not work etc.) Assist staff with hardware problems (will not boot, cannot connect to the network, keyboard and mouse not working).

11 COULD HLC OUTSOURCE IT SUPPORT? Consider Location Customers here at the HLC (staff, students, etc.) Hours of support Methods of support What faults would the outsourced business be able to fix? What faults may the outsourced business be unable to deal with? Is there a compromise?

12 Assignment 2 Policies and Procedures P2 Explain the impact of organisational policies and procedures on the provision of technical support. M2 Explain the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing technical support.