cob 204 chapter 11 ; outsourcing advantages & disadvantages

network administrator responsibilities

monitor, maintain, fix, & tune computer networks

network administrator knowledge & skill requirements

in-depth knowledge of communications technologies

systems analyst responsibilities

work with users to determine requirements, design & develop procedures & determine systems test plans

systems analyst knowledge & skill requirements

strong interpersonal & communication skills.

• knowledge of business & technology

programmer responsibilities

design & write computer programs/applications

programmer knowledge & skill requirements

logical thinking & design skills.

• knowledge of one or more programming languages

business analyst, IT requirements

work with business leaders & planners to develop processes & systems

business analyst IT knowledge & skill requirements

knowledge of business planning, strategy, process management & technology

business intelligence analyst responsibilities

collaborate with cross-functional teams on projects & analyze organizational data

business intelligence analyst knowledge & skill requirements

analytical, presentation, collaboration, database & decision making skills

consultant, IT responsibilities

BIGGES JOB

• wide range of activities: programming, testing, database, networks, cloud, security, & risk management, determine requirements

• 90% of JMU CIS majors’ first jobs are as consultants

consultant, IT knowledge & skill requirements

quick learner, entrepreneurial skills, people skills, knowledge depends on work activities

IT consulting

consultants are outsources

• work on projects for short/long periods (3 months up to 10 years)

• companies often don’t have expertise to do what they need to do

  • hiring a consulting firm provides expertise

• companies often don’t have the people to do what they want to do

  • hiring a consulting firm provides temporary employees

IRS direct file: outsourcing example

federal government contracted truss & coforma to produce IRS direct file (website for doing your taxes for free online) 3/5 years total

• pilot w/ 12 states in 2023 for simple taxes

• pilot with 24 states in 2024 for complex taxes

US digital service

does tech stuff for all parts of federal government

18F

part of general service administration (business-end of government functions - motor pool, building rental/maintenance, small IT projects, etc)

outsourcing advantages

• management advantages

• cost reductions

• risk reduction

management advantages

• obtain expertise

• avoid management problems

• free management time

cost reductions

• obtain part-time services

• gain economies of scale

risk reduction

• cap financial exposure at price of contract

• improve quality

• reduce implementation risk

risks of outsourcing

• loss of control

• long term costs

• no easy exit

loss of control

• rely on vendor

• technology direction set by vender

• loss of intellectual capital

• vendor sets wrong priority

• vendor changes/stops support

• do you still need a CIO

long term costs

• consultants are expensive

• possible mismanagement/bad product

• outsourcer may become sole source

no easy exit

• vendor has critical knowledge

• expensive & risky to change vendors

new IT project alternatives

• outsource the entire project (3 options)

• in-house IT staff (3 options)

outsourcing the entire project

three options

1. outsourcer (contractor) implements a commercial off-the-shelf product (COTS)

2. outsourcer modifies a COTS (~80%), then implements

3. outsourcer creates software from scratch, then implements

in-house IT staff

three options

• your IT staff creates the software in-house

  • internal IS staff create the software, must have expertise/resources, then implements

• your IT staff buys a COTS, your staff modifies then implements

• your IT staff buys a COTS, your staff implements