The largest businesses in Europe now have multiple
outsourcing deals but are worried about their ability to make rival
suppliers accountable for delivering interlinked services, a new
survey has found.
In a survey comprising the top 250 European companies,
respondents said they were concerned about the ability of suppliers
to deliver separate parts of the same or inter-dependent services,
such as a helpdesk or network. Companies were also concerned which
of the multiple suppliers they used would take responsibility if
they encountered a problem with an outsourced service.
The main reason given by respondents for outsourcing was to
reduce and control costs (70%). However, outsourcing deals were
also expected to boost a company’s business performance, rather
than simply trim IT running costs, the survey by IT services
company Computer Sciences Corporation found.
Companies cited a reduction of costs, an improvement in the
quality of a service and using standard technology as areas of
outsourcing they were most content with.
But they were least satisfied with their ability to "gain access
to world class skills and expertise" through an outsourcing deal
and sharing risks and rewards with suppliers.
Alex Mayall, managing director of CSC’s research and advisory
services business unit, said using multiple suppliers reduces the
disruption caused if one supplier goes out of business but has
other drawbacks.
"The downside is having to deal with multiple suppliers [and
making them accountable]," said Mayall. "When things go wrong
companies want to hang someone out to dry and hold someone
accountable. But when you have multiple suppliers in a chain of
services this is notoriously difficult to do."
One way for user organisations to deal with this problem is to
make one supplier a prime contractor for the delivery of a service
and the performance of different suppliers, he added.