IT outsourcing benchmarking 101: quick overview
IT benchmarking is used to compare the performance of software development vendors with the quality of services delivered by similar IT providers. IT benchmarking objective is to recognize the optimization potential and elaborate the ways to improve your service provider’s performance by identifying best practices within your domain.
In this article, we’ll present a short review of the major features and advantages of benchmarking.
IT outsourcing benchmarking highlights
- IT outsourcing benchmarking may be used as a superb tool for improvement of the external cost-efficiency
- At early stages of a deal benchmarking helps to maintain alignment of prices and the delivered services and ensures that charges and performance remain in line with market conditions
- At later phases of the project accomplishment the focus moves to deeper understanding of the deal benefits, significant business improvements and increase of overall IT efficiency;
- In general, IT benchmarking allows companies to drive all possible benefits from their offshore software development deals now and in future.
Objectives of IT outsourcing benchmarking:
- Determining space for possible improvements
- Analyzing the ways how similar enterprises outsourcing their IT-connected activities reached the top performance level
- Using the gathered information for major vendor’s performance improvements.
IT benchmarking answers the following questions
- What is the IT outsourcing cost for your enterprise and is your vendor efficient enough?
- Is the engagement optimum in terms of equipment and services?
- What is the level of customer satisfaction?
- Does it make sense to outsource in your specific situation?
- Is your partner aligned with your business objectives?
- Do you get a positive return of investment in IT?
- Does your offshore staff possess sufficient skills for the specific project?
According Aberdeen Group’s survey 67% of companies outsource at least a part their IT work (16% outsource all), 9% of companies are going to launch their first outsourcing engagements within 12 months. Therefore, adequate evaluation of performance, pricing and benefits becomes vital for companies planning to go offshore.
Conclusions
Benchmarking allows to measure the quality of your IT outsourcing programs and strategies and compare them to similar but more successful enterprises. IT leaders use benchmarking to find out if their expenditures are in line with the market and identify the areas for innovation, quality, agility and standardization improvement.
