Whether you’re looking overseas or in the Portland metro area for outsourcing your data center, the fundamental factors governing the decision are much the same. In a recent paper primarily discussing overseas data center outsourcing, Gartner consultants listed some key recommendations we feel apply locally as well:
1. Drive data center sourcing decisions with business requirements.
2. Outsourcing cost decisions should be driven not only by cost savings, but also by the provided quality and value.
3. Every sourcing strategy has limitations and risks.
4. Establish the key contract clauses required in a sourcing agreement to allow for flexibility and to support the data center needs of the future.
5. Focus on the sourcing governance challenge – organization, skills and processes – and retained activities.
“IT operations and support organizations are often viewed as an overhead that provides a commodity function that can be easily and safely outsourced,” the report states, then adds: “Good business decisions are based on understanding services and costs, the impact of change, and the risk associated with IT services that do not meet business requirements.”
Good advice that tracks with our experience. Customers who consider EasyStreet as an IT partner ultimately get the most benefit from our services.