A term introduced in the book by Koulopoulos [1], smartsourcing was intended to tackle a few of the experienced disadvantages of outsourcing, to name a few:
- Loss of business knowledge and ownership
- Loss of agility
- Loss of innovative power
Recent experiences have at the least nuanced the high expectations of outsourcing, especially concerning cost reduction. Reasonable expectations regarding cost reduction for an Indian outsourcer are currently around 15%. Note that Alistair Cockburn wrote about cost reduction factors of 25% by introducing agile processes.
Nevertheless, it may still be advantageous to outsource. But the difficult question is: how to do it smartly?
The problem of outsourcing is not a very new one. In fact this presentation suggests that outsourcing is an interesting example of how to design a system. In this case the system is not a software system, but the design rules are not much different.
The presentation will provide you with a wealth of ideas to improve you outsourcing activities, whether you are about to embark on an outsourcing journey, or already in an established outsourcing relation.
[1] Koulopoulos, Thomas M., and Tom Roloff. Smartsourcing: Driving Innovation and Growth Through Outsourcing. Platinum Press, 2006.
(This presentation can be given in English and Dutch)