Local CIOs declare outsourcing ‘must-haves’

Stan Beer
Thursday, 19 October 2006 17:41

IT Industry - Market

Top Australian chief information officers have confirmed Unisys-sponsored overseas research findings that customers’ outsourcing objectives are led by cost containment, improved IT effectiveness and measurable business results.

In round-table discussions held in Sydney and Melbourne in early October, senior CIOs from industries including transport, manufacturing, retail, finance and public sector, shared their views on IT and business processes outsourcing.

Consistent with the research, which was conducted in the US and Europe to gain a better understanding of outsourcing practices and metrics among large organisations, cost containment and cost predictability are critical outsourcing objectives for Australian CIOs.

However, Australian CIOs rate ‘access to expertise’ as more important than their US and European counterparts. They also note the local skills shortage is starting to affect their organisations.

The Australian CIOs view outsourcing as important in accessing skills they may not have, that may be expensive to build in their own organisations, and that are becoming difficult to find in Australia. Apart from some of the public sector CIOs who attended the round-tables, most participants were open to considering nearshore and offshore centres to gain access to particular skills and expertise.  Many were already doing so.