Sign 2: Attempts to pare down the IT portfolio
If decisions start to be made about what IT is responsible for, it's another clear sign that things are changing. For example, removing management of corporate cell phones, pagers, and other technologies indicates that there will be a shift in who'll be responsible for those tasks.
Sign 3: A request to document the network or job tasks
It may seem innocuous at first if the CIO or CFO asks for business documentation, because it could be viewed as doing business as normal. But as one member discovered, it also could be the initial step to an outsourcing effort.
"The higher priority the documentation task, the more likely the company is planning to outsource," said Chas, a longtime TechRepublic member.
Sign 4: You're doing a great job, but the bottom line is falling
As one company leader explains, outsourcing is typically a financial decision. When the case is grounded in economics, it can be more difficult for IT professionals to argue against it.
"You could be doing everything right, you could have great tech skills, be a strong performer, keep up with your education. However, if your company decides to outsource your function, entire teams and entire departments get replaced. I'm not sure that you can do much about it, other than try to get out of jobs that seem to be on the outsourcing trend," said Tom Mochal, president of TenStep.
Sign 5: Everything is now being measured
A sure sign that something may be changing is if the IT department is suddenly asked to measure the cost of IT versus the total company revenue. As one member points out, while measurement in itself is a good practice to do, if it hasn't been done before and is suddenly initiated, outsourcing could be the impetus.
"Many of these things are worth doing in their own right to better manage an internal IS department, and ironically, if everyone did them the need for outsourcing would be less," wrote the member. He added that successful outsourcing itself hinges on proper data gathering. "The golden rule is that you should not outsource something that is poorly defined and poorly documented or you leave yourself open to being taken for a ride."
