Outsourcing permeates the IT world and has had a profound impact on the work of IS professionals. Nearly all will, at some stage in their careers, work with outsourced services as customer or supplier. Elizabeth Sparrow's insights into the benefits and pitfalls of this complex area will help IS professionals tackle the challenges of outsourcing. Combining relevant background information with practical guidance this book covers the whole outsourcing process, from the initial decision to outsource through to managing the outsourced services on a day-to-day basis. Successful IT Outsourcing considers: - The objectives behind outsourcing - The selection of a service provider - The management and measurement of the performance of outsourced services - The role of the outsourcing contract - Why outsourcing sometimes fails and how to turn failure into success Features and Benefits: - Describes the origins of IT outsourcing, and recent developments - Examines the way in which an organization might determine whether to outsource and how it can choose a service provider - Discusses how to develop effective outsourcing relationships - Provides context and advice to assist IS professionals, whose work is being outsourced, as they consider their future careers and the possibility of transferring to a new employer