How to diversify your IT sourcing strategy

Changing market dynamics are pushing many organizations to diversify their IT sourcing portfolios to achieve the best balance of quality, risk management, value and time to market.

Today’s IT buyers increasingly seek to optimize the geographic distribution of their sourcing by taking into account the type of work to be performed to smartly achieve business outcomes while minimizing cost.

At the same time, there is a groundswell of support for creating good technology jobs at home, building technical expertise that increases American competitiveness, and stimulating local economies.

The great news is that IT outsourcing strategies that include U.S. onshore delivery, or domestic sourcing centers, supports all of these objectives.

Since there is no one-size-fits-all sourcing model, a combination of factors must be weighed when determining the optimal global-local sourcing mix. As summarized in the following figure, sourcing considerations must go beyond per-unit or per-hour costs to assess the total cost-risk-value equation.

Key questions to ask include:

• What are the key objectives for the project initiative?
• When delivery timelines are critical, will close collaboration and agile delivery be essential to expediting development and ensuring success?
• How will sensitive data, secure infrastructure and disaster recovery requirements be met?
• What government policies, mandates or requirements must be considered?
• What are the anticipated demands on internal IT staff?

When the answers to such questions point toward domestic sourcing as a good fit for the project, it can provide numerous benefits, such as:

• Project risk mitigation with ease of access and common time zones, currency and language
• Compliance with strict government and commercial security standards and mandates
• 20-30% lower costs, compared to U.S. metro markets, while improving overall productivity, efficiency and performance
• More predictable results through outcomes-based sourcing and rigorous service management
• Full transparency and accountability through agreed managed service levels

But is onshoring an approach that works?

We can say unequivocally yes because we’ve used this model since 2006, beginning with our first onshore delivery center in Lebanon, Virginia. We’ve proven that you don’t need to be in Silicon Valley to find and keep great IT professionals. Our industry-low attrition reflects best practices for hiring and training, and the importance of rooting team members within their communities. We’ve also invested heavily in technology infrastructure and follow a common quality program across all of our delivery centers to ensure consistent delivery of superior services.

I invite you to read more about the value of domestic IT sourcing.