Exploring the Vendor’s Process Model in Information Technology Outsourcing

Recently, the role of outsourcing vendors in outsourcing projects has been attracting increasing attention. This would imply that the studies on outsourcing truly require an understanding of both parties, i.e., the vendor and the customer, to realize the expected benefits. Although such benefits are mainly determined by how the outsourcing process is defined and managed, limited research has been done on the outsourcing process from the vendor’s perspective. The objective of this study is to provide guidance to organizations that plan to outsource or have already outsourced their IT functions in order for them to reap greater outsourcing benefits by understanding the vendor’s outsourcing process model. It also aims to assist vendors by exploring what key steps and concerns throughout the outsourcing process exist. To do so, this study develops a vendor’s outsourcing process model containing the type of vendor and structure of the vendor organization which comes strictly from the viewpoint of vendors. This is based on the author’s working experience and in-depth interviews with outsourcing practitioners in 15 IT companies. Such a model can provide valuable insights into the interconnection of vendor’s and customer’s outsourcing processes. Moreover, it can help customers and vendors expand their understanding of the outsourcing process from beginning to end.