Defining the next paradigm of IT outsourcing

Networking Technology Update This newsletter is sponsored Gateway Virtual Server Management: Weighing the options Learn about an array of exciting new time-saving tools that make it possible to manage virtual servers in a similar way as physical servers by watching the latest Network World Editorial Perspectives Webcast. Click here to watch! Networking Technology Update, 07/23/07 Defining the next paradigm of IT outsourcing By John Bostick In his book 'The Structure of Scientific Revolutions', Thomas Kuhn explained that a paradigm is a worldview that is vulnerable to being displaced when new ideas render it obsolete. Get more out of your IT dollar Business Services Management lets you get more out of your IT investments by aligning business goals and your core infrastructure. Network World Editor-in-Chief John Dix and IDC Research Manager Stephen Elliot examine BSMs benefits and how enterprises are starting to take advantage of this strategy. Attend now! It’s increasingly clear that conventional approaches to IT infrastructure management are not aligned with the expectations and demands of our fast-paced, networked, global economy. However, a new paradigm has not yet been thoroughly articulated or embraced. Indeed, there is plenty of evidence of resistance from the IT and vendor camps. And yet, the outlines of a new worldview are in sight. Companies that embrace this view will increasingly concentrate their internal IT resources on delivering competitive advantage and outsource the rest. Solutions will be solidly based on predictability, scalability and process-driven systems, not personal expertise or globally arbitraged labor. Times of great change require bold yet thoughtful leaders. IT executives will need to develop specific plans that enable them to move dedicated resources from foundational IT to strategic IT in a timely manner. They will also need to concentrate on getting quick wins through the outsourcing of discrete, well-defined activities that represent manageable risk and measurable rewards. Clearly, the cost of maintaining existing IT infrastructure continues to come at the expense of innovation and strategic value. Will companies embrace the new worldview or remain committed to supporting, maintaining and defending the old one. Outsourcing partners cannot deliver true operational excellence if their business models are based merely on skilled labor. There are several key capabilities that companies should look for in an infrastructure outsourcer. For more on this story, please click here. Editor's Note: We regret to let you know that we will no longer be publishing the Networking Technology Update newsletter. The last newsletter will be mailed on Aug. 8. To keep you abreast of network technology issues, starting the week of Aug. 13, you will begin receiving the Network/Systems Management newsletter, which mails every Monday and Wednesday. We thank you for supporting Network World newsletters.

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Contact the author: Bostick is president and CEO of dbaDIRECT. which provides data infrastructure management services.He can be reached at john.bostick@dbadirect.com. This newsletter is sponsored Gateway Virtual Server Management: Weighing the options Learn about an array of exciting new time-saving tools that make it possible to manage virtual servers in a similar way as physical servers by watching the latest Network World Editorial Perspectives Webcast. Click here to watch! BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007