IT Outsourcing

Gartner’s IT outsourcing efforts focus on using external service providers to effectively deliver IT-enabled business process, application service and infrastructure solutions for business outcomes.

Outsourcing, which also includes utility services, software as a service and cloud-enabled outsourcing, helps clients to develop the right sourcing strategies and vision, select the right IT service providers, structure the best possible contracts, and govern deals for sustainable win-win relationships with external providers.

Outsourcing can enable enterprises to reduce costs, accelerate time to market, and take advantage of external expertise, assets and/or intellectual property.

Clients who execute successful sourcing strategies have achieved business benefits between 10% and 30%. This is significant because current spending on IT or business process services exceeds spending on hardware and software combined, in an overall IT services market expected to approach $1 trillion by the end of 2014.

ITO is a method of purchase for buying IT services for the management of IT infrastructure and business applications. ITO contracts are differentiated from project services in that they are multiyear, performance-based contracts to deliver day-to-day IT operations and management, versus one-off discrete efforts.
At the core of Gartner’s ITO definition are IT management services; however, other product support, consulting, and development/integration services can also be delivered through ITO contracts.
ITO is reported as for domains, or types: data center, desktop, network and enterprise application outsourcing.