is it time to Outsource?

Transcription

1 is it time to Outsource? ITLP Group IV May 2006 Joanne Hallisey, MIT Joyce Dickerson, Stanford Mark Silis, MIT Scott Smith, Penn State 1

2 is it time to Outsource? Review reasons outsourcing is becoming more practical Assemble & analyze findings Formulate recommendations Evaluate process Methodology used Lessons learned 2

3 Once a simple tool, has evolved to a complex, resource-intensive application demanding integration & extended capabilities Simple Text-messages Low volume ASCII Business Messaging Enterprise-caliber system Security / Network protection Scalability Features (integration, device access, Web interface, functionality, HTML, rich media attachments) Flexibility (faculty, staff, students, alumni, guests, etc.) Cost/mailbox increasing Storage (file storage) Traffic (including SPAM & Virus management) Legacy hardware upgrades Complexity 24 x 7 customer support Mission-critical communication Compliance 3

4 As has become more of a commodity, viable outsourcing options are emerging Appliance on own network Own System, Hosted Elsewhere Outsource Components (e.g. Spam & Virus) Outsource & Web Access Outsource Communications Services Extent of Outsource Examples Mirapoint Power Elf IBM Global Services Postini MessageLabs USA.net Outblaze Critical Path Microsoft Media Live Google - gmail When does it make sense? 4

5 While the advantages of outsourcing are increasing Infrastructure cost savings Reduced staff support requirements Potential ease of extending to a suite of services Vendor-managed spam and virus control Industry-standard user interface Vendor manages post-affiliation accounts with full outsourcing 5

6 The disadvantages of outsourcing are significant Privacy concerns Increased complexity and time in following up on security incidents Loss of overall control Spam rules, customer service, costs Ownership of , esp. after leaving institution Local skills become diluted or eliminated Difficult to switch back if service is unsatisfactory Complications integrating with campus offerings single sign-on 6

7 Right answer depends on strategy, technology, culture and market segmentation Is it time to upgrade the current infrastructure? What are the cultural implications? How important is control of ? Can the users be segmented, and can they have different solutions? Unique solution per educational institution may be a blend or a hybrid 7

8 Strategy: How does the outsource solution match the university s strategy? Technical service provider s technology solutions adherence to established standards and protocols service provider s infrastructure system integration with university s network infrastructure frequency of system upgrades system outage and upgrade notice browsers supported security mechanisms supported Financial cost per mailbox service and support costs 8

9 Technology: Does the potential provider pass the technology filter? Data Storage Equipment and Location storage quota per mailbox data center location process and cost for increasing quota physical location of stored data retention of after deletion uninterruptible power supply redundant systems 24X7 staffing adequate building security expected planned and unplanned downtime system restore time 9

10 Cultural: Does the potential provider understand your university environment? Security and Privacy control of risk mitigation secure log-on to server encrypted system intrusion protection user privacy scanning content sharing or selling user or content information retention of deleted Cultural/Political control of ownership of business- critical change management/learning curve transition to the new system / provider support processes for end users and technical staff ads suppression and associated costs restore in the event of a system failure in the event of a user system loss 10

11 Market: Segmentation can provide insight to the solution one size doesn t fit all Enterprise customers Faculty, staff Individual customers Students, alumni, visitors core to their work & research is a perk want the vanity domain Reliability, Integrity, Security, Control Vs. Many forward to existing boxes Flexibility, portability -- Keep it for life Mobility important 11

12 What we recommend it depends No simple solution Depends on strategic, cultural and political forces Need a decision framework Weightings particular to each enterprise For example Enterprise users Want only Architecture needs a complete upgrade Culture is resistant to outsourcing 12

13 What we recommend it depends Scenario 1: Good environment for in-house or component outsouce option Appliance on own Network Own System, Hosted Elsewhere Outsource Components (eg Spam & Virus) Outsource & Web Access Outsource & Communicati ons Services Market Segmentation Enterprise Customers Individual Customer Market Needs Clients demanding Integrated Business Communications Clients want only Technology Environment Current Architecture Needs Complete Upgrade Current Architecture Needs Partial Upgrade Current Architecture Sufficient & Effective Have technically talented staff to manage system Cultural Environment Cultural Climate Receptive to Outsource Cultural Climate Resistant to Outsource TOTALS:

14 What we recommend it depends Scenario 2: Good environment for outsouce option Appliance on own Network Own System, Hosted Elsewhere Outsource Components (eg Spam & Virus) Outsource & Web Access Outsource & Communicati ons Services Market Segmentation Enterprise Customers Individual Customer Market Needs Clients demanding Integrated Business Communications Clients want only Technology Environment Current Architecture Needs Complete Upgrade Current Architecture Needs Partial Upgrade Current Architecture Sufficient & Effective Have technically talented staff to manage system Cultural Environment Cultural Climate Receptive to Outsource Cultural Climate Resistant to Outsource TOTALS:

15 Project methodology needed to be straight-forward and easily accessible, given our time restraints Team brainstorm - we did a lot of this by teleconference Interviews with CIO s and others Collection of university data Review of the data and research Reach consensus on recommendations Create presentation deck 15

16 Primary & secondary research were the main tools we used Primary Research Secondary Research Stanford, MIT, Penn State Gartner Core IT Educause Alumni offices Residential computing Contacted vendors CIC: Big Ten+ Searched the Web Microsoft Google A lot of people are looking at this 16

17 The lessons learned weren t really a surprise to us A good collaboration tool would be very useful for remote teams integrated , file storage, group editing, calendar/scheduling, notifications, etc. Assignment of roles - Smaller group was easier to coordinate without specific role assignments. There is never enough time. It is not always easy to get hands on the data...is it easier for CIO's? Teleconference was a good tool, but schedules did not match well. Lots of time was lost in missed meetings. In the end, it all came together. Filters vary from university to university, but not by that much. Technology varies a lot. Finding common metrics was difficult. 17

18 is it time to Outsource? Joanne Hallisey, MIT Joyce Dickerson, Stanford Mark Silis, MIT Scott Smith, Penn State 18