Information technology governance is an essential framework for an organization, as it brings coordination and formal structure to the IT systems used in running the day-to-day activities of a business. Having an IT governance in place means that a corporate entity has a set of policies, procedures, and timelines on how its organization would be run. IT governance is a holistic approach to IT system management as it considers various stakeholders and presents a befitting framework on how they would work seamlessly. Usually, IT governance is theoretically developed by prominent individuals at the executive level of an enterprise.
Despite having a fantastic team of professionals in systems engineering, data analytics, cybersecurity, and so on, outsourcing specific projects, especially outsourced IT services, can be inevitable. In fact, if you are a small to medium business owner or manager, there is every chance that you have certain aspects of your processes being outsourced. However, outsourcing poses a challenge; your contractor does not have a holistic view of what you do, so, they might not give you a product or service that entirely fits into your framework. This is not to say your contractor’s service is bad; however, if it does not efficiently integrate into your systems, then it is a bad job in the context of your organization. Therefore, it is vital to have an IT governance framework set in place for IT outsourcing. Here are things to know when outsourcing IT projects.
1. Set an objective for your IT Strategy
When sharing your project with your contractor, it is essential to share your IT strategy with them. Let them know the existing framework you have on ground and how what you request should fit in. Make it easy enough for them to understand your basic concept.
2. Conduct a strategic alignment assessment
Before trusting a (new) contractor to handle your IT business, you should perform certain assessments for your prospective contractor. A good place to start from is to present your existing plan or strategy with the potential contractors on your list, and then you can ask for recommendations about how they intend to address the issue. You can grade their performance with the Likert scale from 1 to 5.
3. Ensure IT Reporting
It is important to have an IT reporting medium where stakeholders working on a project can file their progress and challenges; this ensures that your contractor stays in line with the framework, and the reports should be logged periodically. This may include having a software that supports reporting.
4. Prioritize processes
Your typical framework should be prioritized. Presenting a step-by-step structure of your processes or systems operation will give your contractor a contextual overview of your procedure, and they can know what to do, and how to integrate their service into your existing framework.
5. Understanding uniqueness
Letting your contractor know your uniqueness and the distinctive feature of your business and approach towards fulfilling your objective is crucial. However, this is not to say you should share the competitive secret that would make you stand out with your contractor. Your IT governance framework should do the talking for you. It should be able to provide detailed information to your contractor.