Major move to Outsourcing - but is it right?

According to an article published on Kabelnet, there will be a major move to outsource services caused by the current financial crisis ‘to save money’. The author, Tony Travers, says if attempts by some councils to outsource large parts of their functions succeed, "almost every authority in the country will be inexorably pulled" towards this model.

The reason for the outsourcing appears to be about saving money, and that it will involve different organisations – mainly in the public sector, such as primary care trusts, and police forces.

But is outsourcing the right thing to do?

It depends. It is essential to get professional advice. There’s more to it than just the cost. Consider the data you hold, look at the security implications and remember, there is no such thing as 'one size fits all'. All hosting and coloctation facilities are different - offering differing levels of security, service and provision.

In our experience, refurbishing an existing facility, or converting existing rooms or buildings into a new computer room will have a payback time (ROI) of less than 7 years. That may be too long in the current climate, but it must be considered.

Outsourcing to a co-location provider can’t be an abdication of responsibility for the security of the data being held off site. It may seem like the easy option but outsourcing a computer room facility has other challenges that must be carefully considered.

This having been said, moving to a well run, secure, hosted data centre facility is right for some businesses. Using an experienced specialist company to provide an independent assessment of the business need is essential in making the right decision.

Whether you are a customer considering outsourcing to a hosting or colocation company, or you are a hosting or colocation company hoping to secure a deal, it is essential that you use independent specialist advice to help you make the right decision. Whether customer or provider, you are essentially about to enter into a 'marriage' and it is important that you are right for each other!

Migration Solutions is a vendor independent computer room and data centre specialist company. Take a look at our website at http://www.migrationsolutions.com/