Why Outsource Your IT Projects

Many organizations ask Marathon why they should consider outsourcing an IT project to a third-party service provider. In our experience, outsourcing has delivered many outstanding results for our clients. A few of the advantages of the outsourcing approach are listed below.

1. The use of a consistent methodology with defined milestones and performance metrics results in timely delivery.
2. The attention of an experienced, dedicated project manager results in consistent focus on such project components as status reporting, risk management, issue resolution, and resource management.
3. Scope changes are tightly managed, ensuring a timely, on-budget implementation.
4. The project team is free of the distractions that frequently cause delays and loss of focus for in-house teams. From a resource allocation standpoint, other initiatives can continue to move forward without competing with the outsourced project.
5. Outside resources are accustomed to working in a planned environment and completing work within an estimated timeframe. They tend to be very time-conscious and understand that every hour counts.
6. The service provider’s project management team is expert at controlling “scope creep.” Increases in project scope are a leading reason for project failure.
7. An outside entity is often in a better position to provide unbiased guidance on project issues because the project team is free from the internal debates that can disrupt the project.
8. External project teams are able to stay current on the latest, proven techniques and ensure the delivery of solid solutions. They know what works and what doesn’t. In contrast, in-house teams are often tempted to deploy a new technology in order to gain experience. This can have disastrous results.
9. In regards to staffing, it is often difficult for an organization to maintain the blend of skills required to bring the highest degree of excellence to all phases of the project. External project teams are able to deploy the exact skills, even when the involvement is minimal. This makes exactly the right skill available at exactly the right time.
10. External project teams are expert at identifying and resolving risks before they become project issues. This can be extremely difficult for in-house personnel because of office politics and other factors that can cause a drag on the project.

In Marathon’s experience, organizations who outsource IT projects enjoy a higher success rate in just about every measure. Budget and schedule performance is optimized and the resulting deliverable is typically a better match to the organization’s business requirements. While outside resources can appear more costly at first, the final project results usually prove otherwise.