Codestone

Category: Support & Managed Services

Firms that wish to gain maximum benefit from outsourced IT have been reminded of the need to properly plan their relationship with their managed services provider.

Dmitry Loschinin, president and chief executive officer of business software firm Luxoft, told Bloomberg Businessweek that an outsourced IT strategy requires "clear, measurable objectives" and good communication.

He said this begins with choosing a provider with complementary capabilities and corporate culture, before agreeing a clearly defined set of objectives and deadlines for the relationship.

Mr Loschinin stated that this partnership should be maintained via regular communication and check-ins to ensure that both organisations continue to pursue the same strategies.

"Without these elements in place, key project components can be delayed and the overall goal of the engagement overshadowed by missed deadlines and added expenses," he added.

This echoes advice given by CIO Magazine last month, which also noted that company managers should look to avoid investing in services they do not fully understand.

Posted by Victoria Browne