Outsourcing vs. Insourcing

For us to determine what to choose between outsourcing and insourcing, we need to differentiate the advantages and disadvantages including the risks of the two. Some of the organizations based their selection on what their consultant recommends, others, made their decision based on the various factors that influenced their thinking.

If I were to choose, I will go for outsourcing. I want my school outsource its Information Systems for the reasons that outsourcing has more advantages than insourcing and I think it would really help the school in achieving its goals. And as I observed, the school has less number of experts.

Many organizations choose to outsource because they do believe that outside specialists can provide them the superior processes and management methods to make them globally competitive which is also one of the goals of the school. Through outsourcing, the school’s Information Systems will improve and we can be one of those efficient, innovative and responsive organizations. With regards of the risks, organizations including the school should be careful in choosing an outsourcing partner and we should always remember, to succeed, we need to take risks. Success is not a destiny; it’s a matter of choice. Overall, outsourcing offers lot of great benefits.

Whether it is outsourcing, insourcing or the both of them, I would suggest that if an organization is confuse on what to choose, an external consultant could help to determine what kind of business strategy does it needs. It is a fact that sometimes, we need an expert. We can’t deny that.

SONA of the President (July 28, 2008)

I have read the SONA of the President and I’m glad that she was doing her job. Honestly as I read, I really gave my attention to it. But the SONA didn’t get me. Yes, being a President is really a tough job. For that, I admire all the Presidents - past and present. Ever since I was a kid I never dreamed of becoming a President. I don’t know why. Maybe because I’m not really into it but now many are aiming for it. Few families lived in superb life here in our country. Others seem content with a mediocre life. But most of us lived in poverty. And most of us tend to put all the blame on the President which is really a big X for all of us. Hey! This is a fact not a fiction. If we are craving for change, for progress, then the change should really start from us. We should be more sensible toward our problems and toward other people. Change your way of life. Hear it from the expert (hahaha…).

We are now in this generation of high technology. The earth is now a digital world. The communication is now easy and information is everywhere. We, Filipino people were known for our fun of texting. And as what our President has said, texting is a way of life. Good news to everyone – the cost of message is now down to 50 cents. Congratulations to those “fanatexts”! We can save money; moreover, more text, more communication. To all, cheer up! The President exclaimed that additional jobs could be offered. Especially to IT people. We can now assure our future if we work hard. Here is what the President stated “Our P350 million training partnership with the private sectors should qualify 60,000 for call centers, medical transcription, animation and software development, which have a projected demand of one million workers generating $13 billion by 2010.” Having these jobs in queue could really an awakening more for the jobless persons. This could also a way for the advancement of the country’s technology and be lined up or could even surpass other countries.

You want progress? Work for it!

If I were an IT consultant...

As an IT consultant, it is now easy for me to determine the problems of the school for I was observing it. For four years of stay, there is no reason for me not to notice the defects and strengths of the school.

Okay. Let me take the role seriously. To solve the problems, we need to identify all of those. The solution is there if we care to reason it out. As what others have always said, there are many things that we have to consider especially the financial state of the school. Internet connectivity improvement - this problem requires clear thinking. We can save money by upgrading the old computers instead of buying new ones. To speed up computers, remove unnecessary programs and unused icons. It is as simple as that! Why make it difficult?

If the school is aiming for development, we need to have a good plan. We need action not only expositions. Members of the school should work together. "The plan failed due to bad management." Do not let this be happened! The management should look for best ideas and execute those.

Risks associated with business and IS/IT change

It is of value to review the data and/or procedures before and after making changes in business, IS/IT to avoid the following risks:

a. Reliance on systems or programs that are inaccurately processing data, processing inaccurate data, or both.

b. Unauthorized access to data that may result in destruction of data or improper changes to data, including the recording of unauthorized or nonexistent transactions or inaccurate recording of transactions.

c. Unauthorized changes to data in master files.

d. Unauthorized changes to systems or programs.

e. Failure to make necessary changes to systems or programs.

f. Inappropriate manual intervention.

g. Potential loss of data.

If we are to make change, to avoid those risks, have the surest way to succeed. The necessary information is to be considered. Thus it is not a good judgment to be in hurry to make change. Plan the action and make sure of it. Have a copy or backup of the data, systems and programs. If it is inevitable, wait until you can afford the risks involved.

Below is the site where the risks above were identified: http://www.isaca.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=16274&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm

Barriers in IS/IT

As I made a research, there were different informations that made me confused. Others did not convince me but one won my approval.
If we are to define barrier – it is something stopping progress or preventing approach. Easy to define and to spell but what really are the barriers in IS/IT?

Lack of current information for planning and developing technology
Lack of expertise in the use of information
Lack of international cooperation in developing the critical mass needed for projects and joint efforts.
Lack of interaction (lack of confidence and sometimes lack of information) between universities and industries

Studies developed new informations and strategies that are to be used for the development of technologies. These were conducted to help and attain these words – effective, easy and fast. So why not have those current informations and not just rely on the obsolete ones?

For the second spot, let me have an example as what I have understand. We have this word “information” and we are to create a sentence using that word. How can we create a sentence using that word if we, ourselves, do not know what the word means and how that word will be used that will suit to the sentence the way we deliver it? And how can we create a sentence if we just ignore it and don’t have the desire to know the definition of that word? If we are to connect, gathering, sharing, and knowing how to use those informations, contributes to the development of the IS/IT. In contrast, no development would happen.

For the third barrier, without participating in international affairs, current informations and technologies could be ignored. We could be emaciated from those new ideas and techniques, and we are refusing the help from those external source.

Communication is what the last spot trying to point out. When there is a communication, there can be understanding. Lack of communication could have done nothing at all.

The barriers in IS/IT were identified by this site: http://www.unm.edu/~jreenen/dlbook/chapter9.html

Some best practices of IS/IT

There are 23 best practices within the information systems life cycle phases that were identified by the professionals in this site (http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?a=13026&c=27102). Among those, I only chose ten.

These practices were identified to help stakeholders in managing an information systems software project. Each of these contributes to the success of the project. So why not learn these practices?

1. Determine if you have a project.

-Addressing the organization’s problems and deficiencies could help in easy building solutions. Member of the organization should be vigilant and should find ways to help the organization. Recommending projects is a great idea.

2. Try to keep projects small and modular.

-Ideal IS application architecture is easy to debug for error handling, for the improvement of the application for future use, and easy organization and evaluation. An application need not be complex. The design should suit to what the organization’s need.

3. Describe the project in functional terms.
-In creating a project, the functions of the system should be specified. These should be considered: how the application would work, what the expected outputs are, how the user would interact and what are the inputs, and other concepts.

4. Know your business processes.
-Understanding the business processes would lessen the inconsistencies. Before recommending a system, a study should be conducted on what are the different business processes and how does it run.

5. Evaluate the project financially.
-Identifying the projects costs and benefits is an important element to calculate if the project is worth doing.

6. Use project deliverables to define success.
-We keep on simulating a project without knowing the concepts, and without knowing what we are trying to work. Defining the criteria for project success helps the project stay on track and for evaluation of the project’s performance. Goals, objectives should be defined.

7. Involve users early and often.
-From the start, the users should be one of the concerns in creating a system. Every improvement, the user interface should be regarded. Important concerns that deals with the users’ expectations and needs.

8. If you need outside help, get it.
-If there is a need of the external help, the organization should seek help.

9. Negotiate a good contract.
-It is a need to negotiate a good contract for the equal profit between the organization and the vendor. Contracts are used for the formality of every transaction. And in case of inoperable systems, the vendor could react and for the organization to heed its dignity.

10. Don’t be afraid to stop and reevaluate if things are not going well.
-Though failures may occur, the work on the system should not stop. Just keep on going! If it seems like there is something wrong with the system, reevaluate. You may find the answers to your questions, and you may find better solutions.

Why Information Systems Fail

There are many reasons why IS/IT systems fails that caused so much trouble in any business. Based on the studies that were conducted, such failure is not caused by technological difficulties alone. We should also have to consider the problems regarding human resources and the functionality within a business.

As what I have studied, we could say that an IS fails when it does not meet its design objectives, excessive costs, missed deadlines, the users cannot interact well with the IS, and unable to meet the clients expectations. These are only some of the facts that correspond with the other observations. Though fail may occur, the work on the system should not stop. According to Sauer, actual failure finally and irreversibly occurs when a project organization is unable to sustain sufficient support to continue work on the system, including development, maintenance, and operation; and the cessation of work leaves users dissatisfied with what the system has done for them.

Other contributions why IS fails because it is not well planned, a study is not implemented, there are no specific goals, and inattention to the contribution of the staff’s character, coordination, knowledge, and performance in which they could have a good plan, and could come up with one great idea.

“You stop working because you fail… but you fail because you stop working.”