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AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT ICT SOURCING
GUIDE RELEASED
KENT DAVEY
PRINCIPAL
Introduction
The
Australian Government Information
Management Office (AGIMO)
recently released the second edition
of A Guide to ICT Sourcing for
Australian Government Agencies,
Developing and Executing an ICT
Sourcing Strategy (Guide).
AGIMO developed the Guide in
response to demand from Australian
Government departments and agencies
for clear and objective advice about
ICT sourcing issues. The Guide
describes how organisations may
manage their ICT sourcing based on a
four-phase ICT sourcing lifecycle.
This article provides an overview of
the information contained in the
Guide. A copy of the Guide is
available at http://www.sourceit.gov.au/sourceit/ict.
ICT
Sourcing
The
Guide explains that ICT sourcing
involves determining where an
organisation’s ICT components are
obtained, managed and operated. The
Guide recognises that the basic
objective of ICT sourcing is to
deliver the best level of support
for an organisation’s business
requirements in the most
cost-effective way.
The
Guide describes the three types of
ICT sourcing which may be used by an
organisation as being:
·
Self-managed
— ICT is predominantly operated by
the organisation’s internal
resources (possibly including
contractors and consultants) with
few or no service level agreements (SLAs)
·
Single-sourcing
— ICT
is predominantly operated by a
single external party under a SLA
·
Multi-sourcing
— ICT is predominantly operated by
multiple external parties under one
or more SLAs
The
Guide recognises that Business
Process Outsourcing, shared
services, co-sourcing, offshoring
and contracting out are variations
of the three types of ICT sourcing
described above.
The
Guide acknowledges that
organisations pursue external
sourcing arrangements from an
economic perspective and/or
strategic perspective.
Organisations may pursue external
sourcing arrangements to control or
lower their ICT costs.
Organisations may also pursue
external sourcing arrangements to
allow them to focus on their core
business processes and objectives,
access better skills and expertise
and obtain services not available
internally.
ICT
Sourcing Lifecycle
The
Guide discusses the following
four-phase ICT sourcing lifecycle:
·
Phase
I: Case for change
— This phase involves organisations
considering whether they need to
change their sourcing arrangements
to meet their strategic ICT
objectives
·
Phase
II: Decide sourcing strategy
— This phase involves organisations
using strategic, qualitative and
quantitative analysis to determine
the most appropriate sourcing
strategy for their needs
·
Phase
III: Undertake procurement
— This phase involves organisations
proceeding with the procurement plan
developed during the previous Phase
·
Phase
IV: Transition and manage
—
This phase involves organisations
transitioning to and managing
ongoing ICT sourcing arrangements to
obtain the expected value from their
chosen ICT sourcing strategy
Appendices
The
appendices to the Guide contain
valuable tools and information to
assist organisations to undertake
ICT sourcing. Appendix A contains
an Economic Diagnosis Tool which is
intended to assist organisations to
understand the real value of an
outsourcing arrangement. Appendix B
contains details of relevant
legislation, policies and procedures
that apply to Australian Government
departments and agencies. Appendix
C contains details of the various
approaches to market that
organisations may use to undertake
their ICT procurement plan.
Conclusion
The
Guide provides valuable advice and
assistance for organisations in
relation to the development of an
appropriate ICT sourcing strategy.
It emphasises the importance of
organisations understanding the
risks and challenges of ICT
sourcing. Prior to commencing any
ICT sourcing process it would be
worthwhile for an organisation to
familiarise itself with the contents
of the Guide. |
