Eric the Disillusioned

Wales

Cynical Strategist

Now, I may be mistaken here but....

You fail to mention the cost inherent in changing contract items in an outsourcing deal that has a large payout for unwarranted termination.

Or the fact that change control charges are generally higher than the initial cost rates so the customer will struggle to escape mounting costs further down the line.

Or the fact that unpicking the Gordion knot created by the strategy proposed in this article is a very expensive, and often frustrating, activity.

Or that the relationship between the supplier and customer in such an approach will always be tense because the deal was knowlingly entered into with the customer at fault of poor requirements and known failings in the deal but, of course, the customer is still always the king in the service industries.

And so many more things.

Shocking approach. Oh, to be a lawyer in 18 months time. Businesses that require the cash so desperately that they are willing to get into major IT deals that they know will become a significant headache in a short time are abusing their suppliers and represent the worst types of customers.

The IT Outsource companies would do well to qualify out all sales opportunities where this is on offer, otherwise we are just going to make this recession a long and painful one.