Outsourcing desktop management is now a multi-billion dollar global industry. There is a long and growing list of major vendors providing a variety of services in this area, as well as many smaller players that offer more specialized, targeted desktop services.
While many of the companies that offered IT outsourcing services based on the ASP/MSP models of the late 1990s encountered extreme losses by 2002, the desktop services industry remained quite strong.
Computer Economics recently polled IT managers in medium to large organizations on their outsourcing strategy for desktop management services. The results of that survey indicate that many companies have embraced this model. As shown in Figure 1, over one-fifth of our survey respondents have outsourced some aspect of their desktop services. Another 24% of the managers are currently reviewing the viability of this strategy.
Outsourcing Strategy for
Desktop Services Management?
Computer Economics believes that this can be an effective strategy, but must be approached carefully. It is important to begin by establishing the primary intent of this strategy to ensure that a clear roadmap is established.
Desktop outsourcing should achieve more than just cost control, although this can often be a primary motivator. Other key factors that must be considered are how effectively the outsourcing arrangement will provide improved service capabilities, harden security controls, focus on your business needs, and offer flexibility and adaptability to change, just to name a few.
June 2003