IT Sourcing Models<Hashtag Here>

Keith BernerJeanine BufordNancy Walczak

IT Sourcing Models: Outsourced

Keith BernerChief Information Officer

kberner@irex.org@kberner

What’s IREX?

• International Development NGO– Civil Society Strengthening– Conflict Resolution– Education– Gender– Media Development– Technology for Development– Youth

More about IREX

• 500 Staff / over 25 international locations • HQ IT operations complete distinct from field IT• HQ in DC: 100 staff– IT budget ~$600k

• Outsourced services:– Network/helpdesk ~$180k– General consulting ~$50k– Application Development ~$110k

– Single IT staff @ HQ – upper-mid-level position in organizational hierarchy

IREX IT History

• Brief periods with technical staff• Longer periods of 100% outsourcing with no IT staff– Lessons learned:

• Prone to exploitation• Lack of strategic vision• Inability to solicit and process expert advice

• Creation of my position as nontechnical, sole HQ IT staff

IREX CIO’s Role

• Strategist/Mission alignment• End-user advocate• “Translator” between Geek and English• Vendor selection and oversight• Training and support• Financial management

Outsourcing: Analysis

Gartner: Insource only those services that are central to mission or that represent a critical vulnerability. (i.e., do what you’re best at and leave the rest to others) – best of breed approach.

Outsourcing: Pro• Expertise from variety of sources (not limited by the

knowledge/experience of a small number of internal technical staff)• Ability to ramp service levels up and down, as needed• Ability to switch horses and triangulate input, as needed• Avoid need to take on IT career planning• Assurance that IT never loses end-user perspective (in comparison to an

insular IT department)• Avoid “all eggs in one basket”: staff turnover at our providers has zero

impact; if I were to depart, outsourced providers could run-in-place temporarily

Bench Strength

Outsourcing: Con

• Vendor selection and management is a particular skill that must be on staff

• Per hour, many outsourced services are more expensive than insourced

• Potential lack of organizational loyalty on part of providers• Probably not sustainable if/when organization decides to

create global IT organization:– CIO position in HQ will require greater authority and potentially more

technical expertise– Technical staff positions will have to be created for field

Outsourcing: Conclusion

• IREX will always use an amalgamated model – right now, we are towards one end of the continuum

• Large organizations have the luxury to choose; small organizations must rely on outsourcing; the key is development of staff capacity to determine strategy and manage the relationships

Models of Sourcing ITINSOURCING

Nancy WalczakHead of Computer Services

International Food Policy Research Institute

IFPRI -- who we are

• International– Work in developing countries– Have offices globally– Are an international organization in the US

• Food Policy– Seek sustainable solutions for ending hunger and

poverty• Research Institute– Principal disciplines: econ, ag econ, nutrition– 350 staff (250 in US, 100 elsewhere)

IFPRI IT Profile

• Increasingly complex• Equipment mostly standardized• Software mostly standardized• Online services uncontrolled• High emphasis on user support

IFPRI IT Staffing

• At HQ:– Head (1)– Lead IT Professional (1)– Sr. IT Professional (1)– IT Professional (2)– IT Support (2)

• At other offices:– Shared IT support position in New Delhi– IT support provided by hosting org most other

locations

Why IFPRI insources IT staff

• IFPRI culture• Non-standard skills• Flexibility• Continuity• Unsatisfactory experiences with outsourcing

Challenges of insourcing

• Finding the right people• Assuring depth• Creating opportunities for professional growth• Staying current

Will insourcing work for you?

• How big is your organization?• How stable is your organization’s staffing?• How extensive are your IT needs?• How mass-market are your IT needs?• How good is your organization at planning?

Conclusions

• IFPRI will likely adopt more cloud services, moving to a mixed mode

• But, on the continuum of fully insourced to fully outsourced, we will likely stay closer to the insourced end

• Insourcing matches the organizational culture better

Info on the web

• 9 Questions to Consider Before Insourcing Outsourced IT (http://tiny.cc/Insource9Questions)

• Insourcing versus Outsourcing (http://tiny.cc/InsourceVsOutsource)

IT Sourcing Models: Mixed

Jeanine BufordVP of information and Technology /

VP of Property ManagementKeystone Human Services

Keystone Human ServicesAdvancing the Human Spirit

• Multi-National Human Services Organization– Supporting people with intellectual disabilities– Supporting people with mental illness– Early childhood education for children living in

poverty– Supporting for people with autism– Supporting children and families– Service dogs– Deinstitutionalization

Keystone Human ServicesAdvancing the Human Spirit

• Organizational Structure– Parent Corporation with multiple subsidiaries– @ 3,200 employees– Corporate headquarters in Harrisburg, PA– US-based employees in PA, MD, DE, and CT– Offices in Chisinau, Moldova and Moscow, Russia– Staff also working in Romania and Azerbaijan

IT @ KHS

• Ubiquitous access to relevant, necessary information and appropriate use of technology is generally understood to be an important strategy for growth, for oversight, and for managing and delivering high quality services with verifiable outcomes.

• All US subsidiaries are HIPAA “covered entities.”• All IT is managed centrally for the entire organization• VP of IS is one of the corporate officers of the organization• Total of @20 IT staff, with only 3 not based in PA.

KHS History

• 16 years ago I was the first “technology” employee.• My position reported to the CFO, and included

responsibility for– Payroll– Accounts Payable– Accounts Receivable

• Information and Technology clearly were not perceived as important to the mission

My Role Now• Technology Evangelist• Organizational Partner to

– Corporate Compliance– Human Resources– Finance– Clinical Oversight– Quality Management– Fundraising/Development– Marketing/Communications– Subsidiary CEOs

• Service Delivery

Our hybrid approach to insourcing/outsourcing

Gartner: Insource only those services that are central to mission or that represent a critical vulnerability. (i.e., do what you’re best at and leave the rest to others) – best of breed approach.

(thanks, Keith)

How to choose: Insourcing

• In-source where your culture and your services/product benefit from the local knowledge of in-house technology staff.

• In sourced:– Human Resource Management----our people are our most

important asset.– Financial Management----our financial environment is highly

complex, highly regulated, and highly customized.– Clinical and Services Management---our services and our

services continuum are not well suited to OTS software used in healthcare systems, or other similar human services.

How to choose: Outsourcing• Outsource where the technology service or product is a commodity, and no value

is added by in sourcing– New hardware deployment– Security/ Network Monitoring

• Outsource where the skill-set is very expensive, and the need is not present full-time.– Senior Database Management– Software Development– Large Project Deployment– Security Auditing

• Penetration Testing• Intrusion Detection and Prevention

Hybrid Model – Pro

• Flexibility• Expertise from variety of sources • Ability to leverage internal and external resources---

mixing and matching as needed• Ability to supplement in-house knowledge when

necessary, but retain a core foundational group of IT people who live and breathe the mission. It’s not just 1s and 0s to them.

Hybrid Model - Con

• There can be overlap, which, if not managed, can lead to missed opportunities or unsynchronized efforts.

• Per hour, many outsourced services are more expensive than insourced

• Potential lack of organizational loyalty on part of providers• Confusion in the organization about who is a vendor and who

is an employee (although this can also be a “Pro” when handled well.)

• More complexity for the CIO to manage----some colleagues fear it can turn into the worst of both worlds.

Hybrid Model: Conclusion

• A mixed environment is right for us right now.• Financial imperatives and strategic directives

must drive the technology strategy.

Panelist Contact Information

• Keith Berner, CIO, IREXkberner@irex.org / 202 247 9457 / @kberner

• Jeanine Buford, VP, KHSjbuford@keystonehumanservices.org

• Nancy Walczak, Head of Computer Services, IFPRInwalczak@cgiar.org / 202 862 5680

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