CIO survey reveals poor relationships limit outsourcing success.

A nationwide survey has identified that CIOs are in need of 'relationship counselling', to help them get the most from outsourcing. 74% of CIOs identified difficulty in managing relationships with partners as their biggest outsourcing headache.

Commissioned by Computacenter, the European IT services provider, and carded out by PMP Research, the survey questioned CIOs from banking, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and the public sectors. The research identified that nearly two thirds (65%) of private sector CIOs are working with a number of outsourcers simultaneously, making effective management even more of a priority. In contrast to this, less than half (45%) of public sector organisations had more than one outsource partner.

Post-outsourcing, less than one in ten (7%) CIOs in the private sector had seen significant changes to their in-house skill set, whereas in the public sector the number experiencing a change was four times higher (28%). This may indicate that the public sector is developing relationship management abilities in its in-house teams, as well as giving them the opportunity to learn new skills in support of their core businesses.

MORI CIO, Ben Booth sees relationship management skills as critical: 'In my experience working with a number of partners requires a very different approach. CIOs are looking for their teams to manage the overlaps and interfaces of multi-vendor relationships effectively. It is only those organisations that do get it right who will get the most out of outsourcing.

Despite these challenges, the benefits of a well-managed outsourcing contract are clearly compelling. The survey found that in the next two years, 88% of CIOs will maintain or increase spending on outsourcing. CIOS stated that the most important reasons for choosing to outsource are to reduce operational costs (69%), focus on core business (59%) and gain access to specialist IT skills (54%).