Netsourcing: Renting Business Applications and Services Over a Network

Chapter 2. Principles for Effective Sourcing Decisions

When new IT or IT-enabled business practices are introduced, many decision makers seem to experience euphoria and amnesia. They are euphoric about the promise of a new solution but often forget to apply the sound management principles they have learned in the past to the new business practice. In the netsourcing context, we have seen customers sign very flimsy contracts with ASPs for their strategic e-commerce applications, yet they often sign very detailed contracts with traditional suppliers for routine data center management. We have seen customers select a netsourcing supplier based on a salesperson's pitch, yet those same customers regularly use rigorous and competitive bidding for traditional ...