Outsource Issue 23 - (Page 38)

Cutting through the noise Clarity of language can be at a premium in the IT sourcing space – so how can you cut through providers’ code? Ash Patel, ADA Ash Patel is the Director of Managed Services at ADA Technology Services, an IT managed services and cosourcing provider that specialises in mid-sized enterprises. Ash is responsible for guiding the strategic direction of ADA’s clients and developing its managed services portfolio. services provider can deliver what they are promising to deliver? As with the procurement of any service what initially sounds like an attractive proposition can be misleading, so establishing this in advance is worth the time investment required. An observation I have made is that managed services providers will often claim to provide their prospective customers with a “fully managed IT service”. But what does this mean, given the absence of any firm industry-wide managed services definition? There is no definitive answer as this term means different things to different people, so in order to establish the definition of the service and scale of the provider it is advised that you delve deeper. Can they deliver what they say they can deliver from their own premises or will they be outsourcing larger parts of your service, too? You may not expect the service you’ve outsourced to then be outsourced once more – however, this has become all too common. If your service is being provided from in-house you need to determine the size of the team and establish whether or s with most industries, the IT sector is littered with vague statements and meaningless claims that, at best, are only understood by those who work within it or employed to supply it. Whether or not this is intentional is probably the basis of a separate debate; however, it does raise an interesting question: how much more trust could the IT outsourcing industry secure if its providers adopted a straightforward approach to language in relation to the services they sold? Using ambiguous language within a business environment can lead to some challenges between the IT outsourcer and the client. Most commonly, it causes confusion that fuels a sense of distrust and scepticism between service providers and companies looking to outsource their IT function. Secondly, it can lead to misinterpretation and, subsequently, to mismanaged client expectations that can damage the reputation of the outsourcer. So, what can be done to cut through the ‘noise’ and ensure that your IT managed A Consendre mod eugait alit luptati sisisisit augait num iusti facidunt ipsumsan el eraestrud exerat ad onulla cor ing eumsandre ex elit The earliest formal study of language – philology – was carried out in India in the fifth century BC by grammarian Panini. atetue tet ulla feu feum niamconEm ea commodiam ad tem dolortio Utat lum quisim et, quissi.Volobore m iurero dolobore. 38 ● ●● www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outsource Issue 23

Outsource Issue 23
Contents
News & Comment
IT Security
Ian Collard
More Than Just A Headcount
Call Centre Technology
Social Issues
Understanding Value
Cutting Through The Noise
All In The Genes?
It’s Time For Contact Centres To Get Socially Responsible
Right From The Start
All In The Game
Relationship Management Centres
NOA Roundup
Document Management
Digital Vision
Review Ructions
Provider Perspective
A New Reckoning?
Head-to-Head
The Music of Outsourcing
Accelerating Innovation
Labour Arbitrage
Top Ten Tips
The Legal View
HfS: New outsource Partner
Online Round-Up
Sourcebites
Inside Source
The Last Word

Outsource Issue 23

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