You think you can handle the process internally. Why would you need to hire a consultant to help investigate mainframe outsourcing? You have highly skilled, experienced IT staff. They know your infrastructure like the backs of their hands. They’re intimately familiar with the services you provide, and how your systems work. They can laugh about your IT “warts,” because they’re used to them.

They’re smart. And so is the rest of your top executive team. You make tough, mission-critical decisions every day. Surely you’re all quite capable of making effective mainframe outsourcing decisions on your own.

And you may be.

But ask yourself these questions:

• How will we know if mainframe outsourcing would be more effective than retaining all functions in-house? How will we streamline processes and position our people to make it happen?
• Do we really know the full range of alternatives that are available to us? available? Their pros and cons as they apply to all the components of our enterprise?
• Is our IT security up to snuff? Is our disaster recovery plan good enough, if something significant happens or compliance requirements change?
• Can we respond flexibly to both internal and external audiences? What if we have a big growth spurt, or need to cut back?
• Do we know the potential providers in the marketplace -- how to differentiate among them, and how to negotiate a tight, beneficial and future-oriented contract?
• What’s our timeframe to get this done?

You know you have challenges, but do you know – really – what you need? Do you have all the data – including understanding your true TCO -- to build an accurate business case, so you can evaluate and compare different solutions? What if you’re wrong, or even a little off?

This is no time for a best guess or approximations. It’s just possible that hiring an IT sourcing consultant could be the sharpest decision you make.

Here’s why:

They have no agenda.  

They have no preconceived notions about what you should or shouldn’t do, their goal is to help you make strategically smart decisions about mainframe outsourcing. They’ll help you assess your current situation and create a detailed spot-on business case you can use to make those decisions.

They know things you don’t.

They can offer valuable insight based on their own management and technical experience. They know the marketplace inside and out. And if you choose mainframe outsourcing, they’ll ensure you get the right partner, so you can work together congenially.

They’ll represent your interests in negotiations with providers.

A weak contract could kill some of the benefits you expect to receive from mainframe outsourcing. Or you could inadvertently miss opportunities to work with your outsourcing partner to develop new products or procedures.

You can save time and energy.

Undertake this important project and get it done faster as well as more effectively, without taking your key people away from their primary work. Important as considering IT transformation is for your company’s future, it’s even more imperative that you stay on track with the initiatives and day-to-day business already at hand. You can’t afford to be so distracted that you lose ground to a competitor, or lose sight of your near-term goals.

Hire the right consultant, and you’ll find you’ve acquired a working partner you really like, one you can rely on to help you refine your internal processes as well as choose outsourcing alternatives

You wouldn’t head into court without legal representation or sit down to an IRS audit by yourself. The evolving IT environment can be just as complex, and understanding the options just as daunting. With a professional IT consultant at your side you can be confident you’ve made the best decisions about mainframe outsourcing and selected the strongest means of executing them.

Photo credit:  ffiloo via Flickr