What Is Information Technology:
An IT Vendor Evaluating Context

So just what is information technology? There are various definitions, but this page focuses on the practicalities of evaluating information technology providers in ways that bring most value to your company.

The Information Technology Association of America has "officially" defined it as "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware."

It has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology and IT professionals. IT Directors, CIOs and the like now perform a variety of functions. One of these is evaluating outsourcing partners.

We've divided the "What is information technology?" information on this page into two categories:

1. Some of the tasks your organization should carry out.
2. The kind of information you should extract from each of your potential outsourcers, which should form part of the Request For Proposals (RFP) that you'll send out to each service provider.

Some Of Your Tasks

Answering the "What is information technology?" question as it relates to evaluating IT vendors means suggesting rolling up the sleeves and getting on with some very important tasks.

1. Have a clear reason for outsourcing. You need to be sure of your requirements and exactly what services you expect him to provide. If there are multiple services, which one is the best for you and will give you the best overall results as compared to your managing the same services in-house.
2. Ask probing questions. Question as many people at the service provider as you can, sometimes asking the same questions to different people. For example, how many times has the provider had to issue a credit for failing to meet a service level agreement? How financially stable is the company?
3. Set a time limit on responses. As part of the service level agreement, set time limits on how long they have to resolve basic help desk problems or complete certain tasks. It is important that once you enter this agreement, these items need to be monitored.
4. Monitoring for unauthorized events. Evaluate the need for 24/7 monitoring when the number of daily incidents is high, say more than a thousand.
5. Ideally, your service provider should be nearby. Today's communications technology has greatly lessened the need for actual physical proximity. Pay attention to this, especially if your service provider is hosting IT security and disaster recovery.
6. Make sure their fail-over operations are excellent. These operations should be better than what you currently have. Test those operations and retest them annually if not more frequently.
7. Understand the reports you receive. You have set up an SLA, you expect to receive certain reports, make sure you understand their content, these reports should be used to evaluate your provider. Can you actually do that?
8. Escalating issues. If you need to escalate an issue with your service provider, how easy is it to do it, how long did it take, how successful and satisfied were you with the results? Are you able to do this successfully 24/7 to make sure you are properly covered.
9. Qualified rating system. This is to help you evaluate your potential suppliers.

A Systematic Vendor Evaluation

You'll want to do a rigorous supplier evaluation as part of the overall "What Is Information Technology?" concept.

1. General profile. Know who they really are: years of operation, management organization chart, memberships and certifications.
2. Clients. Know who their clients are, especially within the same industry as yours. Request testimonials, case studies and references.
3. Technology and processes. Check out their: software offerings, database systems, standardized development processes, project management processes, delivery mechanisms, and all available modes of communications, especially the agreed modes of communications.
4. Human capital. Get detailed profiles on managers and staff to be assigned to the project: qualifications, experience, skill sets, communications skills, training and so on. Remember you want to be able to interview each of the people potentially assigned to your project.
5. Infrastructure. Evaluate the physical infrastructure, hardware, servers, telecommunication links, etc. that they're proposing.
6. Quality. Look at their quality assurance and quality certifications. Make sure they provide a clear and well defined quality assurance process.
7. Pricing. This is a prime reason for your looking at outsourcing. Get detailed costing and terms of payments.
8. Cultural fit with your company. Make sure the "chemistry" is right: workplace ethics, responsiveness to clients needs. The more the vendor complements your organization, the greater the success rate.
9. Value proposition. Evaluate the key differentiators that would make one vendor a better choice than the others bidding. These include: flexibility, development environment, long-term relationships with current clients, always implementing the latest technology to benefit clients. Will they be a partner that will help grow your business?

IT Service Level Agreements

The next step in helping you to prepare for evaluating service providers in the context of the big "What Is Information Technology?" question involves Service Level Agreements and information they should contain.

This includes service level templates, examples and where to gain access to them. If you're interested in more information on these subjects, please visit our IT Service Level Agreement page.

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How To Get Help

Our offer of professional help is a serious one. First of all, you'll find that while the site information is exhaustive, it appears in a brief, easy-to-read, often bulleted, executive style.

You won't get bogged down in "What Is Information Technology?" details while browsing this site, but we DO have extensive in-depth information for you if you want or need it. It's free and all you have to do is ask!

Start right now by going to the Contact Us page and completing the simple online form. You'll receive immediate access to two authoritative industry books, which our site sponsor will mail to you at no cost.

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