Companies today operate in a market environment that is more complex and competitive than ever before. The stable and predictable conditions of past decades are giving way to a digitalised future with new rules of engagement.
In this context, businesses that rely on outsourced IT services face a key question: how can their existing internal organisational structure be regularly realigned to meet future demands? When reviewing their sourcing strategy, companies often focus solely on the outsourcing itself, while the internal organisation that remains is frequently overlooked.
For this reason, this article focuses on the design and development of the internal organisation that remains in place within the chosen sourcing scenarios.
To make a sourcing strategy successful, the internal organisation must ensure efficient management of service providers and smooth collaboration among all parties involved in service delivery. Before any outsourcing measure is taken, the entire organisation must be reviewed and evaluated. This evaluation requires answers to the following questions:
- How can the company optimally organise and structure the IT service function in the future?
- How can the current organisational structure be improved?
- Is outsourcing to an external provider still the better option for services already outsourced, or would internal delivery be more effective?
- What personnel and budget requirements are associated with each organisational option?
- What skill profiles must employees meet?
To answer these questions, a review of the existing sourcing strategy is recommended. This is typically carried out using a structured, multi-step approach, as illustrated in Figure 1: Review of an Outsourcing Strategy.
🔍 Step-by-Step Review of a Sourcing Strategy
Step 1: Environmental Analysis
This step involves reviewing the defined goals and conditions for IT outsourcing to ensure they are still relevant. It also checks whether the outsourcing goals are clearly derived from the company’s overall strategy. These goals form the basis for evaluating different outsourcing scenarios. Examples are shown in Figure 2: Outsourcing Goals.
Step 2: Assessment of the Current Situation
A comprehensive inventory of the current organisational structure for delivering IT services is conducted—often using an organisational chart. This chart may need updating with current or missing information. It should include:
- All departments involved in IT service delivery
- External service providers
- IT users
- Relationships between departments
Responsibilities of each department involved in IT delivery are then described in detail.
Based on the updated chart, relevant activities and associated efforts are recorded. Best-practice frameworks such as ITIL and SIAM can be used to identify all necessary service delivery tasks and ensure completeness.
Tasks are divided into internal and external categories:
- Internal tasks include overarching responsibilities, vendor management, and internal IT services.
- External tasks are handled by service providers, consultants, etc.
Using the 9PROFITS framework from amendos GmbH (see Figure 4), vendor management tasks can be defined. Cost estimates for service delivery are derived from these activities.
Step 3: Evaluation of the Current Situation
By comparing framework-defined activities with those actually performed, gaps become visible. Weaknesses are identified in:
- Service specifications
- Existing processes
- Tools used
- Interfaces between departments
- Provider evaluations
Root causes of these weaknesses are analysed, and action plans are developed. Implementation costs are estimated and factored into overall service delivery costs.
Step 4: Market Potential Analysis
This step assesses whether the market can provide the required IT services economically and at the necessary scale. Based on well-defined service packages, the internal organisation can be adjusted accordingly.
Step 5: Strategy Development
Using strategic guidelines and outsourcing goals, various outsourcing scenarios are created and evaluated—each with a tailored internal organisational structure. For each scenario, costs, advantages, and disadvantages are determined, along with skill profiles for internal teams and external providers.
Scenarios are then subjected to a cost-benefit analysis. Only those that promise reasonable benefits within budget constraints are considered further and undergo a risk analysis. The final evaluation incorporates these risk results.
A comprehensive recommendation is then formulated. Management must make a decision based on this recommendation before implementation planning begins.
✅ Conclusion
To realign an existing organisation with outsourced IT services for the future, the organisational structure and service environment must be thoroughly analysed. Based on findings and business goals, various outsourcing scenarios can be developed and assessed. These scenarios should include necessary changes to the organisational structure.
From this evaluation, a recommendation can be made to support informed decision-making by management. Any required structural adjustments should be planned and implemented early in the outsourcing process.
