21 January 2010

By Guus Delen (ed), Van Haren Publishing, €29.95

IT outsourcing is a complex undertaking. It’s had some very bad press and we’ve all read the articles about failed projects. Because of this, it’s a daunting undertaking for any company.

The authors aim to ease the process by giving us a clear reference guide through it. The book breaks outsourcing down to its component phases and summarises the challenges for each phase, along with the risks and commercial elements associated with each phase.

There are some great reference points, particularly in emphasising the areas of risk that have to be tackled. It covers all the basic steps and gives a broad picture of where the bear traps are and how to avoid them. Impressively, it manages to do this without becoming a weighty tome.

While the information in the book is sound, it suffers from being very dry. It was originally written as a university study guide and it shows. It’s not the easiest of reads, and the diagrams can be more of a hindrance than a help.

It also focuses entirely on Dutch law, which means it should be treated with care by anyone outside the Netherlands. Legal issues can be huge on outsourcing projects and the law varies enormously from country to country. This book shouldn’t be used as a legal guide.

It’s worth picking up for a good overview of the outsourcing process, but be prepared for a dry read, and certainly don’t rely on it for legal comprehensiveness.

 Alex Sandercock, director, www.turnstoneservices.com