MIS

In-sourcing or Outsourcing?
There’s a big deal today what are you prefer for? In-source or outsource? In my assignment, our professor was given us a task to take in a position in outsourcing or in-sourcing. But before I choose what the best is for me, I will have some resources to identify what is outsourcing and what is in-sourcing.

What is in-sourcing?
In-sourcing is a business practice in which work that would otherwise have been contracted out is performed in house.
In-sourcing often involves bringing in specialists to fill temporary needs or training existing personnel to perform tasks that would otherwise have been outsourced. An example is the use of in-house engineers to write technical manuals for equipment they have designed, rather than sending the work to an outside technical writing firm. In this example, the engineers might have to take technical writing courses at a local college, university, or trade school before being able to complete the task successfully. Other challenges of in-sourcing include the possible purchase of additional hardware and/or software that is scalable and energy-efficient enough to deliver an adequate return on investment (ROI).
In-sourcing can be viewed as outsourcing as seen from the opposite side. For example, a company based in Japan might open a plant in the United States for the purpose of employing American workers to manufacture Japanese products. From the Japanese perspective this is outsourcing, but from the American perspective it is in-sourcing. Nissan, a Japanese automobile manufacturer, has in fact done this.
The opposite of outsourcing can be defined as in-sourcing. When an organization delegates its work to another entity, which is internal yet not a part of the organization, it is termed as in-sourcing. The internal entity will usually have a specialized team who will be proficient in the providing the required services. Organizations sometimes opt for in-sourcing because it enables them to maintain a better control of what they outsource. In-sourcing has also come to be defined as transferring work from one organization to another organization which is located within the same country. In-sourcing can also mean an organization building a new business centre or facility which would specialize in a particular service or product.
Organizations involved in production usually opt for in-sourcing in order to cut down the cost of labor and taxes amongst others. The trend towards in-sourcing has increased since the year 2006. Organizations who have been dissatisfied with outsourcing have moved towards in-sourcing. Some organizations feel that they can have better customer support and better control over the work outsourced by in-sourcing their work rather than outsourcing it. According to recent studies, there is more wok in-sourced than outsourced in the U.S and U.K. These countries are currently the largest outsourcers in the world. The U.S and U.K outsource and in-source work equally.

What is outsourcing?
Outsourcing is an arrangement in which one company provides services for another company that could also be or usually have been provided in-house. Outsourcing is a trend that is becoming more common in information technology and other industries for services that have usually been regarded as intrinsic to managing a business. In some cases, the entire information management of a company is outsourced, including planning and business analysis as well as the installation, management, and servicing of the network and workstations. Outsourcing can range from the large contract in which a company like IBM manages IT services for a company like Xerox to the practice of hiring contractors and temporary office workers on an individual basis.
Outsourcing began in the early eighties when organizations started delegating their non-core functions to an external organization that was specialized in providing a particular service, function or product. In outsourcing, the external organization would take on the management of the outsourced function.
Most organizations choose outsourcing because outsourcing offers a lot of advantages. When organizations outsource to countries like India, they benefit from lower costs and high-quality services. Moreover organizations can concentrate more on core functions once they outsource their non-core functions. Outsourcing can also help organizations make better use of their resources, time and infrastructure.
In outsourcing, the outsourcer and the outsourcing partner have a greater relationship when compared to the relationship between a buyer and a seller. In outsourcing, the outsourcer trusts the outsourcing partner with vital information. Outsourcing is no longer confined to the outsourcing of IT services. Outsourcers in the US and UK now outsource financial services, engineering services, creative services, data entry services and much more.
Most organizations are opting to outsource because outsourcing enables organizations to access intellectual capital, focus on core competencies, shorten the delivery cycle time and reduce costs significantly. Organizations feel outsourcing is an effective business strategy to help improve their business.

Why In-sourcing is my choice?
In-sourcing because outsourcing has gone wrong is a mistake. If you are thinking of taking a business function back in-house because of failings either in your supplier or, indeed, because of failings of your own, then just pause for a minute. There is one good reason to in-source, to which we will come, but the myriad of technical issues, operational difficulties and relationship problems that can cause you to despair of ever having uttered the ‘o’ word are not it. In-sourcing for the sake of it merely compounds your troubles. You might be forgiven for thinking that insourcing was the latest outsourcing trend, according to some recent media reports. But what is really happening on the ground is far harder to discern and so far more complex.

One thing is for sure: outsourcing is growing and for the most part people are happy with the deals they construct. One independent statistic – a recent Gallup survey –showed that 57 percent of companies surveyed believe that outsourcing has delivered 100 percent of the expected benefits. This is a good success rate by any measure. So where does the comment on insourcing, with its suggestion that outsourcing is riddled with shortcomings, originate?

Right choices
Having said that, insourcing is an option that many are likely to consider at some point, whether it is for what we believe are the negative reasons of supplier factors (complacency, overselling, rising costs, and the like) or client factors (poor rationale, poor sourcing, poor internal management, and so on). However, the reason why insourcing can compound troubles in these cases is twofold.
First, insourcing can be as problematic as outsourcing was in the first place. In particular, in-house skills and systems that have been reduced or removed have to be returned, a process that carries risk and cost. Second, and more profoundly, insourcing for these reasons will only store up problems for the future.
The issue here is that provided outsourcing as an option has been reviewed alongside other sourcing options, then in the vast majority of cases outsourcing is usually right in terms of the decision but, if it struggles to realise benefits, goes wrong in the execution. Execution issues can, with time and application, be put right. But if the fundamental reasons for outsourcing still hold – reasons such as wanting to drive through efficiency, effectiveness and transformational changes – then to go back on the decision represents an opportunity cost for the business. When added to the cost of in-sourcing itself, the total might be very detrimental indeed.

One good reason
There is, we think, one good reason to consider insourcing. That is when external factors are such that the situation in which the organisation finds itself has so changed that it becomes not only attractive but right.
This does happen and there are well-publicised examples to illustrate. For example, when JP Morgan merged with Bank One the economies-of-scale that it had sought by outsourcing with IBM were suddenly realisable internally. Alternatively, when Cable & Wireless decided to in-source, again from a deal with IBM, the reasons were good: finding itself in a trading position where it wanted to exercise the kind of control over costs that could only be gained by in-sourcing.
These, though, are seismic changes. They are extraordinary, just as the insourcing that accompanies them should be as well.
In fact, the real outsourcing story is far more positive. The industry is maturing. We are seeing sourcing decisions and governance improving, as companies become savvier both in terms of what they want and in terms of what they ask from providers. Moreover, providers are rising to the challenge too. They realise that it is in the interests of all concerned to have deals that allow clients and providers alike to flourish. These are, after all, partnerships.
But remember, insourcing because outsourcing has gone wrong is a mistake. Far better is to get outsourcing right in the first place.

Why not Outsourcing?

Outsourcing risks
However, while companies can benefit from the technology resources at their outsourcer, not having any internal network skills can be risky. Companies might find it difficult to assess whether they are getting the best value for money and that services are fit for purpose, for instance.
Of course, lacking the skills to deploy new technology does not necessarily mean companies should outsource all ownership and management. The majority of networking kit is sold through the channel, which means companies can call on the implementation skills of third parties if they want to deploy new technology. They will however need to train or acquire staff that can manage the new network.

Is it cheaper?
Outsourcing has long been a popular choice for enterprises looking to save money. Outsourcers are able to offer the benefit of scale because they can centralize the key IT and network functions and service multiple accounts at the same time. This allows them to offer the same service as the internal team but at a lower cost of delivery.
The experience outsourcers have with network management also means they should also have more effective processes based on established best practices to deal with the most common networking issues.
Network outsourcers can make the total cost of ownership (TCO) equation look even more attractive as they are able to source equipment from suppliers at a substantially cheaper rate. Adrian Lau, IT services manager at ST Mary's NHS Trust, says: "We buy our network equipment through Damovo. We use open-book costing where Damovo puts five per cent on the list price. This is cheaper than buying through a traditional distributor."
Open-book costing is becoming more common throughout the network outsourcing industry. Richard Mahony, principal analyst at Ovum, says: "Contract pricing is becoming more transparent. However, companies that do sign up to open-book pricing, need to be aware of exactly what it covers, as outsourcers will always try and hide some margin somewhere."

Barriers
Smaller businesses are likely to benefit most from network outsourcing but are often the most reluctant to take the plunge. At the most basic level they typically find it difficult to calculate the cost of managing their IT, and often lump it together with general administration costs. This makes it hard for them to understand the savings they could make from outsourcing.
But perhaps the principal barrier for enterprises thinking about network outsourcing is nervousness over security. Enterprises now need to be compliant with multiple regulations and laws, nearly all of which mandate a high level of data security. Any company choosing an outsourcer will need to be doubly sure that it will actually improve on the existing security processes.
Outsourcing for many companies has traditionally meant job losses, which made it an extremely hard sell to employees. However, far from making IT staff redundant, outsourcing the network and support infrastructure should free up IT staff to work on the company's strategic business applications.

References:
http://www.outsource2india.com/why_india/articles/outsourcing-versus-insourcing.asp
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1185946,00.html
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1185946,00.html

When the time comes that I will be hired as an IT consultant of the university and they want my suggestion about the internet connection be improve, hmmmm…..

Infrastructure
Telecommunication infrastructure remains one of the major issues affecting technology deployment required for growth and development. There has however, been massive improvement in infrastructure over the past few years. Telecommunications and Network Services (TNS) and Facilities Planning has been upgrading the campus telecommunications (voice, data) infrastructure. The project, known as Telecommunications Infrastructure Project, or TIP.

Technology
As the world becomes increasingly dependent on instantaneous, on-demand global communication, opportunity calls for those who can keep the lines open and messages flowing.
From the transfer of voice, video and data for immediate communication to the use of satellite transmissions for video conferencing and the infrastructure for the Internet and other distance learning capabilities, telecommunications technology keeps the world connected.
The Telecommunications Technology (TEL) department at Texas State Technical College provides superior instruction on the latest industry-standard Telecommunications skills and equipment.
Once thought of as only telephone wiring and switching, this technology encompasses electronics, computers, fiber optics, broadband transmission and new compression technologies. It includes popular alternatives to traditional telephone service, such as cellular telephones and paging services.

Faster connection and download with ISDN
An ISDN connection works in the same way as a standard dial-up, but you need a digital (ISDN) line (marketed by BT as Business or Home Highway) and an ISDN card, external ‘modem’ (terminal adapter), pbx or router.
ISDN will give you a faster and more stable connection - a few seconds to connect rather than the 20-30 seconds experienced with an analogue modem - and faster downloads. Web pages should appear about 30-50% faster. And ISDN is nearly twice as fast as the best modem connection for uploading data, so sending e-mail and uploading to a website will be quicker too.
An ISDN line gives you two channels, which can be used as two separate phone lines. Call costs per minute and per channel are the same as for an analogue line, while line rental for a business line is about twice as much as for one analogue line (after inclusive calls and discounts).
In addition, there is an initial installation fee and the cost of the new ISDN "modem", but since you have the usability of two analogue lines it doesn't cost any more to run than two analogue lines.

Unmetered means inclusive call costs - not always-on
You pay a monthly or annual subscription to an ISP and they give you a freephone (0800 or similar number) to connect with. Packages with inclusive call costs, known as unmetered Internet access, are available by agreement between BT (which owns most of the local wiring infrastructure), the other telcos and the ISPs.
This depends on BT giving the others freephone numbers at a fixed cost per subscriber, rather than for timed or data traffic usage, but there is more to this than money. If many people were to subscribe to these services and stay connected for much longer periods - or even all day - then exchanges and trunk lines could become overloaded, resulting in many more engaged tones. For this reason many ISPs automatically disconnect dormant connections after a certain period of inactivity.

"Always-on" cable and ADSL connections are becoming more widely available
These give you a permanent connection and much faster data speeds. For ADSL you need a standard BT telephone line, and pay for a connection through an ISP which provides an ADSL “modem" as part of the installation cost. BT replaces the standard socket with a '"splitter" box, which gives you a normal phone socket as well as the ADSL socket. There is now a self-installed option at lower cost for a residential account but not yet for business accounts.
The ADSL modem or router connects your standalone PC or network to the ADSL network. You can use the standard socket for analogue voice calls at the same time as the ADSL line is being used for your Internet connection, but there could be some problems or limitations using it with an analogue modem or fax machine.
Connections from a single computer to the modem could be by USB or by Ethernet card and cable, in the same way as for a LAN. There are business and residential services with different contention ratios, service levels and costs, there are single and multi-user connections, and there are three different download speeds.
Some ISPs will give you one or more fixed IP addresses, so you can run a server over ADSL, although as the service has no Quality of Service guarantee it would be unwise to run a business-critical server application over an ADSL line.
Similar considerations apply to cable connections, which differ slightly according to the cableco involved.

Mobile ‘on the move’ and wireless ‘on the pause’ connectivity
The latest mobile phones offer Internet access on the move using WAP (wireless application protocol) and GPRS, and ‘3’ now offer third generation UMTS over a growing network. Connection may be made through a laptop using an appropriate card or via a mobile phone handset using a cable, infrared or ‘Bluetooth’ connection.
WiFi (802.11 standard) ‘hotspots’ are springing up in airports, railway stations, hotels, coffee shops etc. where local wireless network connections are available if you have a wireless card in your laptop and a subscription to the relevant service.

Satellite could bring always-on downloads or broadcast Internet channels
A mass market satellite connection means having a dish on the exterior of the building for download and a normal telephone or some other connection for upload. Download speeds can be similar to ADSL or Cable modem but upload is limited to the dial-up speed. Two-way broadband satellite is now available across the UK but installation and running costs are relatively expensive when compared to ADSL or Cable.
The mass market is for Internet through a TV whether by satellite or other form of digital link. But home usage is likely to be different from business usage, and services may develop accordingly.

Leased lines for permanent connection with Quality of Service guarantees
This is the way corporate and specialist service or heavy user companies connect. They run servers that require high or guaranteed upload capacity, serving applications which are core or critical to their businesses. For most small businesses it is more economical to have servers co-located, or server applications hosted and possibly maintained by specialist companies. Remotely located servers can have operating systems and applications administered by you or your staff using a more economical Internet connection. An economical alternative to the traditional Leased Line could be an SDSL (Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) connection, operating at 2Mbps in each direction, although these are likely to be limited by technological limitations and commercial viability to a radius of around 3km from major city centre exchanges.

Steps/processes
Use of the Internet enabled an order of magnitude improvement in the auto insurance coverage change business process cited above. Similarly, there are a number of other technologies that help in process improvement efforts like the Internet. Here are 10 of those technologies and examples that show how they are helping Lean improvement:
1. The Internet: Web portals have enabled organizations business processes from order entry to logistics to customer service to be performed from anywhere, anytime by their employees. In some cases, these organizations are making these portals available even for their end-customers on an around-the-clock basis, making it very convenient. It used to take a week or more for an application for a new credit card to be approved or rejected by a credit card company. Now, a consumer can apply for a credit card online and get an decision in seconds. A good question to ask in any Lean process improvement effort is: "Is there a way, the Internet can increase the process cycle efficiency for this business process?"
2. Wireless Connectivity: Many property and casualty insurance companies have rolled out wireless connectivity to claims adjusters that are on the road, especially in case of catastrophic events like the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. In the absence of wireless connectivity, information about claims may be sent by paper back to a central office where someone enters the same information into a claims software system. Wireless connectivity has the potential of having the claims adjusters entering the information directly into the claims software system remotely, cutting days from the business process.
3. Automated Workflow Systems: Automated workflow systems cut down the time, work items wait in a queue for processing. Many business processes suffer from wasteful physical movement of paper from desk to desk. When a piece of paper reaches the next destination, it waits behind other work items that arrived before it. Automated workflow systems can keep the work items moving, raising alerts if work items have been waiting for too long a time, re-routing themselves to others if someone is busy, etc. They also provide visibility into exactly where the bottlenecks may be in a business process, enabling sane Lean process improvement efforts to smooth these out.
4. Scanning and Digitization: Computing and computer storage have become so inexpensive that many organizations scan and digitize most official documents that come in as paper. These may be legal documents or invoices from vendors of services, supplies, or raw material. Thereafter, it enables the circulation of these digital versions of these documents rather than wasteful movement of physical paper across the company. Digitization also enables processes to move geographically long distances effortlessly, enabling employees from geographically dispersed office locations to participate in the same workflow, for example.
5. Service-Oriented Architectures: If an organization is using the most up-to-date transportation companies to handle its shipping needs, it can initiate a delivery from it own corporate applications seamlessly. These shipping companies have made their backend software systems accessible to any organizations' software systems using service-oriented architectures (SOA). The SOA technology enables software systems in the same or disparate organizations talk to each other and exchange information automatically, without any human intervention. Many large corporations have realized enormous gains in process cycle efficiency in their supply chain business processes by allowing suppliers' and customers' software talk to their backend software systems using SOA. By enabling automatic exchange of data between organizations' computers in an electronic form, SOA eliminates wasteful and time-consuming exchange of paper and redundant entry of data in to multiple computer applications.
6. Document Management Systems: Document management systems allow an organization to execute business processes that require collaboration across geographies, and even continents. They allow two people in different cities or countries to work collaboratively on a business process by making sure the changes they make are done in an orderly fashion and nothing is lost during the collaboration. Document management systems allow the check-out of documents for editing and require checking them back in once they are done. Thus changes made by different people on the same document are not lost. In many business processes, this has the potential of eliminating waste due to motion and most importantly the quality of the collaboration involved. In the absence of such systems, more time may be expended in sending documents back and forth by e-mail and coordinating changes made to the same documents by different people.
7. Business Process Monitoring and Measurement: Lean process improvement efforts are usually highly targeted at certain steps of a business process. Pareto's principle applies to business processes also: 80 percent of the bottlenecks and improvement usually comes from 20 percent of the steps in a business process. Business process monitoring and measurement solutions may provide a good idea of where these bottlenecks are, and – more importantly – make sure that service levels needed by individual process steps are met fully so that the whole process works as required.
8. Business Process Management Systems: Business process management systems (BPMS) enable streamline and integrate different software systems that may be involved in a business process. By providing an overall framework for the business process, BPMS systems enable smooth flow of business processes across different departments, functions and backend software systems. They also provide monitoring and reports that can help a Lean process improvement effort with measurement before and after improvement efforts.
9. Business Rules Systems: Business rules systems enable the automation of wasteful manual activities in many business processes. For example, automobile insurance underwriters may have this simple business rule: "If the applicant is a male under 21 years of age and the car is a convertible, set the application apart for manual underwriting." Those cases that are not cover by this rule – or other rules which the company might institute – can automatically be approved or rejected by an automated system. The business rule system in this case enables the automation of an otherwise, wasteful and time-consuming, manual business process.
10. Online CRM Systems/Self-Service FAQ Systems: Many organizations have placed customer relationship management (CRM) systems online as part of their web site. A customer can login and create a trouble ticket online for a support or service request instead of talking to a customer support representative on the telephone. Many organizations are using self-service frequently asked questions (FAQ) sections on their web sites where customers can see if their problem has been faced by other customers, and what the solution was, in those cases. These systems enable the speed up of customer service and support processes. FAQ sections on company web sites may even eliminate service or support calls if they answered their questions or solved their service or support problem. They are convenient for end customers since they are available on the Internet, around the clock, providing even better service than when done manually by telephone.
Lean process improvement efforts have the goal of increasing process velocity and improving PCE. A number of new information technologies offer the promise of achieving these goals by their judicious and appropriate use. In some cases, these technologies have the potential of improving process velocity and efficiency by orders of magnitude. They do this by significantly cutting down waste in the form of unnecessary transportation, waiting and manual data entr

References
http://www.waco.tstc.edu/tel/tel_aas/index.php
http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c061211a.asp

1. Communication Services

The Administration also improved the country’s competitive advantage in information and communications technology (ICT), which resulted to the robust economic activities in the ICT industry with gross revenue of US$17.934 Billion and total employment for 371,965 individuals from 2004 to 2008. Notably, it was during the Arroyo Administration that this significant growth in the ICT industry was realized. (Annexes D and E)
��Centers of information technology and business processing outsourcing (IT-BPO) services all around the country have been connected. Aside from Metro Manila and Metro Cebu which have already been considered as “ICT Centers of Excellence”, the Administration has been promoting the top 10 “Next Wave Cities” to be the destinations of ICT industry outside Metro Manila and Metro Cebu:3
• Metro Laguna (Sta. Rosa, Calamba, Los Banos, San Pablo)
• Metro Cavite (Dasmarinas, Bacoor, Imus, Cavite City)
• Iloilo City
• Davao City
• Bacolod City
• Pampanga Central (Angeles/Clark, Mabalacat, Dau)
• Bulacan Central (Baliuag, Marilao, Meycauyan)
• Cagayan de Oro City
• Bulacan South (Malolos, Calumpit)
• Lipa City

 Policies were implemented promoting systematic and accelerated ICT advancement.

• Removed barriers and allow full competition in the provision of high-speed networks and connectivity. This resulted in the reduction of cost of local internet connections from PhP30 per hour in 2000 to PhP15 per hour in 2008.
• Allocated radio frequencies to allow broadband wireless access network.
•
• Liberalized the telecommunications environment/ industry to allow the entry of more players, ie, the telecommunication operators (TelCos).
•
• Authorized the retail-pricing for local telephone lines by allowing local exchange carriers to design price packages.




2. Cyber Corridor

The Cyber Corridor, which aims to create an information and technology-based knowledge economy through facilities that enhance interconnectivity and research and development initiatives, traverses all four geographic super regions from Baguio to Cebu to Davao.
The Cyber Corridor is being developed through public and private investments in the areas of ICT, education, and training.
The pilot-testing of a major ICT project, the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) Revenue Watch Dashboard prototype system, was completed in May 2009. This web-enabled revenue monitoring tool aims to provide real time collection figures from the national level down to the Revenue District Office level.
Aside from the priority infrastructure projects in the Cyber Corridor, the Government also pursued other Information and Communication Technology-related projects that supported the development theme of the Cyber Corridor. The Government has established public calling stations, telecenters and community e-centers to address the uneven distribution of fixed telephone lines in the regions.
By 2008, the Administration has installed facilities to areas without communication channels yet, such as 875 telegraph stations for telegraphic transfer and social telegram; digital telephone exchanges in 103 localities; 538 public calling stations which serves people who cannot afford to subscribe telephone services and areas not covered by fixed line facilities; 1,422 Telepono sa Barangay (TSB) stations; and a Regional Government Telephone Service in Cauayan, Isabela.


3. Utilizing ICT for Education. With aggressive support from private and other government and non-government partners, around 4,019 public high schools already have computer laboratories as of April 2009, more than half of which were already connected to the internet. The government targets to provide all 6,650 public high schools nationwide with computers and internet connectivity by the end of the year. Provision of computers and internet connectivity in elementary will begin next year. For 2010, the planned curriculum refinements include the heavy use of ICT in the teaching and learning process for all levels of basic education.

Reference
http://www.gov.ph/sona/sona2009/2009_SONA_TECHNICAL_REPORT.pdf