At one time if a business wanted IT infrastructure it was a process of hiring expertise in house, figuring out what hardware and software was needed to be purchased, decide on a computing platform and then start building it. The process challenged even the most knowledgeable businesses as the choices to be made and the risks were extremely varied and costly. 
It seemed that it was a never ending road of new purchases, tough deployment and constant training. I can remember doing an implementation for a client when they were introducing their employees to using a windows based system for the first time )moving from an old green screen package) and they had to get their employees to do some playing with some games software so they could learn to use a mouse for navigation.
Today the options available for a business seem even more challenging as decisions are made on whether to build it themselves or hire out the process to an 'expert' that supports their kind of business. The range of options are massive with the potential for a business to try to be almost hands off on their IT to being totally responsible and immersed.
While the dollars committed to IT systems continue to grow in businesses the needs for connected services, web support, online purchasing and online communication require an even bigger range of expertise. Trying to acquire and pay for all of this talent in house has become almost impossible except for very large organizations.
So how well are the offerings available working out?
The story seems to be mixed if recent information is correct.
CanadianCIO Census 2018 reveals outsourcing disappointment is still commonplace
With AWS Outposts, even Amazon acknowledges it’s a hybrid cloud world
These two articles outline some of the thoughts regarding two of the most common ways that businesses have structured use of outside resources to accomplish some of their IT goals. Reading them shows that all is not perfect and the vendors, even the big ones like Amazon, are finding the need to respond and to provide more options to meet the needs of clients.
As it as always been the world of IT systems support and design continues to challenge businesses as they try to use these systems to support their own goals and operations. Outsourcing can work, but it can also leave managers wondering whether they have done it right. In house seems fine but the need to constantly manage upgrades and software changes gets tiresome. Hybrid models where some is done in house and some outside seem better often, but making sure that nothing falls into the cracks between is important.
Finding a vendor who can provide all of your IT systems and personnel doesn't often work as there is still the need for someone in house to manage that relationship and without the demand to be hands on it becomes hard to stay knowledgeable about new changes in the field.
Combined systems can potentially help to eliminate some of the risks as in house resources are focused on the most critical areas while outsourced resources are acquired to off load some of the less risky or even more specialized functions.
No matter which choice a business makes budgeting and managing IT related systems is a critical component of any business and failure to give it the attention and resources will certainly lead to bigger problems or lost opportunities.
Lee K
