Outsourcing IT - The Legal Aspects - Hardcover

Burnett, Rachel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0566076985 ISBN 13: 9780566076985

Publisher: Gower Publishing Ltd, 1998

Synopsis

Information technology is one of the most common management functions to be outsourced. It is also one of the most complex. It is important to have a properly negotiated formal contract between yourself and the other party if you are entering into an outsourcing arrangement. A good contract needs careful planning and this book aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the whole process. It starts with structuring the contract and then covers services required, staff, location, software, costs, management liaison, allowing for change, security, duration, termination and other vital provisions. There is also advice relating to public procurement and choosing a supplier.

About this title

Review:

'Don't let the legal part of the title scare you off - this is a readable guide to the current way outsourcing deals are done...Recommended.' - John Garratt, IT Europa Reviews of first Edition: '...offers well informed and competent legal advice' Management Services '...easy to read and conversational...a useful primer' Supply Management '...a practical guide for any director or manager who is involved in outsourcing IT, written from first hand professional experience.' IMIS Journal '...should enable readers to set firm foundations under their outsourcing hall of cards.' Computer Weekly '...above all, this book comprises a practical approach to the complex issues which have to be addressed.' Library Association Record 'This handy volume signposts the pitfalls which are likely to be met most frequently, and provides a useful strategy for avoiding them.' New Law Journal '...the clarity and thoroughness, the sense that in this book we have a writer completely in control of the subject matter, means that this is a book that can be an invaluable partner to anyone either remotely or closely involved in outsourcing...could literally save you much time and money.' Electronic Library '... anyone faced with an IT outsourcing exercise will obtain an excellent grounding from this book. It covers the issues thoroughly and effectively, while being well structured and eminently readable.' Managing Information '... well presented and easy to follow ... could be read by both lawyers and their clients.' IT Law Today 'For those who are wanting to find out more about outsourcing or who are stepping forward for the first time this book is going to be essential reading ... value for money because it is clearly written, informative and well produced. It will be a useful book for the professional academic and helpful background reading for the serious student. Time spent reading this book will be repaid in becoming better informed and/or more fit to enter the outsourcing arena.' Journal of Documentation 'As one who has recent management experience in an outsourcing project, though not specifically IT related, I can commend this comprehensive text by a practising solicitor as being of immense value, both in exploring the processes that need to be addressed and the potential pitfalls of contract service agreements and performance ...though the book specifically relates to IT, much of it is generic and is not only of value to the para legal staff retained by most organisations but to many others concerned with the principles and the practice of outsourced operations. The index provides a comprehensive summary which should be of wide interest to any manager contemplating or embracing an outsourcing contract and I suspect it will even be of value to those providing outsourced services.' Program 'The most important early consideration, surprisingly for both client and contractor, is what happens at the end of the contract ... The author covers these points admirably and offers sound guidance on other potentially troublesome areas ... The main contractual aspects are not the sole province of this useful volume. There is sound advice on service specifications, service level agreements (SLAs) and management of problems that arise during the course of the contract, carrying a clear message that in the event of failure, the client should be seeking compensation, not penalties ... The reviewer is employed in the IT service industry and found the book helpful and enlightening.' British Journal of Administrative Management

About the Author:

Formerly a partner in City of London law firms specialising in IT and intellectual property, Rachel Burnett is now a solicitor with her own legal practice, Burnett, providing legal services relating to IT law, including outsourcing. Before her legal career, Rachel was an IT professional working for large corporate organisations in system development and project management. This background gives her a commercial understanding in solving legal problems. Rachel is also co-author of Drafting and Negotiating Computer Contracts, Second Edition, published by Butterworths and author of the IT Law Guides series published for the Institute of Chartered Accountants on a variety of legal topics. She is a former President of the British Computer Society, a former Chair of the Institute for the Management of Information Systems, and a livery member of the Information Technologists' Company. She is also an associate lecturer with the Open University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gower Publishing Ltd
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0566076985
• ISBN 13: 9780566076985
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 230