Service-Level Requirements

Factor No. 9: Service-Level Requirements

The service-level requirement indicates how critical the application is for the operations of the business and what impact a problem would have on it. Very tight service-level agreements point to mission-critical requirements.

Categorizing the Applications

Based on the analysis, applications are placed in the following four categories:

Category No. 1: An immediate candidate with a 30-day transition to outsourcing.

Category No. 2: A good candidate with a 60-day transition to outsourcing.

Category No. 3: A long-term candidate with a 90-day transition to outsourcing.

Category No. 4: Not a candidate currently, but can be monitored to identify changes that may alter its viability for outsourcing.

The results can be the basis for further analysis by skilled IT professionals and consultants to determine how to group applications being outsourced-or those remaining in-house-for additional gains in productivity. By assessing each application in a company's portfolio with an easy-to-use tool, IT organizations can gain a head start on making the choices and building the case for the work that goes global-and the work that stays at home.

 Prashant Kshirsagar is the application management COE (Center of Excellence) leader for Syntel, a global provider of integrated information technology and KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) solutions. He can be reached at prashant_kshirsagar@syntelinc.com.