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This article identifies factors that contribute to the failure of an information technology outsourcing deal. The organizational shortcoming, not knowing enough before negotiating a deal, should be the first place to lay blame. The company bought the wrong package of services, and the answer at this point is to get busy negotiating changes to the agreement. Another area to lay blame refers to broken processes. For instance, the company still owns development and architecture, but infrastructure and networks have been outsourced. For the users, the change implementation process is a single entity. For the company, it is two.

This article identifies obstacles to outsourcing deals in the information technology (IT) sector in the U.S. Outsourcing deals in IT have long been marred by poor communications between buyers and suppliers, along with failures by customers to adequately manage the relationship and measure performance. At the OutsourceWorld conference in New York in October 2005, users and analysts said that outsourcing customers are facing new challenges, including regulatory requirements and shortages of experienced outsourcing relationship and contract managers. INSET: Use of Home-based Agents Challenging.