NCC Members have free access to these Guidelines on the NCC Membership website.

The IT sourcing marketplace is constantly evolving. Increasingly organisations are moving away from the traditional single outsource deal to arrangements with multiple vendors operation assets across their IT estate. Whether this is driven by strategic mission or a general drift due to real or perceived service delivery problems, sourcing your IT service effectively is an increasingly complex business.

While outsourcing is a relatively mature approach adopted by many organisations, the quality of the outsourced and managed services varies dramatically. The biggest question IT leaders should be asking is why is this the case? What is clear is that organisations can affect the quality and value of the service they receive, through development of an appropriate sourcing strategy, effective procurement and strong contract management. The supplier relationship is an often under-considered area as the focus on contractual obligations is often seen as paramount. However, supplier flexibility is also critical to the contract's success.

These Guidelines look at:

• The sourcing strategy
• Service design
• Strategic contract relationships
• Request for proposal approaches (RFP)
• Maintaining the relationship