IT outsourcing in insurance services: risk, creative contracting and business advantage
Authors: Willcocks, Leslie P.; Lacity, Mary C.
Journal: Information Systems Journal (1999)
DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2575.1999.00061.x
<jats:p>Abstract. Risks in IT outsourcing have received little systematic academic attention, despite growing evidence of wide disappointment and difficulty as well as some successes in outsourcing IT. This paper explores the 1993–98 case history of Polaris, a software intermediary in the European insurance sector. Despite the considerable risks inherent in outsourcing business‐critical technology, Polaris was found to be achieving business advantage from such a strategy. This paper details 10 major risk areas in IT outsourcing distilled from previous research. It focuses on the sourcing, contractual and management choices made at Polaris. It assesses, against prior research findings, the degree to which these choices mitigated short‐ and long‐term risk, and whether learning points flow from the analysis for other IT outsourcing arrangements.</jats:p>