Outsourcing - think partnership, not supplier
Jinfo Blog

By Norma Beavers

Abstract

Outsourcing is big news for information services who buy-in expertise for a variety of reasons. Market leaders in outsourcing include Integreon, LibSource, Information Matters and Visionary Information Solutions. In our recently-published report you'll find a master class on outsourcing with insights from top executives at these market leaders.

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Jinfo's just-published report "Outsourcing your information centre" (Subscriber content) features a wealth of information on outsourcing.

The introduction is an article from Candace M. Cathey on the benefits and challenges of outsourcing. She also flags up four of the market leaders - Visionary Information Solutions, LibSource, Integreon and Information Matters. A series of Q&A articles in the report complement Candace's introduction and all are worth reading if you want to find out more about outsourcing from the experts.

Insights from four very different outsourcing specialists 

In an interview with Mark West, Integreon's operations director, knowledge and business information services, he explains how to make outsourcing successful and cope with its challenges. With clients including the top 10 global law firms and top 10 investment banks, Integreon has the experience to give insights into how outsourcing might look in the future. Mark explains digital delivery including copyright and licensing will include, "Providing support via web-chat and online web tools, with the greatest amount of support content being available via self-service options, in the portal. The focus of this model is to develop, and maximise the use of, online content." 

Interviewing Paul Duller, information management consultancy director, services and solutions for Tribal Group about Information Matters, their specialist outsourcing business, Sophie gets some interesting responses. Paul has some useful recommendations for making outsourcing successful and looking to the future with cost reduction in mind. In Paul's opinion "the difference between outsourcing and successful outsourcing of your information services is all about communication".

Deborah Schwarz, CEO and founder of LAC Group, talks about their outsourcing business, LibSource, how customers benefit from efficiency improvements and how to choose an outsourcing company that's best suited to your needs. Deborah takes a cautionary note and warns, "Choosing the wrong outsourcing company brings significant challenges - services received can be sub-standard and mediocre, service experiences are negative, people are demotivated and clients are unhappy." Not a good move for sure, so it's worth reading on to see what else you should do.

President and CEO of Visionary Information Solutions, Donna Terjesen, discusses the present landscape and the reasons why law firms favour outsourcing. She also looks to the future and explains, "As firms are working to identify what it takes to accomplish more with fewer resources, there is an opportunity to inject expertise into the business needs of the firm at precisely the right level with outsourcing, and propel the firm quickly and efficiently towards its future business strategies."    

Find out more

The report also includes a market landscape on outsourcing organisations, a quick guide to essential information about each of the four companies as well as links to their websites.

The report "Outsourcing your information centre" will guide you through the types of services outsourcing companies provide, and will give you a mindful reflection on what it takes to make outsourcing successful while looking to the challenges of the future in information services.

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