Systems Development: Investigation and Analysis - Principles of Information Systems - page 503

looks for skilled and talented workers. According to Amitabh Ray, a vice president of con-
sulting and application services at IBM in India, “We're not a body shop. We need the right
kind of people.” Electronic Data Systems (EDS) is another large company that specializes in
consulting and outsourcing. 51 EDS has approximately 140,000 employees in almost 60
countries and more than 9,000 clients worldwide. Accenture is another company that spe-
cializes in consulting and outsourcing. 52 The company has more than 75,000 employees in
47 countries. Amazon, the large online retailer of topics and other products, will offer on-
demand computing to individuals and other companies of all sizes, allowing them to use
Amazon's computer expertise and database capacity. 53 Individuals and companies will only
pay for the computer services they use. See Figure 12.9.
Figure 12.9
With more than 75,000 employees in
47 countries, Accenture specializes
in consulting and outsourcing.
(Source: © Namas Bhojani/
Bloomberg News/Landov.)
Outsourcing has some disadvantages, however. Some companies, such as J. Crew, are
starting to reduce their use of outsourcing and bring systems development back in-house. 54
Internal expertise can be lost and loyalty can suffer under an outsourcing arrangement. When
a company outsources, key IS personnel with expertise in technical and business functions
are no longer needed. When these IS employees leave, their experience with the organization
and expertise in information systems is lost. For some companies, it can be difficult to achieve
a competitive advantage when competitors are using the same computer or consulting com-
pany. When the outsourcing or on-demand computing is done offshore or in a foreign
country, some people have raised security concerns. How will important data and trade secrets
be guarded? U.S. federal authorities often investigate defense contractors for improper out-
sourcing. 55 In one case, a company was fined about $100 million for violating a federal arms
export control law.
FACTORS AFFECTING SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
SUCCESS
Successful systems development means delivering a system that meets user and organizational
needs—on time and within budget. Getting users and stakeholders involved in systems de-
velopment is critical for most systems development projects. Having the support of top-level
managers is also important. In addition to user involvement and top management support,
other factors can contribute to successful systems development efforts—at a reasonable cost.
These factors are discussed next.