Taxonomy of Technological IT Outsourcing Risks: Support for Risk Identification and Quantification

The past decade has seen an increasing interest in IT outsourcing as it promises companies many economic benefits. In recent years, IT paradigms, such as Software-as-a-Service or Cloud Computing using third-party services, are increasingly adopted. Current studies show that IT security and data privacy are the dominant factors affecting the perceived risk of IT outsourcing. Therefore, we explicitly focus on determining the technological risks related to IT security and quality of service characteristics associated with IT outsourcing. We conducted an extensive literature review, and thoroughly document the process in order to reach high validity and reliability. 149 papers have been evaluated based on a review of the whole content and out of the finally relevant 68 papers, we extracted 757 risk items. Using a successive refinement approach, which involved reduction of similar items and iterative re-grouping, we establish a taxonomy with nine risk categories for the final 70 technological risk items. Moreover, we describe how the taxonomy can be used to support the first two phases of the IT risk management process: risk identification and quantification. Therefore, for each item, we give parameters relevant for using them in an existing mathematical risk quantification model

TAXONOMY OF TECHNOLOGICAL IT OUTSOURCING RISKS: SUPPORT FOR RISK IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION

The past decade has seen an increasing interest in IT outsourcing as it promises companies many economic benefits. In recent years, IT paradigms, such as Software-as-a-Service or Cloud Computing using third-party services, are increasingly adopted. Current studies show that IT security and data privacy are the dominant factors affecting the perceived risk of IT outsourcing. Therefore, we explicitly focus on determining the technological risks related to IT security and quality of service characteristics associated with IT outsourcing. We conducted an extensive literature review, and thoroughly document the process in order to reach high validity and reliability. 149 papers have been evaluated based on a review of the whole content and out of the finally relevant 68 papers, we extracted 757 risk items. Using a successive refinement approach, which involved reduction of similar items and iterative re-grouping, we establish a taxonomy with nine risk categories for the final 70 technological risk items. Moreover, we describe how the taxonomy can be used to support the first two phases of the IT risk management process: risk identification and quantification. Therefore, for each item, we give parameters relevant for using them in an existing mathematical risk quantification mode

Evaluation of User Support: Factors That Affect User Satisfaction With Helpdesks and Helplines

In addition to technical documentation, face-to-face helpdesks and telephonic helplines are a powerful means for supporting users of technical products and services. This study investigates the factors that determine user satisfaction with helpdesks and helplines. A survey, based on the SERVQUAL framework and questionnaire, shows that the SERVQUAL dimensions of customer satisfaction are not applicable in these contexts. Three quality dimensions were found instead: solution quality, the experience of the consultation, and, in the case of a physical environment, the so-called tangibles. Helpdesk customers base their overall quality perceptions mainly on their experiences during a consultation, while helpline customers focus strongly on the quality of the solution offered.\ud The study also found a connection between the perceived helpline quality and the appreciation of the primary service

QUALITY OF SERVICE DELIVERY: ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF MULTI-HOMING AND CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORKS

The structure of the Internet serves as a big commoditizer of all traffic. Therefore all data, be it time critical or not is transported at the same speed. However, recent trends in the internet are changing this structure. The practices of multi-homing and using content delivery networks reduce the commodity nature of data being transported and put terminating Internet service providers in a position to price discriminate against specific providers or types of traffic. We firstly formalize multi-homing and content delivery networks, we then derive end user prices for paid content and lastly show consequences of the modeled situation. We thus show how the two technologies to bypass crowded peerings change the Internet business model. Traffic which is sensitive to transport quality, such as business critical or delay sensitive traffic, will be paying higher fees to terminating ISPs

A descriptive analysis of IT outsourcing configuration

Information Systems (IS) outsourcing is a growing phenomenon in present-day firms that has generally been characterised with an insufficient level of detail and analysis. This is mainly due to the fact that outsourcing has been studied as a set of homogeneous services, failing to distinguish that there is a variety of contracts and ways to implement the outsourcing relationship. That is why this paper seeks to focus on all the aspects which define outsourcing contracts and relationships through the results of a survey carried out among the largest Spanish firms, suggesting the foreseeable future with respect to outsourcing in those companies

A transaction cost theoretical analysis of software-as-a-service (SAAS)-based sourcing in SMBs and enterprises

This study seeks to better understand the factors contributing to the adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS) as on-demand sourcing option. Grounded in transaction cost theory (TCT), we developed a research model for assessing SaaS-sourcing at the application level. Four hypotheses with three TCTbased constructs (application specificity, environmental uncertainty, and usage frequency) and one contingency factor (firm size) affecting the adoption of SaaS-based sourcing were formulated. Survey data of 154 firms in Europe with 284 response items across different industries were collected to test the theoretical model. PLS-based structural equation modeling demonstrated that uncertainty emerges as the strongest factor for SaaS-adoption, while application specificity also contributes significantly. Differentiating between small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and enterprises, uncertainty represents the strongest driver for SaaS-adoption in SMBs, whereas application specificity is more important in enterprises. Finally, firm size is significantly and negatively associated with SaaS-based sourcing within, but not across the subgroups of SMBs and enterprises

System Development Service Quality: A Comparison of the In-House Development and the Application Outsourcing Environment

Very few studies have investigated the service quality of the system development process. In this study, an instrument based on SERVPERF\u27s service quality dimensions, i.e., tangibles, reliability, empathy, responsiveness, and assurance, was developed to study the service quality for in-house and outsourced system development process. Analysis of the data collected from 152 system users who had also involved in the development of those systems supported the validity and reliability of the newly developed measures. The relative contribution of the individual service quality dimensions to the overall system development service quality was found to vary between the outsourcing and in-house group, so as the impact of the overall system development service quality on the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. These results suggest that users may evaluate the services provided by outsourcing vendors and in-house IT personnel differently

Information systems outsourcing satisfaction: some explanatory factors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse Information Systems outsourcing success, measuring the latter according to the satisfaction level achieved by users and taking into account three success factors: the role played by the client firm’s top management; the relationships between client and provider; and the degree of outsourcing. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was carried out by means of a questionnaire answered by 398 large Spanish firms. Its results were examined using the partial least squares software and through the proposal of a structural equation model. Findings – The conclusions reveal that the perceived benefits play a mediating role in outsourcing satisfaction and also that these benefits can be grouped together into three categories: strategic; economic; and technological ones. Originality/value – The study identifies how some success factors will be more influent than others depending which type of benefits are ultimately sought with outsourcing

Modeling Quality Dynamics in IT Services Management

The increasing importance of information technology (IT) services in the global economy prompts IS researchers to focus on service quality dynamics to capture the critical interaction between human behavior and IT. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a user perceived IT service quality model for mHealth using a cross-disciplinary approach. The conceptual model is rooted in the traditional cognition (service quality) – affective (satisfaction)– conation (continuance intentions) chain but explicitly identifies three primary dimensions (i.e., system quality, interaction quality and outcome quality) and eight subdimensions (system reliability, system efficiency, system privacy, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, utilitarian benefits and hedonic benefits) of IT service quality in mHealth. The findings of the study show that IT service quality is the third-order, reflective, hierarchical construct with strong positive effects on satisfaction and continuance intentions in a nomological network