The question in Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition

Masters Degree:

Follow the professor's Guidance.

Question:

1- What are the most common challenges for IT projects that lead to their failure. Bring one of your personal experiences in the real world.

2-In your opinion, how can an IT company achieve, if at all, a balance between global outsourcing and keeping employment at home? Support your response with at least one reference/study.

PROFESSOR'S GUIDANCE FOR THIS WEEK'S LE:

Outsourcing is easy to be replicated, and therefore, it is not a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Outsourcing provides certain competitive advantages to early-movers --that is, to companies that adapt it first -- but it isnt proprietary. It cannot be patented, preventing others from adapting it. For example, if outsourcing hardware manufacturing provides IBM a cost advantage, it also does for its competitors, such as the Hewlett-Packard, Dell Computers, and EMC that will follow suit. If outsourcing call centers cut costs for American Express, it also does for its credit card competitors Visa and Master Card. This means that outsourcing works only as long as some industry members have yet to adapt it. Once this happens, outsourcing is no longer a source of competitive advantage.

Thank you