Having been on both sides of information technology (IT) outsourcing deals, I looked forward to reviewing this book. After reading the book, however, I have a mixed opinion of it. On the plus side, the book contains a lot of good information about IT outsourcing. On the negative side, the book seems like a lengthy article stretched into a book.

This book is about how organizations can successfully outsource IT projects, services, and operations. The author states that the purpose of the book is to provide practical guidance and advice to IT professionals, but that executives and senior managers intrigued by outsourcing will also benefit. However, the book is suited mostly for large organizations considering outsourcing as an option. The book, though dry, is readable by nontechnical people. The author avoids technical jargon, and provides explanations wherever she uses technical terms.

Sparrow has divided the book into nine chapters. Chapter 1 lays the groundwork; it defines the various terms that the author uses later in the book, and presents an overview of different types of outsourcing. Chapter 2 discusses the pros and cons of outsourcing, and provides suggestions for dealing with outsourcing options. Chapter 3 provides guidelines for outsourcing. Chapter 4 describes a process for choosing a service provider. Chapter 5 focuses on contract management. Chapter 6 discusses performance measurement. Chapter 7 addresses the risks and controls associated with outsourcing deals. How to manage outsourcing initiatives that fail to deliver is the topic covered in chapter 8. Chapter 9 provides an overview of new trends in outsourcing.

The strength of the book, in addition to its good overview of outsourcing, lies in its coverage of some individual topics. Outsourcing is not necessarily always a good or bad idea, and somebody who has no experience with outsourcing may not be aware of all the pitfalls and benefits of outsourcing. This book presents a thorough view of the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing. The descriptions of how to create tender documents, contracts, and service level agreements (SLAs); how to evaluate service providers; and how to measure the performance of a service provider are good. The chapter on what to do when outsourcing fails is full of practical and valuable information for anyone associated with outsourcing. This chapter describes why outsourcing initiatives sometimes fail, what warning signals to look for, and how to turn outsourcing failures into success.

The main weakness of the book is that the author uses filler material in many places. The text is often repetitive and redundant. For instance, the first three chapters have too many examples that do not add any value to the accompanying text. I would have preferred fewer, but more in-depth, examples. The poor organization of some of the chapters is the second weakness of the book. In a few places, the flow is not logical. For example, in chapter 2, “The Case For and Against Outsourcing,” the last section discusses what steps IT professionals should take to manage their career if their organizations are considering outsourcing. As another example, the last section in chapter 3 seems like a long list of 23 bullet points. These issues make the book hard to read. The bottom line for this book is that the content is good, but the presentation is weak.