Outsourcing, Disappearing Perimeters and the Lousy Economy

Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.

 

Speak to twenty CSOs, CTOs or CIOs and you’ll get twenty different viewpoints of the security landscape.

Who Moved My IT?
Many decision-makers strongly feel that outsourcing will be one of the top security priorities for 2009. Ron Culler is one of them. He’s vice president and COO/CIO of Secure Designs Inc., a company that provides managed security services in Greensboro, N.C.

Culler isn’t alone. Earlier this year, a survey by outsourcing BPO company Syntel found that 53 percent of companies plan to increase outsourcing spending in 2008, up from 38 percent in 2006 and 48 percent in 2007. The Everest Research Institute’s Market Vista: Q2 2008 report on global outsourcing said that the outsourcing market continues to grow despite the United States’ shaky economy. Europe accounted for 41 percent of all outsourcing contracts in the second quarter. However, the Everest report also pointed out that many companies are ignoring security problems associated with IT outsourcing until it is too late.

Many technologies, especially VoIP, have been successfully outsourced, says Culler. "Industry statistics estimate that up to 85 percent of small and mid-sized companies are already using some type of outsourced IT services," he explains. "It’s primarily due to the pressures of coping with issues like IT staff availability or expertise …

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