Outsourcing Options Discussed at C.W. Post Conference

Businesses can implement outsourcing to maintain their competitive edge — and a recent conference showed them how.

The Second Annual International Outsourcing Conference at the Sheraton Towers in New York City covered everything from finding the right outsourcing partner to measuring your success.

The international conference, co-sponsored by C.W. Post's College of Management and the Center for Global Outsourcing on August 25 and 26, 2003, featured talks by outsourcing experts from around the world.

Dr. Shailendra Palvia (left), principal of the Center for Global Outsourcing (CGO) and director of Management Information Systems at C.W. Post, introduces Dr. Varun Grover (right) who discussed "Making Sense of Research in IT Outsourcing." Dr. Grover is a top researcher in the field of management information systems.

According to Dr. Shailendra Palvia, principal of the Center for Global Outsourcing (CGO) and director of Management Information Systems at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, an increasing number of companies are opting to contract out projects and even critical business operations to independent workers, consultants and highly specialized companies. 

"The benefits are two-fold," said Dr. Palvia.  "Workers retain their independence under a freelance arrangement, while the company saves money on employee benefits and overhead. That can be good for the American and international economies because strong, not weak, companies are the ones hiring."

According to the Meta Group, Inc., an IT and business transformation strategies research and consulting firm in Stamford, CT, most IT organizations will outsource at least one mission-critical technology operation by 2005.

Topics at the conference include the logistics and cost of outsourcing health care and R&D; customer relationship management; and off-shore outsourcing. Guest speakers addressed the effects of outsourcing on drug and health care costs, and the benefits outsourcing affords for clients and employees.

For more information on outsourcing and the Center for Global Outsourcing, email admin@outsourceglobal.org, call 770-649-6718 or visit www.outsourceglobal.org.