OneNeck IT Services: Oracle Management Services - How to Avoid Outsourcing Pitfalls

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Oracle Management Services

• How to Avoid Outsourcing Pitfalls

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Oracle Management

• Outsourcing Oracle management services will
  continue to become a viable strategic choice
  among more and more companies.
• The pressure is on for businesses to leverage
  their ERP applications to improve processes and
  ultimately have a positive impact on the bottom
  line.

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Oracle Management

• The most important factor in successful Oracle
  management services is selecting the right
  outsourcing vendor from the beginning.
• The wrong partner can be costly and changing
  vendors can be a difficult transition.
• The most important qualification for an IT
  outsourcing provider is to have proven experience
  in the required application environment.

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Oracle Management

• For Oracle management services, companies need a
  service provider with verifiable expertise in
  Oracle applications and widespread experience
  managing Oracle environments.
• Finding certified Oracle partners is an initial
  step in identifying qualified candidates.

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Oracle Management

• If companies focus on qualifying criteria with
  the most impact, they have a better chance of
  securing the best relationship with an Oracle
  management services provider.
• Rather than evaluate a plethora of
  qualifications, businesses should focus on
  answering at least the following eight questions

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Oracle Management

• What are the outsourcing firms service offerings
  and how do they measure in terms of quality and
  reliability?
• What is the Oracle management providers level of
  application management skills and does the vendor
  have access to new technologies?

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Oracle Management

• Can you verify the expertise, technical skills
  and resumes of the outsourcing companys staff?
• Does the Oracle management services company have
  a good reputation, track record, references and
  other third party, objective endorsements?

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Oracle Management

• Does the outsourcing firm have global delivery
  capabilities and facilities strategically
  located?
• Does the vendors pricing provide the necessary
  cost savings and value?

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Oracle Management

• Is the Oracle management services provider
  financially stable and have adequate funding to
  ensure theyll be around for the long haul?
• Is the outsourcing companys corporate culture a
  good fit with the customers executives,
  technical staff and end-users?

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Oracle Management

• The next criteria for companies evaluating
  outsourcing providers is assessing the vendors
  performance measurements.
• Often performance criteria are spelled out in the
  agreements with specific metrics.
• To ensure the best partnership, the outsourcing
  agreement must include a detailed description of
  services and the measurement criteria to be used
  for performance evaluation.

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Oracle Management

• Having issues with the scope of services after an
  agreement is in place can put a strain on the
  relationship.
• Both parties must develop and agree on a
  comprehensive set of services, deliverables,
  pricing, schedules and performance levels.
• What penalties occur if certain performance
  levels are not maintained?

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Oracle Management

• Finally, an important part of an outsourcing
  arrangement is managing the vendor.
• Although the outsourcing company will be assuming
  the work is clearly defined in legal Statements
  of Work (SOWs), they will still need to have
  open channels of communication with the customer.
  
• Active involvement by both parties will ensure
  project goals are met and the relationship can
  move forward productively.

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Oracle Management

• Outsourcing Oracle management services will
  continue to grow as more companies realize the
  value of not having an entire in-house operation.
  
• As time goes on, outsourcing is expected to offer
  more cost efficient, and value justified,
  application management solutions.

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About the Author

• Chuck Vermillion is CEO and founder of OneNeck IT
  Services, a leading provider of hosted
  application management and managed services since
  1997. For more information about Oracle
  Management, visit http//www.oneneck.com/Solutions
  .aspx today.