IT outsourcing involves complex IT infrastructures that make it extremely difficult to get an accurate inventory of the IT assets under management.
We’ve analyzed more than 60 IT outsourcing engagements using Blazent solutions, and have identified a severe problem with IT outsourcing. Across all information captured, governance control metrics were off by an average of 15% prior to using the Blazent product. This is a staggering number that represents significant portions of IT outsourcing contracts that are not providing value.
The specific areas where outsourcing governance control metrics are out of alignment:
Baselines
This is the most basic measurement — tracking the number of assets under management. Outsourcing contracts are based on the number of assets in the baseline, and when these numbers are off, the relationship suffers. Our analysis shows that on average, 8% of desktop computers and 4% of server are not included in the baseline. The impact on corporate IT is billing “surprises” when the missing assets are eventually discovered and added to the baseline.
With Blazent, accurate baselines are set at the beginning of the relationship using electronic wall-to-wall inventories that are significantly less expensive then manual methods.
Billing Inaccuracies
Tracking the status of assets is extremely important, as billing rates are determined by the status of an asset. Our analysis shows that on average, 9% of servers under management are billed incorrectly. With Blazent, bills are automatically reconciled against actual services delivered to help ensure accuracy.
Audit Exposure
Many IT Outsourcing contracts require book-to-floor audits: the service provider is required to take a sample of the assets from the books and physically go touch each machine on the floor. The process of running a book-to-floor audit is expensive, and if the audit does not pass, there are typically penalties. In our analysis, we found a 14% difference between the “book” and “floor” data, creating significant audit exposure.
With Blazent, every asset is audited every night – not just once a year. We automatically take data from the “book” and compare it against multiple “floor” systems.
Anti-Virus Agent Penetration
Although most enterprises and service providers claim to have very high anti-virus penetration, the reality is quite different. The data shows that on average, antivirus penetration is approximately 84%, leaving 16% of assets exposed. This happens because when assets are not discovered, the anti-virus agents will not be installed. For customers with compliance requirements, this creates the potential for penalties or even loss of certification.
Blazent identifies devices without appropriate anti-virus agents so that they can have agents deployed, increasing coverage. Our customers are typically able to achieve anti-virus coverage of well over 99%.
Operational Agent Penetration
Although most IT outsourcing contracts require a very high penetration of operational agents, our data shows that 8% of servers are missing a patching agent. We have also found that 20% of servers and 10% of desktops are missing a discovery agent.
Blazent identifies assets that do not have these agents so that customers can have them deployed and increase coverage to required levels.
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These shortcomings in IT outsourcing governance have a big impact on the relationship between the service provider and its client. Without accurate data about the asset baseline and the status of each asset, disagreements arise, trust is lost, and both sides waste time and resources on managing disputes. Blazent enables both sides to the outsourcing contract to regain trust in the process and in each other and to focus on growing their core business instead of on managing disputes.
The complete findings of this study, including methodology and detailed analysis, can be found here.
