The whole purpose of working with consultants is to improve the way you’re doing things. In the case of IT, it’s not so much that consultants have all the mainframe outsourcing solutions as that they know where to find them. And perhaps even more important, they have specific knowledge that can help you evaluate the options you find, so you can make the most intelligent outsourcing decisions.

“You can’t see the forest for the trees.”

Managing a large enterprise can be a lot like that saying. You’re primarily focused on maintaining daily operations and balancing your own near-term needs to meet marketplace demands that are becoming increasingly individualized. The day-to-day choreography needed to coordinate departments and locations is highly complex. It takes diligent oversight. Your people are functioning smoothly, but they’re busy.

And the world is changing all around you, especially when it comes to technology. You may need a total transformation to keep functioning smoothly and also be adequately prepared to handle whatever comes along next. IT has to capably support planned growth but also assure the flexibility to capture an unexpected opportunity or sustain events out of your control.

Stepping back to see the big picture.

Mainframe outsourcing consultants take a holistic approach to finding the right solutions. They’ll start by helping you conduct an internal “environmental scan” so you can answer the fundamental question first: should we, or shouldn’t we proceed with mainframe outsourcing? 

What is it your company expects to accomplish, long term? To establish a sound, relevant business case, you need to gather detailed information about current mainframe  and related functions -- to conduct what is essentially an IT SWOT analysis. But you also have to couple that with a detailed compilation of associated costs, both direct and indirect.

Now you have all the data you need to intelligently consider the potential of mainframe outsourcing based on total cost of ownership – the ultimate determining factor. If it looks promising, your consultants can become even more valuable.

Finding your way through the forest of mainframe outsourcing options.  

To follow through with outsourcing, you’ll need to decide what to do and who should do it. Your consultant is intimately familiar with all the possible permutations, in terms of virtual and cloud-based mainframe solutions. They’ll lay out the possibilities for you and help you choose the one – or combination – that best matches your current operations needs and future plans.

Then they’ll follow the same process for the next step, determining the right provider. Your consultant knows what each firm has to offer, and how good they are at delivering as promised. They also know which firms have the financial stability and skills to grow with you.

Considering your mainframe outsourcing options is a serious undertaking. You’re trying to keep one eye on reducing costs, the other on improving service and quality -- no easy feat in a technology environment that’s evolving at break-neck speed. With professional help, you can arrive at solutions tailored specifically to your organization. Your consultant will even help engineer the smoothest possible transition.

The best mainframe outsourcing consultants provide more than advice.

By allowing them to step in and do much of the work for you, you can save substantial time and remain focused on your primary responsibilities. You’ll not only get better results, you’ll get them faster, without losing control of the investigation process. That’s a better use of manpower and financial resources, too.

But don’t expect any top-level mainframe outsourcing consultant to just hand you solutions on a platter. Or give you a book of templates so you can fill in the blanks. You’ll still have to do some work to ensure you’re headed in the right direction and selecting meaningful implementation solutions. 

Photo credit: Moyan_Brenn via Flickr