How did it go down, what were the results? The fundamental problem is a misalignment of incentives. Noone has yet figured this out and there is no technologica

How did it go down, what were the results? The fundamental problem is a misalignment of incentives. Noone has yet figured this out and there is no technological solution to it - it may actually be impossible and it ALWAYS bites the company that outsources on the arse eventually. If your "trusted solutions provider" bills by the hour... they will seek to maximise billable hours. If they charge per ticket, they will drown you in paperwork for the most trivial changes. Anything that your in-house staff used to do that isn't explicitly stated in the contract, they either won't do or will charge a punitive rate for. If your needs change faster than the length of the contract, well you are stuck on the old contract. If you need some code written the spec you will need to write will be so detailed that it might as well be the code. And after a few years you will have lost the capability to take the work back in-house and they will hold you to ransom, because they can, and because that was the plan all along... But the short-term incentives to do it are strong, as a manager in a large corporation or a government department, you can sign that outsourcing deal and it will look good enough in the first year to win you your next promotion, or a guaranteed sinecure in the outsourcing company when you retire, by the time the truth comes out you will be long gone .