Exploring the challenges of IT outsourcing in Morocco: Towards the design of a resilient contract

Abstract

Modern companies are called upon to keep pace with the rapid development and change taking place in the field of information technology. Indeed, to fully play its roles, the company is called upon to hire a competent team for its IT function, which masters both the technical and the managerial aspects. However, having a competent IT team is not always easy.

Faced with this situation, companies often opt for IT outsourcing practices, entrusting all or part of their IT management to an external, competent and professional company.

This article aims to explore the challenges faced by IT service providers (IT suppliers) and enterprises (customers) in managing an IT outsourcing relationship.

To this end, we conducted a qualitative case study. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic content analysis.

The results highlight a series of challenges that both parties must overcome when agreeing to sign an IT outsourcing contracts. These challenges relate in particular to the agreement of service levels, the contract duration, the type of contract, the decision to invest or not to invest in IT, the cost of the contract, and finally the contractual relationship and risk management linked to the IT outsourcing contracts.

This article, from a supplier-oriented perspective, contributes to an understanding of the constraints and stakes of an IT outsourcing contractual relationship, and presents an explanation of the challenges that lead to a successful IT outsourcing contract.

Keywords: IT outsourcing, IT externalization, IT outsourcing challenges, IT contract, IT service provider.

Classification JEL : M15, O32, Q55.

Paper type: Empirical Research