So what if Microsoft outsources its IT support?

No one should be making a fuss about the company's choice of third-party managed support, says Adrian Polley

Polley: Microsoft's choice does not demonstrate a loss of control over its own tech

When news came out recently that Microsoft's IT helpdesk, desk-side services, and infrastructure and application support were to be managed on-premise by Infosys for its branches across the globe, strong opinions were aired.

While outsourcing catering or cleaning may be deemed sensible, it is often supposed that if a company is outsourcing its IT, it has somehow lost control of what it is doing, with outsourcing a last resort to help clean up the mess.

People have been criticising Microsoft products for years, saying they are difficult to manage. So if the company that produces them can’t manage them, what chance is there for the rest of us?

However, Microsoft has always endorsed outsourcing. And Microsoft is a software company not an expert in infrastructure support and management.

It has outsourced its IT support to improve its systems while achieving its main aim: cost cutting. Delegating the management of support services can enhance IT efficiency and improve the whole business operation, minimising disruptions, inefficiencies and loss.

They have chosen an India-headquartered provider to deliver the service rather than one in the US. Yet Microsoft has to deal with 450 locations across more than 100 countries, managing different languages, cultural issues and laws. Probably, only an offshore global giant could do the job at an affordable price.

The focus, anyway, should not be on the provider but the service.

Managed services can be ideal when a need to delegate management of IT functions is accompanied by a desire to retain a certain amount of power and control over operations, intellectual property and security.

Staying up to date with techniques, solutions and practices can be a struggle for internal IT departments. It is generally easier for a service provider working across multiple clients.

Microsoft is doing something it often does – not accepting the status quo but looking for a better way. Whether it has made the right decision is to be proven, but organisations that fear change take greater risks.

Adrian Polley is chief executive officer at Plan-Net