Currently set to No Index

Big Data #5: Outsourcing: How to Choose a Big Data Vendor

I have just discussed that the overall best way to go with your Big Data project is to start with people inside your company. However, there will be times when you will need assistance from outside vendors. It is important to show the same care and the attention you spent on choosing your Big Data team in choosing your Big Data vendor.

When working with third parties, it is important that you treat them as a temporary support. I mean, when you are receiving outside support, you cannot let them do everything for you, and you having no clue as to what they are doing. Your responsibility is to monitor them carefully, learn how they are carrying out tasks, how they are performing their jobs and to document everything. Big Data is no different.

Although I have expressed my ideas with reasons against Big Data outsourcing, there will be times when companies will need to outsource their Big Data projects. The reasons may be plenty, such as infrastructure, required investment, ROI concerns, staffing issues, budgets or some combination of these.

If Big Data is to be outsourced, I advise you to start with a pilot project. Big Data is a new area in IT and so are the contractors. The contractors will try to reap profits from the hype and will be paving ways for a long term engagement to ensure that when the hype is cooled, they will still be making money. In order to protect your interests, ask for a pilot project to evaluate the contractor. And watch out for the signs to tie you to a long term engagement. It is you, not the contractor who will decide if the contractor is well worth for a long term contract.

RELATED:   The Four Easy Steps to Getting Your Website Back Online Quickly When Your Host Goes Down

The contractor needs to understand your industry in detail rather than having a vague idea or with the unjustified self-confidence that his expertise in one industry will apply to yours as well. Remember that your industry is different and your company is unique and your contractor’s cluelessness is his own problem. The contractor must have the skilled personnel, the right tools and the right processes to work closely with your company. If you already have a Big Data team working and you are hiring a contractor, make sure that the contractor can deliver what your team asks. If you don’t have the dedicated Big Data team, make sure that the contractor can effectively communicate with your business-side (non-IT) personnel and deliver their requirements (rather than steering/convincing them that what he delivers is better than what they ask).

RELATED:   Big Data #3: Impact on the Data Center

In parallel to all of these, remember that what you are outsourcing is your data, which is your company’s most valuable asset. Make sure that the contractor/vendor is tightly bound by the contract terms from legal, financial and security points of view. You will need a very detailed non-disclosure agreement because it is the key of your company that you are outsourcing. To have a better peace of mind, engage your IT security and company lawyers in the project, put control points and keep the executive management very closely informed on the matters before the data leaves your company.

One of the most neglected points in the consultancy/vendor contracts is the documentation and the training issues. Almost all of the companies act like outsourcing is a one-way relationship: when the contractor/vendor is decided, everything is their problem. But it is just the opposite. When you are giving things away, you are giving your knowledge away. If, at some point in time, you decide to take this knowledge back, and if you did not receive anything from the contractor during the period, you are left with a ticking bomb in your hands: a machine that is working, which you don’t have any clue about. To avoid such a situation, make sure that what the contractor does is properly documented and his knowledge is returned back to your company. If you have an in-house Big Data team, this knowledge will in turn contribute to your team’s level of knowledge and expertise.

RELATED:   YouTube Marketing Tips: A Great Social Media Tool!

If you are hiring a contractor for training purposes, there are a couple of points to check to make sure that the training will be effective:

  • Does the trainer have a hands-on expertise with Big Data so that he can answer your team’s scenario-based questions?

  • Does the training facility have the infrastructure for a hands-on Big Data training?

  • Does the training facility provide training for one vendor only? (This may mean that they have a rather limited – vendor-specific – perspective on Big Data.)

  • Does the training offered addresses the needs of your Big Data team’s requirements? (Did your Big Data team reviewed the training outline/contents?)

If you are ready to outsource your Big Data to a third party, rethink once again. How will you make sure that your Big Data project is not tied to the success of an outside organization after you have given them your company’s most valuable asset?

References:

  • Featured Image: salon.com

whg_banner.new.10k

How to Find a Successful Name For Your New Blog?
How to Find a Successful Name For Your New Blog?

One of the most important decisions you can make to ensure your blog is among the best is to select a name. While there are more than 500 million blogs available...

How-to Start a Blog – Review of the Best 10 Blogging Platforms
How-to Start a Blog – Review of the Best 10 Blogging Platforms

If you want to start a blog as fast as possible, then you need to consider choosing a blogging platform. Thankfully, there are some excellent free and paid blogging platforms...

How Referral Marketing Can Benefit Web Hosts
How Referral Marketing Can Benefit Web Hosts

Even if the niche of web hosts are fully loaded with a lot of companies they are still one of the easiest to promote because you could write your own...

Broken Links: How to Find, Fix, and Benefit from Broken Links
Broken Links: How to Find, Fix, and Benefit from Broken Links

Links are what holds the web together. Essentially, the web is named as such because of the ability for pages and sites to link to other sources and relevant information....

Brand Value & the Most Powerful Brands (with Infographic)
Brand Value & the Most Powerful Brands (with Infographic)

Brand value – everyone wants it, however, only few are able to achieve it. The subject of “brand value” holds a significant position amongst marketers, executives, and entrepreneurs. Let’s discuss...

Reasons why your business should shift to Cloud hosting
Reasons why your business should shift to Cloud hosting

Cloud hosting has been on the rise since its inception. The improvement to your website performance and business efficiency that comes with Cloud hosting is almost tangible.

Why We Love the IT Support Career?
Why We Love the IT Support Career?

In almost all of my posts I was talking about the stressful side of the IT – the long hours, end user issues, migrations, midnight calls and the like. But...

IT Manager: Ways To Show Your Appreciation To Your Team
IT Manager: Ways To Show Your Appreciation To Your Team

Surely your team struggled hard and made things happen. You cannot say “this is what you get paid for” and just leave – you cannot keep your IT staff that...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *