Publisher's Synopsis
The business benefits of open systems include lower costs, negotiating strength and greater choice, but whilst paving the way for greater confidence in IT procurement, open systems can also introduce risks that undermine such benefits.;This guide, written for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) by leading members of the IT community, seeks to address those risks constructively, and to show how products and systems can be procured and integrated, simply and with confidence into an Open Systems environment. At its heart is a range of measures or assurances that improve the process of IT and telecommunications procurement by providing the framework for a well-planned approach to risk management: reduce the risks in procurement and integration of open systems; enhance project management, facilitating the achievement of set goals in a reduced time; and simplify and rationalize the procurement planning process, to give greater value for money.;This guide addresses IT policy managers, those who implement procurement, and those customer organizations, systems integrators and consultants who have roles in the procurement process.;In particular, the guide sets out nine assurances or risk-reducing activities, to protect against the risks of interworking problems, inaccessible data, poor usability and supplier lock-in.
