The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) Hardcover – Illustrated, 18 April 2005

While a few good points are made in the text they would barely fill a short series in a trade magazine. The authors seem to assume that because outsourcing of business processes is relatively new (i.e. relative to the history of the corporation) that all readers will be completely naïve on the associated issues. However the procurement of goods and services are not a new subjects. The authors thus waste a good deal of time covering material that many managers will be familiar with or can get ready advice from contracts and procurement colleagues. The authors promote the concept of employing a `Chief Resource Officer' and certified out-sourcing professionals with all the enthusiasm of people wishing to create new silos and overhead rather than integrated solutions. The authors offer no particular insights from their own apparent outsourcing experience in the form of case studies (de-identified or otherwise).The majority of the book covers the perspective of the company outsourcing and focuses on large outsourcing deals. The second part discusses getting a job with an outsourcer. This section is accompanied by hints like `TIP: Follow the winds of change' and `TIP: learn to use cutting edge job-hunting tools' by which they seem to mean the internet. A final part briefly how to set up a small outsource provider. One tip their refers the reader to the web site address of the institute for outsourcing founded by the authors. That address is no longer active....The authors' apparent preferred writing is to create lists. While sometimes bullet pointed lists are appropriate it soon becomes wearing. Close to half the book is also made up of long and bland lists of activities that can be outsourced, large outsourcing providers, outsourcing web sites etc. These lists are not appendices but buried in the text of chapters. Not only is this material generally US-centric, it is also now 5 years out of date and basically their inclusion is an insult to the environment. These large lists would be better maintained on a web-site. Frustratingly the authors have a web-site for the book that is still active and does include some of that information there. The terms and conditions that must be accepted to download a simple list of vendors from that site are 4 pages long, which is a sign.

Goo book

Authors Douglas Brown and Scott Wilson offer a good, elementary introduction to outsourcing. They present a comprehensive survey of how to decide whether to outsource and how to select an outsource vendor, deal with contract negotiations and prepare for the reality behind the hype of outsourcing. Many business readers may be surprised to learn that, notwithstanding the great difference in pay between Indian and American engineers (for example), first-year savings on outsourcing contracts may be as little as 15%, and company productivity may fall by this amount or more because of the time you must invest in knowledge-transfer and training. The book includes a lengthy directory of firms involved in outsourcing services and provides several chapters to guide employees who are facing the possibility of having their jobs outsourced. We recommend this book to managers whose companies are considering outsourcing and to those who hope for careers in the burgeoning outsourcing industry.

Brown has achieved to describe a great deal of the outsourcing project management side of how to outsource. However, while I was reading the book I felt I had heard it all before in some other books I've read previously on outsourcing contract and project management. The only essence in the book are the good examples provided to explain each stage of the outsourcing process. I would say that there are books which do go through outsourcing in more ways than one including socio-economic, legal and cultural aspects of onshore or offshore outsourcing.

I bought this after reading other reviews both here and in the US. I was not disappointed.Well worth the money.Another source of good quality advice from a UK Source is "The Outsourcing Handbook." Pub 2006 by Kogan Page.Recommended by the Institute of Directors.Stan Felstead. Interchange Resources. UK.

The book is more for those who have no knowledge or exposure to outsourcing before. If you are looking for more meat in outsourcing then this is not for you. However if you are an oursourcing virgin then this is a treasure mine.

This is a practical quick reference book. Very useful if you are in the US - all addresses and information is US related.As I am working in Europe, I had to do my own research of companies and sources of information.