IT Strategic Sourcing at the IMF: the View from the Statistics Department

1. IT Strategic Sourcing at the IMF: the View from the Statistics Department Meeting on the Management of Statistical Information Systems (MSIS), Geneva, May 8-10, 2007 Patrick Hinderdael, Economic Systems, TGS Cathy Wright, Statistical Information Mgt, STA

2. Context • The pace of global sourcing is rapidly increasing in the IT industry. Gartner (2005) predicted that “through 2012, the combined forces of globalization and global sourcing will drive organizations to standardize and improve their business processes to achieve greater agility and an additional cost saving of between 25 and 40 percent.” • The 2005 IT Review concluded that the IMF’s IT outlays are not significantly out of line with comparator institutions, but there are opportunities for gains in effectiveness and efficiency through global sourcing. This finding was supported by IMF management and the Executive Board.

3. Potential Benefits, Costs, and Risks Potential Benefits • Cost savings • Faster delivery of IT services • Quality and consistency of IT Costs and Risks • Operational complexity of many projects • Reputational and security risks • Business operations • Potential legal challenge

4. Key Elements of the IT Strategy • Take advantage of global sourcing to reduce labor costs and deliver IT services more efficiently. • Move towards performance-based contracting with strategic partner and reduce dependency on the staff augmentation model. • Develop a long-term IT staffing model and organizational structure to support the strategy and industry best practices. • Strengthen IT and information security practices.

5. Milestones Since MSIS June 2006 • Analysis of responses to RFP and selection of Tata Consulting Services • Two small pilot projects completed • Detailed portfolio analysis of 25 projects • Transition of projects will begin May 2007

6. Next Steps for the Statistics Dept • August 2007 will begin the transition and implementation of 3 major projects: • Integrated Correspondence System (data collection) • Data Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board • Economic Data Facility/Data Management for Excel

7. Key Business Concerns • Governance: achieving balance among business, IT, and the sourcing partner • Project staffing and continuity • Hidden costs to business stakeholders • Risks and adequate mitigation strategies

8. Applications Development and Maintenance Stream RFP 1 AD Pilot & ADM / SDLC Group 1 Applications Transition Group 2 Applications Transition Group 3 Applications Transition ADM Pilot Infrastructure and Infrastructure Support Stream Benchmark IMF Costs & Effectiveness RFP 2 Infrastructure Services Infrastructure Service Transition RFP 3 Infrastructure Support Services Infrastructure Support Services Transition Staffing Model and Organizational Alignment Stream Staff Transition IT Staffing Model Development Staff Training and Start-up SMO & Staff Realignment Global Sourcing Continuous IT Process Improvement Stream Sourcing Management Excellence Co-Management Processes Definition & Continuous Improvement Sourcing Governance & IT Governance Optimization Main Work Streams Year 3 Year1

9. Potential for a Successful Outcome • Active and effective partnership between business and IT partners • Greater rigor applied to application development, testing, and support • Improvement of IT and business processes To be continued...at MSIS 2008