Outsourcing can often be perceived in a negative light because it is an alternative to internal staff, but in 2010 IT talent industry watchers say that high-tech workers able to identify areas that can be outsourced and save their companies cash will be in demand. Vendor negotiation and management skills will also be rewarded, experts say, as companies looking to rebuild toward an economic recovery seek the most affordable contracts.
"Outsourcing is going to continue to be a trend, and the skill sets to manage vendor relationships and contract performance will be highly valued," says Lily Mok, vice president of Gartner's CIO Research. "Companies will want to consolidate vendors, find better deals with existing vendors, really understand their contracts in terms of costs and performance, and renegotiate contracts to find better options."
IT candidates with expertise in areas such as software license management, contract negotiations and managing consultants or distributed teams could help a company determine which managed service offering could be a good fit or if cloud computing is a reasonable choice for a midsize or smaller company, says David Foote, co-founder, CEO and chief research officer at Foote Partners.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/010410-outlook-it-skills-outsourcing.html