With the advantage of in-house, proprietary technologies diminishing, companies are focussing “more on their core competencies” (Tebboune 2003, p722) and outsourcing their IT commitments; this further reinforcing the argument that IT is becoming a commodity. Venkatraman (1992, p84) citing Quinn, notes “companies are outsourcing integral and key elements of their value chains, because outsiders can perform them at lower cost and higher value-added than the buying company”. The cost savings involved allow companies to write-off expenditure linked with the purchasing and maintenance of computer hardware and software, such as depreciation, maintenance and licensing costs, as well as the need to train and/or employ IT specialists (Calta 2002). However, this engagement also has its disadvantages. Dependency on another company could lead to a “lack of awareness of costs management, a loss of control and of internal technical knowledge and some issues of confidentiality may arise” (Clark et al 1995; Currie and Willcocks 1997; Earl 1996; Takac 1994; Willcocks et al 1996; cited by Tebboune 2003, p725). Meanwhile, grey areas in contracts could raise disputes when unexpected growth occurs, which could become costly and timely to resolve (DePompa 2003). Security concerns also exist, requiring trust be put in the outsourcer to protect your information from attack, whether by virus, hacking or destruction caused by natural disaster (Olson 2007).

Whilst outsourcing provides a cost saving way of incorporating IT successfully into organisations, effectively sharing the cost, it further emphasises the commoditisation that is taking place and “that the IT buildout is much closer” (Carr 2003, p47). The average salary of a programmer in the US is $65,000, whereas in Vietnam the salary is only $3,475 (Olson 2007, p3716), but this fact does not clearly display the reputability of the outsourcer, or the training and ability of its staff. For most small to medium sized companies, many of which do not have an IT department, outsourcing would suffice. However, their minimal tasks do not compare with those involved in larger organisations; “as companies find their business practices increasingly tied to their IT solutions, they find outsourcing increasingly dangerous” (H A. Marquis 2006, p12). An example of two organisations that would certainly lose their strategic advantage if they outsourced their IT departments are Google.com and Amazon.com. They are dependant on their ISs to stay flexible and keep customers interested, “driven more by technological opportunities and what is technically feasible rather than what the market demands” (Helm 2007, p368). Understanding their customer needs, and building a relationship is important to there success, whereas, outsourcing this key component would reduce there ability to stay on top and succeed. For most organisations the future of IT will not be in there own hands, and this could be the turning point where IT is no longer seen as a strategic competitive advantage, but merely a commodity that needs to be paid for.

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