Outsourcing governance – the set of roles and functions that make up the oversight and management of an outsourcing relationship – is universally seen as essential but not, alas, universally performed adequately. According to the latest white paper in the Swingtide CIO Monograph Series, Bringing Governance Upstream: The T-Minus Deal Approach, a contributing factor to the inadequacy of governance is the fact that it is begun too late.

“Normally, governance begins after the deal is signed,” said monograph coauthor and Swingtide senior consultant Chris Herman. “Bringing it upstream to the very earliest deal-forming and relationship-forming activities brings the dealmakers and the deal ‘doers’ together to assure real continuity and understanding.”

“Deal framers scatter after the deal is signed,” noted Swingtide president Diane Carco. “Starting governance after they’re gone, and chasing down hard-to-book executives to serve on governance steering committees long after the deal is fully formed, invites the kind of disjunctive problems so many outsourcing deals face.”

The monograph is available for download free of charge at www.swingtide.com.

About Swingtide:

Swingtide, Inc. is an organization of high-value consultants with real-world experience, an analytical approach, and the ability to identify and solve IT-related business problems with well-defined methods. Its senior business and IT professionals have the experience required to solve complex business and technical problems in rapidly changing environments. Founded in 2001 with backing from FirstMark Capital and private investors, Swingtide helps its consulting clients reduce cost, efficiently outsource and effectively complete mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and realize the benefits of new technologies in information-intensive industries including insurance and financial services.