The Digital Firm

The basic question we will answer in this book is: How can an organization today obtain the information systems it needs? What does it take to ensure that those systems are of a good quality and that they work together properly, supporting the needs of the organization?

The type of organization we have in mind is a business firm. However, the fundamental principles, methods and technologies for creating information systems discussed in this book are applicable to other organizations such as nonprofit organizations, government offices, and municipal authorities.

When the outsourcing partner is located in a different country or continent, then this type of outsourcing is called

offshoring

. Transferring work to low-wage countries in general, and in the IT (information technology) field in particular, has recently received substantial attention. Many organizations hope to benefit from the global distribution of work by offshoring because it cuts costs. India, China and Eastern Europe are the preferred locations for offshoring IT work today. In chapter 2, outsourcing and offshoring with regard to information systems development are discussed in more detail.