Technology Outsourcing – A Practitioner’s Guide

 

Editor John Angel
The Law Society
ISBN 1853288322
Cost. £79.95

Reviewed by:
Professor Mads Bryde Andersen
Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen
Mads.Bryde.Andersen@jur.ku.dk

 

A first edition of this book was published by Sweet & Maxwell in 1998 under the title “Outsourcing Practice Manual”. Since then the outsourcing market has grown exponentially. From being a “panic-driven need to reduce costs” (to quote the introduction of the book), a comprehensive sourcing strategy is now an accepted and fundamental tool for many successful companies who aim at providing a competitive advantage. The need to understand outsourcing contracts has grown similarly.

The book is written for lawyers – be it practicing, in house or government – who need to understand this new area. Some chapters deal with aspects of outsourcing that are relevant for any outsourcing transaction (including procurement issues, employment issues, pension considerations and tax considerations), while others concentrate on specific outsourcing transactions (e.g. information systems and telecommunications outsourcing, website hosting, business process outsourcing, and public sector outsourcing).

It is a challenge to edit so many different issues, contributions and chapters: If the editor does not exercise his power towards the contributor in the creative process, the book will end up with different approaches, overlapping chapters etc. In this difficult task, the loyalty of the editor has clearly been on the reader’s side. Although the risk of overlapping chapters is obvious, only a few issues are dealt with twice.

All the way through, the text is stringent and clear. With several document and contract examples, even readers with prior knowledge in the field will find food for thought and practical advice. And although primarily written for a British audience I have no hesitation in recommending it for any lawyer, regardless of which legal system he or she practices under.

 

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This is a Book Review published on 30 November 2004.

Citation: Andersen, ' Technology Outsourcing – A Practitioner’s Guide’, Book Review, 2004 (2) The Journal of Information, Law and Technology (JILT).<http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/2004_2/andersen/>.

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