In order for multi-sourcing to be successful, organisations must be capable of integrating their service providers into a single, cohesive unit.

SIAM/MSI — An introduction to Service Integration and Management/Multi-sourcing Integration for IT Service Management explains:

the merits of a multi-sourced approach to outsourcing service towers the benefits of multi-sourcing contracts with service providers for specified towers how to align multi-sourced services the challenges of using a multi-sourced model how to determine the IT operating model (with reference to the international standards ISO 38500, ISO 38501 and ISO 38502) the different types of service integration models (ISI, ESI and ETSI), and the benefits and challenges of each aggregating service-level performance a multi-sourcing RFP approach, taking into account structural, operational and governance requirements.

If you’re thinking of moving from a single-source to a multi-source outsourcing model, SIAM/MSI — An introduction to Service Integration and Management/Multi-sourcing Integration for IT Service Management provides the answers to all of your questions.

David Clifford