Making sense of all your options A look at the many stripes of the outsourcing players Hints for striking a good deal How to get an outsourcing contract you can live with. Evaluation time Pick outsourcers by using this criteria. How to manage your outsourcing contractors Management tips from the trenches We ask the experts: Users. The Short List Our recommendations. The Chart in WinWord 6.0 The Chart in PDF Both versions list outsourcing vendors, their offerings and metrics Outsourcing Institute Web site

Think of any network IS task on your plate - from filling a knowledge gap, providing temporary help or simply performing routine chores - and you can bet there's an army of outsourcing vendors ready to make a pitch for your business.

In weighing your options, you have to develop a long-range outsourcing strategy, identify your exact requirements, then sort through the ever-expanding range of providers.

Once you've signed on the dotted line, your main concern becomes making sure your selected vendor lives up to its side of the bargain.

It is those issues we address in this special section. In a series of Buyer's Guide articles, we offer advice on how to identify the various types of outsourcers and some criteria by which to evaluate the players. We also help you identify when its time to consider outsourcing and explain how you can develop an outsourcer acquisition strategy.

But all that's only a first step. The critical factor in ensuring that an outsourcing relationship realizes its promise is to effectively manage it. We've checked in with experts on every side of the issue to bring you their sage advice.

So please read on, enjoy and, most of all, learn.