Outsourcing refers to a company contracting with another company to provide products or services that could otherwise be produced in-house. The third-party company assigned takes control of the work and is responsible for the success of the assigned work. Many organizations today outsource services such as email services, payroll, and customer support call center services. A business contracts with a company that specializes in producing or providing a particular service, where in many cases the company is based abroad. After looking at what outsourcing is all about, it is important to note that; a company outsources work that it considers not to be the company's core business. An insurance company, for example, outsources its landscaping operations to companies that are experienced and specialize in that work. Service providers where jobs are outsourced are referred to as third parties (Sourcingmag.com 2011). To help an organization make an outsourcing decision, it should ask the following questions; after outsourcing, will the company be free to focus on its core business? Will business efficiency be achieved when the organization outsources? Will outsourcing help the company gain a competitive position? Among other strategic concerns (Crown 2011). Outsourcing occurs in several companies and the most common ones include information technology outsourcing (ITO), business process outsourcing (BPO), which includes human resources outsourcing (HRO). ITO is where a company outsources information technology services from a third-party company. BPO includes HRO, which refers to the outsourcing of customer support call center services to a third party instead of doing it yourself. Companies out... middle of paper... bm.com/press/au/ en/pressrelease/28347.wssMDF Systems, 2004. 32 Benefits of outsourcing. Retrieved from: http://www.mdfsystems.com/artman/publish/article_19.shtmlOnwards Vortex Centrum Limited and group companies, 2011. Outsourcing: Qantas in seven-year deal with IBM. Retrieved from: http://chiefofficers.netQantas Airways Limited, 2011. Our Company. Retrieved from: http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/history/global/enQuinStreet Inc., 2011. IBM puts Qantas' IT business in its custody. Retrieved from: http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/3354841/IBM-Puts-Qantas-IT-Business-in-its-Pouch.htmSourcingmag.com, 2011. Outsourcing: what is outsourcing? Retrieved from: http ://www.sourcingmag.com/content/what_is_outsourcing.aspUBM TechWeb, 2011. Airline Uses IBM for Flexible Pricing Deal. Retrieved from: http://www.informationweek.com/news/20900330