The following issues should be considered if your organisation decides to outsource some or all of its computer processing.

• Inadequate performance can threaten your organisation's information processing and business operations.

• Determine the critical success factors for your organisation in terms of speed, reliability, response and ability to scale rapidly (if necessary).
• Document these factors in a Service Level Agreement with penalty clauses for breaches.

• Poor reliability threatens the performance of your business.

• Consider your organisation's tolerance to system non-availability; seconds, minutes, hours or days?
• Ensure that the service provider can meet these needs.
• Document these factors in a Service Level Agreement with penalty clauses for breaches.

• Lack of direct control when outsourcing can compromise data confidentiality.

• Due diligence should be exercised to ensure that the outsourcing company is reputable and operates with adequate standards.
• Obtain a Non Disclosure Agreement from the outsourcing company.
• Insist on secure transmission methods between your organisation and theirs, e.g. authenticated transmission with encrypted data.