Economic meltdown had plagued countries across the globe. I was pondering on the recent shake at work where all the IT services are outsourced. Work outsourcing has become a trend and a tool by which businesses streamline organizations. It would be an important consideration for management to have detailed Background Checks on IT outsource service provider prior to giving away valuable data for safe keeping. Similar checks are done on employees and the same applies to IT service provider. I have been pondering on up to what extent the risk of IT outsourcing.

I have been working for quite a long time in the IT industry from the desktop support to a system analyst and have seen the value of information stored on computer systems. Thus, at first I find it somehow difficult to believe outsourcing of business data. However, restructuring and right sizing are the global trend. In the IT industry, the credibility and trust worthiness of an employee or outsource provider is important.

Imagine the whole computer system which had valuable data placed on the hands of an irresponsible person. Business secrets might end up somewhere with the competition. Thus, Criminal Background Checks are highly required in IT job positions for say database administrators or information system managers. Hiring some outsource service provider also have similar checks to be done.

I do believe, Criminal Checks, are a must for certain IT positions like software engineers, network engineers, system administrators, or information analysts. Those IT positions when under the wrong person could wreak havoc to computer applications and computer systems which have direct impact on business performance.

I remember the movie Jurassic Park where the computer analyst had set a virus when a personal grudge with the boss happened. Everything led to a horrifying and catastrophic event in the park. Having a trusted IT personnel would eliminate some of the risk in computer systems. I think businesses will be better off trusting valuable business information with the right kind of people or IT outsource service.