What's so different about outsourcing — is it a fad or something truly new and here to stay?

Submits that outsourcing is not particularly new and is credited with having played an important part in IBM's re‐engineering campaign of the last ten years. Identifies a number of key developments (drivers) of change that are pointing companies in outsourcing's direction: business process re‐engineering; organizational restructuring; benchmarking; and alliances. Concludes that the benefits of sharing information, however, derive from a day‐to‐day relationship of trust and mutual self‐interest so that both parties benefit from each other.