ABSTRACT
This chapter will consider the legal and commercial aspects of IT outsourcing from an Irish law perspective. The text will primarily focus on legal issues associated with IT outsourcing, recognising that outsourcing is, by its very nature, a commercially-driven process. (See Figure 1 below for a summary of outsourcing pros and cons and Box B for a summary of customer and supplier requirements.)
From both a legal and a commercial perspective, outsourcing is a delicate balancing act between the generally conflicting pressures on the two sides of the negotiating table. The eventual aim of both parties is the same, namely to construct a mutually beneficial deal which will stand the test of the contractual term, which tends to be lengthy. However, what constitutes an acceptable deal may well look very different from the viewpoint of each party at the commencement of the negotiating procedure.
