Vested Outsourcing Agreement

A modern movement seeks a new approach to long-term IT outsourcing relationships.  It creates a "vested" agreement, where both customer and service provider have a vested interest in reaching jointly-established goals (such as quality service, data security, innovation).

A vested agreement is not a traditional, adversarial transaction.  It de-emphasizes the role of lawyers in negotiating a division of risk and an allocation of liability.  Instead, it emphasizes ongoing
collaboration in pursuit of desired outcomes.  An example of a desired outcome would be progressive reduction and management of risk.

Cooperation Rather Than I Win You Lose

A vested agreement seeks to create a climate of cooperation rather than a give-and-take transaction.

See Vitasek, Kate (2011-06-21). The Vested Outsourcing Manual: A Guide for Creating Successful Business and Outsourcing Agreements. Palgrave Macmillan. Kindle Edition.

A vested agreement focuses on goals rather than tasks.  It seeks a relationship in which both customer and provider work hard to reach the goals, even though the methods for reaching the goal may change over time.
 
Example Goal to Express in an Agreement

Here is an example of a goal stated in a vested IT outsourcing agreement:  "Objective:  Management of data  under this  project will not result in  any legal action (such as a lawsuit or a government investigation) for a privacy or security infraction."

This objective implies that both parties will communicate constantly about security and take action jointly to address security problems as they evolve.  This statement of objective recognizes that data security is more than a checklist or a static state.  It is an unending process, where the methods for achieving security change over time.

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