A comparative analysis of IT outsourcing readiness in the East African community

Abstract

Developing countries are increasingly relying on Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) for their socio-economic development. Many countries have achieved faster gross domestic product (GDP) growth through information technology (IT) outsourcing, which is now largely recognized as a strategic management practice that can provide a competitive advantage in business. The East African Community (EAC) member states are putting in place policies to help improve their overall ICT environment competitiveness. This paper evaluates the current state of IT outsourcing readiness in the EAC countries, and contributes to the outsourcing body of knowledge by establishing a relation between a country's Networked Readiness Index (NRI) and its readiness for IT outsourcing. This evaluation is performed based on the PROMETHEE method which is very effective at dealing with multi-criteria decision making problems. The results show that Kenya is the most ready country for IT outsourcing in EAC, followed by Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Burundi.