The European Central Bank is considering outsourcing IT operational, support and infrastructure activities under a major reorganisation of its information technology function.
The overhaul follows a six-month review of the current organisation, structure and effectiveness of IT services delivery and provision at the ECB.
The report, prepared by external consultants and presented to the executive board of the central bank in July 2003, makes four recommendations, including a strengthening of IT resource and budget allocation, and a reorganisation of the Directorate General Information Systems (DG-IS) to focus on enhancing project management and delivery capabilities.
The review also calls for the establishment and enforcement of common technology standards, in an effort to reduce the complexity and maintenance cost of the current IT architecture.
The fourth and final recommendation, "to reassess the sourcing options for the IT operational, support and infrastructure activities", is the subject of an ongoing feasibility study.
The central bank says it has already moved to reassign job responsibilities and has assured staff that there will be no sackings nor compulsion to move to third party outsourcers.