Use this version. Outsourcing helps agencies run like businesses. When seat management first cropped up in government circles a few years ago, some people thought it could be the answer to many of the public sector s information technology problems. Outsourcing IT and treating it like a service in this case, the management of desktop computers seemed an obvious solution that would leave agencies the time and space to focus on their core missions.
Expectations are a lot more guarded now.
A big part of the problem is that agencies at first don t realize what a major cultural change seat management requires. And once it hits them that they will be handing over responsibility for all of their IT to an outside vendor, paranoia about losing control can set in. It s a major change from previous ways of doing things, from the point of view of acquiring tools and support and for the reporting requirements that are needed. It takes a lot of thought and planning about where and when to apply it. The good news, Wren said, is that the awareness of the pros and cons of seat management is much better now than it was two years ago.