In Compass Computer Services' case, there are almost as many different ways of providing services as there are client relationships.
Some clients look to computer consulting firms to provide, for example, only hardware maintenance.
Other clients look to consulting firms solely to select or develop a specialized application needed for the clients' particular industry or to provide training for particular software applications. For these clients, hardware maintenance and other forms of troubleshooting and support may be provided by yet a different vendor or performed by in-house staff. Often, outsourcing was a way to put off making large capital and staff investments until growth potential and sound buying decisions could be made. But now that firms are able to spend money, many are nonetheless realizing that in some situations, it is still more cost-effective to outsource a support area of the firm than to provide the same support with internal staff. Outsourcing has become commonplace for many industries.