Outsourcing Agreements: A Practical Guide (Elgar Practical Guides)

Outsourcing – entrusting major operations to others, at home or abroad – offers businesses an effective means to achieve efficiencies, improve productivity, and transform operations with advanced technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence. This book provides clear, pragmatic guidance on the legal, commercial, and practical issues in outsourcing agreements and relationships. The authors draw on extensive experience and deep industry knowledge to present strategies and tactics for drafting and negotiating different kinds of outsourcing contracts. The text includes sample provisions and detailed commentary that will help lawyers, business executives, managers, and consultants better understand and navigate the often-complex dynamics of outsourcing.

Key Features:

• Explains the genesis and evolution of outsourcing, from data centres to business processes, as well as onshore and offshore performance.
• Covers a wide range of engagements and agreements.
• Analyzes structural frameworks for outsourcing transactions, including master service agreements and supporting documents that govern price, performance, and service levels.
• Evaluates risks associated with outsourcing, emphasizing an effective allocation of risks and responsibilities, including their financial and regulatory implications, to help assure successful outcomes.
• Discusses the impact of such transformative technologies as cloud computing, generative AI, deep machine learning, robotic process automation and digital transformations
• Examines emerging EU and US regulation of artificial intelligence in relation to legal compliance in outsourcing engagements.

Outsourcing Agreements is an essential guide for practising lawyers specializing in commercial law, as well as executives, managers, and consultants negotiating or overseeing outsourcing engagements.

George Kimball, Wiggin and Dana LLP and The University of Michigan Law School and Mark W. Heaphy, Wiggin and Dana LLP, USA