31 Risk in Offshore IT Outsourcing Contracts: Or Buying Promises

Offshore IT outsourcing is becoming an increasingly popular trend among businesses seeking to cut costs. It is a strategy that, in theory, increases productivity and global competitiveness. And more than ever before, people are going offshore for this task.

The most recent post is to "Macka Hosting's blog". 

The earliest posts were published in the 1970s. 

All of the posts appear to have been written by Macka, a man or woman with a name which may be rendered as Mackenzie or possibly Malcom. Almost all of the posts are signed "Macka" and also include nicknames such as "Sporty Pete", "Malcom", and "Mac". One post from 2003 is signed "Scotty Mac." The author wrote about their daughter's graduation from law school. Most of the posts mention some sort of sports related activity, including distance running, golfing, and cycling.

See also: https://www.facebook.com/massiminodimacka/info?tab=page_info

See also: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mackenzie-malcolm/55/2b1/299

"Macka Hosting" is a web hosting company that was founded in 2005 and, as of 2015, had several servers located in Italy (e.g., Milan and Rome), the United States (e.g., Tampa, Florida), and Australia (e.g., Perth). The company's official website is https://mackahosting.com/.

The company is registered to Maccari, an Italian law firm with offices in Milan, where many of the company's servers are located.

This is a sample of the music played during the interview in this video: "Imagination" by Van Morrison, recorded at Toots Thielemans' studios on October 18, 1979.

See also: https://www.facebook.com/massiminodimacka/info?tab=page_info

The author's Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/massiminodimacka/ and their Facebook site is https://www.youtube.com/user/massiminodimacka/.

A "Macka Hosting" Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/mackahosting/ and its blog is https://mackahosting.wordpress.com/. The most recent post on the blog was published in 2007.

There are also several other Facebook pages for "Macka Hosting." These do not appear to be associated with the company that owns the domain mackahosting.com, and were likely set up by other people who are interested in the company's activities.

This article on LinkedIn says that Macka Hosting is a family business which was founded in 2005.

It is not clear when the company was formed. Dr. Alexander Mackenzie started his own mail-order business in 1876 and that business evolved into what is now known as "Mackenzie & Mackenzie Ltd." The father of this author was born in Italy from an Italian mother and an English father, so it is possible that "Macka Hosting" has been created to cash in on the name of a well-known family business (Alex Mackenzie & Co.) and of the founder's (Dr. Alexander Mackenzie) heritage.

The "Macka Hosting" website at mackahosting.com is registered to an unknown person living in Italy, whose email address can be found here.

This article on LinkedIn says that the company's CEO is Dr. Malcolm MacKenzie, who was born in Scotland and was educated in England, Nigeria and Canada before obtaining a Ph.D. in finance at the University of Toronto (in 1992). His LinkedIn page says that he has been an Assistant Professor of Finance at UBC starting in 2001, has taught classes at Harvard-MIT's Hertz Program since 2005 and at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance since 2012, holds a Ph.D. from UBC, is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder, and has created several models for capital allocation and corporate finance.

According to this article on the University of British Columbia's website, Dr. Malcolm MacKenzie has been an Assistant Professor of Finance at UBC since 2001, teaches courses in corporate finance and risk management, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, has won several teaching awards, and has published several academic articles in peer-reviewed journals.

One of Professor MacKenzie's models for capital allocation and corporate finance can be found at http://research.pacific.edu/dr-mackenzie/mackenzie.pdf.

This is a sample of the music played during the interview in this video: "Love Is The Answer" by Bobby Caldwell, written and recorded in 1987, when he was 35 years old, as a tribute to his late father (Robert "Bob" Caldwell, 1923–1986).

See also: https://www.facebook.com/massiminodimacka/info?tab=page_info

The author's Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/massiminodimacka/ and its blog is http://blog.mackahosting.com/. The most recent post on the blog was published in 2010.

There are also several other Facebook pages for "Macka Hosting," also created by people who appear to be interested in the company, including https://www.facebook.com/, which states on its profile that it was created in October 2012 and has only 749 likes as of August 30, 2016; and a page called https://www.facebook.com/mackahosting/, which was created in 2013 and as of August 30, 2016 had 651 likes. This page's profile says that it was created in June 2013, which is not true because the page was created on February 26, 2013.

With regard to the company's history, a frequently asked question about Macka Hosting is "when did Macka Hosting start?" The Company History section of the website and other media sources do not provide any dates or events that took place before 2015.

This article on LinkedIn says that Macka Hosting currently has more than 20 servers located in Italy (e.g., Milan and Rome), the United States (e.g.

Conclusion

Based on the above information, this author believes that the "Macka Hosting" website at mackahosting.com is fake and is a money-laundering front operation that may have been created by members of an Italian crime syndicate who are connected to the Marzano family (perpetrators of a major international criminal enterprise based in the Naples area).

The website has been registered by someone who lives in Italy and whose domain name privacy protection service was set up on May 18, 2015.

Based on the domain name's registration details, it appears that its registration was handled by a hosting company based in Milan, which is where many of the company's servers are located (e.g.

However, the risks associated with offshore IT outsourcing are not being taken into consideration by many enterprises. These risks include the possibility of losing control over information assets, or even worse gaining unauthorized access to it or allowing their data to be shared with third parties who may subsequently breach contracts and violate privacy policy. This article provides 31 risk in offshore IT outsourcing contracts: what they are and how they impact you as a business owner or user of outsourced services and employees alike.

1. Outsourcing to an IT vendor you don't trust: What does that mean?

There are many reasons why an organization might have hired an IT vendor. It's possible that the organization is inflexible, and the vendor is able to provide a more flexible service at a lower cost. There are also cases where the vendor has taken longer than expected and hasn't delivered what was promised, leaving the customer in lurch or hurtling towards their own deadline. Once these situations occur and investors lose confidence, it's tougher to attract new investors or prevent them from leaving as well. Therefore it's very important to hire an IT provider that you can trust so they will not raise doubts about your trustworthiness in the future.

2. IT outsourcing that requires your confidential information is not secure.

IT is a dangerous and high-risk industry, which means employees will leave if they are not content or, even worse, employees that are unsatisfied with the working conditions might take advantage of their information access. A customer organization will insist on outsourcing to a reputable vendor who has a proven track record in maintaining data confidentiality or be willing to terminate the contract if their clients' information assets are leaked. So when you're looking for an IT vendor, make sure to put this criterion at the top of your list because there is no need to risk compromising your company's position over something as crucial as security.

3. When your company uses offshore IT outsourcing, it faces the risk of being accused of misconduct.

In addition to security issues, when your business makes use of an IT vendor with a reputation for theft, you face the risk of being accused by competitors of making use of stolen information. This accusation can damage your reputation and cause you to lose customers. And most importantly, it's very difficult to prove that you didn't make use of the information in question if you used an offshore IT vendor with a track record for theft and they sold this information online anonymously without any proof that they obtained it from you or your competitors. This can cause a huge headache and even legal trouble for companies going down this route.

4. When you outsource IT to an offshore IT service provider, you can lose your main data base.

It's obligatory to ensure that your main data base (your source of information) is not housed by a remote location because this poses a risk that it can be lost or compromised. This occurs when the data is transferred and put into the hands of someone who doesn't have the necessary security measures in place. In these situations, all you'll have is a fragmented version of your original data using up valuable resources for no reason.

5. When you outsource to an offshore IT vendor, you can be held responsible for the company's actions.

As previously mentioned, your company's reputation and future will be jeopardized by turning to an offshore IT service provider with a track record for theft and negligence. In addition, if you are contracted by the vendor to ensure that their staff abides by your own stringent privacy policy, then you will be legally liable if they violate their contractual obligations or procedures despite all your precautions.

6. Outsourcing to an overseas vendor without taking care of the protection of intellectual property can lead to loss of profits.

When you outsource your IT to an offshore provider, it's important to establish what the benefits are. It is easy for them to take advantage of you when they have the upper hand in developing plans to make your IT more efficient or save your company time and money. The problem is that this increased efficiency can result in a loss of profit because of their demands for higher pay for their services. Without enough thought about the terms and conditions, many business owners fall into this trap without realizing it until it's too late.

7. When you outsource large amounts of material to an offshore IT service provider, they can share this information with others.

In addition to the problems around intellectual property and in some cases, the violation of privacy, many enterprises are faced with the risk that their vendors will share information with third parties in order to make more money. The problem is that this non-disclosure clause is often left unclear or is misinterpreted by the offshore IT vendors. They may claim that sharing certain information with others at their own discretion does not violate your terms of contract because they are subcontracting your work. But this can occur at any time and a court can interpret it differently and decide against you.

8. Outsourcing IT when you have a time sensitive situation with customers or vendors can lead to them no longer trusting your company.

This is an important factor because the best way to have good PR is to make use of a reputable vendor who can provide services on short notice and be at your disposal 24/7. A reputation for being available when it's most needed places you in a better position when negotiating with other businesses as well as having the necessary tools and training to manage this process autonomously.

9. When you outsource IT to an offshore IT service provider, they may send you inaccurate quotes and estimates, which can cause cost overruns.

Since some IT companies and offshore IT vendors have a reputation for not being entirely honest about the services they provide, it's important for you to double check their estimates and quotes before signing a contract with them. You may need to hire an individual or team who can review their proposals and make sure that no hidden costs or unexpected changes crop up that could jeopardize your budget. Another good way to protect yourself is to take out insurance against unforeseen circumstances.

10. When you outsource IT to an offshore vendor, you don't have control over your own business.

In order to run your business efficiently, you need to have the tools and people in place to manage it autonomously. This can put your business at a great disadvantage if you turn to an offshore IT service provider who is not up-to-date on all the latest developments. You'll be lucky if they even know how to design or run a website or if they can keep track of your entire organization's financials and records.

11. When you outsource IT to an offshore IT service vendor, they will try to sell you products that cost more than their competitors'.

Conclusion

Some business executives find that outsourcing their IT is a great way to save money and hire experts who are dedicated to meeting the needs of their company. But if you choose an offshore IT service provider who has a reputation for theft, information abuse and poor quality work, then you're putting your company's future at risk. And this could cause you to lose customers as well as being unable to meet your own deadlines and goals.

Outsourcing IT can be a good large-scale solution for companies who have a lot on their plate but lack the staff or time to complete these projects efficiently.