And consider eliminating the word "cloud" for your vocabulary, says Lee Ann Moore, EquaTerra's CMO, unless you're talking about the weather. Instead of resorting to the c-word, says Bob Cecil, executive director of EquaTerra's business and financial advisory. "Describe the offering for what it really is-SaaS, platform SaaS, business process as a Service, or private network."

Resolution #6: I won't believe the hype. Approach new cloud-based services the way you would any other IT service option. Resist the urge to jump if you don't know what you're getting into, advises Edward J. Hansen, New-York based partner for Baker & McKenzie. "It is an interesting new service not a silver bullet," says independent sourcing consultant Mark Ruckman. Repeat this for every hot new emerging technology, process, or service you're vendor is hawking next year.

Resolution #7: I will create rules and live by them. Make it a point not only to conduct regular governance reviews of your outsourcing deals, but actually attend the meetings, advises Vashistha of Neo Advisory. If you're paying a third party to do this work for you, consider letting them go. You'll save money and be more involved. "Stop blowing large chunks of your budget on expensive consultants to do work your own team can do," says Fersht of HfS Research.

Resolution #8: I will pay attention to my bills. When's the last time you read-and completely understood-your outsourcing invoice? "By year three, invoices degenerate into a fifteen-page laundry list of indecipherable statements of work, metrics and charges which only one person on your team really understands," says Sanda Partners' Strichman. It shouldn't be that way. "Force your vendor to consolidate it, rework it, and provide something that makes sense [given] your current situation," Strichman says. You'll be surprised how many charges were misunderstood, out of date, or inaccurate and the exercise could beget a long overdue conversation about brewing problems.

Resolution #9: I will measure what matters. Make 2011 the year that you define metrics that are meaningful to the business, says Ruckman, and start tracking and reporting on them regularly. If your WAN is only up 98 percent of the time, and you're still clinging to that 99.99 percent service uptime metric, it's time to rethink your benchmarks. "Stop including imaginary service levels your consultant dreamt up," says Fersht.