Tactical vs strategic outsourcing

The major difference, according to her, is the evaluation focus. "The main difference is really between transactional buying and relationship engagement," said Chan.

For enterprises looking to purchase an outsourcing service, the evaluation is based on the providers' capabilities to fulfill a specific task. She said capability to deliver these tasks takes up 30 percent of the evaluation focus, while the remaining 70 percent is simply price.

On the other hand, in strategic IT outsourcing deals, Chan noted clients focus on building a relationship. These enterprises look not only at the capability to complete a task, but also the capability to be flexible in taking up other IT services to support changes in business environment or expansion in the system, said Chan.

"Business environments do change," said Siu. "Whether the provider is flexible enough to make that extra effort in supporting what is required to keep our business running is essential during the evaluation process."