If an organization is going to move towards a Center of Excellence model for Information Development, we are some asked: “does it makes sense for this to be done offshore?” This seems a logical question, as organizations are increasingly moving their delivery capabilities offshore, especially for large application development and systems integration projects.

Although we encourage organizations to think about Information Development as a competency analogous to application development, it isn’t just something you can give to a separate group – it is a cultural change that must go across the company. While expertise can certainly be brought in from the outside, it’s also a capability that must exist internally.

Offshore Information Development should incorporate the following principles:

1. It is the governance standards, policies and processes that enable an Information Development approach. These are the same in an offshore or onshore model.

2. An Information Development team can be a physical (i.e. a dedicated team) or a virtual (i.e. members have other significant roles). In most cases there is a combination of dedicated and shared resources.
   

3. For any sizeable offshore team, it will need to contain representation as part of the Information Development Center of Excellence.
   

4. Information Development crosses business boundaries and requires participation from senior execs to line staff. Therefore, it is not a delivery capability that can be built completely offshore.
   

5. The organizational model will evolve over time and individuals in assigned roles are typically needed to drive the transition to new organizational models.

In summary, organizations should make sure they have a strong onshore capability for Information Development, even if much of their development occurs offshore. Whatever the delivery model, the key to success is Information Governance through open and common standards, architectures and policies.