Gaining value from outsourcing contracts is one of the most intractable challenges for users. Organisations regularly farm out problematic areas of the technology department, with little awareness of where value is being delivered.

Which is why The Corporate IT Forum is launching a new benchmarking service to give technology leaders a more accurate understanding of supplier contracts.

Designed, developed and financed by the corporate organisations that make up The Forum, Continuous Performance Improvement for Outsourced IT Services (CPI OS) allows users to contrast the cost and service levels of contracts against other large businesses.

The full service will be officially launched to corporate IT executives on 1st November at an event featuring presentations by IT leaders from BAA, British Energy, Friends Provident and Hampshire County Council.

John Parker, director of improvement services for The Corporate IT Forum, says: "We expect CPI OS to revolutionise the procurement process, increase competition and mark a step change in the relationships between corporate IT users and suppliers."

Big aims, certainly - but you can expect the service to be a success. After all, The Corporate IT Forum has a long history of delivering similar platforms. CPI Benchmarking was established in 2001 by a group of Corporate IT Forum members that were unsatisfied with existing forms of benchmarking.

The current CPI service allows users to benchmark across a range of areas, such as desktops, infrastructure and staff costs, and has been significantly expanded to include network services, including LANs, WANs and e-commerce.

More information on CPI OS benchmarking service - Continuous Process Improvement