Q. Tech Knowledge is a start-up founded in 1997 by Robert Thyer. The industry is a distributer of presentation technologies, including computer based projection systems, video equipment and display technologies. The organization has 25 employees and does $5 million in sales. It is growing rapidly. The owner, Robert Thyer, would like to net source the back-office functions of the organization because the industry does not have an internal IT capability. The applications to be net sourced would comprise sales and distribution, financial accounting and inventory management.
Tech Knowledge would like to source SAP or another ERP vendor via a hosting arrangement. It does not expect to do much customization and it does not have any legacy systems.
1. Illustrate what factors should it use to evaluate each of these potential hosts?
2. Illustrate what controls should be in place to monitor the hosting arrangement?