In a market where too many vendors over-promise and under-deliver, you need and deserve solid assurances that address the most commonly cited concerns associated with IT outsourcing relationships:

i	Poorly defined service level agreements
ii	Failure to meet performance expectations
iii	Higher than expected costs
iv	Poor account management
v	Limited vendor knowledge
vi	High staff turnover
vii	Unclear contract language (what is included/excluded)
viii	Incompatible corporate cultures

The Core Customer Assurance defines the five primary aspects of the outsourcing relationship:

i	Service by business objectives
ii	Customer-accountable pricing and terms
iii	Accountable account service management
iv	Best-practices program management
v	Assured program flexibility