Enterprise IT Swings Back to Insourcing

Everything is cyclical. That is especially true in the information technology profession. For instance, companies are constantly shifting between centralizing and decentralizing technology, so it can be more responsive to the business.

The same can be said about outsourcing. Only a few years ago, the general thinking was that technology was a commodity, and that companies could outsource most, if not all, IT functions. But is that still true today?

David Wright, CIO, McGraw-Hill Education

According to David Wright, a former technology senior vice president at Capital One and the current CIO of McGraw-Hill Education, the shift to insource is stronger than ever. "Today, technology is seen as being so central to the business," he told us. "There is now a move to centralize technology and insource it. Just a few years ago, IT was defined as a commodity, and there was a massive move to outsourcing."

Although there are many things that companies need to do themselves, they still don't need to run all technology, Wright said. "Most small and medium-sized companies don't need to run their own data center," including McGraw-Hill Education. "But there are certain things that we do need to control," such as creating digital learning products, which are the future for traditional textbook publishers.

In his role as CIO at McGraw-Hill, his financial services experience will be helpful. "The banking industry is so technology dependent, and it has been that way forever." Technology has only recently begun to play a central role in the education space, whose legacy is one of print textbook publishing. "Technology is now the foundation of McGraw-Hill and digital learning tools."

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Greg MacSweeney is editorial director of InformationWeek Financial Services, whose brands include Wall Street & Technology, Bank Systems & Technology, Advanced Trading, and Insurance & Technology. View Full Bio