Response from: Gary M. Zeiss, Esq.

The "mood of mistrust" cited in the article can be traced to many factors, but core to each of these is the asymmetry of information that naturally exists in these deals. Before the deal is signed, the customer has the information advantage and often uses that advantage against the supplier. After the deal is signed, the information balance shifts to the supplier (usually during implementation), and the customer is left not knowing what is going on. The only real way to get around this problem is to create transparent (or at least translucent) deals where the customer and the supplier both have visibility into each others operations, costs and, yes, margins. Full, clear disclosure is the surest way around distrust - and should be practiced in every outsourcing deal. Gary Zeiss, Esq., Los Angeles, CA - http://www.zeissesq.com