Outsourcing. It's the hottest of hot-button issues this electoral season. Small wonder. Along with "the 99%" and "entitlements," it's a loaded, often misrepresented or misunderstood term that encapsulates many of the political, economic, and social issues of the day - including class, foreign policy, immigration, employment, and national security.

Critics lambaste outsourcing as a way for big corporations to replace workers with less-expensive contractors, sometimes (but not always) located in offshore locations with much lower wages. Make no mistake--outsourcing IT operations can reduce costs. Sixty-seven percent of the 289 outsourcing customers in our 2012 State of IT Outsourcing Survey rated cost savings as an outsourcing benefit of 3 or higher, on a 1-to-5 scale where 5 is "primary benefit"; 22% said it's the primary benefit. But the notion that IT outsourcing is merely a way for companies to slash payroll is, if it ever was true, no longer valid. 

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