He knows the risks, but he still wants to give it a shot. Karl Kaiser, CIO of the city of Minneapolis, is issuing an RFP to outsource “the break-and-fix business”?all the city’s desktops, networks, help desk and support staff. “I’ve decided that 60 percent of my money and management go into that break-and-fix business,” Kaiser says. “I want to refocus on becoming an information services provider rather than a maintenance organization.”He has the same compelling argument the state of Connecticut and San Diego County used to promote outsourcing: that a single vendor could beef up the city’s IT infrastructure and simultaneously reduce the cost of doing business by as much as $12.5 million over seven years.But Kaiser also faces the same challenges that have crippled those other initiatives?changing the way government does business and selling the change to powerful labor unions. So far, Kaiser has persuaded a majority of the City Council to at least support his outsourcing RFP, which was supposed to hit the streets in April. If all goes as planned, Kaiser hopes to return to the council with a winning bid and a contract proposal in July.The Minnesota Public Employees Association, which stands to lose 45 members (including its chapter president) through outsourcing, is bracing for a fight, however. “They’re powerful?labor does have a strong influence on who’s elected,” Kaiser says. But he feels his business case for outsourcing is even more powerful. “The state government is in a $2 billion deficit and is actually trying to get money back from the cities,” Kaiser says. “Our timing couldn’t be better.” But, then, Connecticut and San Diego County felt the same way. And today they know better. Related content brandpost Sponsored by FPT Software Time for New Partnership Paradigms to Be Future-fit By Veronica Lew Dec 06, 2023 5 mins Vendors and Providers brandpost Sponsored by BMC Why CIOs should prioritize AIOps in 2024 AIOps empowers IT to manage services by incorporating AI/ML into operations. By Jeff Miller Dec 06, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership opinion Generative AI in enterprises: LLM orchestration holds the key to success In the dynamic landscape of AI, LLMs represent a pivotal breakthrough. Unlike traditional AI, which demands frequent data updates, LLMs possess the ability to learn and adapt in real-time. This mirrors human learning and positions LLMs as essential f By Shail Khiyara Dec 06, 2023 10 mins Generative AI Artificial Intelligence brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks How gen AI is joining the holiday shopping season One year after the launch of ChatGPT, the retail industry is embracing generative AI to deliver a variety of benefits By Elliot Markowitz Dec 06, 2023 4 mins Generative AI Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe