So what's the current state of thinking about outsourced services? There's a lot of interest in the merits of letting someone else do the stuff that they're really good at, so that you can focus on the stuff you want to get even better at.

Take, for example, the merger between the energy giants Chevron and Texaco. Chief executive David O'Reilly recently told stockholders that the new company is "operating today as one company with common systems, policies, and practices".

The company is on track to wring $2.2bn (£3bn) from its IT-intensive integration. At the heart of this is the combination of separate SAP systems each company used when the merger started in 2001.

When the two companies began integration, they saw that they needed outside expertise. Enter IBM Business Consulting, which is overseeing the systems merger.

And the engagement could run much deeper for IBM, which has joined BearingPoint as "one of ChevronTexaco's preferred providers" of services.

Over the next two years, BearingPoint and IBM will work separately and jointly on projects that focus on IT-driven processes.

Another example is Merrill Lynch recently outsourcing large parts of its network security to VeriSign.

Merrill chief information security and privacy officer David Bauer said: "It's all about being the best that you possibly can be. It's not just about data, it's about intelligence. And with intelligence, you can make better decisions."

That division of responsibilities allows businesses to focus on what are, to them, higher-value objectives and issues.

So in an ideal arrangement, while the service provider is dealing with the details that are its speciality, the customer can "focus on the process optimisation required to reduce the overall risks to their organisations".

At this rate, we'll soon see a new title: CMSO. Or, to those not in the know, chief managed services officer.

Bob Evans is editor-in-chief of Information Week.

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