Enterprise Application Outsourcing (EAO)

What Does Enterprise Application Outsourcing (EAO) Mean?

Enterprise application outsourcing (EAO) is one of several related terms for the outsourcing of certain aspects of application development, management of application processes, application design and delivery. Some IT experts consider application outsourcing as a separate service from application management services in that the former may refer to longer-term contracts for the life cycle of applications. Related services may include consulting, software integration and various kinds of support.

Techopedia Explains Enterprise Application Outsourcing (EAO)

There are many ways that EAO can work. Contracts may be annual or ongoing. Services may be implemented at the client site or off-site in the case of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and related designs. Ownership of the hardware and IT structure involved also differs. In general, EAO allows companies to do less work in maintaining the software that they use for daily operations and allows shifting a large part of the operational burdens to third-party vendors.

All of these take place in the context of a more diverse and highly fragmented community of business IT-related services. Cloud computing and SaaS models have changed the game and altered the business landscape considerably. Enterprise application outsourcing is one of those options that push the boundaries of what businesses can do with strategic partnerships.