because most companies lack data on how well internal operations stack up against so-called cheap, external competitors. Pointing to market research by Giga Information Group Inc. and others, Jason Schroedl, director of corporate marketing at newScale Inc., claims that more than 50% of IT outsourcing agreements fail for lack of comparative information. "You need to know how well your outsourcer stacks up against your internal offerings," he says, or you increase the risk of having an outsourcing deal collapse. For example, companies often discover that much of the money saved by sending work outside is eaten up by the costs of managing the outsourcer relationship. Also common is for the outsider to bungle the service quality. Arming yourself with apple-to-apple cost comparisons and measurable service-level agreements can boost outsourcing success rates to higher than 75%, Schroedl says. That's because you might discover that the best and most cost-effective work can be done inside the organization, so you outsource fewer tasks.