Outsourcing of business and service is essentially sub-contracting work to a third party. In fact, to outsource is to shift a part or a major part of ones immediate and future work burden to another place, preferably to other countries and not foregoing, but gaining all the additional benefits resulting out of this. It is also one way of distributing risks in order to make yourself worthy of the cause you have undertaken to do. Outsourcing is a strategic decision and in cases of business organizations it has to be approved by the Board of Directors. In other cases both individual and otherwise it is a significant shift in strategy to reap the bountiful benefits in the ongoing process of globalization.
The reasons why outsourcing is done are numerous and varies from business to business and individual to individual as the case may be. Yet the main reason for opting for outsourcing are cost savings, improvement of quality of goods and services, acquiring wider knowledge base, avoiding fringe benefits to workers, operational expertise, access to a larger talent pool, industry specific specialization, acting as a catalyst for change and expansion and standardization of business practices.
Although there are myriad outsourcing functions, the most noticeable are the Information Technology outsourcing (IT), Business Process outsourcing (BPO), call centre outsourcing, human resource outsourcing, financial and accounting outsourcing, claims processing outsourcing. Besides, there is payroll, billing and data entry work outsourced with deadlines in order to be made available for business the very next day of office work.
Of late activists in host countries are raising objections to outsourcing as it results in a lot of jobs going elsewhere. But when one considers the benefits that accrue to a host country in the long run then these objections hold no standing. Not only do countries outsourcing work benefit from the best of expertise in relevant fields they also save on money otherwise spent on perks and fringe benefits that are a part of a full time employee package. It is generally realized even in the most conservative areas that in an era of competition and globalization and fast changing technologies, outsourcing merely doesn’t mean shifting of jobs from higher wages to lower wages, but that it actually means reaping in the benefits of best product makes and services for improving the social structure of the society as a whole and its own way to think out a solution to the various problems it faces.
Although outsourcing is not a newly introduced phenomenon it is as old as human kind itself and during this last decade or so it has become more of a mainstream method of employment and business.
Outsourcing traces back to different eras and periods of the business and industrial evolution, concerning different sectors. However historians agree that the latest and largest wave of outsourcing trend came with the revolution of IT technology and the need of manufacturing hi-tech items, including computers and electronic equipment. One of the most crucial moments in the history and evolution of outsourcing services was the dot com boom and the significant increase of e-commerce possibilities. In present times there is practically nothing that cannot be outsourced, with BPO expanding in fields like IT and ITES outsourcing, security, monitoring, administration and even commerce.
Analysts claim that in a few years outsourcing will be the focal point of all IT and online businesses, mostly because nowadays companies can benefit from skilled and experienced personnel that come from all over the world at low cost. Especially since a vast majority of outsourcers come from countries like India and China, or other Asian countries where wages are lower than in the US and the developed Western Countries, the possibility of quality contractors with low rates is increasing dramatically every year. Although the initial predictions were talking about a decrease in outsourcing in 2006, in both 2006 and 2007 the number of outsource contracts was not only bigger but also the fields of activity were more varied than in all the previous decades. The current trend in outsourcing shows that the outsource providers expand their technological scope and ensure their position in global market, while the elevated number of buyers help in the creation of new outsourcing workplaces.
Since outsourcing now is broadening its horizons to different markets taking advantage of the latest technological inventions, there are no geographical or
language limits. Video conferences, instant messaging, networking groups, emails, mobile technology and social networks have facilitated the communication and work of outsourcers with the hiring companies who can now focus on the core business operations of their companies. During these last five years we saw the Western companies going offshore when it comes to outsourcers, not only because of the lower prices but also because of having access to a pool of talented and competitive freelancers, ranging from high skilled professionals to ambitious and qualified graduates who could perform equally well maybe even better.
The future of outsourcing is now considered bright and open, although everyone agrees that the main focus now will be on increasing competition and the orientation of business to processes more than before.
This website uses cookies that are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the privacy policy. By accepting this OR scrolling this page OR continuing to browse, you agree to our Privacy Policy