Choosing the right outsourcing partner can make the difference between gaining critical capabilities and being outpaced by competitors. Businesses need data and analytics proficiency to support all other systems, operations, and capabilities. Skill gaps and the right analytics infrastructure continue to impede data and analytics success, and organizations are turning to outside providers for the solution.
Skilled Data Scientists and Advanced Analysts are the most difficult roles in acquiring, according to a report by IBM and Burning Glass Technologies, and demand is projected to jump to 28% by 2020. Demand is not limited to any particular sector either but widely distributed across industries and disciplines, including retail, finances, manufacturing, IT, and medical.
Outsourcing provides companies with qualified personnel to fill in the skill gaps necessary to accomplish business objectives, improve decision making, and gain trusted insights. Utilizing third-party partners whose main competency is analytics, provides businesses with scalability options and crucial data and analytics capabilities. To truly benefit from an outsourcing relationship, businesses need to look for certain critical characteristics in their outsourcing partner.
Ideal Outsourcing Partner Attributes
Selecting an outsourcing agency is dependent on a variety of factors, such as the type of function or expertise required, access to specific technologies and software, cost savings versus time, or whether to outsource a single operational element or to utilize outsourcing as core support for an entire operational strategy.
Below is a guide discussing ten important attributes to look for in an outsourcing partner:
- Automation - According to Gartner, intelligent automation will transform workplace outsourcing, increasing service reliability and efficiency, and help extend cost savings to clients.
- Operational Support - Outsourcing specialized, complex, critical capabilities that augment your internal operations helps companies’ complete tasks more productively and quickly while saving money. When there’s no strategic advantage to performing a specific task internally, outsourcing is a smart option.
- Commodity Task Support - Outsourcing non-essential repetitive or administrative tasks that don’t necessarily require full-time employees, and can be monitored and managed with ease remotely, can help businesses better manage internal value and risks.
- Analytics Expertise - Businesses who need marketing, research, or product development support require an outsourcing partner with strong analytics capabilities, which includes qualified personnel with Big Data, Data Science and Analytics, and Machine Learning skills to provide customized, data-driven insights.
- Objectives - Ensure that you set clear objectives and a schedule for project deliveries with your outsourcing partner and that they’re able to meet them without sacrificing quality.
- Communication - An outsourcing agency should be clear and efficient in how they manage communication, regardless of geological, cultural, or time differences. This establishes certainty that both parties are aware of all requirements.
- Experience and Expertise - One of the targeted purposes of outsourcing is to assign core competencies to experienced professionals who are experts in their particular field, which enables companies to acquire the value of a high-level employee at a contractor’s cost. This also results in lower final expenses and increased production time.
- Management and Senior Level Support - Outsourcing providers should be able to offer upper tier support in the form of Senior Level specialists and project managers, which ensures that businesses receive quality, outcome driven results, and a focus on reaching key objectives.
- Scalable Services and Pricing Models - Flexibility in both services and pricing models is important considering that business scenarios and objectives are constantly evolving. A scale-up and scale-down model ensures that companies can receive what they pay for as they need it, and accommodate changing project demands, without having to renegotiate contracts.
- Technology - Companies can benefit from digital technologies and accelerate their IT capabilities and increase innovation without remodeling their internal structure when outsourcing IT. Furthermore, businesses should look for outsourcing partners that can provide the automated digital tools and technologies, licensed software, and facilities that capture value.
Next Generation Outsourcing Partnership
It’s important to ensure that your relationship with your outsourcing partner remains successful and on track for long-term viability and sustainability. Choosing the right outsourcing partner will help you to access and maintain data and analytics, IT, and digital capabilities while saving on functional and developmental costs.
BackOffice Pro (BOP) has been a trusted global outsourcing partner for over ten years, offering skilled resources for different business verticals to corporations, enterprises, and even the small businesses. With vigilant adherence to ISO industry standards, state of the art technology, and trailblazing services, BackOffice Pro is committed to helping the clients reach their business goals at a competitive cost.
