The benefits of outsourcing and offshoring have already transformed many companies — but what does the future hold for business process outsourcing? Back Office Pro reviews global outsourcing trends 2015 and beyond.
1) Cost Cutting and Quality Are Both Important
While reducing overhead and expenses is always an important benefit of outsourcing, businesses are increasingly realizing that they cannot afford to overlook quality in the bargain. The best outsourcing companies will continue to thrive by combining speed, quality and cost-effective prices for outsourced services.
2) Not Just a Partner in Outsourcing But Also in Innovation
Buyers have been pushing for more innovative services from their outsourcing partners, and this customer requirement has modified the role of innovation in outsourcing. The leading business process outsourcing (BPO) providers now supply much more than basic services — 80 percent of outsourcing partners are actively encouraging new ideas and approaches by including innovation incentives in BPO contracts.
3) Not Only the Right Resources But Also the Right Outcomes
One of the compelling attractions for businesses using outsourcing is that the “right resources” are readily available without hiring new employees. But business owners, managers and executives have always felt that “results matter.” This core belief is now directly reflected in more outsourcing agreements that provide payment for the “right outcomes.”
4) The Convergence of Cloud Computing and Standardization
The emergence of cloud computing caught many businesses as well as their outsourcing partners by surprise. As leading BPO providers have quickly adapted to the power of this technological advancement, a new and improved IT outsourcing model has also emerged — additional speed and cost savings are now available when cloud technology is incorporated into an outsourcing partnership.
5) Data Risks and Supplier Risks Will Both Be Monitored
While questionable information security and the risk of data breaches have made headlines with serious incidents involving Anthem Blue Cross and Sony Pictures, assessing supplier risks is equally important for businesses of all sizes. The global outsourcing trend is to integrate these dual concerns in outsourcing engagements — IT teams will need all the help they can find in warding off attacks on business and financial data by sophisticated and persistent criminals.
6) One Might Not Be Enough: Many Outsourcing Partners
How many outsourcing partners does your company need? With the added complexity surrounding all business processes, you will probably find yourself relying on multiple outsourcing providers instead of just one — Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing both facilitate an environment that is conducive to working with several outsourcing companies simultaneously. Nevertheless, elimination of outdated and duplicate outsourcing services is still advisable.
7) Both Data-Driven and Analytics-Driven
The era of “Big Data” has entered a critical phase. Most companies now want “much more” than just “data” — they want “answers” and not simply “data.” This introduces the rapidly growing importance of data analytics in the overall data management process. Enterprises without data analytics capabilities will need to add analytics to keep up with both customers and competitors.
The Conclusion: Client Satisfaction Is All That Really Matters
In the end, “The Customer Is Always Right!” Regardless of the global outsourcing trends for 2015 described above, the best outsourcing partners should help take your company to the next level by providing the services that are most important to you. This is certainly the operating philosophy of Back Office Pro — outsourcing to us means that our approach, pricing, strategies and decisions will be based 100 percent on your choices.
Do you agree with the seven global outsourcing trends outlined above? Please share your thinking by using social media buttons and by leaving a comment below.
– BackOfficePro
