2020 Wrap up: Outsourcing trends

According to a report, the global market size of outsourced services is projected to grow to $105.5 billion by 2025. (Source)

It is a no-brainer that an outsourcing partner can help you save extra costs so that you can focus on core businesses. Customer support, back-office, accounting, hiring are most commonly outsourced services.

We thought why not research current industry insights and bring you the best research compiled in the outsourcing industry. We will look at some of the outsourcing tips and learn about current outsourcing trends in the industry. Further, we will comprehend deeply which outsourcing trends will dominate the global market in 2021.

Before that, let us understand what impact outsourcing creates on your business.

Outsourcing: Fact or Friction

An outsourcing partner creates a more efficient supply chain. This, of course, varies from product to product and business to business. A lot of companies think that hiring a third-party service provider is costlier and therefore, ignores its strategic potential. Most businesses bow down to the advantages of outsourcing; irrespective of the industry but the question is over its durability and sustainability.

The anti-outsourcing brigade comes with the argument that the flip side of outsourcing lacks quality control and turn-around time. Thus, it reduces innovation possibilities. The critics have also pointed out that the rise in pay in several offshoring destinations makes it less profitable in the longer run.

Despite this negative preconceived notion against outsourcing, it has only grown and grown big today. It is now adopted by businesses of all sizes and domains. From big companies to small startups, outsourcing has become a tool of opportunity for achieving a competitive edge in the market. In the age of social media and cloud, businesses are not investing much geographically. Still, in these conflicting circumstances, outsourcing has rightly adjusted with the fast-changing business framework.

Indeed, it’s a two-way path. Some businesses may find strategic reasons to shift their operations in-house, as they might get a slightly dropped price structure or projects specific to any product.

Outsourcing isn’t always the solution but it is also true that the myths encompassing it have defamed it. Any successful business will analyze all the factors in order to determine whether an outsourcing partner can help them to build a more cost-efficient & productive supply chain and stay ahead of their competitors.

4 best outsourcing practices so far

 Now that you know outsourcing is important for your business, understand the recent trends in outsourcing mentioned below.

Industry and domain experts

Ensure that the outsourcing partner you are considering has a particular experience that your business requires. This is very important when outsourcing anything to a third-party service provider.

After-release support

It’s a great idea to set a support or warranty clause so that as a business you can be assured of getting help from the service provider even after the project is finished. Businesses find it easier to pitch a warranty or support clause before the vendor starts work rather than after release.

Develop relations between both management teams

The value of the bond among the important management employees of both companies depends on solid understanding and reliable working relations within them. The working chemistry in management and friendships between workers has proved to be a major factor in building a long-term relationship of value.

Project scope and schedule

Clearly describe your business necessities upfront. The outsourcing partner will need detailed information to exhibit plans and strategies in front of you in order to quote you the best price. Provide complete information to the vendor about your business requirements, turn-around time, and also, the process about how you want it to be done. It is important to be realistic about your project delivery time as it can have a large impact on the budget.

7 upcoming trends for outsourcing

What does the future hold for outsourcing? Here is a list of outsourcing tips and upcoming trends for the outsourcing industry that you just can’t miss.

Automation outsourcing

Today, technologies like RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) are in great demand. The prediction shows the AI market will be reaching US$ 190.61 billion by 2025. (Source) The huge investment in this sector has developed the need for AI. The overall requirement for data scientists, artificial intelligence experts, and big data analysts are rising rapidly. This surely will be the upcoming trend in the outsourcing industry.

Cloud sourcing

The digital transformation of businesses has resulted in higher mass cloud adoption. Today, 83% of business operations are happening on the Cloud. (Source) The research also declared that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are the greatest masterminds in rising cloud computing adoption.

Cybersecurity

Cyberattacks are on the rise than ever before. Data breaches exposed 4.1 billion records in the first six months of 2019. (Source) 43% of cyber attacks target small businesses. Retail, manufacturing and healthcare are main targets of cyberattacks. The same statistics further indicate Cybercrime costs small and medium businesses more than $2.2 million a year. (Source)

The fear of data leak is one of the primary concerns for businesses while outsourcing, it can hamper business as usual. Therefore, providing top-notch data security will be the priority for outsourcing companies in the upcoming days.

Social media

Today, businesses demand an online presence to serve their customers. People spend more time on social networking websites and expect businesses to meet them over there. In 2019, people spend 144 minutes per day on an average on social media and by 2021, more than 3 billion people are expected to be on social media. (Source) Businesses out there can use the social media platform as an opportunity to make customer experiences better. Outsourcing providers are equipped with social media experts who help you to become more customer-centric.

Specialization

In contemporary times, companies are dependent on their utilization for core processes and they are not willing to compromise with the quality. The skills-set of the workforce in that specific domain has become an important factor ever in picking an outsourcing partner. It is expected that in the future; the demand for refined expertise will increase. The demand for customization of products and services has motivated the workforce to polish their skill-set, communication, and the idea to think out of the box.

AR & VR services

According to Statista, today, the overall AR and VR headsets sales have reached worth US 9.7 billion dollars. Technology innovation has allured customers from all over the world. Regardless of the industry, eCommerce to healthcare is introducing AR (Augmented reality) and VR (Virtual reality) to add value to their customer experience. 73% of mobile AR users are satisfied or highly satisfied with their experiences. (Source) This flags a healthy future for AR & VR and investments in these technologies are likely to rise incredibly.

Up-skilling

With the evolution of technology, the scope for businesses is also expanding. Empowering the team through upskilling has become more important than ever for outsourcing service providers. They are teaching additional skills and training their agents in order to stay abreast with the least technologies and trends to match the pace with the competition.

The future of outsourcing

Todays’ outsourcing relationships are more regulated and people-driven, rather than price-driven. This shift is positively considered to equalize the playing field for outsourcing partners in the future.

The budget pressures will force to create a middle path for personalized outsourcing partners to become flexible in their Service Level Agreements (SLA) and turn-around times. Startups, small businesses, and small offices/ home offices (SOHO) will observe higher acceptance in outsourcing to reduce their operational inefficiencies and to improve their time-to-market. In the next decade, outsourcing of low-end business functions might become a common practice but there will be a chance of a rise in outsourcing of high-end business services.