Emerging Trends in IT Outsourcing Services

Any disruption in the business environment can lead to significant loss of revenue and adversely impact future plans. Isn’t it? For example, we have now experienced that traditional business continuity plans are just not enough to prepare for a pandemic! 

Remote working model existed for a long time in the world of business. The market value for outsourced services increases each year (8% increase from 2018 to 2019). But never in history did we realize the potential and importance of remote working until lately, when we got hit by the global pandemic. CEOs and CFOs are adopting staff augmentation and flexible labor models. Many industries that were reluctant to adopt this model have embraced it to continue and thrive. Outsourcing services is the key to succeed in times of this global pandemic and beyond! 

‘Focus on your strengths while outsource your weaknesses.’ Outsourcing services have become an integral contributor to the success of any business. It reduces costs, optimizes resources, increases productivity, and generates employment. 

Outsourcing is the practice of delegating a business function or process to an external party instead of using the in-house team or hiring new employees. It began with low-risk activities like payroll management, data entry, and basic accounting. Today it has become a widespread practice across all businesses. 

In 2019, the global outsourcing market was valued at 92.5 billion US dollars (Statista). More than 55% of businesses outsource their core functions to achieve higher productivity and efficiency. In the 21st century, if any organization wants to remain competitive in the market, it has to invest in IT and the latest technology. The current trend shows that more and more businesses are investing in cloud models, artificial intelligence, chatbots, and machine learning. For a small business, it is a daunting task to build an in-house IT team specializing in all the latest technologies. Leave aside small companies, even the large organizations do not have specialized IT teams dealing with these technologies. The solution is IT outsourcing. 

Let the professionals build your IT infrastructure and technology solutions. Let us look into some of the benefits of IT outsourcing. 

• Reduces Costs – Outsourcing saves you on overhead, infrastructure, hiring, and recruitment costs. At the same time, it is a pay as you go, on-demand service. Thus, you can convert your CAPEX into OPEX.  
• Focus on Your Core Business – You need not worry about infrastructure, license renewals maintenance, and upgrades. 57% of businesses outsource so that they can focus on their core business activities. A trustworthy and efficient IT partner would handle all the IT and Technology requirements. 
• Bring Expertise on the table – Once businesses outsource their IT requirements; they can leverage the expertise of qualified and trained professionals. While you are entirely aware of the nuances of your business, these experts know the external business scenario and technology landscape. You can harness collective expertise for increased productivity. 
• Increases Protection – With an expert IT team backing your business, you need not worry about security and access controls. Outsourced services are well-equipped with modern tools and technologies to protect you against cyber theft, digital attacks, and hacking. 

• Gain Competitive Advantage – Businesses will stay ahead of competitors when they rapidly implement the latest technologies. Your IT partner is committed to your growth and success. Be it a cloud migration or developing a neural network, the outsourced team would always help you stay ahead in the game. 

Considering the current economic downturn, outsourcing IT services is a critical way to reduce costs and thrive in the marketplace. Currently, India, China, Mexico are some of the hotspots for IT services. India is probably the largest exporter of IT and ITES services in the world. 

To survive the current economic recession, businesses must comprehend the trends in IT outsourcing. The primary trend prevailing in the industry is moving towards disruptive technologies. More than 83% of companies are engaging in cloud migrations, while 72% are thinking about RPA solutions. (Deloitte Outsourcing Survey 2018). We have identified three major trends in IT outsourcing. 

• Automation – More and more businesses are investing in automation to reduce costs. Chatbots and robots are very common in today’s’ world. Enterprises are focusing on disruptive technologies to propel their growth and success. Most manual functions are getting automated, and many organizations are shifting towards RPA solutions. 

• Cloud migration – Gartner predicts that the shift towards cloud computing will impact more than $1.3 trillion by 2022. Organizations realize the importance of conducting business on cloud platforms. It is easy, secured, reduces costs, and scaled as per business needs. 
• Machine Learning and Cognitive Intelligence – Business is operating at lightning speed, courtesy to machine learning, and cognitive processes. Organizations are increasing their business volumes and speeding up operations with these disruptive technologies. 

The common link from the above discussion is that investing in disruption is the key. 

A ubiquitous model in the IT outsourcing world is Staff Augmentation. Gone are the days when the entire team of regular employees had to sit together in a shared location and deliver client projects. Today businesses are hiring tech and IT talents across the globe to meet their dynamic project requirement. 

It is a challenging task to find the right talent for the right job. A Deloitte survey showed that companies could take up to 94 days to hire the right talent. Hiring people without proper digital skills will lead to poor work quality. Staff Augmentation helps businesses connect with the right talent tailored for their business requirement. 

• No additional cost and trouble of interviews, recruitment, and training processes 
• Get qualified professionals with fresh ideas on board 
• Reduce overhead infrastructure costs as these professionals can work remotely. 
• Scale your augmented team as per your needs 
• Ensure you meet your deadlines within your budget 

Undoubtedly, Staff Augmentation is the most favored model in the billion-dollar outsourcing industry.  

For thriving in this disruptive world, you need professionals who are well versed with Cloud, RPA, AI, Machine Learning, NLP, Tableau, AR/VR, SharePoint, SAP, and every other technology out there. It again highlights the importance of outsourcing IT services to a professional IT company. It is not only about knowing the technology but also about finding the right solutions. These professionals understand your business processes and then tailor solutions to meet them effectively. Their insights and Expertise would surely drive growth and give you the best return on your outsourcing investment. The best way to survive the change is to adopt the change. To thrive in this world, you have to reconsider your staffing strategies. Be it implementing new technologies or discovering solutions to existing problems; staff augmentation can help your business in numerous ways. 

At i2e consulting, we suggest that that as businesses, you must play hard on your strengths and outsource the rest to the best professionals!