subject: The Future Begins Now-Outsourcing's Changing Trends [print this page] The Future Begins Now-Outsourcing's Changing Trends
What will the BPO industry look like in the next 5 years? Is it safe to plan and act according to the good old doctrines of traditional off-shoring practices? Is it safe to assume companies around the world are still seeking a cost advantages alone?
In reality, the paradigm is shifting -- and shifting fast. Here are some of the changes that are beginning to manifest;
Service Providers will play a greater Strategic role
Customers are looking for business process excellence, speed to market, improvement in quality and benchmarking to world-class standards. CEOs are increasingly involved in ensuring the long-term success of strategic off-shoring decisions. For their part, service providers are beginning to recognize that they willplay a morestrategic rolefor their clients in the near future
Greater Customer Control
Outsourcing customers are beginning to set up dedicated teams and resources for handling vendor contracts, managing the day to day relationships and operations, and dealing with third parties as opposed to techies or projects managers who have no training or experience in doing so. Clients will take greater control of driving and designing outsourcing decisions
Emergence of agile, specialized service providers
The spectrum of service providers today has spawned nimble organizations specializing in specific processes and leaner in cost. The success of such entities has begun to challenge the status quo of would-be all-in-one BPO/KPO giants
Rapid infrastructure development
Growing global connectivity means outsourcing is now an option for the entire world to avail. With traditional outsourcing feeding grounds saturating, companies are widening their net
Shift in vendor focus
Companies will begin to want more bang for their outsourcing buck, and cost advantages alone will not suffice in an increasingly intelligent marketplace. Vendor focus will shift from basic skills and cost saving processes to domain knowledge; and begin to specialize in transformational skills such as Transition Technologies, Change Management, comprehensive Infrastructure Consulting, complete HR management, Corporate Governance and Regulatory Compliance
Global competition
By 2015, China will overtake India as the world's top ITeS-BPO (IT enabled Services) destination
Rising costs and low efficiency in many cities like Bangalore coupled with poor infrastructure development throughout the country will make India less attractive in the near future
Other low-cost outsourcing blocks such as Eastern Europe, Latin America and South Africa will exert a overall downward push on service costs
Rising oil prices are making the West less competitive
Up to 20% of all IT industry jobs in developed nations will be outsourced in the coming decade
Fragmented Supply Chains & Disaggregation of Operations
Companies are moving away from traditional vertical integration and beginning to fragment their supply chains; with non-core competencies being outsourced
Expanding Client-base
The EU and Japan are following the example of their western counterparts and looking to develop service providers for their outsourcing needs
In summation, it is safe to say that outsourcing as we have known it is no more. The new world of outsourcing begins now.
