Outsourcing has traditionally been associated with big business. Historically organizations would focus on their core competencies or ‘secret sauce’ and hire outside specialists for other aspects of the business. This might include hiring experts for functions like payroll and HR, marketing, or IT management. Today however, businesses of all sizes and those in telecom, IT service, VARs, MSPs are taking another look at the benefits of outsourcing. New outsourcing-as-a-service- models available today make outsourcing much more convenient, cost-effective and strategic. Many believe the recent surge in outsourcing has been sparked, in part, by the adoption of cloud technology which makes the delivering of services much more efficient. Many believe millennials are also driving the adoption of outsourcing services because they are very comfortable working in and owning their own businesses.
The outsourcing-as-as-service models means that company’s only pays for the services they need, with simplified pay-as-go offerings. This provides the ultimate flexibility and the ability to quickly scale services as needs change. Done tactically outsourcing can help business owners to improve efficiencies across the organization, provide excellent customer service, focus on key areas of business and bolster their company’s bottom line. Before making a move to adopt outsourcing-as-a-service, let’s take a closer look at a few of the primary benefits to see if the investment outweighs the risk.
1. Ability to scale- In most cases, the sign of a successful business is growth and sales revenue. However, what happens when demand for products or services increases so rapidly that you can’t keep pace? Customers that experience slow experiences online, or they can’t get the support they need quickly, will be flustered and hard to win back. Further, without enough staff to fulfill orders, deliver services or answer questions from customers, there is no business. Outsourcing-as-a-service eliminates this problem by providing skillful support of back-office tasks, which are still critical. This gives organizations more flexibility and business continuity, whether the need is for additional staffing during a holiday rush, channel partner program management, reselling support or more. Not only that, outsourcing-as-a-service experts could be used to quickly scale the business and develop a mobile app for instance, or to re-fresh marketing content to be more mobile friendly. Regardless, the ability to scale resources quickly is a game changer for hungry entrepreneurs and even mid-size businesses focused on sustainable long-term growth.
2. Minimizing risk- one of the biggest benefits of outsourcing-as-a-service is that it offers companies access to skilled experts, proven processes and best practices− as a packaged service− where you only pay for what you use. This model is beneficial because users have access to these assets to perform proper risk assessment and risk analysis as they are laying out a strategic plan. This shares risk with the outsourcer because both parties are invested in a positive outcome. For instance, by outsourcing strategic sales and marketing services, companies will have the specialists available to create an integrated marketing plan that establishes a synchronous message across communications channels while also building on the company’s core brand. All of this can be done for an agreed-on price, without risk of skipping key objectives, project creep, or the high-cost of hiring hiring full-time employees.
3. Get more done during the day- One of the top reasons businesses rely on outsourcing is because it can help other full-time employees to get more high-quality work done more quickly. While multi-tasking might seem like a prerequisite for business owners or entrepreneurs, it can be quite inefficient. In fact, many experts believe that multitasking can lead to over-stimulation, which can also cause memory impairment and increased stress levels. Trying to accomplish too much at once, may in fact so down production. By having dedicated outsources focus on specific tasks, full-time employees will also have time to re-focus on completing one task at a time which will help them regain control over responsibilities. (Source: Chron.com). In total, organizations can get more done during the day by passing on critical, but also very time-consuming tasks, onto outsources. This might include tasks like accounting, customer support, project management, order management, billing resolution or data security.
4. More insight- Organizations of all sizes are challenged to find efficient ways to analyze the massive about of sensitive customer data and BI assets now collected as a result of doing business. Outsourcing-as-a-service offerings along with cloud technology will allow firms of all sizes to tackle the big data conundrum and to analyze data in exciting and profound new ways.
A recent national study by the Center for Generational Kinetics found that 74% of Millennials say they would be more likely to start a business if they knew where to get help. Part of that help is in finding resources to support the business goals and efficiently manage back-office tasks, like those found in modern outsourcing services. With the right outside experts, IT service companies can deliver exceptional customer support and customer experiences, while at the same time focusing on the core business strengthens and growing sales.