Many companies, from startups to large market players, are outsourcing processes, and demand continues to grow with the implementation of new technologies and innovations, to gain advantages in a highly competitive environment. Companies in the US choose outsourcing for many reasons: tax incentives for outsourcing in countries with lower income taxes, reducing the cost of internal labor and office rent, focusing on key-business functions, gaining more expertise in non-core business areas, and providing flexibility through the competent redistribution of internal resources to more important functions.
The growth in the number of BPO has led to the emergence of subspecialties, including the following: ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services – a type of outsourcing, where the service is provided electronically, usually via the Internet, but any telecommunications network or data transmission network can be used instead), KPO (or Knowledge Process Outsourcing is the outsourcing of knowledge and information-related work to a third-party service provider to save costs and other resources), LPO (Outsourcing of legal processes – a subset of KPO and covers a huge range of higher-level legal work and not just a lower-level legal transcription), RPO (Outsourcing of research processes: a subset of KPO, RPO specializes in research and analytical functions).
Let’s look at how the outsourcing processes have changed over the past few years.
Implementation of RPA (Robotic process automation). According to experts, new technologies developed over the past few years, including RPA, have begun to influence the BPO industry and will be of key importance in the future. Due to cost savings, speed and efficiency, RPA gradually penetrates into all types of business processes, which will eventually lead to job losses. On the other (positive) side, automation can make room for more highly qualified employees.
Development of social networks. Now the majority of the US population has at least one social media account, which has led to changes in consumer behavior. Through social networks, you can get unique data about consumers, which allows you to analyze trends and introduce innovations. In the coming years, the desire to invest in new technologies and tools for better management of social networks for customers will continue.
Cloud. Cloud storage and data processing systems are becoming more common. Greater flexibility and scalability are the values that Сloud BPO gives to companies, so the introduction of cloud services and investments in this technology will continue in the future.
BPO and startups. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the number of startups. Such companies, as a rule, are constantly in conditions of lack of time and limited resources. And in order to succeed and scale competently with a small budget, they often look for cost-effective ways to hire the necessary employees. Startups and BPO have become more interconnected, and this trend will continue in the next few years.
Transparency. Previously, only major BPO players were visible in the industry and for a long time, it was difficult to get information about strategies and contracts in the market. With the growing number of small businesses, there is a tendency to increase transparency and get information about strategies, contracts, and pricing.
Strategic partnership. Companies seeking to move away from traditional BPO models are changing their development strategies. For example, they add such non-traditional services as research, development, and innovation with the requirement of a higher degree of automation from suppliers. Mutual financing with suppliers has emerged as a type of strategic partnership, in the training and development of personnel, innovative funds, and the study of various partnership models, such as embedded teams and common centers of excellence.
Customer orientation. More attention is focused on customer orientation and results-based services that emphasize quality rather than additional cost savings, and the use of digital technologies to improve customer service. Leading market players develop their end-to-end processes focusing on outcomes, not transactions.
After the pandemic, the outsourcing industry has undergone radical digital changes. The technologies that are now being introduced into the digital ecosystem will penetrate deep inside and affect the majority of outsourcing operations. Agile development will become more closely linked to digital tools. RPA automates most of the work. The outsourcing industry will be transformed with a greater focus on creating value creation networks with outsourcing companies. Sharing resources will become the new norm, as companies decide to support each other and share risks.
You can always contact Openix solutions to get additional information or consultation on your project.
