There is a well-rehearsed, and not always flattering, the stereotype of the outsourcing industry as consisting purely of call centres. Inside, rows of call agents attempt to handle incoming customer enquires, frequently hindered by a strong accent that makes communication difficult. Largely drawn from some early but notorious outsourcing failures, the stereotype is far from today’s reality.
While the call centre remains the dominant feature of the outsourcing sector, it is no longer the only type of outsourcing available. In the decades that have passed since modern outsourcing practices began, the industry has transformed and now delivers almost every business practice conceivable.
It is little exaggeration to say that almost everything can be outsourced. Increasingly, businesses have placed a higher value on focusing on their core mission. Leaders recognise that success is more likely when they minimise the ancillary functions they manage, whether it’s a product or a service. Although customer service to call centres was an early, well-known outsourcing practice, most people do not realise that other functions are regularly outsourced.
Many of these are, perhaps, obvious. IT outsourcing takes advantage of the fact that most businesses will have fairly standard IT setups. Their staff uses similar computers and software to staff in thousands of other businesses worldwide. Even functions that might be seen as more sensitive, like finance, are outsourced, a reflection that accounting standards and practices are harmonised across jurisdictions.
Outsourcing providers have adapted to meet this demand. India, for example, has developed strong centres in IT outsourcing, ranging from user support to coding. Outsourcing to the Philippines takes advantage of the high standards of English fluency offered, making it a leading choice for functions that require communication or comprehension.
And as the boundaries of outsourcing have expanded, more and more businesses have found ways to take advantage of outsourcing companies that can provide skilled or technically literate staff in low labour cost nations. For example, an internet giant might have started with customer support outsourcing, then added back-office processing, and then started to use outsourcing companies to manage content moderation. And there are few areas where someone, somewhere, hasn’t used outsourcing; even creative functions, like animation, are now being outsourced.
The trend shows little sign of slowing. As India’s strong BPO sector has shown, technology means there is a significant area of growth. When businesses are unable or unwilling to develop their own in-house capacity, outsourcing becomes an obvious choice. And this is becoming more and more common as things like AI or data mining require more resources and deeper expertise.
Expecting the unexpected is perhaps the best advice when looking to see where outsourcing providers in India or elsewhere might go next. Even now, it’s possible a business somewhere will have identified an ancillary business function that has not been outsourced before and be talking to a potential provider. And, as has happened many times before, today’s exploratory conversations might well be tomorrow’s outsourcing innovations.