Home/Posts/What is Outsourcing? Definitions, Best Practices and Advice
what is outsourcing

What is Outsourcing? Definitions, Best Practices and Advice

There are lots of benefits outsourcing can offer your business, but it is always better to manage your relationship from an informed perspective regarding expectations and best practices. During this post, we take a look at what it is, the advantages and advice.

Definition of Outsourcing

Outsourcing involves assigning certain business tasks or projects to a third party. One of the most popular sectors is IT where an outsourcing firm with IT expertise can carry out a range of operations on behalf of their client. These operations might involve specific tasks like implementing network services or even disaster recovery. There might also be a variety of software development projects that the outsourcing organization are hired to complete, saving the hiring firm from employing their own experts which would only be needed until the completion of the project.

There are three basic options related to location and time zone. Onshore outsourcing involves hiring a firm from within your own country. Nearshore is similar but can also include outsourcing firms from other countries in the same time zone. Offshore outsourcing is the hiring of a firm from a country much further away and in a different time zone.

Offshoring is often differentiated from onshore or nearshore and considered by some to be an entirely different entity from outsourcing. Usually, offshoring is used to take advantage of lower labor costs, though this advantage must be weighed against the increased difficulty to communicate via different time zones and the potential for a lower standard of quality.

Benefits of Outsourcing

The benefits of outsourcing will depend on exactly what tasks and projects require outside expertise, but in general, there are many benefits. As mentioned above, a primary benefit of outsourcing is access to the required expertise to complete a particular project without committing to hiring a full-time employee on a salary.

This lower ongoing investment in internal infrastructure can significantly reduce a company’s expenditure while still equipping them with the software or network services they need.

Similarly, outsourcing provides access to a variety of skills that one single employee is unlikely to have all by themselves. An IT outsourcing organization will also have access to certain technologies and resources that are needed for certain jobs.

Outsourcing also provides businesses with the kind of flexibility required to stay on top during changeable business conditions.

Outsourcing Advice

Outsourcing to an offshore firm sometimes comes with potential risk. Outsourcing to a country that does not adhere to the same standards and business knowledge, can make things more difficult. There can also be some language barriers which can sometimes slow down the project.

However, this can be avoided by partnering with a nearshore outsourcing company such as EX² Outcoding who share the same values, work ethic and time zones. Choosing a company like this also enables you to request for staff members working on your project to visit and work from your physical location. Making your project run more smoothly and achieve the desired standards.

If you are looking for an experienced US-owned Nearshore partners, please contact our team on +1 800 974 7219 ext. 202 or by completing the form here. Our team are happy to discuss your requirements and provide specialists advice.

Contact us for further information!

Contact US

Contact us for further information!

Contact US

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!