Why the Pandemic Led to An Increase in IT Outsourcing
The pandemic has crossed the one-year mark and it’s been a while since people gave up living normally.
According to a recent study, 62% of people worked remotely in 2020, and the number is supposed to increase in 2021.
Outsourcing IT work has been on the rise for years now. But it was only after a pandemic that people started to see how important it is to outsource companies’ IT needs.
While there are many reasons for the decline in IT outsourcing, the major one is that companies are too scared to hire new employees. So, they end up outsourcing their workforce. Let's take a deeper look at workplace transformation in detail.
No More Difficult Time for IT Outsourcing
Ten years ago, the global market was flooded with news of tough times in the outsourcing industry. This results from business leaders' growing concerns over security breaches and data leaks.
The need to rethink these practices was highlighted in the past, especially when Yahoo revealed they lost more than one billion accounts since 2014.
Also, there were difficulties ahead for companies to compete in an ever-changing marketplace. Some companies also found aligning with external staff who had different cultures or goals as a disadvantage.
They slowly moved away from traditional outsourcing destinations to in-house processes, but then the COVID-19 hit people’s lives and businesses very badly.
Pandemic Turned the Tide of IT Outsourcing
Now, it's clear that the surge in IT outsourcing is a result of a global pandemic. Many businesses are now partnering with offshore providers for office support and technology services.
With more organizations being ready for digital adoption, IT services are back in demand with intensity. Therefore, we can say that the pandemic has paved the way for benefitting IT outsourcing services.
List of IT Services Outsourced in 2021
Here is the list of popular services outsourced to companies in India:
1. Graphic Designing
Most brands think they can easily perform design tasks. Although it might be true, the quality of the work may not be up to the mark.
One of the standard services outsourced is graphic design since businesses demand images for Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
This is because getting quality designs is essential. You can get positive results by leaving the designing work like graphic designing, logo designing, magazine designing services to experts who know how to tweak changes.
Magazine design is one of the highly-rated services, which is outsourced worldwide. This is because the brands from offshore regions have more undertakings in aspects regarding the creation of magazine covers.
2. Digital Publishing
For high-visibility and international readership, outsourcing e-publishing services is the best idea. By outsourcing digital conversion service, agencies can expect exceptional end-to-end e-publishing solutions.
These include convert books to ebooks and timely delivery of content to increase digital publishing.
Converting your manuscript into digital is a popular service in demand for outsourcing. You can find reputed companies specialized in ebook conversion services that cater to authors and publishers.
With a good distribution network, you can get your content enhanced with multimedia elements.
Also, outsourcing digital archiving services to a company that is well-known for data preservation is a brilliant idea. This is because many entrepreneurs are on the lookout for service providers that can secure data and manage business processes with high efficiency.
Regardless of the complexities present in the volume of data, the dedicated team will process your needs through innovative digital archiving services.
3. Photography Post Processing
Outsourcing photo editing services ensure you get beautified images with proper consistency. The advantage of outsourcing this service is you get advanced resources that will bring your pictures to life.
Real estate photo editing is another comprehensive service that professionals need. Outsourcing this service to experienced image editing companies leads to superior quality results.
Editing eCommerce products is a challenging task, especially when you want to get it done in-house. Outsourcing the eCommerce photo editing service to an offshore company helps you get excellent results with each design focusing on highlighting its features.
Quality work involves post-processing of product pictures to gain more viewers from potential prospects.
You can get vibrant versions of photos sculpted to perfection from image editors who are passionate about their work and can deliver professional fashion photo editing services.
4. 3D Designs
3D modeling, 3D visualization, and 3D rendering are some of the creative services that bigger brands have trouble focusing on.
Instead of doing something that we clearly don’t enjoy, outsource it to an offshore vendor who is talented at creating 3D modeling works.
Not only does it help you save costs, but it also provides creative outcomes and gives shape to your imaginations.
Many companies require their ideas to be transformed into animated movies. Whether for a professional presentation or an interactive creative video, consulting talented animators offshore can also save cost and time.
5. Book Editing
Whether it is a proofreading service or copy-editing service, it is better to outsource everything for the skills that you overloaded.
Focusing on proofreading a document when you can plan the next business strategy simply does not sound easy.
Outsource the proofreading work to editors who are brilliant in grammar and make your document stand out.
The next time you start a project, remember you can also outsource the services such as XML conversion, or typesetting conversion to experts who know the field.
6. Customer Support
Did you know that over 20% of customer support calls are about a problem that the customer can easily fix? Sometimes, representatives may find it to be quite frustrating to speak with these customers.
Therefore, save your staff some valuable time by outsourcing customer support to an overseas company where there is a more affordable workforce. They surely have experience in handling English and other languages.
Now you can focus on customers who need additional assistance and need solutions to a really complicated problem.
7. Payroll Services
No one likes paying the payroll taxes. Why not outsource it to a professional company? They'll handle everything for you, and give back any money that they save in tax.
Wouldn't dealing with invoices be much better than managing all the employees’ paychecks yourself? Moreover, with all the different types of payroll services, it is hard to choose the right one for you.
Ultimately, with outsourcing, your business will save time and administrative costs. Also, you’ll have access to reliable data security because of third-party cloud storage.
8. Social Media Marketing
You’ve heard it before – the importance of social media for your business, but do you really know how to make it work? Time and money are precious resources that most businesses don’t have enough of, so outsourcing is often a great alternative.
Save time by focusing on what makes sense first. If you want more followers or better engagement, focus on those elements. Don’t spend too much time growing an audience through content creation only just to find out that no one is reading them.
That’s why it is better to give this task to expert agencies that have a proven track record of success in social media marketing.
9. Bookkeeping and Accounting
If you’ve been struggling to find the time or resources for regular bookkeeping and accounting, outsourced help is closer than you think. It can be tempting to do it all yourself, but your business needs a reliable accountant who knows the accounting world.
Whether it is reconciling bank accounts or managing the looming tax activities, outsourcing it to a professional accountant might be the answer.
10. Web Development
Web development outsourcing is a great way to get your website developed at an affordable cost. You can hire overseas developers for the same price as hiring in-house staff, but you will save time and money on quality assurance.
You have many options when it comes to web design and development; in-house team members with expertise or outside agencies that offer one stop solution via outsourced web development services.
Either way, web development needs an innovative team that can handle the requirements of your demands.
Pandemic and The Increasing Use of Digital Technologies
Within a few months, COVID-19 has led to a digital transformation that would last several years. Although the crisis has created a terrible impact on many levels, it has created digital tools for success.
Many companies have later realized that they have no other choice but to adopt a more digital way of handling operations and projects. But only those companies who switched over to remote work immediately had the least impact from the pandemic.
Employers Trust Remote Work Now
In the past, employers were skeptical about hiring people who worked remotely due to less live interaction. However, this period has gone as companies see their employees make a great effort.
No matter where they're located, productivity remains constant. Employers' skepticism is eroding when it comes to remotely managed teams.
Many companies recognize that productivity can be improved with an effective collaborative approach. Also, time wastage on commuting or office politics is greatly reduced. The cost-savings for employers in this area have also become appealing.
Employees find that they often get more productive outside the confines of traditional work hours. This is because their lives don't stop when they clock out from work.
Help From Contractors
According to a recent survey, companies are turning to contractors to deal with revenue loss. It applies to an uncertain economic future as well.
When faced with fewer profit margins, companies might offer more flexible hours. Commission-based wages as compensation are also not out of the equation.
Instead of hiring full-time employees who need expensive benefits, the compensations for hiring a contractor are reasonable. An offshore vendor may be needed on a project basis when revenues spike again to generate profits. This way, there would be no need for layoffs once the business slows down.
Cost Reduction
Outsourcing is a popular option for companies looking to reduce their operating costs. By outsourcing, they can decrease overhead costs by getting rid of some jobs that may not be necessary.
It is a helpful tool for cost reduction because you can cut down payroll expenses. This saves money.
Driving Innovation with IT Outsourcing
Global companies are now using IT outsourcing to drive innovation. The companies have shifted from a traditional approach to having internal teams produce new ideas.
An innovative "outsourced" model focuses on getting outside resources to create amazing services. These innovations will help them stay competitive against other businesses.
Also, it is not about bringing in fresh perspectives; these outsourcers come into organizations with more skills.
Conclusion
The pandemic led to an increase in IT outsourcing because companies could not find enough talent domestically. Companies are willing to pay a premium for the skills that they need.
In addition, even if there were adequate domestic labor supply at the time, it would have been difficult for employers to make decisions as people went back to their hometowns and schools closed down.
This is why the IT outsourcing industry is growing rapidly and readily getting adapted to the new dynamics.