The practice used by many companies is based on the fact that specialists must grow, work and develop within the organization. Companies are interested in qualified specialists motivated to work effectively…
That’s the style of the original article. But after reading it several times, I wanted to rewrite it. Using general phrases to tell about outsourcing is dull and boring.
Let’s have a better look at some numbers.
Now over 70% of companies in the USA outsource 10-15% of their IT operations. At the same time, expenses for IT-outsourcing in the U.S. annually increase almost 18 %, as IT services redistribute the means earlier spent for internal operations in favor of IT outsourcing. This is from the book of 2003.
More than 10 years have already passed. Taking into account that outsourcing in the U.S. began to develop rapidly in the ’90s, the situation changes every year, according to diceus.com.
Let’s see what Gartner Inc. tells us:
- In August 2012, there was a forecast that IT-outsourcing services in 2012 will grow to $251.7 billion (2.1% growth compared to 2011’s $246.6 billion).
- In July 2013, Gartner Inc. predicts that the same services will grow to $288 billion (2.8% growth compared to 2012 which reveals $280 billion).
At the same time, the forecast for 2013 also decreased – before that, it was higher.
All this shows that the market of outsourcing services is growing every year and helps companies to implement projects, competing in some cases. You can take on 3 roles in this market:
- Create your own team of specialists to achieve your own business goals (development of internal or external products). In this case, there is an intersection with outsourcing in the labor market.
- Offer outsourcing services (including offshore, nearshore, outstaffing) to companies that develop internal or external products.
- Purchase outsourcing services (for the same purposes as described above).
My 20-year experience in the IT market, as well as my practice in each of the roles, led me to the following conclusion: outsourcing is used because it allows me to achieve business goals more fast and cost-effectively.
But at the stage of application of these services, there are moments that influence the success factor of the project.
What to do if you need work done fast and at minimum cost?
When work needs to be done in a short period of time and start a project urgently, it can be difficult to find people with the necessary experience and qualifications. Several options may help solve this issue:
- Create your own team and look for necessary specialists in the labor market.
- Apply to another company which has specialists able to work on the right subject.
- Create a mixed team, both inside the company and with several contractors.
The speed that companies need to build teams to execute their projects is one of the factors that should be considered for the current market, saturated with changes and events.
The speed of team building is one of the advantages of outsourcing companies that have an opportunity to attract more specialists to work, as they specialize in this.
Tip: request a team-building plan within 1-8 weeks with profiles of potential employees. The plan will allow you to understand the current situation with available specialists and assess the associated risks.