Many small businesses and sole proprietorships are growing their businesses with Outsourcing more and more today. By outsourcing part of their work load they can free up time, keep costs down and take on more business for more income. When these one man operations or small businesses hire outside professionals to take on part of their work load this is referred to as outsourcing, since these people are not employees of the business that has the work to be done. By outsourcing the small company also appears to be much larger than they really are and they can make the profits of much larger companies this way.

Employees or perspective employees will be one of the biggest time savings as well as cost savings. No time will be spent setting up interviews or doing those interviews. This will allow you to spend more time with your customers, and any customer that deals directly with the owner will become loyal much quicker and will be a repeat customer longer.

Since you will not be hiring any employees there will be no tax forms to fill out, no scheduling to be done for them, and no need for training time. All of these things take your time and cost you money. Your business will also save by not having to buy employee health insurance, unemployment insurance, workers compensation insurance, and security systems to monitor these employees. This is in addition to saving on having no employee payroll, including your share of their income taxes, vacation pay, and holiday pay.

With the time that you save by not taking on employees, you can use that time for concentrating on your marketing and advertising campaigns, and the development of new products. Of course there are going to be costs associated with the outsourcing, however if you negotiate for a fair fee then your savings will outweigh these costs.

By outsourcing your company will grow in revenue but there will be no need for larger office space or work areas. Again your business will incur savings here also.

Without increasing your staff or work space there also will not be a need to buy and learn how to use more office equipment, production equipment, software, and other time consuming tasks related with larger space and new business tools.

Outsourcing will allow you to take on much larger orders that you could not take on by yourself. This will create the opportunity to branch out and expand your market area. Offer to take on the work that your competition can not handle.

The subcontracting companies that you do business with could become a source of new business as well since they will undoubtedly be talking to people about your business which brings them more business as well. In return you could act as a middleman for the subcontractors that you use by promoting their products in your business activities. For doing this for them you would charge them a finders fee which could be an added source of income for you or when you need to have them do work for you the money you receive from them could be used to offset their cost to you for the work they do for you.

Utilizing outsourcing will mean that your product will be turned out quicker therefore it will also be delivered quicker, which will boost customer satisfaction. The increase in customer satisfaction will multiply your profits quickly in the form of repeat business and referrals from those happy customers to their family, friends, and even strangers they may meet in their daily routine.

In conclusion any business can benefit from Outsourcing in these ways provided that they locate and negotiate with an outside business that is prepared to meet the needs and has the knowledge and staff to produce the product sufficiently and economically. This outsourcing allows the small business to compete on a more even level with much larger companies as well as providing revenue growth and profit growth without increasing all the costs associated with growth

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Globalization & Internet has taken hold of world leaving no distance between far-flung nations. At this time, Offshore Outsourcing entered the scene with a big boom & has become one of the most important management practices today. Many foreign corporations like American started outsourcing their blue collared jobs including information technology development and IT “back-office” projects to developing nations, like India, China, Philippines & many others. Providing low-cost services & high quality, these nations are developing with a great leap in economy through outsourcing. But, why India is preferred by American & other foreign corporations?

Offshore outsourcing takes account of a great deal of thought. Rapid cost reduction should not be the only drive to outsourcing. Quality solutions & services by Indian companies are credited for being the new attraction for offshore outsourcing to India. When processes are offshored to India, companies not only get the advantage of low cost but also experience value addition i.e. productivity and quality.

Source countries get approx. 40-50% savings from outsourcing to India. However, one should think twice before outsourcing because outsourcing would require a dedicated relationship and a proper understanding between the parties involved which simply means, point of saving money is firm at its stand, but one has to realize that lack of proper communication may cause relapse of the promise of cost reduction.

Other than savings & value addition, immense creativity, speed, scalability & talent of Indian mind also tend to startle the outsourcer once offshore outsourcing relationship starts. This is what we can analyze from this quote;

"Certainly cost reduction, but it's not as simple as that! Cost reduction was only part of the reason that companies were considering offshore outsourcing, there were benefits to be had in time-to-market and quality, leading to an adage that companies initially chose India to save costs but stayed for the speed and quality!"

Now, when we are discussing potential reasons, then India’s powerful workforce with largest pool of latest technical skills can’t be spared mentioning. Indian companies understand that cost alone can’t continue to keep India’s present dominant position in the offshore Outsourcing Industry.

In short, India is preferred to other countries because of;
•High-quality brain power
•State-of-the-art technology with world-class systems
•One of fastest growing economies
•Rich in resources
•Stable government
•Privatization of the infrastructure sector

Concluding with few words, I would say that rising Offshore Outsourcing is fueled by an amazing combination of efficiencies and profits required by producers of goods and services together with the consumer-driven passion for quality goods at affordable prices. Cost-effective production of quality goods and services becomes the elementary driver for the source country while development of a globalized service-based economy for the destination country. The improving economy is based on highly sought-after skills and delivering services using low-cost broadband communications as the primary mode of transport.

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The business mantra these days is ‘OUTSOURCING,’ whatever cannot be performed internally. The scope is huge and seems to be expanding enormously. The mammoth coverage of outsourcing has not spared any function or department. Anything form employees to raw materials, from managers to the entire activity can now be outsourced. The rational is simple, why take the pains to perform something, which you are not good at. Alternatively, let professionals handle. They know their job and are comparatively cheaper. Not to mention the saved overhead cost.

Outsourcing: Advantages: The increasing scope of Outsourcing as a function has led to creation of various intermediaries like management consultants who locate vendors for interested firms.

Moreover increasing span of Internet and other related online activities has prompted various professionals to apply for such outsourcing activities through web. The entire task is operated through a virtual interface, wherein the outsourcer and recipient or performers have not even met at times. This outsourcing pattern via online means not only reducing the down time but also acts as a common platform for both the interested parties to study various options and select accordingly.

However, the most crucial aspect in the entire bargain is to locate the most appropriate vendor. It is important to locate somebody who actually knows the work and has the capability to customize it as per the specific requirements. The pains instead of reducing could treble in an eventuality where an untrained so-called professional is managing it for you. Lack of knowledge could then easily fool you in a situation where the resources spent could easily go down the drain. In such probabilities, it is suggested to keep the extremely crucial functions in house and outsource the rather less strategic functions to external vendors.

Another concern while outsourcing through online means is the lack of physical interaction among concerned parties. Psychologically absence of a physical interface ends up creating an environment wherein the responsibility is not felt by the vendor. Therefore, it is essential to communicate effectively for best results.

Miss-use of information could also be a negative outcome of such virtual understandings. To safeguard your best interest be certain to enter into enforceable agreements with such parties. The agreement should not only cover the task related concerns but also serve as a tool in managing the information outflow.

Coordination of work and managing it becomes another tedious task in online outsourcing. Minor confusions could waste ample time and resources. To avoid such eventualities it is best to have an effective two-way channel of communication where both the parties can mutually coordinate at any point of time.

Outsourcing is certainly an effective tool and the latest offerings in the field that enable easy outsource through online means certainly are an added advantage. However appropriate steps to ensure smooth functioning and best results are nevertheless a mandate.

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While looking at Outsourcing your business processes, there are a host of issues that you need to be aware of about your prospective service provider. The key is to choose a service provider with integrity, honesty, efficiency and great communication skills. Although this seems like a formidable challenge, it’s pretty easy if you ask the right questions.

This article will give you an idea about the kind of questions you should ask your prospective service provider before outsourcing your work.

1.How reliable is the vendor?
Ask the vendor for details such as number of years in business, number of employees, financial background and so on. Get a thorough picture of the vendor's history.

2.Does the Vendor provide quality products/services?
Vendors need to provide solid customer references as well as emphasize the processes that are followed within their organization to ensure quality products and services. Certifications such as ISO 9000 and CMM from independent agencies go a long way in providing customers with this assurance.

3.What is the Life Cycle cost of the Products/Services provided?
Cost is obviously a key reason to outsource. But while choosing a service provider, make sure you look at hidden costs from maintenance, connectivity/infrastructure, training, transition etc. instead of just the obvious costs such as licensing and consulting costs.

4.Will the vendor be able to meet delivery deadlines?
Make sure vendors promise realistic commitments taking care not to overstretch resources to a point where quality might suffer.

5.How safe is my data?
While addressing these data privacy related concerns, make sure your vendor meets your requirements in critical areas related to infrastructure security (Firewalls, Access Controls, Data Encryption, etc) as well as those that are human resource related (Pre-Recruitment checks, Non-Disclosure agreements, etc.)

6.What kind of risk am I taking on with this vendor?
Ensure that vendors provide evidence of Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery plans and risk mitigation plans. These arrangements go a long way in minimizing business risk.

7.What are the effects of the vendor's employee attrition on me?
Ensure that vendors have cross-trained employees and have maintained sufficient buffer capacity to take care of such events.

8.Will the vendor be fair and transparent in his financial dealings with my organization?
Vendors need to be fair in matters related to invoicing especially in Time and Material type of contracts. Again, check with previous client references to ensure that the vendor is fair and transparent in his financial dealings.

9.Does the vendor comply with statutory laws and regulations?
If your vendor is not compliant with statutory laws, you stand a chance of being held responsible for violations of laws or regulations carried out by vendors. Increasing public scrutiny has ensured that customers are morally, if not legally, responsible for their vendor's actions with respect to environmental damage, working conditions, etc. Therefore, make sure that none of the vendor's actions violate established laws.

10.Does this vendor's culture match that of our organization?
A certain degree of ‘fit' must exist between the two organizations in terms of work ethics and culture for smooth interaction. The best indication of this is your vendor's initial communication with you.

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Outsourcing to India is now more about high quality rather than cost. Indian companies are fast scaling up to match or surpass international quality standards and are ensuring that they stay ahead through stable quality systems and continuous quality improvement
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The Indian BPO industry, which previously relied on its cost effectiveness to attract customers, is now under an entirely different dictatorship. Quality is the new buzzword and is dominating business processes and services like never before. Ninety percent of ITES-BPO companies now have specialized quality departments that are responsible for ensuring accurate, reliable services to their customers. The spotlight in Indian centers is now focused on ensuring standards of quality that are at par with, if not superior to their counterparts abroad.

Defining Quality
Quality departments have a straightforward approach to identifying the areas that require quality control. The first step is the identification of parameters that are 'critical to quality'. These parameters almost always include the client's requirements and expectations. Other key factors like accuracy, productivity and turnaround time are also outlined.

Most companies are now also following the process approach. The process approach is a description of the linkages between all the activities that work towards meeting the finest quality standards that have been identified by prevalent quality norms and the client's expectations.

The Indian Advantage
The Indian advantage lies primarily in the educational and technical qualifications of the personnel, who are often more qualified than the people working in the parent locations. A survey conducted in 2002 by NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies) showed that an India based ITES-BPO center in the banking and financial service sector, performs better than a UK or US based facility on significant factors such as the number of correct transactions/total umber of transactions, total satisfaction factor, number of transactions per hour and the average speed of answers.

The ITES-BPO industries are most sensitive to incorporating internationally accepted standards of quality assurance. The NASSCOM survey also found that 50 percent of Indian companies have implemented varied levels of ISO (The International Organisation for Standardization, which conceives sets of quality management standards) such as ISO 9002, ISO 9001, ISO 9001:2000, and ISO 9001:2001.

The survey also says that 45 percent of Indian service providers have certifications like Six Sigma (a disciplined, statistical quality control method that measures the number of defects compared to the opportunities to make defects) and CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration - which is a process improvement method that provides a set of best practices that address productivity, performance, costs, and customer satisfaction.). Moreover, a lot of organizations are upgrading their quality standards to from the ISE 9000 to the new ISO 9000:2000, and from the CMM framework to the new CMMI framework.

Quality Lapses - People and Industries
Despite superior performance levels and accreditation from international bodies, India still remains at a disadvantage when it comes to certifications for quality professionals. There are little or no certifications for quality professionals in India, and those that are available are either US or UK based. Although most companies make their employees undergo the processes for these certifications, the lack of an indigenous certification body is being felt, especially due to the scarcity of training centers for quality assurance and control. The only two popular certifications in the ITES industry are the 'Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA) and the Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE). Both these certifications are offered by the Quality Assurance Institute, which is again, an international body. But these too are largely considered inadequate by most authorities.

Another major problem concerning industries like the customer contact center industry which relies on verbal one-on-one communication, is the use of incorrect accents and grammar. Quality lapses are felt strongly because of misunderstandings or the customer's inability to understand Indian accents. Efforts are being made to improve the quality standards in these areas by deploying specific bodies that evaluate prospective employees on English speaking abilities such as accent, grammar, fluency and overall communication skills. The international standard in contact center operations - the COPC certification is now in great demand among Indian contact centers. While six of the top 25 players already have COPC certifications, 12 more companies are in the process of being certified.

Efforts towards Improving Quality
The frenetic pace, with which Indian players are moving towards achieving internationally recognized quality control standards, largely arises out of the awareness that the BPO industries cannot sustain themselves on the advantages of lower costs and English speaking abilities alone. The importance of consistency, low error rates and customer satisfaction has never been felt as strongly as right now.

Naturally, governing bodies like NASSCOM are holding no bars in its efforts to improve quality regulation. By the end of 2004, it plans to introduce a common certification programme across India for aspiring candidates, in terms of the skills and knowledge required by the BPO industry.

Another significant move towards ensuring quality is NASSCOM's initiative towards controlling issues like copyright infringement. It plans to formulate a comprehensive draft proposal to ensure information security and data privacy. The proposal will also emphasize the need for internal checks and continuous quality reviews, both by the internal senior management team as well as by the client team.

NASSCOM also plans to create a common yardstick for BPO organizations. Attempts to create such a yardstick are being made by Carnegie Mellon University which is involved in developing E-SCM or the E-Services Capability Model. This model is extremely useful for clients who are selecting a suitable service provider, as it allows them to compare the capabilities of different service providers, and also compare issues associated with the initiation and completion of the project.

The concept of benchmarking is also beginning to be used more regularly. Benchmarking is a continuous process of assessing and comparing an organization's performance with a recognized industry leader. This is especially useful in knowing where a particular company stands in relation to its competitors. It also makes it easier to identify which areas need more attention in terms of quality control.

The Quality Assurance Institute holds various training programmes in Six Sigma, COPC Implementation and Support and non-certified skills like maintaining customer satisfaction, people management, service levels and transaction monitoring.

For a company, ignoring quality now means certain extinction. Quality therefore, is no longer an option, it is the only choice.

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Is your business growing and expanding? Do you find that you are offering more products and services? Do you feel the need to hire other people to do certain tasks that you simply can't do yourself due to the lack of time and experience in that particular field? Well if you have answered yes to these questions, then Outsourcing may be the very thing that you need for your business.


You see, if you delegate some of the productivity to other people and other entities that specialize in certain products and services, you will quickly find that you can get a whole lot more done in a minimum amount of time. For example, let's suppose that you are running your own e-book business on the Internet, and you need some graphic work done for your web site. You could hire someone to do it, or you can find a particular company that specializes in web graphics, and hire them to create the graphics for your site. The reason for delegating out services to other people and to other companies is so that you can stick to the task of running and managing your business. You may not have the time, or the skills to do some of the things that are required of your business to perform, and that's where other people and other companies come into play.

What this does for you and your business is nothing short of phenomenal. By delegating services and projects to other people and other businesses, you can focus upon either writing the e-books themselves, or whatever else you need to do to insure that the business runs like it should. This also eases up time for things such as public speaking, making phone calls, and sending those all too important e-mail messages to potential JV partners, customers and subscribers. After all, you need to make your business grow, and with the other services and activities delegated out to other people and businesses, you can get more done for your business.

Outsourcing is a Godsend when it comes to managing your business because it shows that you aren't afraid to venture out and use the services of other people, and businesses. Not only that, but did you ever stop to think that by delegating out these services to other people and to other businesses may also be a great form of advertisement for the business?

Well it is and for good reason too. You see, once the other individual, or company gets involved in doing something for your business, they quickly become familiarized with what you do, and that is enough to spark off some word of mouth advertising from those other people, and businesses about your business. So what happens with outsourcing is this; your business begins to create a web of resources for itself that can be used time and time again, thus expanding the business to include other people and the services of other companies.

Now this doesn't mean that those other people and those other businesses stop being independent entities. They still remain as they are, but with a bit of a twist. They have become affiliated with you and your business to perform certain tasks that will help your business to sell its products and services, and thus also help the other individual, or business to do the same. So in a small way, outsourcing is much like a joint venture

The key to proper Outsourcing is to find the right people and companies that are well suited for the job that is needed to be done. That is where research comes in. You don't want to use the first person, or company that you find. Instead you want to find several people, and companies that you want to screen to find out which of these has the best skills suitable for the job that you want done. Remember, you want professional work done, not armature work. You want something that will truly reflect what your business is about to your customers and subscribers.

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Outsourcing requires well planned management. Managing your outsourcing venture is critical to the success of your project, but is an area that has not been given its due importance.
It is not difficult to deal with the costs involved in managing the outsourcing process. Plan out your management strategies and adapt them to outsourcing. To enjoy the benefits of outsourcing irrespective of the size of your company, a methodical management framework is important.
Certain areas of your outsourcing business need constant attention. Focusing on these areas will help you in controlling the course of your outsourced project.
Managing cost:
The biggest advantage outsourcing provides is cost benefit. There is no point in taking up a project if you are going to end up spending more on the project delivery to their client, right? To prevent this, scrutinize the scope and the pricing of the project right at the beginning before you take up a project.

Managing communication
Communication plays a vital role in bagging projects. How you communicate with your clients decide your future relationship with your client. To ensure better communication management, ensure you have the following in place-
• Good communication systems
• Regularly contact
• Clear instructions and feedback
• Clarify all possible doubts that can arise
•
Performance Management
The main issue in performance management is providing quality work in the decided time zone. Strike a balance between the actual performance levels and the ideal performance standards of your outsourcing project. Make sure that the project does not take too much time. To avoid this, review and analyze the project progress on a regular basis and specify the targets before beginning of the project.

Risk Management
A concern in any business venture. To be able to manage them assess your risk factors when you take up a project and have a back up plan ready, so in case anything goes wrong you will be prepared.

Crisis Management
Be prepared for any crisis that you might encounter. Make sure your management is financially and professionally equipped to deal with contingencies
Knowledge Transfer Management
While transferring knowledge about the proposed project, give complete information and knowledge to your outsourcing partner. The entire process should be closely and regularly watched. Knowledge transfer is directly proportional to productivity.
Relationship Management
You need to work out a good amicable relationship with your outsourcing partner. You can do a few things to make sure everything works out alright.
• Constant monitoring
• Mutual understanding
• Transparency
• Scope for discussion
• Flexible contracts
• Openness to intermediate scope and price review
Apart from managing the business process with your Outsourcing partner it is also necessary for you to mange your in house processes.
Estimate your company’s capabilities.
In-house and offshore workload distribution.
Appointing a project manager to supervise the entire process
Employee training on how to manage and organize an outsourcing business
Your final goal is to manage your company such that you benefit from your outsourcing venture. So choose a management system that suits your company and go ahead.

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Benefits of Outsourcing
Outsourcing is using outside firms to handle work normally performed in the company. This practice of hiring contractors can apply to just about any type of work. However, small businesses don’t take full advantage of multiple outsourcing opportunities like larger companies do. Outsourcing should be regarded as a strategy in business planning. The one thing small businesses tend to outsource without hesitation is payroll. They know they are not qualified to do that job and therefore see the wisdom and benefits of outsourcing it. That’s also why company outsource managers look outside their organizations for expertise.

In addition to that,
* They are cutting costs and freeing up finances to be used elsewhere.
* They are increasing efficiency by freeing the owner and key employees from jobs that are outside their scope of expertise. The staff can then focus on core-business functions.
*They are not taking time to train existing or new employees because they’ll get an independent contractor who is capable of starting right away and is equipped with the knowledge.

Accounting/Bookkeeping and HR functions are outsourced as often as IT, research, web design/development and more.

Placing your accounting and bookkeeping in the hands of professionals is an effective management decision. The responsibilities involved in maintaining your company’s bookkeeping functions grow as your business grows. You want to ensure that your monthly, quarterly, and annual bookkeeping are accurate and timely.

Why Outsource Human Resources?

HR functions must be handled correctly as close to 100 percent of the time as possible. Slip-ups can cause “big” problems for a business.
“Small companies often do not have the need or resources to employ a full-time human resources manager. Human resource generalists in medium-size companies usually do not have the depth or breadth of knowledge to fully support the organization”. “Without effective…human resources practices, programs, and policies, a business may not be compliant with state or federal laws. In addition, employee relations could suffer”, says Suzy Nisbet, President, Strategic HR Solutions, Cary, NC. Human Resource contractors bring order, simplicity and peace of mind to the complexities of HR.
Looking at the benefits of outsourcing it becomes obvious that a company gains a competitive advantage when using experts they don’t have to hire.

So what’s the bottom line on the benefits of outsourcing? It helps small businesses survive and compete with the big guys who outsource many jobs. That’s why company outsource managers say Outsourcing is a cost effective way to increase your resources

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Outsourcing is basically a method of carrying out a definite task without completely relying on the original companies resources. It can be a development of a product or can also be acquiring knowledge and technology.

In plain English, outsourcing is the process by which a parent company hires services / technology from firms or individuals outside itself to carry out a particular task. The parent company will not disturb its internal schedules and resources, but utilize the expertise, knowledge and resources of outside bodies to carry out the job. The important point to note is that, the production or development job is only transferred to the foreign body, and the responsibility of the job is with the parent company itself.

Why would anyone outsource?

There can be numerous reasons behind the decision to outsource a job to foreign bodies.

One of the main reasons why a company decides to outsource a particular work is because of inadequate resources within it. Sometimes situation arises when manpower cannot be diverted to an urgent work. One of the solutions to this situation is to increase manpower or to hire manpower for a short period of time. The risk factor is involved, as the company does not clearly know the performance record of hired manpower. But if we have a publicly accepted performance record of a specialist company who is wiling to take up the job, taking the responsibilities of newly hired manpower and shedding additional revenue on them seems a bad idea. This situation normally results in outsourcing, to avoid bottlenecks in the parent company's performance.

Inadequate knowledge and technology can be another reason why a company decides to outsource a work to some specialist firms, who can provide it. As it is clear, someone more skilled and someone who does the job on a day-to-day basis can complete a job in less time and money than someone new to the field.

Reduced budgets and increased expenses in operational costs can result in a decision to outsource. There can be situations when carrying out a project results in a loss. This occurs when expensive tools have to be purchased or when new knowledge or technology has to be purchased to carry out a job. The easy solution to this problem will also be outsourcing the work to skilled small-scaled businesses, which can complete the job in lesser cost and time, eliminating the expenses of purchase of new tools or technology. The huge reduction in pay rates while outsourcing to countries like India and Russia where loads of technically sound resources are available for a reduced pay rate, is one of the best reasons to outsource

Merits of Outsourcing
One of the good things about Outsourcing is that the parent company gets to concentrate on strategic issues rather than take up the hassle of specialized jobs. Another important aspect is the availability of top-notch resources, which are used by the parent company only when they need them. The reduction in operational costs is yet another huge positive aspect of outsourcing.

Points to Keep in Mind after the Decision of Outsourcing and Before Selecting Your Partner

Successful outsourcing is a result of good management.
▪ Make sure you have these points cleared before you outsource your work to foreign companies.
▪ Always study your future partner prior to fixing the deal. Talk to their past and present clients, study their history and present infrastructure before taking the leap.
▪ Once you fix the deal, the vendor is part of your company. Never treat him as an alien body.
▪ Clearly define the tasks and give a concrete idea about the deliverables. This will reduce the confusion and will make sure that the vendor knows what he needs to deliver.

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Outsourcing is when you hire outside professionals or services to take on part of your business workload. You may want to outsource part of your work because you don't have the room, you need an expert, you have periodic busy periods, or you need more production to get orders out on time etc. You could outsource accounting, secretarial tasks, factory help, computer training, web design etc. Below are ways to use outsourcing to beat your competition.

By Outsourcing part of your workload you can save time and spend more time concentrating on beating your competition.


-you won't have to take time training new employees

-you won't have to do time consuming tasks like adding on new equipment

-you won't have to learn a new software program or other equipment

-you won't have to interview employee candidates

-you won't have to fill out all the complicated employee paper work like tax forms, scheduling, retirement plans etc.

By outsourcing part of your workload you can save money and spend more money on marketing or advertising to beat your competition.

-you won't have to buy extra office and other equipment

-you won't have to buy extra office or work space

-you won't have spend money on employee costs like; taxes, medical, vacation time, holidays, workers comp., unemployment costs etc. (these may vary by which country you do business)

There are many other ways Outsourcing can help you beat your competition. Here are a few more:

-the extra help can help you complete and deliver orders faster

-you could expand your market share by becoming the middleman and offering your subcontractors services or products

-you could end up getting orders from your subcontractors

-it will allow your business to take on extra or large orders

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Source: http://www.business-standard.com/
The word is out and by none other than the world’s largest software firm, Oracle, the American Goliath with 50,000-employees worldwide, finds India a more attractive business opportunity than China for the telecom applications business, and for more than one reason.

Not only is India the fastest growing mobile telephony market, recently, it has also surpassed China. The sub-continent’s diverse telecom sector profile with GSM, CDMA, wireless and conventional modes make a grand concert, unlike in China, where the choice is limited, and accordingly offer little business opportunities to software application providers like Oracle.

“The adaptability of telecom software solutions in India is also far greater compared to China due to reasons like the English language base, and the whole country acting as a single unit when it comes to telecom services. In China, each province acts differently making it difficult for any service provider to come up with an integrated product at the national level,” confirms Bhaskar Gorti, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Oracle’s Communications Global Business Unit.

According to him, besides the 5-million-plus connections being added every month, other areas such as broadband and IPTV are set to see enormous growth in India, in the days to come. “As far as Oracle’s application suite is concerned, it provides the platform for all these businesses. Even the Worldspace radio works on it,” says Bhaskar.

India on top of China, the seductive lilt of the Snake Charmer’s flute over the fire-spitting Chinese Dragon, anyone with a modicum of sense would have known that! But, when did the West have any sense. Would they have invaded Iraq, if grey cells had been employed, rather than the hunger for oil rule the day. Would the British have dismembered India to create Pakistan and Bangla Desh, if only they had thought it out, instead of putting their policy of ‘divide and rule’ a step further. Careful thought would have shown the creation of an Islamic nation, would one day become the school and playground of the world’s Islamic terrorist organisations. Would they have created Israel out of Palestine, if foresight had shown it would be a sore festering, without an end in sight? Would they have carved the Nation of Israel out of Palestine, if they had practiced foresight, to see perhaps, one day it would be the tinder to a fully loaded matchbox, exploding the world into its Fourth World War! If only, they had employed the foresight of India’s ancient past, seen the bigger picture, rather than the smaller one of petty jealous rivalry and revenge. If, only they had, they would not have left fires smouldering, burning all over, wherever the flag of the British Empire had been planted.

If, the world is in a mess today, spiritually, environmentally, politically, psychologically, bodily i.e. health wise, who have we to thank for this sorry mess! You got it! The West! They derided the wisdom of the East (India), in order to rule the sub-continent. Today, it is the self-same sub-continent that can play saviour to the world. India’s ancient wisdom is no Old Wives Tale; it is the ‘ras’ (essence) of its primeval past.

Let India hypnotise and seduce the world, forget the hissing song of China’s (Jungle Book) KAA:
“Trussst in me,
Jussst in Me!
Ssshut your Eyesss,
And trussst in me!
Ssslip in to sssilent ssslumber,
Sssail on a sssilver missst!
Ssslowly and sssurely your sssensssesss,
Will csseassse to resssissst!”

Listening to the high-pitched, cunning Chinese KAA can only end in tears! For the discerning, it is mesmerising India’s Snake Charmer of the East to the Western creation i.e. a tangled heap of slithery (snake like) global problems, that will bring order out of chaos, will replace western materialism with Eastern spirituality, teach there is joy and happiness to be found in joint instead of nuclear families, and peace is better than war. It is only India that can teach you its ancient wisdom of working in tandem with nature and its creatures, only India that can teach one the quality of tolerance, so necessary to heal a scarred, ravaged earth, as the psyche of its inhabitants, including an environment shot to pieces by the destructive wantonness of western excesses!

Let India show you how to replace avid consumerism with Eastern asceticism! Only then, will there be peace and harmony in the world! Listen to India’s ancient heartbeat and tame the nature of the Western Beast! Think like the Indians, who believe the earth to be their Mother, learn from them how to be tolerant of all its creatures, human and otherwise!

No wonder, Oracle prefers India over China! Always, India on Top!

The US Chamber of Commerce ("USCC") has apparently come out strongly in favour of Outsourcing as it considers it good for the US economy because it made good economic sense and it has reportedly decided to fight legislative moves against Outsourcing of jobs to India and other low-cost nations. The USCC ascribed the anti-outsourcing backlash on political factors and lack of information. The USCC reportedly feels that Outsourcing would strengthen US companies' bottom lines, boost earnings and lift stock prices and would benefit more than 50 per cent of US households that own stocks. It has also warned that the US will end up paying a heavy price if it enacted laws to halt the movement of jobs to cheaper destinations.

Cost Savings
India's National Association of Software and Service Companies ("NASSCOM") has reported that US businesses have witnessed significant cost savings by offshoring to India. For example, the US banking, financial services and insurance ("BFSI") sector's costs have lowered by 7-10% than that of its European counterparts. Also, US BFSI companies have saved USD 6 Billion in the last four years by Offshoring to India.

Jobs Creation
NASSCOM reported that nearly 170 Indian IT companies have offices in the US and that they employed nearly 60,000 people in the US in 2001, contributing to nearly USD 810 Million in taxes in 2001. Employees of Indian IT firms bought goods and services worth USD 1.2 Billion in the US and paid nearly $300 million towards social security in 2001.

Value Addition
NASSCOM has also reported that BFSI offshoring has resulted in quality and productivity gains of 15-20% and customer satisfaction of almost 85%. It also cites the example of the success of the US automobile industry due to Outsourcing. Presently, the automobile industry is the largest in the world and two of the world's biggest automobile companies are from the US. Over a surveyed period, the automobile industry reportedly grew 20% in sales and services with a constant workforce. Outsourcing apparently provided this industry a competitive edge and opened up opportunities in terms of investing in new equipment and re-engineering processes.

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In long-term relationships, the key component for success of the relationship is best laid during negotiations, which lead up to the signing of the Service Level Agreement. Some of the common practices employed for a successful management of outsourcing relationship have been listed below. IT companies from countries like India, are supporting such methods to improve their client relationship management.

1. Keeping relationship between key management personnel:
If there is a good understanding and strong working relationship between the key management personnel of both teams, then such relationships often tends to last long. Research on outsourcing success has indicated that peer friendships and working methods with one's counterpart in the other company has been an important factor in long term relationships.
Also maintaining one point of contact will avoid confusions. Companies can keep one project manager per project or per client.

2. Well-defined criteria and Quantifiable objectives:
The objectives to be achieved by Outsourcing must quantifiable and must be established as criteria right at the start of the contract. If the customer can compare the performance with the pre-established objective, then the benefits of outsourcing would be clear. The vendor would know where they stand in meeting customer expectations.
Well-defined performance criteria have quantifiable objectives, service quantities, quality, and customer satisfaction and are measurable against other providers.

3. Developing special board of members:
Successful outsourcing relationships involve setting up of special executive committees or boards that draw out the best strategies for smooth & effective handling of outsourcing relationship. Identification, resolution and rapid escalation of issues are a key responsibility of this team.
By developing a team of people, companies can always do strategic meetings on any plans, issues or to resolve conflicts.
4. Incentives and Penalties:
The provider is encouraged to meet or exceed customer expectations by establishing performance based pricing. When performance exceeds the criteria, the incentives apply and when they fall short, the penalties are imposed.
This will increase the understandings in payment, work commitments and help both sides in long run to understand the work code better.

5. Periodical review meetings:
For a successful Outsourcing relationship, it is better to have frequent formal review meetings. These meetings can discuss what both teams are working towards and a high level view of the future goals and objectives. Product reviews and deliverables can be discussed at such meetings.
Staying away from the client, without updating will lead to much frustration at the client side. Also if there is no periodical updates, chances are more to understand the client requirements which leads to deviation from the requirement and can be solved later only in a troublesome phase in both sides.

6. Training vendor personnel:
The vendor personnel need to have ongoing training so that they align their business goals to the business objectives of the customer. The issues driving the clients needs have to be understood and the vendors' service has to relate to them.
The training could be in management, technology or anything which can improve the client relationship.

7. Understanding the cultural differences:
This is one area where countries like India need to concentrate. As both parties to the outsourcing relationship will have their own culture, these differences have to be recognized and bridged. Organizing social events, education on company background, participation in others' quality programs, etc., are some of the ways to improve the cultural understandings and bridging this gap.

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Outsourcing your IT can save your company money due to less down time, increase your companies performance due to more reliable and robust IT solutions, and give you superior overall service because they compete for your business.

Small businesses have been contracting computer consultants to fix their computers for many years. Usually this is because they have a small number of computers and hiring someone full time to maintain these small networks is not economical or efficient.

This article will focus on the three main benefits that companies experience when they choose to outsource their computer services through a third party. They may even employ or have employed their own IT staff in the past.

#1 Save Money & Time. Computer consultants are very cost effective, efficient and time saving, especially if you contract them on a retainer basis. A retainer is a prepaid service fee, usually paid monthly. This retainer service contract puts the consulting firm ??on call?? and no matter when, what, or how long it takes the firm to solve the problem they are legally and ethically bound to fix it so long as the services rendered are in the boundaries of the service contract. The more time the consultant spends the less per hour they make, intrinsically motivating them to be efficient. If your network is down and you are losing money by the minute, you will feel comforted to see this computer consultant firm onsite fixing the problem.

#2 Increased Company Performance. When hiring a computer consulting firm you are getting the combined experience of the whole firm plus all of their partners and resources. Even if your company has a full time IT person or two they may not have all the expertise needed to create the dependable robust IT solution needed to solve your problems. A consulting firm will complete the project with a more reliable and robust solution because their combined ability is greater. A more robust and reliable IT solution will boost your performance as a company.

#3 Professional Courtesy. A computer consulting firm is a different company than yours. Like you they are motivated to keep their clientele and expand their market share. Their reputation is the most important advertising tool they have. They compete against other IT firms, usually generating referrals to gain market share, a better reputation is worth its weight in gold. Thus they are naturally motivated to provide superior overall service to you.

In conclusion, Outsourcing your IT can save your company money due to less down time, increase your company’s performance due to more reliable and robust IT solutions, and give you superior overall service because they compete for your business.

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1. Accelerate Reengineering Benefits
Reengineering aims for dramatic improvements in critical measures of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed. But the need to increase efficiency can come into direct conflict with the need to invest in core business. As non-core internal functions are continually put on the back burner, systems become less efficient and less productive. By outsourcing a non-core function to a world class provider, the organization can begin to see the benefits of reengineering.
2. Access to World Class Capabilities
World class providers make extensive investments in technology, methodologies, and people. They gain expertise by working with many clients facing similar challenges. This combination of specialization and expertise gives customers a competitive advantage and helps them avoid the cost of chasing technology and training. In addition, there are better career opportunities for personnel who transition to the outsourcing provider.
3. Cash Infusion
Outsourcing often involves the transfer of assets from the customer to the provider. Equipment, facilities, vehicles and licenses used in the current operations have value and are sold to the vendor. The vendor then uses these assets to provide services back to the client. Depending on the value of the assets involved, this sale may result in a significant cash payment to the customer. When these assets are sold to the vendor, they are typically sold at book value. The book value can be higher than the market value. In these cases, the difference between the two actually represents a loan from the vendor to the client which is repaid in the price of the services over the life of the contract.
4. Free Resources for Other Purposes
Every organization has limits on the resources available to it. Outsourcing permits an organization to redirect its resources, most often people resources, from non core activities toward activities which serve the customer. The organization can redirect these people or at least the staff slots they represent onto greater value adding activities. People whose energies are currently focused internally can now be focused externally -- on the customer.
5. Function Difficult to Manage or Out of ControlOutsourcing is certainly one option for addressing this problem. It is critical to remember that outsourcing doesn't mean abdication of management responsibility nor does it work well as a knee jerk reaction by a company in trouble. When a function is viewed as difficult to manage or out of control, the organization needs to examine the underlying causes. If the requirements expectations or needed resources are not clearly understood, then outsourcing won't improve the situation; it may in fact exacerbate it. If the organization doesn't understand its own requirements, it won't be able to communicate them to an outside provider.
6. Improve Company FocusOutsourcing lets a company focus on its core business by having operational functions assumed by an outside expert. Freed from devoting energy to areas that are not in its expertise, the company can focus its resources on meeting its customers' needs.
7. Make Capital Funds Available
There is tremendous competition within most organizations for capital funds. Deciding where to invest these funds is one of the most important decisions that senior management