Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune are well known for offshore software development outsourcing centers in India, but offshore development is expending to new venues spread all over India. Before discussing the reasons why outsourcing centers are expanding beyond these well recognized places, we quickly sort out the list of new upcoming offshore development centers.

Ahmedabad, this name strikes mind vary first while we think about fastest growing offshore IT outsourcing centers, Pro investment policies of state government and top class infrastructure attracting big software development outsourcing players to establish a development center in the city. In western companies HP and Oracle that have already started center at the place.

Nagpur, is known as study and education hub, immense talent can be easily found here and expert labor pool gives a valid reason to establish a IT and ITES center here.

National Capital Region (NCR), scattered places near Country capital New Delhi are growing rapidly as IT zone of north India. Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Chandigarh are among the hot IT zones. Like Nagpur it is also hub of technical education in north India so low cost IT talent can easily accessible here.

Kochi and Visakhapatnam has already chosen by big companies like Wipro, HP, ACS, Satyam etc. in recent future a lot more happening is expected in these places regarding Information technology affairs.

Now question arises why these alternative outsourcing locations are being discover, the major reason for this is the software development and other IT functional costs at major recognized outsourcing centers has reached to the cost it require in US and all this because of high labor cost in these cities as they becoming expensive to highly expensive places to live and work.

Written by Sahil Kohli, this article is about the emerging outsourcing trends that have been a widespread theme now. India as being the one of the largest outsourcing hub has delivered quality and efficiency throughout the world. To know more about outsourcing services visit my site http://www.brickred.com

As more and more companies race to cut jobs and establish overseas functions in an effort to maintain competitive direct cost structures, surprisingly few have acknowledged the value-adding benefits offered by domestic providers whose core competencies focus on the design and implementation of efficient indirect cost structures. While there is certainly little room for argument that an organization’s value chain is enhanced through the outsourcing of labor, manufacturing, sales and other direct activities, the fact is that there may be substantially more opportunity for adding to the value chain by optimizing administrative/overhead margins. Furthermore, these gains come without the loss of control, decreased effectiveness of communication and other negative implications commonly associated with overseas outsourcing.

Outsourcing to an organization whose core competency is managing “administrative spend” (creating lean administrations) can produce what can amount to staggering expense reductions leading to the type of efficient cost structures which are critical to developing and maintaining competitive advantage. The areas in which average margin improvements of 15-30% can be delivered include:

* Telecommunications

* Office Equipment

* Facilities Management

* Office Supplies

* HVAC

* Shipping

* Treasury Services

* Temporary Employment

* Payroll

* Janitorial/Cleaning Supplies

* Refreshment Services

* Outside Printing

The explanation for this all too often overlooked source of value generally comes down to three things:

1. Manufacturing/Service enterprises’ focus on core competencies almost never includes administrative services. A competitive manufacturing company, may exhibit expertise in efficient production, but may know little about controlling employee cell phone usage. A competitive service company, is efficient in processing information, but may have little expertise in managing equipment leases.

2. Supply/Service vendors are trained to take advantage of the lack of expertise/sophistication in many purchasing departments. The success of supply vendors has come at the expense of the lack of knowledge of purchasing department buyers. Few buyers receive extensive training in contract negotiation, and most purchasing departments fall short when it comes to tracking and auditing vendor leases and services.

3. Limited purchasing power prevents cost optimization. Even many of the largest of organizations do not receive the volume discounts that could have been obtained by an expense reduction specialist, whose purchasing power is based on far broader collective usage.

The expense reduction solutions available to organizations that pursue the outsourcing of administrative cost structure management are real, hard-dollar savings that deliver bottom line profit results. Two examples of documented results include:

1. A Fortune 200 Insurance Industry conglomerate has saved in excess of $100,000,000 over the eight years since the implementation of a lean administration.

2. A Fortune 300 Business Information Products and Services company saved over $11,000,000 in the initial 18-month period following program implementation.

An important aspect of restructuring administrative costs is the cost/service ratio; when implemented properly, gains can in most cases be achieved with no change in vendors, no disruption to corporate culture and no decrease in service levels. In fact, under most circumstances, service levels will frequently improve, despite the drop in supply/service costs! Why? Because an effective cost reduction expert uses their specialized knowledge to successfully negotiate at the highest levels within a service supplier/vendor’s organization, and uses their substantial bargaining power to place increased pressure on suppliers to provide quality service.

Another aspect that separates qualified specialists from other more traditional consultants is that the former will not just make a recommendation and depart, but will design and implement approved programs AND track vendor compliance to guarantee contracted rates and service levels, thus insuring projected gains.

Finally, when investigating administrative expense reduction specialists, pay close attention to the terms of service. The best of the best will not charge for their services unless there are audited, confirmed hard-dollar savings to your organization.

© 2007 Profit Recovery Partners, LLC

Don Steiner, founder and CEO of Profit Recovery Partners, LLC, is recognized as one of the nation’s premiere experts in the area of administrative expense reduction solutions for the Fortune 1000. To contact Don, or for more information on how PRP may help your organization achieve a lean indirect cost structure and improved profit margins in pursuit of competitive advantage, please visit http://www.prpllc.com

As more and more companies race to cut jobs and establish overseas functions in an effort to maintain competitive direct cost structures, surprisingly few have acknowledged the value-adding benefits offered by domestic providers whose core competencies focus on the design and implementation of efficient indirect cost structures. While there is certainly little room for argument that an organization’s value chain is enhanced through the outsourcing of labor, manufacturing, sales and other direct activities, the fact is that there may be substantially more opportunity for adding to the value chain by optimizing administrative/overhead margins. Furthermore, these gains come without the loss of control, decreased effectiveness of communication and other negative implications commonly associated with overseas outsourcing.

Outsourcing to an organization whose core competency is managing “administrative spend” (creating lean administrations) can produce what can amount to staggering expense reductions leading to the type of efficient cost structures which are critical to developing and maintaining competitive advantage. The areas in which average margin improvements of 15-30% can be delivered include:

* Telecommunications

* Office Equipment

* Facilities Management

* Office Supplies

* HVAC

* Shipping

* Treasury Services

* Temporary Employment

* Payroll

* Janitorial/Cleaning Supplies

* Refreshment Services

* Outside Printing

The explanation for this all too often overlooked source of value generally comes down to three things:

1. Manufacturing/Service enterprises’ focus on core competencies almost never includes administrative services. A competitive manufacturing company, may exhibit expertise in efficient production, but may know little about controlling employee cell phone usage. A competitive service company, is efficient in processing information, but may have little expertise in managing equipment leases.

2. Supply/Service vendors are trained to take advantage of the lack of expertise/sophistication in many purchasing departments. The success of supply vendors has come at the expense of the lack of knowledge of purchasing department buyers. Few buyers receive extensive training in contract negotiation, and most purchasing departments fall short when it comes to tracking and auditing vendor leases and services.

3. Limited purchasing power prevents cost optimization. Even many of the largest of organizations do not receive the volume discounts that could have been obtained by an expense reduction specialist, whose purchasing power is based on far broader collective usage.

The expense reduction solutions available to organizations that pursue the outsourcing of administrative cost structure management are real, hard-dollar savings that deliver bottom line profit results. Two examples of documented results include:

1. A Fortune 200 Insurance Industry conglomerate has saved in excess of $100,000,000 over the eight years since the implementation of a lean administration.

2. A Fortune 300 Business Information Products and Services company saved over $11,000,000 in the initial 18-month period following program implementation.

An important aspect of restructuring administrative costs is the cost/service ratio; when implemented properly, gains can in most cases be achieved with no change in vendors, no disruption to corporate culture and no decrease in service levels. In fact, under most circumstances, service levels will frequently improve, despite the drop in supply/service costs! Why? Because an effective cost reduction expert uses their specialized knowledge to successfully negotiate at the highest levels within a service supplier/vendor’s organization, and uses their substantial bargaining power to place increased pressure on suppliers to provide quality service.

Another aspect that separates qualified specialists from other more traditional consultants is that the former will not just make a recommendation and depart, but will design and implement approved programs AND track vendor compliance to guarantee contracted rates and service levels, thus insuring projected gains.

Finally, when investigating administrative expense reduction specialists, pay close attention to the terms of service. The best of the best will not charge for their services unless there are audited, confirmed hard-dollar savings to your organization.

© 2007 Profit Recovery Partners, LLC

Don Steiner, founder and CEO of Profit Recovery Partners, LLC, is recognized as one of the nation’s premiere experts in the area of administrative expense reduction solutions for the Fortune 1000. To contact Don, or for more information on how PRP may help your organization achieve a lean indirect cost structure and improved profit margins in pursuit of competitive advantage, please visit http://www.prpllc.com

How many hours do you work in a typical week? 40? 50? 60? 80? How would you like to increase your income AND reduce your work week down to a mere 4 hours? That is just what Timothy Ferris, the author of the NY Times Best Seller The 4-Hour Workweek, did. While I do not agree with many of the things Tim did along the way to achieving his 4-Hour Workweek, there are some important lessons to be learned.

How did he do it? Outsourcing. He outsourced virtually everything in his life. Many small businesses outsource certain things, such as Payroll. But how many outsource their bill payment, their research projects, appointment setting? Tim was able to setup entire businesses on the simply concept of outsourcing. For instance, he would setup a web store (which he outsourced), he would outsource the order fulfillment, customer service, billing, accounting, etc. Do I think anyone can achieve the success that Tim had? Most likely it is like any other business. If ten people did this, there would be one or two that made it long-term.

So by now, you are thinking to yourself that you can not outsource your entire business. Well, most of us can not, or at least we are not comfortable with it. What we can do it outsource many of our unproductive tasks to free up time so that we can accomplish what we do best and what drives growth for out business. Virtual assistants are simply someone who provides administrative, technical, or sometimes creative assistance to their clients. They are becoming more and more common everyday, particularly with independent entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Since a large number of our clients are in the real estate industry. Let us look at some of the tasks that a typical virtual assistant can perform for an agent: schedule appointments, communicate with title companies, flyer creation, postcard marketing campaigns, organization and management of client databases, listing coordination, creation of virtual tours, FSBO Campaigns (For Sell By Owner), website creation/maintenance, blogs, client appreciation gifts and gatherings, or newsletters just to name a few.

The list of what VA’s can do it limitless. I had one client who is starting an ecommerce website have his VA research where he could find a drop shipper for the products he was looking to sell. I personally have used a VA to design documents, proof read documents, design logos, research products that I am in the market for. Currently, I am having a VA research the best lawn mower for my needs and provide a recommendation, as well as finding me the best deal.

If you are new to the subject of Virtual Assistants, you are probably asking yourself: Who are they? Well the answer varies greatly. Many are executive assistants or secretaries that have decided to go out on their own. Many are solo-shops and many are firms with several professionals assigned to your account, each performing the tasks for which he or she is best suited.

Today, with prevailing technologies such as the Internet, Virtual Assistants can be anywhere in the world. There are many right here in the U.S., but there are large numbers of professional firms in other countries who service clients worldwide.

The obvious major difference is that the typical Virtual Assistant from abroad is typically cheaper than those in the United States. You can get a competent Virtual Assistant firm from India from $4 per hour to $8 per hour depending on the firm and the tasks. In the U.S., rates start around $10 per hour but go up to over $30 per hour.

Do not let the low price fool you. Many of the VA’s in India are equally educated to the VA’s in the United States. Their price is typically lower because they have a much lower cost of living than do their United State counterparts. It does not necessarily mean that the lower rates mean you are getting a lower quality of service. In addition, most all of the VA’s serving clients in the United States are fluent in English.

There are a few advantages to consider when looking at VA’s within your own Country. First of all, they are typically working in the same time zone or at least one only a few hours off. When working with VA’s abroad, it is sometimes difficult to communicate in real time due to the time differences. For instance, India is ten and a half hours off from the Eastern time zone in the United States. In addition, there is an obvious cultural connection between yourself and an individual living in your own country while there may be vast cultural differences if selecting a VA in other parts of the world.

The time difference is not always a disadvantage, and it can sometimes even be an advantage. You can send a project to your VA in India before you leave work and it will be completed and in your inbox when you get to work the next day. This can produce great efficiencies in that it effectively allows for a “second shift” for some tasks within your business.

Where do you find Virtual Assistants? There are a variety of methods starting with typing the term into Google search. A method that is beginning to gain a lot of momentum are websites dedicated to this and other virtual services. You can list your project or tasks into a project description and have many virtual assistance bid to provide you services. Examples of such websites include Elance.com, iFreelance.com and oDesk.com. You can also try the International Virtual Assistant Association at IVAA.org.

The economic benefits to having a virtual assistant rather than an employee are expansive. First, you may not have enough work to fill a full-time employee’s time or even a consistent amount of work to provide to a part-time employee. You only pay for the time in which it takes your virtual assistant to complete his or her task. With an employee, there may many hours of unproductive time.

Because a virtual assistant is not an employee, you do not have to pay payroll taxes or provide any benefits. Your cost is limited to their hourly rate. In addition, you will not have to invest in any of that expensive computer equipment or software since the virtual assistant is required to provide all of that themselves.

When starting with a new VA, I feel that it is best to give them less important projects in the beginning and slowly work up as you are comfortable with their abilities. You may want to even hire more than one based on their specialty.

In today’s fast moving world of small business, it is easy to become bogged down with unproductive tasks. If you are not yet using a Virtual Assistant, consider what task are weighing you down and think about whether they can be outsourced. Remember the lessons that Michael Gerber taught us in one of the greatest business books ever written, the E-Myth. In order to grow, we must work ON our business, not IN our business.

Chad Bordeaux is a Certified Public Accountant residing in Lake Wylie, SC - just outside of Charlotte, NC. He has a wide range of experience through his years in Corporate accounting and is now a partner with Bordeaux & Bordeaux, CPAs, PA. You can visit his websites at http://www.yourcpapartners.com or http://www.redwolfpayroll.com or his blog at http://www.yourcpapartners.blogspot.com

Pakistan sat quietly as it watched it’s Indian neighbors quickly ascended to become the IT outsourcing capitol of the world, however, they were paying attention. Using the same Indian business model, the Pakistani business and economic development community has achieved major successes in carving out their own piece of the lucrative offshore IT outsourcing business. In the global outsourcing market, dominance is hard to achieve for the long haul. As lower wage employees develop highly sought after skills, the cost of retaining these employees leaves companies at an economic disadvantage.

Based on the pure economics of the two countries, it is evident that Pakistani IT companies will outpace Indian companies in the coming years, based on several factors:

India has a developed IT sourcing infrastructure, with established professionals demanding increased salaries. Increased labor expenses for outsourcing solutions makes companies less competitive, unless the output is exceedingly exceptional.

Pakistan has a huge community of émigrés with experience in technology. And like India, it has a culture that values education and hard work. Pakistan, like India, has a large number of English speaking residents.

Pakistan predicts a 45% annual growth in coming years. Although Pakistan IT exports represent only 11% of what India exports, Pakistan is quickly closing the gaps on the lucrative software application development market.

Gartner, in its recent report ‘Analysis of Pakistan as an Offshore Service Location’ said the major factor behind the progressing status of Pakistan is the lower salaries and better infrastructure advantages than other offshore destinations. “The salaries of IT professionals in Pakistan are approximately 30% lower than those in India, while telecommunication costs are also lower as compared to any other offshore locations, which make Pakistan an attractive outsourcing destination.”

The Pakistan government is fully committed to the Pakistani IT initiatives…”According to Gartner research report, government of Pakistan has devised a comprehensive national IT policy, designed to encourage the private sector. In order to drive development, Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) plans to construct new IT parks in major cities while 750,000 square feet of space in PSEB-designated parks has already been leased to IT companies.”

Rick Huey,Technical writer for SoftwareEngineeringJobs.net

source - SoftwareEngineeringJobs.net

The term ‘data entry’ is not one that gets heads craning when you drop it in conversation at a party, but did you know that this under valued (and under-utilised!) clerical duty can add some real power to the marketing campaigns and performance measures used by your business?

Database? What Database?

When someone mentions a database it often conjures up an image of an expensive, customized software program with all the bells and whistles. While these programs are terrific if you have them, they can be really expensive to purchase and implement. If you have an immediate need for a database, your Virtual Assistant can develop one utilizing your current office software, such as Excel or Access. Most people don’t realize that even Excel can provide you with many functions that make for a user friendly, flexible database, which anybody can enter data into and manipulate.

How Much Data Is Too Much Data?

I find that it is usually best to put a little more information in than you think you will need. While you have your Virtual Assistant entering the data, it would be prudent to add a couple of seconds to each entry with those few extra snippets of information, rather than dredge out the files all over again and go through the whole database once more. For example, if you are creating a customer database that will be used mainly for mail merges, it would be a good idea to add some extra fields such as ‘Marketing Campaign’ (data on what marketing strategy lead them to you, i.e. Yellow Pages, Google, print media, radio, etc), or ‘Date of Birth’ (allowing you to form a demographic of your clients at a later stage, or to contact them on their birthday). The old saying holds true “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”.

Data From Unlikely Places

If you are thinking about having a database created, you probably already have the pile of paperwork waiting to be entered. But sometimes it can be a good idea to think outside the square as to where your data will come from. We all have a stack of business cards that lie around our office or home collecting dust. We collect them from seminars, expos, business networking opportunities, and so on. There is a tremendous amount of information, potential leads, customers and resources waiting to be put to good use! Recently, a client who owns a restaurant gave me a large amount of business cards with which to create a database.

We have all been to restaurants and cafes where they have the large glass bowl filled with business cards and they draw out 1 lucky person per month. Deep down we all realize they are not doing this simply to be generous, but are collecting a customer base. But how many of you have actually gone on to receive correspondence from the restaurant after leaving your card? Not many I imagine! Here is a huge marketing opportunity gone begging; restaurants not usually having clerical staff simply don’t have someone to create and maintain a database - another great reason to use a Virtual Assistant! However your data is stored (scraps of paper, enquiry sheets, newsletter sign-up sheets, order forms, etc) you can give your Virtual Assistant that pile of paper work and they can turn it into a database that works for you.

Tending The Database Garden

It is an absolute joy to stand back and look at a garden after a wonderful landscaping job has been completed. But, how long will it stay a joy if nobody tends it? Think of your database as this beautiful garden. You have spent good money having a database designed, created and filled with information, but if it is not kept current, new clients not added and data fields added/changed to reflect your changing business needs, it tends to lose its gloss and usefulness. Why not put a plan in place that ensures regular maintenance of your database - your Virtual Assistant can perform updates and maintenance at planned, regular intervals. This will keep you in control and on top of your business.

Claire Dening is a Virtual Assistant and Office Support Specialist, offering professional assistance on demand, to Entrepreneurs and Businesses worldwide.

As the Principle of ‘Clerical On Call’ Claire has over 16 years of advanced Secretarial experience supporting Executives in some of the world’s largest corporations. With expertise in all areas of office support Claire can assist you with your administration, letting you get back to business. Find out how at http://www.clericaloncall.com.au

Call center training takes many forms. The participants can be trained in a classroom setting, by observing other participants on the call center floor, or by monitoring calls from a remote location. A more prevalent form of call center training is computer based training (CBT). Computer based training aims at maximizing the effectiveness of the training experience. Call center training also equips the participants with the basic skills of communication.

Call center training aims to build relationship and find out solutions for grievances. It teaches you how to listen, clarify, explain, and manage conversational flow. It also helps to handle complaints, manage upset customers, redress grievances, and hold negotiations in challenging situations. Call center training helps to avoid misunderstandings, pacify customers and soothe situations. Call center training enables you to please all customers in any situation. Call center training can be helpful for agents as well as managers and front line staff.

Call center training enables you to answer phone calls from a number of different companies. Some call center training courses teach you how to keep a professional appearance, how to earn the customer’s trust, how to establish credibility and demonstrate sympathy, how to use telephone skills including questioning, listening, responding and voice modulation, how telephone communication differs from talking face-to-face, how to maximize time spent on the phone, how to perform effectively under pressure, how to establish and meet individual goals, how to probe for information from callers (even from confused callers) and how to ensure that your customer’s needs are met.

To sum up, call center training is designed to improve customer satisfaction, increase sales revenue, raise collection rates and help to challenge and retain the best people. Online call center training is also available.

Call Centers provides detailed information on Call Centers, Inbound Call Centers, Outsourcing Call Centers, Conference Call Centers and more. Call Centers is affiliated with Call Center CRM Solutions.

If you take a step back, before the internet age, and examine the way our government handled our data, be it paper forms, tax returns, applications, etc. Back then packages were mailed to you and after filling in all you personal information you sent the completed package back to the government department or agency. This was simply the way the government did business and served citizens. Back then, public servants were focused on the business, and became experts in their line of work. Although the processes were slow and manual, but it was quite a well oiled machine.

Before the information age there were concerns about data, where it was stored, who had a key to the file cabinet, and how it was backed up, if at all. The same concerns still exist today, but on a larger scale. As the internet evolved and information became more easily collected using web pages and e-mail, concerns about securing the data became first and foremost.

Today, government has become consumed by technology. They have set up IT shops to build applications, maintain them and secure their data. What about the business? The single reason the government department was established: To server businesses and citizens with their required needs. You cold argue that IT is addressing those needs, but they are simply only an enabler. Business needs drive IT.

Today, government has many similar applications performing essentially the same tasks which include collecting, processing, analyzing and securing. And the biggest question of all is why these applications and data still residing within the department? Is it the fact that it has just become the normal view that they collected and stored data before, so they continue to do the same today?

What if for one second we looked at the entire situation and said, what if there was one IT shop for the entire government, a central place where applications are hosted and data is securely stored. This would promote re-use, establish an entire SOA architecture and no doubt save money.

Government should use offsite outsourcing and leave the development, management and servicing to trained professionals who’s daily focus is ensuring the application in up and that the data is secure.

Just today I was at a meeting where the lead developer was leaving the team, and the project was seen as being at risk. Government should not need to be concerned about an IT project not working out, they should bet back to the basics of serving businesses and citizens.

Chris Godin
Technical Analyst

Almost every organization is outsourcing something even though they may not realize it. Most are at least outsourcing their payroll administration and have the paychecks for their employees prepared by some payroll bureau.

Why? because they cannot do it any better or cheaper than the payroll bureau, at least not if they intend to comply with all the payroll/tax regulations and filings that accompany the employment of personnel. The bureaucratic and administrative burden for a limited number of employees is too great and the expertise required too specialized to be able to do it oneself efficiently.

In addition it is not productive for a company to spend the time worrying about and generating paychecks and filing taxes/withholdings etc for a limited number of employees or dedicate an employee to do this strenuous task in-house when a bureau can do it for you.

It is much more important that the company focus its resources on generating the sales and the income so that it can pay the employees every month as without the business there will be no paycheck.

In summary the following are a number of important reasons why a company should outsource a function like payroll administration to an outside contractor for a fee.

“The contractor can do it more efficiently, better and cheaper than the employer.

“The employee will get more accurate and timely paychecks from the bureau and both the employer and the employee will have all of their monthly filing requirements taken care of by an expert in this field.

“The employees and company will be better able to focus on the main activity of the company which is to generate sales, profits and cash so that the employee can get paid their salary by the bureau.

“There is no need for the employer to invest in infrastructure to provide the function.

Although it seems intuitively obvious why the bureau can do this function better and cheaper than most companies could do this in house, I believe it is worth enumerating them in detail as it is important in making the case for outsourcing.

First the bureau serves more than one company, probably hundreds, and does nothing else but administering payrolls and generating paychecks for those companies. This means the bureau has critical mass and is an expert at it. A Subject Matter Expert (SME) as it is sometimes referred to. They maintain payroll records for thousands of people and know what to file for what type of employee and where.

Invariably the bureau is certified and has person to person connections with tax authorities, insurance companies the social security people and so on, allowing them to resolve issues faster and better than an individual can do.

Very important with the advent of Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) they are most likely compliant and carry a certification to that effect this helps management of public companies with their audits and SEC filings.

All this is important as this applies to most vendors of outsourcing services and this will be a recurring theme.

“They are SME’s or experts in their field/domain, so they can do it better and hit the ground running.

“They have critical mass, so they can do it cheaper

“They are SOX certified, so you do not have to worry about controls

“There is no need for the company to set up its own infrastructure or staffing to perform the process.

“They allow the company to concentrate its recources and effort on what is important to its business, its core competencies.

I used a payroll bureau as an example as that is probably the earliest, most common and recognizable form of business process outsourcing (BPO) that most people are experiencing on a daily basis.

The next logical step after payroll outsourcing involves another of the employee related services, employee administration or better known as Human Resources (HR). HR outsourcing not only eliminates the burden of generating paychecks and compliance issues, it also adds another layer of service to your employees and your company.

Again these companies that provide HR services add value because they are experts, hit the ground running and provide critical mass. One of the major benefits of using an HR outsourcer is that, in addition to performing HR administration functions, they tend to provide a wide selection of benefits which the small Company will find hard to deliver at the cost that the HR outsourcing company is able to.

Why? because the HR company has critical mass. When the HR Company goes shopping for benefits they represent the cumulative total of employees of all their clients. So instead of shopping for benefits for say 200 employees they go shopping for 100,000 employees or more and the Insurance companies all of a sudden listen and provide competitive bids.

So now not only has the small Company been able to get their payroll done for their employees they can now offer them fortune 500 Company benefits, profit sharing and all! And do not forget that the small company can do all this and still concentrate on what it does best, executing its business model.

I hope it is becoming clear that outsourcing business processes is not just for the larger corporations but has always provided benefits for small to medium sized companies also, except that no one ever thought about them in that way and did not call it outsourcing.

As illustrated above, although a function or process is critical to a Company’s functioning (employees should be well provided for and paid), it is certainly not a core competence of the Company and definitely not one where most of its time and effort should be spent, especially not when there are many service providers that can do this process better, quicker, more efficiently, cheaper and often provide benefits better than any small or even medium sized company could provide on their own.

There are many other functions or processes in a Company necessary for it to execute its business model, which are not its core competence and potentially could be outsourced so that management can focus its attention on the processes that are critical to the success of the business.

We know a company needs people to function (HR process), it needs to buy materials, office stationery, equipment, travel, space and so on (Procurement process), It may need to manufacture stuff (Manufacturing process), It needs to Sell products (Sales process), it distributes what it sells (Logistics and distribution process), It needs to account for all its transactions (Accounting process), to do all this it most likely will need Information technology, (IT process). There are many more such as product design and development, research and we can subdivide these processes, but you get the drift.

There are many vendors around that could take care of many of those processes. We discussed the HR function and know that there definitely are vendors around to whom you can outsource that process.

We also know that there are plenty of contract manufacturers around ever since the OEM era, in China, India, Indonesia and other developing geographies.

DHL/FedEx/UPS are all familiar names in the logistics and distribution processes and there are many other transportation companies that now do logistics for you.

And then there are all the call centers that have sprouted up all over the world, performing back-office processes such as customer service, sales support, help desk, airline reservations and so on.

Not to forget the IT service providers, like IBM/EDS/Perrot Systems and so on and do not forget the software code writers in India.

I am sure you have noticed from the list above that there are very few business processes left that a company has to perform in house that are not outsource able.

All these opportunities to outsource enable a company to concentrate on what it is best at, its core competencies. For example, a hi tech product company can focus on design, engineering and product development (Apple, I-pod, I-phone. Logitech, mouse, webcam). A restaurant chain can focus on developing better or healthier menu’s and better ways of preparing or delivering product (McDonalds, Coffee, all day Breakfast).

One of the best examples of how outsourcing liberates a profession/organization to focus on what it is supposed to do and is best at can be found in the medical profession.

As we all know, the core competence of a medical professional is not billing, not filing claims, not any clerical or administrative process, but their core competence is treating and healing patients. This is a classic example that illustrates that outsourcing of clerical and administrative functions allows an organization to do what they do best, without them having to worry about all the administrative chores and distractions.

There are more and more service providers with deep domain knowledge in the entire suite of administrative processes that allow the medical profession to outsource virtually all its admin functions to a service provider.

Taking this logic one step further, if this outsourcing of administrative and financial functions helps doctors to focus on their prime core competence what is there to stop this same logic to be applied to small companies and even large corporations?

And as you might have guessed, Finance and Administration on a grand scale is the newest discipline and process to be added to the outsourcing band wagon and for obvious reasons.

So should you or your company jump on the outsourcing bandwagon? Many companies complain that it was not what it was cracked up to be when they first started. They do not get all the services they expected and any time they ask for another feature the service provider considers that an upgrade or increase in scope and they increase the fee.

That is a subject for another edition, where I will discuss how to avoid the pitfalls and the way an outsourcing contract should be approached. The preparation involved, including:

“Determining the strategy of what processes are key to the organization and which are candidates for outsourcing, precise descriptions of the functions to be outsourced

“Preparing an extensive Request For Quote (RFQ) so you get the best price.

“Writing up extensive Service Level Agreements (SLA) so you get the service you expect and avoid all these rate hikes and so on.

www.visioneuropa.com are experts in this discipline and would gladly help you with determining the right strategy, do all your write-ups, RFQ’s and SLA’s to take the worry and the stress out of your outsourcing.

Call toll Free 866-972-8899 for a free consultation.

My name is Bou van Kuyk and http://www.visioneuropa.com are experts in this discipline and would gladly help you with determining the right strategy, do all your write-ups, RFQ’s and SLA’s to take the worry and the stress out of your outsourcing.

One of the most common functions to outsource these days is information technology (IT). With technology advancing at such as fast pace and becoming more complex, it is difficult for those who run a SMB to keep up with the latest IT products and solutions, let alone manage the day-to-day aspects of the network. Outsourcing allows SMBs to offload the network and computer maintenance to the experts so they can focus on growing and maintaining their businesses. However, some organizations are uncertain about outsourcing from a financial standpoint, as they fear they’ll incur unforeseen costs when something goes wrong.

A type of outsourcing that is becoming more popular is managed IT services. Managed IT services takes the guess work out of IT costs and support. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) provide continuous support and services specified by the customer for a monthly fee for specific services, or they can be charged a price per desktop, server, or network device. Common services provided by MSPs include remote network, desktop and security monitoring, patch management and remote data backup, as well as technical assistance. All of these services are provided proactively to ensure that the network is kept up and running. With remote technology advances, it also now possible for MSPs to use remote tools to virtually control the company’s entire network operations off-site without ever having to step foot into the company. MSPs can also provide consulting to help organizations plan for the future and take advantage of new technologies that will help them strategically grow their business and provide them with a competitive edge.

With managed IT services, organizations can also take advantage of the benefits of outsourcing, but without the cost risk. The benefits of managed IT services include:

- Allows SMBs to leverage core competencies more strategically

- Reduces cost of overhead associated with IT equipment and staffing

- Mitigates risk of purchasing capital equipment or testing new IT solutions

- Ensures less network downtime, stronger security and improved technical assistance

- Allows the business to quickly adapt to economic changes or take advantage of business opportunities

- Takes the guess work out of monthly IT costs

If outsourcing and managed IT services seems like a practical solution for your business, Spirinet Technology Services can help. For more information, call 877-DIAL-MSP or visit http://www.spirinet.com