We often mistake these two workforce as equivalent. Crowdsourcing and outsourcing offer the same important service to businesses: taking over baseline work that you would otherwise have to do in-house. However, there are major differences between the two that need to be realized before you move forward with either option.

Outsourcing allocates work to a defined organizational entity whereas Crowdsourcing allocates work to an unorganized collection of individuals. Here are other major differences between them:

Outsourcing

• Best used for tasks that require a level of subjectivity and decision making like customer service. It works better for data security and when jobs involve nuances and qualitative answers.
• You pay for hours of human labor regardless of outcome.
• Outsourcing companies ensure higher quality. Outsourcers are able to oversee the work being done, and assure quality internally.
• Outsourcing involves a captive audience and therefore, changes can be communicated faster. Outsourced vendors can train their workers on a face-to-face basis. Eventually these workers can become experts in a specific type of task and can be trusted to perform the work without supervision. In addition, because many of the workers are employees of the vendor and work in a closed physical environment, the vendor can sign an NDA for data security.

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Since 2010, outsourcing has been slowly transforming and adopting cloud-based computing elements for as much as 10% of their operations. It is one trend that forecasters see will continue, even growing to as much as half or more of a typical outsourcing scope during the next five to seven years – a transition of outsourcing engagements toward cloud-based models. This shift will have a huge impact from infrastructure, operations, training and resources, and most of all, security.

Cloud services are changing the very core of outsourcing. What can be viewed as benefits pose as risks too, things that need to be dealt with in such a way that brings to the forefront the most important challenge in cloud computing – ensuring security. (more…)

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Recently, news about the prices of IT outsourcing service contracts dipping to as much as 40 percent have cropped up. This price dip is said to have occurred due to factors such as the eruption of new technologies and delivery models and the amount of business available in the market.

The industry is already having a slower start this year, which is exactly what the Information Services Group (ISG) forecasted during the last quarter of 2014. Their forecast proved to be right as new research reveals that the first quarter annual contract value (ACV) fell 18% to $5.1 billion, which is below the $6 billion first quarter average since 2006. (more…)

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Most businesses now have turned to outsourcing to help them in almost different aspects of their businesses; be it administrative task or operational tasks, they have already sought the assistance of a call center solutions provider. Call center outsourcing may have already proved itself to be an important part of a company as testimonials by companies show that not only does it improve performance for a company, but it also improves their revenue size as well. But despite the proven benefits of engaging with an outsourcing partner, there are still those companies that are not able to enjoy its benefits, leading to an unsuccessful partnership. Such instances may be avoided as long as your company has assessed if outsourcing, especially if engaging with an outsourcing partner, is right for you. There are quite a number of things that are fundamental in engaging with a call center solutions provider. (more…)

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Running a business can probably be the most challenging thing a person can do in his/her entire life. Entrepreneurs must keep pace with the fast-moving market and operate efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.

With several things needed to succeed, business owners should remember to find the time to pause, take a step back, and develop new strategies that would propel the company forward—this is where business assessment comes in.

Business assessments can give you an objective evaluation of your enterprise that will later help identify the growth and development opportunities for the company. There are many free business assessment tools available on the internet, but here are some important things you should know before and during your business assessment. (more…)

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Many companies have learned to rely on outsourcing as their solution to the rising production and operational costs. Aside from financial savings, outsourcing can also give you the advantage of tapping technical resources and skills for specific projects and areas in the business that your workforce lacks.

Other benefits that you can acquire from outsourcing is rising to your market’s current demands and turning an unproductive department into a profitable one. (more…)

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Most small to mid-sized enterprises, particularly start-ups, encounter this problem: How do you expand your operations with minimal risk at the least expense? How do you manage day-to-day operations without taking the focus off on core business activities?

For most of these businesses, time and money are always on the short leash. Most business owners try to micro-manage everything which can be helpful to ensure operations are working efficiently, but this approach isn’t sustainable in the long term as it will make you exhausted and overworked, it will also hinder your business from growing to its full potential as fast as it should.

Hiring employees usually solves the problem but the challenge is hiring ones that are talented and flexible enough to perform a variety of roles up until when you can afford to hire several team members. This is usually the set-up that works for most, but the downside is since you tend to hire employees based on their flexibility and adaptability, expertise for a specific role or function tends to be ignored or considered for a future hire, when things get better. (more…)

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Finding the right BPO partner to handle areas in your business is critical to your company’s success. It will require you to conduct a thorough research and study with regards to the quality of service, financial standing, and potential of the BPO companies you’re considering before choosing who among them will provide your business with the most value.

Although multiple sourcing has its advantages such as assigning projects to a specific specialization, single sourcing offers consistency and efficiency that is usually lacking in multiple sourcing models.

Here are other reasons you should consider a single-source BPO partner. (more…)

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Profit margins are the main indicators of business profitability. The size or growth of a business ultimately doesn’t matter if it isn’t making any profit. In fact, boosting profitability has always been a critical objective for executives.

There are two ways you increase profit margins and ultimately, business profitability; either you increase your prices or reduce your costs and expenses. Between the two options, cost reduction seems to be the preferred method as outsourcing services has become a viable strategy for businesses these days.

According to a study, outsourcing is a wise strategy if companies aim to save on labor costs, exploit production differentials both within the services sector and between services and manufacturing, or take advantage of globalization.

An article in the Financial Times even went as far as saying outsourcing non-core business activities is a central element of the new economy.

How do you boost business profitability through outsourcing? Here are some tips: (more…)

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Much has been written about how outsourcing has changed the way business works and how it has helped many companies succeed all over the world. We also often read articles about the factors that businesses must consider before deciding to acquire outsourcing services.

Unfortunately, not all those who have outsourced are successful and oftentimes it’s because they failed to consider other equally important factors that play a significant role in outsourcing success. Some of these considerations are as follows:

Taking the Time to Plan

Some companies become way too excited about outsourcing that they fail to plan properly. Acquiring outsourcing services is not just about writing a contract. It also involves setting clear objectives, writing down achievable goals, developing a strategic action plan and setting expectations between the company and the contractor. Rushing into choosing a contractor can backfire if you do not take the time to study every single thing that goes into the agreement.

Aside from this, there is also a transition period involved. You can’t just expect things to go well immediately. Although you need to give your contractor a bit of leeway, it is necessary for you to take the time to make sure that things are going well before you loosen the reigns.

Focusing on Benefits Instead of Costs (more…)

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