There have been and still are a lot of debates about the outsourcing some business processes to outside organizations. Many start-ups, small, medium and large business wonder which processes should be delegated to services providers and which should be developed in-house. We have statistical information based on our long experience and experience of our clients that both speak to the truth of the statement – one should outsource only those processes which are not crucial for the company, which don’t give a competitive edge or which require investing significant funds into the infrastructure or human resources and this, perhaps, is not affordable at current stage of company growth.

Outsourcing has many advantages such as possibility to concentrate on core business, no need to duplicate key specialists, adaptation of innovative technology, quality improvement and service reliability.

Nevertheless, many companies question the effectiveness of outsourcing.

We would like you to ask yourself a string of questions that will allow you to make a sound decision:

• Will software outsourcing give you more time to focus your attention and efforts on the strengths of your company? If yes, then this will help your employees concentrate more on the reinforcing the strengths, major tasks and future development strategy of the company.
• Will software outsourcing improve your effectiveness and quality of service? Choose such an outsourcing company that specializes on the processes and services that will work for your company welfare.
• Will your business get a competitive advantage? Outsourcing can add flexibility to your business, converting your fixed costs into variable, releasing human resources and assets. Also, it can give your business an advantage when adapting to changing market conditions.

What options do you have? (Let us explore all the options)

You might want to rush headlong into outsourcing – hold it! For a start, set aside some time to think over which processes are best to outsource and which vender is the most appropriate to work with. Let us examine the following:

• What are your key strengths and what are secondary? Which processes are you going to outsource and why?
• What are the costs of implementing this process within the company? Including hidden costs such as office space, recruiting and payment.
• Calculate ROI – ask your potential vendor to help you out with this as nowadays many of them offer such a service.
• Is it worth cooperating with an independent advisor who will search for an appropriate vendor? Doesn’t the advisor recommend the company which he has special arrangements with?
• What are the costs if not outsourcing? Will your business suffer if you don’t invest into knowledge and artifacts your partner already has and can supply you with.

Also, we strongly encourage to ask yourself the following questions before outsourcing:

• Are your expectations realistic?
• Are you ready to regularly set aside time and effort for managing outsourcing relationships (managing the work of outsourcing partner)? Or can you assign a special person who will manage the communication and create tasks for an outsourcing partner?
• Is this process a key concern which your company should address directly for the sake of future competitiveness?