Benefits of an Outsourcing Partner for Research Support Services

Outsourcing refers to the transfer of a business activity or function from a client/customer to a local or foreign third party service provider. With changing business dynamics, businesses need to focus on core activities and outsource other functions. An operational function that’s integral to almost every business is data research, reporting and analytics. Today, outsourcing custom research and intelligence services is now an established and beneficial practice. Vendors can handle a range of services on behalf of customers and serve as an extension of the client firm’s operations.

Main purpose of Outsourcing

An important but routine operational area to outsource potentially is data services. Vendors can collect, aggregate, normalize and cleanse data from multiple sources; identify and remediate exceptions; and deliver ready-to-use data to your systems for you. Companies use outsourcing to cut labor costs, including salaries for their personnel, overhead, equipment, and technology. Outsourcing is also used by companies to dial down and focus on the core aspects of the business, spinning off the less critical operations to outside organizations.

There is no doubt that outsourcing can provide a major cost benefit. Hardly anyone denies that. In fact, with the evolving business landscape, several different models have mushroomed to suit businesses of varying shapes and sizes. There is an outsourcing model for the unique needs of every path-breaking business. Ultimately, outsourcing should serve to make companies more flexible and agile, ready to meet the challenges of doing business in an increasingly technological and competitive world, while providing cost savings and service level improvements.

Why is it best to outsource customised services and Core advantages of outsourcing:

• You Can Reduce Costs.

• You Can Work Around the Clock.

• You Can Simplify Project Management.

• You Simplify Work Relationships.

1) Save Time, Drive Flexibility & Speed.

Speed matters during the development stages of your products as well as during your product launches. But, without flexibility, speed holds little meaning. Therefore, many outsourcing companies offer an initial test project that allows you to scrutinize the quality of their work.  Sometimes, you can even ask for a one-time project and measure their metrics before you sign-up for a long-term arrangement and make a huge investment. Outsourcing companies that offer these services enable you to develop your products without the overhead you normally need.

2) Reduced Costs

One of the biggest and most obvious advantages of outsourcing is lower labour and operations costs, as well as a reduction in overhead expenses. Outsourcing removes the need for infrastructure investment as the contractor takes responsibility for the business processes and hence develops infrastructure for the same.

3) Expertise

Access to skilled resources means that businesses can avail of the right talent, assuring a higher quality of the outsourced tasks.

4) Access to Latest/Niche Technology.

Reputed outsourcing companies usually subscribe to the latest frameworks, crucial development tools and usually have access to niche technologies that they use for all their projects.

5) Access to Specialized Resources

One of the major advantages of outsourcing is getting access to a vast portfolio of specialized resources. This arrangement enables businesses to get a chance to leverage specialized talent such as developers that specialize in niche technologies, without having to hire them internally, thus saving recruitment, training and infrastructure costs.

6) Increased Efficiency

An outsourcing vendor brings in specialised knowledge and experience, which in consequence leads to increase in productivity and efficiency of your business.

7) Reduced Risk

Outsourcing removes a large share of risk, by sharing it with another company. If you are launching a new product or have a new service offering, having an outsourced offshore team can quickly be fine-tuned to match a skyrocketing demand as compared to the team in developed nations. 

8) Staffing Flexibility

If your business has operations with cyclical or seasonal demands to bring in extra staff, outsourcing provides an opportunity to avail of additional resources when you need it and release them when they are no longer required.

9) Nullify Recruitment Hassles

Recruitment of even a single employee is a time-consuming, expensive and a challenging process. In such situations, selecting a credible support partner can help you get rid of the worry entirely as you can leave the worry to a team qualified to make accurate judgments of what skills are required to efficiently manage your tasks.

10) Free-up Internal Resources

Outsourcing frees up your resources and allows them to focus on their key tasks that ultimately lead to a growth in your business.

11) Focus on Core Business 

One of the most common mistakes that most entrepreneurs make is donning multiple hats at the same time. For example: Small business owners who are coders themselves may want to do their own development work while running their business.  But, a startup founder must do tons of other things such as build a network, get out and market their products and also build relationships with investors. With the current state of the economy it is more important than ever to focus on your business and its clients. Every second matters, so you must prioritize your time for activities that will help immensely to get your business off the ground and outsource other tasks, even your development if need be.

12) Leverage Value Added Services

Most outsourcing companies today also provide a range of additional services that could add value to your business by improving productivity and efficiency while reducing costs or risk within your business in times of crisis or on a day to day basis.

We have now seen all the various advantages of outsourcing data research services to offshore agencies. In the next part of this article, we will get to know what factors to consider when shortlisting an offshore outsourcing agency, and how to avoid the common mistakes that can prove very costly in case you end up making the wrong choice.