For decades, companies have used different outsourcing models to obtain some strategic advantage. Whether through partnering with a company to manufacture entire product lines or collaborating with a third party on a specific project or task, modern businesses are no strangers to the practice of outsourcing. It could be this familiarity, (…)
big data across industries for a multitude of purposes, companies have not truly considered utilizing it as a way to boost their outsourcing procedures. Maybe they haven't realized the true potential they can gain from using big data in outsourcing. Is your company among them? So keep reading to find out how you can turn big data into your greatest outsourcing ally.
Why use Big Data in outsourcing
All outsourcing projects begin with a predefined plan that includes a timeline in which both parties agree on deadlines and deliverables. Such a plan needs to balance seemingly different points, such as the hiring company's desire to have the work completed as quickly as possible and the outsourcing partner's procedures and workflow. Thus, the resulting schedule looks more like a compromise than a precise plan.
What's more – there may be (better yet, there will be) unforeseen events that will certainly disturb the predefined schedule and cause different modifications to the original plan. In the end, the entire outsourcing process may have changed so much that the entire procedure seems unproductive. That's where big data comes in.
By using big data algorithms in the outsourcing process, you will bring more operational visibility to the entire procedure. By using reliable data to inform your outsourcing project, you and your outsourcing partner can create a more productive relationship in a workable framework that clearly shows what's happening when it's happening. Big data puts all the cards on the table so you and your outsourcing provider can anticipate problems during production, identify bottlenecks, define sprints more accurately, and create a more flexible yet productive outsourcing method.
Therefore, the most significant advantage of using big data in outsourcing is tracking all work to collect data that can provide insights into what works and what doesn't. This way, both you and your outsourced company can make adjustments in the areas highlighted by the data analysis. What is the best way to do this? Keep an eye on the following three factors that greatly impact the amount of value you can get from your outsourcing partnership.
The Outsourcing Link
The person you choose to work with as a liaison to your outsourcing partner must have the right mix of skills, knowledge, and authority to fill this role. Such a position can only be filled by a person who is familiar with the procedures being outsourced, but who also has enough decision-making power to make a call when necessary.
While this may seem true for all types of outsourcing partnerships, it is especially crucial for outsourced projects that want to adopt big data into their workflow. As there will be a lot of data circulating in real-time, the need to properly understand it in context, understand the insights provided by analytics algorithms and act upon them is crucial.
This means that you cannot simply choose someone from your internal team to represent the company in business with the outsourcing partner. In fact, you need to evaluate whether the person responsible for outsourced tasks at your company is best suited to serve as your contact with the outsourced company. This is because outsourcing is not the same as working in-house, so you need to be prepared to appoint someone else to ensure governance and collaboration in the outsourced process.
Outsourcing technologies
Not all outsourcing partners use big data to inform their procedures. However, even if they do, this does not guarantee that they are ready to meet the needs of a big data-based outsourcing approach. That's because you need the right big data technology to ensure you and your outsourcing partner have the right data and insights to make strategic decisions.
Therefore, you must have a platform at your disposal that can increase workflow visibility by capturing data from all sensitive points. It would help if you ensured that such a platform has benchmarks, SLAs, and metrics that lead to more accurate analysis. Ultimately, this platform must be able to provide real-time information through easy-to-digest reports that don't distract you from your core business activities.
The co-management approach
Finally, here's something you may not have considered, but may be essential to implementing big data into your outsourcing practices: developing a co-management approach. While it's true that many companies look to outsource parts or entire processes to increase agility and focus on their key value drivers, getting involved in specific parts of the outsourcing process can be highly beneficial.
In fact, aligning your strategy and objectives with your outsourcing partner can add even more value to the outcome – as long as such alignment is not a one-time event at the beginning of the outsourcing project. Establishing a collaboration process with clear boundaries and interconnected with big data can guarantee greater commitment and lead to better decision-making thanks to better mutual understanding.
For this to happen, the right connection and the right technologies are fundamental, as they will be the essential channels for collaboration to flourish. It's impossible to think about a big data approach to outsourcing without one of these three factors that greatly influence your ability to make insightful decisions in real time.
A change of pace
As you can see, the idea of introducing big data into your outsourcing model has to trump the concept of hiring an outsourcing partner that uses a big data solution in their workflow. You have to bring yourself into the process and take a more proactive approach. Even when you outsource solely as a way to focus on your core activities, engaging in outsourcing through a big data approach can undoubtedly change the quality of the results.
If you want to unlock the true potential of outsourcing, you'll need to contemplate a different way of doing things. Today, this means adopting a big data-based model that provides all the necessary tools to better monitor the outsourcing process, thus increasing the likelihood of success.
If you liked this article, be sure to check out some more articles about outsourcing.
- Software and cloud services outsourcing: growing demands for scalable business solutions
- Strategies to ensure vendor accountability in software outsourcing
- 5 Tips for Selecting the Perfect Software Outsourcing Vendor
- Outsourcing Risks: The Looming Threat of Vendor Lock-in
