Internet Breaks Down Boarders Allowing Greater Outsourcing Opportunities
The improvement in both internet availability and technology across the globe has resulted in increased levels of outsourcing, particularly to developing economies.
Customers in the UK can now easily connect with service providers on the other side of the world and hold live telephone and video conference calls with ease. These developments have resulted in a greater proportion of UK businesses choosing to use freelance workers from low cost economies such as India and the Philippines, where qualified staff can provide services at a much lower cost than UK equivalents.
This clearly has a significant benefit for UK businesses, especially start ups, who are looking to minimise costs. On the other side, the benefits for emerging economies are fantastic as they can now attract business from developed nation such as the UK and USA.
Online marketplaces have started to spring up in the UK and USA to help facilitate such outsourcing. No longer is outsourcing just the preserve of large multinationals. These marketplaces allow small and medium sized home based businesses to advertise their projects and then receive bids from experts both in their home country and aboard. These websites provide a portal for professionals and freelancers in the developing world to enter powerhouse economies where they can win significant projects of value.
However, such online outsourcing marketplaces have attracted some criticism in the developed world as they are seen as being responsible for transferring jobs abroad and driving down rates of pay. However, these criticisms are certainly not coming from those looking to find a freelancer or professionals who to undertake their project at a competitive price.
Studies have estimated that only 30% of the worlds population currently has access to the internet. Hence outsourcing boundaries are likely to be further removed as this percentage figure increases over the next decade and beyond.
Furthermore, as internet access, technology and education improves across the globe, the number of outsourcing hot beds is also increasing. In the past India was known as a prime location for call centre and web design outsourcing. In a country such as India, working in a call centre is a highly sought after white collar job and often requires a degree. However, due to the socioeconomic position of the country, labour rates are significantly lower than in the UK and western world.
Likewise, India has an incredibly large talent pool of programmers and freelance web designers, all capable of building advanced websites and computer programs at a fraction of the cost high street companies charge in the UK.
Other nations are also now being recognised as having significant talent pools and hence are prime locations for outsourcing. For example, the Philippines, Kenya and Eastern Europe all have cheap, but qualified labour which has already attracted business from some of the large multinational back office functions.
Customers in the UK can now easily connect with service providers on the other side of the world and hold live telephone and video conference calls with ease. These developments have resulted in a greater proportion of UK businesses choosing to use freelance workers from low cost economies such as India and the Philippines, where qualified staff can provide services at a much lower cost than UK equivalents.
This clearly has a significant benefit for UK businesses, especially start ups, who are looking to minimise costs. On the other side, the benefits for emerging economies are fantastic as they can now attract business from developed nation such as the UK and USA.
Online marketplaces have started to spring up in the UK and USA to help facilitate such outsourcing. No longer is outsourcing just the preserve of large multinationals. These marketplaces allow small and medium sized home based businesses to advertise their projects and then receive bids from experts both in their home country and aboard. These websites provide a portal for professionals and freelancers in the developing world to enter powerhouse economies where they can win significant projects of value.
However, such online outsourcing marketplaces have attracted some criticism in the developed world as they are seen as being responsible for transferring jobs abroad and driving down rates of pay. However, these criticisms are certainly not coming from those looking to find a freelancer or professionals who to undertake their project at a competitive price.
Studies have estimated that only 30% of the worlds population currently has access to the internet. Hence outsourcing boundaries are likely to be further removed as this percentage figure increases over the next decade and beyond.
Furthermore, as internet access, technology and education improves across the globe, the number of outsourcing hot beds is also increasing. In the past India was known as a prime location for call centre and web design outsourcing. In a country such as India, working in a call centre is a highly sought after white collar job and often requires a degree. However, due to the socioeconomic position of the country, labour rates are significantly lower than in the UK and western world.
Likewise, India has an incredibly large talent pool of programmers and freelance web designers, all capable of building advanced websites and computer programs at a fraction of the cost high street companies charge in the UK.
Other nations are also now being recognised as having significant talent pools and hence are prime locations for outsourcing. For example, the Philippines, Kenya and Eastern Europe all have cheap, but qualified labour which has already attracted business from some of the large multinational back office functions.