Business Outlook

Archive for the ‘Outsourcing’ Category

While virtually every business now relies on information technology (IT) to help provide services or deliver products to the marketplace, things have rarely been more precarious for in-house IT professionals. This is so, despite the conventional wisdom that IT is acknowledged to be more strategic than ever.

Increased market competition, more demanding customers, tighter margins and shorter product life cycles have caused businesses to examine where they may be able to focus better on core competencies, reduce risk and costs, and become more agile and competitive. For many companies and small businesses across all industry segments, outsourcing IT is the only answer.

Outsourcing lowers operating costs, eliminates backlogs, improving data input quality, production and document availability. And, in the end, outsourcing adds profits to the bottom-line.

But outsourcing is far from a panacea. How an outsourcing relationship is managed – internally and externally – is as important to its ultimate success as the execution of the outsourced tasks themselves. Given that industry analyst Gartner recently reported that outsourcing can trigger an employee backlash, what do organizations need to know to make outsourcing a win-win for all concerned? How can a company best manage the firm that it has just retained? What project management issues does outsourcing solve and what challenges does it entail?

Over the past few years the stock market has made substantial declines. Some short term investors have lost a good bit of money. Many new stock market investors look at this and become very skeptical about getting in now.

If you are considering investing in the stock market it is very important that you understand how the markets work. All of the financial and market data that the newcomer is bombarded with can leave them confused and overwhelmed.

The stock market is an everyday term used to describe a place where stock in companies is bought and sold. Companies issues stock to finance new equipment, buy other companies, expand their business, introduce new products and services, etc. The investors who buy this stock now own a share of the company. If the company does well the price of their stock increases. If the company does not do well the stock price decreases. If the price that you sell your stock for is more than you paid for it, you have made money.

When you buy stock in a company you share in the profits and losses of the company until you sell your stock or the company goes out of business. Studies have shown that long term stock ownership has been one of the best investment strategies for most people.

People buy stocks on a tip from a friend, a phone call from a broker, or a recommendation from a TV analyst. They buy during a strong market. When the market later begins to decline they panic and sell for a loss. This is the typical horror story we hear from people who have no investment strategy.

Over the past 5 years the Virtual Assisting industry has almost tripled. With companies and entrepreneurs alike looking for ways to save on overhead expenses or simply not having the resources to hire full-time staff many have taken to the internet to get the support they need causing the demand for Virtual Assistants to sky-rocket. To meet the demand some have been drawn to the VA industry with thoughts of being able to work from the couch while enjoying their favorite day time talk show. Boy were they in for a rude awakening! Yes, virtual assistants do in fact work from the comfort of their own homes however more often than not it is anything but relaxing. The working space of a VA must be furnished with modern equipment, containing the latest technology,high speed internet access and comfortable furniture for long periods behind the desk. Having the ability through technology to connect with clients around the world in various time-zones typically the VA’s work hours surpass the standard 40 hour work week.

Good client/VA relationships are built on communication and trust. Communication is key to establishing expectations, goals, objectives, and resolving issues. The client is responsible for effectively communicating to the VA relevant information related to the project so that the VA has everything needed to complete the project on the agreed upon deadline; poor communication is often the cause of missed deadlines. The most important factor in the client/VA relationship as with any relationship is trust. The client has to trust that although the VA is not in the same physical location that they will perform their work on time and in excellence. In many cases the VA will have access to important information related to the client’s business and personal lives with the expectation that the VA will always uphold behaviour that is ethical and moral at all times. The end result is after meeting the client’s expectations the VA has to trust that the client will uphold their end of the relationship an pay for services rendered in a timely manner.

Finally let’s dispose of the notion that VA’s are glorified “Receptionists” or “Secretaries”. The successful VA has to have the capabilities of a project manager, office manager, bookkeeper, customer service rep, IT specialist, marketer, business manager, and the list goes on. The VA must be able to not only effectively manage their time but often be responsible for maintaining their client’s time and calendar as well making excellent time management skills a must have of any VA. In many client/VA relationships the VA is the first point of contact for the client’s business making a professional, pleasant personality a non-negotiable. A far cry from stuffing and sealing envelopes huh?

There are lots of advantages to IT outsourcing. But sad to say, only a few people are aware of the fact that this can be beneficial to their company. Although having IT staff is also a great help to the company, there are numerous tasks that can be managed outside by skilled professionals without affecting the day-to-day affairs of your business.

The greatest advantage of outsourcing your IT services is the cost of the work. Hiring full time workers involves many unnecessary expenses, which you can avoid when you outsource your IT. This is in view of the fact that full time staff needs to be paid even if there is nothing much to do. When you outsource, you only need to pay for the hours of work spent on the completion of the job. Although the hourly rate for this is much higher compared to hiring full time employees, there is still a considerable amount of savings that you can have by outsourcing your IT staff or services.

When you hire full time staff, it is imperative that you provide them some benefits like sick leave, vacation leave, paid holidays, and insurance. Unlike outsourcing which does not require these benefits. As a matter of fact, outsourcing only involves contracts that are usually based on a per project basis.

Another advantage of outsourcing IT is that most companies normally need workers to be available 24/7 to offer assistance to your company. If you employ a staff, it would mean additional expense on your part since you need to pay them just to ensure that they work around the clock.

Outsourcing also gives you the opportunity to merge functions. A lot of IT service providers these days also offer a wide array of services like archival backups on servers. This gives you an offsite place where you can store data and make backups to keep your data and other pertinent business information secure and protected.

Another advantage is that you no longer need to rent office space or be equipped with supplies. This means great savings on your part when it comes to rental cost and supply budget. As a result, companies can work with lesser expenses. You also have the choice of a wide assortment of staffing alternatives. You can choose from the outsourcing companies which of them you think will provide you with the best skills and desirable results.

In addition, people who are into outsourcing are equipped with substantial experience to the niche or industry that you are in. It is hard to get people that have knowledge or experience in the industry. If you want to get the most out of your IT services, you will need people who are flexible enough to do whatever task is needed. And you can have the best of both worlds when you outsource.

IT outsourcing does not only allow you to minimize your production costs but will offer you the utmost convenience and security when it comes to managing your business with only a few important personnel.

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