Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Helpful Links

Links:

Links - Destinations to Outsource

In choosing the right destination to outsource it is always good to know each location has to offer and the strengths of that location.
  • India - The number one destination of Outsourcing Services - India has long held the IT services outsourcing crown and has taken a huge leads in Business Process Outsourcing as well as Knowledge Process Outsourcing. India is home to several large multi-national outsourcing companies as well as having a myriad of choices with small very niche call centers popping up every day. It is the primary spot for outsourcing. And with its 1.1 billion population there will be no shortage of centers in the future.
  • Philippines - An up an coming outsourcing destination. The Philippines has over 80 million people and is the 5th largest English speaking population. The Philippines has been making a name for itself due to its deserved reputation of great front-end customer service representatives. Much of the Fortune 2000 companies have considerable operations in some parts of the Philippines.
  • South America and Mexico - Riding the benefits of the increase in Spanish speakers in America and abroad, South America has become prime destinations for bi-lingual outsourcing. Popular destinations include Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Colombia.
  • Africa - Countries such as Kenya and Nigeria hosts large numbers of English speakers. There are still infrastructure issues to mindful of but Africa could be the next "hot spot" for BPO services.

A Place to Start

With the US economy in horrendous shape and emerging economies now feeling the pain it is more important than ever to try and reduce basic expenses. This can be as simple as moving to an internet based phone system, bringing on a software programs to keep track of your customers or finding cheaper ways of performing tasks such as accounting, customer service, telemarketing or sales. Here are some great sites and vendors that may help you accomplish some cost cutting goals:

Technology Options
This is a well known company but few know just what it is capable of. It is not only an Instant Message tool or a way to call fellow Skype members for free but it is a way to have a US or international phone number and make cheap calls to more than 28 countries. If you are a traveling sales executive, a virtual company or conduct business internationally this is defintiely an option you want to check out.
Whether sharing documents, creating reports, using CRM, Project Management, Business Intelligence or virtually any type of business application this is site to do it. Also, because every program is under the ZOHO umbrella there is very cool syncing and integration tools that allow the various applications to allow your users to share and collaborate on information easily and
People Options -
Based in Bacolod, Philippines this company is any business' answer to front end client facing needs. Whether you need a virtual assistant, lead generation or customer service. They are American managed and cater to US, Europe and APAC customers.
Based in Manila, Philippines this company provides back end IT services and web design. Philippine and Dutch managed and very process focused this is a great option at a great price.
In the future -- Options on medical and legal outsourcing....

Introduction

After long studying the convergence of technology and the applications of people working virtually, I never ceased to be surprised at all of the new options available to businesses when looking to go virtual. It is not only about whether to offshore services or keep them onshore, but how to offshore, where to outsource, what processes to keep, where is the best talent, how do we find the right vendor, how do we know what technology to use and when we select the vendor or process what is coming around the corner that might render this technology obsolete?

It is these exact questions I will try to shed light on in this blog. If you feel inclined to comment please do. This is meant to be a place where like technology, service and operational folks come together to share potential options of what's next and what's possible.

More to come.....