It is indeed a very exciting time for the Outsourcing industry as newer and greater technology is allowing many of these providers to provide clients with the best service possible. With technology acting as a driving force that influences the growth of the industry, it is on the cusp of a very interesting and exciting period with new outsourcing trends emerging in 2017. These trends all contribute to a brighter future for players in the industry and those who partner with them. Some trends to expect from the outsourcing industry this year are:

Cloud Migration

The first outsourcing trend set to emerge in 2017 is Cloud Migration. For those unaware, Cloud Migration facilitates a smoother and clearer collaboration between clients and the BPO provider that your organization partners with. This process is the migration of data documents and applications in a computer to a cloud storage environment. Cloud Migration is extremely crucial in with outsourcing today because it aids in the easy transfer of data and allows parties within an organization to upload and download large files of data that would otherwise be difficult to transfer via conventional messenger systems such as email and chat applications. With Cloud Migration, outsourcing providers experience a lot of amazing benefits such as:

• Savings. Outsourcing providers who work with Cloud Migration no longer have to pay for things such as routers, servers, and other network equipment. They also need not worry about paying for hardware upgrades and the latest software programs.
• Streamlined IT. As information is readily available in a safe and secure cloud storage location, outsourcing professionals do not have to waste time searching for specific files. They simply search for the information that they need on the Cloud’s search interface and within seconds, they will be able to secure the information.

Collaboration

Another trend that is set to emerge this year is the transition of BPO into BPM which is Business Process Outsourcing into Business Process management. BPO providers today are expanding their horizons dramatically by moving away from the conventional vendor mindset and adopting a partner mindset. This new mindset catalyzes and creates value within the business and enhances stakeholder experience substantially. The shift from BPO to BPM sees many outsourcing companies taking charge of various end-to-end processes in their client’s business environment. The enhanced collaboration is a testament to outsourcing professionals having a firmer grasp of the technology being used today. With this better understanding of technology, outsourcing providers are now able to take on larger roles such as:

• Understanding business processes in co-relation to clients’ mission vision.
• Understanding how to use artificial intelligence.
• Understanding how to use data analytics and insight.
• Understanding how to create and use mobile applications.

Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO)

With the internet providing an unlimited resource of information, individuals are becoming more intelligent and are now able to be competent in a particular field. Knowledge Process Outsourcing is a manner that companies can obtain specialized solutions such as knowledge-related or information-related work at reduced costs by hiring workers from off-shore locations. This is why KPO is one of the most popular outsourcing trends emerging this year as companies are now able to outsource work in segments such as:

• Legal Services
• Financial Services
• Engineering and R&D
• Market Research and Analytics
• Writing and Content Development
• Pharmaceuticals
• Healthcare Services
• Education and Training

Robotic Process Automation

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has been seeing a lot of progress in previous years and is now considered prime and ready to become the next disruptive technology in retail, health, finance, and many other industries. With RPA, organizations have the potential to provide better customer support as the technology has the capabilities of performing repetitive tasks in the workplace without any possibility of committing errors. This allows human service representatives to focus on customers with more complex issues that generally require human intervention to rectify. Aside from customer service, the entire outsourcing industry stands to gain substantially from RPA. Some benefits include:

• Boosting employee efficiency. Many RPA providers have boasted that it takes their software 1 minute of work to accomplish 15 minutes of work output by a human individual with the right programming. This is beneficial to companies that outsource manufacturing, assembly, and data gathering among others as it allows employees to accomplish more crucial work tasks such as product/service development and customer service.
• Saves money on labor workforce. In the past, outsourcing meant having to hire employees to accomplish entry-level tasks such as data gathering, filing, and updating inventory lists. With the RPAs being developed today, these software programs are able to automate these tasks with programming. Due to this, organizations are now able to save considerably on labor.

With more than a decade of providing the best Outsourcing Solutions in the Philippines, Infinit-O has successfully partnered with many organizations that have since become major leaders in their respective industries. These organizations belong to major industries that have provided substantially for the country’s economy such as:

• Healthcare
• Finance
• Contact Center
• Data and Research

Infinit-O is the trusted customer-centric and sustainable leader in Business Process Optimization to Small and Medium businesses in the Financial Services, Healthcare and Technology sectors by delivering continuous improvement through technology, data and people.

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Sources:

• https://www.raconteur.net/business/trends-shaping-the-outsourcing-industry
• http://www.cio.com/article/3208031/outsourcing/7-hot-it-outsourcing-trends-and-7-going-cold.html
• https://servicefutures.com/private-sector/four-key-areas-shaping-transformation-outsourcing/  
• http://blog.ibagroupit.com/?p=1733  
• http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/nari/2008/10/business_process_outsourcing_a.php
• http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/knowledge-process-outsourcing-KPO
• https://www.outsource2india.com/why_india/articles/KPO.asp
• http://www.symphonyhq.com/what-is-rpa/