FAQ on Offshore Outsourcing
Outsourcing of non core activities has long been a practice among North American corporations. The two new features are
- Instead of using a service provider down the road they are looking worldwide to get the best value.
- Very small businesses can now get the same benefits as the multinationals using broadband internet and online software.
Q: Name some areas where remote services are feasible ?
A: Call centers (telemarketing and technical helpdesk), email response, accounting support and tax preparation, all types of research (market, equity analysis for investment banks, content development for media companies ..), network administration, IT software design, etc . Essentially any activity needing intelligent attention and that can be mediated by a computer or communication device.
Q: What if my business is too small to invest in an overseas office ?
A: In that case DATEQ will help you build a team who will be recruited, trained and supervised by us. The team could be as large as 25 or as small as "half a person". That is you could use an account assistant or email processor for just 4 hours a day to relieve the burden at your Canadian or US office.
Q: What savings can I expect ?
A: Typically you can cut costs by 50%.
Q: What about quality of work ?
A: Even though you spend half as much as usual this amount is top dollar at your remote back office and you get skilled staff a notch above what you have been used to. Companies like AMEX and General Electric developed their captive BPO centers mainly to capture this quality and got the cost cutting as a bonus. For an interesting take on this read what Thomas Friedman of the NYT discovered...
Q: Apart from cost and quality what are the other benefits of an overseas office for a small business owner ?
A: One is the time difference that allows work such as email response and accounting to be done overnight so you are really operating 24/7. The other is the privacy afforded by a remote accounting support base. Small business owners tend to be wary of local administrative staff having access to their financial data. This could be for personal as well as business reasons. With a remote center the staff have no link with your social milieu or competitors so confidentiality is automatic.
