There’s a lot of discussion around the topic of outsourcing. Some fear that outsourcing leads to fewer domestic job positions while others recognize the myriad of benefits that comes along with outsourcing. In recent years, outsourcing technology services has become a popular way of enhancing an in-house team rather than replacing employees with cheaper labor.
If you’re considering outsourcing some of your IT services, check out these outsourcing statistics:
- Roughly 300,000 US jobs are outsourced annually. (Source: Aptude)
It’s important to understand what this statistic really means. Although some use this statistic to blame outsourcing for diminishing jobs within the US, this isn’t necessarily true. Outsourcing projects or certain IT services helps to keep costs low, which benefits the consumer and increases profits, allowing companies to expand their in-house operations, offer raises and promotions and provide employees with additional support.
- 70% of companies cite “cost reduction” as motivation to outsource (Source: Deloitte)
According to Deloitte’s 2020 global outsourcing study, the majority of companies who opt to outsource IT service or other sections of their business operations to cut costs. This is a huge advantage to businesses that need to reduce overhead or simply want to stop spending money on unnecessary expenses. Running your IT services entirely in-house is expensive as you have to invest in all the hardware and software required — and oftentimes, you’ll find that you’ve spent money on programs or equipment that you don’t actually need or need to use that often. Working with a managed service provider allows access to important tools and software without having to dish out the full cost of purchasing these items.
- 68% of US-based companies outsource at least part of the company. (Source: Outsource Accelerator)
The most common areas to outsource include IT services, other digital services, digital marketing, human resources and customer support. With so many companies choosing this option, it’s easy to see why outsourcing would be advantageous. It often frees up in-house employees time to focus less on mundane, repetitivity tasks and allows them to work on more in-depth, business essential projects.
- In 2020, 70% of outsourcing transactions were related to digital needs or services. (Source: Statista)
Over the last two years, this number has remained relatively consistent, demonstrating that digital services like digital marketing or IT services are the most necessary and well-received types of outsourcing. If you’re considering outsourcing an area of your business, think about your digital goals and objectives as this may be the best area to focus on.
- Security is a top concern for many companies who choose to outsource, yet 83% of IT leaders intend to outsource security needs to a managed service provider in 2021. (Source: Statista)
Security is understandably a major factor in many business decisions. Companies need to feel assured that both business data and customer data is well-protected and up-to-date. Working with an IT services provider can give you access to greater security tools and can help automate compliance to ensure that you never miss a compliancy update.
- Software and application development make up 64% of services outsourced. (Source: Statista)
Outsourcing software and application development can help companies bring a new product to market quicker, update and maintain current applications more efficiently and integrate people with a high level of expertise into the creation or updating process.
- The US expects business process outsourcing (BPO) to make up for $113 billion of revenue in the US in 2021. (Source: Statista)
The outsourcing industry is expected to continue to increase over the next five years with BPO being a popular outsourced service. BPO refers to IT-intensive business operations that are run by a third-party service provider, again displaying the value of using outsourcing to enhance your IT department and address IT needs.
- The global IT outsourcing market is expected to generate $397.6 billion by 2025. (Source: Research and Markets)
Outsourcing isn’t going anyway. And it’s certainly not slowing down. Outsourcing companies are finding ways to use team enhancement as a method of elevating in-house productivity and granting access to IT experts with the right kind of knowledge to improve overall business operations.
- 58.8% of US marketers did not feel that outsourcing was impacted by COVID-19 (Source: Statista)
These days it feels like everything in our life is impacted by COVID-19 in one way or another. But, a majority of marketers found that the pandemic had little to no impacts on their outsourcing processes. Only 19.4% noticed a change in their outsourcing during the pandemic. With so many people working remotely these days, we’re learning even more ways to effectively communicate via our devices over long distances, which could actually improve outsourced services in the long run.
- Over 44% of technology executives and CIO report that they are more likely to use outsourcing options than five years ago. (Source: Fortunly)
This outsourcing statistic demonstrates a growing level of trust between technology experts and the outsourcing industry in general. As outsourcing providers have altered their strategies over the years, more companies are finding it beneficial to use providers for IT or technology-related needs.
Why You Should Consider Outsourcing
If you’ve never outsourced before, it can seem a bit intimidating, but think of your IT services provider as a partner. These companies want to collaborate with your team and enhance your IT process and provide a better experience for both in-house employees and consumers. Finding the right managed service partner can grant you access to more technology tools, save you money and free up in-house employees’ time to focus on important projects and tasks.