Benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing support

What is Outsourcing?

Outsourcing is the process of allocating certain tasks to specialized external service provider that may be located in the same geographical region or in a different region. Many times, organizations cannot handle all their processes internally, as they may lack the skilled resources or may need expertise for a specific application or it may be a cheaper option to go with outsourcing.

What is Application Support ?

Application Support is service to provide support or assistance to the business groups or end users like support to mobile phones, computers, software products or other electronic or mechanical devices. Application support can be categorized into technical and functional support. Technical support is more consist of resolving code level errors or technical issues, while functional support handles user management, user queries regarding the functioning of the application.

Here I list down some of these pros and cons related to outsourcers operating in out-of-country centers:

Pros:

1. Focused Business: Organization can focus more on its core business rather than investing effort in application support, customer service support etc which may not be their primary business. They can invest these efforts in product enhancement, improving their existing services, because the services which have been outsourced can be completed more efficiently as the support centre may already have the required expertise.
   E.g. The core business of PepsiCo beverage manufacturing rather than maintenance of chilling coolers at retail outlet which is owned by them only.
2. Resource Flexibility: Businesses can try out different strategies as they don’t have to be dependent on same team or outsourcing vendor if the customer is not happy with their performance. In such scenarios, they can change the outsourcing vendor if they wish to, without committing significant resources for the long term and compromising on the quality delivered to the end customer.
3. Expertise: Outsourcers have expertise in resource management and can scale up their services as per organizational requirements. 
   E.g. In the travel industry, where additional help desk and customer support services are required during vacations to support seasonal call volumes without having to undergo the headaches if support is hosted in-house. Other such examples can be credit card special offers, a new mobile service, new scheme launch by retailers etc

Cons:

1. Data Security/Legal Issues: This relates to cross border data transfer. Company information may be at risk if it is entrusted to a third party which might be located in another part of the globe. Appropriate security steps should be taken to secure the data and confidentiality of information by signing NDA with the support centre.
2. Time Zone/Cultural Difference:  Outsourcing support will not be effective if there is a difference in time zones of the support team and customers unless it is 24/7 support. There may arise a situation when customers face a critical issue and the support team may not available due to time zone difference or cultural holiday on that day. It is always advisable to choose the provider who will adjust to your business operating hours.
3. Lack of Personal Touch: Outsourcing may result in losing the relationship with your customers as outsourcing companies are not much concerned with customer experience as their main focus is to do support job.

Finally, before you go for any outsourcing services you should prioritize what really matters to you. Is it the customer satisfaction which of course should never be compromised but can you still maintain a healthy client relationship after outsourcing services to a vendor? Are you looking for some cost effective services with normal support which would cost much less and has other flexibilities? Do you have a strong escalation mechanism that can be put into action if the service provider delivers sub-par services? These points are critical in deciding whether outsourcing will actually add value to your organization in the long run.

About Author:
Manish Chandak  is social media enthusiast and works as consultant with Systems Plus Pvt. Ltd. He actively contributes to the areas of technology and Information security. He can be contacted at: manish.c@spluspl.com