BPO, or business process outsourcing industry, in the last two decades has served a range of businesses in making them more profitable, than they were, by default. From startups, to SMEs, to Fortune 500s, the BPO industry has served them all in the past twenty years.
Companies from every industry, generally outsource the non-core business processes to focus at what they do the best. Also, there is a cost-cutting aspect involved. When an organization outsources a subsidiary process from one of the Asian countries like India, or Philippines, they get their work done at almost half the price, comparing to what they would have paid, if they had tried to get it done in their country of business establishment.
Some Interesting Stats on the Worldwide Growth of the BPO Sector
Amid 2012 and 2016, the bpo sector grew at an impressive CAGR of 4.4%, amounting to a total revenue collection of $140.3 billion in the year 2016.
As per a Statista study, the market size of outsourced services worldwide is an overwhelming $92.5 billion. And, in particular, the worldwide market size of bpo services is $26 billion.
Classification of BPO (Basis Service-Provider Location)
Offshore BPO Services
Under Offshore bpo support, the organizations hire bpo vendors located outside their countries. For instance, a firm in the US hires a technical support professional from India.
Onshore BPO Support
Under this kind of outsourcing, companies hire vendors that are located within the boundaries of the country, in which they themselves are positioned. It’s just that the vendor offers his support from a different city within the same country.
For instance, a company in New York hires bpo professionals to get help in functioning of their non-core business processes, from a service provider firm located in Chicago.
Nearshore Outsourced Services
In this kind of an outsourced support, the vendor is located in a neighbouring country. For instance, a technology company in the US hires a bpo vendor from Mexico.
5 BPO Trends to Stay Long in the Future
Emergence of Disruptive Tech
In the past couple of years, a plethora of new disruptive technologies has emerged, which comprise automation, AI, cloud computing, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Social Media. BPO service providers will try to use them to their maximum benefit by using such new-age tech to cut more costs, and attain increased profitability.
Top bpo certifications, available in the mentioned disruptive technologies, are offered online by prominent accreditation and educational bodies such as Edureka, Udemy, Coursera, Microsoft, ARTIBA (Artificial Intelligence Board of America), MIT, among others.
Process Automation Will Thrive
Technologies such as robotic process automation, that has come to the surface only a few years ago, has started to affect the services offered by the bpo firms, located across the world.
RPA, or Robotic Process Automation, makes use of bots and AI, and allows humans to get the work done faster, and at minimal costs. Humans have better control on the working of the said technology, as it is operated via a computer.
RPA offers multiple benefits to the BPO sector, including cost-cutting, efficiency, and speed. BPO firms, in the recent past, have been investing big on process automation, and soon, its application at the bpo companies will become a norm.
Skill Shortage and Dearth of Talent
Countries considered as the ‘powerhouse’ of BPO support, like India and Philippines, have witnessed a shortage of talent in the recent past. As the demand for BPO support grows, the dearth of talent will rise in proportion.
NASSCOM, the trade association of Indian IT & BPO industry, has recently expressed its fears over the scarcity of skilled workforce in the country’s BPO sector, specifically, for handling high-end services. Such sophisticated services would include cloud computing, digital technology, mobile applications, and more.
Startups to Become the Biggest Customers of the BPO Sector
In the last decade, across the major cities of US, and other countries, the startup culture has gained traction. And because, they have got limited budgets and resources to get the job done, they turn to the BPO service provider firms to get access to a pool of well-qualified, and cost-effective labor.
Once startups, firms like AppSumo and Slack, outsourced talent acquisition to bpo companies, before becoming successful enterprises in the present. Startups and BPO firms have become interdependent, and this trend is expected to continue in the future too.
Politics & Diplomatic Relations to Hold the Trade Control
We will take the example of the US in this regard. After the 2016 Presidential elections, when Donald Trump got elected as the new president of America, BPO firms across the world got worried, because of his ideological inclination towards boycotting outsourced business support.
Trump has had, always been in favor of cutting down on outsourced services, as he want the people of America to get those jobs, that are being bagged by the professionals of countries, from where the outsourced services are received.
In the context of international trade, he believes in two policies, one being – ‘America First’ and the other, – ‘Buy American, Hire American’.
