If you’re thinking about outsourcing a part of your company this year, then it’s important to be aware of this year’s top outsourcing locations and trends. You want to choose a future-proof outsourcing solution to ensure it drives value back to your company for years to come.
With that in mind, we put together this article to look at the top outsourcing locations and trends of 2023. Take a look as you consider what your company’s ideal outsourcing solution may look like.
The Most Used Outsourcing Locations of 2023
Choosing a common outsourcing location will give your company access to more options and opportunities.
The following regions have the most infrastructure for outsourcing and are worth looking at as you think about where you might want your outsourcing team to be based.
The Caribbean
The Caribbean is quickly emerging as one of the most prominent outsourcing locations, with countries like Granada taking the lead.
Due to its abundant pool of native English and Spanish speakers and cost-effective labor, the Caribbean is recognized as a prime outsourcing destination. It’s also a good fit for companies based in the Western hemisphere, given that it is in the same time zones as countries like The United States and Canada.
South Africa
South Africa is another growing outsourcing location, with an estimated size of $1.4 billion as of 2019. English is widely spoken here, and labor is affordable. With a skilled and diverse workforce, companies have no trouble finding the help they need here – from call center outsourcing to IT support and beyond.
India
India has the second-largest call center industry in the world. It offers a wide variety of services, including customer service, sales, and even software development. India is cost-effective and has plentiful high-skilled labor to support your company with whatever it needs.
Poland
Poland is a country that’s worth considering if you run a company based out of Europe, given its shared time zone. The country’s outsourcing industry is growing but not as developed as it is in some other places.
That being said, Poland offers excellent IT services and call center solutions. It’s especially good for software development outsourcing and may be another option for your company to consider.
Brazil
Brazil is another country that you may want to take a look at while deciding where to locate your outsourced team. The country has a great outsourcing infrastructure and plenty of local companies to choose from with different sets of skills.
This has attracted some major companies to outsource in Brazil, including IBM and HP, who have outsourced their customer service to local Brazilian call centers. The labor here is affordable and skilled enough to satisfy most companies.
The Philippines
Finally, we round out our list with The Phillippines. This country is the top location for call center outsourcing in the world, although other regions, like The Caribbean, are starting to catch up.
The reason for the dominance of The Phillippines is its cost-effectiveness, operational efficiency, and educated workforce. Some research suggests that outsourced call centers generated more than $20 billion in revenue by 2022. That shows just how prominent outsourcing is in this region.
Top Outsourcing Trends to Be Aware Of This Year
2023 is shaping up to be another big year for the outsourcing industry. As the year progresses, these are the key trends that we’ll keep our eye on. You may want to consider them as well while selecting your company’s outsourcing solution.
The Rise of AI
Artificial intelligence is having a banner year. Companies from every industry are using it to improve processes, get more out of data, and improve overall profitability. The outsourcing industry is being impacted by this as well.
AI is now widely used in call centers for the automation of routine tasks. This includes routing phone calls and providing simple customer information. AI can also be used to analyze previous calls and discover potential areas for improvement.
As you set up your outsourced solution, integrating AI into your processes will be a smart decision – especially as this technology continues to evolve. Getting started with AI now should give you a leg up on the competition, allowing you to integrate new AI-powered solutions faster as they’re released.
Sentiment Analysis is Becoming Standard
The practice of assessing emotions in customers’ messages is sentiment analysis. This is done so that negative messages can automatically be flagged up to managers to ensure the best possible outcomes for these key customers who a company may be at risk of losing.
This analysis is still in its infancy, and it’s often difficult to assess the sentiment of a message with the currently-available technology. But this practice delivers a lot of value when it works, and it’s something that contact centers everywhere will be using more and more throughout 2023 and beyond as the technology improves.
Cloud-Based Platforms are Becoming More Prominent
We’re also seeing more and more contact centers switch from on-premises platforms to cloud-based ones. This is because cloud-based solutions are more flexible and cost less to use than on-premises solutions.
For example, if your company grows and you realize that you’re going to need more agents working for you, cloud-based platforms let you add those agents instantly and without needing to purchase or install new hardware.
But if you were using an on-premises platform, you would have to buy new hardware and take up more physical space. This is why cloud-based platforms should continue growing in prominence as they become easier to use and available for more types of call center tasks.
The Growth of Multi-Channel Support
Multi-channel support means giving your customers the opportunity to reach out via phone, live chat, email, social media, and however else they choose to do so.
The use of multi-channel support is becoming more prominent because it’s more reflective of the shopping habits of customers. A study by the Harvard Business Review found that 73% of customers enjoy purchasing across multiple channels because of the seamless communication experience.
The bottom line is that companies that offer more choices to their customers tend to deliver better customer service outcomes. Embracing multi-channel support is a very effective way to do that.
Data Has Become More Important Than Ever
Data has been a key focus for the outsourcing industry for years now. But it’s still one of the industry’s most prominent trends. More specifically, companies are using data in new and interesting ways to deliver better outcomes to customers.
For example, with predictive analytics, companies are able to review historical data and use it to predict what will happen in the future. This offers valuable insights that allow a company to modify its processes in advance before they lead to a negative outcome.
Other kinds of analytics will take center stage in 2023 and beyond as well. The most effective call centers will continue using data to improve processes as these evolutions occur.
The Growth of Single Vendor Solutions
A study by the University of Cambridge found that more and more companies are wishing to outsource with one or two vendors rather than many. The reason for this is that single-vendor partnerships offer smoother business continuity and typically reduce costs as well.
As this preference becomes more prominent, we should see the average outsourcing company start to offer more solutions.
This isn’t necessarily a trend that your company needs to follow if it still believes in a multi-vendor approach to outsourcing. But it is one to be aware of as the industry evolves throughout 2023 and beyond.
An Increased Focus on Cybersecurity
A recent Forbes article found that 82% of companies faced cyber attacks in 2022. That’s a huge percentage that underscores just how important cybersecurity is becoming as these attacks become more frequent.
This is why many companies are starting to demand better cybersecurity from the outsourcing vendors that they work with. We mentioned previously that data is becoming more important. Well, effective cybersecurity protects that data so that it can be used.
The bottom line is that cybersecurity is now something that your company will need to consider while choosing an outsourcing solution to a degree that it may not have in the past.
How to Use These Trends to Help Your Company
As you review these trends, keep in mind that you don’t need to use them all if some of them aren’t a good fit for your company.
For example, maybe your data shows that multi-channel support just isn’t something that matters to your customers. There’s no reason to force yourself to offer it just to keep up with the times.
When you’re analyzing industry trends like these, it’s better to pick and choose which ones work for your company instead of embracing them all blindly. Use what works for your business and reject the strategies that don’t to give yourself the best outcomes.
The Cattalyst Can Help Your Company Find Its Ideal Outsourcing Solution
The outsourcing industry is constantly evolving. It can be difficult to keep up with this if you’re not in the industry yourself.
That’s why The Cattalyst exists. We leverage our decades of outsourcing experience to help companies like yours find their ideal solutions.
If you want to make sure that your business is taking advantage of the latest trends when setting up its outsourced team, we can help you do it more efficiently and effectively.
But don’t take our word for it. Get in touch with us today for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help.