Over the years, offshore outsourcing has resulted in many tales of triumph and has a lot of industry- tested benefits but offshore outsourcing, when neglected, is disaster in the making. There have been many companies whose woes were had from offshore outsourcing.

Therefore, it is very important for companies to plan and ponder before deciding to outsource. This is where strategic outsourcing comes in.

A thorough analysis of your company’s long- term goals, careful planning of the direction you want to take, including which of your business functions to outsource, what are your reasons for outsourcing, when to outsource, where to outsource, how much it would cost, how you would handle it, a general overview of the outsourcing destination, among other factors, is what strategic outsourcing is all about. Addressing these issues beforehand reduces the risk of outsourcing and the potential troubles that sometimes go along with it.

Offshore outsourcing offers several major benefits for your company. Here are some of the main factors that would make it happen for you.

• Political stability of the country.


• Presence of quality certified software firms.


• Reliability of Information and Communication Technology or ICT Infrastructure.


• Accessibility of round- the- clock service.


• Availability of qualified and skilled workforce.

• Inshore presence for an in depth knowledge of your market.


• Capacity to recruit and train a workforce.


• Access to proper ICT infrastructure and expansion facilities.


• Access to qualified and skilled workforce.


• Ability to operate 24/7.


• An impressive portfolio.

• Prior to deciding to outsource, a company must not lose track of it’s principal mission and vision as to which direction it intends to take. Keeping this mission and vision in mind should then serve as a guide in forging a future outsourcing partnership.

• With off-shore outsourcing, the target destination of where to outsource is vital. Preliminary decisions should include a thorough understanding of the outsourcing country’s past and political scenario including its probable inclinations, the availability of modern infrastructure structure, and cost- efficient, reliable labor pool.

• Service providers are the main factors in providing good services. The vendors capabilities, business and technical know how, track record in the industry, access to modern and necessary technology and affiliations are among the aspects to look into.

• A service level agreement or SLA should appear in the context of your outsourcing contract with all necessary information included. There should be a SLA or service level agreement also. Be very careful about examining every detail of your contract, it should be resilient enough to accommodate future changes in your needs and priorities in the future. Furthermore, make sure that it is legally binding.

• A reliable and easily accessible communication solves the most difficult of issues when dealing with a remote team. It could either break or make any business undertaking. Ensure that the outsourcing company you will choose offers good communication facilities that will be available to you at all times to avoid future problems.

• A good evaluation of the ROI (return on investment) plays a significant role in determining the positive or negative outcome of the outsourcing project. Therefore, a periodic accounting of the ROI is strongly suggested.