Whether or not you should outsource your Digital Transformation Projects?

Digital Transformation has been the most talked about topic in company aisles in recent years. It promises to revolutionize the future of work, industry verticals, the way we live, communicate, etc.  Digital transformation is a movement, one that industry leaders across the world are keen to follow. To introduce technologies quickly and more effectively, many businesses outsource digital transformation projects. If you are still wavering whether to outsource digital transformation or not, keep on reading.  The business landscape today is fast-paced, to say the least. The economic climate is continually changing, often posing new challenges and opportunities. Businesses around the world are dealing with an unparalleled number of new disruptions and barriers to growth, as the digital revolution reshapes consumer behaviour and demands. Add to this a full-blown pandemic, the current ‘work from home’ environment, the problems of cybersecurity, and it is seemingly easy as to why companies are increasingly trying to outsource some of their projects and operations.  Companies are better able to concentrate on their core business activities and re-energize their employees by choosing to outsource some parts of their business. The digital revolution has brought about a tremendous impact on the outsourcing industry and in the coming years, it will continue to shape the market. A transformational outsourcing strategy brings a quick and sustainable improvement in enterprise-level performance. 

So, when should businesses consider outsourcing as a strategic approach or an imperative for digital transformation? 

Forward-thinking organisations have already recognised that digital transformation paves the road to being future-proof in today’s global business climate. However, for most businesses ‘going digital’ is easier said than done.  According to IDC, a global technology research company, 600 of the world’s largest corporations are expected to devote up to 10% of their annual sales to fund digital initiatives by 2020 alone. Direct spending on Digital Transformation is estimated to be $5.9 trillion between 2018-2021, the research firm claims. To better navigate today’s digital economy, global entities are quick to introduce new digital KPIs that are specifically based on product/service innovation, data capitalization and superior customer experience. If not properly executed, even transformation projects starting with the best-laid out plans can easily turn disastrous. According to a study by Genpact, businesses collectively waste a whopping $400 billion a year on misplaced digital transformation initiatives. Digital transformation is not about using diverse technologies to target particular issues around a business. It entails creating an integrated structure that transforms the way work is done across a business. For several in-house IT organizations with scarce resources that lack the experience or knowledge required to complete such a complex undertaking, digital transformation can be a daunting challenge. This challenge contributes to outsourcing digital transformation. According to an Accenture report, almost 90% of businesses employ a third-party service provider to assist with at least one aspect of their digital transformation. With that being said, integrating internal resources with outsourced digital transformation services helps organisations cross their capacity gaps and leverage the extensive expertise for a successful digital transformation journey. 

Interested Read: 8 Transformative Digital Trends For 2021 and Beyond

By migrating software to public cloud platforms, as well as outsourcing the management and maintenance of processing, storage, and other capabilities, many CIOs are seeking to free up their personnel to concentrate on strategic activities. Companies are increasingly outsourcing services and automating activities that do not add value, such as back-office work and managed services. In fact, outsourcing now accounts for almost 12% of the average total IT budget, a substantial jump in recent years after hovering around 10%. By 2022, with an annual growth rate of 6.2% a year, the global IT outsourcing market is expected to surpass $481 billion.

Why Companies Outsource Digital Transformation

Organizations generally outsource digital transformation programmes to provide improved, advanced and more digitally-backed customer experiences. Outsourcing ensures services are provided cost-effectively and time-effectively, freeing companies from overhead costs. According to the Deloitte Global Outsourcing Survey 2020, cost reduction is the primary objective behind outsourcing digital transformation projects. As per the 2018 survey, the key objectives of outsourcing were moving away from reducing operating costs to enabling speed to market, scaling faster, enhancing customer experience, and achieving competitive advantage. Now, cost reduction has become increasingly critical again, due to the impact of COVID-19.  Source: Accenture  Whether it is modernizing software, optimising cloud infrastructure or leveraging automation, there’s a lot you can accomplish by outsourcing digital transformation.  Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), Mobile and Cloud Computing are some of the biggest trends driving digital disruption. At ISHIR, we assist you in your digitization journey, make sure that your organization embraces all the technology-enabled changes, unlocks productivity gains, and position your company at the forefront of digital transformation for a competitive advantage.

Reasons why you should outsource digital transformation: 

• Additional manpower

Large-scale digital transformation efforts require enormous manpower, which can be a burden for IT departments already stretched thin by mission-critical roles. Outsourcing minimises the burden on in-house workforce and provides a rich pool of world-class digital experts with unlimited access.

• Wide experience and expertise

Digital transformation entails holistic changes in a wide variety of domains and technologies that require skilled expertise. Best-in-class outsourcing companies, assist organisations and provides hands-on tools with exhaustive experience in areas vital to digital transformation, such as Big Data, cloud computing, AI, IoT, mobile app development, etc. 

• Mitigation of Risk

Although the digital transformation process can sound overwhelming to business leaders undertaking it for the first time, it is not the first rodeo for a competent IT outsourcing provider. They acknowledge the obstacles that await and know how to tackle them. To achieve success, they know what steps you need to take, and when you need to take them.  Many industry-specific problems that might occur are also common to them. Outsourcing the process to a company that already understands the right way to accomplish business goals not only saves time and resources, it also reduces the chance of mistakes or unexpected issues along the way.

• Flexibility and Scalability

You can scale the size of your digital transformation team according to the market demand when you work with a competent IT outsourcing provider. This allows you the opportunity to manage costs. You can engage resources with specialised expertise for as long as you need or enjoy the advantages of a committed development team working as an extension of your in-house employees. 

• Better equipment and security

Outsourcing helps companies to take advantage of high-quality up-to-date technologies without having to make a large upfront investment in resources. To secure customers from cybercrime, professional outsourcing companies already have the best security practises in place.

Conclusion

Going digital has become imperative for businesses that want to stay ahead of the curve and become market leaders. New technologies are evolving so quickly that most internal IT teams lack the technological skills or business expertise to recognise the best solutions for their organization.  The most common reasons why digital transitions fail are inexperienced workers, inadequate data-gathering processes, and vague goals. Companies that are serious about transforming their business with new technology, having access to cutting-edge expertise and fresh ways of thinking that can chart the correct strategy for success, leveraging IT outsourcing is important. At ISHIR, we support organizations throughout their digital transformation journey. Drop us a line to know more.  

Relevant Read: Does Digital Transformation Ever End?