Many companies and startups have been leaning on outsourcing services for decades, especially for remote customer- and technical support systems. Lower labor costs and the opportunity for around-the-clock communication access naturally fueled this push, but in recent years, major technological advances have expanded outsourcing options greatly. Business process outsourcing no longer just involves forward customer-facing support services; instead, a wider range of back-office support task coverage is now being handled by outsourcing partners. Current trends also show progressive use of AI-powered back-office services including those involving analytics and automation. The benefits of using AI-based solutions in these settings are profound, and it looks to be the new norm when it comes to business operations.
(Can AI be the boost small businesses need? Read this Bold story and find out.)
The reasons that many companies are adopting these AI-powered back-office services are numerous, and include:
- Access to expertise
- Cost reductions
- Improved efficiencies
- Higher quality results
- Increased opportunities to better leverage core competencies and resources.
These benefits of AI-based solutions are allowing even smaller companies to gain advantage in their markets. And many experts believe this will soon be the norm as outsourcing superheroes evolve to better perform these back-office activities. With this in mind, it’s important that all businesses, large and small, reexplore their outsourcing strategies and opportunities. By pursuing these in a holistic fashion with business outcomes in mind, business process outsourcing can become a core strategy for success.
The Rise of Back-Office Service Outsourcing
In order to appreciate the recent boom in back-office service outsourcing, it’s important to understand which services these are. In essence, these are the business processes that are done behind the scenes. In other words, they aren’t customer-facing. Back-office services including things like accounting, sourcing, procurement, quality assurance, and human resource management. In contrast, forward-facing services are those that directly involve customers. Sales, marketing, customer support, and technical support are examples of front office services. While some of these have been outsourced by businesses for a long time, back-office service outsourcing is newer. That’s because of technology changes and the boom of AI-powered back-office services. The benefits of using AI-based solutions in these areas are encouraging many companies to extend their outsourcing here as well.
Key technology advancements driving these back-office service outsourcing trends involve several areas. Machine learning and artificial intelligence has greatly enabled extensive data processing and analytics. The improved decision-making that such analyses offer has persuaded many companies to jump on board. At the same time, robotic process automations allowed companies to tackle repetitive tasks more affordably and with greater accuracy. And of course, generative AI over the last two years has further fueled adoption of back-office process outsourcing. Leaning in outsourcing gurus trained in these AI-powered back-office services naturally provides a competitive advantage. By outsourcing such services, the benefits of using AI-based solutions for back-office operations are nearly immediate. These are the developments that have driven and are driving back-office service outsourcing as of late.
The Benefits of Using AI-Based Solutions
Without question, cost savings encourage companies of all sizes and types to consider outsourcing both front and back-office services. Depending on the company, this may or may not be persuasive enough to pull the trigger. But in most instances today, other advantages of outsourced AI-powered back-office services exist. The new technologies now available are not necessarily the easiest to learn and implement. Thus, outsourcing back-office services to AI and automation experts can save time and improve results. Likewise, automation of back-office processes offers greater efficiency, scalability, and even accuracy in many instances. This frees up time for staff and management to pursue other more important activities. This is how AI-based back-office solutions through outsourcing can provide a competitive advantage.
The inclusion of AI-powered back-office services has been revolutionary in many ways. One of the most important areas related to this involves analytics within technology services. While machine learning and basic AI ushered in better data processing and analytics, more advanced AI did more. Specifically, one of the benefits of using AI-based solutions involves predictive analytics. By applying statistical models to data, these analytics solutions can predict future needs and developments. This naturally helps companies better strategize. Advanced AI solutions also offer integrative analytics that reveal emerging trends from vast amounts of data. These emerging advantages related to advanced technologies are a big reason why companies are outsourcing back-office services more extensively.
Deciding to Outsource Back-Office Services
When outsourcing AI-powered back-office services, companies must take a few things into consideration. Naturally, a small company will have different back-office process needs and thus require different solutions. Likewise, not every small company can realize the same benefits of using AI-based solutions in these areas. As such, leveraging AI experts and outsourcing services must be customized to specific goals and markets. A small company, for example, may lack resources and in-house personnel to achieve quality back-office processing. As a result, outsourcing all or some of these to an outsourcing service with technology expertise may make sense. Similarly, larger companies may need to focus more on its core competencies and not direct valued resources to these areas. Large companies may also not want to invest in the time required to attain AI expertise in back-office services. Here too, the benefits of using AI-based solutions for back-office process outsourcing may be highly attractive.
Once the decision is made to explore AI-powered back-office services through outsourcing, a vendor or vendors must be chosen. Here again, depending on the company’s goals and needs, a single or multiple outsourcing vendors may be chosen. In many cases, however, a single vendor with extensive back-office service support can provide more comprehensive solutions. The benefits of using AI-based solutions across many back-office areas may be more than additive. This is especially true when companies develop a collaborative partnership with their outsourcing experts. By including outsourcing vendors in strategic planning and business problem-solving, much more can be gained. Thus, choosing a quality outsourcing partner from the start should be a key focus on this endeavor.
Outsourcing is essential for business growth–read why in this Bold story.
