Online outsourcing
Online outsourcing is the internet-based version of outsourcing , the outsourcing of a department or a work area to a third party.
Online outsourcing mainly involves outsourcing IT services and marketing tasks that can be performed via the Internet . Here are as examples of programming - and web design contracts, multimedia productions, logo creation and search engine optimization to name. But corporate services such as translation work, research activities and the writing of articles are also outsourced. Online service brokers serve here to simplify the bringing together of client and customer (see section Online Outsourcing in Practice ). With the outsourcing variant offshoring , the respective tasks are shifted abroad. These can be business tasks as well as processes.
A subtype of offshoring is nearshoring . While offshoring normally means relocating to a country outside of one's own continent, nearshoring refers to outsourcing to a country on the same continent. Homeshoring, as a variant of outsourcing, describes the relocation of work to employees who are not in the company but work from home. This form of work is also understood as home office or as telecommuting or teleworking from home .
history
Outsourcing in general can be traced back to Adam Smith's principles of division of labor and specialization in the 18th century. In his opinion, workers should only be deployed in departments according to their specialization in order to work effectively and efficiently. Outsourcing and the subcategory online outsourcing follow exactly the same principle of division of labor and specialization. By outsourcing a company can relieve itself of secondary tasks, concentrate on the core business and thus increase its own efficiency. "Do what you can do best - Outsource the rest." Online outsourcing has its origins in the United States of America ( USA ). It was able to establish itself here as early as the mid-1990s. In Europe , the model became successful in early 2000 with the further development of the Internet. Large companies have been using online outsourcing for many years. Recently, this form of division of labor has also spread among small and medium-sized enterprises.
advantages
Online outsourcing offers various opportunities for clients and service providers. Due to the globally very different wage level, cost savings of up to 70 percent can be realized for clients from countries with high wages by outsourcing online services to countries with lower wages. The online outsourcing model has financial advantages, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs ) and start-ups , as they have to reckon with a tight budget . In addition, this can mean an additional and often efficient source of income for service providers from countries with relatively low wages. Another advantage of offshoring for clients is the global selection of service providers. This enables clients to identify the most suitable expert for themselves. Service brokers are helpful here, as they often have a global expert database. Online outsourcing enables clients and contractors great flexibility in terms of time and work. Since online outsourcing mostly involves project orders, there is a temporary collaboration between the client and the service provider. Thus neither of the two is contractually bound long-term and open to further clients or contractors. In addition, new markets and customer groups can be opened up through online outsourcing.
disadvantage
Online outsourcing also poses challenges. Due to the physical distance, personal meetings are not always possible to the same extent as with permanent employees on site. Communication is therefore a much higher effort . The employer can become dependent on the service provider. With outsourcing, a company loses control over the outsourced work process. The longer the outsourcing partnership exists, the more difficult it becomes to reintegrate the outsourced know-how into the company through insourcing . There is a risk that this relationship will become permanent over time and that the necessary know-how in your own company will be lost. Particularly when offshoring online services, the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the project partners must be taken into account. This is accompanied by a different working style and different things that are taken for granted. Thorough communication is essential to a satisfactory deal for both parties.
Online outsourcing in practice
Online outsourcing and offshoring has been available since the 1990s and is increasingly finding its way into the global job market . There are various companies around the world that have specialized in this area. The largest online service providers are located in the USA. There are also numerous companies that work globally, regionally and locally.
| Surname | Country of origin | Number of providers |
|---|---|---|
| Elance | United States of America | 104,305 |
| guru | United States of America | 336,574 |
| Odesk | United States of America | 212,334 |
| Freelancer.com | United States of America | 1,440,048 |
| V worker | United States of America | 306.290 |
| Surname | Country of origin | Number of providers |
|---|---|---|
| freelancermap | Germany | 202.027 (de) |
| People per hour | Great Britain | 74.906 |
| people4project | Germany | 26.419 (de) |
| twago | Germany | 134,826 |
| 12Designer | Germany | 14,000 |
| brandsupply | Netherlands | 9,970 |
| Enwikuna | Germany | 290 |
| Surname | Country of origin | Number of providers |
|---|---|---|
| Codeur | France | 19,817 |
| Infolancer | Spain | 45,943 |
| Netjobbing | Germany | 1,000 |
| Project work | Germany | 26,000 |
Online service providers provide a virtual Internet platform on which clients can advertise projects. Potential service providers can register on the platforms and submit offers for individual projects. For greater transparency, the qualifications, work samples and ratings of the individual service providers can be viewed by registered users of the platform. The online service providers also provide the infrastructure to lead teams online. The client then decides with whom he would like to work.
The German Institute for Standardization e. V. (DIN) has published a DIN specification for the outsourcing of technology-oriented services (DIN SPEC 1041)
Trends
The world market for outsourcing and offshoring has been showing increasing numbers for years. McKinsey experts have calculated that the offshoring business will grow from its current annual turnover of 80 billion US dollars to 500 billion in 2020, a six-fold increase in 12 years.
In the area of online offshoring in particular, experts predict great growth in the next few years. The Duke University , judging by had before in 2008 more than 50 percent of US companies to operate offshore. This is a doubling compared to 2005. Small and medium-sized enterprises are projected to gain significance in terms of growth. According to a study by SpiceNetworks, eight percent of small and medium-sized companies worldwide are planning to increase their cooperation with external IT service providers . Since the 1980s, India has emerged as one of the main providers of online offshoring services. But in India , labor and real estate costs are rising rapidly. Therefore, experts foresee a diversification of the online offshoring countries in the future . If a country provides the necessary infrastructure and skilled workers, growth in online offshoring is likely in the near future.
See also
literature
- Specht, Lutz: Outsourcing and Offshoring as Strategic Alternatives for Action. Wiesbaden 2007.
- Kennedy, Sharma: The service shift. New Jersey 2009.
- Dittrich, Braun: Business Process Outsourcing. Stuttgart 2004.
- Fraction: Outsourcing. Wiesbaden 1998.
- Woodpecker: insourcing, outsourcing, offshoring. Wiesbaden 2007.
- Hermes: Outsourcing: opportunities and risks, success factors, legally compliant implementation. Munich 2005.
- Wißkirchen: Successful realization of outsourcing projects. Stuttgart 1999.
- Kennedy, Sharma: The service shift - Seizing the Ultimate Offshore Opportunity. New Jersey 2009.
Individual evidence
- ^ Lüder, Fuchs: (). IT buzz words in comparison. ( Memento of the original from November 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 2008
- ↑ twago press portfolio 2010
- ↑ freelancermap in numbers , accessed on November 18, 2019.
- ↑ Trend & market data from people4project ( memento of the original from February 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ twago in figures , accessed on February 14, 2012.
- ↑ brandsupply overview , accessed on May 8, 2013.
- ↑ Enwikuna. Retrieved September 1, 2019 .
- ↑ DIN specification - outsourcing is standardized . Computer week
- ↑ DIN SPEC 1041
- ↑ Nasscom and McKinsey Study about offshoring. ( Memento of the original from March 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 2009
- ↑ Duke University study on offshoring (2010) ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 693 kB)
- ↑ Spiceworks study about small and medium-sized companies. ( Memento of the original from July 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 2010
