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Top IT Outsourcing Trends for 2019

Business.com

As the gig economy grows, more and more businesses will look to hire independent contractors for their IT and software development needs. For software developers and businesses, understanding the future trends in the IT outsourcing is important for succeeding in the industry. Here are a few of the future IT outsourcing trends to watch in 2019:

Less focus on reducing costs

Outsourcing development is and will always be about cost reduction. However, this alone will not be the deciding factor when it comes to choosing a offshore software development partner. The relationship between the outsourced software developer and the client will become more human-driven and about process, rather than being solely price-oriented.

The client will focus more on getting a quality product delivered. IT outsourcing companies will become the partners and system integrators for their clients. The risks of the project will be shared, and the outsourced talent will focus on offering value-added services to the client.

Multiple, specialized outsourcing partners

Enterprises are not always fully equipped with the technical skills to run business operations. The in-house team of experts will not be able to sufficiently fulfill the demands of the organization. This will lead the businesses to opt for outsourcing services from multiple vendors. The goal will be to form partnerships with vendors that have expertise of working on specific area. This means in the coming years IT outsourcing will be more focused on narrower specialization. 

That said, outsourcing companies with the skills and talent to offer a wide range of expertise and quality services under a single roof will stand out from the crowd. This will give them a competitive advantage over others.

The emergence of alternative IT outsourcing options

A Statista report from 2017 shows that India and China are the leading outsourcing countries, making about $150 billion in IT exports. Increased outsourcing of product development to companies in India was seen during this period.  

These leading countries will soon face stiff competition from countries of Eastern and Central Europe. New IT outsourcing destinations are going to pop up in the places like Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Belarus. Ukraine has already started turning out to be a fresh base for offshore software development. The number of software developers is growing there and within a couple of years it will be ready to face the world with its IT outsourcing offerings.

New contract models

Both IT service providers and clients are looking for leveraging on new contacting changes. This step will turn IT outsourcing value-driven and more interpersonal. New contracts will be focused on the outcomes of the work.

Software development companies will be reached as service integrators on contract basis to share responsibility and risk. The crucial part of the contracting process will be procurement. Notice periods will become shorter. There will be increase in competition between different service providers. Based on the outcome of the solution, new contacts will help the companies choose IT vendor who is capable to deliver result that adds value to the business.

Outsourcing core business services of

According to a Global Industry Analytics report, the global Business Process Outsourcing market will reach around $220 billion by 2020 (it was around $24.6 billion in 2017). As the customer-supplier relationship becomes more trustworthy, there will be a shift in outsourcing projects from non-core services to the core business operations. IT outsourcing vendors will act as genuine partners who will bear the responsibility of niche-based knowledge. 

Intelligent automation of manual processes

One IT trends which will become crucial in the coming years is automation. Industries are moving toward being powered by bots and virtual agents, which will be responsible for streamlining the routine tasks. Artificial intelligence and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) will receive huge investments from businesses. A GSA report found that 83 percent of survey respondents believe that RPA will be one of the important technologies of the decade, while 80 percent believe the same for artificial intelligence. There will be increased demand for AI experts, big data analysts and professional data scientists. IT vendors will have to go for automation in their service offerings.

Cloud sourcing

The demand for cloud computing will increase in the coming years with more businesses moving on cloud. Gartner predicts the shift towards cloud will  impact $1 trillion in IT spending by 2020. With increasing demand for cloud outsourcing, companies will need cloud platforms from public sources for data storage purpose. It will become important to offer online data centers and right equipment by the service providers.

Businesses operating over the cloud will be more concerned about the security threats and will look to eliminate all possible threats by outsourcing security services. This way they will be able to make use of the expert knowledge of the vendor and easily delegate the responsibilities.  

Progressive web apps

PWA features have been already included in the mobile versions of the sites like Google and Microsoft by their software developers. The software-based progressive web apps will be introduced by businesses from the industries like banking, healthcare and e-commerce first. Progressive web apps are pocket friendly and so there is no reason for the companies to avoid them in the future.

Smart software

The number of apps has drastically increased over the last year. This growth was marked along with the growth of Internet of Things in the market. The demand of connected devices has increased and people today are more inclined towards getting access to them. The investment in IoT has increased and within a couple of years, trillions of dollars will be spent on it. Different industry domains are now making use of Internet of Things apps and in the coming years its numbers will rise drastically.

Conclusion

2019 looks promising for businesses as well as for software developers. These software outsourcing trends will bring about change globally and build trust and transparency between companies and their outsourcing partners. Businesses will be in search of software development partners who can offer them quality services that give them a competitive edge over others. 

Marketing your small business is a must if you want to produce a steady stream of paying clients and customers. If you've noticed stagnant consumer retention and attraction numbers, consider reviewing your marketing strategy. Perhaps your initiatives are outdated. Or maybe you’re trying to market your small business on a limited budget. Luckily, there’s always room for improvement. Here are some ways you can effectively market your small business:

Develop your brand

To effectively market your business, you need to create a memorable brand identity. A brand is more than just a logo or tagline. A well-articulated brand connects with your target customers and conveys who you are, what you stand for and what you can deliver. When developing your business brand, ask yourself these questions:

What is your business's mission? Who are your competitors? How can customers benefit from your expertise and services? What feelings and characteristics do you want customers to associate with your company?

Once you've answered these questions, you can begin to develop a brand image, voice and message. Strong brands help increase customer loyalty and keep your audience engaged.

Editor's note: Is your business looking for online marketing help? Answer the questions below to have our sister site BuyerZone connect you with vendors that can help.

 

Create a brand logo

After you've determined your brand message, create a custom logo. You want to make sure that your logo is unique and adaptable. Consider hiring a freelance designer and comparing your competitors' logos to your ideas. When creating your logo, make sure you use on-brand colors, fonts and images.

Generate an email marketing strategy

Effectively market your small business by creating an email marketing strategy. Email is a powerful channel for connecting with customers and driving sales. To reap the benefits of a successful email campaign, you need to identify the right approach for your business. This might come in the form of a newsletter, a limited time offer or a promotional announcement. No matter what approach you take, align your email efforts with the rest of your brand marketing tactics.

Produce interesting blog content

Blogging is integral to your online marketing strategy. Create compelling and relevant blog content to drive traffic to your website and position your brand as an industry leader. According to information from HubSpot, companies with blogs receive 55 percent more web traffic than those without blog content. Keep in mind that you might need to hire an external freelancer or bring a marketing staff member onto your team.

Use Facebook ad campaigns

One of the most effective places to market your business is through Facebook. According to the Pew Research Center, 68 percent of U.S. adults use Facebook. Seventy-four percent of users are active on Facebook daily. These numbers highlight the importance of developing a Facebook marketing strategy. When you create Facebook ads, you can choose your objective, audience, budget and ad placement. Facebook ads can help drive more traffic to your site and increase brand awareness and customer conversions.

Follow SEO best practices

Whether you're new to the world of search engine optimization or have used the practice in the past, there's a chance your SEO strategy needs improvement. When focusing on SEO, your priority should be keyword research. You can figure out the language your target audience is using in their searches through free channels on Google or paid SEO tools, like Moz or SEMrush. The goal of SEO is to create an effective web experience that is easily discoverable in search.

Conduct market research

Today’s market trends are constantly shifting and changing. It’s essential for businesses to conduct market research on a regular basis to maintain their competitive edge. If you want to dive deeper into understanding your customers, you might decide to perform market research. Conduct surveys and hold interviews to gather data and analyze trends related to your target audience. This can help you shape your present and future marketing strategies and content.

Nurture loyal customers with social media

Effectively market your small business by utilizing social media. Social media can be a helpful tool for promoting your products and services and increasing your customer base. Create an efficient social media strategy and analyze your results to see where you can improve. Some social channels to optimize include:

Facebook YouTube Twitter Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn

Set goals and budgets

When you create a plan to innovate your marketing strategy, you should set goals to measure your success. Make sure the goals you set are specific, measurable, attainable and realistic. Additionally, you will need to monitor your funds and set a budget that will keep your spending in check. To gain access to working capital, you may need to seek funding from an outside source. 

Monitor and review initiatives

The best way to effectively market your small business is to go over your results regularly. Check and see where your efforts have succeeded or fallen short. From there, you can develop new initiatives that will outperform your previous marketing attempts. As your marketing strategies improve, your revenue will soon follow suit.

 

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