A Look At The Future Of The BPO Industry
The BPO or business process outsourcing industry is one of the fastest-growing industries globally. For years, BPO service providers have helped companies handle different processes and jobs, ranging from customer service to accounting and everything in between.
Over the last few years, with advancements in technology, the rise in global competition, and the increasing demand for outsourcing services, the BPO industry has undergone many changes. The new BPO is not just about completing menial tasks—outsourcing is now about providing business value, harnessing talent and leveraging technical skills available globally.
So, what trends can we expect to see in the near future of the BPO industry?
The BPO industry continues to evolve, contribute, and add value to its client organizations. The share of businesses currently using the business process outsourcing industry for their information technology needs is 74% (Statista). The future of the BPO industry revolves mainly around the increased need for business agility, the new demands of connectivity, and continuing cost-reduction pressures.
Some of the key BPO trends that organizations witness as we go forward in 2022 are:
Advanced connectivity will give BPO services a new lease of life
Technological advancements and integrated platforms have changed the way businesses interact and fulfill service obligations. The near-universal availability of connectivity and cloud-based data enables easier access of data and information to BPO service providers.
In addition, cloud-based solutions are being increasingly adopted as they optimize storage, especially for big data. However, relying on cloud infrastructure increases data security challenges and privacy risks. Because of this, outsourcers must be meticulous about protecting their data when utilizing cloud-based technology platforms.
OpenText AppEnhancer, our cloud-based content management system, federates and secures document access and data transfer across organizations, distributed teams, partners and service providers.
It enables remote collaboration and ensures you keep your document
management practices consistent with your information governance program.
Nearshoring is set to increase
Many organizations are looking to outsource their operations to nearshore locations instead of offshoring them completely. Rapid growth is anticipated in nearshore operations without diluting worker productivity and compromising service quality. The availability of cost-efficient service technologies (like video conferencing, AI-based chatbots, robotic process automation or RPA, and workflow automation) help nearshore providers offer superior customer service at lower costs. These technology solutions will help them compete more effectively with their offshore BPO counterparts.
RDS offers workflow automation tools for Accounts Payable and HR functions, which typically use outsourced service providers for high-volume administrative tasks.
BPO providers will benefit from remote working trends
Due to the rapid growth of cloud and mobile technologies, more BPO companies will offer their employees the ability to work from home. As a result, we can expect more customer service jobs or data entry tasks and even knowledge-driven roles to move from traditional call centers and physical workspaces into remote positions. Gartner predicts that in 2022, 31% of all knowledge workers worldwide will be remote (a mix of hybrid and fully remote). The U.S. will lead in terms of remote workers in 2022, accounting for 53% of the U.S. workforce.
Content management systems like OpenText AppEnhancer will become more and more critical as they provide structure and access control for sensitive information throughout business processes and across departments.
Automation will be a key differentiator for BPO providers
According to Ranjit Atwal, senior research director at Gartner: "Through 2024, organizations will be forced to bring forward digital business transformation plans by at least five years."
Digital products and services will play a big role in these digital transformation efforts. Organizations will need to invest strategically in remote-first technology as well as automation, AI, and collaboration technologies to support flexibility of location choice in job roles.
Organizations will look for ways to automate their customer interactions through AI and machine learning instead of relying completely on manual tasks. This will help to lower costs and attrition rates over the long term.
There will be a shift toward leveraging AI and machine learning technologies, which will significantly impact the types of services that contact centers can offer. For example, chatbots are becoming more advanced, and they're now being used to handle first-level customer interactions.
Cost efficiency will continue to be a key driver for BPO adoption
59% of companies use BPO primarily to cut costs. The shrinking of logistical and geographical barriers has further helped reduce the cost of outsourcing business processes. Further cost reduction opportunities open up with remote work as BPO providers can reduce physical overheads such as expensive office space for a 24x7 physical presence.
Information security assurance is the main challenge associated with these trends around digitization, automation, and remote access usage.
RDS offers BPO companies a secured data and document and organization content management platform that enables seamless digital collaboration for employees stationed across remote locations and nearshore offices.
RDS: Helping you prepare for the future of the BPO industry
RDS helps companies enable remote collaboration and leverage advanced automation solutions that enhance efficiency, reduce costs and optimize workflows—in short—we help you do more with less!
We start with digitizing all legacy documents using high-volume scanning services to bring all data and documents into a central digital repository.
OpenText AppEnhancer, our content management system, then kicks in to manage user permissions based on job roles and responsibilities and maintains a strict audit trail. It allows for granular control of what users can see, manage or share through robust information access and security options. It also helps BPO companies comply with information governance regulations by validating the accuracy and protecting the security of business documents while enabling their employees and partners to work efficiently.
Our business process consulting team ensures your document management system is configured and implemented correctly. Our BPM consultants optimize your operational processes to reduce slow and inefficient paper-based workflows with speedy, cost-efficient digital workflows.
For example, account payable processes generate tons of physical documentation that must be archived and retained for a specified period as per regulatory guidelines.
Our Accounts Payable automation solution combines digitization services, mailroom automation and advanced invoice processing.
It reduces AP processing times, decreases AP staffing, and lowers invoice processing costs.
RDS is sensitized to the needs of BPO service providers and outsourcers even when digital technologies change their operational landscapes. We enable BPO providers to stay competitive and continue delivering service offerings with optimized workflows and cost-effective automation solutions.
Connect with RDS today for a consultation with our digitization and outsourcing experts, and get ready for the future of the BPO industry!