{"id":1967,"date":"2008-04-16T00:21:00","date_gmt":"2008-04-16T00:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/quest-for-an-organic-approach-to-offshore-outsourcing\/"},"modified":"2008-04-16T00:21:00","modified_gmt":"2008-04-16T00:21:00","slug":"quest-for-an-organic-approach-to-offshore-outsourcing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/quest-for-an-organic-approach-to-offshore-outsourcing\/","title":{"rendered":"Quest for an Organic Approach to Offshore Outsourcing"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the toughest challenges for businesses today is trying to retrofit offshore operations once they have evaluated what work to send offshore or outsource.  They can spend months – or even years – strategizing how to do this effectively.   I am honored to welcome Uttiya Dasgupta discuss his theories on developing a phased approach to implementing an offshore outsourcing initiative.  Uttiya is one of the industry’s first genuine offshoring pioneers, having set up and managed <\/em><\/span>IBM’s<\/em><\/span><\/a> first offshore dedicated center in Bangalore in the 1980’s, in addition to helping Texas Instuments and Samsung establish their offshore operations.  He now heads up his own outsourcing consulting firm <\/em><\/span>Omnispan<\/em><\/span><\/a>.  Over to you Uttiya:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ask a company which has been outsourcing work offshore, maybe for a year, about how well things are going, and you are likely to get responses such as \u201cWell, we did OK on some projects\u201d to \u201cIt is still a new area for us\u201d to \u201cExecution is fine, but we need to figure out how to use this as a strategic tool\u201d. Ask the provider the same question and you will hear responses like \u201cWe wish we could get more work\u201d to \u201cWe need clients to manage more effectively\u201d to \u201cThe client requirements keep on changing and we are held accountable for non performance\u201d etc.<\/p>\n

Over a few more years, the situation tends to stabilize or the contract is reduced in scope or discontinued. To an SME which does not have deep pockets and time on its side, such uncertainties can lead to irreparable harm.<\/p>\n

Many companies are advised to invest time and effort to choose an offshore provider with the right technology, management and cultural skill sets, with cost reduction being a basic necessity. However if you have not developed a business strategy that incorporates outsourcing as a key enabler, isn\u2019t it not true that you will use the provider more for tactical one-off projects? Will you be able to leverage the provider\u2019s capabilities and build a strategic partnership? <\/p>\n

Then again, you already have a running business. And you are trying to retrofit <\/strong>offshore outsourcing, so that it becomes an integral part of your business (or you might be taking a second chance at this). If you are an SME, you want to achieve your first success in a few months (not years), and continue from there. Does this appear as a tall order?<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the answer is a No. A number of companies have adopted an evolutionary approach for their offshoring initiatives. Instead of spending endless hours up-front in strategizing, they have outlined three distinct phases. The first phase can be characterized as a Pilot in which simple and non critical work is offshored. If this is successful in a few months, they can move on to the next phase. The second phase can be characterized as reaching a steady state, in which more critical operational work is offshored. With consistency in operations, the next phase can be entered. The third phase can be characterized as a Partnership, in which the provider and client are well aligned to address critical and strategic business challenges.  <\/span><\/p>\n

To quote some examples – software companies have offshored test automation and software auditing in Phase I, these were internal tasks, not directly visible to clients. After a couple of months, they have gone on to Phase II and offshored product testing and software development of a few critical modules (not IP related). After a year in Phase II, they have moved on to Phase III, in which they have been doing joint design and development and testing on new products.<\/p>\n

Some benefits have been a) progressive building of a strong relationship and management processes between client and provider, b) progressive buy-in of the client\u2019s internal staff to offshoring and c) progressive enhancement in performance. The last point requires mention since the bar on performance has been raised on both sides – client and provider.  <\/span>While the provider is accountable for deliverables or outputs, the client is accountable for training, and specifications or inputs.<\/p>\n

Where does the provider selection fit into all this? Well for one, the three phases should be identified up-front. As you do this, you will gain an idea about the kind of capabilities you are seeking in your offshore partner. Instead of having a straight jacketed RFP, include the phases as part of the RFP, and ask providers for any insights. Also quiz the providers on a lot of situational questions, keeping in mind that both of you need to resolve communication issues when work starts, or the \u201crubber meets the road\u201d. <\/p>\n

What about appropriate names for the three phases? Since you are progressively building your muscles for offshore outsourcing, how about using Crawl, Walk, and Run?<\/p>\n

\"Uttiya_dasgupta\" ‘<\/span><\/p>\n

‘<\/span><\/p>\n

Uttiya Dasgupta<\/em><\/a> is Founder and President of Omnispan LLC<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the toughest challenges for businesses today is trying to retrofit offshore operations once they have evaluated what work…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,832],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[19],"yoast_head":"\nQuest for an Organic Approach to Offshore Outsourcing - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/quest-for-an-organic-approach-to-offshore-outsourcing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Quest for an Organic Approach to Offshore Outsourcing - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the toughest challenges for businesses today is trying to retrofit offshore operations once they have evaluated what work...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/quest-for-an-organic-approach-to-offshore-outsourcing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horses for Sources | No Boundaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-04-16T00:21:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/fersht.typepad.com\/photos\/uncategorized\/2008\/04\/15\/uttiya_dasgupta.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Phil Fersht\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pfersht\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Phil Fersht\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/quest-for-an-organic-approach-to-offshore-outsourcing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/quest-for-an-organic-approach-to-offshore-outsourcing\/\",\"name\":\"Quest for an Organic Approach to Offshore Outsourcing - 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