Trends in business tend to change from year to year, including outsourcing trends. By understanding how these trends are changing, business leaders can take advantage of them. The global pandemic has greatly changed some of these trends in the last several years, and others have continued, while some have come to an abrupt halt due to how the pandemic has affected businesses. If you’re thinking about doing any sort of outsourcing during 2022, you need to understand how those trends have changed.

What is Outsourcing and Why Should You Consider It?

First, though, is outsourcing right for you? You can outsource just about anything—IT services, HR tasks, accounting, marketing, and much more. There are many benefits to doing so. You actually reduce your costs because outsourcing is typically much more affordable than hiring in-house staff. Your outsourcing partner only focuses on what they offer, so their team is often much more knowledgeable than your own employees would be. For example, an IT company only handles IT work, so their team can focus on staying up-to-date with new IT trends and resources. They can also afford to hire a diverse range of employees who specialize in different areas, something you likely wouldn’t be able to do.

Outsourcing can allow you to take time-consuming tasks off your plate, letting you and your employees focus on the work that only you can do. You can outsource everything from occasional work to a full-time IT team. The flexibility of outsourcing is great for small businesses that don’t need much help now but are looking to grow.

Now that you have an answer to the question of what outsourcing is and see how it can be a powerful tool for businesses let’s take a look at some of the most recent trends.

It’s All About Quality

One significant trend for business owners is that outsourcing partners are focusing more and more on improving the quality of their services. They’re hiring only the best, putting more of their own budget into bringing on top-tier talent with years of experience. Because of this, IT outsourcing teams are more flexible than ever. If you need an expert in a specific type of IT, you’re likely to find that your outsource partner has someone with that specific knowledge.

This is especially true for outsourcing companies that work across multiple industries. They will have team members who specialize in medical records and HIPAA compliance, those with years of experience in protecting e-commerce sites, and much more.

Outsourcing companies are also improving their own technology, and this helps them provide high-quality services to more clients. With advanced tools, they’re able to complete tasks more quickly and effectively, decreasing downtime and other risks.

Remote Outsourcing is Becoming More Common

The pandemic has transformed the remote workforce. Prior to COVID-19, around a fifth of all employees worked or had the option to work remotely some or all of the time. Now, that number has almost doubled, and around half of all workers at least have the option of working remotely. This has become a new trend in the past year to year and a half, and it’s expected to continue.

IT outsourcing services and other outsourcing companies have also adapted to remote work. In many ways, it’s why they have been able to bring in higher-quality team members. They have seen how remote work can be just as effective as in-person work, especially with tasks that work with only data. If there’s nothing physical to work on, the task can be done anywhere. That means employees can work anywhere they can get internet access. This opens up the pool of potential hires, allowing outsource companies to look outside of their geographic location. They can truly hire the best of the best because it doesn’t matter where employees are physically located.

With more outsourcing companies going remote, it means you have more options, too. You no longer have to outsource to a company nearby. You can search around the globe for your next outsourcing partner. Whether you need an accountant or someone to handle your cloud management, you’re not limited by location.

Automation is on the Rise

Outsourcing companies have begun investing in AI and automation, and that trend will continue. Using artificial intelligence to automate many of the basic or repetitive tasks can offer those services for a lower cost while completing those tasks more quickly. Automated chatbots, for example, can take over basic customer support, allowing your team to focus on customer issues that are more complex and require a human to solve.

While some processes will always be too complex for automation, AI is taking over more and more of the basic, repetitive work. Outsourcing is a great way of getting the benefits of automation without the need to invest resources into automation yourself.

More Small Businesses are Outsourcing

Small business owners have recognized that they don’t have the budget to hire all of the key personnel they need or will need as they grow. Outsourcing has become the go-to solution for this. Typically, if the business can’t hire someone, the business owner takes on that role. However, this often means that the owner is trying to run the business while also serving as a bookkeeper, HR department, marketing expert, and more. They may not have much experience with some of these roles, either, which opens up the possibility of making mistakes.

With outsourcing, businesses can bring in experts without paying salary, benefits, and other costs. You can do more than outsource simple marketing or accounting, too. Many outsourcing teams now offer virtual CTOs, CFOs, and other executive-level experts. If you would like to have a CFO to consult with a few hours a month, you can get that experience without hiring someone. You can bring in a Chief Technology Officer to give you insight into how to grow your online services without paying the high salary and benefits that such a position typically commands.

On the other hand, you can also outsource basic, regular tasks such as handling payroll or doing IT maintenance. Sometimes, it’s more cost-effective to do this, especially when you’re a small business and don’t need someone full-time to handle this work. Many people hear the word “outsource” and immediately think that it would be cheaper to do it in-house. However, when you do the math, it’s often not. You have to pay an employee their salary plus benefits, but that’s not all. You also have to provide them with office space and equipment. Even remote workers may need computer equipment. You don’t have to worry about any of those costs with outsourcing. In 2022, more and more businesses are expected to outsource one or more of their tasks—why not take advantage of these benefits yourself?

Outsourcing IT Security Will Provide Better Online Protection

Businesses of all sizes and in all industries need better IT security. As cyberattacks increase, more and more companies are being hit. Some watch as their data is stolen or their entire system disrupted. Even those that are relatively unscathed by the attack itself find that their reputation has been greatly damaged. This means that talented IT experts, especially those with a background in information security, are in high demand. This, in turn, has resulted in a shortage of experts. Smaller businesses may no longer be able to offer competitive salaries and other benefits, which leaves them without the defenses they need to stop these hacks.

Again, outsourcing has been the solution here, and it looks like the trend of outsourcing managed IT services is going to continue in 2022. Small and medium-sized business leaders understand that they simply cannot hire the experts they need with a limited budget. Outsourcing allows them to bring in these security professionals to handle their cloud data management and other IT services. By outsourcing, they gain access to the knowledge, talents, and equipment that would otherwise be more than their resources could support.

Wooden Spoon is Here to Handle All of your IT Outsourcing

Wooden Spoon provides cloud-managed services and other managed IT solutions in Sonoma County. We take on all of the IT tasks that keep your business running while you focus on the work only you can do. We will help you improve productivity, protect your data, keep your customers safe, and boost your overall return on investment by handling your daily IT needs, maintenance, and support.

Whether you’re a new business or are a small business looking to grow, we can help. We will sit down with you to create an IT strategy that meets your needs and outlines how to grow your solutions to meet future needs. If you already have a plan in place but feel like it needs some tweaks, we can help there, too. Then we provide all of the preventative maintenance, remote support, and other products and services you need to keep your IT systems running smoothly.

Want to learn more about what Wooden Spoon can do for you? Contact us today to talk about your specific IT needs.