The choice to outsource your technical support is not an easy one, but it should also not be made more difficult by being forced into making blind decisions. We have compiled an area of our website dedicated to information both about why you should outsource as well as some more informational data to assist you in making the decision for yourself.
10 Reasons to Outsource
Want more information on why you and your company should outsource your technical support solution? Here is a list of reasons to outsource. Of course, there are many more reasons as to why you should outsource, but these are the most commonly expressed.
Have further questions regarding outsourcing? Feel free to contact us. |
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Reduce and Control Operation Costs
When trying to “do everything,” companies can find themselves in situations where they incur much higher expenses which then are commonly passed down to the customer. An outsource support provider such as GTC has a lower cost structure because of greater economy of scale or other advantages due to our specialization, reducing a company's operating costs and increasing their advantage over their competitors.
Improve Company Focus
Outsourcing certain aspects of your operation, such as technical support, billing, and/or sales, with external experts allows you to focus on your core business. Being free of devoting energy to these areas you can focus more readily and devote those energies and resources on meeting your customers' growing needs.
Gain Access to World-class Call Center Capabilities
Operating a call center is a complex endeavor. Outsourcing with GTC allows you to tap into our knowledgebase and provides you and your customers with world-class capabilities that would take many years to develop internally.
Free Internal Resources
Most organizations have limits on the resources they have available. By outsourcing you permit your organization to redirect your resources, most commonly individuals and funds, from non-core activities toward customer-centric services and activities that increase your relationship with your customers, which adds value to your business and products. Staff whose energies are currently focused internally can now become focused externally—on the customer.
When Resources are not Available Internally
Many companies outsource when they do not have access to the required resources within their own company. Outsourcing is a viable alternative to building the needed capability from the ground up. New organizations, spin-offs or companies expanding into new geographical areas, new technology or new services should consider the benefits of outsourcing from the very start.
Accelerate Re-engineering Benefits
Re-engineering aims for drastic improvements in critical measures of performance such as costs, product and service quality, and speed of implementation. The need to increase efficiency can come into direct conflict with the need to invest and expand in core business functions. As non-core internal functions are continually put on the back burner, systems become less efficient and less productive. By outsourcing a non-core function such as technical support to a world-class provider the organization can begin to see the benefits of the re-engineering itself.
Current Call-Center Function Difficult to Manage / Out of Control
One option for problems managing your current call-center functionality is certainly outsourcing the activities to a business whose core operations are structured to handle the service and volume levels that you need for your business. It is critical to remember that outsourcing doesn't mean relinquishing management responsibility nor does it work well as a knee-jerk reaction by a company in trouble. When a function is viewed as difficult to manage or out of control, the organization needs to examine the underlying causes. If the requirements, expectations, or needed resources are not clearly understood then outsourcing won't improve the situation and may in fact exacerbate it. If the organization doesn't understand its own requirements it won't be able to communicate them to an outside provider.
Make Capital Funds Available
There is tremendous competition within most organizations for capital funds. Deciding where to invest these funds is one of the most important decisions that senior management makes. It is often hard to justify non-core capital investments when areas more directly related to producing a product or providing a service compete for the same money. Outsourcing can reduce the need to invest capital funds in non-core business functions. Instead of acquiring the resources through capital expenditures, they are contracted for on an "as used" operational expense basis. Outsourcing can also improve certain financial measurements of the firm by eliminating the need to show return on equity from capital investments in non core areas.
Share Risks and Gain a Partner
Tremendous risks are associated with the investments an organization makes. Markets, competition, government regulations, financial conditions, and technologies all change extremely quickly. Keeping up with these changes, especially those in which the next generation requires a significant investment, is very risky. Outsourcing providers make investments on behalf of many clients, not just one. Shared investment spreads risk, and significantly reduces the risk born by a single company.
Cash Infusion
Outsourcing often involves the transfer of assets from the customer to the provider. Equipment, facilities, vehicles and licenses used in the current operations have value and are sold to the vendor. The vendor then uses these assets to provide services back to the client. Depending on the value of the assets involved, this sale may result in a significant cash payment to the customer. When these assets are sold to the vendor, they are typically sold at book value. The book value can be higher than the market value. In these cases, the difference between the two actually represents a loan from the vendor to the client which is repaid in the price of the services over the life of the contract.
When trying to “do everything,” companies can find themselves in situations where they incur much higher expenses which then are commonly passed down to the customer. An outsource support provider such as GTC has a lower cost structure because of greater economy of scale or other advantages due to our specialization, reducing a company's operating costs and increasing their advantage over their competitors.
Improve Company Focus
Outsourcing certain aspects of your operation, such as technical support, billing, and/or sales, with external experts allows you to focus on your core business. Being free of devoting energy to these areas you can focus more readily and devote those energies and resources on meeting your customers' growing needs.
Gain Access to World-class Call Center Capabilities
Operating a call center is a complex endeavor. Outsourcing with GTC allows you to tap into our knowledgebase and provides you and your customers with world-class capabilities that would take many years to develop internally.
Free Internal Resources
Most organizations have limits on the resources they have available. By outsourcing you permit your organization to redirect your resources, most commonly individuals and funds, from non-core activities toward customer-centric services and activities that increase your relationship with your customers, which adds value to your business and products. Staff whose energies are currently focused internally can now become focused externally—on the customer.
When Resources are not Available Internally
Many companies outsource when they do not have access to the required resources within their own company. Outsourcing is a viable alternative to building the needed capability from the ground up. New organizations, spin-offs or companies expanding into new geographical areas, new technology or new services should consider the benefits of outsourcing from the very start.
Accelerate Re-engineering Benefits
Re-engineering aims for drastic improvements in critical measures of performance such as costs, product and service quality, and speed of implementation. The need to increase efficiency can come into direct conflict with the need to invest and expand in core business functions. As non-core internal functions are continually put on the back burner, systems become less efficient and less productive. By outsourcing a non-core function such as technical support to a world-class provider the organization can begin to see the benefits of the re-engineering itself.
Current Call-Center Function Difficult to Manage / Out of Control
One option for problems managing your current call-center functionality is certainly outsourcing the activities to a business whose core operations are structured to handle the service and volume levels that you need for your business. It is critical to remember that outsourcing doesn't mean relinquishing management responsibility nor does it work well as a knee-jerk reaction by a company in trouble. When a function is viewed as difficult to manage or out of control, the organization needs to examine the underlying causes. If the requirements, expectations, or needed resources are not clearly understood then outsourcing won't improve the situation and may in fact exacerbate it. If the organization doesn't understand its own requirements it won't be able to communicate them to an outside provider.
Make Capital Funds Available
There is tremendous competition within most organizations for capital funds. Deciding where to invest these funds is one of the most important decisions that senior management makes. It is often hard to justify non-core capital investments when areas more directly related to producing a product or providing a service compete for the same money. Outsourcing can reduce the need to invest capital funds in non-core business functions. Instead of acquiring the resources through capital expenditures, they are contracted for on an "as used" operational expense basis. Outsourcing can also improve certain financial measurements of the firm by eliminating the need to show return on equity from capital investments in non core areas.
Share Risks and Gain a Partner
Tremendous risks are associated with the investments an organization makes. Markets, competition, government regulations, financial conditions, and technologies all change extremely quickly. Keeping up with these changes, especially those in which the next generation requires a significant investment, is very risky. Outsourcing providers make investments on behalf of many clients, not just one. Shared investment spreads risk, and significantly reduces the risk born by a single company.
Cash Infusion
Outsourcing often involves the transfer of assets from the customer to the provider. Equipment, facilities, vehicles and licenses used in the current operations have value and are sold to the vendor. The vendor then uses these assets to provide services back to the client. Depending on the value of the assets involved, this sale may result in a significant cash payment to the customer. When these assets are sold to the vendor, they are typically sold at book value. The book value can be higher than the market value. In these cases, the difference between the two actually represents a loan from the vendor to the client which is repaid in the price of the services over the life of the contract.