Outsourcing to Europe

Outsourcing parts of a business and particular departments off shore can be a smart move for businesses as a way to get cheaper services and sometimes even better levels of service. Often this means outsourcing customer services, and all of us are familiar with the concept of having a problem with our computer, bank, heating bill or whatever else and then phoning up only to be put on the phone to someone who can’t speak any English.

With the emergence of new communication technologies of course, this outsourcing has only increased as it is now much easier for companies to communicate across larger distances and to let other businesses work for them remotely. And at the same time of course the type of work being sought after has changed too.

Perhaps these changes have partly been what has led to the increase in outsourcing to Europe which has steadily begun to provide serious competition for India. This is particularly true of Eastern European countries like Poland and Russia which can provide high technical skill and a good grasp of the language. The old Soviet Union emphasized engineering and science strongly in the region which has resulted in large number of technically skills in the population, and while the economy in the area has improved so have these countries become more attractive for outsourcing IT and other technical work. Of course this growing demand has also lead to an increase in the number of IT and engineering specialists in the area and an ever improving infrastructure and set of business models.

There are other benefits to using Europe for outsourcing too which have helped see this become more common. For instance the fact that many Eastern European countries belong to the European Union means that they must adhere to strict laws that are conducive to business such as the Data Protection Act. Then there is the fact that using a European country as opposed to an Indian company will provide a client with more cultural similarity which can make communication and teamwork easier compared to other options such as India where it is generally more common to take a more process-orientated approach to work.

That said, while Eastern Europe now presents a very real opportunity for outsourcing, many businesses nevertheless think of it as a purely Indian game and still don’t consider Europe as an option when looking for overseas IT work and customer support. At the same time there is also the argument that India is still more advanced when compared to Eastern Europe which may make some Indian companies better suited to larger projects.