SME’s: The new IT and Outsourcing players on the block .

Not even a decade ago, being a global company meant being a big company, but today even the smallest e-commerce firm is a global player, of course,by default.

Globalization has come to mean different in different industries. The most generic meaning we can give it in the present context is the process to seek and acquire the most pertinent skills wherever they are found in the greatest supply. The most glaring manifestation of the same has been in the form of the phenomenal rise in outsourcing as we have witnessed of late.

IT has played a significant role in fading away what were previously the borders of the world. This concept of a boundary less world has become more pronounced especially with a click of the button be it the internet, the email or the videoconferencing.

Let us consider a scenario which today is very common- a company having their software management done in the US, part of their back end networking development done in India, and has its application run in the UK. A true picture of a small world (isn’t it?) and with the way things are shaping up, this kind of a framework is very likely to become more and more commonplace

That is what outsourcing is-once the prerogative of big firms, today the necessity of everyone.

Accepting that, there will be no denial to the fact that to select the right outsourcing partner, most organizations opt for the easy way out. They just select a company with all the right certifications.This is by no means a bad way to choose. In fact, opting for a company with top-level certifications like SEI CMM can be a foolproof way to get quality work. The only problem (a problem considerable enough) encountered in this type of a selection is that by looking for a SEI CMM certified company, one will get most of the times just big companies to choose from. However, it is often a very good idea to hire a Small or Medium-sized company who is willing to travel that extra mile to deliver more than what the customer asks for.

Here comes the challenge. These Small or Medium-sized companies may not have the SEI CMM certificates but the capability to deliver what the client is asking for and that too, most of the times, at a comparatively lower cost. However, the tough task is to figure out the right Small or Medium-sized outsourcing partner who can offer and deliver the best service. Finding a Small or Medium-sized company who does the kind of required tasks is easy enough, but finding the right one can often prove difficult.

So let us consider some pointers on how to evaluate a Small or Medium sized company as an outsourcing partner to reap optimum benefits.

• Trade associations, like The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), prove to be a very vital and good source of information. These trade associations not only represent the listed companies but also provide information on its members.

• To give out a Request For Proposal (RFP) can be another way to reach out to the interested and the right companies, big or small. The information provided by the interested companies would provide an important insight into the company as well as its working.

• To evaluate the company technically instead of going by the certifications would give a clear picture of how the company works and what it can achieve in terms of the projects given to it to handle even in the future.

• The credibility and accomplishments of the top management, the collective expertise of the employees and the capability to deliver quality work on time are also quite significant factors which are of immense importance to find the right outsourcing partner.

• The key differentiator of the company is definitely a central consideration. This would include majorly the leverage the company has as compared to its various competitors, the process methodologies followed, the delivery models etc. These give an apt insight into the way the company is working.

• Customer referrals are an essential consideration to zero-down on which partner to make. This proves the credibility of the organization, as they say, straight from the horses’ mouth which undoubtedly is true.

• Above all, the company has to have experience, fervor, right knowledge and business perspicacity to deliver value added services.

All these should lead to a strong value proposition of the partner- low development cost and highly skilled manpower along with competitive billing.

After finding the right outsourcing partner which can deliver the required irrespective of the certifications, the best way to start an evaluation process is by the means of Pilot Projects along the line of requirements. This gives the best possible platform to assess the company’s capabilities with regard to the deliverables.

This is a toolkit to identify the right outsourcing partner especially a Small or Medium-sized one who would most likely go a step further to meet the client needs and produce deliverables as compared to the bigger players with their stringent protocols and lesser resilient customization.

Outsourcing- first done in the data-processing industry has spread to multiple areas, including telemessaging and call centers and is sure to provide the most optimum results if done with the right partner. The wave of the future can hence provide unprecedented results.