RPA, ML and AI have become buzz words in the world of outsourcing.  Though still in its infancy it has picked up speed and momentum to engage clients.  The struggles are just beginning.  Clients are pressing providers to implement either their own RPA tools or are asking them to partner with them in their best practices – all to reduce cost, increase productivity, quality, generating more revenue and cut the time of market.

Increasing employee engagement more so in the changing environment of large millennial workforce  is another key aspect for clients.  Large enterprises are going digital as fast as they can and while they still have some legacy systems that will take time to retire for myriad reasons, RPA is coming to help to automate at a much lower cost cutting aside the needs for a separate IT while putting these technologies in the hands of practically anyone who can handle it.  The ability of outsourced partners to participate along with their clients is the key else they risk losing a significant share of their business and eventually even losing some or all of their core business.

Many outsourced vendors have increased their suite of offering to include in their digital portfolio and are trying to be on par with the evolution of this trend if not ahead.

This is a fast paced race.  Companies across all industries are investing resources into robotic process automation. In as little as two years, RPA leaders are already ahead of the curve, while there is some consolidation in the industry that is bound to happen, the world is moving towards a fact that we will be using bots in virtually every function within their organizations. This means some routine jobs will see elimination while it can pave way for smart jobs.

The spending in this space has increased by five to ten times at large companies while considering a wide range of benefits.  Most leaders centralize their RPA professionals in departments or centers of excellence to help RPA scale across the enterprise.

Cloud-based integration and process automation are essential to the business agility that digital transformation demands. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) offers the ability to interact with systems using record and playback for repetitive tasks. Integration with core enterprises applications helps scale the digital workforce with API-first connections and human responses to robot execution issues.

This could be  a boon to many outsourced vendors who can dabble in this space and compete to win given multitude of offerings in this space wth top and niche players.  Gone will be the heady days of mindless outsourcing, with the adoption of RPA, ML and AI, it will a game changer of sorts for providers to come up with a clear strategy of addressing the needs of their clients.

The ability to adapt, innovate, partner and bring the best of breed resources to help providers will be test of time. Some countries are investing heavily and are helped by universities and technology companies, it is important to collaborate as technology and tools matures in this space. This can be the turning point for outsrouced providers and their clients if they can adapt, mature and take advantage.

Risk Management especially where areas are prone to  Natural disasters, such as the 2015 South India floods,  Mumbai floods in 2005 and 2017,  Philippines in 2018  are just few examples are the factors driving businesses to address the risks related to outsourcing.   Multiple site visits by clients throughout the year to inspect work quality and to review disaster recovery and business continuity plans should be the norm.  It is best to test BC/DR by  intentionally, and without notice, “pull the plug” to see if the provider can quickly re-route work to delivery centers in other locations.

Security is another area where providers should be  concerned that needs to be addressed with a mix of providers own security and specialized security and more so during the periods when the threat perceptions increase.  Routine checks beyond just badge swipes and equipment based on local conditions have certainly become necessity.  Privacy and security of client data and their personnel is important as well.  Most of providers have more security than in developed countries just for their facilities to ensure confidence but one breach is it takes to inflict damage.

Routine audits, certification by credentialed partners, documenting checks conducted – deficiencies found and addressed provides confidence as well.

Its important for all clients be it small medium or large to make sure the terms are clear on the contract to avoid surprises.

Managing risk is not one time activity annually this should be a ongoing exercise to meet required needs and enhance as required.