As the world becomes increasingly digital, the future of BPO has become intertwined with the development of digital technology. For decades, companies like yours have relied on business process outsourcing solution providers to streamline their operations. To keep up with these expectations and deliver maximum efficiency, these providers must incorporate digital tools to be on the cutting edge of tech transformation and position themselves to provide value to your business.
As a result, BPO companies can help your business drive technological advancement. By exploring how outsourcing has evolved in recent years and reviewing upcoming trends, you can explore how modern providers can catapult your business into the future.
The Role of Digital Transformation in BPO
Outsourcing companies are already undergoing a major overhaul to digitize and modernize their infrastructure. When you outsource your processes to these companies, your goal is to improve your systems. So, it’s critical for your providers to have automated, efficient tech tools in place to help you do that. By undergoing digital business transformation themselves, BPO companies can then facilitate that same transformation for your business.
There are countless ways that outsourcing companies have already started upgrading their tech infrastructure. These businesses have leveraged cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, automated workflows, and advanced software tools to optimize the back-office workflows they use to power the services they can provide to your organization. In order to remain competitive, adapt to a tech-driven market, and ensure they’re delivering maximum value, outsourcing providers are constantly looking for new ways to build digital, automation-based workflows into all of their services.
The Evolution of BPO Over Time
Although tech is the bread and butter of modern BPO providers, business process outsourcing has humble roots. The following is a breakdown of the origins of BPO and how it has turned into a massive global industry that drives innovation.
Early Initiatives
Your company may have been contracting out services far before there was ever an official BPO industry. If you hired other nearby organizations to perform certain tasks faster and cheaper than if you did them yourselves, that’s really where the roots of BPO lie. This was especially common in the manufacturing industry, as businesses could easily outsource parts of their supply chain to other specialized manufacturers.
The First Outsourced IT Solutions
IT outsourcing dates back to the 1960s. Back then, you might have shared access to computing machines at remote terminals in a process known as “time-sharing.” This allowed businesses to rapidly process information before computers were easily accessible to the general public.
The Launch of the BPO Industry
Dedicated BPO providers came onto the scene in the late 1980s. By this time, advancements in telecommunications made it much easier for businesses to share information. You could hire third-party organizations to handle your IT functions, customer service tasks, accounting needs, and more.
The Internet Boom
When the Internet became popular in the 1990s, the potential for outsourcing greatly expanded. Thanks to the World Wide Web’s advanced connectivity, you could easily hire third-party providers from all around the globe. Outsourcing providers began to offer near-instantaneous service, which made it easy for businesses to seamlessly incorporate subcontracting into their workflows.
Expanding Back Office Services
In the 2000s, BPO providers began to focus on expanding and enhancing their services. Along with basic tasks like customer service and office management, you could now hire these businesses for tech-based services like cybersecurity, market analytics, and data processing. As they incorporated more digital tools into their offerings, they were able to offer more advanced services to their clients.
The AI Revolution
The most recent technological push in the world of business outsourcing is the widespread use of artificial intelligence. Your company can now leverage AI to support a wide range of functions. AI tools make it possible to improve resources for human representatives, speed up workflows, and facilitate customer interactions. AI is likely to continue proliferating as companies find new ways to make different processes more intelligent.
Upcoming Trends in BPO
The outsourcing industry is still rapidly evolving, with new trends appearing on the horizon every day. In addition to focusing on BPO digital transformation, the following are a few other trends to watch.
Omnichannel Support
Modern businesses like yours engage with their customers across multiple platforms, which means they need a provider that can oversee all of those different channels. BPO companies have started emphasizing seamless, omnichannel solutions for engaging with your clients on social media, email, live chat, and beyond.
Data Management
Processing large amounts of data is a major part of digitizing your business operations. Outsourcing providers are looking for new ways to offer data management services that meet your needs and keep your sensitive information secure.
Global Expansion
Many companies are embracing global expansion by working with providers that are stationed overseas or in neighboring countries. Nearshore and offshore BPO firms can often provide you with specialized services at discounted rates based on their local talent pools.
The Tech Behind BPO Advancement
A wide range of technologies are driving digital transformation for BPO providers and their clients. The following are just a few of the latest developments to consider when exploring subcontracting for your business.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence has far-reaching applications in the world of outsourcing. For example, AI can improve customer service through language processing models that track customer conversations and suggest solutions to their problems. AI can also gather and analyze data throughout your business and automatically generate useful insights to identify inefficiencies and hone in on growth opportunities.
Robotic Process Automation
Robotic process automation (RPA) involves using algorithms and software tools to automate tedious menial tasks. By deploying RPA, BPO companies can help your business handle repetitive, high-volume tasks at scale.
Cloud Computing
Many BPO companies are shifting their operations to the cloud to make their services and systems more accessible to clients across the world. They’re also using the cloud to instantaneously manage your data, manage customer interactions, and more.
Using BPO for Digital Transformation
When you work with an outsourcing provider that prioritizes technological development, you can leverage their resources and expertise to modernize and digitize your own business operations. Confie BPO is a seasoned outsourcing provider that has the technical expertise you need to streamline your back-office functions.
Contact our team at 800-684-2276 or reach out online to discover how we can enhance your business processes today.
