Information Technology (IT) in the developed countries has been dependent on Software Outsourcing to developing countries since its beginning. Companies look to partner IT firms, organizations, and individual experts to complete their tasks, develop software remotely, and carry forward their maintenance. But with the digital revolution, an increase in Automation, and continuous change in technologies, there are going to be a lot of changes in the upcoming time. Here are the essential IT outsourcing trends that are shaping the industry in 2019.
Transformation of IT Skills
Lack of professionals with IT skills in top developed nations such as the US, UK, and Australia is one of the main factors for the IT outsourcing industry. With continuous change in IT technologies, Outsourcing companies will have to acquire professionals with experts in the latest technologies. Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and machine learning have the most demand for building the most recent development tools.
The swift rise of Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) technology in recent years is phenomenal. From $3.33 Billion in 2015 to $133.78 Billion in 2021 (Source) offers an insight into the changing trends in the market for this AR/VR technology. Apple’ ARKit, PokemonGo, and Google Glasses AR devices are among the favorite for this millennia generation.
Age of smart software has just begun, products such as the Internet of things are going to change the look of integrated electronic devices system in the upcoming time. IT companies need to be more creative and work on these IoT apps to take technological solutions in the right direction.
Automation Will Continue to Grow
As one of the trending IT technology, Automation is driving the next generation of IT revolution. Bots and Virtual agents programming are now being applied in all the major companies to handle their routine tasks. Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) demands are all-time high with a vast industry shift towards them. IT Outsourcing companies will have to adapt to these skills to attract future employers in their offerings.
Demand for Cloud Computing
With businesses shifting their data and server on the cloud, we are now seeing a significant transformation among the IT industry as they start making more sophisticated cloud solutions. Most of the global brands have a significant share in cloud computing with Amazon Web Services(AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, etc. to meet the high demand created for storing precious data. IT outsourcing companies will have to master cloud-based solutions and offer them as services to keep up with the competition from other vendors.
Enhanced Focus on Cyber Security
Security is one of the main concerns among online businesses. Online presence has significantly improved for the global population. Highly sensitive data of personal and private nature needs to encrypted in safeguarding from cybercriminals. There has been a lot of debates on private data breach and public awareness of keeping personal data secure. Outsourced security measures have now become the latest trends with a swift rise from the last few years. Large businesses are partnering with vendors with cybersecurity experts to manage their precious data efficiently.
Focus on Quality rather than Costs
Although outsourcing is mainly done with the aim of cost reductions, still, this will not be a significant factor in deciding to outsource software development partners. Businesses these days are ready to spend and focus is more on the quality of the work. IT outsourcing companies now offer more value-added services in keeping the client satisfied with every aspect of their work.
The trend for product-based development, such as SaaS(Software as a Solution), gives comprehensive solutions for users. Outsourcing companies will have to work smartly to understand new challenges and technology to equip their skill set for these newer web applications.
Multi-vendor Outsourcing
Large IT projects require specialization in wider areas, and in-house teams are not able to meet all the specific demands of the organization. They will look for outsourcing partners with narrower expertise so markets in future IT will ask for vendors with particular specialization. So outsourcing to single companies has already declined a lot, and now businesses are integrated with multiple vendors to manage their workload based on their specific solutions.
New outsourcing destinations
As per a report from Statista (Source), China and India continue to hold the largest outsourcing opportunities in the range to $150 Billion. But new outsourcing countries are coming up in the markets. Latin America, Eastern, and Central Europe are also raising few heads already. Romania, Poland, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Belarus have shown remarkable progress for offshore development. Every year new software developers are growing, and competition among the countries for outsourcing is going to be huge in the next decade.
Conclusion
With all the changes in technology and skills in IT, 2019 continues to show positive trends for outsourcing with a further rise expected in the future. Outsourcing companies will have to adapt to the latest changes in the technology for attracting more clientele to their business.
