Business technology will soon be so efficient thanks to digital transformation projects that the practice of using offshore outsourcing purely to reduce labour costs will become “obsolete”.
That’s the view of analyst Gartner, which says that within two years, 40 per cent of outsourced services will use smart IT to lower costs. Offshore outsourcing became a popular way of fulfilling business services such as IT and customer service primarily because it reduced the price of labour. However, this approach often meant that service quality suffered, the fallout of which actually negated the cost savings initially realised.
In our view, digital transformation and smart IT will be more profound and wide-reaching than even Garter’s bold prediction, enabling all internal technology departments and managed service providers to make their own processes ultra-efficient. But the real value comes by taking this idea a step further by abandoning the idea that IT is nothing more than a cost centre. Digital transformation and Business Relationship Management will enable businesses to work smarter and crucially, help deliver strategic business outcomes.
Gartner says that smart IT and automation effectively creates an endless pool of ‘virtual talent’, which is “faster, cheaper and more predictable” than any workforce. Yes, efficiency is one of the biggest virtues of the digital transformation era, but let’s be even more ambitious and use smart IT to transform the way we do business.
How can IT service professionals transform the business with technology?
