BUYING GUIDES..since 1995
|
GALT HOME:
Internet Guides - Finance - Audio/Video - Travel - Household/DIY - Health - Cars - Fashion - Sports - Entertainment - Cell Phones |
| MENU: Technology and Internet Guides | Travel | Health | Household | Sports ...independent online guides since 1995 |
Finding help in IndiaOne advantage India has in the modern business world is its population of over 1 billion people. Even though only a fraction of these are highly educated and trained professionals, this still amounts to 10s of millions of people capable of handling Western style jobs in fields like website design, programming, database design, telephone support, tech support, finance and accounting, and human resources. Since English language is taught in school in India, these same people are able to communicate effectively with their Western counterparts. Also, since the cost of living is so much less in India, people are willing to work there for 1/4 to 1/2 of what it might cost to hire an employee in the US. Many Western businesses in both the US and Europe are currently taking advantage of this set of circumstance to outsource work to India. In fact, over 80% or respondents name India as their #1 choice for overseas outsourcing projects.
What kind of jobs can be outsourced?Some of the most common tasks outsourced to India are things like designers, illustrators, programmers, project managers, developers, copy writers, translators, animators, CAD workers, architects, call center and tech support technicians. Most people have probably had personal experience dealing with India call centers. You call an 800 number hoping to get help or information from a US company, only to find a nice English speaking person in Bangalore, India handling your call. But as Indian employees and outsourcing companies got more skilled in dealing with and interfacing with US and European companies, they began taking on more and more tasks. Today, you can find Indian companies handling grunt-level accounting work, network administration, human resource tasks, and much more.For example, if you had a technology company, you might outsource tasks that do not require employees to be onsite to do, like tech support, troubleshooting, inside sales, etc. Most big companies use a company based in India that handles all the interviewing, hiring, managing, etc. of India contract workers. Some companies are also headquartered in the US but have contracts and relationships with Indian companies - they act as the go between for you, but still give you access to professionals in the US when you have questions or need support on your project. Arnima.com does offshore website development and design, CMS, e-commerce applications. Though based in Florida, they "connect you to a large IT talent pool in India." Rather than trying to interface with a manager in Bangalore who is 12 hours time difference from you, you deal directly with their staff of project managers in the US, greatly simplying things and minimizing confusion and wasted time. Smaller companies often find individual programmers, website designers, or other consultants based in India who do freelance work at a fixed hourly rate. For example, if you were trying to design a new website and wanted certain shopping cart functions, chat functions, etc. you could find a programmer in India who would likely charge you only 1/2 or less than what a comparable programmer in the US would charge you. Sites like eLance.com allow you to post the requirements and specs of any jobs you have, and the consultants that use the site to find jobs will bid on your job -- you can interview them via phone or email before setting up a work contract with them, of course. Another cool site is oDesk.com. You can list jobs there, and their network of IT professionals will apply for them. They make it easy to hire someone in India or anywhere in the world - all their consultants have reviews and ranking for the work they have done. And they have special software loaded onto their computers that allows you to login and see what they are working on, complete with screen shots and updated project worksheets. As they describe themselves: "oDesk enables buyers of services to hire, manage, and pay technology service providers from around the world. Buyers choose oDesk for top global talent, comprehensive management tools, and a flexible hourly payment model. Service Providers choose oDesk for challenging jobs and guaranteed payment. Every day, thousands of buyers and providers work together through oDesk - a unique company at the forefront of reinventing work." Outsourcing work to IndiaSurveys have shown that companies are outsourcing more and more function to low cost international locations. The most common functions being sent overseas in larger companies are, in order: IT (Information Technology - programming, database work, website design, network support, computer support, tech support, etc.), learning and training, supply chain (logistics, inventory, etc.), human resources (insurance paperwork, resume analysis, etc.), CRM, and other (source: Accenture.com). The goals for outsourcing normally include reducing expenses, improving processes, and putting focus back on their main business.IBM Daksh (daksh.com) is one of these outsourcing experts (they call is BPO, business process outsourcing). As a subsidiary of IBM, they have offices in Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, and Chandigarh. Their specialty is in customer care services and back office processes, working with all kinds of industries like insurance, banking, travel, telecom, financial services, and more. They handle tasks like technical support, live online chat (who do you think is typing messages back to you when you go to an online support site??), doing collections for mortgage companies, even telemarketing. They can work in order fulfillment, payroll processing, data conversion, and application processing, to name a few more. When you select a company to work with, you'll want to be sure you have clearly written expectations and deliverables, timelines, payments terms (by hour or by job), and communication hierarchy from employees up through management. For many people new to outsourcing, the communication and time zone problem can be one of the biggest obstacles. Much of the communication needs to be done by email - if you are not comfortable with this, you may be better off with a local consultant that you can meet with face to face or real-time via telephone. It is also recommended that you start off with small projects as you get into offshore consulting or outsourcing, learning the ropes on non-essential, non-time constrained projects before committing to larger, more critical work.
Do you have a quality site or product that belongs in this guide? We are always happy to evaluate or review new products and websites. Feel free to contact us at the email address below and let us know about you. If you have a demo product you'd like us to look at, please contact us before sending anything. Thank you.
Send email to: galtemail (@) yahoo.com
|
