Outsourcing is one of the best strategies that can be used to increase your business functionality and to reduce cost but as every coin has a flip side outsourcing also has several risks associated with it. These risks have to be identified and mitigated, if not instead of increasing your functionality and reducing your cost it will do the exact opposite.
Before you outsource your tasks to a third you should know about the risks associated with it. These risks if not properly checked or if you turn your head away from these risks they would become a nightmare. You should some of know the problems associated with it like communication problems, and security issues of data these should be taken care. There are several other risks too some of them are listed below keep this in mind while outsourcing then, you could relax and reap the benefits of outsourcing.
There are several risks associated with outsourcing, some of them are
Loss of control
You will not have any control over your projects, you could state your requirements to them but you will not have any control over your project like you have when you do a project in your organization. Should understand that your project will be managed by the vendors and then make proper communications and ask for regular reviews of your project this would solve problems regarding control.
Communication Gap
Communication is a major problem when you outsource a project, sometimes your outsourcing provider may not know your language and it would create a communication gap between you and your provider this could even hinder the working of your project. This can be solved if you hire a provider who knows your language.
Security Issues
There can be several problems regarding data security, since your data is given to a third party for processing. Data security is a major issue faced by outsourcing providers, we cannot ensure whether data is stored securely and proper precautions and steps are taken to protect data.
Quality Problems
There can be problems regarding quality, quality of the project cannot be determined. Sometimes your project may have bugs that will not be uncovered until your project is half way through. There may be lot of bugs which may not show up in the beginning but will come up after sometime. Check the quality of the software before receiving the project from the vendor by hiring a professional and this problem can be solved.
Technology Difference
There can problems regarding the technology used by you and vendor, the platforms used by the vendor may be different from the platforms and versions used by you. Make sure their configurations and your configuration is in sync if not there can be many problems once your project is live.
Keep in mind all the risk factors before you outsource your work to a vendor, otherwise it may be a disaster. Outsourcing will benefit you if you take care of all the risk factors and the problems regarding them. Outsourcing your projects to a vendor will give you several benefits if they are managed properly.