Knowledge Outsourcing

[Lorna Schildt]

Knowledgeprocess outsourcing (KPO) is the practice of tasking contractors with information-related business activity. These contractors are typically freelance individuals with highly specialized knowledge in a particular area. This makes them more qualified to understand and apply the data collected.

These outsourcing facilities are located all over the world. This can be very cost-effective for businesses located in countries with stronger currencies. But it also presents challenges typical for remote work.

Vendor managers, business operations managers, and management consultants are all great candidates for managing knowledge process outsourcing. Their biggest challenge is aligning internal and external collaborators. This business process management is commonly built from the ground up. But it can also be based on past experience and workflows on other data-related projects.

This means vendor managers will be the ones responsible for making sure that communication is strong and KPO firm alignment is stronger in order to succeed. Advanced tools such as business process management software are vital for every step of KPO management.

There are three major scenarios businesses face that make them great contenders for knowledge process outsourcing. The first is a lack of specialization. Their teams may be missing someone with a deep knowledge of a particular data area. Or they lack data analysis experience. They may even have one or two qualified team members, but the task at hand requires additional support.

The third is a lack of resources. That could mean teams are already short on time, the KPO process has a tight deadline, or businesses lack the funds to hire full-time employees. The hiring process for temporary employees and partners is less costly than the hiring process for salaried team members.

KPO even covers operational needs that every corporation uses. An international KPO firm named airisX offers services such as back-office support with customer solutions and sales. They also provide support for e-commerce and enterprise data management.

Clutch recently listed the top KPO companies of 2021 based on customer reviews. Aidey, Unity Communications, and ARDEM Incorporated make up the top three. Here is a sampling of what they and other KPO firms have to offer:

In addition to the services they provide, top KPO companies also include essentials such as data security, industry experts, and a high level of quality management. Reviewers on Clutch point out that responsiveness and attention to detail were some of the other service-related offerings customers can expect from KPO firms.

Vendor managers can choose when to hire new talent or pause contracts as needed. So with a little forecasting, businesses can reliably stay within budget by eliminating what might otherwise be fixed expenses.

Beyond the financial opportunities, some other advantages of KPO include increasing process efficiency and sourcing unique talent. Most knowledge process outsourcing firms have the experience and tools needed to streamline operations for any organization. Whether that means taking on the burden of heavy task loads or simply providing streamlined workflows, KPOs offer smarter resources management.

Wrike is a project management software that makes working with a KPO safer and more efficient. Project management timelines and tasks make it easy to assign work both internally and externally. And because project Gantt charts are highly visual, outsourced specialists can quickly reference their own personal due dates, as well as where their work fits into the bigger picture.

Wrike also provides a solution to data sharing with enterprise-level security. Not only can your team share and store data files right within the platform, but they can also control who has access to what. This ensures that information is still easy to locate, but it also keeps sensitive and unrelated information on a need-to-view basis.

Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) describes the outsourcing of core information-related business activities[1] which are competitively important or form an integral part of a company's value chain.[2] KPO requires advanced analytical and technical skills as well as a high degree of specialist expertise.[3][4]

Reasons behind KPO include an increase in specialized knowledge and expertise,[1] additional value creation,[3] the potential for cost reductions, and a shortage of skilled labor.[1] Regions which are particularly prominent in knowledge process outsourcing include India, Sri Lanka, and Europe, especially Poland, Romania, and the Baltic States.

KPO is a continuation of business process outsourcing, yet with rather more of business complexity. To be successful in knowledge process outsourcing, a lot of guide is required from interorganizational system.[5]

KPO services include all kinds of research and information gathering ,e.g., intellectual property research for patent applications; equity research, business and market research, legal and medical services; training, consultancy, and research and development in fields such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; and animation and design, etc.[6]

The developing rivalry has brought about shorter time to market cycles, and clients are getting to be more demanding regarding quality. This has constrained the firms to give operational proficiency and increase the value of their products and services. The customer can launch an item quicker and get to the market immediately. A company can lessen the complexities included in overseeing and constantly constructing information in an extensive pool of human resources.[7]

A KPO firm requires considerably more skilled personnel than a BPO firm. Experts working in KPO keep on learning and accomplished professionals can power their aptitude to produce more income for the KPO firm.[9] The main difference between a KPO firm and a BPO firm is that in a KPO firm, the customer is included amid the whole execution process.[7]

Ashish Gupta, ex-COO of Evalueserve and co-founder & CEO of Benori Knowledge has often been credited with coining the term. Gupta, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, is also a Founder & Trustee of Ashoka University and Plaksha University, and serves on the boards of various companies. Published authors have credited him for coining the term in their works.[10]

The KPO area has considerable measure of potential development in India. India confronts various efforts by securing itself as a worldwide KPO pioneer. The real test in setting up a KPO will be to obtain skilled employees. KPO organizations include high risk and confidentiality and the greater part of the work would be outsourced from the US. The area likewise obliges larger amount of control, confidentiality and enhanced risk management.[16] Moreover, legal language and cultural barriers can result in genuine issues. Both organizations need to appreciate each other's corporate and national societies and find common helpful approaches to create successful participation.[citation needed]

The Philippines Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) services are often called "non-voice" or back office services, referring to activities outside contact center, customer and IT support services. In 2014, the KPO sector comprised 40 percent of the country's outsourcing industry. The Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) predicts that the Philippine outsourcing sector will reach $25 billion in revenues and employ about 1.3 million people by 2016.[17]

Like India's KPO industry, the Philippine KPO sector has evolved along similar lines. Starting with contact center services and low-value back office work like data entry and IT maintenance, the country is now considered an established destination for animation and design and content/publishing KPO services (Sathe and Aradhana, Sourcingmag.com). Back office and non-voice services contributed $1.1 billion in revenues to the country's outsourcing sector in 2009. Former IBPAP executive director for information research Gillian Virata said that the Philippine KPO industry is expected to reach the same market size as the voice service sector by 2015-2016. Non-voice services are already growing at a faster rate than traditional voice services.

Banking and Finance Services The banking and financial services industry is leading KPO activity in the country, with global financial institutions providing underwriting, research and analytics, training and consulting, profit and loss, risk mitigation, and other BFSI-related services. KPO vendors also provide strategic research, market research, financial services research, analytics, and competitive intelligence monitoring.

Legal Services Companies from the Philippines are expected to compete strongly with Indian providers of legal and paralegal services to the United States. Besides its cultural affinity with the West and excellent English proficiency of its talent pool, the Philippines used to be an American colony, and its laws are patterned after those of the U.S. Integreon is an established legal services provider in the country, specializing in discovery, contract management, compliance, legal research and knowledge management, intellectual property, and due diligence.

Medical Services and Research and Development Many Chinese research and development pharmaceutical firms have set up offices in Metro Manila due to relatively lower rental and operating costs compared to traditional destinations. The country also has a pool of 250,000 nursing graduates, about half of which are expected to be employed in the healthcare services sector in 2016.[20]

Animation and Design The Philippines has established itself as a successful Animation and Design outsourcing destination. The Animation Council of the Philippines estimates that global animation industry revenues have been growing at 20 to 30 percent over the past few years, increasing demand for low-cost, highly skilled creative labor. The rise of the animation outsourcing industry in the Philippines began in the early 1980s, with FilCartoons, Burbank Animation Inc. and Asian Animation setting up operations in the country and providing animation exports to foreign companies. In 2008, the Philippines had over 50 animation companies, mostly small and medium-sized companies. Larger animation companies include TOEI Animation, Roadrunner and Toon City Animation Inc., which employs about 1,300 animators and artists (about 18 percent of the country's animation labor pool. Overall, the Philippines employed about 7,000 people in the animation sector in 2008 and generated up to US$97 million in 2006 and US$105 million in 2007.[21]

3a8082e126