Niyamath Parveez

Having already examined the who and what with regards to outsourcing the next obvious topic to consider is the where but some people may be wondering if the where has not already been examined? It is fair to say that when thinking about which firm to work with or the services they need to offer in order for the partnership to be a success that the location of the outsourcing firm needs to be factored in. This is very true but it is vital to give a deeper level of consideration to the geographical location of the outsourcing firm as there are many issues, some of which will not be thought of immediately, that will have a huge impact on the partnership.

There are many countries in the world which have benefitted greatly from outsourcing with India, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Philippines all offering a great service for firms looking for outsourcing opportunities. This proves that many different nations can be a success in this role but they all have their own difficulties and problems to overcome and this is something that needs to be remembered when working with offshore providers. Do they have the same level of quality control or enough talent in the workforce? Will they be able to call on an adequate level of suppliers to make the best product possible or will they be let down? If an outsource supplier is let down, this will inevitably lead to problems to the firm who outsourced the work in the first place so it is extremely important to ensure that the full supply chain will be able to cope with any difficulties that may arise. Partnerships that appear perfect on paper can be extremely difficult in the real world and this need to be remembered by firms and companies who are looking to offshore their outsourcing needs.

Not every country has the same level of electrical or IT support which means there may be certain hours of the day when difficulties are more likely to occur. With the difference in time zones, this may not be as treacherous as it could be if the timing is of a beneficial nature to the firm but if it is going to negatively impact on the ability of the firm, there has to be a consideration made about these factors. Even the transportation infrastructure has to be considered because if staff cannot make it into their work on a scheduled basis, the firm will have difficulties in providing a finished product. This is true for call center work as much as it is for manufacturing and production.

Utilizing offshore outsourcing services is a tremendous way for firms to get great value for money and reduce their own costs but if there are geographical issues and problems that will negatively affect the product or service then it may not be in the best interest to use this supplier. It is important to consider every aspect of location and geographical impact when trying to make the best possible decision for outsourcing.

There are many different industries which are perfectly suited to outsourcing but perhaps aren’t considered right away for his task. One such industry is the gaming industry which to many people remains a niche market and one of little interest. Studies and more importantly, sales figures have shown the computer and console games industry to be one of the leisure activities of this generation and as the technology improves, this shows no signs of stopping. With games becoming ever more complex, the amount of man hours required to make the modern style of games that players love is becoming longer and longer. It therefore makes perfect sense that games makers would look to outsource large parts of their work to speed up the process or to benefit from a range of skills and techniques that may have otherwise been unavailable to their firm. This means that there are many countries looking to step in and offer fantastic outsourcing capabilities with regards to writing games and one such country is the Philippines.

The Philippines has developed a reputation for being skilled at producing 3D graphics and realistic animation, two traits that are in large demand at the moment. The games consumer is a demanding customer, which is not unrealistic given the high price they pay for a game and this means that there is a need for games manufacturers to offer a quality service. With computer programmers and writers in the Philippines, being recognized for their talent in this field, it makes perfect sense to outsource work here. Given that the level of wages in the Philippines will be more attractive to a firm than comparative wages in the Western world, there is likely to be a large demand for staff and outsourcing work.

Another great benefit that the Philippines have is that they are greatly influenced by Western culture and many people in the country speak the English language. Given that there can be many intricacies in making computer games; this higher level of communication should make it much easier to create the finished product to all parties satisfaction. With deadlines being tight, being able to communicate fully is vital and the Philippines market has a head start on some of its potential rivals on this score.

One of the reasons for the continuing, indeed, growing trend for games machines is the current economic downturn. It is harder for many people to justify a night out on the town and so are turning towards finding entertainment at home. It is possible to invite a great number of friends around to play the games and console and computer games are far more of a sociable interaction than they were one or two decades ago. The importance of the computer and console market is only going to continue the longer the current economic trend continues so expect the needs of outsourcing to surge even further. With so many different styles of games available, there will be a wide range of services needed and many interested games writers and small firms should take an interest in providing outsourcing services to the abundance of games manufacturers.