Offshoring, the process of outsourcing business process/es in a country that's relatively far from where the client is based, comes with certain risks and challenges that anyone who is considering this business solution should be aware of.
Knowing the advantages and risks of offshoring can help you make an informed decision.
Get familiar with the different risks involved in offshoring: Communication barriers.
It is always better to have direct, face-to-face conversations, but obviously this is usually not possible in offshoring.
Many offshoring companies rely on email and video conferences to get the message across.
While these are effective ways to communicate with the client thousands of miles away, there may be instances when both parties are not on the same page.
Requirements are not crystal clear.
Communication difficulties can result to failure to clearly assess the project requirements.
This is a crucial step but unfortunately, many companies end up getting frustrated when they saw that the deliverables failed to meet their expectations.
Intellectual property issues / Data security.
This has always been a major concern in offshoring.
There will be certain projects that require clients to give the third party service provider access to sensitive data or computer systems, and this increases the risk of identity or data theft.
Failure to meet the requirements.
Aside from not being able to meet deadlines, it can also be that the outputs delivered are not exactly what you have asked for.
Moreover, there are service providers that promise way more than what they can actually deliver.
Just when you thought you have found a company that can help you with your business processes, you may get disappointed in the end once you've realized that the provider cannot meet your requirements.
These are just the basic risk factors commonly seen in offshoring relationships.
Keep these in mind so you can mitigate them and be able to reap the benefits of outsourcing work offshore.