With the continuous development of society and technology in the 4.0 era, many concepts that are not yet "familiar" are at risk of becoming "old". Rapid change is ready to overwhelm those who are slow and poorly adapted. Therefore, the important thing is how to "ride" those "waves" and move forward before AI.

Concepts that are not yet new are already… old! 

In recent years, people have heard more and more about the concept of “Outsourcing”, which is simply understood as “outsourcing”, easily evoking associations with areas such as advertising, consulting or software processing, individual services. For example, many American businesses tend to outsource software from companies in India and China. Technology “motorbike taxi” businesses like Grab are also typical examples of this industry.

Grab’s main source of revenue comes from its transportation services. All of its marketing activities are also aimed at customers who use the service. Grab is a transportation company, and as such, they are “outsourcing” their core operations.

In other words, not all businesses have enough experience, human resources and strategies to carry out all the work, campaigns or activities. Therefore, they will seek a solution by asking for help from companies and "outsourcing" channels.

More specifically, outsourcing is the activity of hiring an external unit to participate in the work within the enterprise, performing tasks on behalf of internal staff, hiring experts to implement the proposed strategic directions when human resources are limited.

Basically, there are many different types of outsourcing today such as: specialized outsourcing including business administration, accounting, legal; outsourcing information technology, specializing in supporting companies in the field of information technology (IT) and digital such as network management, security maintenance...; multi-industry outsourcing, which can combine all fields and is suitable for large companies or enterprises... The most popular on the market today is outsourcing human resources to provide human resources for businesses in handling work.

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It is not by chance that the trend of “outsourcing” is growing like this. During the crisis, businesses tighten spending, reduce staff, cut or merge departments… things that greatly affect the existence and development of the business. Exploiting part-time labor or choosing “outsourcing” is a very effective solution to solve the budget problem.

Another, most important reason, is from the needs and capabilities of businesses. High-quality technology human resources, especially in the current context with continuous technological changes, are a big challenge. Therefore, many technology companies have turned to outsourcing information technology personnel to undertake tasks related to big data and network security with the aim of saving on salaries, insurance, and freeing up dependence on internal employees. Of course, the main advantage of this solution is that it can make the most of skills and knowledge from outside to bring competitive advantages to businesses, increasing flexibility to meet commercial and business conditions.

In addition to the cost issue, outsourcing also has another positive aspect: promoting the outstanding development of the organization. The demand of businesses for technology-based management is currently particularly large, especially in terms of human resource information, salaries, data, etc. "Outsourcing" software is a great choice to replace manual management, calculation and storage methods. Of course, self-sufficiency is almost impossible, and here the market of management software providers is always abundant with "rent" or "buy" options.

Outsourcing should starting a new trend

The remarkable development of new science and technology is bringing a new trend to the "outsourcing" industry, which if exploited and developed, its potential will likely be endless.

It is obvious that many decisions in people's daily lives are now entrusted to artificial intelligence (AI), and businesses are also caught up in that vortex, even in important areas of operation.

AI is a branch of computer science that simulates intelligent behavior on computer systems, the ability of a machine to imitate the behavior of the most intelligent creatures on the planet - humans. As society develops, AI-equipped machines are taking on more and more tasks for humans. In our homes, smart robot vacuum cleaners sweep our floors; and on the roads, smart cars not only guide us to the right lane, but can even drive themselves.

In companies and businesses, AI allows the automation of daily activities, freeing up employees’ labor so that they can spend their time on more important and creative tasks. AI helps to minimize and even completely prevent simple errors that humans are prone to make. Machines with the support of AI do not lose focus, do not need to rest, ask for a raise or get stressed, they work quickly, consistently and accurately, hour after hour, day after day.

“Outsourcing” AI, or the use of AI tools to serve part of the operations, has become a new trend in recent years, even considered to revolutionize the way businesses use artificial intelligence technology. Companies leverage external sources as a strategic tool to utilize the power of AI due to the rapid development of capabilities and the increasing complexity of AI implementations. With this strategy, businesses can acquire advanced AI technology, attract external knowledge, and accelerate digital transformation.

The Economic Times recently conducted an analysis that showed that many AI consulting firms have recorded a sharp increase in customer interest and the popularity of AI applications in various industries. Notably, the trend of increasing requests for ideas, concepts, and new technologies has become especially evident since the emergence of ChatGPT. Statistics firm Latent View Analytics also found that the number of customer interactions on general AI use cases has increased fivefold in the recent period.

This shows that AI products have a potential market and companies are eager to explore the applications of this new technology. Marketing, sales, customer service and product creation can all be applied with AI technology.

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Data analytics is a prominent “outsourced” application of AI technology. Businesses leverage external data provided by AI to gain valuable insights from massive amounts of data, allowing them to make decisions that could be new directions. Strategic planning and intelligent business operations are improved thanks to AI-powered algorithms that process and analyze massive amounts of data more efficiently.

Customer service and support is another important application of AI. Virtual assistants or chatbots can improve customer service and manage back-office operations. These intelligent machines can answer consumer questions around the clock, regardless of emotion, context, or other factors, freeing human resources for more appropriate tasks.

“Outsourcing” AI is especially valuable in the cybersecurity space. Organizations use AI technology to identify and prevent online threats, creating sophisticated security solutions. These systems can continuously monitor networks, detect suspicious activity, and take appropriate preventive action.

AI enables businesses to make better decisions through its ability to analyze and synthesize data well - a key factor in making good decisions. No matter how smart and professional human analysts are, they can have difficulty analyzing huge amounts of data in a short period of time. However, this is a task that smart devices and vehicles excel at. They can process large amounts of data, identify trends and track patterns, predict future outcomes and suggest and recommend appropriate actions. Together with machine learning, AI is constantly improving and enhancing productivity. AI can cut down the time it takes to complete some tasks that humans need to spend, so the results can be higher in a shorter time.

The "waves" are rolling in

The potential of AI actually raises many concerns about the risk of being overwhelmed or losing ground, especially for businesses and individuals providing outsourcing services in the field of information technology. Can AI completely replace them?

Outsourcing first thrived because it could significantly reduce operating costs, investment costs, etc. But as process automation grows, there is a very real threat that outsourcing companies in the digital industry will gradually lose this initial cost advantage because robots and AI can do it cheaper.

Could this mark the end of traditional IT outsourcing? Or could it herald a new era of more efficient, more developed outsourcing in this area. Third-party services can benefit greatly from these emerging opportunities.

As in all industries, AI is helping businesses “automate” simple and repetitive tasks, shortening time processes, optimizing routine operations, and helping them make better decisions. Of course, increasing productivity and efficiency will also reduce costs. This is something that third-party service providers have realized and are starting to apply AI to augment their workforce, allowing employees to focus on higher-value tasks. Take the simple example of using AI chatbots to provide customer service. Here, AI will be in charge of processing the input information, and humans only need to intervene when it is necessary to answer complex questions and handle exceptions.

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AI is not a threat, AI is an opportunity for global outsourcing operations and models, especially in the digital industry. AI is accelerating the transition from low-value-added, volume-oriented services to more advanced, complex and innovative services such as knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) or information technology outsourcing (ITO). AI is also opening the door to the incubator for startups, with abundant human resources, facilities, multi-connectivity and beyond.

Renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking once warned: “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race… It will evolve and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans, limited by slow biological evolution, cannot compete and will be replaced.” A worrying statement, but if we know how to recognize, seize the opportunity and make good use of the coming “wave” of AI, the dark scenario may come to an end so that we can open up new, brighter eras.

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