Study Finds Traditional BPO Outsourcing Costs 70 Percent More than Enterprise Crowdsourcing
On Dec 6th, the Everest Group and Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. in Dallas, TX and Waltham, Mass announced the results of a study called “Every Crowd has a Silver Lining.” The study revealed a number of factors– the most important of which is that enterprise crowdsourcing provides better value to organizations by delivering cost advantages, more flexibility and faster access to global resources when compared with traditional business practices (BPO). Enterprise crowdsourcing was developed for large corporations who have large scale variable staffing needs.
One of the study’s more specific findings is that there is a 70 percent cost saving as compared with other outsourcing models in onshore and offshore service geographies. Other findings include accessing global talent more quickly at reduced wages, lower costs in training, simplified recruitment and supervision requirements.
We are witnessing a second fundamental inflection point for crowdsourcing services in new application areas, often as a cost-effective alternative to traditional BPO.
Sarthak Brahma, Practice Director of Pricing Assurance of Everest Group
The real beauty of enterprise crowdsourcing is that it can function as either an on-the-spot solution for simple tasks or more complex projects. It is the emerging alternative to traditional crowdsourcing. The study also found that in order for crowdsourcing to continue to grow among larger corporations, cost advantages are not enough. Some of the other features needed to inspire further growth include service level management, protection of intellectual property, and closely scrutinized recruiting skills.