How modern outsourcing is unifying under outcome-driven solutions

IT is at the heart of the modern business process. So modern outsourcing must also unify the two and put a clear focus on trusted, confident partnerships that commit to delivering outcome-driven solutions.

Outsourcing as a form of labour arbitrage has delivered incredible cost and efficiency benefits to businesses across the globe. But as technology has moved into the heart of the enterprise, the complexity of how we define a ‘business process’ has required new thinking on what we should demand from outsourcing partners.

At this moment, Generative AI is preparing to deliver business automation that will revolutionise many existing workflows. Time to value is shifting from years to months and even just days, enabling cost and efficiency targets to come to the early stages of contracts instead of sitting out on the horizon.

Executing on constant, iterative digital transformation is core to modern business success. These changes demand a shift in the idea of Business Process Outsourcing to a new Modern Operations frame that incorporates talent, technology, and outcome-oriented commitments that align the needs of the enterprise with the commitments received from outsourcing partners.

‘Trusted partner’ is an often used talking point. Trust typically starts from a place of faith in the story of a company’s history and past successes. But trust can also be shared through a willingness to unite in a journey of risk and reward together.

In the consideration process, it’s time to ask which potential partners are ready to build truly trusted partnerships? Do they hold the confidence to share business risk and align success around measurable business outcomes?

For example, a banking institution may traditionally outsource around cost and efficiency targets as part of a digital transformation program. But what if they required their outsourcing partner to commit to reduced call handling times, higher diversion rates to digital channels, and overall customer satisfaction scores in their contact centre?

Our work to date with Generative AI and other advanced solutions has offered key insights into the changing nature of our own client partnerships. Advanced digital transformation with AI integrated throughout is a fundamental shift. It is a move away from traditions where technology would be implemented slowly and eventually seen as a ‘finished’ product. New solutions are a concert of tech and talent, with iterative implementation and maintenance required ensure we deliver on our client’s business outcomes.

A critical change is in how we offer commitment to our clients. BPO has evolved through fixed price and co-investment solutions, but there has always been more risk to the client. What if a BPO delivers to specified requirements but a solution fails to achieve practical benefit? That’s a failure of partnership and Modern Operations needs to hold such failure to account.

Where IT and business process are managed separately, there are factors outside the control of either side of the solution that prevent commitment to outcomes. But in a unified approach, there is greater business awareness and greater control over the solution – leading to a deeper relationship that a confident partnership can leverage toward outcome-driven co-creation.

In such partnerships, we see a clear path toward human-centred, outcome-focused products where we share in the risk of failure. Cost removal and efficiency remains a core function, but Modern Outsourcing can also drive measurable benefits to the enterprise as an essential contractual obligation.

Technology is enabling significant new modes of operational transformation. Outsourcing partners must also transform their approach to their client relationships to ensure that new AI-powered service delivery and automation achieves real ROI and real outcomes on impressively fast timelines.

At Cognizant, we’re confident that our unified approach enables a true Modern Operations partnership environment. One where we fast track benefits to clients, build deep understanding of processes and target outcomes, and share in the risk to achieve next-generation performance.