Web systems have always have been popular operations to outsource, but after losing considerable ground in 2009 during the recession, the percentage of companies that outsource at least some of their web and e-commerce operations increased significantly in 2010.
As shown in Figure 1, close to half of all organizations (43%) outsourced some portion of their web operations in 2010, according to our study, Web/E-Commerce Outsourcing Trends and Experience. That is up from 27% the prior year. The decline in the frequency of web outsourcing in 2009, in the midst of the recession, is similar to the trend in other outsourcing categories.
It is interesting that in 2007 organizations outsourced web operations at nearly the same frequency as in 2010. It remains to be seen whether this marks a return to normalcy or a new growth phase for web outsourcing. We anticipate the later. The percentage of retail business conducted online is increasing every year, and while web operations are a relatively high priority today, certain trends in computing—particularly social media—will make expertise in web operations even more critical in the near future.
To help IT executives understand their options, the full study reports the percentage of organizations outsourcing web/e-commerce operations (frequency), the average amount of work outsourced (level), and the change to the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also present data on cost and service experience. The cost experience is the percentage of organizations that find outsourcing this function costs more, the same, or less than performing the function in-house. The service experience is the percentage that finds outsourcing delivers a service level that is worse, about the same, or better. We also show how these trends differ by organization size and sector and examine the role that offshore outsourcing plays in this market.
This Research Byte is a brief overview of our report on this subject, Web/E-Commerce Outsourcing Trends and Experience. The full report is available at no charge for Computer Economics clients, or it may be purchased by non-clients directly from our website (click for pricing).
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