The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Companies have been saving millions of dollars a year by outsourcing tasks to countries like India, Vietnam and India. Almost everything that can be outsourced has been. It started, of course, with jobs. Manufacturing jobs moved to nations where labour could be had a lot cheaper than in the West. But then it moved to services. Ever phone a company like Dell for support? You have probably talked to someone in India about your computer problems. What about getting your taxes done by a larger accounting firm? While no statistics exist for Canada, in the U.S., at least 40 per cent of personal income taxes are completed by accountants in India. All of the customer's data is simply uploaded to a server, the accountants in India log in to access it, fill out the forms and send everything back to the accountant's firm in the U.S. Basically, almost any service can be moved offshore. While a haircut needs to be local, and the ore in a mine can't be moved somewhere else, any knowledge-based service can be moved. A local restaurant needs to cook your food, but the reservations, purchasing and payroll can be done somewhere else around the world. Large companies have been reaping the benefits of this for years, but what about you? Hitting home Globalization at the personal level is now hitting home. For example, India has the world's largest number of math, technology, and engineering graduates and not all of them, of course, can find jobs. Many of these highly trained people are available for tutoring your child at home, over the Internet. Companies like TutorVista and Transtutor will offer you tutoring services for your child, often with full video and audio services, for a fraction of the price of what it would cost to hire a tutor in Canada. The same can be done for other tasks. While it is obvious that there are many benefits for businesses, the same is true for individuals. YourManinIndia is a great example. This company offers personal services for everyone. On their website, they list dozens of the small tasks of everyday life that this company will look after for you. Turn over a list of birthdays of friends and family and they will ensure that everyone gets a card and that your mother receives a special bouquet of flowers. Need hotel and travel arrangements made? They will do that. They will also deal with restaurant reservations, order clothes for you and ensure that you get those concert tickets you want. To make this all possible requires you turning over a substantial amount of personal information, including credit card numbers, birth dates, your preferences, etc., but in the end, these personal outsourcers work. The companies have been in business for several years and they are legitimate. They save people a lot of time and operate relatively cheaply. Often, as part of your package, you will receive a spreadsheet with the tasks on it that you have requested, and their status. You can also book regular services, such as bill payment and birthday gift purchasing. You can also outsource things such as purchasing tickets to a concert you have decided to go to just by sending an e-mail. Large companies have known this for years, but we should all be able to reap the benefits of this technological advance. ([email protected]) Tech Notes runs Mondays.
