Other sourcing trends

If 2004 was the Year of Offshoring, 2005 might be the Year of Homeshoring. CNET’s indefatigable Ed Frauenheim reports that, “a number of companies are turning to a new method to meet call center challenges: getting workers to handle calls from their homes.” That story was based on an IDC report, An Alternative to Offshore ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

If 2004 was the Year of Offshoring, 2005 might be the Year of Homeshoring. CNET's indefatigable Ed Frauenheim reports that, "a number of companies are turning to a new method to meet call center challenges: getting workers to handle calls from their homes." That story was based on an IDC report, An Alternative to Offshore Outsourcing: The Emergence of the Home-Based Agent -- a bargain at $3500.00 for just seven pages!! Or, you could look at the summary in this press release. Key paragraph:

If 2004 was the Year of Offshoring, 2005 might be the Year of Homeshoring. CNET’s indefatigable Ed Frauenheim reports that, “a number of companies are turning to a new method to meet call center challenges: getting workers to handle calls from their homes.” That story was based on an IDC report, An Alternative to Offshore Outsourcing: The Emergence of the Home-Based Agent — a bargain at $3500.00 for just seven pages!! Or, you could look at the summary in this press release. Key paragraph:

[A] number of companies are turning to a new sourcing model called “home-shoring” or “home-sourcing” to address call center challenges that sometimes arise, such as the need for superior agent quality, frequent turnover, and the seasonal nature of the business. IDC believes that in certain situations, by moving some work stations into agents’ residences, companies can boost productivity and efficiency while continuing to reduce costs.

Similarly, Kamil Z. Skawinski reports for CCN Magazine that “several companies have recently sprung up in rural areas of the U.S. offering a variety of onshore outsourcing services.” Click here for one example, Rural Sourcing. Finally, Adam Kolawa offers advice to IT professionals about whether their jobs could be outsourced offshore in Information Week. Apparently, “although outsourcing may seem widespread, the jobs of many IT professionals are difficult to outsource and essentially immune to it.”

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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