Outsourcing IT Research
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By Nitya Rangarajan

Stylus Systems created this article and makes it available to you so that you might see the value in outsourcing your web technology research to us. Most of the research described below can be done from our offices in Bangalore India.

The Information Technology Industry is refashioning itself - again. In an industry where technology becomes outdated faster than yesterday's newspaper, companies have to find ways to stay on the cutting edge of developments. As any one in the business will tell you, learning tomorrow's technical innovations today is the best line of attack against competitors. So how does a company achieve this? If your answer is through hiring the best brains in the business and expending enormous energy and resources training your employees, think again.
The new buzzword in the IT industry is outsourcing. Globalization, the need to reach new markets, the worldwide recession and cost cutting are some of the reasons why the industry is turning to technology-oriented agencies. Further, the demand for skilled workers far outstrips the existing supply. More and more companies are asking why they should allocate manpower and money hunting down the latest and most suitable solutions when there are research companies that can do the same job at a lower cost and more efficiently. Even better, the company can utilize the time gained to concentrate on developing its core competencies.

This explains why the IT consulting sector is growing at an incredible rate of 30 per cent per year. The question that companies need to answer is not "Why outsource to a web research agency?" but "What to outsource?". This article explores some of the services that these agencies offer.

A Web Research Company Will Do:

• Brand Building
• Website Development
• Market Research
• Product Evaluation
• Web Development Solutions
• Evaluation of Microsoft solutions
• S>upply Chain Management
• ERP Solutions
• Online Study Courses
• Technology Solutions
  And More...

Branding And Corporate Websites
Brand building and identity creation are important functions of corporate web sites. A web site is in fact the visible representation of a faceless board of directors. As companies like Infosys have demonstrated, these web sites can successfully link stakeholders and the management. So how do you decide what makes a successful web site? Is it easily navigable and well-organized content? Functionality? Maybe your visitor is just looking for an interesting experience? Or is attempting to research your company? How do you give the user the experience he wants while brand building?

Everything from the name of the web site and how data should be displayed to the feel and look are designed for you by web research companies. A research agency also does a systematic study of the nature of the market as well as the plus points and weak links of other web sites and arrives at the best possible method to showcase your company and its branding strategies.

Web research agencies will also evaluate your existing web site and help you use the resources more effectively.

Market Research / Product Evaluation
What happens if you discover that your company wants to launch an
e -product ? Just as a company will never launch a product, say, a brand of soap, without extensive market research, an e-product too requires the same detailed study. Web research agencies are the virtual equivalent of the brick and mortar market research companies.

Web research agencies provide technological support for use within the company as well a more generalized study of online products and their market trends. Hiring a research agency allows the company to differentiate its products from that of other players.

Research Microsoft Solutions
Microsoft offers its customers a number of technical solutions for varying areas of specialization in e-commerce, enterprise systems, and hosted solutions. How does a company know which solution meets its specific requirement exactly? Web research agencies can give you an independent and unbiased evaluation of these solutions, after understanding your need and matching it with the right solution, thus ensuring that what you want is what you get.

Supply Chain Management
As companies expand globally, the strategic management of the supply chain has become increasingly important. Web research companies provide integrated solutions across the supply chain mechanism, networking companies, commodity managers, site buyers, and suppliers across the globe. Cost effective e-business technologies that optimize the supply chain are evaluated and implemented. Thus hiring an agency to evaluate your supply chain management sends a clear message to customers about your high level of commitment while increasing profits.

Web Development
Companies can buy business application software, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. By outsourcing the software from an application service provider (ASP), you ensure your web project is up and running in the shortest possible time, allowing you to exploit the market profitably.

For example, if you are interested in building an e-commerce enterprise, it makes more business sense to outsource than to build IT, warehouse and call center systems from scratch. As time frames get shorter, implementation needs to be immediate. From designing an Internet or Intranet site to deploying the site and maintaining it, a web research company will take care of all the details.

Researching Needs
The Internet has rich, diverse information on every conceivable topic. True. But this variety is also its biggest disadvantage. Surprised? Think about it. Unless you are an expert at using the search engines, you are going to waste many hours trying to arrive at the perfect combination of words for your research, with no guarantee that the information gathered is exhaustive. And then, there is still the task of writing a concise report summarizing your findings.

Web research agencies not only collect the most relevant articles for your research, they also collate the data gathered and give you a complete analysis of the topic researched.

Content research is only one of the many kinds of research that these agencies offer. They will also offer business research, to help you identify the weak links in your business model and rework it based on more successful Internet business models. Even if the only thing you want is an informed second opinion on an IT solution, these agencies will provide you an expert opinion.

For cost effective outsourcing, the IT industry is turning to web research companies in countries such as India, South Africa, the Philippines, Ireland and Singapore.Back to top

List of useful web sites:
www.cio.com
The online version of the popular American magazine, the web site offers the latest news, views and opinions on the IT world. Offers in depth, informative articles on the technological trends of today.

www.itnews.com
Daily news headlines as well as more detailed articles on the information technology industry. Also offers downloadable white papers.

www.computerworld.com
A web site that will interest both the amateur and technological whiz. Features on various aspects of the computer industry and the IT industry in general.

www.infy.com
The web site of India's premier software giant, the site is a virtual testimony to the successful brand building of the company.

www.outsourcing.com
Looking to hire an outsourcing agency? Planning to outsource your skills for a consideration? Or just curious? A must visit site for anybody and everybody interested in outsourcing.