Why is Industry-Specific Expertise so Critical?

Remember the Greek myth in which brave Theseus uses Ariadne’s life-saving thread to navigate the Minotaur’s labyrinth? Fast-forward a few thousand years, and this is exactly how an IT outsourcing provider interacts with his work environment. There are twists, turns, dead-ends — everything but a half-man, half-bull! (Thankfully).

Figuratively speaking, the notion of finding one’s way back after conquering the “Minotaur” (a client’s IT project) is a challenge that any capable IT outsourcing provider should be willing to accept. In this case, the “Labyrinth” is the outsourcing provider’s organization and its various specialties — PHP, Java, .NET, iOS, Android, and many more. “Theseus” is the provider’s Project Manager (PM), tasked with finding the most efficient egress through the Labyrinth by choosing the most appropriate specialists and technologies for your project. “Ariadne’s thread” is a core, complex attribute that combines the outsourcing provider’s industry-specific expertise with his/her organization’s internal knowledge basis. This “thread” is vital, for without it, Theseus might enter the labyrinth and never emerge.

So, how does industry-specific experience affect the quality, time, and cost-efficiency — or put another way, the “egress” — of your project? Well, at the start of a partnership, one of the outsourcing provider’s sales department specialists who’s well-versed in your industry and industry standards will ask you a series of targeted questions about your business and project, helping you to clearly define your project’s scope, goals, and monetization scheme. Next, a project manager with the same high level of industry-specific experience (typically, there are several PMs to cover a variety of specialties: technology, manufacturing, government, etc.) will adjust to your preferred involvement level (i.e. “hands-on” or “hands-off”; in the latter case, the PM would function autonomously) to maximize efficiency and clarity of communication. Since there is always more than one appropriate software solution, it is incumbent on the PM to interact with his/her technology team leaders, gain their insights, and choose the most effective one for your project.

Meeting the standards and adhering to the protocol of your specific industry, as well as establishing strong customer relations, is of the utmost importance for the PM and the technology team. For example, in industries which receive government funding and which deal daily with societal well-being: education, social safety services, healthcare, payment systems, e-commerce, etc. — multiple governmental rules, restrictions, and best practices exist that the outsourcing provider’s team must be well aware of. If they aren’t, the downside can be costly in terms of time, money, and reputation.

In tandem with industry-specific experience, processes-specific experience is crucial for developing solutions and automating processes for specific enterprise functions which occur across all industries, i.e. procurement, human resources, and scheduling.

Regarding the IT professionals comprising the technology team, their specific educational background (some have degree in physics, some in mathematics, some in mechanical engineering, etc.), as well as their work experience (some have a finance background, some have a gaming background, etc.) is taken into account when your remote team is formed.

To learn more about the attributes of specific industries, please see the following articles. And to gain insight into Sibers’ experience with different industries, please visit our Case Studies page.

Industry-Specific Outsourcing Essentials: