Limitations of Outsourcing in Bangladesh

Outsourcing is not a single phenomenon. It is used as a multidimensional concept and includes online outsourcing. Online outsourcing is a form of internet base outsourcing. Outsourcing is the process of work when all the work, tasks and projects transfer to a third party. However, in Bangladesh it has some limitations in conducting the activities independently. This industry rising day by day, but proper infrastructure development is not being implemented for boosting up this sector. In spite of various limitations of outsourcing in Bangladesh, it is a pleasure that our present government has taken different initiatives to patronize the industry as vital foreign currency earning sector like as garments sector. In last decade’s ready-made garments was the highest foreign currency earning sector in Bangladesh. But due to some incidents this sector is facing downturn problem and internationally, it’s claimed as a problematic sector right now. However, outsourcing is considered the rising sector at present and IT experts also saying the prospect of this sector. Regarding this concept different projects are being conducted in rural to urban areas to reduce the infrastructure limitations of ICT (Information and Communication Technology).

Outsourcing has various options such as IT outsourcing, marketing outsourcing, service outsourcing, financial outsourcing, etc. Among all of these outsourcing, IT outsourcing has been mostly spread in Bangladesh and it has a wide spread market of earning foreign currency. Presently, outsourcing becomes a new dimension of source of earning in Bangladesh from rural areas to urban areas. Different institutions are offering various IT outsourcing courses such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), E-Mail Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Graphics Design, Web Design etc. People are eagerly attending these courses to learn outsourcing and few are successfully completing these courses and doing better in the marketplace.

Bangladesh is a small country and also has infrastructure limitations in various sectors. However, beside this limitation it has also reached a stage of achievement gradually. Outsourcing sector also facing severe infrastructure problems, but it is a pleasure that beyond of all hurdles and problems, our IT freelancers got acclaimed internationally last few years. It is a positive insight for outsourcing market as a rising sector.

In the world, some specific regions like in Asia, India and China are dominating the outsourcing market. Besides these two countries Srilanka and Philippines have also a vital role in the market as well as Bangladesh is also doing well but not in the level of international expectations. To cope with the international market, it needs to have extraordinary job skills and educational enhancement that helps to make them as an international competitor. But to Bangladeshi freelancers, that level of extraordinary job skills and educational enhancement is fewer exhibited so that our outsourcing industry is still a latent and immature stage. When any industry takes place to enrichment in an expected level, government and other private sector companies should make an influential role to rise up the industry so that child industry can easily establish their business as the level of mature industry for international competition. In Bangladesh, IT outsourcing is a fast growing industry, it should proper nurturing and patronizing. But still this industry is in an immature stage to compete with the international market. However, this scenario is being promoted in our country as a level of standardization due to the combined steps of skilled freelancers and government.

Although this sector is prospective in Bangladesh but in lieu of different obligations and limitations, lack of skill manpower and IT expert, foreign buyers are not being interested in our IT freelancers. Because our freelancers always seek profits, sometimes they do not maintain the quality of the works as well. Time overdue is a usual scenario in our outsourcing market, but foreign buyers are not habituated with this type of etiquette so that foreign buyers searching others market and freelancers who are professional in doing their job and has a highest level of professionalism. International buyer wants their work will be completed at a high level of professional etiquette and freelancers will honor their own responsibility. The freelancers who maintain the favorable relationship with their buyers, they have never faced a job crisis and other job related problem.

Now-a-days IT outsourcing market is competitive and skillful. Without an international level IT knowledge and education, it’s not possible to cope with the market. If freelancers do not upgrade their own knowledge regularly as a competitor of international market, they will make them away from the market gradually. But, it is a matter of regret that our freelancers are not upgrading themselves in the level of the international market as well. A few numbers of freelancers who are maintaining their quality and expected level working manners, they are doing well and achieving prominence from the international outsourcing company and are dominating our native market. But these numbers of freelancers are very few. Among all limitations of outsourcing in Bangladesh, some indicators are mainly responsible for creating this scenario, such as lack of proper educational background, lack of job related skills, lack of proper guidelines, lack of high speed internet facilities and weakness in English communication. Our neighboring country India is a trusted market in because of the skilled freelancers and they also have high speed internet facilities and are fluent in English so that foreign buyers are interested in hiring the Indian freelancer. But, if we have strong educational background, proper guidelines, high speed internet facilities, English communication skill and creative mind of IT learning, success is inevitable but it is reality that for being a expert IT freelancer, huge number of educated and talented people are coming to build up their career in IT freelancing; in the middle of the learning they are switching to own academic background related job or government job as a permanent profession and as a result they are not continuing their freelancing profession because of professional business. When one person makes their mind in two components, cent percent accuracy does not come from him. So, our outsourcing market is in a two minded phenomenon, some talented people are coming to rising the sector, but most of them are not staying for good; others who are doing freelancing they are not skilled in the expected level of IT knowledge as a result after a certain period they are going through a job crisis and facing different job related problems that hampering the outsourcing market.

In Bangladesh, all problems and limitations relating outsourcing, internet speed is a vital problem. To continue the outsourcing work and maintain regular communication with the international buyers, the availability of the internet is highly needed, but our internet speed is unexpectedly slow and expensive also. However, we should keep it in mind that prerequisite of outsourcing is flexibility of internet connection and charges of the internet. As a vision of digital Bangladesh, our government has taken different initiatives to ensure fair price connectivity of the internet. It has already been declared that by 2021, internet connectivity will be reached at all corners of the country and in rural area schools and other educational institutions will be in coverage of free access of internet so that future generation can easily habituate with the international information technology. To promote the ICT (Information and Communication Technology), government A2I project and Hi-Tech Park Project are conducting various training and workshop from rural areas to urban areas to skill enhancement of the educated young. Besides, Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) has taken a graduate skill enhancement project named Leveraging ICT Project, its goal to train up the graduates to the international category and after completing the training period they will be recruited in different IT firm and who wants to be an IT entrepreneur, the government will provide them long to establish their IT business.

Besides government initiatives relating to promoting IT freelancer as well as outsourcing market, some private training institutions and organizations are conducting various training sessions and live IT project that helps the freelancer to learn the reality of the outsourcing market. Depending various outsourcing training in Bangladesh, freelancers are being skilled and confident in completing the buyer’s assigned job and spontaneously fulfilling the job criteria. Among all outsourcing training institute in Bangladesh, Advance IT is playing a vital role to patronize the IT freelancer and arranging various outsourcing training for coping with the international IT outsourcing market so that IT freelancers make them skilled to the market place and fluent in doing respective job.

So, it is clear that despite various limitations of outsourcing in Bangladesh, our government and related authority are trying to promote the ICT sector which is congenial to IT outsourcing. If the IT knowledge spreads in across the country, educated and talented young will come to build their career in the outsourcing market and they will boost up the market at the expected level because they will take it as a challenge of their life. We know when knowledge, skill, creativity and the proper working environment exist in a sector; revolution of this sector is inevitable. Our outsourcing sector will be reached at this level very soon by the cooperation of respective authority. As a conscious citizen, along with government, we should have learning mind as well as a proper way of thinking about IT that helps to go ahead our country beyond all limitations of IT outsourcing.