When CEOs, CFOs and decision-makers consider ways to make a positive impact on their company’s bottom line, business process outsourcing (BPO) is often at the top of the list. When implemented correctly, BPO will give you access to specialised skills, lower your operating costs, and free up time for your team.
However, when implemented poorly, BPO does pose risks. To ensure a successful long-term outcome, it’s not enough for your outsourcing partner to be aware of the risks – they must also take proactive steps to protect your organisation.
Three key advantages of business process outsourcing
While there are many advantages to outsourcing, we’ve listed the three benefits that are most often valued by our clients (check out our case studies to hear specific examples). By embracing BPO, your organisation will be able to:
- Access specialised skills
Unless you have an unlimited hiring budget, most organisations will find it impossible to employ skilled people in all areas required for success. An outsourcing partner like Sundaram Business Services can give you access to specialised skills, knowledge and experience in areas outside your team’s expertise. Whether that’s Business Advisory Solutions, Platform Support Services, or solutions for both SMSF Administration and SMSF Audit, we’re a strategic partner who can help you fill skill gaps quickly – without resorting to a costly and lengthy in-house hiring process.
- Save time for your in-house team
With access to specialised skills, outsourcing will improve your organisation’s agility so you can adapt to the changing demands of your industry. It will also free up time for your existing people to focus on tasks that really move the needle for your organisation. Your people are your most important asset – wouldn’t you rather they spend time driving results and innovation in their area of expertise, instead of being weighed down with time-consuming and repetitive processes?
- Reduce your operating costs
It would be remiss of us to discuss the advantages of BPO without referring to the enormous cost savings on offer. Outsourcing can drastically reduce operating costs such as labour, recruiting, office space and utilities. According to a report from Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading management and technology consultancy, organisations can achieve an average of 15% cost reduction through outsourcing.
What should you consider when outsourcing business processes?
Despite the obvious advantages on the table, BPO needs to be undertaken carefully to ensure you achieve outstanding results. If you choose the wrong partner, you may feel you’ve lost direct control over the processes you’ve outsourced. This loss of control may be exacerbated if you’re working with partners across different geographical locations or time zones. At Sundaram, we have team members based in Australia, India, and the UK, helping to mitigate this risk and ensure timely, transparent communication.
How Sundaram protects your data and privacy using best practices in cyber security
At Sundaram, we have built a 20-year track record of successful long-term partnerships, by continually being proactive in mitigating potential risks to our clients – including in the cyber security space. We are committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that we process.
A key aspect of our commitment is our certification under the standards set out by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). We are certified in the two ISO standards that are of most relevance to cyber security:
ISO 9001: Quality management systems
This standard sets the criteria for a quality management system that organisations can use to consistently deliver products and services that meet both customer satisfaction and regulatory requirements.
ISO 27001: Information security management systems
This standard outlines requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an organisation’s information security management system.
As well as certification in these ISO standards, Sundaram is compliant with other relevant laws and regulations including:
Australian Privacy Principles
We take care to understand and comply with the set of privacy guidelines that form the core of the Privacy Act 1988.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance
You can read Sundaram’s GDPR compliance statement here.
Our compliance with regulations, laws, and standards pertaining to data privacy and cyber security ensures our partners receive consistently outstanding service, adherence to best practices, and a reduction of potential cyber security risks arising from BPO.
Further steps we take to maintain the cyber security of our clients
As well as compliance standards, we have our own cyber strategy to protect the data and privacy of our clients:
- We do not transfer client data to our systems – we work off client servers and systems using remote desktop protocols
- For client cloud-based applications, we use a stealth login or password management protocol, a module that encrypts login credentials
- Our staff members do not possess login credentials and they are only available with our head of IT
- We restrict internet site access for staff, so they can only access the internet sites which are available on the client’s systems
- We set up workstations to prevent any removable storage media or access to emails that can send messages to addresses, other than a pre-approved address book
- Wherever possible, we connect to our client networks through VPN circuits
- We use G Suite for email and all of our emails are encrypted
- We procure original software licenses from approved vendors and purchase all computing equipment from the original manufacturers with warranties
- Our network is fully ring-fenced and protected against viruses, intrusion and denial-of-service attacks
- We also have an alternate site in the state of Mumbai which is used as a business continuity plan (BCP) site.
These are just a handful of the steps we take to protect our clients from cyber attacks and data or privacy breaches. For more details on our cyber strategy, you can refer to our FAQs.
——–
Sundaram Business Services is a business process outsourcing company with offices in Australia, India and the UK. With over 20 years’ experience in the Australian market in providing outsourced teams to Australian businesses across Accountancy, Portfolio Management, Self-Managed Super Funds, and Mortgage Broker support, our business becomes an extension of yours.
Sign up for our newsletter
Add your email to receive our monthly newsletter.
