A few weeks ago I attended the Financial Services Outsourcing Forum in London.  Usually this is a fairly upbeat gathering with leading industry figures catching up, sharing latest developments and celebrating successful deals.  This year, by contrast, it was a much more muted affair with many businesses in the financial sector clearly feeling the pain of what we now know to be the deepest recession since World War Two. 

There is talk that economic recovery may not come until end-2009 or early 2010, at the earliest.  Even when it does come, it is likely to be slow, modest and remain fragile for some time.  In the meantime, companies need to reassess the business models they developed during the boom times.  Cost bases need to be realigned with lower revenue streams and flexibility needs to be built in to respond quickly to further changes in the market (be they positive or negative).  Offshore outsourcing has a key role to play in supporting businesses to do this.

Using technology more effectively is one way of improving flexibility, cost and performance, but it can only go so far.  People are what make the biggest difference in achieving step-changes in performance.  During these austere times, companies need to look even closer at ways in which they can access the skills and talents they need to survive and grow, whilst minimising costs.  

Offshore outsourcing is an industry that has developed significant expertise over the past few years in combining technological advances with access to highly skilled talent to deliver low cost services.  Companies such as Outspan are at the forefront of developing this expertise and ensuring that the advantages of global sourcing and technology are readily available and cheap for SME businesses to access.  In times like this, this is exactly what many small and medium sized businesses need.