Secured service delivery model for outsourced services in a business process outsourcing relationship

Abstract

In business process outsourcing (BPO), the model of delivery of processed service and communication media between the client and service provider are critical factors in a successful client-provider relationship. The client’s business objectives would not be achieved if processed services are delivered through unsecured channels and truncated communication. This study explores these issues through a case study of seven medium and large scale Indian BPO service providers, followed up with a larger scale questionnaire-based on Indian providers. Analysis revealed that a significant number of providers have onshore and offshore clients whose processed services are delivered through secured channels. The choice of a delivery model is influenced by both the client and service provider when the provider is either a medium or large scale organization, whilst small scale providers do not contribute to decision making for choice of delivery model. Further, the study revealed that in successful outsourcing relationships, providers deliver services through remote access to a client’s server, email through a dedicated server, dashboard on a cloud, and teleconferencing. To improve security, these channels could be enclosed in any of the following: virtual private network (VPN), transport layer security (TLS)/secure socket layer (SSL), internet protocol security (IPsec) and third party platform, such as citrix. Thus, outsourcing relationships that are built around these security platforms, and decision making process surrounding the choice of a delivery model could reduce outsourcing failures witnessed in BPO relationships