Outsourced services can be categorized into the following two groups:

1. Technology services

2. Business Processes

Technology Services

Companies requires advanced IT and communication technologies for their regular operations. Rapid changes in the technology sector bring new capabilities to use for companies that need to select the right kind of vendor to get the best technology at the cheapest cost. Following technology services are generally outsourced by customers:

• Software and applications

• Infrastructure

• Telecommunications

• E-commerce

• Web security and solutions

• Web hosting, website designing, development and maintenance

Business Processes

Various business processes are not core to a company’s main line of business. Companies outsource such processes and focus on their core competence. The various business processes that are being outsourced include the following:

• Back office operations

• Customer relationship management (Refer to the report on Customer Service Outsourcing for more details)

• Sales and marketing (including telemarketing)

• Administrative support

• Payroll maintenance and other transaction processing

• Finance and Accounting

• Human resources and Training

• Logistics, procurement and supply chain management

• Medical transcription

• Security

• Research and analysis

• Product development

• Legal services

• Intellectual property research and documentation

Synonymous with these services are various commonly used terminologies such as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO), Research Process Outsourcing (RPO), Recruitment Process Outsourcing (this is also called RPO) and Education Process Outsourcing (EPO). As the market for each service grows, vendors coin a term for their service to showcase a distinct presence of their industry. (Refer to the report on Business Process Outsourcing for more details)