Companies That Offshore
Offshore outsourcing is a powerful tool for companies that require access to specialized talent. It can also reduce cost of labor, increase the company's revenue, and boost its competitiveness.
Companies that outsource must be aware of the risks. Designing and manufacturing could be moved offshore in tandem and can deprive a company of its design and engineering capabilities.
Telstra
Telstra has progressed a lot since its humble beginnings as a small government-owned company. It has grown into a major Telecommunications company that operates around the globe. It is also Australia's biggest fixed-line telephony provider.
The success of the company can be attributed to its solid investment strategy and its innovative solutions. In the beginning, when resources were limited, the company sunk heavily in new technology and saw that the telecommunications industry had enormous potential for growth. This was a great move as it allowed the company to connect Australian cities across the country and internationally. The company was also the first in the use of mobile phones, which allowed people to stay connected to their loved family members wherever they were.
During the 1990s, the company was faced with numerous challenges, including regulation and competition from competitors. It was not content to remain passive and devised aggressive strategies to adapt to these changes. For companies offshore , it invested heavily in infrastructure and has spent $200 billion to enhance its services. It also innovated and launched BigPond which is a high-speed internet service for users.
It also reduced its workforce and outsourced some of its tasks, which led to cost savings. In addition, it implemented an organization structure that divided roles into functional groups instead of an traditional hierarchy. This gave senior managers more control over their area of expertise.
Recently, the company announced that it would bring its call centers back to Australia and that by 2021, all its consumer and small business calls will be answered in the country. Telstra has taken a significant move forward, and it will have a positive impact on its customers. However, the company will continue to operate offshore call centres for its largest international business customers.
GE
General Electric (GE) was founded by Thomas Edison in 1892 and quickly became one of the most successful American companies. In the 1980s, GE acquired several large companies including Employer's Reinsurance and Kidder Peabody. GE's revenues increased from $5 billion to $70 billion during this period. Despite these successes however, analysts have raised doubts about whether the company's success can last.
Presently, GE is focusing on industrial technology and services including medical, renewable energy, and power. It has also invested in additive machines, or 3-D printers that can be used to create new products and components. GE's finance arm also offers commercial leasing and loans.
The GE washer-dryer is the company's best-selling product. It has been in use in American homes for over 80 years. It was the first appliance that could be used to wash and dry clothes, which is an amazing invention for household use. GE manufactures not just appliances, but also aircraft engines, medical devices and generators of power. GE plans to expand its digital business in the near future. offshore companies includes commercial software from Wurldtech and cybersecurity technologies.
GE also offshoring its most important business processes in India which has wages cheaper than in the US. In 2004, GE Capital International Services, its offshoring company that is owned by GE employed 12,000 people. In 2005, GE sold its stake in GECIS and transformed it into a separate BPO known as Genpact. GE continues to be a major client of Genpact which has a staff of more than 20,000 people. The company recently diversified its operations by buying the maker of the Osprey Drone. GE has also invested heavily in the wind industry, with a deal to provide 87 Haliade-14MW wind turbines from Dogger Bank C.
IBM
International Business Machines (IBM) is one of the world's biggest technology companies with its headquarters in Armonk, New York. IBM provides hardware, software, and services to the IT industry. Additionally, it provides financing to assist its customers purchasing IT systems and software. Additionally, it runs research labs around the world. The company has a history of innovative research dating back to the 1880s when Julius E. Pitrat patented the computing scale, Alexander Dey invented the dial recorder and Herman Hollerith created a tabulating machine.
The corporate vision statement of the company highlights its commitment to being a leader in the information technology industry and market. It states that the company will provide top-quality services by combining business model innovation with technology expertise and industry knowledge. It also puts a high importance on customer satisfaction and value creation as it is the most important factor to its success in the long run.
In recent years, IBM has expanded its services division and rebranded itself as an cognitive solutions and cloud computing platform company. IBM's software portfolio includes analytics-related offerings like Cognos and SPSS. It also provides IT infrastructure software, such as IBM WebSphere application servers and MQ messaging Middleware. It also offers security and mobile applications, including the IBM Verse business email offering and the IBM QRadar security intelligence platform.
In recent years, IBM's hardware sales have declined due to a shift in corporate IT expenditures from on-premises facilities to centralized operators like Amazon Web Services. IBM has focused on its business consulting and service businesses and has made several acquisitions to boost their presence in these fields. The company has also invested heavily in cloud computing and has a worldwide footprint.
Accenture
Accenture is a top provider of management consulting, technology and outsourcing services around the globe. Accenture has a number of strengths that give them an competitive advantage, including a deep knowledge and expertise in their industry, innovative technology solutions, and strong relationships with leading vendors.
The business processes of the company include marketing, procurement and supply chain, as well as learning, human resources, and finance. It is also in more than 120 different countries. Accenture also provides a range of specializations in addition to its primary offerings. For instance, it provides SAP S/4HANA development as well as fast-tracking customer journeys to digital businesses. It also provides IT and security services.
Historically, companies have outsourced certain production processes to reduce costs and increase their competitiveness. In the clothing industry, for example, many production functions have been outsourced Asian countries. However, in recent years increasing numbers of companies are focusing on providing services instead of product manufacturing. This shift has led to the need for more professionals with expertise in digital and IT services. These skills are also transferable across industries.
Accenture has a wide range of clients and is expanding its presence in the most important markets. Accenture's client list includes 91 Fortune Global 100 companies and more than three quarters of the Fortune Global 500. The company partners with companies such as Apple, Google, Oracle and others to create new technologies. For instance, Accenture has partnered with SAP to create an intelligent platform solution that helps upstream oil and gas companies cut down on complexity using market standards. A consortium of major oil companies, such as BP and Equinor is currently testing this solution. This partnership shows how companies are stepping away from traditional outsourcing to concentrate on innovation and services.
Microsoft
Microsoft is a renowned publisher of operating systems and programs for personal computers. The most well-known products of Microsoft include its Windows software line, Office suite and Internet Explorer browser. But companies that offshore has also faced accusations of monopoly and anti-competitive behavior. In the 1990s, it began creating a complicated web of offshore entities to transfer intellectual property and lower taxes.
If a buyer purchases Office in Seattle the money doesn't go to Microsoft's headquarters in nearby Redmond. The money begins with a long trip beginning with a Nevada sales subsidiary, which does not tax corporate income. Then, offshore company crosses the Atlantic to a Bermudan company and is finally taxed at Bermuda's zero-percent rate.
Then, the money is transferred to an Puerto Rican company that accounts for research costs and transfers some of the proceeds to an Irish company. The company has employed structures similar to this in other countries such as Britain and Germany. The arrangement has saved the software huge billions of dollars in tax.
Congress is now suing the software giant to change its offshore policy. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has said that the company, along with other tech companies employ offshore units and loopholes to avoid paying taxes. The panel is investigating allegations of tax evasion by tech companies, including Google owner Alphabet and Apple who have shifted billions of dollars in profits to tax-free jurisdictions.
The collaboration between SSE Renewables, Avanade and the Netherlands' Ministry of Infrastructure is a part of a larger project to reduce the impact of wind farms on the environment. The partnership will develop digital instruments to better assess the effect of a windfarm on the local eco-system. The tools will be tested in an aquarium and are expected to enhance wildlife identification, abundance monitoring and analysis of distribution.