Outsourcing today is no longer seen as an option only for repetitive, non-innovative, and non-strategic functions; it is increasingly being evaluated and regarded as a viable option for more strategic business functions. One such area that has seen new and growing interest in outsourcing is outsourced product development.

In the backdrop of speedily changing business environment, stiff competition, and declining market shares, companies have been challenged to expand into new markets, introduce new and innovative products, and apply the latest product development technology to their development work.

In such highly competitive environment, time to market has become the critical differentiator. Companies’ efforts to achieve better time to market have, however, been challenged by following factors:

* Shorter product life cycles
* Technological obsolescence
* Rapid advances in design and engineering technologies
* Increasing design and engineering complexity
* Necessary infrastructure changes required with new technology application to product development

The cited challenges and the more pressing requirements to innovate and introduce new products have only caused product development costs to shoot up further.

Consequently, companies have recognized quickly that working with third party specialists through an outsourcing engagement can help them reduce design cycle times, achieve better time to market, reduce costs, minimize risks, access the latest technology without owning it, improve return on their product development investment, and, in the process, improve the overall competitiveness of their products.

Major outsourcing driving factors :

* Cost efficiency
* Focus on core business
* Reduce/manage risk
* Solve business process issue
* Access to technology
* Optimize application investment
* Headcount reduction
* Transfer management and maintenance
* Achieve cost variability
* Asset reduction
* Access to global expertise
* Derive incremental revenue


Bottom Line
Today, outsourcing is no longer seen as an option only for repetitive, non-innovative, and non-strategic functions; it is increasingly being evaluated and regarded as a viable option for more strategic business functions.Factors such as cost efficiency, focus on core business, access to echnology,time to market, access to global expertise, among others are the reasons for outsource product development that leverage quality and development discipline to the product as well.