Data analytics outsourcing companies let even the smallest businesses compete with the biggest names in their industries. These companies offer the same powerful analytics tools that the most successful companies use to get ahead—often at a much lower cost.
Before you hire one of these companies to help you make better data-driven decisions, you’ll need to know what to look for. What sets one trustworthy data analytics company apart from another? In this guide, we’ll show you how to find a third-party firm that will give you the best possible results.
What Does a Data Analytics Outsourcing Company Do?
Data analytics outsourcing companies take on most or all of the responsibilities of data management for your organization. They usually have their own servers and other hardware, as well as software licenses and proprietary systems for analyzing data. The company charges your business a flat fee to use its system and services.
These services may include:
- Business intelligence planning and reporting;
- Data collection and storage (including cloud storage);
- Big data normalization;
- Data mining;
- Predictive analytics (sometimes using machine learning algorithms);
- Consumer analytics and customer insights;
- Fraud prevention analytics (particularly for the insurance industry);
- Spatial analytics;
- Visualization tools; and more.
Every data analytics outsourcing company is different. Some offer only a few of these benefits, while others cover them all. The cost of services also varies from firm to firm. To choose the right data analytics firm for your organization, think carefully about the benefits they offer and weigh them against the total cost.
How to Choose the Best Data Analytics Outsourcing Company
How can you tell whether a data analytics outsourcing company is trustworthy and offers the best services for the price? Start by asking your main point of contact these 10 questions:
- Does my organization need to do anything to prepare for this transition?
The best data analytics outsourcing companies won’t require you to have any existing infrastructure or in-house IT staff. The third-party firm should provide all of the tools and support needed to migrate to new systems.
2. Will my staff need training?
Reliable companies provide all of the training materials for your in-house staff. The best firms also create individual user authorizations and dashboards based on existing workflows. The system should be intuitive from the start.
3. What data storage options does your company offer?
The company must provide secure cloud storage, at minimum. Some companies also allow you to store data onsite and use cloud storage backups. No matter which option you choose, the company should help you migrate to cloud storage from your current system.
4. Is the system flexible?
Customizable dashboards and business intelligence (BI) portals are a must-have service. So are customizable reports and visualizations. Great companies will create a system specifically for your business based on your strategy and BI roadmap.
5. How advanced are the data analytics services and tools?
Services like automated report generation, robust visualizations, and predictive analytics via machine learning are incredibly powerful tools for finding trends in large sets of data. The company you partner with should use the most advanced tools on the market.
6. How reliable is the system?
The third-party firm should provide 24/7 customer support every day of the week to answer any questions your staff may have and to troubleshoot tech problems. It should also guarantee at least 99 percent uptime.
7. Is my data secure?
The company must follow data security best practices, including encryption and robust user authorization protocols.
8. Is the system scalable?
Ask whether you can quickly scale up or down based on your business’ latest needs and market trends.
9. How much does it cost?
The service should be value-driven. In other words, the company will assess the cost of these services based on overall results, not on time or resources spent per project. The best companies charge a fixed monthly fee and only charge for the services you actually use.
10. Can I see examples of dashboards or reports you’ve created in the past?
Seeing real examples of dashboards the company has created will help you decide whether the service is right for you.
Your contact at the data analytics outsourcing company should have a solid answer for each of these questions. If the company doesn’t provide one or more of the key services above, then it may not be worth the investment. When it comes to choosing the best firm to work with, you can afford to be picky. You shouldn’t settle for an outsourcing contract that doesn’t meet all of your needs.
Should You Hire a Third-Party Firm?
Most businesses, especially small or medium-sized enterprises, should absolutely hire a data analytics outsourcing company. Smaller enterprises often don’t have room in the budget to hire an experienced team of data scientists to perform advanced data analysis every day. By outsourcing this process, you’ll get the same expertise at a much lower cost. You can easily compete with the giants of your industry.
However, not all data analytics outsourcing companies are equally knowledgeable or reliable. If the firm outsources work to unskilled freelancers who have little experience with data science, then you may not get the deep, insightful results you want. Security is another pain point when you hire a third-party firm. If the firm doesn’t take the steps necessary to protect your data, you may be vulnerable to breaches or data theft. Trustworthy firms address all of these issues by hiring the most skilled and experienced data scientists to keep your information safe.
A reliable firm will also work with your current IT staff (if you already have an IT team) to make sure everyone is on the same page. Sometimes, in-house IT staff are hesitant to let another company take over data analysis responsibilities. However, by working closely with your staff, a third-party IT firm can quickly establish trust, prepare your team for the transition, and ease your staff’s workload. Your in-house staff will appreciate having extra time to work on big picture projects by outsourcing tedious data entry and analysis tasks to a third party.
As long as you select the most experienced firm, negotiate a favorable contract, and communicate with your in-house staff, you’ll be successful. By the end of this process, you’ll have a seamless analytics system that generates powerful insights and helps drive your business forward.
If you’re thinking about outsourcing your data analytics process to a third party, contact Tek Leaders today. We are a leading provider of advanced data analytics and business intelligence services. Tek Leaders provides powerful tools and full-service support to businesses looking to maximize their data. If you have more questions about data analytics outsourcing companies, you can reach us by email directly.
Author: Shashank Reddy Tummala.
Shashank is the COO of Tek Leaders inc.He helps SMB’s to achieve their goals in their journey of Digital Transformation.