Bill Lucchini has a message for tech service companies–solution providers, integrators, and the like–outsourcing work: If you’re running your own network of independent contractors, you’re taking on too much and putting yourself at a huge disadvantage. You should be using a software solution, like the one his company offers, to do the work for you.

“There’s so much complexity to outsourcing these projects,” said Lucchini, COO of OnForce, in an interview. “We’ve invested a lot of money in a SaaS solution that does it all for you.”

Here’s an example of how it works. Let’s say you’re an SMB VAR in Chicago. You’ve just won a contract with a national retailer that wants to update its POS systems across the board. Great, right? This is a lucrative deal; the retailer has 1,000 locations, from New York to California. But how are you going to cover such a broad area with your limited resources? Sure, you’ve got talented staffers in Chicago. You’ve even got some connections in surrounding states. But you have no idea how you’re going to hook up with techies in the Midwest, or in Seattle, where the retailer has several high-profile locations.

With OnForce, you would create a work order online and upload info into the cloud-based system. From there, everything would pretty much be on autopilot. At each retailer location, technicians in the OnForce network would be notified that there’s work available. The software would profile each technician and, if you choose, select the independent contractors that are the best match for the job. The system even tracks performance and attendance and handles payments.

“The whole process is very simple,” said Lucchini. “There’s no contract; you just go to our website and sign up for account. You can immediately create a work order after that.”

Lucchini said about 90% of the service companies that use OnForce are SMBs–tech shops with five to 100 employees. And with 90,000 registered technicians, the OnForce pool of independent contracting talent is substantial. OnForce’s system is getting a lot of use from VARs that work in the healthcare and retail spaces, Lucchini said.

“With self-checkout becoming the norm and the growing popularity of mobile shopping apps, there’s a lot of integrator activity in the POS arena,” he added. “As for healthcare, clinics are becoming popular alternatives to hospital ERs, so there’s a big focus on updating those facilities and their technology.”

The key benefits of OnForce for tech service companies? Geographical reach (OnForce’s independent contractors are all over the country, from big cities to small towns), reduced costs and high-quality work (OnForce’s techies compete for work; for each project, the system chooses people who have the right skill set and are willing to do the job for the right price), and low risk (all OnForce technicians are fully insured).

Source:http://www.informationweek.com/news/smb/services/229401822

TPI, an Information Services Group company (ISG) (NASDAQ: III) and the leading independent sourcing data and advisory firm in the world, today released global outsourcing market data for the first quarter of 2011 showing that restructuring activity returned to historical norms following last year’s record spike, but the value of new scope awarded in the market remained steady.

The Global TPI Index, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts valued at $25 million or more, recorded total contract value (TCV) of $17.5 billion during the first quarter of 2011. TCV dropped 25 percent over the fourth quarter of 2010 and 28 percent over the first quarter of 2010.

However, restructurings, defined as contracts that are renewed, renegotiated or restructured, accounted for nearly all of the decline. New scope TCV of $14.9 billion was unchanged year-over-year and declined just 7 percent sequentially.

“In recent quarters, unprecedented shares of global TCV involved restructurings,” said John Keppel, Partner & President-Information Services and Chief Marketing Officer, TPI. “That trend reversed itself in the first quarter, as we forecasted it would, but new scope values were right in line with previous periods.”

Now in its 34th consecutive quarter, the TPI Index provides a quarterly snapshot of the sourcing industry for clients, service providers, analysts and the media. It is the industry’s authoritative source for marketplace intelligence related to outsourcing transaction structures and terms, industry adoption, geographic prevalence and service provider metrics.

Among the highlights of the 1Q11 Global TPI Index was business process outsourcing (BPO), which recorded its second-best quarterly performance in the last two years. Clients awarded BPO contracts with a TCV of $6.6 billion, up 66 percent over the same period a year ago and more than twice the prior quarter’s tally. The number of contracts awarded also reached its second-highest level since the first quarter of 2009.

By contrast, IT outsourcing (ITO) contract values dropped significantly, driven by the decline in restructurings. However, as with the broader market, new scope of nearly $10 billion in the segment was well within range of first quarters historically.

Among the regions of the world, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific turned in steady performances. Meanwhile, the Americas suffered its third straight quarterly decline, with TCV falling 56 percent year-over-year, but up 17 percent sequentially.

“The outlook for the rest of 2011 suggests an industry upswing based on healthy contracting activity and a modest amount of restructuring in the mix,” Keppel said. “Overall, we are cautiously optimistic about next quarter and more bullish about the second half of 2011.”

Source:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/1q11-global-tpi-index-outsourcing-restructurings-return-to-historical-norms-value-of-new-scope-awards-holds-steady-120198079.html