Offshoring is for start-ups and SMEs, too

Think offshoring and you immediately picture big corporates overhauling services to the subcontinent in a bid to cut costs by laying waste to thousands of domestic employees.

But the benefits of offshoring are now being taking up by SMEs - and it doesn't involve call centres either.

Antonia Watson, founder of online children's products site KiddieBase, recently launched her business and used offshoring to develop the site.

"The main tweak was that we wanted was to the site's shopping basket. To make these changes we were originally quoted £3,000. But [by looking elsewhere] we were able to find someone who could make the same changes in Pakistan for £600."

Small businesses should take certain measures to ensure that offshoring works, she says. "My main advice is: make it clear exactly what you. Document everything, don't leave any ambiguity and don't assume they have any knowledge of your business.

"It's something I would definitely encourage other SMEs to use. I think a lot of the time they would like to make changes to their websites, but feel they can't afford it."

A recent survey from HP found that 96% of UK SMEs consider IT to be crucial to business growth, yet more than a quarter say they do not know how to make it work for them.

If the results are to be believed, then offshoring web development could prove to be a very useful tool.

For more information go to Vworker.