Outsourcing via the Virtual Employee route is the latest phenomenon to have griped the outsourcing industry. This new outsourcing practice has thus far proven to be highly successful. But why is this new outsourcing trend taking off with such alarming pace?

Before deluging into the secret success of the outsourced Virtual Employee, we must first consider what exactly a Virtual Employee is and what is this latest outsourcing practice?

A Virtual Employee is a dedicated full time and permanent employee from any office field of work, (specialist or non-technical/back office) that works for you from India. Virtual Employees are provided to companies from the US and Europe by outsourcing service providers situated in India. From the offices of the outsourcing service provider, a Virtual Employee will work directly for you and your company. The outsourcing service provider will equip your Virtual Employee with all the office equipment and office space they require to work for you remotely; PC, internet, fax, scanner, printer, phone...etc.. Using such technology, you and the Virtual Employee are then free to work directly together albeit virtually.

Why this new outsourcing trend is taking off with such alarming pace?
The success of Virtual Employee outsourcing, appears to center on the fact that any company, irrespective of size can outsource and hire a Virtual Employee. Outsourcing is practice traditionally dominated by MNC's; the likes of American Express, Bank of America or Siemens. MNC's have a high volume of positions to outsource, not to mention the resource and finance to manage the logistics that comes with outsourcing.

For small to medium sized firms outsourcing full time, permanent positions is however unrealistic. How can a small I.T company in Louisiana with a staff of 10, outsource and employ one or two full time programmers in India? Outsourcing permanent positions for SME's has thus far not been possible. Although many SME's do outsource by freelancing, the unprofessionalism associated with freelancing and the fact that it is not a long term solution means freelancing does not convey the same outsourcing benefits MNC's experience when they outsource.

The Virtual Employee however fills this SME outsourcing vacuum. All companies regardless of size can benefit from huge savings made when outsourcing; SME's perhaps more than even MNC's. It has simply been the case that SME's could not however outsource permanent positions in the past. With the Virtual Employee this is now all changing and SME's are quick and eager to reap the rewards that come with outsourcing.

A secondary factor in the Virtual Employee outsource boom resides in the way the Virtual Employee works. When outsourcing to a Virtual Employee a fundamental aspect is that you are not outsourcing but hiring an actual employee. Your outsourcing service provider will provide your Virtual Employee with all the infrastructure they need to collaborate directly with you. The Virtual Employee will thus work directly with and for you. The Virtual Employee will follow your instructions and will work for you just like any "normal" employee would...hence the name "Virtual Employee". Accordingly, the only difference between a Virtual Employee and any other employee, is that the outsourced Virtual Employee works for you virtually as opposed to physically from your office. The Virtual Employee model makes outsourcing a win, win scenario; companies get the efficiency that comes with having your own dedicated employee whilst gaining from the very low costs that come with outsourcing.