Rising cost and margin pressures coupled with the need for diversification/value addition in offerings are considerable pain areas for publishers. However, publishers have cognizance of how outsourcing can mitigate challenges such as in-house resource constraints or upgrading technology.

The satisfaction levels have still not peaked in this segment. Considering that outsourcing has been long associated with the STM/Academic segment, it is surprising to note that the industry is still aspiring for higher buyer satisfaction. This is probably an indication of higher expectations versus unsatisfactory delivery by the industry as a whole.

Vivek further believes that smaller publishers will provide the stimulus for growth. Companies with revenues less than $30 million will be keen to outsource as much as possible to increase profitability, make up for the lack of in-house capabilities and cut costs. However, such publishers have experimented with fly by night operators and may have had bad experiences. Hence, they face a steep learning curve which can be leveraged by smart providers.

The report emphasizes that the future growth in the STM segment will come from large publishers who would outsource many value-added services. However, there will be significant increase in volume of outsourcing by medium and small companies.

While smaller companies look out for long-term vendors relationships, Vivek suggests, they should  ensure that the service provider has a strong track record. New firms or companies that start offering services are often unsustainable.

It is important to critically evaluate costs. Often provider-end savings do not match buyer-end savings mainly due to project management, quality checks, etc at the buyer-end.

One must critically evaluate a pilot/sample work with the provider. This will allow buyers to understand the depth and quality of services with an insight into how the provider works.