Examples of Outsourcing: Strategic Delegation of Business Functions

From technology leaders like Microsoft rethinking how they deliver technical support to fast-growing startups leveraging specialized services, third-party (outsourcing) providers play a critical role in modern business ecosystems.

This article explores real-world outsourcing examples from leading companies across multiple industries, showing how organizations use external partners to build software, strengthen cybersecurity, adopt cloud technologies, and unlock new sources of competitive advantage. 

Quick list: 10 examples of outsourcing

Outsourcing is used across industries to access specialized expertise, scale operations faster, reduce costs, and deliver complex projects without building every capability in-house.

1. PKO Bank Polski outsourced mobile app development to build a secure corporate banking application.
2. Decathlon outsourced payment engine integration to add seamless BLIK mobile payments.
3. Klarna outsourced AI-powered customer support to handle millions of customer conversations at scale.
4. Air France-KLM partnered with external technology providers to accelerate generative AI development.
5. Snap Inc. outsourced cloud infrastructure to manage massive traffic and improve platform performance.
6. Apple outsources device manufacturing to scale global production efficiently.
7. Nike outsources footwear and apparel manufacturing to specialized production partners.
8. Microsoft outsourced technical support operations to serve customers across global markets.
9. Uber outsourced customer support to expand service coverage internationally.
10. PepsiCo outsourced HR operations to streamline employee management across multiple countries.

IT outsourcing market overview

Companies increasingly view IT outsourcing services as a strategic lever for scalability and innovation enabling faster product development, flexible access to global expertise, and the ability to adopt emerging technologies without large upfront investments.

According to Statista, the global IT outsourcing market is set to generate more than $634 billion in revenue, reflecting its role as one of the most widely outsourced business functions.

Projections indicate this figure could rise to over $806 billion by 2030, driven by accelerating demand for cloud migration, cybersecurity, and advanced AI capabilities. 

Building software through outsourcing

Not every company has the resources or in-house expertise required to build the software it needs. Whether developing an internal system or a customer-facing application, outsourcing can help bridge that gap.

By partnering with a software development provider, organizations can delegate certain parts of the development process, from design and engineering to testing and deployment, to complete the project.

Software and IT outsourcing examples

The following examples illustrate how companies across different industries have successfully used outsourcing to deliver complex digital solutions.

• Company: PKO Bank Polski
• Industry: Banking
• Outsourced function: Mobile app development
• Rationale: Need of mobile software development expertise in-house
• Business outcome: Secure corporate banking mobile platform 

PKO Bank Polski, one of Poland’s largest financial institutions, sought to expand its digital banking capabilities by developing a mobile application tailored for corporate clients. The goal was to provide business users with secure, on-the-go access to essential banking services while improving the overall digital experience for corporate customers.

To deliver the solution efficiently and ensure high technical quality, the bank partnered with Neontri, which provided a dedicated development team and mobile engineering expertise. The collaboration resulted in the launch of iPKO biznes, a comprehensive corporate banking application that enables users to:

• manage multiple company accounts
• monitor transactions
• securely authorize payments directly from a mobile device.

Since its launch, iPKO biznes has been downloaded over 100,000 times, achieving a 4.5/5 customer satisfaction score, demonstrating the success of the outsourcing partnership and the app’s value for corporate clients.

• Company: Decathlon
• Industry: Retail
• Outsourced function:  Integration of a payment engine
• Rationale: Need for specialized expertise to integrate the BLIK payment module with existing retail systems
• Business outcome: Seamless in-store mobile payments 

Decathlon, a global sporting goods retailer, sought to enhance its omnichannel retail experience. The goal was to introduce a “pay and leave” functionality in the existing mobile application, enabling customers to complete transactions without waiting at traditional checkouts.

To deliver the solution, Decathlon partnered with Neontri:

• Solution delivered: BLIK payment processing connected with Decathlon’s existing systems
• Delivery result: Completed in 70% of the allocated time
• Business impact: €1 million in transactions processed within the first 7 days
• Operational outcome: Thousands of customer orders handled in the following weeks

AI-driven outsourcing

Generative AI outsourcing is rapidly reshaping the technology landscape. In 2026, companies are no longer just hiring offshore teams to follow rules; they are partnering with global tech giants and specialized vendors to deploy autonomous systems capable of reasoning, making decisions, and optimizing workflows in real time.

This model allows organizations to access advanced capabilities such as machine learning, predictive analytics, and intelligent automation without building expensive in-house AI infrastructure.

AI-driven outsourcing examples

The impact of this strategy is best seen in how global leaders are reinventing high-volume business functions.

• Company: Klarna
• Industry: Fintech
• Outsourced function: AI-powered customer support
• Rationale: Handle massive global inquiry volumes without hiring thousands of human agents
• Business outcome: In its first month, the AI assistant performed the work of 700 full-time human agents and handled 2.3 million conversations

By integrating OpenAI’s API into their customer interface, Klarna transformed a traditional cost center into an efficient, automated engine.

The AI handles everything from refund requests and payment cancellations to complex troubleshooting. Notably, while the resolution time dropped from 11 minutes to under 2 minutes, the customer satisfaction scores remained on par with human-led interactions, showing that AI-driven outsourcing doesn’t have to sacrifice quality for scale.

• Company: Air France-KLM
• Industry: Aviation
• Outsourced function: Generative AI development 
• Rationale: Need for high-level data engineering and specialized generative AI expertise that was too slow to build entirely in-house.
• Business outcome: A 35% acceleration in digital development cycles and the successful deployment of over 40 AI-driven projects.

Air France-KLM outsourced the innovation process itself. By establishing a “Generative AI Factory” with Accenture and Google Cloud, they created a modular environment where new artificial intelligence tools could be built and tested rapidly. This partnership allowed the airline to move its entire digital core to the cloud, providing the “clean data” necessary for AI to function.

One of the most successful outputs is Pamelia, an AI assistant that provides airport agents with instant, hyper-accurate answers to passenger questions, significantly reducing stress and wait times during flight disruptions.

Cloud outsourcing: The rise of multicloud and XaaS

Multicloud allows businesses to delegate IT services and infrastructure management to multiple third-party providers instead of relying on a single vendor.

At the same time, cloud computing has become the foundation of the broader “everything as a service” (XaaS) model. In this ecosystem, technology capabilities are delivered on demand through three core service categories: 

• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which provides ready-to-use applicationson a subscription or pay-as-you-go basis. ; 
• Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), which offers environments for building and deploying applications; 
• Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), which delivers scalable computing resources such as storage and processing power.

Cloud outsourcing examples

The examples show how companies leverage hybrid cloud outsourcing and XaaS models to build and scale digital platforms more efficiently.

• Company: Snap Inc.
• Industry: Social media 
• Outsourced function: Infrastructure-as-a-Service 
• Rationale: Ability to manage extreme traffic volatility without over-provisioning hardware. 
• Business outcome: 24% reduction in median latency for sending image snaps.

Snap’s reliance on AWS serves as a textbook example of elastic infrastructure. To support a platform where millions of users share photos, videos, and messages in real time, the company requires a highly flexible foundation capable of absorbing unpredictable traffic spikes.

By rebuilding its cloud architecture around services such as Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) and S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval, Snap now successfully processes more than 5 billion snaps per day.

• Company: BBC
• Industry: Public service broadcasting 
• Outsourced function: Platform-as-a-Service 
• Rationale: Management of unpredictable traffic spikes driven by breaking global news. 
• Business outcome: The platform handles over 120,000 requests per minute and up to 2.5 million page views per minute during peak events. 

BBC uses Google Cloud Run, a fully managed PaaS solution, to streamline the development and deployment of its website and digital services. Offering a serverless environment for containerized applications, this platform enables the media giant to simplify infrastructure management.

This approach not only ensures 100% uptime during crises but also minimizes costs during low-traffic periods, as they only pay for the exact millisecond their code is running.

Outsourced cybersecurity: Specialized protection, lower overhead

Managing security in-house requires continuous monitoring, advanced tools, and highly skilled professionals who can keep pace with an evolving threat landscape. For companies, building and maintaining that level of expertise internally is costly and challenging to scale.

As a result, 81% of businesses outsource at least some of their cybersecurity activities, relying on external partners for services such as threat monitoring, incident response, and vulnerability management.

Outsourced cybersecurity examples

The following example illustrates how organizations leverage external cybersecurity expertise to strengthen their defenses. 

• Company: NHS Digital
• Industry: Healthcare
• Outsourced function: Cybersecurity services
• Rationale: Need for specialized cybersecurity expertise and stronger protection for sensitive healthcare data and national digital health infrastructure.
• Business outcome: Improved data privacy and compliance.

NHS Digital, a UK government organization responsible for providing IT and data systems for healthcare, has partnered with IBM to enhance its cybersecurity capabilities and improve system resilience.

Within this cooperation, IBM provides a range of specialized security services, including:

• security audits
• continuous asset monitoring
• and threat detection

while also supporting the development and operation of the Data Security Centre.

Outsourced data analytics: Filling the skills gap

The company’s business growth potential relies heavily on its ability to manage data effectively and extract meaningful insights. This requires expertise in data science, machine learning (ML), and big data processing, which is often scarce and expensive to maintain in-house. 

To fill this gap, 75% of business executives now collaborate with external providers for their data management and analytics needs. Even giants like Procter & Gamble (P&G) utilize external expertise to maintain their competitive edge.

Outsourced data analytics examples

The following cases show how companies outsource data analytics to access specialized expertise.

• Company: P&G
• Industry: Consumer packaged goods 
• Rationale: Access to specialized data science capabilities and advanced analytics tools needed to process large-scale consumer and market data
• Business outcome: More precise marketing strategies and stronger product positioning in competitive markets

P&G partnered with Fractal Analytics, a global provider of AI and data analytics solutions, to enhance its ability to analyze consumer behavior and market dynamics. The collaboration enables P&G brands to process and interpret vast volumes of customer data in order to identify emerging consumer trends before they become mainstream, allowing the company to refine product development and design more targeted marketing campaigns.

Business process outsourcing

Business process outsourcing (BPO) involves hiring third-party vendors to handle back-office administrative tasks like accounting and HR or front-office functions such as customer support, marketing, and sales. 

Scaling finance operations through outsourcing

Outsourcing finance and accounting functions such as bookkeeping, payroll processing, and accounts receivable management has become a practical strategy for companies seeking efficiency and specialized expertise. The benefits apply to organizations of all sizes.

Small and medium-sized businesses often lack the resources or need for a full-time finance department, while large enterprises must manage increasingly complex financial operations across multiple regions and regulatory frameworks. 

Examples of outsourcing finance and accounting

These real-world examples show how companies outsource,

• Company: OrderYOYO
• Industry: Food tech
• Outsourced function: Accounting and payroll management
• Rationale: Limited in-house financial expertise and growing operational complexity.
• Business outcome: Improved compliance, access to specialized expertise, and stronger financial foundations for scaling the business.

As OrderYOYO expanded its platform for restaurants managing online takeaway orders, the company faced a common startup challenge: financial operations quickly became more complex as the number of clients and transactions grew. With a small internal team and no dedicated finance specialists, maintaining accurate accounting and ensuring compliance with financial regulations became increasingly difficult.

To address this, the company outsourced payroll and accounting functions to external experts. According to the company’s Head of Finance, the decision provided immediate access to specialized expertise and created a more stable foundation for their continued growth.

Recruitment outsourcing: Expanding access to global talent

Traditional recruitment methods, such as local job boards and internal referrals, often fall short in today’s global, highly specialized labor market. As a result, businesses choose to outsource certain HR and recruitment activities.

By partnering with outstaffing or recruitment service providers, organizations can tap into extensive candidate databases, specialized sourcing expertise, and international talent networks.

In response to growing demand, the market has developed a range of flexible HR outsourcing models:

• Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO): an outsourcing company manages the entire hiring process from start to finish.
• Employer of record (EOR) services: an external provider employs and manages staff on behalf of a business located in another country.
• Try and hire services: an outsourcing company provides a candidate who works on a trial basis at the client company before they commit to a permanent position.
• Staff augmentation:an external provider employs experts and supplies them to fill specific skill gaps in your team.
• Permanent placement services: an external provider searches for full-time employees for permanent roles at your company, managing the entire recruitment and placement process.
• HR management: an outsourcing company handles various human resource tasks like payroll processing, recruitment, performance management, and employee training management.

These models are widely used by global companies seeking to scale their workforce efficiently while maintaining operational flexibility.

Recruitment outsourcing examples

The following examples illustrate how organizations apply recruitment and HR outsourcing in practice.

• Company: PepsiCo
• Industry: Food and beverage
• Outsourced function: Human resource management
• Rationale: Difficulty managing HR operations for a large global workforce across multiple countries.
• Business outcome: Streamlined HR processes and improved efficiency in workforce administration.

With more than 100,000 employees across 67 countries, PepsiCo faced growing complexity in managing global HR operations. To optimize these processes, the company partnered with Hewitt Associates under a long-term outsourcing agreement. The 10-year partnership covered critical HR functions, including workforce administration, benefits management, and payroll support. 

• Company: Visa
• Industry: Financial services
• Outsourced function: IT recruitment and staff augmentation
• Rationale: Need to quickly fill specialized technology roles.
• Business outcome: Reduced time-to-hire, with open positions filled in an average of 28 days.

To support its growing technology initiatives, Visa partnered with Neontri to identify and recruit specialized IT professionals. This allowed the company to access a broader pool of qualified candidates and significantly reduce the time needed to fill critical positions.

The partnership enabled the company to expand its technical capabilities by successfully hiring more than 40 qualified candidates.

Customer support outsourcing: Scaling service without scaling teams

For businesses, outsourcing customer support offers a practical way to manage these demands. Companies in industries such as e-commerce, ICT, finance, and hospitality often partner with specialized providers to handle customer interactions at scale. This approach enables organizations to maintain high service standards through clearly defined key performance indicators (KPIs), while avoiding the operational burden of managing large internal support teams.

Customer support outsourcing examples

The examples below show how global companies use this type of outcome-based outsourcing to scale their customer support operations effectively.

• Company: Microsoft
• Industry: Technology
• Outsourced function: Technical support services
• Rationale: Need to provide global technical support while optimizing operational costs.
• Business outcome: Expanded global support coverage and improved operational efficiency.

Microsoft has long taken an open approach to outsourcing parts of its support operations. The company expanded its technical support services to more than 100 countries by partnering with external providers capable of delivering assistance across multiple regions and languages.

• Company: Uber
• Industry: Mobility
• Outsourced function: Customer service operations
• Rationale: Rapid global expansion requiring scalable support infrastructure.
• Business outcome: Global customer support network capable of handling large volumes of user interactions.

As Uber expanded internationally, the company restructured its customer support model by partnering with multiple external service providers. They established customer service hubs in several countries and invested heavily in building a distributed support network that ensures users can easily reach the company from anywhere in the world.

This strategy enabled Uber to handle a rapidly growing number of user requests from riders and drivers worldwide while maintaining service quality.

Outsourcing of supply chain management

As global supply networks become increasingly complex, organizations often rely on specialized external providers to manage logistics, production coordination, and operational processes more effectively. Several factors drive this decision:

• Growing supply chain complexity creates a need for specialized expertise and advanced technologies. 
• Companies frequently prioritize product development and innovation, delegating operational tasks to trusted partners. 
• Outsourcing can help reduce operational costs while improving transparency and performance through clearly defined service-level agreements (SLA) that specify delivery times, quality standards, and operational responsibilities.

In addition, modern supply chains are increasingly supported by automation and digital tools. For example, companies may adopt RPA outsourcing to tackle repetitive operational tasks such as order processing, shipment tracking, and invoice reconciliation. 

Manufacturing outsourcing: Scaling production globally

Companies outsource manufacturing to facilities located in different countries to reduce production costs and increase scalability. Key industries using this approach include:

• consumer electronics
• automotive
• pharmaceuticals
• and fashion

The scope of manufacturing outsourcing can range from simple product assembly to managing the entire production lifecycle – including:

• raw material sourcing
• quality control
• and packaging

Manufacturing outsourcing examples

The following examples illustrate how global brands leverage outsourcing to manage large-scale manufacturing operations and support sustainable supply chains.

• Company: Apple
• Industry: Consumer electronics
• Outsourced function: Device manufacturing and assembly
• Rationale: Need for large-scale production capacity and specialized manufacturing expertise
• Business outcome: Ability to scale production globally while focusing on product design and innovation

Apple works with Foxconn, a Taiwanese contractor operating large production facilities across China. Through this partnership, Foxconn produces Apple’s flagship devices, including iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks. This outsourcing model enables Apple to meet global demand for its products while allowing the company to concentrate on design, software development, and ecosystem innovation.

• Company: Nike
• Industry: Apparel and sportswear
• Outsourced function: Footwear and apparel manufacturing
• Rationale: Cost efficiency and access to large manufacturing networks
• Business outcome: Global production capacity supporting strong market leadership

Nike relies on a large network of independent contractors across China, Vietnam, and the Philippines to produce its footwear and apparel. Although Nike employs approximately 500,000 workers through its manufacturing partners, the company does not own production facilities.

This asset-light strategy allows Nike to scale production efficiently while maintaining strong market performance, with the company holding around 47% of the sportswear market.

Logistics outsourcing: Streamlining distribution and fulfillment

Logistics outsourcing allows companies to leverage established distribution networks and specialized operational expertise. However, logistics services extend far beyond transportation. Organizations outsource warehousing, inventory management, order fulfillment, customs brokerage, and returns processing.

Logistics outsourcing examples

The example below demonstrates how companies use third-party logistics providers to scale their global distribution capabilities.

• Company: Fair Havens
• Industry: Beauty and skincare
• Outsourced function: Logistics and fulfillment operations
• Rationale: Need for international distribution infrastructure and operational scalability
• Business outcome: Rapid market expansion and triple-digit business growth

Fair Havens, a Singapore-based skincare company, outsourced its logistics operations to Amazon through its third-party fulfillment services. The partnership enabled the company to delegate critical logistics tasks, including warehousing, order fulfillment, product distribution, returns, and exchanges. 

By leveraging Amazon’s established logistics infrastructure, Fair Havens successfully expanded its reach to customers in the United States and the United Kingdom.

According to the company’s founders, the move contributed to triple-digit growth, demonstrating the strategic value of logistics outsourcing for scaling global operations.

Final thoughts 

From software development and cybersecurity to customer support and supply chain management, organizations increasingly rely on external partners to access specialized expertise and accelerate innovation. It’s a strategic way for businesses to focus on their core strengths, scale operations efficiently, and remain competitive in rapidly evolving markets. 

FAQ

What challenges do companies face when outsourcing IT services?

Companies often struggle with communication barriers, data security risks, and maintaining quality control when outsourcing IT services. Differences in time zones, cultural nuances, and technical standards may slow decision-making or lead to misunderstandings during project delivery. 

Security is another major concern. To mitigate these risks, many organizations implement advanced cybersecurity frameworks based on Zero Trust principles or rely on established security standards such as NIST CSF 2.0 and ISO 27001 to structure risk management in outsourcing and ensure that everyone follows the same cybersecurity and data protection practices.

What industries outsource IT support the most?

Technology companies, financial institutions, and e-commerce businesses are the ones that most often turn to IT support outsourcing to streamline operations and access specialized expertise.