Running a company means constantly making trade-offs. Do you build in-house or bring in outside partners? Push your teams harder or risk slowing growth? Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) helps take that pressure off.
When it's done right, BPO gives you breathing room to focus on strategy while trusted partners handle specialized tasks. No longer just a cost-saving tool, BPO is now a lever for scaling efficiently, improving resilience, and accessing high-caliber talent.
What is Business Process Outsourcing?
BPO means contracting out defined business functions to an external provider. These functions can be customer-facing (like support and sales) or operational (like finance and IT).
The goal is focus. BPO helps keep internal teams on strategic work while specialists handle the rest.
Common BPO services and use cases
BPO is applied in two primary areas:
- Back office. Finance, accounting, HR administration, data management, IT support, and compliance. These functions keep the business running but don’t face customers directly.
- Front office. Customer support, sales development, marketing production, and subscription management. These touch clients and often drive revenue.
Howdy.com supports both front-office and back-office BPO services, from data engineering for fintechs to customer success teams for consumer brands.
Types of BPO and when to use them
The model you choose — offshore, nearshore, or onshore — depends on the type of work and the level of collaboration required.
- Offshore. Offshore BPO means outsourcing work to distant countries, often in regions like Asia or Eastern Europe. This model is usually chosen for standardized, high-volume tasks where cost savings matter more than real-time collaboration.
- Nearshore. Nearshore BPO refers to outsourcing work to neighboring or nearby countries, such as US companies working with teams in Latin America. Nearshoring is effective for projects that require ongoing communication because time zones and cultural alignment are easier to manage.
- Onshore. Onshore BPO means outsourcing within the same country. While this is the most expensive option, it is often used for work that involves sensitive customer data, strict compliance requirements, and direct customer interaction.
Leaders start by asking whether the work is standardized or evolving, low-risk or compliance-heavy, behind the scenes or stakeholder-facing. The answers point to the right model.
Why companies choose BPO
Tech leaders turn to BPO for scalability, speed, and specialized expertise. BPO helps teams handle volume, shorten delivery timelines, and improve resilience without overextending internal staff.
For Howdy clients, outsourcing has meant building engineering squads in weeks, reducing customer wait times, and protecting institutional knowledge with high retention.
Real Howdy.com BPO success stories
For Howdy.com clients, outsourcing has made it possible to build engineering teams in weeks, cut customer wait times, and retain knowledge through employee retention. Below are a few standout success stories.
Earnest (Fintech). Earnest’s engineering leadership wanted to consolidate fragmented teams across Latin America. Through Howdy, they created a unified structure with standardized compensation, benefits, and local support. The result was a 15–20% reduction in overall costs, a 20–30% increase in teammate take-home pay, and significantly stronger retention.
Nano (Consumer subscriptions). An HVAC filter subscription service, Nano needed customer service that could support proactive outreach and reduce subscription churn. Howdy provided specialists who ramped in less than a week and blended seamlessly with the brand voice. Customers reported service that felt local, and the company saw higher subscription stickiness and lower churn.
Ciphertext Solutions (Fintech infrastructure). Ciphertext had to integrate complex banking systems while reducing time-to-market. By embedding senior Howdy engineers, the company cut implementation cycles from 12 months to 6 months. Strong retention has ensured knowledge stays within the organization.
What sets Howdy.com apart
Most outsourcing providers focus on staffing. Howdy.com does more by providing the infrastructure and community that helps outsourced teammates succeed long-term.
- Eight Howdy Houses across Latin America for culture and collaboration
- 100% compliance coverage in every market
- $100M+ saved by clients
- 50K+ hours saved in recruitment time
These investments make sure the people you hire through Howdy feel like part of your company.
A decision checklist
When weighing BPO options, leaders ask:
- Is the work standardized or collaborative?
- How costly are delays caused by time zones?
- Will teammates work directly with executives or customers?
- Are there compliance or data residency needs?
- How critical is knowledge continuity?
Answering these questions helps you decide whether outsourcing is the right move and which model is the best fit.
Learn how BPO can extend your team without losing culture or quality. Book a free demo with Howdy.com.