Why I'm Still All In on Outsourcing

Every few months, a new think piece declares the end of outsourcing.

AI will replace it.
Automation will shrink it.
In-house teams will outperform it.

I understand why people believe this. Outsourcing has earned a mixed reputation. When it's done poorly, it's visible, painful, and expensive. When it's done well, it often fades into the background.

After more than two decades building, fixing, and scaling customer support organizations, and spending the last several years deep in vendor strategy and operations, I'm still all in on outsourcing. Not because it's easy or cheap. But because, when done with discipline, it's one of the most powerful tools a company has.

Outsourcing Isn't a Shortcut. It's a Strategy.

The biggest mistake companies make is treating outsourcing as a cost-cutting tactic instead of a strategic choice.

Outsourcing works when companies are honest about why they are doing it. Most organizations don't outsource because they don't care about customer experience. They outsource because they need to make tradeoffs.

Do you want your internal teams focused on product velocity, engineering quality, go-to-market execution, and core innovation? Or do you want them focused on staffing variability, seasonal volume spikes, 24/7 coverage, and multilingual support?

Both are valid priorities. They just can't all be first.

I was at Netflix in 2010, when CX leadership decided to outsource for the first time. It wasn’t an easy call. Many people inside the company genuinely believed that Netflix culture couldn't be extended beyond its walls. But the streaming industry's growth trajectory made the trade-offs unavoidable. Leadership had to decide where internal resources would have the greatest long-term impact. With the benefit of hindsight, it's hard to argue that this was the wrong decision.

Outsourcing allows companies to scale service responsibly without over-indexing internal headcount on functions that are essential, but not core to their differentiation.

The Problem Isn't Outsourcing. It's How We Execute It.

When outsourcing fails, it's rarely because of geography or labor models. It fails for predictable reasons.

Success metrics are vague.
Ownership is unclear.
Onboarding is rushed.
Feedback loops are weak.
Vendor management is passive.

Outsourcing exposes existing operational gaps; it doesn't create them.

I've seen this play out throughout my career. At one fintech company, I inherited an outsourced program that leadership viewed as underperforming. The instinct was predictable: change the vendor, renegotiate rates.

But the issues had nothing to do with location or talent. Success metrics were inconsistent. Ownership between internal teams and the vendor was unclear. Instead of replacing the partner, we rebuilt the operating model. We clarified what good looked like. We aligned incentives. We invested in vendor leadership, not just frontline staffing. Performance improved meaningfully, without changing vendors.

Outsourcing rarely fails because of who is doing the work. It fails because of how the work is set up.

Great Outsourcing Requires Real Partnership

The strongest outsourcing relationships don't feel transactional; they feel aligned.

That alignment shows up in shared success metrics, clear ownership across teams, investment in leadership, and transparency when things are not working.

Strong vendors don't want to be order-takers. They want to be accountable partners. But partnership only works when the client shows up with clarity, rigor, and consistency.

Outsourcing does not mean less control. It's a different kind of control, one built on systems, trust, and disciplined oversight rather than proximity.

AI Makes Outsourcing More Important, Not Less

This is the part many people miss.

AI does not eliminate the need for outsourcing. It raises the bar.

As automation absorbs simpler work, the remaining interactions become more complex, emotional, and high-stakes. That demands higher skill, stronger coaching, better quality frameworks, and faster adaptation.

Vendors who can integrate AI responsibly, while still delivering human judgment and empathy, become more valuable, not less. Outsourcing gives companies access to scale and specialization at a pace that most internal teams cannot match on their own.

The future is not AI versus outsourcing. It is AI within outsourcing, guided by thoughtful strategy.

Outsourcing Done Well Is a Competitive Advantage

The companies winning with outsourcing are not chasing the lowest rate. They are investing in strong vendor selection, clear operating models, ongoing performance governance, and leadership development on both sides.

They treat outsourcing as part of their customer strategy, not an afterthought.

When done well, outsourcing improves speed to scale, reduces risk, creates flexibility, and frees internal teams to focus on what matters most.

That is not outdated, it's smart.

So Yes, I'm Still All In

Outsourcing is not going away; it's evolving.

The companies that struggle with it will keep declaring it broken. The companies that master it will quietly outperform their peers.

I've seen both sides. And I'm still all in on outsourcing done with intention, discipline, and respect for the people doing the work.

That is not a trend. It is how durable companies actually scale.