Shaine Mata

Two outsourcing companies have recently made changes that may benefit those of us who are using virtual Personal Assistants. BPOVIA is a Business Process Outsourcing company based in China that also provides Virtual Personal Assistants. GetFriday is a Virtual Personal Assistant company based in India.

Not too long ago, BPOVIA announced that they are now providing service on a pay-as-you-go basis. You can still hire BPOVIA on a monthly rate, which saves you money, especially on a full-time basis. However, if you have only a few tasks here and there, you may consider going with a pay-as-you-go agreement. BPOVIA has a team of highly educated and qualified people whose specialty is helping businesses. BPOVIA is geared towards the small and medium business environment. You can hear more about the service on a prior interview.

GetFriday is a service that I have personally used for about 1 year already. GetFriday has raised the bar on their service by announcing that they will provide 24/7 service starting July 7, 2008. One of the limitations that I have had with oursourcing is that GetFriday only operated during business hours in the U.S. The problem is that I often need help after hours. For this reason, I am glad that they have chosen to provide round the clock service.

The competition in the outsourcing field is giving companies reason to differentiate and offer more. The differentiation varies from cost, availability, and even specialization. The Outsorcerer, for example, specializes in research. This is good if your needs are limited to that service specifically. There is much to be said for specialization in the realm of outsourcing. Another company that specializes is IGSBookkeeping. They specialize in providing accounting services, often as a backoffice to CPA offices.

Whether you have a very general need for help or a very specific need, you can find the right outsourcing company. I’ve only mentioned some companies that are available abroad simply because of the price advantage. If you are looking domestically, there are plenty of companies that offer similar services, but at a higher price. It all comes down to your comfort level in dealing with non-U.S. based companies.