Companies That OffshoreOffshore outsourcing is a potent tool for businesses that need access to specialized talent. It can also help reduce costs for labor, boost revenues and increase competitiveness of companies.Companies that outsource must be aware of the risks. Designing and manufacturing offshore, along with manufacturing can deprive a business of its design and engineering capabilities.TelstraTelstra has progressed a lot from its humble beginnings in the form of an unassuming government-owned company. Today it is a huge privatised telecommunications company with operations across the globe. It is also Australia's biggest fixed-line telephony provider.The success of the company can be attributed to its strong investment strategy and its innovative solutions. In the midst of a shortage of resources in the early years the company poured its money into the latest technology, and realized that the telecommunications industry was a great growth area. This was a fantastic move because it enabled the company to connect Australian city both domestically and internationally. The company also created the first mobile phone, which allowed people to stay connected with their loved ones regardless of where they were.In the 1990s, the company was faced with many challenges, like deregulation and the competition of competitors. It refused to be passive and developed aggressive plans to adapt to these changes. For instance, it invested heavily in infrastructure and has spent $200 billion to enhance its services. It also innovated by the introduction of BigPond which is a high-speed internet service for users.It also reduced its workforce and outsourced certain functions, resulting in cost savings. offshore consulting companies implemented an organization structure that divided roles into functional groups, instead of an traditional hierarchy system. This allowed managers at the top to be more in control of their areas of expertise.The company announced recently that it will bring its call centers back to Australia and that by 2021, its consumer and small business calls will be answered in Australia. This is a big step forward for Telstra, and it will likely be beneficial to its customers. Telstra will continue to run offshore call centers for its largest international clients.GEGeneral Electric (GE) was founded by Thomas Edison in 1892 and quickly became one of the most successful American companies. In the 1980s, GE acquired several major companies including Employer's Reinsurance and Kidder Peabody. In this period the company's revenue grew from $5 billion to $70 billion. However, despite these achievements, many analysts have questioned whether GE's growth was sustainable.Currently, GE is focusing on industrial technology and services including medical, renewable energy and power. It has also invested in additive machines, also known as 3-D printers, that can be used to make new products and parts. Additionally, GE's financial arm provides commercial credit and leasing.The most well-known product of the company is the GE washer and dryer that has been in use in American homes for more than 80 years. It was the first machine that could automatically wash and dry clothes. This was a revolutionary invention for households. GE produces not just appliances, but also aircraft engines, medical devices, and generators of power. GE plans to expand its digital business in the coming years. This includes commercial software from Wurldtech and cybersecurity technologies.GE also outsources its main business processes to India in a country where wages are lower than in the US. Its captive offshoring company, GE Capital International Services (GECIS) employed 12,000 workers in 2004. In 2005, GE sold its stake in GECIS and made it a separate BPO called Genpact. Genpact employs 20,000 people and GE remains a major customer. Genpact has recently expanded its business by acquiring the manufacturer of the Osprey drone. GE is also investing heavily in the wind sector, with a deal to supply an 87-unit Haliade-X 14MW wind turbines to Dogger Bank C.IBMInternational Business Machines (IBM) is one of the largest technology companies with its headquarters in Armonk, New York. IBM provides hardware, software and other services for the IT industry. It also offers loans to help clients acquire IT systems and software. In offshore companies , it operates research labs around the world. The company's pioneering research goes back to the 1880s, when Julius E. Pitrat invented the computing scale, and Alexander Dey created the dial recorder. Herman Hollerith also created an instrument for tabulating.The corporate vision statement of the company reflects its commitment towards leadership in the market and industry for information technology. It declares that the company will provide top-quality services by using business model innovation in conjunction with technology expertise and industry knowledge. It also focuses on customer satisfaction and value creation, which is key to its long-term success.In recent years, IBM expanded its services business. It has also rebranded itself as cloud computing platform and a cognitive solutions company. IBM's software portfolio includes analytics products like Cognos and SPSS. It also provides IT infrastructure software such as IBM WebSphere application servers and MQ messaging Middleware. It also offers mobile applications and security products, such as the IBM Verse business-email offering and the IBM QRadar platform for security intelligence.In recent years, the company's hardware sales have declined due to a shift in corporate IT spending from on-premises facilities to central operators like Amazon Web Services. In the meantime, IBM has focused on its business consulting and services businesses, and has made a variety of acquisitions to expand its presence in these areas. IBM has also invested heavily in cloud computing and has a global presence.AccentureAccenture is among the world's leading management consulting, technology services and outsourcing companies. Accenture has many strengths that give them a competitive edge, including deep knowledge and expertise in their field, innovative technology solutions, and strong relationships with leading vendors.The business processes of the company include procurement, marketing and supply chain, as well as learning, human resources, and finance. Accenture is also present in more than 120 countries. Accenture also offers a range of specific services in addition to its primary offerings. Accenture, for example, provides SAP S/4HANA as well as the rapid tracking of customer journeys in digital businesses. It also offers IT and security consulting services.In the past, companies have outsourced some production processes to reduce costs and improve competitiveness. In the garment industry for instance, many production functions have been outsourced Asian countries. In recent times, more and more companies are focusing on providing services instead of product production. This shift has resulted in the need for more professionals with experience of digital and IT services. The best part is that these skills are transferable across industries.Accenture has a wide range of clients and is expanding in the most important markets. The client base includes 91 of the Fortune Global 100 and more than three-quarters of the Fortune Global 500. The company partners with companies like Apple, Google, Oracle and others to develop new technology. Accenture, for example has partnered with SAP to develop an intelligent platform solution that aids oil companies in the upstream to simplify their processes by using market standards. This solution is being tested by a group of major oil and gas companies including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Equinor. This collaboration shows how companies are moving beyond traditional outsourcing to focus on services and innovation.MicrosoftMicrosoft is a renowned publisher of operating systems and software for personal computers. The most well-known of its products are the Windows line of software, the Office suite and Internet Explorer web browser. However, offshore consultancy company has faced accusations of monopoly and anti-competitive behavior. In the 1990s it set the foundation of a network of offshore entities in order to transfer intellectual property and reduce taxes.When a customer purchases Office in Seattle, Microsoft's headquarters are not located in Redmond. Instead, the money takes an extended journey. The money begins with a long trip, first going through a Nevada sales subsidiary, which does not tax corporate income. The money then travels across the Atlantic and is taxed by a Bermudan firm at a zero-percent rate.The money is transferred to an Puerto Rican company that accounts for research costs and transfers a small slice to an Irish company. The company has utilized similar structures to evade taxes in other countries, such as Britain and Germany. The software giant has saved billions in tax due to this arrangement.The software giant is now facing a legal challenge from Congress to change its offshore strategy. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has stated that the company along with other technology firms, employ offshore units and tax loopholes to avoid paying of taxes. The panel is investigating tax evasion by tech firms such as Google owner Alphabet and Apple which have transferred billions in profits to low-tax jurisdictions.The collaboration between SSE Renewables, Avanade and the Netherlands' Ministry of Infrastructure is part of an overall project to improve the impact of wind farms on the environment. The collaboration will develop digital instruments to better assess the effect of a windfarm on the local eco-system. The tools will be tested in an aquarium and are expected to enhance wildlife identification, abundance monitoring and distribution analysis.