When a company hires service providers, or people outside of their company, to take on the day-to-day operations of non-core, non-revenue producing areas of the business, it's referred to as outsourcing. It sometimes involves transferring people and assets to a service provider for a specified period of time. In any case, an agreement is entered into between the company and service provider, stating the terms of the agreement, including any and all fees for providing the service.

There are certain areas of a company where duties are outsourced to others regardless of the associated costs. One such example is in information technology. When a business starts up, it needs a computer system and, unless the business deals with computer design and manufacturing, outside help will be required, especially if there are special programs required to operate the business.

While the computers would be used by employees within the company, it's to a larger company's advantage to make technicians responsible - even from a remote location - for day-to-day maintenance of the systems: monitoring them to ensure programs run smoothly, ensuring anti-virus software is current, making sure sensitive information doesn't get into the wrong hands, and so on. Since many other companies would be employing the same technicians to perform the same duties, the cost a business owner would incur is minimal compared to what it would cost if he had to pay people salaries, or wages, to perform these duties.

However, the areas of a business that are normally outsourced to other companies to perform duties on a day-to-day basis involve human resources, accounting, facilities management, janitorial duties and accounting, among others.

Despite the controversy surrounding the concept of outsourcing - claiming that it takes jobs from local citizens and gives them to foreigners - there are many advantages associated with outsourcing as follows:

* Domestic providers. Though international companies are, generally, able to perform tasks much cheaper than local/domestic companies, many tasks can be outsourced to local companies or service providers if they have the expertise necessary to complete the work. It saves money, regardless, and some businessmen are more comfortable dealing with people they know; people who speak their language and have similar customs when dealing with business assocaites.

* Personnel costs are saved. There are less employees on the business payroll which means

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