In his book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, Thomas L. Friedman describes the perils and promise for businesses now that the Internet and telecommunications have truly leveled the playing field to create a global supply chain for goods and services.

One result of today's 'flat world' is the ability to outsource various business functions. If you want to learn how outsourcing can help you run your business and save you money, read on...

"We have added business purely because of the book," said Rajeev Rajagopal, vice president of Managed Outsource Solutions (MOS). The company, through its dynamic workforce in India, provides transcription services for health care providers, as well as backoffice functions for things like billing and collections, web development, call centers, and sales lead generation.

The idea for the company came to Rajagopal, when, as a physical therapist in Manhattan, he had difficulty getting transcriptions done on a timely basis. The need created the opportunity and MOS was born.

"MOS harnesses the global marketplace for greater productivity, efficiency, and cost savings," said President Bob Kruse. "Productivity in the sense that if you need some quick throughput--if you need your collections done quickly, say you've got a million dollars over 90 days old and you want that collected, what we can do is throw twice as many people at it for the same price that you might be able to domestically."

The fees for their service are negotiated after a free consultation; collections start at 2.5 percent of the collected amount. But, they can go after accounts receivable as stale as five years old.

Another interesting service is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). "You may create a beautiful web site, put it on the web and nobody sees it. Why don't people see it?" asked Rajagopal. "What we do in SEO is research to find out why it is not happening and do whatever is required in the coding area or content writing, or putting your site in directories to get the benefit of the web. We try to help you increase your presence on the web in certain searchable terms and key words that people would search you on."

Of course outsourcing makes some people nervous. Can another company, staffed in India, handle your vital business needs?

"The comfort level obviously is something that doesn't come right away. We have a lot of references that we can provide so people feel comfortable knowing we'll do what we say we'll do," Rajagopal said.

As far as security in transmitting digital data, many outsourcing companies are well aware of this concern. MOS uses military-grade encrypted technologies that exceed HIPAA requirements. In addition, customized e-mail feedback reporting keeps clients constantly updated on the status and progress of work such as billings.

"We believe globalization is going to really help businesses all around the world. There are some that will not embrace it and some who will and the people who embrace globalization will have a competitive edge," Rajagopal said.

He read that book, too.

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