Outsourcing can turn AI into ROI

How have outsourcing capabilities evolved?

Advanced AI capabilities are ushering in a new stage of maturity for outsourcing providers, helping to expand their role from transactional support to strategic enablement. Traditionally, outsourcing focused on high-volume, rules-based activities such as invoice processing, where scale and offshore labor arbitrage delivered cost efficiencies. 

Today, as distributed work models become standard, demand is shifting toward partners that can manage more complex, judgment-intensive functions, such as financial planning and analysis (FP&A), end-to-end accounting, vendor management and budget variance analysis, significantly increasing the value outsourcing can deliver. Many providers are still in the early stages of transitioning to a higher-value model.

Cost reduction remains an important driver: While cost-cutting intentions hit a four-year low in our Q1 survey, 72% of CFOs are still focused on optimizing costs in 2026. However, 66% now rank reasons other than cost as the top benefit of outsourcing, prioritizing more strategic drivers such as scalability and process standardization, AI enablement and access to talent.

Only 34% cite cost reduction as the primary benefit.

To support this evolution, CFOs are increasingly seeking outsourcing partners that go beyond transactional processing to deliver end-to-end modernization, combining advisory, AI enablement and operations within a single accountable platform.

Global delivery models that blend offshore and nearshore capabilities are another emerging trend. Offshore hubs maximize efficiency and cost savings for high-volume transactional processes, while nearshore teams provide the real-time collaboration, cultural alignment, agility and business proximity required for high-touch, time-sensitive and decision-oriented work.

Clients are taking note: In our survey, 82% of respondents said they are prioritizing shared services with outsourcing in their target operating models over the next three years. Sixty-four percent said they are already implementing or evaluating offshoring or nearshoring strategies, while only 36% plan to remain fully U.S.-based.

The availability of talent positions outsourcing as a key solution to one of the most persistent obstacles facing U.S. businesses. More than half (54%) of CFO survey respondents said they expect continued challenges in attracting and retaining the right talent over the next six months.

These shortages affect a range of roles, including accountants and IT/cybersecurity professionals. Clerks and call center employees also can be difficult to find in the United States as workforce preferences evolve.

“Many companies cannot hire the talent they need at the scale and cost they require,” Vega said.

Meanwhile, Baby Boomers are retiring and younger workers are increasingly selective about the roles they accept, often prioritizing flexibility in work hours and location while showing less interest in repetitive, transactional work. At the same time, salaries are rising as companies compete for the best talent.

Why is midmarket outsourcing on the rise?

Midmarket companies may be outsourcing’s most enthusiastic adopters because outsourcing offers clear advantages for organizations with smaller internal teams, strong hiring pressure and rapid scaling needs. With 90% of survey respondents concerned about consumer affordability, CFOs are also leaning into efficiency and cost optimization strategies like outsourcing and AI to help absorb cost pressures, rather than passing them along to customers.

Vega said outsourcing was once primarily adopted by the largest companies, whose high volumes of transactional, repetitive tasks made the economics work. However, the rise of providers focused on end-to-end modernization has made outsourcing increasingly attractive to midmarket organizations that need enterprise-level capabilities but lack the scale to build them independently.

Nearshoring has further accelerated adoption in the middle market — reducing many of the concerns that once made outsourcing feel difficult to manage, like distant time zones. Midmarket companies often require greater flexibility, customization and speed of execution that traditional offshore providers — typically optimized for scale and labor arbitrage — fail to deliver.

“As midmarket companies have adopted outsourcing, they’ve often chosen nearshoring because it’s easier to manage and collaborate with partners closer to home,” Vega said. “They no longer see outsourcing simply as a cost-cutting tactic. They see it as a faster, lower-risk path to scaling capabilities, accessing talent and accelerating transformation.”

When it comes to AI adoption, midmarket companies often have the desire to drive benefits through tech implementation, but they often lack the budget, IT resources and governance foundations to rapidly execute an effective AI program without a trusted partner.

The process scalability, talent access and automation experience that the right outsourcing partner can provide is often the major unlock needed to deliver an effective business modernization program.