Top 5 Data Collection Companies in India to Outsource

Data aggregators very often offshore their data collection requirements to outsourcing partners. These partners have the expertise and infrastructure to ensure quality, compliance, and security. We’ve screened and listed the top 5 data collection companies in India to make things easy for you.

For data aggregators, feeding today’s mammoth databases with updated, structured, and accurate data is an extremely resource and time-intensive task. The increasing focus on data privacy and security issues also requires adherence to compliance and security standards.

Partnering with reliable data collection companies with a high level of expertise, infrastructure, and technical capabilities is a prudent business decision.

India is the top global destination for outsourcing technical data work and processes. And so, we have listed here the 5 best data collection companies in India. These companies have earned a reputation for providing sound data collection services.

What are some common challenges in data collection?

Maintaining authenticity, relevancy, and consistency while collecting voluminous data from different sources and formats involves multiple processes, techniques, and quality checks.

Some of the challenges commonly faced in data collection are:

• Collecting quality data – Raw data has inconsistencies and errors. Therefore, to minimize quality issues one needs to design and use appropriate data collection and data cleansing methods.
• Collecting relevant data – Figuring out the data needed for a project and collecting the same is often difficult. Collecting data that isn’t needed adds time, cost, and complexity to the process. Missing out on relevant data affects data analysis.
• Data protection – Not all data is readily and publicly available for use. Some data is sensitive and cannot be accessed easily, thus making it challenging to collect.
• Data collection regulation – There are legal issues related to data collection. Understanding legal implications is important to avoid issues.
• Collecting data in near-real time – Information changes at the speed of light. Collecting the most recent data to keep the database enriched with the latest information is a mammoth task.
• Collecting information to enrich existing database – Data decays rapidly. To keep the database comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date, it needs consistent verification and enrichment.

Top 5 data collection outsourcing companies in India

Here are 5 data collection companies in India to outsource your data collection requirement.

1. Ipsos

Founded in 1975, Ipso is the 3rd largest global market research company. The company’s data collection solution covers conducting quantitative and qualitative research utilizing online, mobile, CATI, CAPI, or mixed-mode surveys.

The company with 5, 000+ clients has done 47 million interviews. They have conducted over 2,00,000 hours of telephone interviews across Australia as per the company website. The company excels in face-to-face, telephone, and central location interviewing (CLT).

2. Kantar IMRB

They are based in Chennai, with clients in 67 countries and 49 offices globally. They have been awarded ‘Agency of the Year’ eight times. The company’s data collection services include customized primary research solutions, and secondary data synthesis to uncover insights. As a great data collection company, IMRB has solutions and strategies for global clients based on emerging market skills and understanding.

3. Hitech BPO

Established in 1992 with 3,100+ delivered projects, Hitech BPO, an Ahmedabad-based company has served 5,000+ global clients so far. The company’s multiple delivery centers and scalable model help maintain business continuity against all odds.

As one of the leading data collection companies in India, Hitech BPO has built a formidable presence. Its team includes data scientists and automation experts. The company is known for providing genuine data collection services leveraging automated tools and technology. Their services cover end-to-end high-quality data collection from marketing to customer and competitor data.

It offers customer support 24/7 leading to time zone benefits, reduced turnaround time, and comparatively low costs.

4. Top Hawks

Top Hawks based in Noida is an end-to-end outsourcing data center providing data collection services. The company provides accurate information on customers and competitors including customer satisfaction surveys, market segmentation, product positioning insights, etc. With eight years of experience in the field of data collection, the company can capture data from the remotest location possible.

5. Impetus Research

Established in 2006, Impetus Research is a marketing research agency providing top-class syndication services for online and offline data collection. The company covers the entire data collection services that include survey programming and hosting, data analytics, and research. Responsive to customer needs, the company offers relevant and innovative solutions for research and data collection. The company’s data collection services include the collection of qualitative as well as quantitative data.

Why outsource data collection?

• Access to technology and experts – Experienced and well-established data collection companies have the required expertise, technology, and infrastructure. Outsourcing data collection jobs to them gives you access to a larger talent pool.
• Improved efficiency – Data collection is a complex process that requires expertise and infrastructure to gather data in various formats and from multiple sources. Delegating to a well-trained workforce helps improve overall efficiency.
• Cost and time effective – Reputed data collection companies can reduce overheads and operational costs. It allows the aggregator company to focus on its core activities thereby improving overall productivity and boosting revenue.
• Custom data collection solutions – Data collection companies in India have experience working with diverse industries. They have the technical capabilities and infrastructure to adapt to a wide range of business needs and provide custom solutions.
• Time zone benefits – When you work with companies in India from US or Europe, it is like you have an office working 24/7. Your office also works while you are sleeping giving you the time zone benefits and lesser turnaround time.
• Flexibility and scalability – Outsourcing data collection gives you the ability to upscale or downscale on demand. It adds flexibility to your setup without hiring or firing.
• Data security and confidentiality – Data collection companies sign an NDA with the client before starting the project which guarantees data security. They already have top data security systems in place and in-house cybersecurity experts. It frees you of much worry.

People also read: Positive Effects of Outsourcing to India

Tips for selecting the right data collection company

• Well-established infrastructure – Look for a vendor with well-established infrastructure and a scalable workforce.
• Skilled workforce with domain expertise – Ensure that the company has the required domain expertise to handle your specific requirements.
• Company culture and market reputation – Check on the market reputation of the company. Find reviews of old clients to get a fair idea of the company.
• Financial stability – The company should have sufficient financial backing and resources to get its job done. Rigorous financial scrutiny must be done.
• Competitive rates – Do a market survey of the rates offered by different data collection companies. It helps to assess if the rates offered are in line with standard market rates, and if not, why not.
• Risk management – The vendor must have a well-established risk management system in place with foolproof backup plans.
• Data security – Data is of sensitive nature. Hence the data collection company should have a data security system in place to keep your data protected all the time.

Future of outsourced data collection

Quality data is the basis of any project. May it be for Machine Learning and AI, building intelligent applications, streamlining revenue generation, or building effective marketing strategies. Collecting data from multiple online and offline sources at scale and maintaining accuracy requires a high level of expertise and automation.

Depending on manual processes is not workable and even automation requires the use of advanced techniques. Outsourcing data collection will continue to grow as data generation soars with new technologies and AI. It is impossible to get all data collection done in-house, even when you are in the business of data aggregation.

Some of the burning issues that push organizations to outsource data collection include:

• Shortage of in-house talent – With technologies growing rapidly, companies are under pressure not only to upgrade infrastructure but also to train staff. An acute talent shortage is expected to affect 70% of technology employers in the UK. This is likely to lead to high levels of outsourcing.
• Increased focus on cybersecurity – Cybercrimes are increasing at a fast pace making people scared about sharing data. With the demand for fully encrypted data, and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); aggregators need to outsource data collection projects. Data collection companies with multi-level security systems can handle compliance issues.
• The rise of VR/AR projects – Virtual and augmented reality projects are on the rise. Online retailers across the globe have started using this technology to enhance user experience in the fields of clothing and jewelry. The VR escape room set for the promotion of the Mr. Mercedes TV series is one example. To keep up with these new trends companies have to outsource data collection tasks and projects to specialized companies.
• Automation runs on artificial intelligence – Robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI), virtual agents, and bots for routine tasks are gaining traction. This has increased the demand for AI experts and data scientists, and outsourcing is the best option to get them.

Conclusion

Collecting diversified data from multiple sources and maintaining the authenticity and data structure is a difficult and specialized field of work. Organizations often drift away from their core activities in trying to keep up with the latest trends in data collection. With new data channels like landing pages and social forums, maintaining data security and legalities has also made the situation complex. Outsourcing data collection work to specialized vendors helps much in the entire process from compliance to costs.