The business services industry is a major part of the economy, employing more people than most other sectors. It includes many jobs that do not produce a tangible or physical product, such as human resources, information technology and marketing. These services support businesses that create products and provide other services, such as insurance, accounting and transportation. Technology and digitalization have transformed the industry in recent years, and many businesses now offer their services through web platforms and systems.

The definition of business services is broad and includes activities such as human resource management, financial planning, marketing, information technology and consulting. It can also include more specialized areas such as engineering, architecture and legal services. Businesses often outsource their business services to specialists, rather than hiring employees in-house. This allows them to focus on their core business and to reduce costs.

Companies that provide business services include banks, insurance agencies, accounting firms and law firms. They can also include retail and office services providers, food services that cater to businesses, and utility companies that charge business customers based on their power consumption. These companies may also provide employee services such as day care, health and fitness centers and transportation.

In the past, business services were often provided in-house by company employees. However, with the advent of new technologies and outsourcing, these functions have been outsourced to external service providers. For example, a company might hire an outside payroll company to handle its employee paychecks. It might outsource its customer service to a call center or its information technology services to an IT consultancy.

Another way to categorize business services is by the type of customer they serve. Some services are aimed exclusively at business clients, such as insurance for workers compensation or the catering of industry conferences. Other business services are similar to consumer services but have additional features or quality, such as a flight with more legroom or an upgraded cloud storage service with added data redundancy.

Some business services are based on a client’s location, such as a graphic design firm that travels to clients to do work. This has led to the growth of virtual jobs in this sector, where employees can do their job from a home office or other remote location with an Internet connection. Virtual work can be a great option for people who want to avoid commuting and enjoy flexible schedules. It can also be a good fit for people who prefer to work in a less stressful environment and don’t want to deal with the daily grind of working in an office building.