The Philippines, too, increased outsourcing revenues by 25 per cent from $4.8 billion in 2007 to $6 billion in 2008 while increasing industry employment by 33 per cent to an estimated 400,000 employees.

Avinash Vashistha, CEO of Tholons, cautioned: “For a CIO today, finding a center of excellence is more than just lower cost. The service providers need to think through their offerings as the competitive advantage is rapidly vanishing due to cut-throat competition and market saturation.”

India, the Philippines, Ireland, China and Brazil figure among the Top 5 Offshore nations, notes the report. They are categorised by a high degree of maturity and record of successful delivery capabilities. These countries typically have ‘Centers of Excellence’ across multiple outsourcing segments and rank highly in a number of location assessment scenarios.

These five countries offer the strongest value propositions to clients based on the Location Assessment Platform and are considered as prime locations when considering specific outsourced processes. They will most often also have the unique advantage of scale and capacity as compared with smaller or emerging locations.

In contrast, countries like Canada, Russia, Mexico, Vietnam and Poland figure among the top five emerging nations. The difference is most pronounced in the service level maturity. In terms of potential, though, they are not far behind, states the report.

Source: Business Standard