Basman | Explore: IT Outsourcing

TPI, one of the most renowned international sourcing advisors, hits the nail on the head on global trends in sourcing:

• Increasing tendency toward multi-sourcing strategies, with multiple service providers engaged across a spectrum of business support functions and geographies
• Rapid adoption of global service delivery platforms, with attendant opportunities for flexible contracting relationships
• Shorter-duration contracting terms, reducing the risks associated with long-term agreements but also potentially restricting the upside
• Dramatic increase in service provider diversity, across service families, industries and geographies
• Gaining popularity of provider-defined solutions that contrast with historical models of provider-assumed assets and staff, with associated incremental improvements delivered over time
• Breakthrough potential of transformation in business operations made possible by focused investments and risk-taking on the part of the service provider community

Absolutely. That says everything happening right now in the industry. I would add four extra points to that list:

• Massive sellout of captives to service providers!
• Massive sellout of ITO units and field service forces to specialized service providers!
• Massive uptrade of the large global service providers into the BPO business
• The offshorers are coming! India and the other BRIC majors are entering the arena in the U.S. and West Europe!