Click here to download the free paper by Genpact.

Our IT portfolio consists of E-Commerce, Business Intelligence, Content Management, Third Party Testing and Custom Solutions.  In SCM, we specialize in Source-to-Pay (S2P), Procure-to-Pay (P2P), Spend Management and MRO.  Corbus offers a complete set of PMO solutions including Project Management Capability Assessment, Project Recovery, Project Plan Validation and the Project Audit, and Enterprise Project Management Software.  Corbus has been a leading Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider offering Procurement, Supply Chain, E-Commerce and Credit Services.

Corbus creates technology-empowered solutions with industry leading processes and technologies that deliver business value to global clients through year-on-year savings. We are known for our ability to work in true partnership with clients to innovate and bring cost reduction along with enhanced product quality.  Corbus’ alliances allow for effective use of resources and modern knowledge and technology.  With competitive positioning and complete transparency, Corbus and clients together achieve success.

Corbus is a global organization, headquartered in North America with presence in Europe and Asia Pacific markets. Corbus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Soin International LLC, a private multi-national holding company that provides strategic management, administrative systems, and financial support to a diverse array of worldwide subsidiaries and affiliates.

Service Lines

• E-Commerce
• Web Application Development
• Business Analytics
• Digital Marketing
• Mobility Solutions
• Cloud Enablement
• Strategic Sourcing
• Supply Chain Platforms & Tools

Corbus at a Glance

• Founded: 1994
• Employees: 700+
• Service lines: Aviation, Consumer Package Goods (CPG), Retail, Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Media, Healthcare, Publishing
• Headquarters location: Dayton, Ohio
• Locations of global delivery centers: United States, United Kingdom, China, India, Switzerland

For More Information

Telephone: +1 888-608-9975
Fax: (937) 586-3059
E-mail: sales@corbus.com
www.corbus.com

Certifications

• ISO 9001:2008
• Six Sigma
• ISO 27001
• ITIL
• Certified Minority Business Enterprise

Awards and Recognitions

• Innovation Award
• Amity HR Excellence Award for Overall Corporate Culture
• Golden Peacock National Quality Award
• Business Journal “Best Places to Work”
• The Global Outsourcing 100 List
• “India’s Best Companies to work for”
• “Fast 25″ by Business Journal
• “Exciting Emerging Companies to Work for”
• “Amity Corporate Excellence Award for Leveraging Technology in Global Business”

In order to meet these needs, Allegis Group Services provides three distinct service offerings that can be delivered individually or in combination to meet every human capital or workforce management need that your company may have. Each service is comprehensive and fully customizable to align with your goals for a world-class workforce that is built to lead your company into a successful future.

Allegis Group Services’ Workforce Management Solutions help companies manage the entire spectrum of processes and systems that requisition, procure, manage and pay a contingent workforce and staffing supplier community. Our solutions encompass more than just the automation of these processes through a technology system. They include the entire solution design, process optimization, active cost management, reporting analytics, performance management, overall program oversight and sharing of best practices from the other highly successful programs we design and manage.

Service Lines

RPO – Recruitment Solutions from Allegis Group Services. Allegis Group Services has succeeded with world-class organizations by providing flexible solutions that significantly impact their recruitment function with results. Our recruiting culture and passion to succeed on every assignment is unparalleled in the industry and always assures that our client’s goals are achieved.

Executive Search and Management Recruiting from InSearch Worldwide. InSearch Worldwide has built a Management Recruiting solution on 20+ years in the executive search industry. Our solution is designed to meet each customer’s need for either senior-level professionals or individuals with qualifications that are difficult to identify in the marketplace. When you choose InSearch Worldwide for your executive search needs, you’re working with a team with specialized expertise in the following:

• Attracting pivotal talent on a global basis
• Actively sourcing passive job seekers
• Providing a positive candidate experience
• Recruiting across major functions (HR, Technology, Marketing, Operations, Legal, Finance, etc.)

Distinctive Capabilities

Allegis Group Services^® Inc., an operating company of Allegis Group^® Inc., provides human capital and workforce management solutions to customers in a wide range of industries across the globe. Our offerings include Managed Services (MSP), Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Executive Search and Consulting Services.

Whether you’re looking to optimize the use of your contingent workforce program, outsource your organization’s recruitment needs or want to analyze key market trends to better serve your business needs, Allegis Group Services can help. Through distinct service offerings, we employ industry best practices and our experience to assist our customers in maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of their workforce programs.

Allegis Group Services at a Glance

• Year founded: 2001
• Revenues: AG 2010 revenue- $6.4B
• Employees: 524
• Service lines: RPO, MSP, Executive Search, Consulting Services
• Headquarters location: Hanover, Maryland
• Locations of global delivery centers (active on six continents): London, Toronto, Frankfurt, Bangalore, Beijing

For More Information

Telephone: 877-247-4426
www.allegisgroupservices.com

Awards and Recognitions

• GM Supplier of the Year ‐ 2011 (GM Award Video)
• Microsoft Premier Vendor Status ‐ 2010
• Rockwell Collins Presidents Award ‐ 2009

Antex International is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and was founded in 2005 by the Italian-based group Fis Antex as a response to the growing demand of its multinational clients for multi-country-service capabilities. In November 2010 Antex International opened a shared-service center in Chisinau, Moldova and, starting in 2011, expanded its services to Greece and Cyprus.

Antex International closely follows industry best practices and provides its clients with cost-efficient and high-quality support services. Our flexible approach allows us to adjust our services to the individual needs of each client while maintaining a high level of process proficiency. Our optimized service delivery model provides our clients with the infrastructure depth, professional integrity and client service level maturity that you expect from your outsourcing partner.

Service Lines

Payroll outsourcing – Antex International allows your organization to achieve more coherence and effectiveness in its payroll administration processes. Clients benefit by taking advantage of our larger processing scale, language capabilities, local infrastructure and other resource-focused capabilities. Our multi-country payroll outsourcing service utilizes an integrated service delivery process while providing our clients with a single user interface and centralized project management.

HR Services – Rather than viewing HR Administration outsourcing entirely as a cost-cutting initiative, Antex International’s philosophy is to search for ways to support our clients that not only take control of the in-scope processes but also transform these processes and underlying technologies if needed. We take an end-to-end view of the function, looking for optimization opportunities and operational efficiencies.

Time and Attendance Management – Antex International’s time and attendance systems, combined with shared centers assistance, support clients during all T&A process phases (including end-user technical assistance). Our time and attendance recording systems are Web-based and vertically developed, allowing our clients and their employees a simple and effective full-service solution required for effectively facilitating time and attendance processes.

Expense Management – Our expense management technologies and service processes support a highly collaborative and proactively supported commercial offering that includes:

• Managing the entire business travel process through a single on-demand service
• Utilizing world-class proprietary Web-based technologies to enhance work flows and process responsiveness
• Eliminating traditional paper-based and first generation electronic expense refund procedures
• Simplifying and optimizing company transport and travel management processes

Distinctive Capabilities

• In-country presence, expertise and client support
• Proprietary processing application which is localized and supports data consolidation across the region
• Highly developed collaboration and service delivery tracking tools
• Secure and business-continuity resilient delivery model

Your Company at a Glance

• Year founded: 2005
• Revenues : 78M
• Employees : 700
• Service lines: Payroll, HR Administration, Time & Attendance Management, Expense Management
• Headquarters location: Geneva, Switzerland
• Locations of global delivery centers: Lisbon, Portugal; Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; Athens, Greece; Milan, Italy

For More Information

Telephone: +41225087058
E-mail: info@ai-emea.com
www.ai-emea.com

Case Studies

• Things to Consider when Choosing Global Payroll Outsourcing Services
• http://www.crowehorwath.net/crowe-horwath-global/news/Crowe_Horwath_International_Appoints_John_Stewart_International_Tax_Director.aspx

With over 1,500 customers in more than 50 countries across five continents, we are today a leading technology solutions provider. Our customers include banks, insurance and financial services companies, government, manufacturing and retail sectors, and utilities. Eighty of our customers are part of the Fortune 500 list. This is an evidence of the confidence and trust that our customers have placed in us.

Service Lines

A. Software products:

• Banking: 3i Infotech’s secure banking solutions suite comprises an extensive range of enterprise banking offerings like core banking, lending, treasury, asset liability management, anti-money laundering and many more, that cater to the varied operations and departments of banks and other financial services organizations. The width and depth of our solutions offer clients limitless possibilities, giving them options to boost their performance and ROI.
• Mutual Funds: 3i Infotech offers a variety of proven mutual fund solutions for unit trust management companies, asset management companies, pension fund managers, and other financial institutions. Our solutions suite for mutual fund companies encompasses operations such as fund accounting, valuation, investment management, lending, investor services, dealing, pre-dealing, intent generation, and order management. Our mutual fund software solutions are globally acclaimed for meeting strategic as well as day-to-day operational needs.
• Capital Markets: 3i Infotech offers a wide gamut of capital market solutions for stockbrokers, traders, stock exchanges and regulators. Our capital market software solutions cover market surveillance and monitoring, Internet trading, trade order and risk management, and clearing and settlement processes.
• Wealth Management/ Portfolio Management Solutions: 3i Infotech’s multi-currency wealth management solution suite provides a highly reliable business solution for automating the entire investment life cycle across a wide variety of assets like mutual funds, bonds, equities, deposits, real estate, metals, commodities, etc. 3i Infotech also has a comprehensive wealth management life cycle solution, which is tailored for the use of advisors and wealth managers. The solution is proven, scalable, and provides the technology that allows firms to increase their level of customer services, reduce costs and enhance revenue. It captures all pertinent information regarding contacts and clients with a true relationship view and helps define clients’ goals, generate investments proposals, calculate performance and produce elegant customized reports. This solution supports the entire wealth management life cycle commencing from prospecting, risk profiling, suitability assessment, and financial planning to order placement and reporting.
• Asset Management Solution: 3i Infotech’s asset management solution is a multi-currency treasury application for asset managers, insurers and pension fund managers. It offers end-to-end investment management operations from analytics and order management to accounting and NAV generation. Strong user-defined compliance rules and workflow are integral to the product.
• Manufacturing: Manufacturing companies are looking at increasing their business value while focusing their efforts and investments on cost reduction and improved customer service. Our IT solutions for manufacturing companies revolve around one basic principle – maximizing value to customer by superior value-chain management. Our manufacturing life cycle solutions are built around our patented, successful frameworks and help our customers exceed their business objectives by leveraging operational and information technologies. This end-to-end integrated software application is a seamless, open platform that includes full-featured ERP expertise coupled with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and SCM (Supply Chain Management) features. Our deep domain knowledge and industry-focused approach has helped us become one of the leading providers of manufacturing solutions.
• Telecom: As a leading provider of telecommunications solutions, 3i Infotech thoroughly understands every critical need of the telecommunications business – be it the challenges resulting from the ever-changing regulations, industry consolidation, emerging technologies, changing customer demands, or the ongoing spurt in customer numbers. That’s why our telecom solutions (like ADMS, Testing, IMS, etc), along with a range of BPO services for the Telecommunications sector, are entirely focused on helping our clients retain customers, develop and launch unique products quickly, and achieve faster ROI.
• Government: 3i Infotech has successfully implemented several projects for government departments and organizations across a variety of areas such as transport, urban development, land records, education, healthcare, ports & shipping, dairy, taxation, property registration, etc. With our unique Public Private Partnership (PPP) methodology, we have implemented large, complex projects through a mix of Build-Own-Operate (BOO), Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) models.

B. IT Services:

• Application Development and Maintenance Services: 3i Infotech offers the entire gamut of a development services, be it custom software development, testing, application integration and migration or consulting. Our software solutions are backed by deep domain expertise, industry experience, world-class technology skills, robust infrastructure and a global delivery model delivered complemented with seamless program management.
• Independent Testing & Compliance Business: 3i Infotech’s software testing and complianceservices have been helping organizations worldwide in developing a highly effective software testing strategy for realizing their most desirable software verification, validation and compliance scenarios. The activities are intended to help organizations to develop testing strategies towards a zero-defect operation. The focus is on preventing defects rather than correcting. Additionally, our services are aimed at achieving predictable time to market arising from rigorous testing standards, quick turnaround times, and low defect output at lower costs.
• Infrastructure Management Services (IMS): 3i Infotech offers end-to-end infrastructure management services customized to meet the unique needs of a wide spectrum of business customers. Our services cover all the aspects of our clients’ IT implementation including data centers, communication networks (LAN/WAN), servers, storages, databases, desktops, messaging infrastructure through a suite of service offerings such as enterprise-wide remote infrastructure management (RIM), end user support (EUS) security, convergence, storage and systems and application management. 3i Infotech also provides advisory services to customers to maximize their infrastructure investments as well as assist in optimization by integrating state-of-the-art technology solutions with best practices such as ITIL.
• Business Intelligence and Enterprise Application Services: 3i Infotech’s business intelligence and data warehousing services offer a broad range of end-to-end solutions in data management and advanced analytics, in addition to a variety of tools for business intelligence and data warehousing. Our solutions combined with the power of business intelligence, data mining, predictive analytics, and data integration provide the information in the desired format so that time is effectively spent on making more accurate, timely business decisions.
• Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Services: 3i Infotech provides complete end-to-end BPO services for various industries. We have rich expertise in non-voice-based BPO services, having been the registrar and share transfer agent for one of the largest private banks for years. We have a team of qualified and experienced professionals, which follows a meticulously laid out workflow-based process to ensure that we do not leave anything to chance. Our customers have a comprehensive overview of operations with regular reporting and analytics to make informed decisions.

Distinctive Capabilities

Solution Accelerators. 3i Infotech with its wide range of IT solutions (software products and IT services) and BPO services transforms clients’ operations by enabling them to maximize the value of their technology investment in an efficient manner through its Solution Accelerators. Our solutions deliver an integrated solution designed to accelerate adoption and ensure our customers go to market faster. With a flexible approach, clients can go for a single solution or a combination of one or more to meet their specific needs.

3i infotech Solution Accelerators improve time to market for custom IT projects by up to 30 percent. These accelerators incorporate pre-built functionality and technology in frameworks that serve as the foundation of IT projects, along with proven best-practice methodologies and processes culled from years of technology implementation and software development experience. Together, these Accelerators provide a head start for IT projects, delivering superior results in dramatically less time.

Your Company at a Glance

Founded 1999
Revenues – $550 million as on FY10
Employees – 14,000+
Service lines:

• IT infrastructure
• IT applications
• Transaction processing/BPO

Headquarters location – Mumbai, India
Locations of global delivery centers:

• AMERICAS: Los Angeles, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Dallas, TX; Atlanta, GA; Louisville, KY; Rochelle Park, NJ; Edison, NJ, Naperville, IL ; Napa, CA; Des Moines, IA; Charlotte, NC
• WESTERN EUROPE: London, Birmingham, Nantwich, Ashby-de-la-Zouch
• MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA: Dubai
• SOUTH ASIA: Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, New Delhi
• ASIA PACIFIC: Kuala Lumpur, Chengdu, China

For More Information

Telephone: +91 22 39145765
Fax: +91 22 39145703
E-mail: namrata.shah@3i-infotech.com
http://www.3i-infotech.com

Certifications

ISO 9001:2008 for BPO
ISO/IEC 27001:2005 for Data Center Operations
ISO/IEC 20000-1:2005 for Data Center Management Services
SEI CMMI level 5 (embarked on re-appraisal)
BSA SAM Certification

Awards & Recognition

• Ranked 36 (4th among Indian IT companies) in the Fintech 100 list of Financial Services & Technology providers, published by American Banker, October 2010
• Winner of the Technology Vendor of the year Award at the Middle East Insurance Awards, April 2010
• One of the top three companies in the “Service Provider of the Year” and “Technology Initiative of the Year” categories at the 14th Asia Insurance Industry Award, October 2010
• Winner of the Systems in the City Award for Superior Customer Service for the 4th consecutive year, London, May 2010
• Winner of the Best Takaful Technology Company for the 3rd consecutive year at the Takaful Awards, July 2010
• One of the top three Indian software product companies – Dataquest 2009
• One of the top 12 Indian IT companies (excluding foreign and hardware companies) – Dataquest 2010
• Winner of the WorldBlu “List of Most Democratic Workplaces 2010” Award

Analysts’ Comments

Martin Whybrow, Director, IBS Intelligence, UK – “It has been interesting for IBS Intelligence, as the industry’s primary publishing, research and consulting company in the financial services back office and operations space, to watch the evolution of 3i Infotech. We have been following the company since its outset and it has become an important player on the market. It has a broad suite of solutions, with specific strengths in primary lending, wholesale banking, Islamic banking, and wealth management and has a varied, international user base.”

Catherine Stagg-Macey, Senior Analyst, Celent – “3i Infotech has a solid offering for insurers in emerging markets, which is supported by a capable onshore/offshoreservices delivery arm. In mature markets like North America, the established BPO services and growing IT services offerings position them well for the cost-focused coming years in the Insurance sector.”

Our mission is to deliver cost-effective WOW services and assist our customers becoming preferred employers. This is delivered on the basis of one common system, a network of multi-client local language service centers combined with selected offshoring and nearshoring of certain back-office processes not requiring direct customer interaction.

Zalaris was founded in 2000 and has since grown to deliver a comprehensive set of services to more than 100,000 employees on a monthly basis. We have more than 300 HR professionals and SAP HCM consultants. In 2010 our annual revenue was EUR 27 million (USD 36 million). It is our goal to double our revenue by 2013.

Service Lines

• HR Outsourcing Services: Comprehensive HR outsourcing and payroll services from our local language service centers
• HR Technology Services: On-demand payroll and HR processes that run on Zalaris’s preconfigured SAP HCM smartHR platform
• HR Consulting Services: Our consultants configure your SAP HCM-powered service center infrastructure based on our smartHR template

Distinctive Capabilities

A key to our success and satisfied customers is our ability to serve our customers in local language, local culture, local competence and local presence – but with common systems and processes. Scale and cost-effective solutions are achieved through a multi-client, single-country approach rather than a single-client, multi-country approach.

Your Company at a Glance

• Year founded: 2000
• Revenues: EUR 27 million / USD 37 million (2010)
• Employees: approximately 300
• Service lines (business processes, IT infrastructure, IT applications): HR Outsourcing Services, HR Technology Services and HR Consulting Services
• Headquarters location: Oslo, Norway
• Locations of global delivery centers: Lødingen (Norway), Notodden (Norway), Stockholm (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark), Helsinki (Finland), Riga (Latvia) and Chennai (India).

For More Information

Tel: +47-4000.3300
Fax: +47 2202 6001
info@zalaris.com
www.zalaris.com

Certifications: Authorized SAP BPO Provider

Case Studies

• Bank and insurance
• Industrial
• Service and retail

Click to see full size image.

Proxima: Redefining procurement. Powering business.

Proxima is a dynamic international business, specialising in procurement outsourcing.

At Proxima we approach things differently. Working closely with you, we improve business performance by making procurement deliver more. Our approach goes beyond driving efficiency. It’s about enabling change, enhancing management control and delivering results that exceed your expectations.

We see procurement as an under-valued and under-developed business resource. Our aim is to change that. This doesn’t mean just making what our clients do now more efficient. It means providing them with a complete end-to-end procurement solution that enables them to change the way they think and operate. It’s this change that ultimately delivers long-term business success.

Distinctive Capabilities

Business solutions for procurement challenges

Our approach sees us talking about business, not procurement. Looking at the total commercial picture, we proactively seek ways to help all your operations work more effectively. We focus on getting as close as possible to your business, anticipating future requirements and delivering results that are transformational, not traditional.

Market expertise – up-to-date and on-demand

Maximising procurement opportunities requires detailed, up-to-date knowledge across hundreds of specialist categories. That’s the kind of capability few can retain in-house. Our shared-services approach offers you a flexible alternative. With a huge spectrum of specialists constantly expanding their expertise across multiple sectors, we have the resources on-hand to deliver the results you need.

Winning hearts. Changing behaviour

Strong procurement performance is about more than striking good deals. Underpinned by our collaborative approach, it’s about influencing attitudes and behaviour so that people see the advantages of positive change. Change that they collectively own and commit to, to ensure lasting success.

Delivering more than you thought possible

Success for us means changing your expectations. Very often that means creating substantial cost savings, but the impacts we deliver go further. Improving visibility and control, mitigating risk, raising operational performance and increasing shareholder value are all ways in which we can help you do more than you may have thought possible.

Never satisfied with the status-quo

Our aim has always been to make procurement deliver more. We’ve developed extensive expertise and proven approaches. But we want to go further – continuously improving and constantly innovating. Never satisfied with the status-quo, we strive to enhance our performance. And your results.

Areas of Specialization

We view indirect spend differently.  To us, it’s the essential activity that enables organisations to run.  Key to our approach – and our major strength – is the way in which we take great care to foster deep connections with our clients and gain an acute understanding of their needs and organisations.

This ‘intimacy’ is fundamental to delivering extraordinary results, leveraged through shared technology, expertise, knowledge, manpower, and more. And when we talk about extraordinary results let’s be clear: we’re talking about something very different from Procurement BPO and a ‘one size fits all’ approach. We’re different because we deliver massive benefits through evaluating and reshaping your practices and behaviours to match your specific needs. Key Services include:

• Procurement outsourcing
• Transformation and change programmes
• Savings implementation programmes
• Individual category reviews
• 100 day savings campaigns
• P2P technology and process management
• Spend analysis
• Opportunity Assessment
• Market Intelligence and Benchmarking
• Strategic Sourcing and Tactical Sourcing
• Category Management
• Contract Management
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Project Management
• Help Desk Support
• eAuctions and eSourcing
• Strategic Planning
• Data Asset Management and Forecasting

Certifications

-       Gold accreditation by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)

-       ISO27001

Proxima at a Glance

-       Founded in 1994

-       250 employees

-       Headquartered in London, UK

Global delivery centers: London, Leeds, Manchester, Wales (United Kingdon), Frankfurt (Germany), Geneva (Switzerland), Chicago (USA

Infosys BPO adopted a multi-pronged strategy to create awareness about partner programs at Cisco and ensure consistent support across them. Their robust delivery model, automated processes and best practices helped Cisco increase sales and contract renewals, and enhance the partner experience. In addition, the training imparted to partners reduced the number of requests for parts replacement and services.

Infosys BPO provides sales support service in nine languages for Cisco’s global customers from its development centers in India, Mexico, China, and the Czech Republic.

Click here to download this free paper.

Nearshore, offshore, onshore, best shore

Although “nearshore” is a favorite model and buzz term bandied about in outsourcing news and advisories today, it will soon fall by the wayside. First of all, it’s a misnomer. “Nearshore” to Japan, for example, is China or Vietnam; but those two service delivery locations to U.S. and European businesses are “offshore.” Brazil is a nearshore provider but also a large onshore provider.

Genpact predicts nearshore service delivery centers will likely continue to grow, but not as significantly in dollars or percentages as the offshore centers. According to Robert Pryor, Executive Vice President of Sales, Business Development and Marketing, we’ll likely see an increase in the use of onshore centers. “Federal, state, and local governments will drive this growth in terms of the attractiveness of incentives they create to stimulate domestic job growth.”

Deepak Patel, CEO, Aditya Birla Minacs, says the decision between nearshore, onshore, or offshore is “not so much about achieving scale but, rather, is about delivering the right value to companies by providing the ideal mix of the right delivery destination and the right knowledge set available. In the coming years, newer geographies will emerge, but smart outsourcers will choose the destination that brings the most value.”

John A. Haslinger, Vice President, Product Marketing at ADP, says, over time, he expects labor arbitrage advantages will remain but increasingly companies will balance them against the need for particular skill sets. In HR, for instance, “companies will balance labor arbitrage with the service provider’s ability to foster long-term relationships.”

Allied Digital Services’ President, Kevin Schatzle, believes nearshoring will increase over the next two years because outsourcing in general will increase. He predicts that in five years, as the industry matures, Canadian pricing will start to approach U.S. costs.

Gordon Coburn, Chief Financial & Operating Officer at Cognizant says globalization initiatives are evolving “from a point-to-point delivery model to a many-to-many model where the provider delivers from many locations in the world to a client’s locations in many other parts of the world.”

Rajan Kohli, CMO, Wipro Technologies, adds that “best shore is the way to go. That may mean a combination of nearshore and offshore, or it may mean just offshore. Buyers will need to make decisions based on cost, business value, and business availability.”

Ritesh Idnani, COO, Infosys BPO, says “the trend of nearshoring will continue to gather steam. But the global economic landscape has definitely mooted the call to a more protectionist outlook by countries, and that trend will continue in the short term. They will, however, have to bear the brunt of continuous monitoring to ensure they continue to be cost effective and build in efficiencies. The ‘offshore train’ left the station several years back; hence, offshore will continue to grow in volume and market share.”

Dina Kholkar, Head, BFSI, TCS BPO Services, predicts that the definitions of onshore, nearshore, and offshore will blur over the next couple of years because providers “will increasingly expand their base to build a global network delivery model to address the diverse demands. There will also be an increasing creation of Centers of Excellence by function,” she states.

The future shift from focusing on nearshore / offshore / onshore debates is nowhere more evident than at HP where there is now a “Best Shore Services” division. Even so, Jeff Womack, Vice President Global Enablement, HP Best Shore Services, says HP believes that nearshoring will “continue to have a seat at the global delivery table because companies – especially in the European Union region – will want the cultural affinities and languages as well as aspects of data privacy.”

Womack also points out that some nearshore locations are already maturing to the point that they no longer meet the requirements to qualify as a true nearshore location because costs begin to reach parity with major markets such as the United States, Western Europe, and Japan.

Yugal Joshi, Senior Analyst, Everest Group, says that, “with offshore suppliers seeing their tax exemptions going away, the cost-effectiveness of their large offshore centers will reduce significantly, which will prompt them to go nearshore.”

Don Schulman, General Manager, Global F&A and SCM, IBM, predicts nearshoring will grow in the short term because organizations will continue to perform high-level activities (such as budgeting and corporate tax) discretely and locally – regardless of whether shared services or outsourcers are doing the work.

“This is less about nearshoring and more about growth due to more complex work moving into a shared-services environment,” Schulman explains. “Success in outsourcing has led to this kind of work moving to a centralized environment. Organizations are beginning to look at their shared-services strategy as a hybrid model. It is not an either/or decision but, instead, a multi-dimensional approach that leverages both internal shared services and outsourcing.”

Industries increasing adoption of outsourcing

Nearly all of the service providers whom we tapped for insights anticipate that the U.S. healthcare industry will experience a dramatic increase in outsourcing over the next two to five years.

Pryor at Genpact says the significant cost pressure and large number of additional people that will need coverage will require that the industry adapt rapidly in leveraging technology, outsourcing, and reengineering to change business models and cost structures.

Most of the executives we interviewed also predict a large uptick in government outsourcing in the next few years. Schatzle at Allied Digital Services says government and education will migrate to outsourcing for IT support and “will receive great benefits of modern approaches.” He advises that buyers in these segments especially need to evaluate IT services from security and redundancy perspectives.

Kohli at Wipro predicts the next few years will see “BPO opportunities arising in retail, manufacturing and media, but in forms as not serviced before.” He says the driver for this growth is the convergence of the Software-as-a-Service (Saas), cloud, and ITO/BPO models “plus the ability of Tier-1 providers to do business function outsourcing.”.

Gopal Devanahalli, Vice President, Infosys BPO, believes the banking industry “will undergo big changes post the financial meltdown.” Increased regulation will lead to a focus on more outsourcing of such processes as treasury, cash management, and custody. He also predicts the intersection of mobile and social technologies will disrupt traditional branch banking, which will lead to more outsourcing.

Patel at Aditya Birla Minacs points out there is a huge pent-up demand in the midmarket, and these companies will turn to outsourcing as a strategy for becoming more competitive in the marketplace. (Also see Risks and Complexities in Outsourcing Decisions in the Midmarket.)

“Practically every industry today is grappling with challenges associated with the global financial crisis, increased regulatory compliance requirements, and content digitization / Web 2.0 environment leading to newer paradigms. There is a need to be able to respond agilely to the market through leaner, meaner organizations,” says V. K. Raman, Head, Domain Services, TCS BPO Services. This is especially true in the Banking, Financial Institutions and Insurance (BFSI), life sciences and healthcare, retail, and government sectors. Raman says these industries will drive outsourcing in the next few years.

Miles Lafferty, Vice President, Hinduja Global Solutions, believes currency fluctuation, particularly the U.S. Dollar and the Euro, and related cross-regional economic policy and ideology will create uncertainty in global sourcing decisions. “That said, this uncertainty will reduce the appetite of many organizations to build captive centers, thereby creating opportunity for outsourcing service providers.”

Regional hot spots

There was a definite consensus among the experts we interviewed regarding opinions on which regions will have more companies turning to outsourcing in the next two years to address their business needs (other than the United States or Europe). The top regions they cited are:

1. Asia Pacific
2. Middle East
3. Latin America
4. Japan
5. Australia
6. India

Most believe that the BFSI industry will lead the way in these countries, just as it did in the U.S. and European early adoption of outsourcing.

Japan is at the forefront because it continues to struggle with a difficult economic climate, says Schulman at IBM. He says that the driver for growth in Latin America and parts of Asia is the large numbers of organizations with a disparate spread of employees and business units across multiple locations and borders

Infosys BPO says the drivers in these regions are cost and process efficiencies at the lower end. But there is also some outsourcing of analytics related to understanding market customer behavior, as well as some outsourcing of vertical-specific functions.

Deepak Rastogi, Senior Vice President, Global Strategy at Hinduja Global Solutions, says ultimately much of the growth in these regions will be consumer driven in the telecom, financial services, and healthcare industries.

Business processes

Which business processes/functions will move to the outsourcing model in the next two to five years? Our experts listed the top three:

1. Analytics – The driver is the need to leverage fact-based insights to improve reporting results, recognize and understand potential opportunities, and deliver better business outcomes.
2. Manufacturing supply chain – Factors driving growth in this area are purchasing cost reductions, cash flow advantages, operations cost savings; and increased business effectiveness (such as shortage management and the capacity to implement advanced logistics models).
3. Work that today appears extraordinarily complex (such as industry accounting, external reporting, planning, budgeting, forecasting) will move to outsourcing as these processes become standardized.

Selecting a service provider

Charlie Bess, HP Fellow, HP Enterprise Services, advises that buyers in these hot spots should look at how service providers invest in making their processes more standardized and their capabilities more flexible, as well as what they are doing to prevent unnecessary business interruptions.

“Investing in automation, for example, is important,” says Bess, “but you need to look under the covers and see what the provider’s approach is when the automation doesn’t work. Rowing harder with new tools may not always be the right answer; you might have struck something unexpected and need to change course.” He advises buyers to ask: “What is the escalation process when the unexpected occurs?”

Abid Ali Neemuchwala, Global Head, TCS BPO Services, warns buyers to seek providers that have the ability to scale and grow across new geographies to support green field ventures.

According to Kohli at Wipro, the most important criteria should be whether the provider can show significant value beyond labor arbitrage and can deliver on the commitment. “All other criteria such as a combination of BPO and IT, cultural fit, quality, and scalability are reflected in the above two major criteria.”

Selecting healthcare service providers will be a big risk, according to Kohli at Wipro. “The key selection criterion should be the provider’s commitment towards timely and quality deliverables, as there is no scope for errors in this zero-error industry.”

Kholkar at TCS advises buyers’ provider-selection criteria should include cultural fit, relationship management ability, and certification from compliance authorities.

IBM’s Schulman says buyers should ensure that their service providers are able to view their processes at a granular level on an end-to-end basis including any portion that the buyer retains. “This is critical to truly understanding a client’s business and being able to effectively collaborate with them to optimize business outcomes.”