India took an early lead in establishing itself as a centre for offshore outsourcing. Now 40 cities across the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America are vying to attract BPO work.
The consultants at AT Kearney who compile a widely followed annual survey of the world’s actual and potential offshore locations for business-process outsourcing (BPO) expect to make some changes for 2005.
As many as 40 countries are being considered for next year’s list, says Janet Pau, policy analyst for AT Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council.
The trend is toward "more offshore activity in countries besides India, such as some of the smaller players like the Czech Republic and Malaysia," Pau notes.
Moreover, she adds, there is likely to be a farther eastward push within Eastern Europe, to countries such as Romania and Bulgaria, as work spills over from places such as the Czech Republic and Hungary.
