The global delivery model is something of a Holy Grail for most IT service companies. Everyone wants to be considered a global player, yet being able to offer global delivery is not just a function of how many offices a company opens around the world, so it’s interesting to see a new paper from outsourcing advisory firm Equaterra on how to design a global delivery model. Equaterra makes some interesting observations in the opening section of the paper, including:
• An Economist Intelligence Unit survey of 300 executives worldwide found that when asked what country would be the best overall location for their firms’ R&D work, outside of their home country, India was the country most frequently cited, followed by the US and China.
• Organisations also continue to tap into offshore resources via the captive route. Equaterra counts over 300 major captive operations of Western firms in India alone. Use of captive operations are sometimes transitional, as over time, the parents of the captives (for example, General Electric, British Airways and Citigroup) opt to spin them off to not only make a profit but also to rid themselves of the challenges and operating overhead.
