Date:27/09/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/09/27/stories/2005092701750400.htm

Back India continues to dominate ITO, BPO space, says neoIT

Our Bureau

Based on the neoIT `Offshore attractiveness index', India, Canada, China, Poland and Ireland are ranked in the top 5.

Bangalore Sept. 26

, NEOIT, the sourcing advisory, has mapped country's capabilities in the ITO and BPO spaces to find that India and Canada continue to lead as top outsourcing destinations. Eastern Europe — Poland and the Czech Republic - - is gaining ground as the preferred outsourcing destination for Western Europe while the Philippines, Malaysia and Mexico are also making steady progress as preferred global destinations.

neoIT's `Mapping Offshore Markets 2005' update looks at the country's capabilities of leading contenders for outsourced ITO and BPO functions. According to Mr Avinash Vashishtha, neoIT, the primary factors that weigh when choosing an offshore outsourcing destination are Government support, educational system, geopolitical situation, business environment, cultural affinity, time zone and language proficiency.

"We have ranked countries based on the neoIT `Offshore Attractiveness Index' which rates each country's characteristics to generate a quantitative net cost benefit of outsourcing to that destination. The five factors are: financial benefit, maturity, people, infrastructure and catalyst,'' he said.

Based on the index, India, Canada, China, Poland and Ireland ranked in the top 5. Other countries ranked in the report include the Czech Republic, Russia, Malaysia, Mexico, Hungary, the Philippines, Brazil and South Africa.

While India exported $12.2-billion worth of IT services and $5.2-billion of business processes services, Canada accounted for $8.2 billion and $5.5 billion of ITO and BPO, respectively.

According to neoIT, India continues to dominate both the ITO and BPO landscapes but scores low in infrastructure and catalysts (which are basically, Government support, geopolitical environment, physical and time zone displacement and cultural compatibility).

China, which is the most cost-competitive destination for both ITO and BPO, ranks highly in ITO but only moderately in BPO. While China scores on low-cost, skilled labour, rapidly improving infrastructure and strong Government support, its service maturity factor is affected by lack of English language proficiency and catalysts, according to Mr Vashishtha.