Industry news

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has signed an ITO contract with EDS. The contract, valued at US $245, is a 4.5 year engagement to transform the agency’s ‘digital environment’.

Under the agreement, EDS will work to automate manual business processes in order to improve productivity, accuracy and ultimately, enhance staff, public and offender safety.

The services provided will include system integration and applications modernisation to help increase availability of accurate and complete information. Additionally, EDS will create and manage the image capture, database, information storage and server environment where offender information will reside.

“This initiative will revolutionise the process for sharing and using offender data and will significantly improve our offender management process,” said Scott Kernan, undersecretary of operations for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “We are confident that EDS is a partner with experience in corrections and large-scale technology projects that will help

In a recent sourcingfocus.com news analysis, we covered the London School of Economics’ Beyond BRIC study. From that study we drew the conclusion that India may be having its iron-grip on the BPO industry loosened somewhat by emerging destinations. In swift succession Gartner has released a report saying that the Indian BPO industry is as strong as ever and it sees no reason why the Indian market share should fall. In fact Gartner thinks that its share will double by 2010.

This seems to totally contradict the speculation that India’s market share may be threatened by emerging destinations, nearshore vendors and a change in end user procurement needs. sourcingfocus.com spoke with Rick Simmonds, Partner and Head if Financial Services at Alsbridge, a global advisory firm, to ask his opinion these predictions

“I disagree, I think India’s market share is set to drop,” he commented. A reasonable opinion considering a recent FT article reported on Indian contact centres suffering from higher wage and location costs, with some having to get rid of staff and move to cheaper areas. Mr Simmonds goes on to state that more non-English speaking countries will take advantage of offshoring and as a result will be looking at other destinations to suit their BPO needs. “Spanish speaking nations will be looking to Morocco and Argentina. Egypt is also forging ahead in the BPO world.”

But It is not just the language similarities that businesses will be looking for when considering BPO. Mr Simmonds also believes that the current political and economic climate may deter some businesses from offshoring chunks of their processes, “Cheaper regional areas in Europe and the UK may appeal more to organisations now. Banks taking Government money won’t want to be seen offshoring either.”

Patriotic and protectionist sentiments are also adding to the increased interest in new destinations. Nearshore locations such as Northern Ireland are reaping the new wave of UK companies looking to offshore, but not too far. President Obama’s administration firmly stressed the importance of keeping jobs on American soil. While this contributed to the election winning strategy, it would have sounded nails on a chalkboard to U.S. companies. As a ‘halfway house’ US businesses will be looking to countries such as Costa Rica, Philippines and Brazil to provide them with nearshore outsourcing services. These destinations give the appearance of being ‘homegrown’ whilst still offering the cost effective benefits.

BPO is certainly flourishing. The growth in this sector is increasing at a far rapid rate than that of ITO, however, it is not monopolised by the big players. It seems that all nations can conceivably compete for a piece of that BPO pie. That will surely mean that India’s market share will reduce, despite an increase in internal growth. However, we are not prophesising India’s demise. As Mr Simmonds says, “India is always on the offshoring agenda.” The prices Indian vendors offer and the size of their work force are still very competitive and cannot be ignored. We just feel that the Gartner predictions are simply over-zealous.”

This year’s Nasscom leadership conference had a whole host of major Indian players taking the stage and delivering exceptionally up-beat forecasts for the future. This is all well and good and I am sure there is not a person out there who does not understand the importance of keeping your chin up in front of shareholders and the public. However simply burying heads in sand and dancing around issues such as, protectionist policies and a drop in IT spending will not do anyone any good. But then neither will over optimistic forecasts.

Innovate or perish. There are few businesspeople today who haven’t heard this simple but powerful aphorism. For years immemorial strategic thinking has said that, as time goes by, points for differentiation inevitably end up looking somewhat mediocre. What happens when the reason your business was different, your USP, has been replicated by every man and his dog? Well, that’s the whole problem – if the business is not constantly looking forward and searching out new, ever ‘shinier’, skills and USPs, its ability to win and impress new business will diminish significantly. A business standing still is usually destined for failure.

But how does this apply to outsourcing? Surely if you’re outsourcing a boring back office function no innovation is needed? It’s a simple commodity-esque relationship of payment and service. Not so; the outsourcing business is also inextricably bound by these three words. In the competition to bring in the best clients, create great relationships and hold on to them, innovation is flourishing. The outsourcing relationship, the services and the products suppliers offer are all benefiting from this competition-fuelled inventiveness. But what’s on offer and what do end users stand to gain?

For a long time many outsourcing providers have tried with all their might to move up the value chain. Creating higher value services and partnerships has traditionally been seen as the way to engrain relationships and by doing so, justify a more productive, more profitable relationship for all. HCL, the IT outsourcer, is one company continuing to push this approach. Its ‘Co-sourcing’ model shares out risk and reward between ‘partners’ and ‘leads to HCL innovating above and beyond the letter of the agreement, helping to transform the businesses of its clients, rather than only reduce their costs’.

The innovation that can spring from this close partnership approach does not usually stray beyond internal IT and process transformation. However, there are some cases, though few in number, of outsourcing partnerships taking things further. Luxoft, the top Russian ITO provider, provides one key example in its work with Deutsche Bank. The companies managed to develop a CRM system (Client First) they valued so highly that they subsequently planned to take it to market for other banks and share in the revenues. While this type of occurrence is rare, it does demonstrate the innovation that close outsourcing partnerships can create.

At the centre of good partnerships is usually an element of collaboration and information sharing. The advent of web 2.0 technologies in the consumer space is quickly feeding through businesses and appears to have found a perfect home in outsourcing. In an industry characterised by geographic and time-zone separation, tools allowing the seamless coming together of minds, transcending boundaries is a perfect fit.

Cognizant 2.0, a platform developed by leading IT outsourcing provider, Cognizant, is a tool used both internally and externally to facilitate communication. “It allows outsourcers to develop new levels of customer closeness and satisfaction, and if correctly implemented, can result in dramatically reduced interaction costs but with an improved result,” a spokesperson for the company said.

The Cognizant example is a good one as it conveys the importance of using these tools to enhance a suppliers offering rather than just for the hell of it. “Consultants across the globe are encouraged to collaborate to solve specific business problems using their best delivery resources regardless of location,” added the spokesperson.

Internal collaboration is one thing but what of clients? How is innovation helping keep clients in the loop? Bravosolution, a kind of supply management intermediary outsourcer, has taken things a step further. Its BEN (BravoSolution Education Network) provides a platform for public sector procurement managers to pool and share information on their own sourcing and as a result become more effective.

"The network has proved to be a goldmine for collaborative information sharing for UK Public Sector procurement professionals. With more than 1,100 users from local & central government and the NHS, it has enabled people to share information around Standard Policy Documentation from EU Directives, local legislation and best practice for organisational procedures. [It’s] a sort of Wikipedia for public sector professionals,” commented John Shaw, Director of Education for BravoSolution.

The benefits derived from this kind of platform are not only one-way, however.

“BEN enables us to take on board feedback from public sector procurement professionals and tailor our services to meet their exact requirements. This evolution of sourcing practices based on the recommendations of the buyers is enhancing relationships with suppliers and also enabling clear cost and efficiency savings through shared best practice methods," he added.

The wide availability of collaborative tools and other new technology could also be having an affect on the nature of deals themselves. One thing on the lips of most IT professionals is virtualisation and SaaS (software as a service). The increasing possibilities of not needing all software systems on the corporate network are having a knock on effect on both the cost of outsourcing and the size of deals.

According to a recent report from Gartner, the number of outsourcing deals worth less than US$50 million increased in 2008 while those of more than US$50 declined. There appears to be a trend towards smaller deals and this is only likely to increase throughout 2009.

The multi-sourcing approach is symptomatic of this trend. The model, where numerous suppliers are used in quasi-competition for various parts of a businesses outsourcing, is an innovation in itself. According to its proponents, the increased competition will drive innovation whilst driving down costs at the same time. The best of both worlds it seems.

“By drawing on and shaping an outsourcing partnership with one or more suppliers, a dependent and supportive ecosystem can be created and leveraged. An 'Outsourcing 2.0' approach will in theory simplify the outsourcing process, by getting the job outsourced to third parties with mutual business interests, and align business goals with the servicing parties,” commented Simon Ormston, Head of Outsourcing at BT Global Services

Along with innovations emerging organically and through supplier competition, there are various macro-factors affecting the focus of today’s outsourcers. After the recession, to which outsourcing is a natural answer, green initiatives are sparking some interesting developments. Green, unsurprisingly, is the thing of the moment and many western governments, including the UK, are increasingly putting green on the agenda where procurement is concerned. Currently directives are in place surrounding green suppliers but it won’t be long until legislation follows, forcing organisations to outsource sustainably.

Patni, an Indian BPO firm, is one company ahead of the game in this respect, having spent a whopping $14 million on a low emissions, low impact delivery centre. The company is planning many more centres across India to cope with the future demand. With public sector organisations increasingly needing green suppliers, innovation in the green space only looks set to grow. The importance of good environmental credentials will also inevitably feed into private sector procurement more fully as time passes.

In a time when budgets are heavily under threat, many suppliers obviously have their ears to the ground where their customers are concerned. Making sure new innovations are forthcoming with their associated advantages is clearly central to continually impressing clients and gaining new ones. The benefits to be gained by tapping the needs of markets, experimenting and implementing new initiatives, cannot be underestimated. Some suppliers seem to be doing it and succeeding while others are not. The question is can a supplier afford not to innovate? After all, standing still is dangerous.

Uncertainty has reached a fever pitch since the onset of the financial crisis. Though the recent G-20 summit in London has made markets across the world respond with a spirited show, the real impact on various industry sectors will take time. However, the rejection of protectionism by the G-20 members in the summit should certainly bring some cheer to the global IT outsourcing business.

Challenged by the change in reality, the IT outsourcing industry is already reeling under the need to reposition itself to sustain its high growth trajectory. Compared to 2007 when the business of outsourcing was on a roll, 2008-09 has brought more competition and greater demands on cost controls for most players in the segment. The volatility in exchange rates has made the case even worse. And with some belt-tightening by clients during a recession, little choice is left for most. From cost structures to human resource and portfolio of product and services, everything is going under scrutiny. What might emerge is anybody’s guess. But, I believe that we will see a more conservative mindset taking over the business of IT outsourcing.

While IT outsourcing companies will continue to be optimistic, their decisions to innovate in 2009-10 will be prompted by the prescribed need of the client. Innovation or big solution implementations will not happen unless it leads to better Return-on-Investment (ROI) and cost improvements. Open ended efforts will have no place in future schemes.

Convergence

The lines dividing discrete services like IT consulting, upstream application development, business process outsourcing will become even more obscure. Large service providers will face increasing competition not only from each other but also from outsourcing specialists working on a consortium basis. In short, outsourcing will move away from doing work in isolated pockets, thereby creating new opportunities for fringe players to join the game.

The next couple of years may also witness acts of merger and acquisition in this space. Led by situations where business process outsourcing is considered a natural extension of a relationship, many IT vendors may acquire smaller BPOs to look complete and offer more. In absence of a suitable option, two outsourcing entities may even merge to create one compelling proposition. However, there will be space for all, given the fact that recession will only fuel global sourcing demand, with corporations attempt to do more with fewer dollars.

New Opportunities

New verticals are emerging and will soon replace the historical mainstay. With the bastion of IT outsourcing - banking and financial sector - being in trouble, business of IT Outsourcing is now focusing more on recession proof industries verticals like manufacturing, healthcare etc., for growth. The healthcare industry globally has been a good adopter of global outsourcing in the last couple of years and trend is expected to continue. Other sectors like manufacturing, retail and telecom will be attractive industries as they look for opportunities to cut cost.

However, the client, with reduced IT budgets, will be more selective - demanding stringent Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and greater contractual flexibility.

Everything is Negotiable

In an environment of cost-cutting and flat budgets, businesses will increasingly look for service providers that can guarantee business outcomes. Contracts and pricing models are increasingly including components of risk associated with the business outcome. Going by the present day trends, the traditional pricing structure will soon give it in to a more dynamic pricing model. An alternate that’s already gaining traction is outcome based pricing. Related to a higher risk-reward incentive, this model ensures that the complete processes, technology and the supporting infrastructure are priced under a single scheme with unified Service Level Agreements.

Alternate Delivery

Alternative delivery and acquisition models (ADAMs) will be more pervasive in many aspects of IT development, delivery and management and become part of the mainstream. ADAMs will deliver IT services through new approaches, such as software as a service (SaaS), business process utility (BPU), infrastructure utility (IU), remote management services (RMS) and Web platform/cloud computing. These services promise lowered capital investment, greater flexibility and speed, and pay-for-use models.

Risk Hedging & Newer destinations

In the coming year, we will see more clients asking for alternatives to traditional Outsourcing locations like India to de-risk their service delivery. They will seek newer geographies with similar or niche capabilities. Countries like The Philippines and Vietnam has exhibited spectacular growth, with aggressive marketing strategies to increase traction in the global market.

Conclusion

Despite the global slowdown, the business of IT outsourcing seems to be rightly positioned for growth. Even though business margins may shrink, the industry will continue to grow in the future. Service providers with geographic diversity, well-managed overheads, and strong and long-term customer relationships are more likely to thrive in this period of consolidation and business realignment.

Approximately 250 jobs will be created after the Irish Republic's leading outsourcing firm, Abtran, announced plans for a new innovation centre. The company will invest 6 million Euros to develop the centre and hopes to complete the project in 2010.

The Taoiseach, Brian Cowen T.D., commented, “I am delighted to announce this significant investment in R&D by Abtran with the creation of 250 new high-value jobs by 2010. Abtran’s continuous investments in research and high quality resources have made the company deeply competitive.

“The further expansion of this successful Irish firm is based on the exceptional work which has been carried out to-date by management and staff. It is this constant focus on excellence and knowledge development that will contribute to Abtran’s further success in the years ahead.

Cork-based Abtran, which specialises in support services such as sales, administration and planning, is to expand its existing facility at Bishopstown, just outside the city.

Abtran’s founder and Managing Director, Michael Fitzgerald commented, “Abtran’s vision is to create a world class brand that builds on our success to date and continues to compete globally. Ireland is capable of competing and winning on the world stage and we have shown that there is an opportunity to develop this industry and establish Ireland as a destination for Business Process Outsourcing.”

Unilever, one of the world’s leading consumer product companies, has signed an agreement with IBM to transform and operate its human resources (HR) processes across 19 Latin American countries.

The new agreement will see IBM provide related services to more than 27,000 Unilever employees from IBM’s service centers in Hortolandia, Sao Paulo, Brazil and San Jose, Costa Rica. The contract extends IBM's current operation of managed payroll and benefit management services for Unilever employees in Brazil, Mexico and Chile.

"Large, global companies such as Unilever understand that HR process transformation provides them with a competitive advantage," said Patricia Motta, IBM Managed Business Process Services Latin America. "Our mission in this case is to bring additional flexibility and the best practices of innovation to help Unilever quickly respond to business opportunities and customer demands in a secure, transparent, and standardised way."

The project is designed to help Unilever continue to streamline and accelerate the decision-making process and offer its executive staff the flexibility to be able to shift resources to focus on business critical initiatives, as necessary.

The new service agreement with Unilever will now include the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The media is hooked on the recession – it’s official. The ongoing obsession with all things downturn shows no signs of stopping, but then why would it? We’re in it and just have to hope that the brave, mega debt-inducing, spending spree many G20 governments have agreed to will one day lead to those fabled ‘green shoots’ we all await. At such a time, it would not be unreasonable to assume this article would be any different, especially with the UK budget – which now is somewhat of a misnomer – firmly on the agenda. You wouldn’t be unreasonable, but you would be wrong.

This week sourcingfocus.com has decided to focus on the more jovial stories of the week. First up then appears to be that India has outsourced its comedy entertainment. Not content with receiving western comedy on the box, the canny guys at the Comedy Store have set up shop in Mumbai. Western comedians will now grace the Indian stage and it is hoped that humor will transcend cultural boundaries – lets hope Brand and Ross stay in the UK for now. The organisers have also said that they wish to discover an Indian stand-up superstar.

In the spirit of great comedy, we thought we would begin this week’s round-up with an Indian outsourcing themed joke…

‘When President Bush was in office the US Congress decided to outsource the office of the President to India. An economist at Bangalore University is going to take over as chairman of US Council of Economic Advisers. And in a move to outsource obesity, US plans to shed three million pounds of cellulite annually!’

Well, I didn’t say it would be a good Indian outsourcing themed joke but at least it was at the expense of somewhere else – isn’t that nice?

Whilst we are still on the Indian theme, Gartner has released a survey that shows that Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) providers have proved to be stiff competition to western competitors, accounting for five percent of market revenue generated among the top 150 providers in 2008. The Round-up team suspects this to relate directly to the sterling quality of comedy now coming from the country. Gartner has other ideas, suspecting it has something to do with economic pressures. You see what I mean – obsessed!

Those clever Gartner analysts expect this increase in revenue to be maintained, with the BPO market share of Indian vendors expected to nearly double by 2010.

In 2002 there were few, if any, India-centric vendors in the top 150 worldwide providers, but by the end of 2008, the top 20 Indian BPO providers accounted for US $4 billion in revenue, representing five percent of the US $80 billion revenue of the top 150 BPO vendors. With last week’s Satyam acquisition putting a stake in the ground (we hope) on outsourcing fraud, things are looking rather rosy indeed for the Indian subcontinent.

It may be good news for India, however, TPI, the sourcing data and advisory firm, has released first-quarter market data showing a reduction in outsourcing contract size.

The TPI Index, which measures commercial contracts greater than US$25 million, showed that the 141 contracts signed during the quarter with a total contract value (TCV) of $19 billion, were down 21 percent quarter-on-quarter and 22 percent year-on-year. Annual contract value (ACV) reached nearly US$4 billion in the quarter, down 18 percent quarter-on-quarter and 27 percent year-on-year. The TCV for the first quarter of 2009 was the lowest first quarter since 2001, and the ACV was the lowest first quarter since 2003.

Fear not however, hidden hand of multi-sourcing may be at work. The first quarter index had some interesting industry sector and geographical trends. The media, retail, utilities and telecom sectors have all increased their outsourcing activity amidst the current economic downturn. Word on the grapevine is that this trend will increase as outsourcing (of certain things) becomes easier, cheaper and faster to do.

Elsewhere in the world has been relatively quiet, or sourcingfocus.com’s outsourcing radar is broken, one of the two. There was some good news in Ireland however. The once booming beacon of Europe appears to be finding a second wind in the provision of BPO.

Early in the week, the Irish Republic’s leading outsourcing firm, Abtran, announced plans for a new innovation centre. The company will invest 6 million Euros to develop the centre creating 250 in the process.

Cork-based Abtran, which specialises in support services such as sales, administration and planning, hopes to finalise the centre in 2010 and will also expand its existing facility at Bishopstown, just outside the city. We’ll have to look into where they’re getting their business though as the current state of the pound is making the country less and less attractive to UK businesses. I’m sure they’ve got it all under control!

And that neatly, if somewhat soberly, brings us to the end of another weekly news round-up. I promise there will be no more bad outsourcing jokes next week, unless you want there to be?

TCS has reported record revenues for fiscal year 09 with operating profits rising 11.7 percent, up 2008 on the previous year. Net profit was up 10.1 percent at $1.12 billion.

Some of the drivers behind TCS’s growth include the addition of 163 new customer and new 26 sizeable contracts. The acquisition of Citigroup’s captive BPO also added significant new revenue streams.

Commenting on the results, S. Ramadorai, CEO and MD of TCS said, “In an unpredictable operating environment, TCS delivered healthy topline growth of 23% and crossed the $6 billion milestone in revenues. By focusing on operational efficiencies, collecting cash more efficiently and driving an enterprise-wide cost control program, we have improved our profit margins and continue to generate significant cash-flows. Even after the recent cash acquisition, we have cash of nearly Rs 43 billion.”

“In addition to total dividend of Rs 14 per share, I am delighted to announce the Board of Directors have recommended a 1:1 bonus share issue subject to approval by shareholders,” he said.

Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) providers have proved to be stiff competition to western BPO providers, accounting for five percent of market revenue generated among the top 150 providers in 2008, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner analysts expect this increase in revenue to be maintained, with the BPO market share of Indian vendors expected to nearly double by 2010.

In 2002 there were few, if any, India-centric vendors in the top 150 worldwide providers, but by the end of 2008, the top 20 India-centric BPO providers accounted for US $4 billion in revenue, representing five percent of the US $80 billion revenue of the top 150 BPO vendors. Gartner expects this trend to accelerate because of economic pressures that are leading to demand for low-cost BPO.

“Indian BPO providers are swiftly evolving to balance exposure to vertical industries, currency and legislation issues,” said Mr. Arup Roy, senior research analyst at Gartner. “Their strategies include investing in onshore and near shore delivery, and pioneering new area of analytics services or knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) where Indian BPO players are shining.”

Although there are still no Indian vendors in the top 20 global BPO players, half of the top 20 India-based BPO providers now operate local U.S. and European sales and delivery centers.

Indian BPO providers have had the most success servicing English-speaking requirements, from North America and the U.K. North America has been the most successful sales location for Indian BPO providers, where the top-20 India-centric BPO providers generate about US $2.2 billion in revenue. Western Europe showed strong growth, mostly in the U.K., and accounted for US $1.4 billion in revenue for the top 20 Indian BPO providers in 2008.

From a vertical-market perspective, Indian BPO providers also had more success in telecommunications, manufacturing, insurance and banking than in government and retail, which are not traditionally sectors that have been strong users of offshore outsourcing.

Overall, Indian BPO vendors achieved growth rates between 12 percent and 200 percent (however some of them are starting from fairly small revenue in the first place). Gartner analysts said the BPO market share of Indian vendors will continue to grow based on:

• Indian BPO vendors gaining increased acceptance as being able to reliably deliver services in a market

• Indian vendors continuing to make acquisitions of Europe- and North America-based shared-service centres

• Many of these vendors are starting to grow revenue from continental Europe and via partnerships with indigenous BPO providers; this will also help Indian BPO providers understand local business cultures

“It is highly likely that many new competitors will emerge from India during the next few years. Contact centers and analytics services will likely see the highest growth, having the lowest entry barriers because relatively little technical or specific process expertise is required,” said Ms. Cathy Tornbohm, Research Vice President, at Gartner. “These barriers will also be kept relatively low for other types of BPO as prospective clients with existing Indian player IT relationships will look to Indian BPO players to balance their portfolio of bidders.”

Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Competitive Landscape: Business Process Outsourcing, India.”

TPI, the sourcing data and advisory firm, has released first-quarter market data showing a reduction in outsourcing contract size.

The TPI Index, which measures commercial contracts greater than US$25 million, showed that the 141 contracts signed during the quarter with a total contract value (TCV) of $19 billion, were down 21 percent quarter-on-quarter and 22 percent year-on-year. Annual contract value (ACV) reached nearly US$4 billion in the quarter, down 18 percent quarter-on-quarter and 27 percent year-on-year. The TCV for the first quarter of 2009 was the lowest first quarter since 2001, and the ACV was the lowest first quarter since 2003.

The index also highlighted that the information technology outsourcing (ITO) market delivered a steady flow of contract awards during the past three quarters and the first quarter of 2009 was no exception. ITO transactions, which accounted for 101 contract awards valued at US$15 billion during the quarter, tend to make the most significant near-term cost impact for buyers of outsourcing.

Peter Allen, Partner and Managing Director of TPI, said, “The TPI Index for the first quarter of 2009 delivered a profile of contract awards that reflected the pace set at the end of 2008, and which conformed to the pace experienced prior to the unusual surge of nine to 15 months ago. Looking forward, we anticipate a sustained pace of smaller contracts not unlike that before and after the ‘surge’ of 2008 contracts.”

The first quarter index also provided some telling industry sector and geographical trends. The media, retail, utilities and telecom sectors have all increased their outsourcing activity amidst the current economic downturn.

Tom Lang, Partner & Managing Director of Americas industry verticals at TPI, commented, “With pressure to reduce costs, it is no surprise that some sectors are looking to outsourcing as a strategic driver to help meet those goals.”

The TPI Index also revealed a “tale of two regions” when analysing geographic differences. By number of contracts and TCV, EMEA accounted for the majority of the global market in the first quarter of 2009. The Americas region contributed the greatest ACV in the quarter, at $1.6 billion, demonstrating that the durations of contracts awarded there have tended to be materially shorter than contracts awarded in EMEA.

Peter Allen, summarised, “The pace of outsourcing contract awards has returned to the levels seen prior to the EMEA-driven surge of a year ago, overall, there’s no appreciable upward movement in outsourcing awards. The comparisons tell the story of a relatively soft market for outsourcing compared to this time last year, although some industries are adopting outsourcing at a more rapid pace to better manage the current economic conditions.”