The leading global management consulting firm A. T. Kearney recently published the seventh edition of the Global Services Location Index. It tracks the contours of the offshoring landscape in 55 countries across three major categories: financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, and business environment.
Based on an assessment of 38 metrics, A.T. Kearney identifies the countries with the strongest underlying fundamentals to potentially deliver information technology (IT), business process outsourcing (BPO), and voice services.
India Ranked #1*
Offshoring to India remains a highly attractive proposition for many companies, and it is the undisputed industry leader. Consider, for example, that no fewer than five Chinese handset manufacturers have announced plans to establish R&D centers in India, which is expected to become the world’s second largest buyer of handsets.
China Ranked #2*
China is closing in on India, thanks to major gains in educational skills and cultural adaptability. Additionally, the renminbi’s recent drop in value against the U.S. dollar should increase the country’s financial attractiveness. Furthermore, China is making progress in improving governance and liberalizing financial markets.
Bulgaria Ranked #12*
A highly cost-competitive location inside the European Union, Bulgaria has been a destination for European nearshoring for many years and is deepening its skills and experience in the industry. It falls out of the top 10 this year due to minor increases in tax and regulatory costs.
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