As the outsourcing industry globalizes, new regions and countries are joining the bandwagon both as markets of demand for outsourced services as well as to supply talent for servicing the demand.
With the onset of 2009, TPI has targeted a few countries/regions as new geographies for offering sourcing advisory services. The selection criteria, apart from other factors, obviously included the current volume of outsourcing activity and the medium term potential of these markets. The mid-east region is one example.
In discussions with prospects, service providers and market influencers, we find that this is an interesting and encouraging market for multiple reasons.
- Firstly, we find that in places such as Dubai, businesses are going through a severe downturn due to current economic pressures – a phenomenon that is fueling interest and potential demand for outsourced, or even off shored, services.
- Secondly, in general the consulting industry is well established for important initiatives which are complex, transformational, unprecedented or potentially risky. That seems to be the trend with both the public and private sectors.
- Thirdly, there is considerable demand for implementing contemporary IT solutions and infrastructure with large spends as organizations want to become more competitive and prepare for growth in countries such as Saudi Arabia.
An important indicator of the growing interest in outsourcing: Arab Outsourcing Conference is being held for the first time ever this year in Dubai. The organizers are bullish about senior level participation in this conference.
However, outsourcing of services – other than AMC or break fix support contracts – is not an established and mature model for the most part across the region. Hence all interested market participants should expect, as in any other such market, to spend cycles educating the buyers of these services on the benefits and risks involved.
I am very interested in learning from your experiences and thoughts on this region.
About the authorDinesh is a highly experienced and well-respected advisor in the outsourcing industry with more than 23 years of experience in management consulting and outsourcing. He works with enterprises to craft sourcing strategies, structure and negotiate complex sourcing transactions and design and implement sourcing governance organizations. Prior to joining ISG, Dinesh worked with Infosys and Accenture, where he led large transition programs and consulted on IT strategy and implementations, business process-reengineering and operational improvement programs. He is a published thought leader and a regular speaker at industry conferences. Dinesh manages the ISG India Business.
