This 114-page report is a joint effort between benchmark-it.co.uk Ltd. (analysis) and Netscribes India (information sourcing), providing key information and analysis of the trend to outsource a range of business processes and the role that India has to play in this growing market. The report includes the following: business process and call centre outsourcing information and analysis, covering both the global market and the Indian market in particular; SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis; 26 player profiles of Indian service providers.

Who should buy the report?
-Business process and call centre outsourcing service providers
-Prospective customers of and investors in the above
-Companies providing products and services to BPO vendors

Key benefits:

-Source of key background information on the global and Indian BPO markets
-Independent market analysis of market drivers, opportunities and threats and future trends

Key conclusions:
-The trend towards outsourcing non-core business processes is continuing, resulting in a substantial and growing market for their provision
-Within the outsourcing market, India has already established itself as a key market and Indian players are set to play an increasingly important role in future market development
-Although India offers opportunities for growth, the market is still relatively immature and customers and investors need to avoid the potential pitfalls: political, economic, technical and in their choice of service provider

Executive Summary
The global market for business process outsourcing (BPO) is one that is substantial and growing. From transaction processing to call centres to application development, there is a wide range of business processes that can be outsourced to third parties promising either reduced costs, greater flexibility or improved functionality on in-house teams.

From an initially fragmented model of locally-focused specialist service providers, the market has evolved with the emergence of a number of global giants, together with specialist niche players focusing on a particular function, vertical industry sector or national market.

As the market has grown and globalized, competition has intensified and there has been increasing pressure ?V both in terms of pricing, in terms of hiring, developing and retaining skilled staff and in offering a differentiated set of services. This has helped contribute towards the growth of international service providers that have grown from their bases in the dominant U.S. market and, to a lesser extent, Western Europe. An early example of a country to exploit its low cost base and educated workforce to address the business process outsourcing opportunity was the Republic of Ireland ?V other countries are looking to develop similar strategies, notable amongst which has been India.

Initially, growth in the Indian BPO market was characterized by the setting up of joint ventures between local partners and Western counterparts, usually to serve the needs of the Western partner. Over time, many of these have expanded to address the broader market opportunity and they have been added to by local start-ups encouraged by the success of the first wave of service providers and by the availability of venture capital.

Although continued double-digit growth is expected in the Indian BPO market, it does face a number of challenges in the coming years, not the least of which is concern over political stability in the region. In addition, other countries such as the People's Republic of China and the Philippines are looking to emulate the model, whilst new technologies that increasingly empower end customers and simplify application development also both pose a threat to existing revenues and offer an opportunity for the development of new revenue streams.

Nonetheless, the current economic downturn and the generalized return of company strategies to a focus on core activities are likely to continue to drive growth in the Indian BPO market for the foreseeable future as Western companies seek to take advantage of the lower costs and large base of educated, skilled, English-speaking staff offered in the sub-continent.

The table below illustrates a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the BPO market in India:

Strengths:
-Large talent pool of skilled graduates
-Low cost and high education levels of staff compared with counterparts in Western countries
-Lower staff churn
-Language skills ?V large number of English speakers suitable for addressing the largest BPO market (USA)
-Relatively well-developed software and call centre industry
-Strong existing customer base of blue-chip companies
-Powerful venture capital interest in investing in growth opportunity
-Developing track record of proven delivery and systems/processes

Weaknesses:
-Language skills other than English are scarce
-English can be spoken with a heavy dialect
-Lack of customer service culture
-Poor and expensive telecoms infrastructure
-Poor electricity infrastructure
-Cultural differences
-Few people with extensive call centre experience
-Local capabilities in process implementation and marketing are generally still in their infancy
-Some failed contracts due to poor cost control
-Poor infrastructure can inhibit efforts to integrate systems between outsourcer and customer

Opportunities:
-Expansion into new markets either vertically or horizontally from existing customer base
-Exploitation of time differences between India and main target markets
-Riding the back of the broad trend towards and awareness of outsourcing to India
-Exploitation of current economic downturn which is making many customers re-examine their cost base and core business activities

Threats:
-Billing rates under pressure due to rapid commoditisation of basic outsourcing services
-Regional political instability and security
-Other low-cost alternative bases for outsourcing in Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Asia Pacific regions
-Increasing automation of technologies.