AT Kearney, a London-based global management consulting firm, rated India as the world’s biggest financial and business attractive outsourcing destination of the planet.

The 2016 Global Service Location Index (GSLI) - AT Kearney's study - analysed 55 countries, making to the top ten: India, China, Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Mexico, Chile and Poland.

India and Philippines “are still top of mind when it comes to offshoring”, said Nikolai Dobberstien, a partner with AT Kearney’s Communications.

“The hunt for new talent is now taking companies beyond these countries’ capitals and major cites to tier 3 locations such as Surat, Nagpur, and Lucknow in India and Bacolod and Iloilo City in the Philippines”, Nikolai adds.

Among the main reasons, are the affordable real estate facilities as well as the availability of qualified labour and its lower cost compared to other major cities, such as Delhi and Kolkata.

Despite the fact that the top seven countries are in the same position order this year as in 2014, Arjun Sethi – global leader of AT Kearney’s IT practice – admitted that “this could all change radically”.

The new business model associated with the new trend of automation, “could displace the leadership of the likes of India and China in outsourcing”, he said.

This trend is seen as a main driver of market expansion. However, it poses a threat to the established concepts of offshoring.

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