Everest Group has published its 2015 Market Vista report, an annual study which looks back at the major developments in the global services industry. Despite recent claims that the decline of offshoring is imminent, the report has found that more offshore delivery centres were set up in 2015 than in 2014, suggesting that “the sky is not falling on offshoring” as some experts claim.

The report reveals that the number of new offshore/nearshore delivery centres (including both global in-house centres (GICs) and those set up by service providers) increased by 32 per cent last year. Everest points to strong investment in areas such as talent maturity and business environment improvement, as well as to the growing adoption of global services by European buyers, as the main causes of the increase.

Unsurprisingly, India has retained its position as the number one offshore and GIC destination, while Romania, the Republic of Ireland and Singapore have seen the greatest increases in delivery centre setups.

The report also identifies locations to look out for in 2016. The UK is featured on the list as an attractive nearshoring destination for its high-quality customer support at competitive rates. China is also present - the forecasted depreciation of the Yuan is likely to have a positive impact on Chinese IT-BPS businesses in the coming year. Other countries expected to fare well in the coming year are India, Brazil, Colombia, the US and the CEE.

According to Everest, the nature of the global services industry is shifting, as the increasing maturity of the global sourcing market impacts on the overall popularity of outsourcing. The number of new outsourcing deals signed between 2013 and 2015 was down 12 per cent when compared to recent years. On the other hand, the proportion of medium-sized and small buyers in the industry has grown by seven per cent in the same period, as smaller companies outside the US increasingly adopt outsourcing as a business model.

Advances in technologies such as service delivery automation have come to disrupt the global services market by decreasing costs of delivery, and increasing quality and compliance through the elimination of the human element, leading to the emergence of new service providers and outsourcing relationships. Disruptive technologies have also contributed to the increase in GICs - new GIC setups and expansions grew by 50 per cent between 2013 and 2015.

Access the full report.

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