What Makes India The Best Outsourcing Destination?

By Author: Abilene Jones
Total Articles: 25
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India and outsourcing are often mentioned in the same breath. In fact the very mention of the word 'outsourcing' in the UK or the US brings to mind just one country – India. Why has India become so synonymous with outsourcing? What makes it the first choice for outsourcing for almost 80 percent of the software companies in the US?

Year after year, research firms have come up with findings that have remained amazingly consistent (and by now, almost predictable!).

According to recent survey released by Capgemini in partnership with Harris International, India has over 60 percent of the outsourcing market share in the US. China comes in a poor second, with an overall market share of just 27 percent. 300 senior executives from Fortune 1000 companies were interviewed for the survey.

According to the 2011 Global Services Location Index (GSLI) of AT Kearney, India, China and Malaysia are the top three outsourcing destinations in Asia at the moment, but India has maintained its lead consistently. “India is an outstanding outsourcing ...
... destination as it has the capability and talent to offer and undertake any nature of outsourcing work”. It also adds, “India remains the favourite back-office of the world thanks to its "first-mover advantage" and deep skill base”.

The AT Kearney report says that “the cost advantage as well as its profound skill base has helped India to sustain the bulk of the global IT services market share”. The report also adds that India has proved to be irreplaceable as far as all aspects of the ITeS (information technology-enabled services) is concerned and is the world leader in all domains of offshore IT services.

The report clearly gives the credit for India's dominance of the outsourcing industry to its excellent educational institutions, which steadily produce a large number of competent graduates each year. Added to this is the proficiency of these graduates in spoken English and its is not difficult to see why India has raced to the top as the most preferred destination in voice-based BPO services.

There are several factors that have catapulted India to the top of the heap of offshore outsourcing destinations.

1.One of the largest talent pools in the world:
Indian colleges and universities churn out an average 3.1 million graduates every year, creating the largest pool of technical skills in the world. So, whether companies are looking to outsource software development or architecture, medical transcription or creative writing, they can always find talented employees at affordable rates.

2.High level of proficiency in spoken English
India is the world’s second largest English-speaking nation, with 350 million people speaking English. Small wonder then that Indian professionals are as much in demand for their technical expertise as for their comfort level with the world's most commonly spoken language.

3.Superior infrastructure, technology and communication links
India boasts of an excellent network of international data communication links, with all major and small cities enjoying Internet access. The Indian government has given IT development top priority in all its policies and the country has several excellent Software Technology Parks.

4.The time zone difference works to India's advantage
India is at least 12 hours ahead of the US and 5.5 hours ahead of the UK, making Fast Turn Around Time (TAT) possible for any outsourced work. While their US and UK counterparts are sleeping, Indian professionals are already hard at work and delivering the project even before their clients wake up.

It is fairly easy to see why India has become synonymous with outsourcing and is the world's favourite destination for offshore outsourcing. From software development to animation, there isn't much that isn't being outsourced to India.