A.T. Kearney's Global Services Location Index™

The 2011 Global Services Location Index™ (GSLI) measures the attractiveness of offshore locations in 50 countries against 39 measures across three major categories: financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, and business environment.

A dramatic shift occurred in the rankings this year as countries and companies were hit hard by the financial crisis. The financial services industry is among the biggest customers of outsourcing companies, so the impact was significant. Revenue growth fell sharply for outsourcing companies in emerging markets and has not recovered to pre-crisis levels.

Major findings in this year's Index include:

Asia Stays Strong. Asia makes a particularly strong showing in this year's Index, with India, China and Malaysia claiming the top three spots (see figure). Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines are also in the top 10. While India and the Philippines are leaders in terms of industry size, countries such as Thailand and Indonesia are continuing to improve. They still fall behind in higher education, leading to insufficient numbers of qualified workers.

Economic crisis shakes up the rankings. Countries hit hard by the Great Recession became more competitive thanks to falling labor costs and depreciating currencies. Estonia, for example, moves to 11th place (from 18th in 2009) and Latvia jumps nine spots to 13th place this year amid ongoing austerity programs. The United Kingdom advances from 31st to 16th place because of a devaluation in the pound and stagnating wages. Mexico takes the 6th spot in the Index—climbing up five spots from 11th place in 2009—and is now the new leader in Latin America thanks to currency depreciation and near shoring sentiment in the United States.The Middle East becomes more attractive. Egypt further strengthens its position, ranking 4th on the Index and is no long era dark horse in the race for offshore money. The United Arab Emirates, where Dubai serves as a regional services hub, moves from 29th place to 15th.

The Perfect Match

As countries continue to vie for position as attractive outsourcing destinations for corporate suitors worldwide, corporations continue to seek the perfect match—in financial attractiveness, people skills and business environment—to provide services to their corporate customers worldwide. ©

For more information about the findings in the 2011 Global Services Location Index, contactjohan.gott@atkearney.com.

Source: here