A new study on outsouring has traced five stages in the ‘‘maturity curve’’ of global service delivery, and pinned most Indian BPOs to the second or third phases: Right at the tip of an ‘‘inflection point’’ that precedes a boom, but still miles away from the real big bang. The Global Service Deliver (GSD) chart prepared by Technology Partners International (TPI), a major global sourcing advisory firm, says it is generally 3 to 5 years before an offshoring firm hits Stage 4. But only beyond this point do the biggest, most successful players roost. ‘‘Typically, Stage 3 companies have 1-3 years of global experience and are expanding their footprint in anticipation of greater success. Here’s where a majority of Indian firms fall,’’ said Siddharth A. Pai, partner and India MD at TPI. Trouble is, falling in Stage 3 doesn’t guarantee a position in the Stage 4 or 5 club, whose members are scaling rapidly or already reaping the benefits of having gone global. Incidentally, the current position of Indian companies on the world map places them squarely with the bronzes — firms that are competing hard for recognition of quality, competence and cost-savings. ‘‘We’re saying some things the other reports aren’t,’’ says Pai, justifying the warning undertones of the TPI study. ‘‘But the truth is, India is going to continue to grow as an offshore location, but other geographies are going to grow faster as they reach Stage 4 and 5 sooner,’’ says Pai. Translated, TPI’s findings boil down to three factors: the absence of a truly globalised Indian firm, below-expectation productivity and rapid rise of rival destinations. ‘‘Hiring one engineer in the US boils down to hiring two in India for the same money and productivity. That means you only have to reach the half-way mark in cost savings and a US company may as well hire an American engineer. So the rising salary and lower productivity are serious concerns,’’ says Pai. The report suggests that India is no longer the sole choice of location for a global company, as Brazil and China loom on the horizon and Eastern and Western European firms find business easier across familiar borders.
