Deteriorating cost advantages and improved labor quality are those factors that drove a dramatic shift in outsourcing delivery preferences in 2009, according to the latest report by global management consulting company A.T Kearney's Global Services Location Index (GSLI) that ranked the top 50 outsourcing destinations worldwide.

Findings in the GSLI report reflect that the dynamics of global outsourcing is clearly shifting as companies re-assess political and security risks, labor arbitrage and skills requirements. Risk and vulnerability management gain importance to protect global delivery and ensure capabilities are strategically dispersed rather than concentrated in a few locations.

With more focus on nearshore and sameshore options some established outsourcing hubs are fading while new rising stars are changing the outsourcing landscape.

India has retained its leading position as a major outsourcing hub, especially for US clients; however some Latin American and Caribbean countries continue to capitalize on growing nearshoring trend and strengthen their positions as attractive alternatives. Chile placed highest among countries from the region, ranking 8th on the strength of its political stability and favorable business environment. Other strong performers in the region include Mexico (11th), Brazil (12th) and Jamaica, which rose 11 places to rank 23rd.

While these destinations serve mainly US market there are some other emerging locations oriented on domestic needs. The second tier US cities such as San Antonio (ranked 14th) represent an attractive onshore options, where high people skills, lower level of wages and falling dollar are supported by the government pressures to create domestic jobs.

Meantime, the European continent has brought its own surprises. The premier destinations including Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary have fallen in rank because of increased costs and wage inflation, while new leaders in terms of financial attractiveness, people skills and the business environment came to the scene. Best score earned Romania - climbing from the 39th to 19th position, while Russia moved from 37th to 33th and Ukraine from 47 to 42.

Strong education background and engineering base along with high language competence and geographical proximity make these destinations an attractive nearshore options for Western European clients.

Levi9 Delivery Network
Levi9 is a Pan-European software development company with a comprehensive delivery network that covers locations in European Union (Romania), Central and Eastern Europe (Serbia, Ukraine) and Southeastern Europe (partly Turkey). With headquarters in Amsterdam and representative network throughout Germany and Belgium, the company leverages its broad European presence and empowers its clients with flexible delivery model, superior people talent and unique advantages of each location.