F&A Outsourcing Expected to Grow Quickly

Source: Insurance News

The global business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is on the path to recovery following the global economic recession that dented growth prospects in several industrialized nations including the US. As the recession affected all industry verticals, businesses adopted measures to contain costs and enhance profit margins – strategies that led to layoffs, recruitment freezes and pay cuts across various countries including the US. The inability of BPO clients to forge long-term contracts during the recession further contributed to the downward slide in industry activity. In order to deal with economic adversities, several companies opted for outsourcing services thereby benefiting outsourcing hubs such as India and China.

The United States and Europe dominate the global BPO market, as stated by the new market research report on Business Process Outsourcing. The increasing size and scope of the BPO industry is largely attributed to the growing desire of global businesses to address primary issues such as shortage of skilled personnel and rising operational costs. Outsourcing is also emerging as a tactical approach for imparting value addition, flexibility as well as agility to organizations, which enables them to respond effectively in a rapidly changing business environment. Technological advancements, introduction of sophisticated platforms and software, and the emergence of newer media are also driving businesses to opt for services of specialist third-party service providers.

Finance & Accounting outsourcing is expected to witness fastest growth among all horizontal segments. The need to streamline costs and increase competitiveness is likely to drive organizations to seek outsourcing services, positioning F&A outsourcing as a vital constituent of the strategy to achieve the twin objectives. Financial services, manufacturing, logistics and travel industries have been among the most active adopters of F&A outsourcing services. In the coming years, real estate and property management companies, IT firms, and medical and banking sector participants are also likely to seek F&A outsourcing services. The US represents the largest finance and accounting BPO market worldwide. On the other hand, demand for finance & accounting outsourcing services is increasing in countries such as China, Latin America and Central Europe that require multi-lingual capabilities and higher-touch processes. Customer Services segment continues to grow at a steady pace driven by the rising interest in outsourcing, particularly in view of the current economic conditions. BPO services offered include round-the-clock support services through e-mail, chat and voice.

With organizations across all verticals dealing with volatile economic environment, increased regulations, Web 2.0 environment, and content digitization, there exists a need for strategies that would enable companies to actively deal with the emerging challenges. This is particularly pertinent to companies from the BFSI, retail, government, and healthcare and life sciences sectors, which would in turn drive the demand for outsourcing services in the near-to-mid-term future. Banking, Insurance & Finance Services represents the largest end-use segment in the global BPO market. In the post recession scenario, the banking industry is expected to witness massive changes due to increased regulations. As a result, the trend towards outsourcing of processes such as cash management, custody, and treasury is expected to gain strength. The need for outsourcing is also expected to rise in view of the integration of social and mobile technologies that are disrupting conventional branch banking operations. In the retail, media and manufacturing sectors, BPO opportunities are expected to grow due to the relatively lesser use of outsourcing in these industries. The convergence of ITO/BPO, cloud and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models, and the growing ability of Tier-1 providers to offer BPO services are likely to drive outsourcing trend in these sectors.

Major players profiled in the report include Accenture Plc, ACS, A Xerox Company, Aon Hewitt, Ceridian Corporation, Computer Sciences Corporation, Dell Services, HP Enterprise Services, Intelenet Global Services Pvt. Ltd., Intelligroup Inc., Keane Inc., NorthgateArinso, SFN Group Inc., Tata Consultancy Services Limited, TriNet Group Inc., and Unisys Corporation.

The research report titled “Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a strategic review of the industry, key market trends, recent product launches, strategic corporate initiatives, and profiles of key market participants. The report provides annual sales estimates and projections by the following geographic markets – US, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World. Horizontal segments analyzed include Finance & Accounting, Customer Services, and Others. End-use segments analyzed include Manufacturing, Telecommunications & Technology, Banking, Insurance & Finance Services, Retail, and Others.