Smarter Outsourcing: An executive guide to understanding, planning and exploiting successful outsourcing relationships

Not a case of all or nothing

The key for a CEO approaching the possibility of offshoring is not to be pressured into believing that this is a black-and-white, all-or-nothing decision – or indeed that it is entirely down to the company. The risks involved in accessing lower-wage locations can be mitigated in two main ways:

1. Nearshore capabilities: A number of ‘nearshore’ centres are now developing rapidly, including – in a European context – the Iberian peninsula (predominantly Spain), and the recent EU accession states in central and eastern Europe. These centres are seeing heavy investment as they seek to compete with established nearshore locations within the EU such as Dublin, and offshore players such as India, China, the Philippines and Malaysia. ...