How has the slowdown affected the BPO market?
As a result of the economic slowdown, 2009 was the first time that the BPO market, which had been growing at a steady rate, actually shrunk. That was not because of lack of demand but because decisions were either not made or postponed. Traditionally, when there is a downturn in the economy, companies tend to focus on their core competency, drive efficiency and productivity and that’s when that they tend to outsource. However, given the situation we had over the last 15-18 months, decision making was postponed. If you take a look at the projections from various analysts, you will find that the market is now slated to grow on a $175 b base at a rate of around 6-7% over the foreseeable future. So, the market is going to grow and there is a significant opportunity. You would start to see the pick up in decision making. We expect the BPO market to pick up towards the tail end of 2010 and that should go through till 2011-13. As Sutherland has gone through several different business cycles i
