From 1999 to 2006, the outsourcing industry in India experienced tremendous growth with strong labour opportunities and infrastructure. The ensuing period has seen the market stabilise and continue to grow at a much slower pace. India still accounts for the lion’s share of the IT-BPM market, with around 75 per cent of global digital talent present in the country but things are starting to change.

1. India’s BPO Industry From An Insider Perspective
From 1999 to 2006, the outsourcingindustryinIndiaexperiencedtremendousgrowthwithstrong
labouropportunitiesandinfrastructure.The ensuingperiodhasseenthe marketstabiliseandcontinue
to grow at a much slowerpace.Indiastill accountsforthe lion’sshare of the IT-BPMmarket,with
around75 percentof global digital talentpresentinthe countrybutthingsare startingto change.
A numberof South-EastAsiancountrieslikeMalaysia,Indonesia,Singapore,Vietnam, Philippinesand
Thailandare all vyingto become practical alternativestoIndia.Philippinesisprovingtobe alow-cost
rival as the BPM industrymaturesinIndiaandsalariesrise.Thisemergence of Nearshore,Onshore and
Offshore centreshave ledtoamigrationthatis hard to ignore.
Dominance UnderThreat
Despite newentrants,Indiacontinuestoremainthe foremostdestinationforglobal outsourcing.
Countriescontinue toinvestinIndiawithIndia’sIT&ITeS industrygrowingtoUS$ 167 billionin2017-
18. Asgrowth trajectoriesdipandthe environmentstabilises,IndianBPOcompaniesare expandingto
TierII and TierIIIcitiesto take advantage of theirlowerlabourcostsandcost of living.
Withtheirnumerousstrengthsandcompetencies,Indiancompaniesare able toretaintheirpositionby
evolvingtothe continuouslychangingneedsof customers.Theyare diversifyingtheirofferingsand
investingininnovationandtechnology.The governmentislendingahandas well,identifyingITas a
championsectorand settingupinitiativesfortechnologieslike AI.
Ridingthe Wave
The search for more knowledge-drivenworkhasledtoIndiastrengtheningitspositioninvalue-added
services.Companiesare embracingnewtechnologiesandideas,helpingthemmake betterdecisions
and adaptfaster.Thisis particularlyrelevantforthe BPOsectorwhere technologieslike automationand
RPA are disruptingthe nature of workinthe industry.The increasingrate of adoptionwill putpressure
on businesstogaina competitiveadvantage ascustomersexpectfasterandmore efficientsolutions.
As data andthe internetof thingsproliferate,securityrisksare expectedtorise aswell.Tokeeptheir
data safe and protecttheirusers,BPMcompaniesare likelyexpectedtoinvestinadvancedsecurity
automation,analyticsandintelligence.
People Matters
Today,businessesare lookingformore thaninexpensive solutions.Theywanthigherproductivity,
betterstaff andquality.Thisbodeswell forIndiawholeadsinefficiencyandcustomersatisfactionand
possessesavastpool of skilledtalent.However,thisqualitytalentfacesachallenge fromprotectionist
movementsandanti-outsourcinglawsinbiggermarketsasrequirementsbecome more challenging.
That coupledwithhighattritionrateswill be achallenge thatIndianBPOcompanieswillhave totackle.
Technologytoowill take itstoll asAIand chatbotsbecome more user-friendlyandeliminatethe need
for simplertaskstobe done byhumans.Despite these advances,the industrywill still require passionate
and talentedindividualsasinteractionsandmore complex issuesrise up.The requirementswillshiftto
more niche and skilledadvisorsforveryspecificrolesanddomainexpertise.Recruitmentpracticeswill
have to change to reflectthese newdemandsgoingforward.
Conclusion

2. As an establishedplayerinthe industry,Indianeedstobe well preparedtomeetthe upcomingchanges
and competition.Itsinitial risemighthave beendue tocheaplabourandlow wagesbutthose daysare
longpast.While the value of dealsmighthave increased,there have notbeenenoughcorresponding
increasesinmanpowerandjobopportunities.
The trend of companiesamalgamatinghasseenlargerBPOsbuyingoff andacquiringsmallerbusinesses
to diversifyandexpandtonewlocations.Withafocuson value addition,companiesare able toquickly
gainexpertise inspecificareasandride the wave of technological evolution.Itmightbe atime of
change but italso meansa hostof excitingnew opportunitiesare availableforthe BPMindustry.