A new survey claims SA is among the top three emerging destinations for business process outsourcing.

The survey, by Everest Consulting, excludes established outsourcing destinations India and the Philippines and focuses on emerging destinations such as SA, China, Brazil, Poland, Egypt, Ireland, Morocco, Costa Rica, Mexico and Singapore. It highlights destinations that are most likely to benefit from offshoring in 2011 and beyond.

According to business process outsourcing analyst John Willmott of Nelson Hall, SA will experience substantial growth in the next few years, with continued outsourcing investment from the UK and increased interest from Australia and potentially the US.

“On the back of information from recent offshoring reports, analyst events and investor visits, SA is definitely heading in the right direction and I am confident that we will see substantial offshoring investment in the next few years,” says Gareth Pritchard, CEO of BPeSA Western Cape, and industry body that represents the outsourcing industry.

The Everest survey polled companies’ perceptions and plans in terms of choosing global service locations and is made up of 340 respondents across multiple sectors.

In the category of 10 000-plus outsourced jobs, SA placed first ahead of Brazil. Between 5 000 and 10 000 jobs, the country came second to Brazil. In 1 000 to 5 000 jobs, it came fifth, with China in first position, 7% ahead of SA. In outsourcing of less than 1 000 jobs, SA was second, behind Singapore. — Staff reporter, TechCentral