Trends Likely to Impact Global Sourcing in 2013

Welcome 2013, a year we anticipate positive change in market dynamics of the global sourcing industry as the cloud of uncertainty around US Presidential Elections disperses, the US economy avoids the “fiscal cliff” and large number of outsourcing contracts come up for renewal and negotiations. Avasant’s thought leadership believes the following trends will have a significant impact on shaping the global sourcing market in 2013.

Welcome 2013, a year we anticipate positive change in market dynamics of the global sourcing industry as the cloud of uncertainty around US Presidential Elections disperses, the US economy avoids the “fiscal cliff” and large number of outsourcing contracts come up for renewal and negotiations. While 2012 witnessed market uncertainties amid global financial crisis, this year we expect global investments to show an upward trend. In the area of technology, investment in cloud services and mobile networking is expected to grow significantly, making a radical change in the global service delivery model. Strategic sourcing decisions will have to be tweaked to support the new paradigm in services delivery. Cloud based service delivery models will lead to additional debate, dialog and concern about issues like security. Buyers of services will show an inclination to source services from near shore destinations like Latin America & Africa, to enable easier coordination and governance. Use of social media, blogs and discussion forums is expected to have an impact on the sourcing decision making process.

A combination of trends within technological, operational, and marketing environments will impact the way; global sourcing decisions are taken to gain competitive advantage. Avasant’s thought leadership believes the following trends will have a significant impact on shaping the global sourcing market in 2013.

Technological Trends:

1. Big Data Analytics: Connected environment achieved through mobile and social networking technologies has led to the growth of voluminous amount of data, both structured and unstructured. The challenge faced by enterprises is to filter and analyze this available data for business use and gaining competitive advantages. Enterprises in 2013 will look forward towards adopting business intelligence in big data using applications and multiple integrated systems with advanced analytical capabilities. Marketing and Business leaders are likely to reach out to abundantly available analytics skills in geographies like India and China, to gain novel insights from their business data and take innovative decisions.

2. Data Security: Security of sensitive business data is an area of concern for enterprises and often demands huge investments for data protection. Cloud computing along with rise of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Bring Your Own App (BYOA) in 2013 would pose data threat to enterprises which compromise on formulating date security policies and monitoring security breaches. Regulated use of smart phones, tablets, other corporate assets and stricter data security policies enforcement will be major thrust in days to come. Enterprises are expected to increase budget allocation to manage data security threats effectively by outsourcing security monitoring services.

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