Last year, it seemed that a day wouldn't go by without some kind of study claiming that IT jobs where moving overseas in droves and that India, and then later, China, were destined to take over the world. But now it looks like outsourcing has shed much of its controversial aura while quietly reshaping the global marketplace.

Europe has a great tradition of innovation and excellence in business and commerce. There are globally competitive companies in European industries like banking, insurance, telecoms, automobiles and many others. But there is an odd mix of factors that make Europe less amenable to global sourcing of services.

Indonesia's aspirations to rival China and India as a global corporate services outsourcing destination are stymied by negative perceptions of the country's stability, an Accenture Ltd. (ACN) executive said recently.

European companies have joined the movement to offshore service jobs to low-wage nations. A new perspective by the McKinsey Global Institute analyzing the impact of offshoring on Germany – Europe's largest outsourcer after the U.K.

International Organization for Migration (IOM), an intergovernmental agency in charge of managing migration issues worldwide, is shifting a major portion of its business processes from its main office in Geneva, Switzerland, to the Philippines.

To find a good fit between an outsource firm and an organization, it is essential to understand what corporate culture means.

Tomlin: “If there is no sense of urgency, the opportunities will just go by and SA will be left out of the outsourcing arena.”

India and China will be the main winners from an increase in offshoring but Eastern Europe is also set to benefit, according to CEO Briefing, a report published this week by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Outsourcing QA and testing is gaining momentum in the IT industry. This article highlights this emerging trend with a particular focus on the offshore component. It also discusses factors to think through when selecting an offshore QA and testing partner.

Partners foster successful outsourcing relationships when they explore their respective expectations, capabilities and cultures, appreciate one another's goals and requirements, and understand what deficiencies must be overcome and what differences must be reconciled.

The Indian IT Enabled Services (ITES) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies face important challenges such as privacy, rising interest rates, supplier risks, regulations and technology convergence, says the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).

China and India's software industries are forging closer ties, as the world's two most populous countries are becoming the most favoured offshore software outsourcing destinations.

Finland is inviting Indian IT houses to come up and set up shop in the country. Easy access to European, Nordic, Russian and Baltic markets, skilled manpower and superior infrastructure as some of the selling points for investing in the country. More: Invest in Finland

Financial services businesses throughout the world are increasingly using third parties to carry out activities that the businesses themselves would normally have undertaken. Industry research and surveys by regulators show financial firms outsourcing significant parts of their regulated and unregulated activities. These outsourcing arrangements are also becoming increasingly complex.

Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) companies that focus on medical transcription may find it hard to capture business in the $800-million US healthcare market.

A new view holds that nearly every function in your business -- strategic or not -- should be a candidate for outsourcing.

The offshoring of IT jobs is a growing trend that not even legislation can stop. Over the last three years the number of IT jobs offshored by France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US should increase by around 826,000, with a value of $51.6bn, the report predicts.

India, IT strikes and multi-billion pound deals dominated the outsourcing news headlines in 2004, the year when sending IT work overseas made its mark and became a mainstream issue.

As a location for IT outsourcing, Bangalore, India, is still the place to be. But the boom in offshore outsourcing is also putting strains on the infrastructure in Bangalore, which faces stiff competition from other cities.

This is the latest in neoIT's popular free monthly whitepaper series that addresses timely topics related to the global sourcing industry. This month's "Healthcheck" examines the issues and criteria for analyzing and evaluating offshore operations.

The market grew 37% but was characterised by a larger number of smaller deals and greater competition among vendors

Europe has overtaken the US as the world's leading market for outsourcing contracts, a report has claimed.