Gartner Ranks Top 30 Countries for Offshore IT Services
Offshore outsourcing spending will double next year, according to Gartner. Where should all that IT services money go? Gartner offers a list of the top thirty options around the globe.

Gartner used ten criteria (language, government support, labor pool, infrastructure, educational system, cost, political and economic environment, cultural compatibility, global and legal maturity, and data and intellectual property security and privacy) to compile a list of the top 30 global destinations for IT services by region:

Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay

Asia/Pacific: Australia, China, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Vietnam

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA): The Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Northern Ireland, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine

Destinations in the Americas are most attractive to buyers in the United States. Canada led in seven of Gartner ten list categories (faring worst in the region for cost of labor). Latin American countries are increasingly valued for their Spanish speaking employees, but IP and security concerns are more prevalent.

In the Asia/Pacific region, China, India and Singapore all demonstrated strong government support of IT services, but China scored poorly on language skills, according to Gartner. Political and economic risk are an issue with Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, says Gartner, while higher-cost locations like Australia, New Zealand and Singapore led for cultural compatibility, global and legal maturity, and data and intellectual property security and privacy.

Government support was generally low in the EMEA region, according to Gartner. Ireland, Israel, Northern Ireland and South Africa garnered good scores for English language. But the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania got extra credit for alternative language capabilities—attractive for an increasing number of continental European buyers. New EU members Slovakia and Romania, along with Russia and Ukraine were low cost leaders, though Gartner notes costs in the EMEA region are in a state of flux.