Introduction

It’s no secret that the FAO market continues on a healthy growth path.  Over the past several years we have seen the market expand its circle of appeal from just large global energy and resource providers to include a wide-range of industries, geographies, and buyer sizes.  Who would have thought a BPO growth curve could last this long? But it has, driven by evolving market circumstances. This whitepaper summarizes the highlights of the FAO market in the first half of 2008 and offers some guidance on what to expect in 2009.

Scope and Contents of this Study

In assessing the FAO developments for 2008, this piece provides guidance on five key focus areas, namely:

• Adoption patterns and buyer trends
  • FAO buying patterns continue to change along geographic, vertical industry and company-size segments
• Solution trends
  • Solution design continues to evolve along important dimensions, with a special focus on global sourcing and the role and use of technology in FAO solutions
• Supplier capabilities build-out
  • M&A activities continue as suppliers build-out their delivery and solution capabilities
• Supplier trends
  • As the competitive landscape for FAO services continues to evolve, competitive dynamics are impacting the characteristics and terms of FAO engagements.
• Predictions: Outlook for the remainder of 2008
  • Everest expects to see significant changes along the competitive landscape, the technology component of solutions, and the buying patterns of companies over the next 12 months. 

Each section discusses developments and compares them to both past and future trends.  The Predications section offers essential recommendations and guidance on developments that Everest anticipates will strongly influence the FAO market in 2009.

Inputs for this piece include Everest’s proprietary data repositories and analysis, interviews with both FAO buyers and suppliers, along with perspectives from Everest’s own outsourcing activities in the marketplace.