IBM bags world's top outsourcing spot

IBM Global Services has been voted the world's best outsourcing company by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) for the second year running.

The big Indian IT companies also feature in the top 10 of the second annual IAOP Global Outsourcing 100 list, and a Chinese vendor made it into the top 25 for the first time.

IBM topped the list, followed by Capgemini, HP, Sodexho Alliance and Accenture. The three Indian companies to make the top 10 were, in order of ranking: Wipro, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra - with China's Neusoft just creeping into the top 25.

Revenue among the top 100 outsourcing companies grew by nearly 20 per cent in 2006 to more than $170bn, and employment was up 13 per cent from the previous year.

The list also identifies the "rising stars" in the outsourcing industry, which are the fast-growing companies with revenues of less than $60m per year. The top spot in that list went to US company Summit HR Worldwide.

A panel of IAOP experts judged the outsourcing companies on revenue, growth, number of employees, skills and training, technical and business certifications, management track record and customer service.

Christina Powers, IAOP executive director, said all the companies in the top 100 demonstrated strong management and an increasing focus on innovation.

Just last week, however, the latest quarterly figures from outsourcing advisors TPI showed the worldwide outsourcing market is experiencing a slowdown, with the total value of contracts for the first three months of 2007 down by a third compared to the corresponding period in 2006.

One of the main reasons for that slowdown is the fall in the number of US companies outsourcing their IT.