Emerging markets comprise top 30 offshore locations, says Gartner

Gartner report also reveals that seven developed countries have dropped from list

The 30 best outsourcing locations are in emerging markets including Argentina, Bangladesh and Bulgaria, according to a Gartner report.

Eight new countries have moved into the top 30 - five for the first time (Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Colombia, Mauritius and Peru), along with three re-entrants (Panama, Sri Lanka and Turkey).

In a report entitled, The top 30 countries for globally sourced activities for the period 2010-2011, Gartner provides an overview for companies considering outsourcing.

Ian Marriot, research vice president at Gartner, said: "As the pace of change is slower in developed countries, we have chosen to focus on those locations that are still maturing and developing, both domestically and internationally," he added.

The top 30 locations for offshore services in 2010 by region are:

• The Americas - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Peru

• Asia-Pacific - Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam

• Europe, the Middle East and Africa - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, Mauritius, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey and Ukraine

Gartner also points out that seven developed countries - Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore and Spain - are no longer on the list.

However, the analyst firm insists they should still be considered important as nearshore locations, because their maturity offers significant benefits for companies wanting a balanced portfolio from which services are delivered.

The list was based on criteria including language, government support, labour pool, infrastructure, educational system, cost, political and economic environment, cultural compatibility, global and legal maturity, and data and intellectual property security and privacy.