Impact of global recession on Canadian outsourcing

Canada has been a silent but remarkable story within the outsourcing industry. Relatively

immune to the attention and biases that more exotic offshoring destinations seem to evoke, the Canadian outsourcing industry has quietly notched up some rather impressive numbers. Statistics Canada reports leading up to the economic crisis, the Canadian call center industry grew

substantially and faster than many more acknowledged markets across the globe.

Proximity to the US market, cultural affinity and a moderate but growing domestic demand was key to historic growth of outsourcing in Canada. Sensitivity to data security and privacy issues,

and conformance to regulatory requirements set the Canadian outsourcing industry apart from its competition from other emerging markets.

However, there are challenges to consider. Historic advantages drew upon the advantage of

comparative costs especially with the disparity between the currency values. With the rise in the value of the Canadian Dollar relative to the US Dollar, many of these advantages have eroded. With delivery centers based out of Latin America and the Caribbean entering the fray as near

shoring destinations, and the growing trend of in-shoring and on-shoring, Canada faces competitors that can provide similar services at lower cost structures to US clients.

It's not all doom and gloom for the Canadian outsourcing industry though. Analysts and experts

are near unanimous in hailing a new age in outsourcing driven by integrating solutions, process expertise and value added services. Clients are looking beyond the obvious cost savings that first brought outsourcing solutions to the fore. The near identical regulatory environments and robust

copyright and intellectual property laws provide significant benefits to specific industries and clients. The financial and telecom sectors, in particular, are initiating a new phase in outsourcing

with significantly larger budgets and very specific quality requirements. These opportunities represent possibly the best avenues for the Canadian outsourcing industry to pursue continued success.