G280507: China’s dream to become BPO hub for MNCs by replacing India it still far ahead reveals technology research firm Forrester on Wednesday. China’s offshore market is growing even below anticipations, it reasons.

“When are first looked at China’s offshore and global delivery model nearly two years ago, the country was widely viewed as the key challenger to India for offshore supremacy. However, our latest research shows that to date, the market has not taken off as expected,” said Forrester’s Vice-President John Mc Carthy.

Mc Carthy, who had predicted in 2002 that over three million BPO jobs in the US would go offshore, added that firms having large bases in India should consider other places with low operating costs and attrition rates. “The Philippines Mexico and Brazil may provide better alternatives than China in terms of skills, language and convenience,” he added.

Noting the fact that China’s percentage of overall offshore resources has gone down, report suggested that instead of trying to complete in areas like application development and management, where India clearly dominates, China should focus on other areas like testing, data management and product development services. Chinese firms also need to implement strict intellectual property controls and undertake training programmes, Mc Carthy added.

As for other countries competing for the off shoring market share, forester proposed a revamp in the education programs of engineering graduates for economic development agencies in Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt and Morocco. “Their education programs ought to focus on advanced skills like project management and advanced architecture skills, while at the same time, respective governments should invest significant funds to market the country as an alternative to the offshore incumbent – India,” Carthy added.