In the past few years, the information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) market has gone though a period of rapid growth. There has been significant consolidation among established suppliers, the offshore market has expanded to include many new countries as potential destinations and the range of business processes on offer has grown.

At the same time, technology developments have created new delivery mechanisms and payment methods, and the range of buyers for potential services has expanded as more small and medium businesses (SMEs) and public sector organisations choose to outsource IT and business processes.