Offshoring From Continental Europe: Which Providers Are The Best Option?

While many Continental European clients are interested in evaluating options for offshore services, their actual usage in general is quite low. A combination of factors including organizational structures heavy on senior staff, historic preference for staff augmentation, and traditional unwillingness to let work go off-site make offshoring from Continental Europe a peculiar market that has eluded almost all service providers — Indians, regional Europeans, and even multinationals. But these three camps of IT service providers are all renewing their efforts to win Continental business. Each set of providers has a legacy: Indians offer the lowest rates and offshore scale, but many clients find them unsuitable on cultural and local presence fronts; regional European providers have culture and on-site presence but lack offshore scale; multinational firms have local presence and offshore scale but recommend offshore only when clients ask — and charge rates higher than the other two provider sets. Sourcing executives in Europe need to understand the value propositions and risks of each camp before selecting a provider for global delivery services.