China’s economy exhibited signs of better stability due to the massive government investment in infrastructure and recovery in exports. The country also witnessed a strong trade surplus during the quarter and inflation also remained low due to reduced food prices. Proposal for a new Economic Zone near Beijing was announced during the quarter. The Chinese government also introduced various measures in order to improve business environment and attract more investment.

India witnessed improvement in macro-economic stability and geo-political scenario. Inflation rates plunged down to 5 year low to 2.1% in May 2017. As one of the largest IT outsourcing destinations in the world, Indian IT industry accounts for more than 60% of global IT market. However, automation and US visa policy curbs have created significant upheaval in this industry. Tech companies are amidst a massive restructuring drive and the string of layoffs might continue in the coming years.

Hungary is one of the rapidly growing IT outsourcing market in Central European region and also holds the second largest market for shared services in the Central Eastern European region aided by the highly-educated and multilingual workforce. Furthermore, a large number of IT companies in the country establish cooperation with local universities to produce IT engineers with relevant skill sets. However, key challenges such as sparsity of IT graduate pool and administrative/procedural inefficiencies persist.

Ireland continued to be a preferred location for IT and financial services firms after Brexit. The government provides various incentives, lower tax rates along with good business environment that attracts more investment into the country and creates new job opportunities. The Irish IT sector is facing pressure as traditional services are getting replaced by new technologies including cloud, automation and big data analytics. Also, limited availability of office space and skilled labor are key challenges for businesses operating in Ireland.

Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. It remains as one of the preferred outsourcing destination owing to the competitive operating cost it offers. The government has extended its support to the industry by liberalizing the investment environment especially around technology start-ups and relaxed rules pertaining to the entry and exit of expats. However, the country faces challenges in terms of social unrest and outbreak of diseases such as Dengue and H5N1 (bird flu).

Mexico is considered one of the most important outsourcing destinations in Latin America owing to its expanding IT market and adequate infrastructure. The country also boasts of ‘nearshore’ advantages such as time-zone alignment, proximity, business culture and affinity. Despite having a high turnout of IT professionals, the issue of talent shortage still persists in the country. The impending renegotiation of NAFTA agreement remains one of the key concerns for the economic growth of the country.

Philippines witnessed increase in Geo-Political Risk owing to the terrorist attacks and effective Martial Law in parts of Philippines. The crime rate also increased substantially during the quarter. Adding to this, natural disasters in form of earthquakes and tropical storms also posed serious challenge. In terms of operational cost, rents across Metro Manila increased as demand exceeded supply. However, the labor cost remained low due to lesser average salary growth rate compared to the previous year.

Poland is a prominent player in the IT BPO sector in Central and Eastern Europe. Finance and accounting, accounts receivables, multilingual contact centers are among the wide range of offerings in the BPO market. Furthermore, closer proximity and similar time zones make Poland an attractive option for nearshoring. In terms of economic performance, the country witnessed a strong GDP growth in the first quarter of 2017, following a slowdown in economic growth in 2016.

Colombia is emerging as a leading outsourcing destination in Latin America owing to its competitive workforce and a strategic location to provide regional and global services. The political scenario in the country regained stability after FARC (Colombia’s biggest rebel group) formally ended its existence as an armed group. However, the country faces key challenges such as cyber-attacks, large scale protests and natural disasters in the form of floods and landslides.

Brazil’s economy showed sign of improvement from previous quarter and exceeded market expectations. However, increasing budget deficit poses a serious challenge. High social unrest is persistent in the country. Brazil declared an end to the health emergency for zika virus but death toll is in rise due to yellow fever. On a positive note, the country has the second largest number of English speakers among the major developing economies and holds good number of multilingual labor pool.