It seems like everyone’s talking about Information Technology (IT) and the cloud.  Even in outsourcing, these topics pop up frequently in the news.  This is in comparison to other services in the outsourcing industry such as knowledge process outsourcing. But while knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) has somewhat faded from the limelight, there are still numerous opportunities in the space such as those in data analytics, investment research and market research outsourcing services.

Switzerland-based financial services provider UBS (NYSE: UBS) is reportedly selling its business process outsourcing (BPO) and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) units. And is said to be in talks with Indian offshoring giants Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: INFY) and Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT). The UBS Indian Service Center and UBS Krakow centre has an estimated value of $200 million, reports The Economic Times.

The collapse of Wall Street has led to numerous opportunities for the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, specifically to higher value (KPO) outsourcing providers. The medium-to-long term effect of the US sub-prime and financial crisis will accelerate adoption of global sourcing as financial firms embrace offshoring to cut costs. This is exactly what Dallas-based Everest Research Institute found in its recent study entitled “Global Sourcing in Banking, Capital Markets and Insurance”.

Banks and financial institutions continue to struggle amidst the global economic slowdown. And as these organizations try to find a way to minimize costs, they look into outsourcing some of their back-office operations. A report from the UK’s Management Consultancies Association (MCA) and British Bankers’ Association (BBA) found that “the credit crunch will drive a new wave of outsourcing and offshoring in financial services as cash becomes tighter”. Contradicting some of the negative publicity often associated with outsourcing, the MCA and BBA’s report found that 89% of the survey’s respondents do not believe that jobs in their organizations have been lost due to outsourcing or offshoring, and about 58% think outsourcing made their organizations more competitive.

The global economic slowdown continues to have a direct impact on the outsourcing industry, with contracts decreasing by the day but at the same time brings new opportunities for more offshore services. Outsourcing companies continue to deliver services that benefit these companies and have found a way to increase their margins through clinical data management.

Companies are now considering Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) after the success of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).