When people say outsourcing, a select few countries would immediately come to mind.  But while the economy continues its recovery and business continues to thrive, more and more places are being tagged as ‘the best’ or ‘the hottest’ outsourcing destination.  Not all outsourcing destinations however were created equal, which is why many outsourcing providers have branched out in one place or another, some obviously preferring that destination, some to sample the local flavor to see if they’ll prosper there.

The business process outsourcing race among destination countries is a fierce competition that has been predominantly lead by South Asian country, India.  The Philippines however, has been holding its own against India, emerging as a power player in the BPO outsourcing space.

The Big Blue is making the state of Indiana and its residents see red. In a series of events that began with the signing of a very profitable outsourcing deal between the state of Indiana and technology outsourcing company IBM, the deal has now ended up with IBM (NYSE:IBM) filing a countersuit against Indiana late last week in an affair that began as, well, somewhat good, to bad and now, to worse.

The downpour isn’t a torrent anymore …The world is still recovering from the effects of the global economic crisis. And while it may be years until everybody’s able to go back to pre-crisis form, most industries, including the outsourcing industry, now have a sunny outlook for the future.

A day before the release of the 4^th quarter financial results of outsourcing company Convergys Corporation (NYSE:CVG), they announced plans to lay off many of its employees, without disclosing how many and which locations would be affected.

“Not just a place to take a vacation”- that’s what the Philippines is now becoming with the trend of the BPO sector in the country. Right now the Philippines ranks 2nd in the offshore BPO services globally. The country would be hosting its first Outsourcing summit organized by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) where delegates from around the globe would be able to discuss the direction of the industry. As the hosting country, this provides the Philippines with the golden opportunity to showcase its assets and advantages as a choice for outsourcing needs which includes geographical preference, cost and quality of labor.

3 out of 4 executives say that outsourcing is needed to get through this tough economic time.