I Want My BPO

If the audience survey of executives conducted by Capgemini and IDC at the IDC Outsourcing Forum East in March is any indication, people love business process outsourcing (BPO). Most executives in attendance reported that they have found BPO to be a positive, business-enhancing venture. In fact, 53.8 percent of survey participants -- slightly more than half of whom represented financial services companies -- indicated that outsourcing has met or exceeded their firms' expectations.

Audience members also were polled on which outsourcing business drivers were most important to their companies. Cost reduction proved most important (cited by 36.4 percent of respondents), followed by the desire to focus on core competencies (30.3 percent) and the ability to drive innovation (21.2 percent).

Apparently, however, not everyone is so enamored with business process outsourcing. When asked about the challenges to considering BPO, nearly 40 percent of survey respondents rated resistence from top managers as the No. 1 obstacle. <<<