IDC Study Finds Global Services Vendors Dominating U.S. Finance & Accounting BPO Market

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., January 18, 2006 – A newly released IDC competitive landscape study estimates that the majority of the U.S. finance and accounting (F&A) business process outsourcing (BPO) market opportunity has been claimed by a select few global services providers. Though market leadership positions are not yet set in stone, providers, such as IBM and Accenture, have successfully leveraged their global presence, vast offshore capabilities, technology assets, consulting expertise, and BPO capabilities in adjacent business process areas such as procurement and HR.

The IDC study provides the industry’s first comprehensive analysis of the competitive landscape within the rapidly-evolving and vibrant U.S. F&A BPO market. This report identifies and analyzes the three broad categories of players vying for a share in this market: IT service providers, outsourcers, and specialists dedicated to one or more segments of the finance and accounting BPO market. In addition, IDC examines each segment in detail by delving into the strategies, strengths, and weaknesses characteristic of each vendor and competitive category.

"F&A BPO services vendors have made significant progress in addressing the transactional processing needs of the F&A market with a global sourcing solution" said Shruti Yadav, research analyst for BPO Services at IDC. "Going forward, to address new sources of value and reach new levels of improvements, vendors will face the challenging task of addressing high-end labor-based F&A processes through cost-effective and innovative solutions. Service providers’ ability to apply technology innovation, business process knowledge, and outsourcing expertise, and to link F&A to other key horizontal functions will be instrumental in continuously driving the net-new value of F&A BPO engagements"

IDC observes the following vendor trends in the F&A BPO competitive landscape:

Acquisition of and partnering for highly specialized leading-point solutions around F&A processes
Strategic deployment of the finance consulting expertise and technology innovation
Aggressive expansion of global sourcing capabilities, especially in Eastern Europe and India
Integrating F&A BPO expertise into comprehensive back-office solutions aligned with complete business processes
The study, U.S. Finance and Accounting Business Process Outsourcing Services Market: Competitive Landscape and Analysis, 2005 (IDC #34326), examines key competitive market segments, identifies and profiles key vendors, and analyzes in detail the strategies, strengths, and weaknesses characteristic of each vendor and competitive category. The report reviews vendor trends, merger and acquisition activity, and key engagements signed and partnerships forged in the last 12 months. The study also provides projections for the 2006 vendor landscape.

To purchase this document, call IDC’s Sales hotline at 508-988-7988 or email sales@idc.com.

Contact Information

Shruti Yadav

IDC

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