Outsourcing firms boot up

Outsourcing firms boot up

Outsourcing companies in the Gulf are moving up the value chain from providing mere back-office operations to IT and business process services.

Traditionally outsourcing companies have provided service for back-office operations. But countries such as the UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco have been making efforts to build up infrastructure, people and funds to grow the sector. And industry experts believe the outsourcing industry has been growing at 20 per cent annually in the Middle East.

Amin Khaireldin, Strategy Advisor and Board Member at Egypt-based Information Technology Industry Development Agency (Itida)Information Technology Industry Development Agency (Itida)
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, said: "In Egypt we put resources in a business park-like Smart Village. From the premises services such as financial analytics are conducted by 200 analysts for a Dubai-based company. Technical as well as packaged implementation services (PIS) are the focus."

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is another area gaining relevance in the region. BPO involves the contracting of operations and responsibilities of specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. "Gulf-based companies are now considering taking BPO services from outsourcing firms in the Gulf. And Itida has been making investments towards acquiring international standards in this segment," said Khaireldin.