In a recently published study, Asia/Pacific Services 2008 Top 10 Predictions, IDC highlights that global delivery will become top of mind for organisations across Asia/Pacific, resulting in a surge towards global sourcing strategies. The focus for 2008 will be blended solutions, as organisations move beyond purely cost-driven decisions to access skills-based models, as reiterated by The IDC Global Delivery Index Asia/Pacific Report, 2007.

"Global sourcing increases the potential for creating optimal business outcomes," said Jenna Griffin, Senior Analyst for IDC's Asia/Pacific Global Delivery Research. "It allows organisations to access best-of-breed skills and price points without the restrictions of geographical boundaries."

Leveraging existing operations as a base, the concept of deploying regional "hubs" or centres of excellence allows vendors to adopt a more regional perspective on both opportunities and growth outlook. For end users, it is about the transformation of "wants" into "needs", as past preferences for best-of-breed technology and services are becoming a necessary part of IT strategy.

The potential for emerging markets is strong as a result of the increased focus on global delivery. "Domestic markets could be slow to gather momentum, particularly in developing nations," says Jenna. "Having service providers capable of offering both onshore and offshore services generates a stronger growth trajectory within the domestic market as a whole. Service providers benefit from economies of scale and the creation of jobs means that the overall market benefits from greater economic prosperity."

While IDC expects that global delivery will have a significant impact on the services ecosystem, there are other factors that will contribute to the unabated disruption throughout 2008.

The Top 10 Predictions for 2008 reflecting the order of impact on the services ecosystem within the Asia/Pacific excluding Japan region are:

1. Global Delivery Will Become "Top of Mind" for Asia/Pacific Organisations
2. The Tigers of India Will Take on Asia/Pacific
3. Services Oriented Architecture Will Move into the Services Realm
4. Product Vendors Will Eye More Services Revenue
5. Green IT Will Drive Growth in the Services Market
6. The Importance of Organisation Alignment Will Drive Demand for a Combination of Business and IT Services
7. The New Era of the Digital Marketplace and Web 2.0 Will Open up New Opportunities to Integrate Consumers into the Delivery of Services
8. Vendors Will Pull Together Specific IP Around Certain Solution Areas to Improve Ease and Cost of Delivery of Services
9. The Roles of Local Service Providers and the Future of the Channel Ecosystem Will Be Revolutionised
10. Services Aggregators Will Emerge as New Stakeholders in the Services Ecosystem