The Philippines and South Africa tie for the silver medal, Malaysia places 3rd; low favorability marks for Honduras and Serbia
India retains the title of most favored offshore CX delivery destination in 2024, according to this year’s Front Office CX Omnibus Survey by Ryan Strategic Advisory. This marks the second year in a row that India has topped the annual survey of 750 enterprise contact center buyers from 11 key demand markets, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the USA. As in the past, the survey was conducted via telephone in the participant’s local language, and respondents were asked to rank the favorability of over 40 nearshore and offshore destinations for contact center delivery into their market.
India scored highly across English-speaking markets, placing as the most favored offshore delivery point in Canada, the UK and Australia, marginally pipping South Africa at the post in each of these key demand markets. India also performed well in buyer favorability in the USA and Singapore.
Tying for second place in this year’s offshore CX delivery location ranking are the Philippines and South Africa. Canadian, British, Singaporean, and Australian captive contact center leaders ranked South Africa highly, and it was overwhelmingly the most popular offshore delivery point among American participants. In the case of the Philippines, the Asia-Pacific BPO powerhouse enjoys exceptional favorability from respondents across all English-language locations surveyed, as well as in Japan.
Malaysia placed third in the offshore CX favorability rankings in 2024. A darling of Australian and Japanese enterprise contact center leaders, Malaysia scored very well in these markets, and it was a close second among Singapore’s participants. However, Malaysia’s appeal appears to be waning in the UK and Canada, where it failed to crack the top 5.
Central & Eastern Europe mainstay Poland maintained its fourth place ranking in 2024, unchanged from last year. Much of this had to do with a solid level of favorability in Germany, where it was tied for the most-favored location with European nearshore rival Egypt. Poland also had strong appeal across other demand markets in Europe, especially the UK.
Egypt and Morocco tie for fifth place in the 2024 offshore CX favorability rankings. Egypt’s best showing was in Germany, where it tied for the top spot with Poland. It also did very well in the UK and Canada, and was competitive in France.
Morocco re-entered the top 5 rankings in 2024, driven by high levels of favorability in French-speaking markets. it was rated as the most favored destination for offshore CX delivery in France and Belgium, and narrowly missed being included in the Canadian top 5 this year.
Notably, no country from the American nearshore cracked this year’s top 5 most favored offshore CX delivery points. Still, both Mexico and Guyana ranked very well in the USA, while Jamaica appeared to be popular within the Canadian CX space. Meanwhile, Guyana and Jamaica fared well in the eyes of UK captive contact center leaders.
Other aspects of this year’s survey were more regional in nature. There was a lot of favorability indicated by survey respondents for Fiji, which was ranked as one of the most preferred locations across Asia-Pacific demand markets, and also showed well in the USA.
Within the Balkans, a region that is rapidly growing in appeal for CX buyers around Europe and North America, Slovenia was the number one choice for captive operators in Italy, followed by Croatia. Croatia in turn also did well in Belgium, the UK, and Germany. Among the most important markets to highlight is North Macedonia: Western European CX decision-makers consistently expressed high levels of favorability for this national BPO upstart. Kosovo’s appeal is limited in 2024, but this country did place well in Belgium.
With India, the Philippines and South Africa again topping the list of most favored CX destinations, there is plenty of continuity in outsourcing. Yet, this year’s Front Office CX Omnibus Survey also points to significant change. The key for smaller markets that enjoy a degree of favorability in parts of Europe will be to cultivate their reputation, perhaps through expansion into other demand markets or niche specialization.
