The Nearshore & Outsourcing Year in Stories

In the past few days I've seen at least a hundred people start an end-of-year commentary with the Dickens line about "the best of times, the worst of times." I'd like to imitate them but it wasn't a best or worst of times kind of times in the world of nearshore IT and BPO outsourcing, but mostly pretty good of times, with some mostly good news for most providers and clients. But also some things that should be like little alarm bells.

As a send-off to 2011, here's a sort of highlight reel of developments, events, trends, news, and perspectives that collectively describe the year gone by, and maybe offer a glimpse at things that have to be dealt with in the year ahead.

'Mature' Nearshore Gains Ground in TCO Comparison with India, New Research Shows

Latin America Outsourcing Gains More Credibility, Survey Says

Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica Rated Top Nearsourcing Markets

Mexico Jumps to #6 Services Location Worldwide

Danger: Nearshore Outsourcing Bubble Caused by Unqualified Providers

Bad Service Is the No. 1 Complaint by Outsourcing CIOs

Savings from Outsourcing Keep Declining, Study Says

Vivek Wadhwa to LatAm: Stop Being Afraid of Risk!

Cultural Alignment More Important Than 'Cheap Workers,' Expert Tells Nexus

Exclusive Safety Analysis Shows Guadalajara on Par with Houston

Companies Retreat from Outsourcing for More Control

Security Fears, Lack of Knowledge Keep CIOs from Cloud Adoption

Cash-Strapped Businesses Outsource Benefits Administration

Contact Centers Answer Call of Social Media 

'Significant' Drop in Outsourcing Volumes in Q3

But Number of New Global Delivery Centers Grows

Outsourcing Helps Transform Big Data into Big Bucks

2011 Power 50 Revealed

Gathering Forces: Bad Economy, Changing Workforce, Globalization

Parting Advice: What Nearshore Service Providers Must Do to Survive