The evolution of Global Business Services (GBS) over the past two decades reflects a shift from traditional cost-centric approaches toward more value-driven, digitally enabled strategies, driven by changing market dynamics, technological advancements and evolving customer expectations. Trends that are resonating in the market today include:

The 21st Century Begins

To frame today’s trends in context, it is essential to look at past trends and their role in shaping the shift toward value-centric evolution. The trends that emerged in the 2000s laid the foundation for a fundamental shift in how businesses approached global operations and service delivery. The decade witnessed an unprecedented outsourcing boom, particularly in IT services, customer support and back-office operations, as companies sought cost efficiencies and specialized skills by delegating non-core functions to external providers, often located in low-cost regions like India and the Philippines. This surge in outsourcing was accompanied by the rise of offshoring prominence, where companies established their own facilities or subsidiaries abroad to capitalize on global talent pools and cost savings while retaining full operational control. At the heart of these initiatives was a focus on cost reduction, driving businesses to optimize labor expenses and infrastructure overheads through strategic outsourcing and offshoring decisions. Moreover, the era marked the ascendance of information technology outsourcing, with companies increasingly relying on specialized service providers for software development, infrastructure management and other IT functions, fueling the growth of the IT outsourcing industry.

How A&M Can Help

Alvarez & Marsal can help you to design charging mechanisms that incentivize performance, with shared risk and reward, especially leveraging technology solutions, and determine the optimal charging bases for your GCC operations.