Buyer satisfaction with outsourcing remains positive or above the norm, and most buyers plan on maintaining or expanding their outsourcing investments, says a recent EquaTerra study. 

The study finds that out of 200 business process outsourcing (BPO) respondents to a 2005 study, 96% were moderately (55%) or highly satisfied (41%) with their efforts; the same study found that 73% of BPO users felt their efforts had enabled process improvement.

It also reveals that 200 buyers across seven BPO categories cited satisfaction levels ranging from 6.5 (call center/CRM) to 7.8 (R&D/pharma) on a one-to-ten scale where one was not satisfied and 10 was very satisfied. 

In terms of future outsourcing investment plans, EquaTerra research found that approximately one third of buyers surveyed (out of 673) planned to expand outsourcing usage either in the same currently outsourced functional area, or in new functional areas, geographies, divisions or business units. Less than two percent of respondents indicated that their organizations planned to curtail or eliminate their outsourcing efforts.