In this research report, Global Services and Tholons rank top 50 emerging global cities for outsourcing IT and BPO services. These are the ones that may not be top of mind for most companies; but neverthless are well suited for specific IT and BPO functions (click here to see the list of global cities by functions). As there are some global outsourcing cities that stand as the clear winners, we also rank the top five obvious choices that need no introduction.

As discussed in another story that explains the methodology and the underlying thoughts that have enabled us to put this research report together, "comparing the availability of skills and the cost saving to be had in say Mexico versus Brazil remains superficial." For instance, "in Mexico alone, costs may vary between Mexico City, Monterrey and Juarez. And so would skills —  while one city may graduate more engineers, another may have more accountants."

Clearly, no two cities of a country would be at the same level of skills maturity or offer the same cost advantage, and deciding whether to source services from one over the other is just a first necessary step. Companies need to spend time delving deeper into the attractiveness of cities. They must consider various elements of cost and not just salaries and the specific skill sets that each city has

We profile the top 15 from the list of top 50 on what makes them so special, their infrastructure, business environment and availability of talent pool that support sourcing the IT and BPO services.