China and India have been leaders in outsourcing activities due to low-cost yet educated labor. A recent survey conducted by Procurement Leader Magazine shows that Asian countries continue to dominate as the preferred outsourcing destinations. India offers a huge advantage to companies looking to outsource because it offers English-speaking, educated, and well-trained resources at low-cost. So although there may be other locations across the globe where there is a similar mix of resources at lower cost, most of those countries do not offer ALL the advantages that India offers, at least in the high-tech and manufacturing arenas.

Other countries may be good hotspots for other industries. Countries that come to mind are Morocco, Phillipines, Pakistan, South Africa, Nicaragua, and Sao Paolo.However, because those are all still relatively new countries when it comes to "outsourcing", companies may find it less risky to stay with a familiar outsourcing landscape like India.

Companies appear to stick with the "crowd" mentality when it comes to sticking with "familiar' countries to continue their outsouring rather than trying out new pastures.  This is good news because India (and China) continue to remain ahead of the pack as they document best practices in outsourcing and continue to become better and better each year.