According to the latest Forrester research, the Global outsourcing industry could face extensive consolidation in the next two years so much so that top-tier Indian firms will have to rely on acquisitions to compete with giants like IBM, EDS or CSC.

The report entitled "Are Barbarians at the gates of outsourcing?" discusses potential buyouts of global outsourcing companies by private-equity firms and the " buy or be bought" trend by the outsourcing majors.

It predicts that leading outsourcers will make aggressive moves to protect their businesses. These will range from acquiring other competitors to acquiring their own stock.

In addition, the report asserts that top-tier Indian firms will have to acquire BPO firms with vertical industry knowledge or infrastructure outsourcers to compete with top global firms.

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