About I6 India 2011 - Sakuntala Rao, Director, IBM

As the Indian BPO industry matures, there is increasing growth in Tier 2, 3, and even 4 cities, explains Sakuntala Rao. This growth is also supported by the advances of the India-to-India services delivery market, which is bringing job opportunities to very small towns - whats termed rural sourcing. This is having a positive impact on the Indian jobs market, explains Sakuntala - a sort of giving back to the economy - but you need to be aware that it is the more transactional job that will be moving to these lower cost locations. While BPO is seen as recession-proof (helping cost efficiencies) in truth, clients are taking longer to make decisions, and the focus is on "quick wins" and cash flow. So cash is still king; some things never change.?