Business Process Outsourcing — A Market Overview Letter From the Editor 15 February 2002 Although the term "business process outsourcing" (BPO) has gained visibility in the IT services industry only in the past four to five years, the service offering itself has existed for decades. For example, several of the largest service providers have significant legacy revenue streams that are derived from medical claims processing contracts. In many instances, these contracts include the entire back-office function. The outsourcing of payroll administration, an accepted practice for many years, is another illustration of the true age of the BPO market. This market is now experiencing noticeable momentum in terms of wider user acceptance and the emergence of new service offering categories, as well as a proliferation of providers from which to choose. Service providers offer BPO for literally hundreds of business processes. Some of these service offerings are very stable; some are just emerging and are, therefore, largely untested. Here, we present research on the BPO market, including: A BPO market model (see The BPO Market Model) Global BPO market trends (see BPO Market Trends in 2002) The drivers and inhibitors related to the anticipated BPO market growth (see The BPO Market: Growth Drivers and Inhibitors) Major market competitors (see The BPO Competitive Landscape) As BPO continues to grow at record rates, please visit www.gartner.com for additional market announcements and analysis. Lisa Stone Editor in Chief Sourcing spotlight.feedback@gartner.com.