Margin pressures are a sign of maturity (and commoditization) in any services industry. Publishing outsourcing is no different. Low entry barriers have kept the wannabes pouring in, relentlessly setting up shop, offering ridiculously low prices … to a point where it won’t work any further. However, that hasn’t stopped any more wannabes from joining the game.

While this phenomenon on one side of the industry spectrum has led to rapid commoditization of services, it has also galvanized creativity amongst players on the other side. Innovations in productivity enhancements, process refinement and proprietary product development has become the new mantra for industry leaders, in order to stay in a profitable game. Today, prices have dropped to levels that have pushed struggling players out of business, while the larger players are desperately seeking opportunities to grow.

Continue reading ‘The yin-yang of publishing outsourcing’ »

Over the last few years, there has been a trend among Indian service providers to build complementary capabilities by acquiring smaller publishing service companies in the US. Naturally, the all-time-low valuations have helped seal deals faster for service providers, who are looking to complete the missing piece of ‘high-value content’ in the end-to-end service provider puzzle.

Some of the recent acquisitions include: Continue reading ‘Small and niche – make a good fit’ »