The burgeoning global business process outsourcing market will hit $450 billion by 2012, according to a report by NelsonHall.

The analyst firm says the trend will particularly benefit customer management services, financial sector services and recruitment process outsourcing.

A major driver will be businesses seeking to hasten entry into emerging markets, cutting costs and automating their expansion processes in an increasingly competitive global landscape.

“As organisations increasingly focus on establishing themselves in the emerging economies of Asia and Latin America, they will look to locate support functions such as finance and accounting services and procurement within these geographies, leading to opportunities in the outsourcing and relocation of existing shared services centres,” the report said.

This development will be particularly evident in the financial services and telecommunication sectors, say NelsonHall’s analysts.