The outsourcing industry will be shaped by a number of nascent IT trends, technology management magazine Executive Brief said recently.

Open-source software development will become more popular this year, Executive Brief predicts. Even Microsoft will be getting into the game: The software giant is opening the development of its .Net Micro Framework 4.0 to the general public and has released development guidelines for third parties.

Social networking sites like Facebook will see increased uptake in office settings, as well. Peer-to-peer collaboration can benefit workers at companies of all sizes, Executive Brief suggests, and it can cut costs by replacing “face-to-face meetings with virtual meetings and peer reviews.”

Another trend to watch this year is the rise of cloud computing. Like social networking, it saves money for tech-dependent enterprises. Computing in the cloud also increases employees’ flexibility, enabling work-from-anywhere schemes.

So-called “near-shoring” will become more prevalent this year, Executive Brief expects. European firms may choose to outsource to Eastern Europe over Asia, as the region boasts “a cultural affinity to continental Europe … and more convenient travel.” According to oDesk’s quality rankings, Latvia and Serbia are tied with Hong Kong as the highest-rated service providers.