Expect outsourcing closer to home, increasing concerns about cloud computing security, and the convergence of social media as key outsourcing trends for 2012. Those are the predictions from the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals in their annual predictions report.

The BRIC countries will among the winners this year, says the association, as continuing pressures and technology advances unsettle major players in the business. Their key predictions are:

• High unemployment and local authority incentives will make local outsourcing increasingly attractive. As a result, companies will look to outsource within their borders more than previously, looking at cheaper business locations in rural and industrially depressed areas.
• Brazil, Russia, India and China will be increasingly attractive as outsourcing locations. Of these, Brazil will be high on the radar as the country will host the soccer World Cup, and is preparing to host the next Olympics in 2016.
• Collaboration will improve, with providers and customers working to create performance-based metrics, and increasingly outsourcing will pick up more customer-facing roles.
• A tough banking climate, and uncertain market, will lead to mergers and acquisitions.
• Social networking and increasing use of mobile platforms will lead to a more demand for value-added outsourcing services. Companies will look to use social media to gather intelligence on customers.
• Cloud technology will deliver both advantages and challenges, as users cope with cross-border regulation and the risks of eco-terrorism.

Despite these challenges, outsourcing will continue to grow as an increasingly esstential part of many corporations’ strategies to handle customer relationships efficiently and competitively.