If you’ve had some nasty or embarrassing illness in the past 12 months, perhaps an ailment so unusual or damning you’d prefer to hide it from your employer, friends and loved ones, then here’s a shocker: There’s a good chance that a stranger in far off India knows all about it. And the kicker–it was your health-care provider that told him of your secret battle with plantar warts, rampant hirsutism, and pathological addiction to eBay.

Warnings about rising salaries have tempered a strong set of financial results from India’s leading IT companies - Infosys, Satyam, Tata Consulting Services (TCS) and Wipro - on the back of continuing demand for offshore outsourcing services.

In a study of 200 business executives in the US, global management company Accenture found that two thirds of respondents had experienced miscommunication issues within their outsourcing operations.

India’s domination in the outsourcing market may be challenged as emerging destinations gain prominence with firms seeking access to skills, predominantly non-English languages, that are lacking in existing locations.

The outsourcing boom has passed and maturity is setting in, according to a new study from consulting firm DiamondCluster International in Chicago.

Canadian call-centre jobs, especially those in the Atlantic provinces, could be in jeopardy of being shifted overseas if burgeoning Asian and Middle Eastern outsourcing firms continue to ride a wave of global consolidation, industry experts say.