The Indian outsourcing market is set for a shakeup in the wake of the global economic slowdown, according to new research.

The company is tipping more BPO companies in India will exit the market in coming years due to difficulties in them staying afloat in the economic climate, while other new entrants will come to the fore. "One-quarter of the top business process outsourcing service providers will not exist as separate entities by 2012," said the study.

Market exit, acquisitions and the ascent of new vendors will rearrange the BPO provider landscape in the coming years, it said. "As providers are exposed to the economic crisis, loss-making contracts and an inability to adapt to standardised delivery models, many will struggle to survive in their current form," said Gartner's Robert H. Brown. "Some will be acquired and some will exit the market completely to be replaced by dynamic new players delivering BPO as automated, utility services."