New Delhi: India remains the 'undisputed leader' in a list of the top 30 countries for offshore services prepared by IT market research major Gartner.

The research firm based in Connecticut, U.S., applied a list of 10 criteria to find its top 30, but many of the conclusions are already well known - India is the 'undisputed leader' in offshore services, with China, Russia and Brazil providing credible alternatives, while Ireland, Israel, Northern Ireland and South Africa are strong in language skills.

According to Gartner, however, there's a stampede of new locations determined to get more offshore business. For the 30 countries that met its criteria, Gartner reports, another 35 were viable contenders, giving companies plenty of choices in 2008. And of those 35, 13 "came darn close to making the list", according to Helen Huntley, an author of the Gartner report prepared in December 2007.

Those coming 'darn close' are Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela in the Americas; Indonesia, Mauritius and Thailand in Asia-Pacific; and Belarus, Egypt, Latvia and Morocco in Europe, Middle East and Africa, or the EMEA region. The seven countries from the Americas are becoming or already are attractive destinations for U.S. companies, but a lack of government support is restricting offshore development, Gartner said.

Only Mexico rated 'very good' in this area, followed by Canada and Uruguay. Canada and Mexico rated higher than Brazil in the quality of the labour pool. In terms of infrastructure, think twice about Argentina, the only country to rate lower than 'good'. Canada earned excellent marks in most categories, except in the big rate limiter: cost.

The Asia Pacific region boasts the most countries in the top 30 list - 10. India rules, with China at its heels. Asia has also come a long way in language skills. Only China, Sri Lanka and Vietnam rated less than "good". As for government support, Gartner said this was strong in China, India and Singapore.