Global Technology & Business Services Council (GTBSC)

The Global Technology & Business Services Council (GTBSC) is a federation whose members are other trade groups, not firms. It aligns policy, data rules, research and talent norms so the world’s tech and business services sector speaks with one shared voice.

GTBSC sits one level above the associations you already know — IAOP, NASSCOM, ABSL Poland and IBPAP among them. Each of those bodies recruits and represents companies inside its own market. The council represents the bodies.

The federation spans 12 national associations across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. Member bodies keep their own governance and revenue, and speak collectively only where a shared position helps. Think World Steel Association, not a holding company.

NASSCOM leadership puts the global technology services workforce at well over 10 million skilled people. A workforce that size needs one channel into regulators, and that channel is what the council was built to be.

Two things the council deliberately does not do: it takes no member firm dues, and it certifies no vendors. Buyers hunting provider credentials go to the national associations, which own those schemes. That borrowed authority is the design.

Key takeaways

• Members are national associations, not companies, so the council never chases member firm dues.
• Consensus driven — joint outputs ship only after every participating association signs off.
• Policy focus: cross border data flow, talent mobility, tax treatment and sustainability reporting.
• No certification scheme of its own, so provider credentials stay with bodies like IAOP and NASSCOM.
• Research travels through host association channels instead of a central GTBSC library.

How it works

GTBSC runs on consensus among member chairs. Working groups cover policy advocacy, talent, sustainability and research, and no joint output ships until every participating association signs off on the wording. Chairs meet quarterly and rotate the secretariat.

Funding comes from member association dues plus occasional sponsor money tied to a specific research project. The council sells nothing to buyers and manages no commercial contracts.

There is no central GTBSC library. Research reaches readers through host association channels, which keeps overhead low and lets each region control its local framing.

Working groups run Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) tracks in parallel. Data residency bites hardest on ITO delivery; visa rules bite hardest on BPO headcount.

Scale explains why the advocacy mandate carries weight. Statista’s worldwide IT-services outlook puts the market at about US$1.57 trillion in 2026, rising to US$1.83 trillion by 2030 — a 3.81% compound annual rate.

IT outsourcing is the largest segment inside that total, at US$634.18 billion in 2026. That works out to roughly 40% of worldwide IT services spend. The United States is the biggest single market at about US$589.74 billion.

Those are the lines member associations argue over whenever a data rule or a visa rule changes. A national body can quote them. Only a federation can put the same numbers in front of a dozen governments at once.

Examples

The council’s visible work is joint response to cross border shocks. Each example below shows member associations landing on one stance that no single national body could have carried alone, and each one is dated so you can check the sequence.

COVID-19 remote transition (2020-2022). Member associations documented how their firms moved millions of work seats out of secured offices in weeks. The council then pressed regulators for temporary flexibility on where client data could be handled.

Data localization pushback (2023-2025). As India, Indonesia and some EU states floated stricter cross border rules, the council issued joint NASSCOM, IAOP and ABSL statements backing frameworks aligned with the OECD’s Data Free Flow with Trust programme.

Talent taxonomy alignment (2024-2026). Member associations agreed shared skills definitions covering cloud, cybersecurity and analytics. Those definitions feed the Digital Transformation programmes buyers run, and give recruiters a common vocabulary.

Talent mobility and offshoring (2024-2026). The council coordinated visa advocacy affecting both offshoring and nearshore delivery, tying industry positions to the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) numbers its members track at home.

Sustainability disclosure convergence (2025). GTBSC gathered industry input on cross border sustainability reporting rules under the EU’s CSRD and comparable regimes, so a delivery contract spanning four countries could report on one consistent set of ESG lines.

What links all five is a single test: would one national association’s own statement have carried the same weight? Where the answer is yes, the council stays out of it — restraint is part of why members tolerate a layer above themselves.

Related terms

The cluster below covers the delivery models and policy terms GTBSC’s working groups touch. None of them describe the council itself; they describe what its member associations represent, which is where the practical detail sits.

• Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO): higher skill segment the council’s shared skills taxonomies cover.
• Shared Services and Outsourcing (SSO): captive delivery model represented by council member ABSL Poland.
• Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): parent industry category the council addresses at policy level.
• Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO): software and infrastructure segment that carries the data residency fight.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): capital flow tied to the services policy stances the council coordinates.
• Digital Transformation: buyer programme the council’s talent standards outputs feed into.
• Nearshore Outsourcing: closer to home delivery model covered by the same mobility advocacy.

FAQ

Common questions about the council cover who founded it, how it differs from IAOP or NASSCOM, whether it certifies vendors, and where its research actually appears. Short answers follow, and each one holds up on its own.

Who founded the Global Technology & Business Services Council?

National IT and business services associations formed it to speak with one voice. Founding members include IAOP, NASSCOM, ABSL Poland and IBPAP, with other national bodies joining as the advocacy agenda widened.

How is GTBSC different from IAOP or NASSCOM?

IAOP and NASSCOM recruit member firms and run their own revenue streams. GTBSC recruits no firms at all. It sits above those bodies and aligns the positions they take jointly.

Does GTBSC certify outsourcing providers?

No. Provider credentials such as IAOP’s COP designation stay with the individual associations, so a buyer vetting a specific vendor should check those programmes directly.

What policy issues does GTBSC focus on?

Cross border data flow, talent mobility, tax treatment of services exports and sustainability reporting. Uncoordinated national rules in those four areas penalise multi country delivery and make buyer side procurement harder to standardise.

Where can I read GTBSC reports?

Through host member associations rather than a central library. COVID response work, for example, went out via NASSCOM and IAOP distribution networks, which is why the council’s output is easy to miss.

Does GTBSC accept member firm dues directly?

No, firms join their national association and GTBSC is funded from those association dues, which keeps the council small and coordination focused.

Explore more outsourcing terms and buyer guidance at Outsource Accelerator.