Business Process Services – Provider Trends CQ1 2026

In this quarterly report for CQ1 2026, Avasant provides key information on trends in the business process services (BPS) space. It covers facts and figures about service providers (including revenue and resource trends), macro trends, and executive sentiment from the service provider community. In this quarterly report, we cover 16 pure-play BPS providers or providers with BPS as a primary offering and all industry verticals and markets. The report covers trends across a gamut of business process services, including finance and accounting, hire-to-retire, supply chain and procurement, customer experience, and industry-specific services. The geographic coverage for the report is global, with a larger share of data points from North America. 

The report builds on insights gathered through ongoing market research, data collection, and proprietary databases. It includes market data from providers accessed through multiple sources, such as public disclosures and market interactions. 

Key service provider trends

• • Revenue growth accelerated to ~3% QOQ in CQ1 2026, supported by strong execution, new client wins, and increasing AI-led demand. 

• • EBITDA margins expanded by 150 bps in CQ1 2026, supported by SG&A optimization, disciplined cost management initiatives, and offshore leverage. 

• • Head count declined by 7.7K in CQ1 2026 as providers focused on workforce optimization, AI upskilling, and value creation rather than employee growth. 

• • Investments increasingly focused on AI skills, agentic operating models, and employee upskilling to improve productivity and create greater value per employee rather than adding head count.