According to Shared Services Link, an international organization of shared services companies, the current trend in shared services centers is to move from the existing model of multiple, regional shared service centers to a single global center of excellence for all services (finance, HR, etc.) (Shared Service Link, 2014). However, many companies are not prepared for such globalization and regional services centers are still commonly adopted.

Figure 1: Global Operations with Regional Service Centers

In some cases, the complexity of providing services to global operations has prevented or delayed an organization's move to a shared services model. In particular, lack of knowledge of local statutes and local language or cultural considerations make the consolidation of services difficult for small organizations. However, according to IBM, "regardless of where a company is in its evolution or whether it is large, small or somewhere in between, a global perspective is critical to success in the 21st century because it enables a stronger growth strategy at a pace that is right for that particular business." (IBM, Dec 2011).