Having had time to let the dust settle and reflect on my visit to Halifax, the benefits in having links between Bermuda and the Nova Scotian capital are clear to see.

During my time in Halifax over the past week I met up with banks, insurance brokers, reinsurance companies, recruitment agencies and even universities in a bid to find out more about how the two business centres operate together and how their relationship will progress in the future.

One of the common themes running throughout all of the businesses and organisations I encountered concerned outsourcing and what impact it is having on the local economy.

Some might see outsourcing to other countries, such as Canada, as detrimental to Bermuda's economy in that it is effectively taking away jobs from the Island.

But that is the most simplistic view of how outsourcing works. It is only when you start to look beyond that you start to realise the advantages it can bring.

Of course outsourcing by its very nature means a shift in labour from one country to another, but that is also going to create opportunities for local people in other areas, whether by taking on a different role to increase efficiency and effectiveness, or having the chance to relocate and work and experience a completely different way of life in another environment.

Of course, outsourcing in Bermuda terms is a tiny part of a global phenomenon – many British-based firms are moving their back office and IT operations to call centres in India and the Far East to cut down on overheads, while the opening up of the European Union over recent years has allowed Western companies to relocate parts of their business to tap into the emerging markets in Eastern Europe.

Returning to Halifax though, the whole movement towards outsourcing has been done for mainly economic reasons, to reduce costs, with, in general, lower salaries to pay, cheaper office space and even government tax incentives such as payroll tax rebates on offer.

The geography of the trend to move to Halifax also makes good business sense, considering the Canadian city is only, on average, two to three hours direct flight away from and in the same time zone as Bermuda, so it is excellent for communication purposes, and well centred in North America, with easy links to the US and the big Canadian financial centres of Toronto and Vancouver.

Meanwhile, the employment market is ripe for companies seeking to recruit new staff, with universities and graduates in the necessary disciplines aplenty to be found in Halifax.

Butterfield Bank, for example, is enjoying all the benefits of setting up its fund administration centre in Halifax, with the operation which supports its main business in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, vying to maintain and expand its market share of the hedge fund industry.

Managing director of Butterfield Fund Services, Sylvain Lacoursiere, admitted as much, saying that to compete with its rivals it needs to have onshore operations to grow and tackle the market, which comes with the resources at its disposal such as good universities, large office space and lower operational costs.

His sentiments were echoed by Gloria Reid, group controller of Flagstone Management Services (Halifax) Ltd., which provides with Bermuda-based Flagstone Re's accounting and IT needs.

Ms Reid said it is not just Bermuda that the outsourcing operation is supporting, but the likes of India and Switzerland, in Flagstone Management's case, on a much bigger scale, with other large multi-national companies moving their operations into the Halifax patch from further afield, namely the US and Europe.

But, equally many companies who have set up shop in the capital of Nova Scotia are now aiming to put something back into the community by mirroring their Bermuda headquarters which have been recruiting Canadian employees, by taking on Bermudian staff to work in their Halifax operations, and this is where there may be real benefit for Bermudians.

Marsh is just one of those firms which has chosen to go that way, embarking on an ambitious project to actively enroll more Bermudian students fresh out of the city's universities into their ranks and to maintain that continuity of Bermudian and Canadians going between the two centres of business who have a good understanding of the company ethos.

If further proof were needed that outsourcing is the way forward, the Nova Scotia Business Inc. has been busy promoting Halifax as a centre of business excellence and the likes of Dalhousie University has been forging strong links with the local business community to get its students to play their part in the whole commerce movement which has really taken off in the past two years.

One can only hope the benefits of outsourcing are brought home and Bermuda and Halifax enjoy a mutually beneficially relationship as thriving commercial communities and places to set up business in years to come.