A center of excellence (COE) is not a new concept in business management. Even in offshoring, the creation of IT development centers to more effectively coordinate the application development work of distant service providers is a well-established type of COE. Yet the COE concept in offshoring has matured from its development center roots, taking on a more strategic aspect. The features of the evolved offshoring COE that offer value to managers are worth exploring for what they say about the evolution of offshoring as a management discipline.