The Outsource Blog

General discussion, news & views about Outsourcing and Offshoring

Archive for September, 2010

Outsourcing companies grow their workforce on philippine soil

September 27th, 2010

While outsourcing hubs, China and India, are currently leading in the outsourcing space,other destinations such as countries in Latin America and Southeast Asian country,Philippines, have seen their fair share of growth in outsourcing business coming through these past few months.

The Philippines in particular, is seeing a number of expansions by outsourcing companies this month alone.

As mentioned in a previous article, US based outsourcing companies, Rainmaker Systems and Convergys (NYSE:CVG), as well as Australian outsourcing company,Salmat (ASX:SLM), have all announced plans to further expand their workforce in the Philippines.

Rainmaker Systems announced on the 1st of September that they will be doubling their Philippine workforce by hiring as much as 1,000 people in the next twelve months.

The Philippines is currently Rainmakers only Asian site, and cites that it is the supply of skilled workers, and a stable telecommunications infrastructure that appeals to them in building and expanding in the country.

On the other hand, Convergys cites phenomenal growth among Philippine clients in the last few years as the reason for their expansion plans. According to country manager for Convergys Philippines, Marife Zamora, the company is looking to increase the headcount in the country to 25,000, up from the 22,000 that the company currently employs across the country. Lastly, Salmat, announced that they are expanding their Philippine workforce by 200 people in order to support clients from hometown Australia, as well as neighboring countries New Zealand and Japan. They will be providing targeted media solutions, customer contact solutions and business process outsourcing solutions to Salmat clients.

Indian outsourcing companies are also planning on expanding their businesses in the country. Infosys (NASDAQ:INFY) was the first of two Indian companies to announce their plans, on the 13th of September, followed by WNS Holdings Ltd (NYSE:WNS) on the 17 of September. Infosys announced its plans to expand, saying that the company will be doubling their current headcount in the country in the next 12 months. According to Ritesh Idnani, Infosys BPO Chief Operating Officer, the company will be expanding into areas such as legal outsourcing and finance and accounting outsourcing, in the country, aside from contact center services. WNS Holdings Ltd. in the meantime, announced that they will be increasing by as much as 300 people in order to take advantage of the English-speaking workforce. The companys CEO for WNS Philippines, Prabhakar Bisen cited growing demand as the reason, while Keshav Murugesh, WNS CEO, said that, 10 percent of WNS work force could be based in the Philippines over the next few years. Like Infosys, WNS will also be utilizing their Philippine workforce to cater to clients in the finance industry.

While India mulls over its current problems with the US, and China, other outsourcing hubs are emerging from Indias shadow, case in point, the Philippines. One thing that shows in the recent expansions is that companies such as Infosys and WNS, are now looking towards the Philippines for financial services, an area that had once been slated towards India in past years. Will the trend continue? Well have to wait and see in the months ahead.

Source:http://business.ezinemark.com/outsourcing-companies-grow-their-workforce-on-philippine-soil-31819df063c.html

Share and Enjoy:

Comments »

Posted in News

Tags: 2010 Infosys IT Outsourcing

Outsourcing SEO,web designers take note!

September 27th, 2010

Share

Web design and search engine optimisation are two quite different disciplines, and usually people specialise in either one or the other, but rarely in both.

However, there are synergies and consequent opportunities for strategic partnerships and alliances…

A great many web sites are launched every year, and during site creation, SEO requires extra effort and consequent additional costs. For that reason, many site owners opt to not do SEO at the outset, but will find it necessary to address SEO later when site traffic and sales revenues do not match initial expectations.

The SEO Outsourcing Option
Web design companies lacking in-house SEO skills should seriously consider outsourcing professional SEO services to offer to their existing clients. Forming an alliance with a reputable SEO practitioner is a sound decision for multiple reasons;

Gain client respect by guiding your clients to a good service provider

Facilitate implementation of the required site amendments with least risk to site integrity

Gain some additional billable hours inserting changes

Generate additional commission income on SEO work done on the site

Many SEO firms have already developed and offer an incremental range of competitively-priced SEO services, and actively market their SEO outsourcing service on a commission basis e.g.;

You quote the SEO companies price to your clients and you bill the client once work is completed

SEO company supplies the webmaster (usually you) with the SEO amendments to insert
- On completion, the SEO company bills you the previously quoted amount, less the commission.

Most professional SEO practitioners are willing and able to work cooperatively with any web designer or web site developer seeking to outsource SEO reseller services for their clients.

Their general preference to offer SEO services on a fixed price basis. This presents clients with a known quantity for budgetary purposes.

The SEO Imperative…
To any business enterprise hoping for significant Internet-based sales, it’s imperative that prospective clients can actually find the web site. Many business / client relationships commence through contact established via search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN.

The prospective client seeks a product by searching for a specific keyword or phrase. If the site doesn’t rank in the Top 30 results, it has minimal chance of achieving success as barely 10% of searchers will go to (or past) the 3rd page of results. If they don’t find what they want on the 1st or 2nd page, the majority will either refine their search term, or go to a different search engine.

Search Engine Optimisation is all about marketing a web site more effectively, with the goal of improving the site’s exposure to customers and clients on the Internet.

I’ve been practicing SEO since bG (before Google); back when Alta Vista, Excite, Hotbot and Northern Light ruled the search engine world. There have been many changes in that time – in fact, the only thing that is constant is change!

SEO Return On Investment…
In terms of the potential results for your clients, reflect a moment on the fact that there is a great deal of competition for rankings on the search engines. Not ensuring that a site is properly optimised dooms to mediocrity. The “return on investment” for SEO is usually very good indeed.

No-Risk Test of SEO Services
If you are considering outsourcing SEO services, here’s a suggestion. Ask each of the companies you contact if they are prepared to put their money where their mouth is… by doing a Basic SEO project for one of your clients on a “no cure, no pay” basis. Tell them you’d like a demonstration of their ability to deliver results, on one of your client’s sites. Pick a “normal” site whose owner thinks it needs a rankings boost, and provide the SEO company with the required details.

Ask them to provide a Search Engine ranking report before commencing the job, and again after completion – if there is not a demonstrable improvement in Top 30 rankings in 6 weeks, the job would be free!

I think that a reputable and professional SEO practitioner, confident in his or her ability, will cheerfully agree to this test of their services.The potential opportunities inherent in forging a long-term business alliance with you will outweigh any minor irritation at being required to prove their abilities.

As an additional benefit to both you and the SEO company, you could document the entire project and include all the details in your next monthly newsletters! This would not only give you additional credibility for actively seeking solutions to offer clients, but also solve the problem of what on earth you were going to write up in that next newsletter!

Ben Kemp is a free-lance IT consultant and one of NZ’s longest serving SEO practitioners.

Source:http://www.seo-shepherd.com/outsourcing-seo-web-designers-take-note

Share and Enjoy:

Comments »

Posted in News

Tags: 2010 IT Outsourcing SEO Web

Strong peso hurts BPO

September 27th, 2010

Share

The business process outsourcing industry is starting to hurt from the strong peso, Oscar Sañez, president of the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP), said.

Sañez said small operators may close shop. As revenues dwindle, other BPO companies will begin to feel the pinch.

“At 43 (to the dollar), small operators would be hurting as they would already be operating at a loss. If you have small capital, you might close shop,” Sañez said.

It could also make the country less attractive as a location. “BPOs are all worried and watching (the exchange rate) closely,” Sañez said.

Sanez said BPO contracts are usually long term so if deals were struck at P46:$1, operators would be losing 4 percent of revenues at $44:$1.

“When the peso is very strong, it is not good for business. In fact, a big part of economy will be seriously affected by strong currency. If you look at other countries, Japan and China make their currency as weak as possible to attract investments and increase revenues,” Sanez said.

In the Philippines’ case, Sanez said the government is promoting a strong currency.

“If you listen to the pronouncements of government, it actually prefers a strong peso. That is dangerous because the economy is dependent on OFWs (remittances) and exports of product and services,” he said.

Sañez said traders and importers benefit from strong currency, but it is a cheaper peso that makes local industries competitive. “A strong peso is doing the reverse.”

Sañez said the BPAP joins the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. in urging the government to rethink its policy of promoting a strong currency when other economies in the region are trying to make their currencies weak to attract foreign direct investments.

Sañez said BPAP is still on track with its projection of reaching revenues of $9.2 billion this year, up by 26 percent from 2009. He said mid-year estimates were right on the money at 26 percent growth.

Job generation from last year’s 450,000 is expected to reach 540,000 this year. “We are still very much in the game and very much attractive despite the (strong) peso,” he said. How the momentum could be sustained is the issue.

Source:http://www.malaya.com.ph/09272010/busi1.html

Share and Enjoy:

Comments Off »

Posted in News

Tags: BPO Outsourcing

Conference-expo to showcase RP as key global BPO hub

September 27th, 2010

Share

It was only a matter of time, but the Philippines is now boldly staking its claim as a leading country of choice for contact center services and a key global hub for the rapidly growing business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

This issue will be further validated and discussed by the industry’s specialists and top players at the 2010 International Contact Center Conference and Expo on Sept. 28-29 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

With its most prized asset — the Filipino workforce — the Philippines has emerged in recent years as a leading and preferred destination for outsourced contact services from around the world.

The country’s strengths will be highlighted as a provider of employees equipped with a good command of the English language (written and oral), a close affinity with the American culture, excellent service quality, and an inherent warmth and friendliness as a people.

These advantages were pointed out by Jojo Uligan, executive director of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), the country’s official organization of outsource and in-house contact centers.

“The Filipino workforce is already known around the world as a global knowledge professional. In fact, other countries are even hiring Filipinos to work in their call centers. Last year, we generated about $4 billion to $5 billion in revenue. This has established us as one of the biggest, it not the biggest in the world, with only India as our main competitor when it comes to call center outsourcing,” Uligan said.

Formed in 2001 by seven pioneer member-companies, CCAP now boasts of almost 70 members, representing about 85 percent of the call center industry in the Philippines.

From its infancy stage, the industry has grown to about 300,000 workers with about 220,000 seats nationwide, from Metro Manila to as far as Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Batangas, Cabanatuan, Bacolod, and Davao.

CCAP’s flagship event is the Contact Center Conference and Expo, which is now on its sixth edition.

The industry’s latest solutions from leading vendors, suppliers, and service providers, such as call center systems, software applications, telecommunication infrastructure, office space and equipment, recruitment and training, and peripheral services, will be highlighted during the expo-conference.

Invited speakers are luminaries in the field, among them Prabakhar Bisen, president and CEO of WNS Philippines Inc.; David Rizzo, president of Asia Pacific Teleperformance; Tim Scyner, senior security manager of Sykes Asia Inc.; and Benedict Hernandez, senior executive for BPO service delivery operations of the Accenture Delivery Center.

The CEO Forum, where chief executives of the major contact centers will be participating in a free exchange of ideas during panel discussions, is one of the highlights of the event.

A new panel discussion with heads of small to mid-sized call centers will also be introduced to discuss the topic of building homegrown global BPO brands.

Analysts, government representatives, and industry practitioners will also be talking about the latest issues and trends in business, technology, and talent management.

Uligan said this year’s convention theme is “The Philippines at Centerstage,” which aims to showcase the country and its capabilities along with its people, when it comes to call center services.

Source:http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=615566&publicationSubCategoryId=71

Share and Enjoy:

Comments Off »

Posted in News

Tags: BPO Global Outsourcing

Outsourcing software developments leads to security holes, says survey

September 27th, 2010

Share

Outsourced software is a hotspot for the sort of hidden security problems that leave applications vulnerable, an analysis by code testing outfit Veracode has warned. The company’s latest ‘State of Software’ analysis looked at nearly 3,000 applications submitted by third parties for security code review, finding that 57% failed to meet acceptable levels for security-worthiness on first pass.

In terms of exposure to the OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) Top 10 most critical web application flaws, only 40% made the grade. Drilling down by development sector, Veracode found that outsourced software code posed the biggest security risk, with a staggering 93% of apps looked at failing to reach an acceptable standard on first assessment.

Although the numbers involved are small – the company only assessed around 30 outsourced apps out of a total of 2,922 – the issue of outsourced code vulnerability is not a new worry. In 2008, recently acquired rival Fortify Software found that outsourced code was a major area of unknown coding behaviour which could lead to problems.

Up to 76% of internal code had elements of outsourced of third-party code within it, so some of the problem could be hidden within this sector. “It indicates the amount of security testing and education that has gone on,” said Veracode CTO, Chris Wysopal of outsourced app houses.

Open source meanwhile scored above other development sectors in terms of the OWASP Top 10 most critical web application flaws, with 49% of open source apps passing this test on pass one, against 12% of internally developed apps and only 7% of commercially developed apps.

For general security flaws, 58% of open source apps failed on first inspection, roughly on par with the 54% figure for internal apps, but better than the 66% of commercial apps that failed at this stage.

In Wysopal’s view, some of this differences between sectors might be explainable by the fact that the commercial apps submitted were more likely to be interactive apps inherently more prone to security problems.

Internal apps, by contrast, tended to be higher quality for a simple reason. “They [the development team] are going to run the code they write. They have a vested interest in security.” Open source also did respectably because of the process of open code review that was inherent to its development model.

Once security issues had been identified, open source remediated the problems in an average of 12 days, internal software in 15 days and commercial software in 19 days.

Fifty-two per cent of the vulnerabilities that needed remediation in static analysis were found to be cross-site scripting related, with .NET showing an unusually high frequency of this issue. Java was another soft spot.

Source:http://www.techcentral.ie/article.aspx?id=15641

Share and Enjoy:

Comments Off »

Posted in News

Tags: Outsourcing Software

China to lead Outsourcing

September 27th, 2010

Share

Media reports say that outsourcing to India is under threat from China. India, which has dominated the outsourcing landscape for more than the last decade, may now have to play second fiddle to mainland China.

There are a variety of factors that support this argument.

First of all, India has observed some deterioration in its infrastructure. For instance, power cuts are a common problem in India. Apart from that it is difficult to retain staff at outsourcing facilities since they are highly qualified and may switch to more lucrative positions.

Moreover, china offers very competitive rates for offshoring and is shored up by governmental support.

Analysts predict that China offers a substantial competitive edge over India. In addition, China is in ideal position to obtain offshore contracts due to its footprint and awareness of the industry. Last year, India ranked first on the top outsourcing countries. At the same time, china was placed only in the top five.

Currently, analysts describe the competition as a two horse race. And China might just be a tad bit ahead of India with a new outlook. Both China and India are preferred destinations for outsourcing since they offer value based outsourcing services. They also have several low cost locations for delivery. The two countries are growing economically and politically into global leaders. This gives the two nations an advantage over other offshore destinations like the Philippines, Vietnam, Latin America or Mexico.

However, companies will need to look at their individual needs before signing contracts with outsourcing firms. Each market, whether it’s China or India, supposedly has its own advantages and benefits.

Source:http://advice.cio.com/jakewriter/13056/china_to_lead_outsourcing

Share and Enjoy:

Comments »

Posted in News

Tags: China Outsourcing

Tech savvy NZ perfect for freelance expansion

September 27th, 2010

Share

New Zealand is the ideal country to expand the global outsourcing website freelancer.com, its chief executive says.

The Sydney-based company is launching a New Zealand version of its site and Matt Barrie said it’s a “great place to kick off” its global expansion because New Zealanders have a global perspective.

“New Zealand is the land of the small business,” he told NZI Business today.

Barrie said NZ is geographically remote but is “very technologically savvy” and New Zealanders are “renowned as early adopters”.

Freelancer claims to already connect over 1.8 million employers with freelance workers from around the world and Barrie said it is about outsourcing work at a fraction of the cost paid locally.

It’s a bit like Trade Me, he says, with small businesses looking to place small jobs from $30 to $200.

He explained a job is posted and freelancers around the world are notified within seconds – about 30 to 40 people usually bid.

Barrie says freelancer.com is very popular with a huge amount of traffic and the site has just hit 800,000 jobs globally.

He said they have outsourced about $NZ88 million worth of work which is roughly equivalent to about half a billion dollars worth of western world jobs.

Although there is a domestic market, Barrie said the work is mostly going from developed countries in the west such as the US, UK and Canada to poorer developing countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

While outsourcing has come under criticism, especially from unions, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive Barrie said, with businesses becoming very competitive and increasing sales while cutting costs.

He said the company provides job opportunities in technical areas that don’t exist, particularly in the developing world. And he claims Freelancer “fills the gap” in a lot of jobs the western world is short of.

IT is the starting point but Barrie said increasingly every job is being digitised and involves an interchange of digital files and digital information.

“As broadband increases different types of jobs to outsource will just increase.”

Source:http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/tech-savvy-nz-perfect-freelance-expansion-3801888

Share and Enjoy: