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Archive for January, 2011

BPOs want better security and transport service

January 12th, 2011

Spanco, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company, recently announced plans for expansion at its Dehradun call centre.

The company, which serves its client Idea Cellular from here, currently has 1,200 employees and plans to hire another 800 employees by the year-end, said its CEO, Pravin Kumar.

“Dehradun, with its high literacy rate, is an ideal place as far as BPO services are concerned,” he said.
With the increasing business volume and growing need for manpower, other companies also have similar expansion plans in the state.

But Kumar is certainly not happy with Dehradun’s public transportation. “I want to appeal to the government to improve the public transport system, as BPO employees work in shifts,” he said. Other BPOs have similar concerns.

Take the case of Archana Raturi, a BA student, who works in a BPO centre here. Like scores of other young girls, Raturi finds it an uphill task to reach the call centre in time owing to the poor public transportation. Though local bus and tempo services to her office in Sahastradhara IT Park are available, they are not reliable and she often reaches late.

“I’ve got a firing from my boss a number of times for reaching late,” she grumbled.

Security is another problem for Raturi and other young girls working in BPOs. There is no permanent police post near the IT park, which houses BPO companies such as Sparsh and Adi. These companies employ 2,500-3,000 people.

Unlike in the metros, BPO companies in Dehradun do not allow girls to work in night shifts. “We do not allow girls or women to do night shifts in our office,” said Lt Col (retd) Sanjay Mohan, Centre Head of Adi BPO Services Pvt Ltd.

This may be the key factor that has hampered the further growth of BPOs in the state. In Dehradun alone, four BPO companies – Spanco, Astra, Adi and Sparsh – had set up shop in the past few years, opening up new employment opportunities for boys and girls.

In most of these centres, the basic requirement for those wanting to join a BPO company is a good command of Hindi or English. Most of the agents at BPO companies that do outsourced work for BSNL, Tata, Idea and other brands are Hindi-speaking. Astra is the only company which does outsourcing work for international brands.

Recently, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank visited some of these BPO companies and gave a patient hearing to their grievances. “We have taken note of the problems being faced by BPOs. We will do something,” said a top government official.

Most company officials said that due to the high literacy rate (71.6 per cent), BPOs are finding girls and boys very suitable for the jobs of agents, especially those having a good command of Hindi. “Dehradun is emerging as the new BPO hub of the North,” said a top Spanco official.

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/bpos-want-better-securitytransport-service/421340/

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HP says IT not up to speed

January 12th, 2011

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Hewlett-Packard gave the Joint Committee on Technology a peek Sunday afternoon at how outsourcing IT services might benefit the state.

Rob Courtney, HP’s public sector area general manager for West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, said taxpayers want “more services, better services, services anywhere, any time. … What you have today will not get you there tomorrow.”

He told committee members that based on information he has, state IT workers are not up to speed on current technology. Many West Virginia Office of Technology (WVOT) workers are facing retirement. And the existing technology is outdated.

For example, he said, the state has scads of isolated software programs and uncoordinated information, and relies on mainframe computers for data storage.

Current needs, he said, call for a move away from mainframes to a “virtualized environment” or “cloud approach” of servers, storage and networking accessible among various agencies.

He cautioned his presentation was “not a commercial for HP,” and it’s up to the state to determine what it wants, based on jobs, technology goals, citizen needs, and the costs and logistics of either keeping IT in- house or forming some kind of partnership. One consideration is who would employ IT workers under a public-private contract — the private company or the state?

Delegate Bob Beach, DMonongalia and soon-to-be senator, asked Courtney if the state could undertake IT innovation on its own.

“Yes,” Courtney replied, “but I don’t believe you have the skill sets to do that today.”

Keeping IT workers current, he said, requires two to four weeks of annual training, not counting training for new technology.

Neither the Technology Committee nor HP knows how many workers would be affected by possible outsourcing or internal upgrading of services. Committee cochair Scott Varner said staff will have numbers available in May, when interims resume.

Asked about costs for upgrading hardware and software and training staff, Courtney said he had too little information, but made a “wild guess” that a twoto three-year project could cost $75 million to $100 million. But future IT costs would be halved, and smart financing would minimize annual payments.

WVOT staffer Carolyn Saul, one of a number of outspoken opponents to possible outsourcing, agreed that current IT workers don’t have the skills to modernize, but they haven’t been offered training for several years. And vacated positions haven’t been filled, leaving them short staffed.

“It’s almost like we’re being set up to fail,” she said.

After the meeting, Beach observed, “It was a very tailored presentation. The information was just enough to whet our appetite.”

Legislators need more answers, he said. In his new position as chair of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, he said, he intends to bring Chief Technology Officer Kyle Schafer in for more questioning about Schafer’s IT consolidation plans.

Committee member Sen. Dave Sypolt, R-Preston, said he has three concerns:

How would pensions and benefits be affected for employees who might be “rebadged” from the state payroll to HP or whatever company might get a contract;

Courtney promised an “open system” should HP get a contract, meaning other vendors hardware and software would be compatible. But Sypolt’s experience with HP products on a small scale has shown them to be incompatible, and he doesn’t want to get locked into a contract with one vendor;

In response to many questions, Courtney claimed to have no knowledge. This doesn’t jibe with the level of knowledge IBM has about WVOT workers and processes. He wonders if IBM has received undue special preference, or if Courtney was perhaps being coy. He doesn’t know.

Source:http://www.dailymail.com/ap/ApTopStories/201101100666

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South African BPO industry set for growth in 2011

January 12th, 2011

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Over the course of the past decade South Africa has developed into a world class BPO & O (Business Process Outsourcing & Offshoring) destination supporting 10,000 offshore related jobs. By 2015 this number is expected to rise to 40,000 making the industry a key socio and economic driver for the country.
Incentives

One of the driving forces behind this expected development is a new dti (Department of Trade and Industry) incentive scheme, which takes over from the GAS (Government Assistance and Support) programme in January 2011.

South Africa previously offered a 50 – 60% cost arbitrage from source destinations. With the new incentive scheme, operational costs are set to drop by a further 20%.
Currently the average cost per full time employee for a UK company outsourcing to South Africa is £15,000 – £17,000 per year. Once the new incentives are launched in 2011, this figure will drop to £11,500 – £13,500 per year, allowing South Africa to compete more aggressively with other offshoring destinations.

Lower telco costs

South Africa has traditionally been viewed as an expensive telecoms destination, but through continued lobbying there has been significant rate reductions in recent years. From 2003 to 2009 telecom costs fell by 85%, with the cost for an annual telecom line rental/license fee (2Mbps E1) dropping from R2,24,056, to R32,833 per annum.

A continued annual decrease of 15 – 25% is expected over the next five years, further reducing the offshoring cost of South Africa.

Success Stories

The country’s ever improving image has resulted in 5 of the top 10 BPO voice providers setting up operations in South Africa recently.

On the back of the successful hosting of the World Cup 2010, investor confidence is at an all time high and further investment is expected in 2011.

South Africa currently services a number of international companies including; ASDA, Shell, Amazon, Lufthansa, Barclays, Microsoft, British Gas, JP Morgan & Virgin Mobile, affirming the quality of the country’s voice services.

Market focus

At present the UK makes up 56% of SA’s offshoring market, with the USA the next biggest at 17%. South Africa provides voice operations to the UK, USA, Australian and European markets.

Competitive advantages

South Africa has built up a reputation as a quality destination that ensures service excellence at competitive rates; this has been achieved through focus on a number of core service areas.

Government backing

The government has recognised BPO & O as one of the top 3 priority sectors in the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) and is committed to developing a first-rate offshoring proposition.

Excellent infrastructure

First world infrastructure is available to potential investors in the form of; energy, telecoms, internet and communications.

Large English speaking pool

South Africa produces 345,000 English speaking graduates each year, positioning the country as the third highest English servicing BPO supplier, ahead of Malaysia, Egypt, Kenya, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka.

World-class financial services

A large pool of financial service graduates are produced each year placing South Africa second only to India in terms of number of financial graduates coming out of BPO & O supplier destinations.

South Africa is also internationally recognised for its high standard of financial reporting. In the World Economic Forum Financial Development Report, South Africa is ranked 1st in strength of auditing and reporting standards.

Other core areas of operation in South Africa include; insurance, healthcare and legal domains.

Back office services

South Africa combines both voice and complex, judgement oriented non-voice BPO processes as part of its core offering.

Traditionally key strengths for non-voice BPO fall within the financial, professional services, legal and actuarial services. Examples of companies who have embraced these
offerings include; CSC, JP Morgan, Silica, PruHealth, Underwoods and Eversheds.

Going forward

“The future is bright for the BPO & O sector, with a number of potential large scale investors having shown interest in South Africa as a viable outsourcing destination for 2011,” says Gareth Pritchard, CEO of BPeSA Western Cape.

“South Africa has so much to offer countries looking to outsource both their voice and non voice services and with the continued help of the dti, Provincial and National Government, I am confident we will reach the target of 40,000 jobs by 2015.”

Source:http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=9980

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The Future of US Outsourcing May Be Near at Hand

January 11th, 2011

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Almost a decade and a half ago, a few companies capitalized on Internet technologies to ship work out of the US to countries with cheap labor. Over the last few years, Internet technology, aided by the current economic times, has helped a few fast-growing US companies to successfully compete with the offshore model developed in the 1990s by capitalizing on a cheaper labor pool available in rural American towns.

This is the concept known as “domestic outsourcing.” The trend may reflect a systemic shift, indicating where some of the back-office work will flow in the future.

Having worked in this business over the last decade, I have experienced that the offshore model, though extremely cost effective for client companies, comes with a fair set of challenges for both clients and suppliers. Language and cultural differences sometimes transform simple conversations into complex issues. Privacy and data confidentiality are a challenge when workers are dealing with data from another country. Monitoring daily activities of offshore companies is a challenge because of the geographical distance, time difference, and visa issues.

Typically, offshore rates range from $20 to $100 per hour, with most tasks hovering between $35 and $65 per hour. Rural outsourcing company rates have historically been higher by 15 percent to 50 percent. But given the advantages of data security, close proximity to the client company, and fewer communication barriers, the rates end up as comparable to those offered by offshore companies.

Domestic outsourcers are taking advantage of new tech graduates by investing in locations near major universities and in rural areas of the US that have growing IT-capable labor markets to create a skilled IT labor force to compete with offshore providers.

Critics argue that this is a niche market and may potentially not grow to be a formidable industry, due to a lack of skilled workers in rural America and competition from the big offshore firms.

However, given the backlash on outsourcing today, it is very likely that the US federal government may provide incentives to companies that outsource to rural areas within the country. The federal government may also consider reforming existing visa categories or adding new ones to allow for skilled workers to come in from around the world and work in rural areas for the outsourcing companies.

The US has a good Internet infrastructure when compared to other large countries in the world. This means acceptable download and upload speeds that make for a very efficient remote working environment. It is likely that in the future rural outsourcing companies will potentially get workers from other towns to work remotely. This will present a back-up option for many of the skilled workers who are unable to find work in a bad economy. This situation will be a win-win for both the employers and the employees and will also help keep costs low.

Rising wages in developing nations, along with the US dollar’s decreases against other currencies, are making it more expensive for some offshore companies to maintain operations solely in their home countries. It is likely some of these companies will invest in rural America.

Whether the rural outsourcing companies become big enough to threaten the foreign outsourcing companies or not will largely depend on the role the government is willing to play in this space. Offshore firms, for instance, have been unable to access new markets due to regulations, security, and privacy laws. These offshore companies have been unable to handle IT work for banks, healthcare companies, and defense companies. The volume of the IT work just within these few sectors is enough to spawn a new industry in America.

If the government can change its policies, the innovations in acquiring and retaining workers in the US could make domestic outsourcing a viable alternative to offshoring for many American companies.

Source:-http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=1124&doc_id=202858&f_src=internetevolution_gnews

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Government cuts to drive investment in cloud and outsourcing

January 11th, 2011

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Cloud computing and business process outsourcing (BPO) will become increasingly popular with government IT departments during 2011 as funding cuts start to bite, according to analyst firm Ovum.

In a report entitled 2011 Trends to Watch: Government Technology, analyst Jessica Hawkins predicts that consumption-based technologies that are delivered through the cloud will grow in use due to the cost-savings they can offer.

“Because cloud delivery means a lot of infrastructure is owned and operated by vendors and because payment is based on what you use, rather than just a flat-rate payment, it gives government departments the chance to make significant savings,” Hawkins said.

“As such the cut-backs being imposed could actually have a bit of a benefit as they will force government IT departments to look into these new technologies, which can offer something that has more relevance to workers and users than current systems in use.”

She added that moving to the cloud could also help departments reduce inefficiencies and waste by ensuring that they only run services that they need.

Hawkins conceded that some government IT leaders remain worried about security and privacy with cloud-based applications and networks, but said that the opening up of a government-wide network could overcome this.

“Because there will be compliance guidelines that departments will have to conform to in order to share their data across the network this might allay any fears that staff have over using this sort of technology,” she said.

With regards to BPO, Hawkins noted that departments could save between eight and 10 per cent of costs by using dedicated vendors like Capita or Northgate as they will have processes in place to deliver the best level of service.

“Departments can gain a lot of benefits from BPO systems but they need to ensure they think of their long-term strategy when deploying these and that they talk to vendors to ensure they are getting the right system for their needs,” she added.

Hawkins also predicted that procurement practices would become more stringent as cut-backs and increased public scrutiny of spending would force greater accountability for purchases.

Source:-http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2274163/government-spend-cloud

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Arkansas state courts improve service with E-Filing solution from ACS, A Xerox company

January 10th, 2011

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Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS), A Xerox Company (NYSE: XRX), is helping transform operations in Arkansas’ court system with technology to electronically file and manage court documents.

The state’s Administrative Office of the Courts has awarded ACS a contract to implement e-filing in the State Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit Court and District Court. E-filing will save time and money for the courts and attorneys.

“With e-filing, attorneys can securely submit court documents online, anytime, saving the cost of delivery and document processing. For the courts, receiving and processing documents electronically means new efficiencies and fewer redundant tasks,” said Timothy N. Holthoff, director, Court Information Systems Division, Administrative Office of the Courts.

The project is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year with a pilot in the Pulaski County Circuit Court in Little Rock. A program to roll out e-filing statewide is scheduled later in the year.

“Arkansas will have a solution to a problem that courts across the country face every day—how to best manage an overwhelming amount of information,” said Joseph Doherty, executive vice president and group president, ACS Government Solutions. “E-filing is a game changer. It will eliminate a huge administrative burden and enable the courts to maximize resources and improve operations.”

The e-filing software, provided by Tybera, will integrate with ACS’ Contexte case management system currently used in the state’s courts to easily share information and manage court operations.

Source:http://www.advertisertalk.com/arkansas-state-courts-improve-service-with-e-filing-solution-from-acs-a-xerox-company-18874.zhtml

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Outsourcing, robots took many jobs

January 10th, 2011

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If you’re a travel agent, bank teller or a file clerk; if you run a printing press, answer a switchboard or work at a sewing machine; if you repair watches or cameras; if you make anything that can be made more cheaply elsewhere, or do anything that can be done by a robot or computer, then you may feel history is against you.

An old vision of the post-industrial future — that work could be done by machines but nothing would take work’s place — is being realized with a vengeance in the second decade of the 21st century.

Although the U.S. job market this year is expected to register at least small gains in every state and most metro areas, many Americans who have a job still fear losing it. Many who don’t have a job fear they never will find one. And many in both camps fear that the recession, which officially ended a year and a half ago, speeded up inevitable changes in working.

Harry Holzer, a Georgetown University government professor and co-author of “Where Are All the Good Jobs Going,” says these fears are somewhat exaggerated — yet very understandable.

“The U.S. economy churns a lot, more than in most countries,” he says. “A lot of jobs are created and destroyed, and it creates a lot of anxiety. In a recession, the insecurity is even worse.

Globalization and automation may export or eliminate not only jobs, but entire occupations — ways of life, really.

The Labor Department predicts that over the next decade there will be fewer workers in almost one-quarter of the 750 occupations it tracks, even as the number of jobs increases by 10 percent.

• A disproportionate number of new jobs could be the kind that, as Studs Terkel put it in his book Working, “dulls the senses and breaks the spirit.” In April, MIT economist David Autor published an influential paper that described the U.S. labor market as increasingly polarized, with growth at the high-skill, high-wage and low-skill, low-wage ends, and contraction in the vast middle.

• After a mostly “jobless” economic recovery, the nation eventually might accept a basic level of unemployment much higher than the 4 percent to 5 percent many economists and policymakers have long considered indicative of “full employment.

Source:-http://www.news-press.com/article/20110109/BUSINESS/110108043/1014/business/Outsourcing–robots-took-many-jobs

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