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Posts Tagged ‘Europe’

Offshoring: US, Europe opening opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs and start-ups

December 14th, 2011

The offshoring of work by foreign corporations has helped build India’s showpiece $76-billion IT industry.

Now many small businesses and families in the US and Europe are doing a mini version of offshoring by engaging ‘virtual assistants’ from Indian firms for their personal tasks, creating lucrative business opportunities. In the process, they are calling upon these loyal aides to play matchmaker, agony aunt and consciencekeeper.

Unlike traditional outsourcing which is a business service, remote assistance is a consumer-focused service that even provides emotional support to many.

One such provider is Bangalore-headquartered GetFriday, whose name is drawn from the term Man Friday, or personal assistant. Among the requests it received recently was one from an Australian client who wanted help before she had a chat with her boss.

The woman wanted to switch to a work-from-home schedule and needed assistance and tips on how to handle objections by the boss, mock sessions that simulated the event, and loads of emotional support. The switch did not happen because some key employees were about to leave and the work-from-home option wasn’t feasible at that point.

“Nonetheless, the client was happy,” said Sunder Prakasham, CEO of TTK Services, which runs GetFriday. Virtual assistance is fast catching up in US and Europe, opening opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs and start-ups such as Brickwork India and GetFriday.

Evalueserve, a research firm, predicts that person-to-person offshoring, both consumer services and services for small businesses, will grow to over $2 billion (Rs10,000 crore) by 2015 from the current $887 million.

At Brickwork, one of the more unusual requests it got was from Gail Dick, the owner of Millermeade Farms in the US and a passionate breeder of hedgehogs. When Dick wanted her website to be an encyclopedia of information on hedgehogs, she outsourced the work for around $12-30 an hour to a virtual assistant at the Bangalore-based knowledge process outsourcing start-up founded by former Karnataka IT secretary Vivek Kulkarni and his wife Sangeeta.

The virtual assistant helped her to format and reference the huge number of articles she had gathered over the years. The articles were based on hedgehog behaviour, including eating, bathing and sleeping habits, the diseases they suffer and patterns of hibernation they follow.

“Great! I feel like having a party as we are moving ahead on a project that has been in a stand-still for several years,” said Dick. The project was stalled for several years as Dick could find neither the time nor the experts who could do this job for her in the US. She would also have had to pay nearly double the amount for a similar service in the US.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/offshoring-us-europe-opening-opportunities-for-indian-entrepreneurs-and-start-ups/articleshow/11100593.cms

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Tags: Europe Indian Offshoring US

Debt crisis fails to roil Indian IT companies’ Europe plans

November 24th, 2011

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Indian IT services exporters are on track to increase Europe’s share in their revenue and see only a short-term impact of the paralyzing debt crisis, top executives said at the Reuters India Investment Summit.

The debt crisis is sweeping closer to the heart of euro zone, with fears that the contagion may now spread from Greece and Italy to Spain and France.

India’s showpiece IT sector feeds off increased outsourcing by companies trying to cut costs. As the crisis in Europe — the sector’s second-largest market — deepens, clients will likely outsource more, executives said.

“We are seeing clients — who in the past have been hesitant to outsource ongoing application management work — are now looking at outsourcing those type of services,” Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH.O) Chief Financial Officer Gordon Coburn said on Tuesday.

A slowing U.S. market, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the Indian IT industry’s exports, has forced companies such as Infosys (INFY.NS), TCS (TCS.NS) and Cognizant to expand their business in Europe and Asia.

“The short-term challenges will impact business, but in the long term, we see opportunities even in Europe,” S.D. Shibulal, Chief Executive Officer of Infosys, said on Wednesday.

Infosys plans to double its revenue share from Europe to 40 percent by the end of its 2014 financial year, while Cognizant expects “significant revenue” coming from the region in the next 4-5 years.

Infosys and Cognizant are also looking to scale up in continental Europe through acquisitions.

“We are now making heavy investments in building up our capabilities in France and Germany,” Coburn said on Tuesday.

It’s not just the IT sector that is expecting gains from the crisis. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, head of India’s largest listed biotechnology company Biocon Ltd (BION.NS), said diminishing returns on R&D spending is forcing European and U.S. companies to outsource their research work to India and China.

SHORT-TERM CONCERNS

Both the companies are, however, cautious about the short-term impact from the Europe crisis.

“Europe in 2012 is tough to determine,” Cognizant’s Coburn said.

Analysts echoed the sentiment.

“Nobody is quite sure what the impact of the sovereign debt crisis will be on demand for capital goods,” analyst Mark Wilson at Collins Stewart Europe said.

Source:http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/23/us-india-summit-indianitservices-idUSTRE7AM10520111123

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Tags: Europe Indian IT

White & Case to open second outsourcing centre in Eastern Europe

November 22nd, 2011

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White & Case is set to overhaul its outsourcing arrangements, with the US firm planning to launch a second business process outsourcing (BPO) base in Eastern Europe in 2012.

The US firm, which has operated a BPO base in Manila in the Philippines since 2007 for administration, technology, business & marketing and accounting support, is currently considering whether to launch a similar operation in the Czech Republic or Poland.

The Eastern European launch is pencilled in for next year, with the firm looking to hire up to 40 staff initially. This number could double within a three-year period.
White & Case is also considering launching legal process outsourcing divisions over the coming year in both Manila and its planned Eastern European base, with third partner providers also expected to be used on a project by project basis.

The US firm decided that it needed a second BPO base in order to better meet needs of its continental European offices for additional language skills.

A spokesperson commented: “Our Manila BPO base has worked very well for our US, Latin American and UK operations. However, for our continental European offices, we are looking into whether an alternative BPO base in Eastern Europe makes sense, not least for language skills reasons.”

He added: “We are considering whether to launch legal process outsourcing divisions whether in Manila and Eastern Europe or elsewhere. Engaging a third party outsourcer on certain projects is also not out of the question. It is all early days and no conclusions have been reached.”

Source:http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/2126525/white-outsourcing-centre-eastern-europe

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Tags: Europe Outsourcing

Infosys aims to expand revenue share from Europe

October 20th, 2011

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India’s No.2 software services exporter, Infosys , aims to double the revenue share from Europe to 40 percent of its total sales by the end of its 2014 financial year, as cost-strapped global companies step up outsourcing.

The company, a pioneer in India’s IT services sector, has grown rapidly by employing thousands of engineers in low-cost Indian centres and catering to overseas firms, mainly based in the United States.

“Our target is by 2014, our business will be 40 percent from Americas, 40 percent from Europe and 20 percent from Asia,” Ashok Vemuri, Head of Americas and member of the company’s board told Reuters in an interview at Infosys’ office in Singapore.

Vemuri, who heads Infosys’ financial services and insurance business said the company sees Asia, which contributes around 12 percent of its revenue, as a region where the next big wave in technology spending will take place.

Infosys earned 65.3 percent of its revenue in the second quarter from the United States versus 65.8 percent from a year ago, while Europe accounted for 20.5 percent of its revenue, down from 21.8 percent a year ago.

The firm, which counts Goldman Sachs and BT among its clients, reported a 9.7-percent rise in quarterly profit last week, and cut its full-year sales outlook by less-than-expected, easing market worries of a sharp slowdown.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/infosys-aims-to-expand-revenue-share-from-europe/articleshow/10414835.cms

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Tags: Europe Infosys

IT stocks tumble on US, Europe woes

August 19th, 2011

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Ten IT shares fell 0.46% to 6.15% at 10:37 IST on BSE, extending recent steep losses triggered by concerns that a likely economic slowdown in the US and Europe will hit technology spending by overseas clients.

India’s second largest software company by sales Infosys was down 6.15% to Rs. 2216.95. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs. 2,172.65 today, 19 August 2011.

India’s third largest software company by sales Wipro was down 1.62% to Rs. 322.70. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs. 310.20 today.

HCL Technologies was down 2.97% to Rs. 385. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs. 365.75.

MphasiS was down 2.45% to Rs. 348. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs. 337.50. iGate Patni was down 3.10% to Rs. 257.90. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs. 253.50. Oracle Financial Services Software was down 1.98% to Rs. 1795.10. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs. 1,765.05.

Among other IT shares, Mahindra Satyam (down 4.31% to Rs. 65.50), TCS (down 3.88% to Rs. 924.75), Rolta India (down 3.82% to Rs. 98.30) and Tech Mahindra (down 0.46% to Rs. 659.15), declined.

The BSE IT index was down 4.64% at 4,726.66. It underperformed the Sensex, which was down 1.29% at 16,257.83.

The BSE IT index has tumbled 19.69% in 13 trading sessions from a recent high of 5,885.80 on 1 August 2011. The BSE IT index underperformed the market over the past one month until 18 August 2011, tumbling 14.68% compared with the Sensex’s 11.01% fall. The index had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, tumbling 17.62% as against 8.94% decline in the Sensex.

Infosys’ Chief Operating officer S.D. Shibulal on Thursday, 18 August 2011, said Infosys is facing a challenging environment as the main outsourcing markets, the US and Europe, remain weighed by debt crisis and slowing economic growth. The US and Europe are the two biggest markets for Indian IT firms. Standard & Poor’s downgraded US sovereign debt rating to AA+ from AAA with negative outlook on 5 August 2011. In Europe, industrial production in the Euro zone dipped in June 2011.

HCL Technologies said early this month that the historic downgrade of US debt may lead to a slowdown in decision-making on technology spending by clients in the world’s largest outsourcing market.

Source:http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/IT-stocks-tumble-on-US-Europe-woes/3898477891

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Tags: Europe IT USA

IT stocks tumble on US, Europe woes

August 18th, 2011

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Eight software stocks fell 1.16% to 7.67% on BSE on concerns that a likely economic slowdown in the US and Europe will hit technology spending by overseas clients.

India’s third largest software services exporter Wipro lost 5.01% to Rs. 327. The stock had hit 52-week low of Rs. 326.90 in intraday trade today, 18 August 2011.

India’s second largest software services exporter Infosys declined 3.64% to Rs. 2,360. The stock had hit 52-week low of Rs. 2,343.70 in intraday trade on Friday, 12 August 2011. India’s largest software services exporter TCS fell 4.13% to Rs. 963.10.

HCL Technologies slipped 3.93% to Rs. 406.10. Tech Mahindra (down 7.67%), MphasiS (down 3.92%), Mahindra Satyam (down 1.90%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (down 1.16%), dropped.

The BSE IT index was down 3.72% to 4,970.34. It underperformed the Sensex, which was down 1.33% to 16,617.28.

The BSE IT index had underperformed the market over the past one month until 17 August 2011, falling 11.85% compared with the Sensex’s 9.27% fall.

The index had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 14% as against 7.15% decline in the Sensex.

The US and Europe are the two biggest markets for Indian IT firms. Standard & Poor’s downgraded US sovereign debt rating to AA+ from AAA with negative outlook on 5 August 2011. In Europe, industrial production in the Euro zone dipped in June 2011.

HCL Technologies said early this month that the historic downgrade of US debt may lead to a slowdown in decision-making on technology spending by clients in the world’s largest outsourcing market.

Source:http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/IT-stocks-tumble-on-US-Europe-woes/3895678171

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Tags: Europe IT

EPAM recurrently recognized as Eastern European based IT Services Leader

July 28th, 2011

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EPAM Systems, Inc., a leading software engineering and IT Services provider with development centers across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), announced today that it was one of only two vendors named as “IT Services Leaders — Eastern Europe”, in addition to being named as one of the world’s ten “Top Product Engineering Vendors” in the 2011 Global Services 100 rating, reaffirming EPAM’s CEE leadership status in the software engineering services space. Marking its sixth consecutive appearance on the GS100 list, EPAM has also been named to the “Top Global Mid-Tier ITO Vendors” list.

The 2011 Global Services 100 is an annual global outsourcing industry ranking produced by Global Services, the outsourcing media house, in association with NeoGroup (formerly neoIT). Companies who participated in this survey were required to share detailed business information through an online survey for judging. The top 100 list and names in the categories were derived using a research methodology based on over 200 data points and several qualitative parameters, including clear Management Excellence, proven Customer Maturity, demonstrated advanced Global Delivery Maturity, and the ability to execute on a Broad Portfolio of Services.

“The global services industry has gone clearly beyond the paradigm of ‘more work at lesser cost’. Companies are routinely seeking business outcomes, and in some cases, new forms of business value. Service providers who can deliver on these fronts make it to the GS100 and its categories,” said Ed Nair, Editor, Global Services.

“The firms that are recognized in the GS100 list show a higher level of focus on client needs, employee development and process improvement. They continue to be providers of choice in the market,” said Atul Vashistha, Founder and Chairman, NeoGroup.

“We thank Global Services and NeoGroup for recognizing EPAM among the top IT companies worldwide for six years in a row now”, said Arkadiy Dobkin, EPAM CEO and President. “We believe that the breadth and quality of our software engineering skills and IT services offerings, combined with our domain expertise across multiple industries, differentiates EPAM as a leader — not just amongst Eastern Europe’s services providers — but also on a global level. It is really exciting for us to see this being confirmed once again by the Global Services 100 study.”