Outsourcing Times

Internet Companies Go Study Crazy Instead of Focusing on their Content

A recent report on the Business Intelligence Journal indicates that a number of e-commerce firms are spending loads on visitor surveys and visitor tracking information, while at the same time they have cut back on content writers, many of whom were attained through outsourcing.  While they make the argument that visitor tracking in the form of a properly administered Customer Relations Management plan can be quite effective, it is often overly or improperly used. As a result many e-businesses might take a page from this article and find resources better spent by emphasizing quality outsourced content, rather than extensive and often superfluous visitor tracking.

Outsourcing will be limited in the cell phone industry, indicates iSuppli research

According to research firm iSuppli, the majority of production processes in the cell phone industry will remain in-house, although the next four years will witness a 10-point increase in outsourcing within the sector. According to the research, the reluctance to outsource work stems from the fact that R&D in cell phones is progressing fast, and this will restrict the ODM initiative to outsource more work.

The in-house production capacity in several leading cell phone companies is being expanded, and in-house production will ensure that these capabilities are fully utilized. However, the need to meet updated technical requirements will encourage outsourcing to EMS service providers and ODMs. Circuits Assembly reports:

ODMs will be limited, iSuppli said, to product niches such as smart phones and 3G phones or to focusing only on commoditized product categories. Of the top tier cellphone OEMs, Sony Ericsson is the leader in outsourcing, at 66% outsourced. South Korean OEMs, by contrast, produce nearly all of their mobile phones themselves.

IT service provider ASG Group registers healthy fist-half-year growth

ASG Group, the IT outsourcing service provider based in Perth, has registered a steep rise in its first-half-year financial results, and is expecting a 60 percent increase in revenue to $26 million by the end of the year. According to the MD and CEO of the company, the healthy growth is an outcome of organic growth and a spate of acquisitions. ARNnet reports:

On the government front, ASG struck a $2.2 million contract with the federal Department of Finance and Administration (DOFA) in August to replace its existing email, file, print, management and directory services environment. It was also selected as a preferred supplier for the WA Office of Shared Services (OSS).

Everest Group expands HRO service

The Everest Group, which provides strategic advisory services that help companies worldwide harness the power of outsourcing, has assembled an impressive consulting team of HR outsourcing experts in its drive to expand its HR outsourcing specialty service. Business Wire reports:

Three HR business process outsourcing experts - Marc Pramuk, Scott McNerney and Dwayne Fowler - recently joined Everest Group from Convergys, EquaTerra and Hewitt Associates, respectively, as HRO Specialists, augmenting the firm's high-powered, highly collaborative HRO consulting team.

£7 billion outsourcing deal between Winterthur Life UK and Citigroup Global Transaction Services

In the £7 billion outsourcing deal between Winterthur Life UK and Citigroup Global Transaction Services, Shearman & Sterling and Lovells have carved out an important role for themselves.

Shearman has a financial services practice’s relationship with Citigroup, and this is particularly relevant in the outsourcing agreement, which stipulates that the fund administration, custody, and related services of Winterthur will be transferred to the Edinburgh funds platform of Citigroup. The transfer is likely to be completed in the latter half of 2006. Legal Week reports:

The transaction builds on Shearman’s financial services practice’s relationship with Citigroup. The bank is a regular client of the firm but the London financial services group first acted for it in 2004 on its purchase of ABN Amro’s custody business and the outsourcing of Citibank International’s Post Office Card Account benefits business to Citicorp Electronic Financial Services.

Outsourcing industry faces "Paradox of Excellence"

According to a study by leading growth strategies consultancy firm Techtel Corporation, outsourcing contracts up to $100 billion might turn over by 2008. Another important conclusion of the study, which took into account over 600 enterprise IT buyers and 18 different IT outsourcing brands, is that the outsourcing sector might encounter financial stumbling blocks because of the principle of "Paradox of Excellence".

David Mosby and Michael Weissman have elaborated this concept in a new book that has appeared in Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, and other media. Weisman, President of Fresh Perspectives, expresses concerns over the client turnover and satisfaction level, and the consequent loyalty factor.

The study also revealed that the most sought after IT outsourcing brands include IBM, Dellwww.dell.com, and HP, with IBM Global Services at the top of the rung with 28 percent of customers voting for it.

Outsourcing Indian visas

The Indian Minister for Tourism, Renuka Choudhary, announced that the Indian Government was planning to outsource the issuance of visas by Indian Embassies. At the World Economic Forum meeting, the minister also revealed that India was working on a visa-on-arrival policy. Sify reports:

“Perhaps for the first time the Government and industry is talking in the same language that we need to have sustainable development of tourism and at the same time ensure that jobs are created for the people," Choudhury said.

More Indians with ANZ

1000 more Indian employees will join the ANZ bank as a part of its outsourcing plans in the next 18 months. According to the spokesperson Paul Edwards, this addition to the existing 700 software development staff in India is a strategy to cut costs.

The union, however, feels that outsourcing technical jobs means losing highly skilled workers from Australia. Paul Schroder from the Finance Sector Union opined that the country would be putting itself to disadvantage if they wanted to turn themselves into the financial hub. ABC reports:

The union says the Federal Government needs to step in and work with the banks to find a way to keep skilled technical jobs in Australia.

BPO sector governed by existing labor laws: Government

The Minister of Labour and Employment has informed the Lok Sabha that the existing labor laws include provisions for the BPO industry, and state governments retain the power to act on any legal violation in this sector. Indlaw reports:

The Left parties have been demanding that labour laws should be implemented in the BPO sector and trade unions should be allowed to function in these units.

Protest likely over outsourcing at Irish Ferries

Outsourcing at Irish Ferries has run into a controversy, with private sector unions, representing about 4,00,000 workers, planning to register a day of protest. The reaction of the Labour Relations Commission is awaited by both sides involved in teh controversy. Ireland On-Line reports:

Meanwhile, Labour wants the Government to support its private members' Bill to stop, what it calls, 'rogue employers' from using flags of convenience.