Outsourcing Times

ING Group to Sign Outsourcing Deals

Insurance and investment firm ING Group has roped in four outsourcing service providers to install and maintain its computers and telephones. The four major companies that are all set to enter into partnership with ING are Accenture, Atos Origin, Getronics and KPN. The deals are valued at $1.02 billion that will last for five years. It has been reported that about 500 ING employees will be transferred to the outsourcers. The deal is part of an efficiency drive aimed at reducing operating costs by $584 million. It will run in conjunction with an existing seven-year agreement signed with IBM in 2003. ING currently has 114,000 employees all over the world. The company offers insurance, banking and asset management services in more than 50 countries.

ICICI-OneSource to Set up Second Outsourcing Center in UK

India's leading BPO Company, ICICI-OneSource has decided to establish its second outsourcing center in the UK. The outsourcing center would come up in Londonderry. In the past couple of years, ICICI-OneSource has expanded its business to several parts in the world. The outsourcing boom has helped it to carry out its own ambitious plans. The company started its operation in the UK in June 2006 by setting up the first center in Belfast. The second center will offer a range of outsourcing services and provide over 600 jobs to the local community over the next two years.

First Belfast, and now Londonderry for Indian BPO I-Onesource

The Indian BPO company I-Onesource is making its presence felt in the UK. Its first service center in the UK was unveiled in Belfast in June this year, and hot on its heels has come the second unit at Londonderry, due to start functioning in a few months' time. Zee News reports:

The Centre will offer a range of outsourcing services and provide over 600 jobs to the local community over the next two years, the company said in a release.

Virtuos Outsourcing Firm gets New Financing

Game industry outsourcing firm Virtuos announced that it has clinched a new financing deal with Legend Capital. Legend Capital is an independent VC firm under Legend Holdings, owner of Lenovo group. Virtuos exclusively focuses on providing outsourced services to international clients. It has confirmed that it is positioning to address the growing global outsourcing opportunity within the game industry. The game industry in the United States is all set to reach $1.1 billion by the end of 2006 and will grow to $2.5 billion by 2010. Virtuos also indicated that it intends to expand the size of its teams as well as continue its efforts to deliver the quality.

According to Gamsutra -

While Virtuos has been profitable since inception, we are excited to collaborate with a group as strong as Legend,” said Gilles Langourieux, CEO, Virtuos. “We plan to use the new funding to triple the size of our teams in the next 2 years. Virtuos will also invest further in training, processes, security and IT to create a level of service never seen before in our industry.

Convergys to Expand Operations in Asia-Pacific

Convergys Corporation has decided to expand its HR BPO operations in the Asia Pacific region. It has increased its global HR BPO capacity by opening new or expanding existing service centers in Malaysia, India, China and Singapore. The service centers will provide HR BPO services access to more than 150 global and regional clients. Asia Pacific region has emerged as a hot spot for BPO operations. Like most companies, Convergys is planning to explore more opportunities available in that region. As part of its strategic expansion efforts, Convergys will operate in high-tech locations with a highly skilled talent pool to grow its client base and meet the requirements of its clients.

According to SunStar -

Convergys' Asia Pacific service centers provide a broad scope of services such as benefits and leave administration, learning and performance management, recruiting and staffing administration, and payroll administration for clients from multiple industries.

Outsourcing in Northern Ireland

After India, China and Philippines, it is the turn of Northern Ireland to emerge as a hot destination for outsourcing business. Recently, BPO specialist ICICI OneSource has become the latest India-based provider to invest in a UK site. It pledged to create 1,000 jobs over the next two years at new contact centers in Northern Ireland. In the past one year, there have been hectic activities in Northern Ireland's outsourcing industry. Interest shown by major companies has underlined Northern Ireland's status as an attractive outsourcing location for both call center and IT development work. Computing has published an article on the Same Topic.

Hugh Burden, business development director at development agency Invest Northern Ireland, said the trend was likely to continue as more firms demand their IT and BPO service providers have a mix of offshore and nearshore sites, and firms’ in-house IT departments face increasing pressure to cut costs.

Government woes BPO sector

Asian giants like India and China have immensely benefited from the BPO and IT outsourcing boom, and it is likely that this sector will continue to fuel job opportunities in these countries. In the wake of all this activity, Philippines is not willing to be left behind, and is making sincere efforts to attract BPO investors to the country.

In this scenario, the government is beginning to play its role. In a meeting with the 3,000-strong International Network of Business Organization, which includes eleven foreign chambers of commerce, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appealed for a collaboration between investors and the government in expanding the opportunities in this industry for the young generation, thus adding up to faster pace of economic growth in the country.

Philippine Information Agency has more on the story.

PeopleSupport and Global BPO Business

A few years ago, PeopleSupport began its operations as a call center provider. Now it is setting its sights on becoming a global BPO player. PeopleSupport has decided to expand its services across the globe in the coming years. It has a cross-functional operation where all services will be well integrated into large-scale centers. Earlier this year, PeopleSupport took a step forward by acquiring Newport Beach and Rapidtext. PeopleSupport has a strong base in Philippines and expects to make a mark in outsourcing operations in Asia.

Nasscom Ranking of BPO Companies

The much-awaited ranking of ITES-BPO companies has been released by Nasscom. The latest ranking was based on revenues for 2005-06. Nasscom conducted its annual survey on IT industry performance. According to the survey, Genpact has topped the list followed by WNS and Wipro BPO. Although a few companies such as Efunds International and Sutherland Global Services did not provide information on their revenues, the list shows that the Indian ITES-BPO segment grew by 37 per cent in the financial year 2005-06.

Nassocom President Kiran Karnik said that in 2005-06, the industry size and growth exceeded their forecasts. If the current trend is to be believed, the entire software and services industry is expected to record revenues of USD 36-38 billion in 2007. The ITES-BPO segment is growing momentum and exports are increasing at a faster pace.

Nasscom BPO Meet in India

There is an apprehension that all is not well within the Indian BPO industry and it might face some sort of crisis if the present issues are left unresolved. The Nasscom is holding a two-day ITES-BPO Strategy summit in Bangalore (India) on June 7 - 8. Issues such as managing growth and combating competition will be debated in the summit. The ninth annual Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service Companies) event will focus on the challenges faced by the industry and on the next phase of growth. Business Line reports:

The summit will focus on how India can emerge as the benchmark in global outsourcing and continue to offer an unmatched package of benefits to overseas investors. The aim is also to draw attention to the challenges and pitfalls that lie in the path of the Indian ITES-BPO sector and how they can be overcome to maintain the country's edge in this space.