February 2008

WNS Q3 net down 23% on stronger Re
Business process outsourcing major and NYSE-listed WNS, reported net income for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007 at $5.5 million (approximately Rs 21.7 crore, at a conversion rate of Rs 39.54), a decrease of 23.1 per cent from $7 million (around Rs 27.6 crore) in the corresponding quarter of previous financial year.
The company's revenue grew 13.4 per cent at $115.6 million (around Rs 457.08 crore) for the third quarter from $101.9 million (around Rs 402.9 crore).

Firstsource signs outsourcing pact with Barclays
BPO service provider Firstsource Solutions said on Friday it has signed a five-year outsourcing partnership agreement worth up to $80 million with British banking giant Barclays PLC for supporting its operations in the United States.
As per the outsourcing partnership agreement, Firstsource would manage Barclays' operations center in Colorado Springs and would provide customer care and collection support to its US cardholders, Firstsource Solutions said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Morgan Stanley denies reports of BPO unit sale
US investment bank Morgan Stanley today said it has no plans to sell its Indian BPO operations, Morgan Stanley Advantage Services (MSAS).
Morgan Stanley has no plans to sell (the BPO unit) and confirms that it remains fully committed to MSAS which is a successful and important component to its business globally, the investment banking firm said in a statement here.

Morgan Stanley puts its BPO on the block
US investment bank Morgan Stanley has put its captive business process outsourcing (BPO) operations, Morgan Stanley Advantage Services Pvt. Ltd (MSAS), on the block.
MSAS, based out of Goregaon, a Mumbai suburb, employs close to 2,000 and could be valued at a minimum of $500 million, according to some investment bankers.

Firstsource signs $80 mn agreement with Baraclays
Firstsource Solutions Limited today announced signing of a five-year outsourcing agreement valued at 80 million US Dollars with Barclays PLc, US credit card business.
Under the terms of the agreement, Firstsource will manage and operate and Barclays operations center in Colorado Springs, provide customer care and collection's support to Barclays US cardholders. The partnership is expected to provide Barclays with increased operational efficiency and flexibility, and help both Companies support their expanding operations in the US. The Firstsource's employees in Colorado Springs would continue to focus on providing services to Barclays US cardholders, a release stated.

BPOs to attract diverse talent pool
The required skills have become higher, creating opportunities for a more specialised workforce in this sector.
For long, a job with a business process outsourcing (BPO) company has been looked upon as a stepping stone to another, longer-lasting career. Such has been the attrition in the industry.

Infosys BPO sees scope in bundled deals
Despite the subprime crisis and looming fears of US economic recession, Infosys BPO is confident of seeing good growth. The subsidiary of Indias second biggest software exporter is seeing traction for large multi-tower and bundled deals.
Infosys BPO vice-president & Head of Global Sales and Marketing Ritesh Idnani told ET, Though the current economic environment in the US is not the only factor, Infy BPO is seeing three trends. We are starting to see large multi-tower deals which would include some areas or all of HR, F&A, IT and procurement outsourcing. Second, clients are asking to bundle deals, combine both operations and technology. Thirdly, provide insight through our research and analysis offerings.

Remote infrastructure management to become $15 bn opportunity for Indian IT: Nasscom
Remote infrastructure management (RIM) is poised to become a $13-15 billion opportunity for the Indian IT industry in another five years, according to a latest report by Nasscom and McKinsey.
The industry is also expected to create 3.25-2.75 lakh jobs in the same time. Indias current share of the RIM market stands at about $3.2-3.6 billion.

BPOs using role-specific information to attract and retain employees
The fun-to-work sector was the first draw card. It later became `a place one can make a career plus have fun . Now, BPO companies are using `role-specific information to attract and retain prospective employees.
Specialist is the word that can attract youngsters who dont want the BPO job just for the big pay packet anymore. So spread the message like `you can become an insurance specialist or travel & logistics specialist is what BPO experts suggest.

Call Centers: To Build or To Buy?
The truth is that call centers are expensive, and they don't usually show positive returns except for the fractional payback you get when you can boost productivity by handling more calls. Also, with so many moving parts, it really is easy to believe that the system you've nursed along for years is as good as anything out there -- or certainly good enough.

Citi puts BPO unit sale on hold
Citigroup has put the sale of its BPO operations  Citigroup Global Services (CGSL)  on hold. The move comes at a time when Citi is looking at taking a hard look at its expenses which could lead to job cuts across the world. The group had initially started the sale process in the second quarter last year. It was in the process of choosing a partner in Genpact late last year.
Citi has outsourcing operations in China, the Philippines, Latin America and Europe, of which CGSL was one of them. Sources said the group is now looking at taking a strategic decision on all these operations globally. Citi wanted to have a relook at all the operations and has put the sale of the Indian operations on hold, said a source.

More than 50 per cent of BPO workers smoke: Study
More than 50 per cent of the BPO workers smoke and are not aware of the ill-effects of smoking despite being educated, says a study being carried out by the Tata Memorial Hospital here.
Work for the two-year study which began in August last year is being carried out in four BPOs in Mumbai, Dr Gauravi Mishra, Consultant, Preventive Oncology division of TMH, said adding although the BPOs themselves are smoke-free but the staff come out of the office for smoking.

BPOs giving cultural orientation on India to foreign staff
The story of how Jaswant became Jack, as India became the worlds back office, is passe. Heres a look at how Jack became Jaswant as Indian firms increased their global footprint.
It started in the late 90s when Indian IT companies started opening new centres and acquiring companies from Japan to Mexico, South Africa to Australia. Every such move meant adding local employees to their rolls. It also meant training them about the companys work culture and mindset. Teaching them the nuances of Indian culture and society was equally important.

Internet woes? BPOs say 'no problem'
Even as India faces severe Internet connectivity problems following the damage to two undersea cables in the Mediterranean Sea, companies in the information technology sector, including business process outsourcing units, claim that there has not been any major disruption in their services.
BPOs in Bangalore, which rely heavily on Internet services, say that there has been a 'slowdown' but they 'have been able to tide over the crisis' by using 'backup or alternate lines.' They said they would have to rely on these lines through the satellite for at least another two weeks as it would take that long to repair the damage.