Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Dell to make PCs in India

World's largest computer maker Dell on Monday said it will set up a manufacturing facility in India.

"We have concluded that time is right to consider a manufacturing site in India... we are looking for a location," Dell chief executive officer Kevin Rollins said in New Delhi.
Dell, presently, employs 10,000 people at its support and product development centres in India.
"Time is ripe for second phase of our expansion in India. We are talking to the Federal (Centre) government and state governments as to where is the best place to set up a manufacturing site," Rollins said.
Dell has seven manufacturing plants all over the world and the India unit would be the eighth such facility.

He said the manufacturing site would be selected on the basis of how good the logistics were in an area, able work force and cooperation the company can get from the local government.
Rollins said the company has not decided on the time frame for the manufacturing facility but would like it to come up sooner than later.
He did not specify the investment that would go into the unit saying that it was yet to be decided.

The manufacturing unit of Dell in India would cater to the local market to start with.
The main consideration driving Dell's manufacturing plans was the growth of the Indian personal computer market which will touch four million units this year and grow to 10 millon units in next three to five years.
Dell's share of India's computer market stands at 3.5-4.0 per cent and the company has plans to increase it further.

Rollins, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh early on Monday, conveyed to him Dell's commitment to India and its plans to set up manufacturing base and develop the market.
"We also told him that when Dell sets up a manufacturing base in a location a whole ecosystem of suppliers and logistics gets build around it," he said.Rollins said the prime minister was supportive of Dell's plans.
For details read here.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Dell to Set Up Manufacturing Unit in India

It is acquired by Offshoreoutsourcingworld from Times News Network that Michael Dell, Chief of Dell Computer is so pleased with the results of the Research & Development work his company outsourced to India, that after a meeting with Kamal Nath, India’s Commerce Minister, he announced his decision to set up a manufacturing facility on the sub-continent. Coming at a fortunate time, it is a decision that coincides with India’s plans to project itself as an emerging manufacturing hub, rather than just a back-office service provider.

Having proved itself with top quality low cost IT / ITeS / BPO outsourced services, the sub-continent underscored its resolve to make the transformation from being a chief BPO hub to an economy capable of doing high-end manufacturing at the World Economic Forum held at Davos. Confident of moving from BPO to Engineering Process Outsourcing (EPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), Nath in his address at DAVOS ‘Shifting Trade Winds – A Vision for 2020’ session said, while India was proud to be the world’s back office, the company was rapidly ascending the knowledge chain.

Chatting with the Indian media later, he said India has a rich manufacturing tradition with 41-million employed in the sector, and could well be the centre for ‘topping up’ value additions. And, adding other advantages such as stable democracy, rule of law and an independent judiciary, commitment to reforms, there was no earthly reason why India could not aspire to be the world’s manufacturing hub in place of China. “Our attractiveness as a manufacturing centre is not much less. We have been experiencing a consistent industrial growth of 12% for the past few years, and this trend will accelerate. India has a latent opportunity in capturing potential markets through value addition in fields like enginee4ring goods, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and biotech, also fashion, lifestyle products and leather goods.” Said Nath.

He went on to say that focus on manufacturing would create jobs at all levels as: “Experience shows that every new job in manufacturing helps create three in the services sector. While, we speak of our target to create 5-million jobs in the manufacturing sector, we are striving to create a total of 20-million.”

Having tasted success in back office outsourcing, India has regained confidence in its ability to dominate in every field. The British eroded the self-esteem and self-belief of people belonging to the oldest civilisation in the world to suit their ends, but it has not taken very long for them to spring back and realise they have been hood-winked into thinking that all good things come from the West. Realisation is sweeping the country that was the Cradle of Civilisation that it has produced some of the best brains and the most hard-working people in the world. Scattered all over, if only these hard-working brains came back to India, and did what they are doing for the countries they now call home, the sub-continent could soon overtake USA and China, sliding into the Number One slot.

That time is not far off, and as the world off-shores / outsources back office work, slowly, India is receiving engineering, knowledge processing and manufacturing projects. High-end work is being done on the sub-continent as firms sending IT / ITeS / BPO work realise they can trust their Indian partners to deliver on the higher end of the scale.

Off-shoring / outsourcing trend pundits predict in less than a decade, India will be the KPO and EPO hub of the world.
For details read here.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

ATM outsourcing agreement - Euronet signs with ING Vysya Bank in India

According to the news acquired by Offshoreoutsourcingworld from the atmmarketplace, ATM marketplace has disclosed that Euronet Worldwide, Inc., a leading electronic payments provider, has announced a multiyear ATM outsourcing and deployment agreement with ING Vysya Bank, a premier private sector bank in India, with 1.5 million customers and 480 outlets in India.

Under the agreement, Euronet will deploy 200 self-bank sites (including ATMs and Kiosks) for ING Vysya Bank in major cities across India over the next 24 months.
For details read here.

Friday, January 27, 2006

India Innovates World’s First Off-shoring Worker Fraud Fighting Database

The news compiled by Offshoreoutsourcingworld from reuters, India’s high boom information technology and call centre industry has launched a database for its work force, hoping it will boost data security on finance related and other projects outsourced to its shores.

Directly employing a million people, and three times that number indirectly in jobs ranging widely from security to transport to house-keeping to catering, the IT / ITeS and BPO companies are keen to raise privacy standards by monitoring their employees in an efficient and fraud deterrent manner.

Containing all personal and work-related employee information, the database will enable employers to verify staff member credentials, and allow police to track the background of workers. It became a necessity after one of India’s call centres was hit by a $400,000 credit card fraud when bank customers parted with personal details while on the phone relating to their bank accounts.

When one month later, a British newspaper alleged that an Indian call centre worker had illegally sold secret data of British bank customers in a sting operation involving an undercover reporter, the Indian firm involved denied the charges, dismissing the suspicion that a worker sold information while moonlighting elsewhere, saying it did not have data or any clients in the UK.

Allegations and counter-allegations have necessitated the world first of its kind database according to National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). And, a government official announced, companies would now be able to track career backgrounds of employees, including helping law enforcement agencies to tackle data theft.

T.D. Maran, Federal Minister for Communications and Information Technology, during an industry meeting said: “Information security is an integral part of the information infrastructure for enhancing India's e-business environment.” Undoubtedly, this step in the right direction should quell the doubts of off-shoring / outsourcing naysayers. It is a step in the right direction as a combined NASSCOM and McKinsey (consultancy firm) December report forecasts a 25% per annum surge in India’s business services and information technology exports, exports that will total $60-billion by the year 2010.

With a burgeoning IT / ITeS / BPO business, strong measures will be needed to prevent any scandal regarding data theft or employee fraud. Having worked hard to build a name for itself as a high quality, low cost service provider after years spent proving itself, and after painstakingly building its reputation, it cannot afford to let a few unscrupulous employees undo years of dedicated work.
The world’s first of its kind employee database will go a long way to ensure India continues to remain the world’s most favoured outsourcing destination.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

San Diego County officials approves IT outsourcing contract with Northrop Grumman

According to the news acquired by Offshoreoutsourcingworld from Computerworld, "San Diego County officials today approved a $667 million IT outsourcing contract with Northrop Grumman Information Technology and hope to complete a transition to the new contractor by year's end. "

Overseeing this major shift in outsourcing contractors is Michael Moore, CIO for San Diego County, who took that post three years ago -- well after the initial seven-year contract with Computer Sciences Corp. was signed. Northrop Grumman won the new contract after it was put out to bid.

The deal made today covers IT services for the 17,000-employee county government, which operates on a $4 billion budget.

To complete the transition, Moore will be relying on a lengthy list of provisions approved in the 1999 contract that detail the “disentanglement” process. This spells out how the outgoing and incoming contractors are to cooperate regarding access to tools, assets and personnel. The first milestone will be the transition of the help desk in April, followed by applications, desktops and networks, and finally a transition of the data center in October to Northrop Grumman.

Input expects state and local spending on IT outsourcing to grow from $10 billion in 2005 to $18 billion by 2010, with a compound annual growth rate of 12%.

The county of San Diego awarded one of the first big local-government outsourcing contracts in the nation in 1999 to Computer Sciences Corp. The county’s board of supervisors today will consider a different vendor, Northrop Grumman, after rebidding the work. At stake is a seven-year contract to manage IT for the 17,000-employee county government, which operates on a $4 billion budget.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Swindon plans £300m outsourcing deal

Swindon Council is planning to embark on a major IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) contract that could be worth as much as £300m over 15 years.

Swindon issued an Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) notice outlining its plans to engage an external supplier to perform a wide range of services for the council. These will include the development and running of a contact centre, property and facilities management, revenues and benefits, general administration, human resources, ICT, finance, procurement, and business process re-engineering services.Swindon plans to outsource these services over a ten to 15-year period, with the potential to extend it for a further five to ten years. The estimated annual value of the deal will be in the region of £20m.Comment: Swindon's plans are proof that local government has not lost its appetite for major outsourcing initiatives - it backs up our view that Walsall Council's decision to cancel a planned £500m BPO deal with Fujitsu Services does not mean the end for local government outsourcing. One of the factors behind Walsall's decision was that the council had managed to get its house in order without the contract. However, Swindon has taken a different route. It had been busily improving its service standards on its own - it has moved from a zero to a two-star authority - but has now reached the point where it wants to take the next step and engage a private sector partner to "deliver excellent, value-for-money services". It seems that Swindon has only now considered outsourcing after reaching a point where a step-change in performance is now needed.We believe that the size of the potential deal is likely to attract considerable interest from many of the usual suspects - both specialists such as Vertex, Serco, Pearson Government Solutions and Capita, and global suppliers such as EDS, Capgemini, IBM, and indeed Fujitsu, which remains committed to its local government ambitions.

Swindon has set a date of 16 February 2006 to receive tenders for the contract.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Sonata wins $5 million outsourcing contract

According to the news acquired by Offshoreoutsourcingworld from IndiaoutsourcewatchBureau,
Church's Chicken TM a US-based fast food major has awarded IT outsourcing contract worth five million dollars to Bangalore based IT consulting and software services vendor Sonata Software Ltd .

As per the contract spanning over five years Sonata would provide remote infrastructure management, network and data centre management, helpdesk and application management services to enable Church's Chicken to lower its IT outsourcing costs substantially and improve the quality of customer service. "We consider Church's as another milestone in Sonata's strategy of being an end-to-end services provider for enterprises. I see this partnership growing to make a decisive impact in transforming Church's IT infrastructure," Sonata Software Ltd, president and managing director B Ramaswamy said.

Church's Chicken TM, is the fourth largest chicken franchise organisation in the United States and employs over 35,000 people and has over 1500 locations in 16 countries. Harsha Agadi, CEO, Church’s Chicken said, “The fast food is a dynamic industry and Sonata will be instrumental in ensuring that we serve our customers in an efficient manner.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Airwide solutions Opens R&D Unit in India

Airwide solutions, global SMS and data software major has jumped on the off-shoring / outsourcing bandwagon by foraying into India to set up a research and development centre at Gurgaon, Delhi.

Initially, it will hire 100 to 150 people, raising it to around 200 – 250 in the next 18-months. The company absolutely believes that it will rake in 15% of its total revenues from its new facility in India.

In the words of Vincent Kadarl, airwide solutions Chief Technology Officer: “India is the second largest wireless market in the world and setting up a base here will help us cater to the needs of this market. The facility will also help us to target neighbouring countries with our sales and support services.” However, he did not reveal the investments ear-marked for the facility, only stating the company is expecting earning from equities. But, he did specify that the investment amount would be ‘significant’ and equal to that of its Tier-I operations across the world, with the R&D centre providing services to global clients, including countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Airwide’s regional director (ASEAN & India), Rajive Chandra said the company has posted revenue of $40-million in 2005, and expects to increase it by 10 to 15% this year. With operations in 46-countries and alliances with 70-operators across the globe, the $40-million company is planning to enter into similar tie-ups in India.

With its company products already subscribed t by Hutch, Airtel, Aircel, VSNL, Reliance and Idea, airwide is looking at providing solutions for expansion of these companies. Airwide provides solutions to help operators to enhance user experience and increase mobile messaging revenues and profits. Their products include air ‘n ‘able texts, short messaging solution – air ‘n ‘gine for MMS, airgate, a gateway solution and air guard, a fraud management solution, among others.
Further proof, that India has moved on from low-end outsourcing jobs to high-end, complex technicalities. The country is well and truly on its way to becoming the most sought after off-shore knowledge hub in the world.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Outsourcing deal -- HCL seals $335m with UK’s DSG International

According to the news acquired by Offshoreoutsourcingworld from Economic Times, the outsourcing pie is getting bigger for Indian software majors. HCL Technologies is learnt to have bagged India’s largest IT outsourcing deal so far. At $335m (Rs 1,500 crore) spread over five years, it betters the previous record of $260m set by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for its deal with ABN Amro.

The company, however, refused to confirm or deny the size of the deal from British specialist electrical retailer DSG International.

“We can’t share the numbers with you, but we know that it’s bigger than the one signed by TCS with ABN Amro Bank,” HCL Tech’s president Vineet Nayar told ET. According to him, the deal was won against stiff competition from other Indian IT majors.

Industry sources say that under the terms of the deal, DSG will transfer its complete IT team to HCL. “Over 350 people working at DSG’s IT department will now become our employees,” Mr Nayar said. Besides, HCL Tech plans to hire a minimum of 1,000 IT professionals at its existing Indian development centres in Noida and Chennai to service its newest clients.

According to the terms of the deal, HCL Technologies will provide systems development, application delivery, infrastructure support and maintenance services to DSG International, Europe’s leading specialist electrical retailer.
For more read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Outsourcing deal EDS lands with United Airlines

As per the news acquired about Outsourcing news by Offshoreutsourcingworld from Bizjournals EDS Corp, which has a large Rancho Cordova office, has signed a 10-year information-technology service contract with United Airlines Inc. to upgrade United's technology base, reducing its operating costs.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed Tuesday. Under the deal, the Plano, Texas-based technology company will manage more than 36,000 desktop computers for United and provide help-desk services for United employees in about 320 locations worldwide. EDS (NYSE: EDS) also will upgrade all aspects of United's end-user communications and computing environments in reservations, offices and airports.

In addition, EDS says it will be responsible for related asset management, procurement and third-party provider relationships.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Outsourcing deal won by Swisscom

As compiled by Offshoreoutsourcingworld from CBR Online, assuming responsibility for the supply of voice and data services to 17 of the company's business units, Swisscom Solutions Ltd has secured a $58 million five-year outsourcing contract from the Swiss insurance company, Winterthur Group.

According to the Swiss telecom company, the agreement is aimed at focusing the present decentralized structure of Winterthur Group in the area of voice and data services and reducing complexity.

Swisscom says its objective is to achieve financial transparency and a high level of process standardization across the Group. It also claims the move is aimed at reducing costs, driving technological change and establishing uniform group-wide security standards.

Swisscom Solutions says it will be working closely with its global network partner Vanco in providing these services for Winterthur Group.
For more read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Outsourcing Play in India

According to Newsfactor.com as compiled by Offshoreoutsourcingworld "Getting bigger in India could boost both top- and bottom-line growth for Oracle.”

At a two-day conference in Bombay on Jan. 10, Oracle announced that it will be hiring an additional 1,400 employees in India -- not only in tech hotbeds like Bangalore, but across nine cities and rural towns throughout the country.

Given recent announcements that Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and Intel would each pump at least $1 billion into the country, Oracle might look like a bandwagon jumper. But make no mistake: It was in India long before that was the cool thing to do.

And executives from Oracle, the world's second-largest software company, will be the first to tell you so. Oracle has been in India for 19 years, and the planned hiring will increase its local staff to 10,000, representing about 20% of its global workforce.

That's considerably more than Microsoft, which now has 3,000 employees in India and plans to add 3,000 more in the next five years. All told, Oracle has invested $2 billion in India in the past half-decade. Oracle President Charles Phillips underscored the reasons for expansion in a statement: "The fast rate of development, high literacy rates, and availability of I.T. skills in each of these cities represent an untapped reservoir of future economic wealth for India."
For more read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Off-shoring / Outsourcing: Ending the Reign of the Big Six

It is estimated that in the next two years, $100-billion worth off-shoring / outsourcing contracts will be up for grabs. News that might just end the reign of the Big Six playersi.e. Electronic Data Systems (EDS), Hewlett-Packard, Accenture, Affiliated Computer Services, Computer Sciences Corp., IBM, by loosening their grip on the market, as they face stiff competition from other off-shore / outsourcing companies.

Incumbent service providers, with 72% contract value to be renewed over the next two years, the big six of off-shoring / outsourcing could find their dominance of a lucrative market challenged, according to TPI, an outsourcing advisory firm.

With one in five outsourcing contracts up for renewal in 2006 and 2007 i.e. 325-contracts, IBM and EDS alone have a combined total of $50-billion worth of contracts that are coming up for renewal. Although, as a rule, incumbent service providers get their contracts renewed, with increasing competition it is no longer possible for service provider to rest easy on their laurels. They have to continuously prove themselves over and over again, cutting costs and improving service quality, if they wish to retain an edge in the market. Managing Director, TPI says: “Client retention will increasingly depend on an incumbent's ability to offer a competitive proposition. This could mean significant changes in price and scope from the original contract.” And, half of the new contracts coming up include some sort of off-shore element.

As the off-shoring / outsourcing trend moves to smaller deals, the dominance of the big players is going to be challenged, a trend that will prove extremely beneficial to Indian off-shoring / outsourcing companies.

There were 293-contracts signed in 2005, nearly three-quarters of which were small to medium contracts. While, Indian outsourcing companies rarely win deals that are valued over $200-million, in 2005 they were invited to bid for 30% of contracts below the $200-million level, and ended up winning 70% of them.

Aitchinson, MD – TPI believes that intense competition in this market will continue as big outsourcing companies and Indian outsourcers expand their operations around the world.

What emerges is a scenario of little fish ganging up on big fish, and chasing them away. What remains to be seen is whether small Indian companies will be able to end the reign of the Big Six. A very likely prospect from the drift of things.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Outsourcing more expensive than in-house service

Businesses looking to save money by outsourcing customer service functions are risking losing customers and paying even more for the privilege.

Although researchers from Gartner predict the market for outsourcing will grow from $8.4bn in 2004 to $12.2bn in 2007 they say 80 per cent of projects started to save money will fail to do so.
Despite the growth in outsourcing the overseas component of this will remain small. In 2005 less than two per cent of the call centre market is made up of offshore companies, rising to less than five per cent in 2007.

Up to 2008, 60 per cent of firms that outsource sections of customer-facing processes will suffer customer defections and other hidden costs which will outweigh any possible savings.

Gartner points out that it is possible to save between 25 and 30 per cent if outsourcing is carried out carefully. But badly managed projects can "reduce the quality of the customer experience, dilute the brand values of the company and fail to deliver cost savings."

Alexa Bona, the report's author, also warned that staff turnover was far higher in offshore call centres than in-house departments. In-house call centres typically lose 19 to 25 per cent of staff each year while offshore centres can see 70 to 80 per cent turnover.

She further warns that 70 per cent of the top 15 Indian-owned firms offering call centre services will be bought, merged or marginalised by the end of 2005.Bona warned organisations should not underestimate the time required to make an outsourced relationship work.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Perot Systems Awarded Six-Year Technology Outsourcing

According to Information acquired by Offshoreoutsourcingworld, Perot Systems Corporation today announced that Severstal North America, a wholly owned subsidiary of OAO Severstal, Russia's second largest steelmaker, has selected the company to provide full IT outsourcing services as part of a six-year, $53 million Information Technology services contract renewal.

Under the terms of this contract, Perot Systems will provide applications support, IT governance, strategic support, workstation management service, data and voice network services, server and security administration, and service desk services from its technology center in Plano.

"We are honored to be selected by Severstal to help navigate the organization through important technology transitions and provide solutions to enable the company to realize increased efficiencies," said Michael Morrison, Group Director of Perot Systems Industrial and Consumer services group.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

3rd Annual Global Outsourcing Conference

According to the informatyion gathered by Offshoreoutsourcingworld from srinstitute,

Date : 26 - 27 January 2006

Location : Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel - New York, USA

The 3rd Annual Global Outsourcing Conference will focus on a mature market and the new processes-related topics such as Six Sigma and Capability Sourcing. The concerns are no longer “how do we do it,” but how can we improve on what we have. We will have presentations and discussions around such topics such as “is China the new India.” Also we discuss best practices from other industries, such as pharmaceuticals, that will give IT and manufacturing some next generation tools for a next generation market.

Global outsourcing entails identifying, evaluating, negotiating and configuring supply across multiple geographies to reduce costs, maximize performance and mitigate risks. Sourcing is also a cornerstone of total cost management (TCM), a technological and process framework for the optimal alignment, management and control of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of supply relationships.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Monday, January 09, 2006

HP Considers CSC Acquisition

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s reported interest in buying Computer Sciences Corp. brings its share of benefits and risks, according to industry observers.

The move could rapidly grow HP's services and outsourcing business, giving the Palo Alto, Calif., company the size and breadth to compete with the likes of IBM Global Services, they said. However, if not done right, such a move could prove to be a major burden on a company that is trying to improve its financial situation.

The possible deal was first reported in the Wall Street Journal Thursday, which said that HP would team with the Blackstone Group, a financial equity firm that had been part of another group that had looked into buying CSC before negotiations ended. That group—which included Lockheed Martin Corp. and Texas Pacific Group—reportedly had offered $12 billion this fall for the El Segundo, Calif., company. It was unknown what price HP and Blackstone may be offering for CSC.

Typically, when an outsourcing deal is made, the outsourcers buys some of the customers' assets—such as purchasing the computer hardware and hiring some employees—which can lead to greater debt and higher costs. However, Indian outsourcers tend not to buy such assets, which means they are not as burdened by high upfront costs or the need to maintain and depreciate the hardware, and can price their services accordingly. This is putting even greater pressure on the major traditional outsourcers.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Outsourcing Boosts

According to the information composed by offshoreoutsourcingworld from Information Week "Bermuda-based services giant Accenture on Thursday reported strong growth in first quarter earnings and net income, and said revenues were its highest ever during a three-month period.”

Revenues increased 12% to $4.17 billion. Per-share earnings rose 20% to 36 cents and net income jumped 10% to $214.9 million. New contract bookings during the period were $5.54 billion, Accenture's highest in seven quarters. "We continue to build momentum," said Green.
Booming sales of outsourcing services helped drive Accenture's first quarter gains. The company said sales of application development, infrastructure management, and other IT and business services rose 18%. Consulting sales, which account for just under two-thirds of Accenture's total revenues, increased 8%.

In early market activity Friday, Accenture's shares were trading at just above $30 per share, a two-year high. The company said it expects full year per-share earnings to fall between $1.52 and $1.57.
For more read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Indian Outsourcing facing competition

India will keep its dominance in the outsourcing (BPO) business in 2006, but would face stiff competition from nearshoring, where USA and European companies will ship back-office work to destinations near their countries, says a research firm neoIT." According to Times of India Report as stated by Offshoreoutsourcingworldblog.
It says Latin American countries like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Costa Rica will be developed by US companies as nearshore destinations because of "US friendly policies, geographical proximity and cultural compatibility".

NeoIT expects a similar trend to emerge in Europe where Russia, Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic will develop as "high-quality, nearshore destinations" for West European clients. In Asia, countries like Malaysia and Sri Lanka will emerge as low-cost destinations offering niche services. China, too, will progress significantly as a preferred destination for outsourcing.

The research predicts that during the next year a wide range of core and knowledge-driven services will be outsourced, especially in research based areas like markets, law, taxation, consulting and engineering services. However, as a general trend, it also has a set of warnings in store: "More than 30% of offshore outsourcing relationships will face challenges due to inadequate planning, unrealistic expectation, inaccurate vendor choices, incomplete process and knowledge transitions, and a lack of focus on ongoing programme management".
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Outsourcing Deal -- Won by IBM

"IBM has won a 7 year outsourcing contract with Unilever"

Unilever has turned to IBM for a seven-year outsourcing contract aimed at transforming its financial transaction services in Europe.

The move will affect around 750 Unilever employees across 20 countries.

According to a Unilever representative the employees were told about the upcoming changes a week ago and that over the next two years of implementation, steps will be taken to try to prevent layoffs.

IBM business consulting services will use sites in India, Poland and Portugal to handle Unilever's purchase-to-pay, general accounting and bill-to-cash functions.

For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Outsourcing to India

When the trend of off-shoring / outsourcing started, Indian IT professionals were given low-end computational work such as web designing, web development, coding, and programming for global majors. That has become passé, as they have proven they are not only talented and skilled, but immensely capable of delivering top quality higher-end work for a fraction of what IT professionals in home countries charge.

This has led to a new breed of service providing manpower being spawned in India, one with complex degrees and sophisticated skill-sets ready to take on high-end product development, Research & Development (R&D), IT services, both for overseas and domestic companies. Likewise, job profiles in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector are undergoing considerable changes. New recruits to the industry continue to be fresh graduate, but professionals with degrees like M.Tech, CA, MBA, ICWA, etc. are showing a keenness to work in domain-specific back-office fields like advisory, analytical and consulting areas.

With access to a talented labour pool with necessary IT skills for software development and to provide IT services for overseas markets, Indian IT companies have worked at broadening skill sets to perform complex work. Their hardwork and training has accomplished brilliant results as the complexity of work being off-shored / outsourced increases with each passing day. NASSCOM reports a tech-ready, tech-trainable work force in excess of 750,000. From 2000 to 2004, employment in the IT and ITeS industries grew 30.1%, tripling and touching the 1-million mark by end-2005.

India, annually graduates 250,000 students with engineering degrees and 500,000 with non-engineering, all geared to take up employment in the IT and IT-related sectors. But, the number of students graduating with engineering / technical degrees has increased due to higher income levels in jobs in the field and an increasing number of technical institutions starting up to take up the challenge of providing enough educated, talented and skilled workforce for India’s every increasing slice of the off-shoring / outsourcing pie.

While, India employed 284,000 IT / ITeS / BPO professionals in 1999-2000, that number has grown to 1-million in 2004-2005, and growing by 150,000 in the last year alone. While ITeS / BPO employees saw the highest growth levels over the last few years due to the tremendous demand for Indian service providers by multinationals off-shoring / outsourcing, 94,000 professionals will take up employment in the ITeS / BPO sector, but in the same period, 109,000 IT professionals will be taken on board by IT services and software companies.

Already, India ranks as the world’s leading off-shoring / outsourcing destination for IT and BPO, and will sustain its leading position. With IT / ITeS / BPO providing services from off-shore destinations projected to grow by 24% to $94-billion by 2008, India is set to grow by 31% to $48-billion, 51% of the global total by 2008. Last year alone, the ITeS / BPO sector in India hired estimated 400-employees for each working day of the year.

The demand for Indian skilled domain specialists, software analysts, integration specialists, information security, database administrators, communication engineers, network specialists, data warehousing and semi-conductor design continues to grow apace, as Indian professionals make their mark in the IT and IT service related field.

Quality and cost are the reasons that India has become and will continue to remain the favourite off-shoring / outsourcing destination of the world. And, from low-end work, it has graduated to research and development for IT majors such as Microsoft, Intel, Cisco Systems and many others. It is not going to be easy to dislodge India from its coveted position of the Number One off-shore/ outsourcing service provider.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Offshore Outsourcing Trend Might Be Heading For Africa

Big Western companies are all into offshore outsourcing very specific aspects of their activities abroad and Africa might become a new area of emerging interest. The business logic of the deals is obvious. Western companies that have trouble keeping their heads above water due to high overhead costs are making savings and improving their profitability buying into a trend that is by now well established and virtually as low risk as any business outsourcing practice elsewhere.

The trend of Offshore Outsourcing has taken off some 15 years ago and gained momentum on the spur of the cost savings success stories and in many cases reputable quality of the work delivered by these fairy tale like 'night workers' in obscure overseas locations.

Africa might become a hotly contested next destination. Simon Thuo, a stock broker on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, is in the final stages of drawing up his business plan to start up a data entry and call centre in Nairobi, in an effort to get a foot in the door. A born negotiator, Thuo is in his everyday life involved in stockbroking, a profession that he's sticking to until his BPO plans have panned out sufficiently. Thuo's negotiations as a stock broker are likely not all that different from his work for his BPO business, which he has called Symon&Oscar. His everyday business is very much dominated by what's going on in the stock market in Kenya and making sure that the process is as transparent as possible. The world of stock broking is small and news travels fast. Yet to discern rumor from fact is an art in the Kenyan setting. Thuo says that his best negotiating quality as a stock broker is confidentiality and delivering on promises, also two key aspects in BPO negotiations. "Leaking client information and lack of trustworthiness is the biggest mistake BPO businessmen make", he says.
For details read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Outsourcing -- 2006 Technology Trends

(1)Traditional media continues to change as the impact of the democratization of the Internet and the increased penetration of global broadband coverage expands the Internet even more.

(2)Globalization and outsourcing continue to be paradigms of success.Again, as in last year, to be successful in a real-time, global marketplace, businesses must understand and adapt to the new source of competitive advantage by connecting to the core competencies and customer interaction on a global scale. In the business world, global collaboration is imperative. Outsourcing becomes more strategic--it's not all about price.

(3) The digital home is entering the next level of acceptance, with the expansion of the electronic gaming and MP3 marketplace being a major driver.

(4) Public relations and marketing expenditures and projects continue their shift to the public networks.

(5) The timeframe of the product life-cycle continues to decrease

(6)The threat to security and privacy continues to grow and to expand to other devices besides the wired Internet such as mobile devices and device-to-device networks.

For more information read here.

The article is sponsored by A-1 Technology Inc, dealing in offshore outsourcing and offshore software development.