From the start of time, when economic troubles occur, the hardest-hit find a scapegoat. Today, there are many scapegoats. But outsourcing is certainly on the list.
IMHO, American companies that outsource are contributing to that public perception. Chuck Collins, a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, just co-authored a report entitled “The Moral Measure of the Economy.” One of the findings was that many of the nation’s largest 100 companies refused to disclose the breakdown of their workforce between the United States and other countries. From that he concludes, “They don’t want the public to know how aggressively… Read the rest
Manish Dugar is the new head of Wipro BPO. Dugar takes over at a watershed moment. “The near future features a volatile and dynamic economy. Thanks to technology and scientific advances, geography is history. Now, what happens in one part of the world impacts the whole world,” he observes.
The senior vice president has had a front seat for the growth of offshoring. He was there when it was all about labor arbitrage. His goal: to lead Wipro BPO through the next phase: producing business-based outcomes. Wipro calls this Business Function Outsourcing (BFO). “We are no longer a commodity player,”… Read the rest
Stop people on the street and the answer to that question is obvious. Of course!
Does this happen to you, my outsourcing colleagues? You go somewhere. Start talking to people. They ask what you do. You mention outsourcing. And then you have to don a bomb suit like the munitions squad wears to shield you from the ugly invective that follows. Specifically, they are furious that American companies are using outsourcing service providers who are then offshoring the work.
This is 2011. We’ve been offshoring for a decade. I am still amazed at the misunderstandings out there about the… Read the rest
If I hear one more person complain that outsourcing is the major reason for the seemingly intractable U.S. unemployment rate, I will scream. I live in Las Vegas, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Here is a quote from a letter to the editor of the local paper dated July 13:
Headline: “Nation’s jobs have gone overseas to the detriment of the U.S.”
Letter: “All I hear is, “Where are the jobs? The answer is they are overseas. … I don’t see other countries sending their jobs to the USA. How come?”
The jingoistic… Read the rest
The long-term evolution of industries has long been studied. A small market grows when competitors fill niches and primary demand increases. Innovation sparks products. Services refinement and differentiation then occurs. More providers enter the market and then, as the growth cycle matures, scale and leverage become forces for consolidation. Now joining those ranks: the IT and business process outsourcing industry.
Three recent transactions – HP buys EDS, Dell buys Perot Systems, and Xerox purchases ACS – point to a future where “one-stop shopping” indeed becomes a reality in the outsourcing market.
With IBM Global Services leading this pack of “full-service” providers, what… Read the rest
The BPO world has come a very long way over the past decade! We have seen significant change in the market, both from buyer and supplier perspectives.
Buyer requirements have evolved across the board to enhance the range of processes that they outsource and the way they structure the engagements and what they demand from a BPO partner.
Providers have evolved to keep pace with buyer interests, and in many ways have also influenced the same by creating and demonstrating capabilities that have strongly contributed to the evolution of the buyers’ thoughts.
Overall, from my perspective here is what that… Read the rest
Rebounding from the recession and economic crisis, and despite increasing competition from other offshore outsourcing destinations, India outsourcing firms will still occupy the headlines as the world leader in 2011. As evidence:
- Kotak Institutional Equities predicts “blockbuster growth” for TCS, Infosys, and Cognizant
- TCS upped its plans to hire, now announcing they’re looking for 50,000 new employees; Infosys wants to add another 20,000 in headcount
However, in a PC World article on 11 trends in 2011, advisory firms EquaTerra and Everest Group predict an increasing interest in outsourcing to providers in China,… Read the rest
Three statistics caught my eye as important outsourcing news today: #1, 3/4, and 24.
#1 - Congratulations to Océ Business Services!
The Black Book of Outsourcing’s 2010 “State of the Industry” survey ranked Océ as the leading document process outsourcing provider among the Global Top 50 Outsourcing Providers. Océ Business Services received the highest scores of any DPO provider in the three criteria that 6,500 respondents considered to be the most important. These include awareness of requirements, closely followed by the ability to resolve problems as and when they arise, and the skills and resources that providers can bring to the work they… Read the rest
WNS was featured on the show titled Making it Big – 2010 on CNBC last week. The program chronicled WNS’s growth story from its origins as a captive back-office unit of British Airways through its transformation into a leading third-party provider of BPO services across many industries.
The program covered WNS’s history, its pioneer status in the BPO industry, and its leadership position as the first India-based BPO company to list on the NYSE. Most importantly, the show highlights WNS’s focus and strategic programs for the future as it evolves for its next phase of growth.
If you’re interested in viewing the show,… Read the rest
In Rome, do as the Romans do! This popular proverb has a strong application as corporations expand across international locations. Most of us are aware of the initial failures that some of the top brands in the world have encountered when they have rushed to penetrate a new geography/country without understanding the local nuances fully.
As an example, the Coca-Cola name in China was first read as “Kekoukela,” meaning “Bite the Wax Tadpole” or “Female Horse Stuffed with Wax,” depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent to “kokoukole” translating into “Happiness in the… Read the rest
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