Sunday, July 24, 2005

Top Business Process Outsourcing Vendors
Finance & Accounting :
Accenture
ACS
Creditek
Datamatics
EDS
Core3
IBM- Equitant
Intelenet
HP
Liberata
Outsource Partners Intl
Perot systems
Siemens Business Services
WNS
Xansa
Accenture
ACS
ADPAON
CSC
ARINSO Intl
Ceridian
CGI
Convergys
EDS & Towers Perrrin
FESCO - Fidelity
Hewitt
IBM
Mercer
Pro Business
Siemens
Spherion Corp

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Knowledge Process Outsourcing [ KPO ]

The evolution and maturity of the Indian BPO sector has given birth to yet another wave in the global outsourcing scene: KPO or Knowledge Process Outsourcing. The success in outsourcing business process operations to India has encouraged many firms to start outsourcing their high-end knowledge work as well. Cost savings, operational efficiencies, access to a highly talented workforce and improved quality are all underlying expectations in offshoring high-end processes to India .

India's intellectual potential

The myth that Indian companies can only provide “software coolies” is soon changing to the reality of Indian companies being capable of almost anything, even rocket science! India has a large pool of knowledge workers in various sectors ranging from Pharmacy, Medicine, Law, Biotechnology, Education & Training, Engineering, Analytics, Design & Animation, Research & Development, Paralegal Content and even Intelligence services.
This talent is soon being discovered and tapped by leading businesses across the globe resulting in the outsourcing of high-end processes to low-wage destinations. Hence Knowledge Process Outsourcing involves offshoring of knowledge intensive business processes that require specialized domain expertise.

The future of KPO

According to a report by GlobalSourcingNow, the Global Knowledge Process Outsourcing industry (KPO) is expected to reach USD 17 billion by 2010, of which USD 12 billion would be outsourced to India . In addition, the Indian KPO sector is also expected to employ more than 250,000 KPO professionals by 2010, compared with the current figure of 25,000 employees. A report by Evalueserve predicts that India will capture more than 70 percent of the KPO sector by 2010. Apart from India, countries such as Russia, China, the Czech Republic, Ireland, and Israel are also expected to join the KPO industry.
Comparison of Opportunity in BPO and KPO markets Low-end outsourcing services have an expected Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26% by 2010. In contrast, the global KPO market is poised for an expected CAGR of 46% by 2010. The following figure demonstrates the expected growth in the BPO and KPO markets over the next seven years.




What high-end services can be outsourced to the Indian KPO sector?

Here are some KPO services that can be outsourced to India :
Research & Development
Business and Technical Analysis
Learning Solutions
Animation & Design
Business & Market Research
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Medical Services
Writing & Content Development
Legal Services
Intellectual Property (IP) Research
Data Analytics
Network Management
Training & Consultancy

The challenges in KPO

KPO delivers high value to organizations by providing domain-based processes and business expertise rather than just process expertise. These processes demand advanced analytical and specialized skill of knowledge workers that have domain experience to their credit. Therefore outsourcing of knowledge processes face more challenges than BPO (Business Process Outsourcing). Some of the challenges involved in KPO will be maintaining higher quality standards, investment in KPO infrastructure, the lack of talent pool, requirement of higher level of control, confidentiality and enhanced risk management.
Comparing these challenges with the Indian IT and ITES service providers, it is not surprising that India has been ranked the most preferred KPO destination owing to the country's large talent pool, quality IT training, friendly government policies and low labor costs.
India is well equipped to meet this emerging sector's challenges and all set to be the global KPO hub!


[inputs from Outsource2india.com , eValueserve Survey on Global KPO Business 2004 and McKinsey Research]




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Friday, July 15, 2005


E R P Vs HR Outsourcing

When it comes to managing business processes such as human resources, finance, and administration, companies are faced with a fundamental decision: Manage the data collection, integration, and ongoing maintenance themselves through an in-house enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform or outsource the work to a third-party provider. While there are clearly risks and benefits associated with each approach, it's not necessarily an all-or-nothing decision. In fact, many companies use a combination of delivery models, assembling a blend of homegrown and outsourced services that work best for them. Still, the debate continues. Here are two perspectives on the issue...



Outsourcing Advantage :

Five years ago, companies moving to an outsourced HR services model were viewed as early adopters. Today, business process outsourcing (BPO) is a proven solution, and while it may not be the solution for every organization, many companies in the top 100 of the FORTUNE 500 have experienced the cost-saving and performance benefits associated with outsourcing.
The consolidation and uncertainty surrounding the ERP market in recent months has likely contributed to the marketwide acceleration of movement toward BPO. As the future of ERP providers is called into question, companies are growing increasingly hesitant to make the long-term investment in resources that owning and managing an ERP solution requires. Today, many view hiring a respected and stable outsourcing provider as the "low-risk" choice.
Outsourcing enables an organization to reduce administration costs, improve efficiencies, and focus more intently on its core business. Good outsourcing providers are 100% focused on continuous improvement, which means customers experience contractually guaranteed cost reductions and ongoing performance improvements—improvements ERPs don't commit to contractually and often fail to match.
In addition, keeping an ERP solution up and running is a major commitment, requiring significant infrastructure investment, regular software updates, and investment in a skilled professional administrative staff. Eventually, some companies reach the point where the return fails to justify the investment.
By choosing to partner with a BPO provider, companies avoid the expenses and drain on internal resources that accompany the maintenance of an ERP system. Instead, the outsourcing firm takes on those responsibilities. The end result of outsourcing is greater overall value and improved service delivered at a reduced cost.


ERP: Retaining Control :

There are three ways for companies to obtain the technology required to run their HR administration—they can build it themselves, they can outsource for access to a provider's technologies, or they can buy or license the systems from ERP vendors like Oracle or SAP. Building is often a long, expensive process that keeps the client in the software development business forever. Outsourcing can make the client dependent on the provider's commitment and investment in the business.
Companies that choose to install and manage an ERP solution themselves often make their decision based on philosophical or cultural drivers. Some want to remain in charge of selecting and operating technologies, perceiving the risk associated with giving up control to an outsourcing firm as too high. Others are fearful of how they'll reclaim their data or deliver services if the relationship with the outsourcer doesn't work out, or they're uncomfortable with the staff reductions sometimes associated with moving to an outsourced model. Every organization must grapple with these and other issues in the decision-making process.
For many, the primary benefit of the ERP model is the ownership and control over an organization's technology platform and data. The onsite ERP platform provides the opportunity to seamlessly integrate data from across the enterprise—HR, finance, supply chain, etc.—into a centralized, integrated system of record. Add to this the benefit of a single license, maintenance and support of one product versus multiple software solutions, and the fact that today's ERPs provide a suite of robust features and powerful data reporting capabilities, and the appeal of ERPs over an in-house multiplatform patchwork solution becomes clear.


[ Inputs from Mike Salvino and Trey Campbell of Hewitt Associates , EquaTerra , Everest Group and eValueServe ]