Sunday, October 30, 2005
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
India set to become hub for clinical trials
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| India set to become hub for clinical trials October 26, 2005 02:22 IST With its vast pool of patients, India is attracting the attention of clinical research organisations. Higher costs and inefficient recruitment in the US and Europe are prompting CROs to look to Asia, Latin America and East Europe for good clinical practices, the phrase used in medical parlance. Backed by well-developed IT infrastructure, CROs are betting it big on India. Against this background, the question raised by Dh Click the following to access the sent link: Rediff.com - India set to become hub for clinical trials This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/oct/26clinic.htm | | |||
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TCS, Microsoft to get 100 acres in Hyderabad state, India software SEZ
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| Close on the heels of Infosys and Wipro disclosing their plans for Hyderabad, TCS and Microsoft have evinced keen interest to expand their operations substantially in the city. While the state government has formally allotted 100 acres of land to Wipro by cancelling an IT park proposal in the post-bid stage at Vattinagulapally a week ago, the location for Infosys has been finalised at the newly-proposed 1,500-acre software SEZ near the new international airport. According to official sources, TCS officials have sought at least 100 acres for expansion plans of the company in Hyderabad. "TCS will be allotted 100 acres in the proposed SEZ as the company has responded positively to the proposed location," a senior government official told Business Standard. According to the official, Microsoft's local representatives are in touch with the state IT department. Microsoft's top brass would visit the site before the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, which owns the land, goes ahead with the arrangements. Microsoft is also expected to get 100 acres in the software SEZ. At present, both Microsoft and TCS have their campuses at Hitec City and employ about 1,000 and 3,600 IT professionals respectively. Meanwhile, the government is making arrangements to allot about 300 acres in the SEZ site to Infosys as sought by its chairman and chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy during his recent visit to Hyderabad. "Infosys officials have approved the location identified by the government after visiting the site," an APIIC official said. According to the plan, part of the software SEZ will be developed by these software companies either by themselves or in association with private developers. Another 250-acre area, which is slightly away from the 1,250-acre, is expected to be handed over to a private developer. Officials feel that the presence of companies like Infosys, TCS and Microsoft will help speed up the SEZ development. Click the following to access the sent link: Rediff.com - TCS, Microsoft to get 100 acres in Hyderabad state, India software SEZ This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/oct/26tcs.htm | | |||
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Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Meet the new India-bound NRI
Meet the new India-bound NRI
ATLANTA DIARY | Meeta Chaitanya
October 25, 2005
When Mohan Bhargava in last year's critically acclaimed Ashutosh Gowarikar film Swades comes back and stays for good in his village in India, Indians, most Indians, especially those residing overseas lauded the victory of the spirit of patriotism and its overt manifestation in this manner.
It wasn't a contribution of time, money or effort made by well-off Indians abroad to the community back home that won the day; instead it was a physical, geographical relocation in order to benefit one's country that had the thinking man do a rethink.
Does it really happen?
In its pristinely inspirational form, maybe not - but Indians returning to India, in search of better, yes better jobs and fuller lives is hardly an anomaly these days. India may still live in villages, (and that's not even a primer to the grim reality in the remotest of colonies), but it has become simultaneously, a veritable option for those wanting to revisit the urban habitat.
Even for those of us who have the advantage of annual back-to-base holidays off work, places as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, even Jaipur, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh etc to name a select few, have become rapidly transforming entities that are growing as viable economic, social, residential and commercial hubs.
To cite an example of this trend of relocation that has gripped the imagination of a lot of Indians in this area alone, one needs only to look at the increase in the number of L-1 transferees voluntarily going back to their parent companies in Gurgaon, Noida, Chennai, etc. While some sort of parity in terms of salary, benefits and growth remain major concerns even as a family relocates to India, the very fact of relocation is scarcely regretted.
Even as the US makes steady efforts to increase the number of H1-B visas for technical workers and other specialised personnel from 65,000 visas annually to 95,000, the reverse trend of well-settled Indians exploring, and happily accepting similar opportunities in India has been in motion and is gradually being accepted as a looming possibility.
This movement, which is yet to be an exodus across industries, is seen primarily in the IT sector - and not without reason. With India as home to new endeavours in this industry such as the setting up of Microsoft Research India Lab, Scientia, a facility for research in computer systems and software engineering among other such instances, the IT community abroad is optimistic of options back home. MS is reportedly to increase its headcount in India manifold in the near future.
Another development that is seen as a positive thrust for opportunity is the much-touted forthcoming acquisition of the life and pension businesses of the UK-based Pearl Group by TCS. According to published reports, TCS' UK subsidiary is set to absorb most of Pearl's current employees as also focus on business process outsourcing for its insurance policies. Headcount at Intel's Bangalore facility is reportedly set to increase by year-end.
Similarly iGATE Global Solutions, another growing tech operations company operating out of its headquarters in Hyderabad is reportedly ready to double its employee strength at its development centre at Banjara Hills over the next couple of years.
Whether or not software professionals relocating to India may gain directly by such expansion, acquisitions and mergers, the indirect and voluminous growth in the sector per se is reason enough for hope. That, and the availability of an equivalent quality of living such as NRI cities, top of the line facilities and services, superlative education and employment opportunities for spouses and children, recreational avenues and products being available, even if they come at a dear cost.
The returning Indian from Atlanta may not be the Mohan Bhargava of an idyllic marquee, but the very fact that his return to India is made possible because India can give him almost all and any that he can buy abroad with the added scope for useful contribution, makes this more than an achromatic milestone.
Inductis Ready for Bigger Challenges: Moves India Delivery Center to a Larger Facility
NEW DELHI, India, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Inductis, a US based
professional services firm offering Management Consulting and Analytics
Services to a host of Fortune 500 clients, has moved its India Delivery Center
to a larger facility within Gurgaon in keeping with its growth plans.
"I see a lot of potential in the markets we operate in, particularly in
the Analytics Services space. Our Global Delivery Model offers us a
substantial competitive advantage and the India Delivery center is an integral
part of this model. The new, larger facility will enable us to pursue our
aggressive growth plans more confidently," said Sandeep Tyagi, Founder and
Managing Principal of Inductis.
Inductis' India based subsidiary -- Inductis India (Pvt) Ltd., has grown
from a 25 people team in January 2004 to nearly 90 today. Inductis hires
people from top-tier institutes in India trains them for Analytics Services
and Management Consulting positions to work on global client projects.
Inductis anticipates a 100% growth in its workforce within next one year,
mainly attributed to its Analytics Services team expansion. Its new 20,000 sq
ft facility with a capacity of 225 workstations is expected to be fully
occupied by June 2007.
"We are committed to deliver world-class analytics solutions to our
Fortune 500 clients. We recruit at India's best campuses to build a team of
top-notch analytics professionals. It was time we added capacity to meet the
growing needs of our clients," said Lalit Wangikar, VP-India Consulting Staff,
inaugurating the new facility.
The new facility offers a combination of team-rooms along with open
work-area to offer flexibility to the operating teams of various sizes. It is
equipped with state-of-the art security features such as bio-metric access
control system enabling higher security for Inductis' server resources and
confidential client information.
Inductis is the winner of the best performance award in "predictive
accuracy" in KDD (Knowledge and Data Discovery) Cup 2004 and was a finalist in
the DM Review 2005 World Class Solution Awards in 'Data Acquisition and
Integration' category.
Inductis is a global professional services firm that helps large companies
leverage strategy, analytics and technology to make better decisions. Inductis
was founded in June 2000 by an experienced team of finance, technology,
marketing and operations professionals with years of consulting, data analysis
and outsourcing experience. We serve some of the largest (Fortune 500) and
most sophisticated companies in the world across a range of industries,
including financial services (credit cards, retail lending and asset
management), information bureau, insurance, entertainment, and travel. Our
established onshore-offshore delivery model and dedicated staff across two
continents allows significant cost-benefit and flexibility to our clients. We
focus on value creation through our two practice areas: Management Consulting
and Analytics Services.
Sol likes offshore options (http://theaustralian.com.au report)
But he warned that the decline of Telstra's fixed-line business continued to accelerate: "The biggest issue facing us today is that we have a very leaky bucket associated with our fixed-line revenues." Revenue from Telstra's fixed-line business declined 1.9 per cent in the first half of 2004-05 and then by 5 per cent in the second half. "And this decline is accelerating," he said. Telstra is also expected to announce as early as today that its New Zealand subsidiary Telstra Clear will not invest in a 3G mobile network. It had plans to spend $300 million on a network in Auckland.
New Obstacles Dogging Outsourcing Customers
Elite has sent you a story from Computerworld.com,
and would like you to read it!
_______________________________________________________________________
Outsourcing deals in IT have long been marred by poor communications between buyers and suppliers, along with failures by customers to adequately manage the relationship and measure performance.
At the OutsourceWorld conference here last week, users and analysts said outsourcing customers are now facing new challenges, including regulatory requirements and shortages of experienced outsourcing relationship and contract managers.
Joann Martin, vice president and director of solutions marketing at Pitney Bowes Inc. in Stamford, Conn., listed compliance with foreign and domestic regulations as a significant challenge for both outsourcing customers and providers...............
NEW OBSTACLES DOGGING OUTSOURCING CUSTOMERS
Users and experts at OutsourceWorld in New York said new challenges have emerged for customers that are outsourcing parts of IT operations, in some cases forcing a premature halt to contracts.
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/outsourcing/story/0,10801,105633,00.html
Click on the link or copy and paste it into your browser
to view the story forwarded to you from Computerworld.com.
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THE COMPUTERWORLD STORE: REPORTS, WHITE PAPERS AND MORE
Visit the Computerworld Store online, where you can get clear,
comprehensive reports on Security, Storage, ROI and more.
Find the information you need to get your job done.
New reports are added regularly.
https://store.computerworld.com
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Discussion forums: http://cwforums.computerworld.com
Sunday, October 23, 2005
News@HindustanTimes.com
Shining India�s swanky new sweatshops New Delhi, October 24, 2005 Call centres housed in swanky glass towers may represent the new face of 21st-century India, but the labour practices they follow belong to the 19th century. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1527814,0008.htm Regards,
Elite. For any assistance, clarifications or feedback mail to feedback@hindustantimes.com
Article from The Hindu: Sent to you by Elite
More stork than fish? - BPO , Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) model.
When something looks too good to be true, one is generally right to be
sceptical. Much like the build-operate-transfer model in the BPO space. It
could well be a case of the pool looking inviting but yielding no rich catch.
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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/ew/2005/10/24/stories/2005102400130200.htm)
More stork than fish?
Akshaya Bhargava
When something looks too good to be true, one is generally right to be sceptical. Much like the build-operate-transfer model in the BPO space. It could well be a case of the pool looking inviting but yielding no rich catch.
I WAS recently in a meeting with a prospective BPO client who was travelling through Bangalore educating himself on what was on offer. Towards the end of the meeting, he asked me what I thought of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model.
The question was a good one as the BOT model is something that is very much in favour with a number of BPO advisory firms and on the face of it looks like a great way to minimise risk while maximising speed of implementation. Almost too good to be true! Unfortunately, as with so many of these things, if it looks too good to be true, it generally is.
The BOT model
The BOT model was made popular by the infrastructure construction industry where a vendor would build a highway or a bridge or even a power plant, would operate it for a period before handing it over to the ultimate owner (often a government agency). It allowed a specialist firm to bring best-in-class knowledge and skills in the early stages of the project and once it was up and running, it could then be taken over and run by someone else.
Two key points here - one is that the specialist firm manages the project for a period of time so as to realise a proper return on its investment and second, the ultimate owner does not really have any intellectual property or competitive advantage associated with the project (e.g. there is no real competitive advantage for the government to run a highway or a power plant)
A variant of this model has been around in the Indian BPO industry for the last 2-3 years where a BPO customer who actually wants to set up a captive but does not have the management bandwidth to do this, contracts with a BPO company.
The BPO company fits out the premises, recruits and trains the people, completes the transition of work into India and once it is running smoothly, hands over a running operation to the BPO customer, premises, people, technology and all. Well, that is how it is supposed to work, at least on paper.
The notion, as being used in the BPO industry, has several logical inconsistencies that make it very hard to implement in practice.
BOT - The supply side
As a BPO supplier, it has always been a mystery to me why other BPO companies are even willing to enter into a BOT discussion. To me, BPO is about a long-term change in the way processes are handled - it absolutely needs a long-term relationship and how can one willingly enter into a short-term arrangement for long-term change? Leaving aside concerns of the buyer for the moment, why does it really make sense for the seller?
Unfortunately, the answer lies in the approach to new business that we see from many Indian BPO companies - take what you can get. One CFO of a major BPO company told me that his company contracted BOTs on the hope that the "T" would never actually happen! This may well be the expedient solution but isn't it truly risky to enter into a structurally unsound arrangement just to get business through the door?
I do believe that basically, a BOT contract, as prevalent in the Indian BPO industry, is a fundamentally unequal commercial arrangement and therefore unsustainable. Here's why:
Structure. If what the customer really wants is your help in putting together a BPO facility, would it not be better to structure it like an advisory assignment where you (the BPO vendor) are responsible for achieving certain milestones? Why must the deal be structured with the full risk and accountability of building a "normal" business only to have that part taken away without adequate value being paid for it?
Pricing: I have yet to come across a BOT that is priced correctly. To my mind, in a BOT, a supplier does everything that he would do if the contract were a long-term relationship. Then why should he be obliged to transfer a running operation to the client at anything less than a price that includes loss of future revenue as well as value created. Sadly, I have yet to see a BOT priced at 20 times P/E or 5X of revenues!
Recruitment: When you hire for a BOT, what do you tell the employee (who, hopefully, has joined you for a long-term career)? That he will be moved to another employer, with different employment conditions and different career prospects and that he has no choice in the matter? Can you really treat real people in such a cavalier fashion and expect them to stay loyal to you? Have you not heard of the high attrition in the BPO industry and if you have, do you really believe this is the way to deal with it?
BOT - The demand side
From the demand side, I have always wondered how client organisations resolve the conceptual dichotomy of wanting to control a certain operation (i.e. run it in an owned entity) and then outsourcing it for 12-36 months (under the BOT phase).
I mean, if you can have someone else run your processes for so long, do you really need to insource it after that? If you haven't controlled a process for two years and have not had a problem, what value will be added by taking it back?
The example of a large international company who did a large BOT with two Indian BPO firms is often quoted. I have also heard that it is a three-year deal - again, I completely fail to understand the logic for this company to insource and run a process after three years of not controlling it.
(I have also heard of six-month BOTs in the market. A customer who wants a six-month BOT really wants a recruitment firm, a premises firm, an HR consultant and a project manager to keep them all in line. Well, why don't they get themselves just that? Any number of top-notch consulting firms will do it for them. In my opinion, calling a spade a spade is always better.)
The fact is that very few people on the buyer side have fully thought through the logic of a BOT. It sounds nice, so let's do it. Consultants recommend it, so it can't be that bad, can it? We have been asked to do a captive, we don't have the management ability to do it - let's get someone else to do it for us for as little as possible.
No one seems to care about the fact that a BOT is a non-answer to a long-term problem that people are seeking to resolve with short-term solutions.
Never mind that it makes no sense for either side. It is expedient and it gets me a bonus on this year's performance, so who cares?
From the demand side, a BOT simply postpones most of the problems. Unfortunately, in these days of the tyranny of quarterly earnings, expediency does have its attractions.
While we debate all this, I suspect we will continue to see more BOT deals.
I can only hope that we will also see the need to take the time and effort necessary to ensure that one (or both) of the parties are not getting into something that is not sustainable.
What will hurt the industry is if these deals start unwinding. This will certainly impact individual companies but it will also do no favours to Indian BPO.
As an industry, we need to make sure that when faced with BOT requests, the right red flags go up and the right questions are asked. That is the only way we will fulfil our long-term responsibility towards our customers.
The author is MD and CEO of Progeon.
Copyright: 1995 - 2005 The Hindu
Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly
prohibited without the consent of The Hindu
Friday, October 21, 2005
News@HindustanTimes.com
Regards,
Elite. For any assistance, clarifications or feedback mail to feedback@hindustantimes.com
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Reader forwarded you this link for your consideration
ronweb@gmail.com, was reading the following story and forwarded you this link:
Link:
http://java.sys-con.com/read/141528.htm
Title:
India's i-Technology Triangle: Will India Fail?
Thanks for your submission. The editorial board of JDJ has been notified, and their decision will be sent you within 2-3 weeks maximum, probably a great deal sooner!
Editorial Department
SYS-CON Media
India rides outsourcing boom to capture legal work from abroad
NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (AFP): India's growing pool of lawyers are being tapped to provide paralegal services for customers from the United States as the next frontier in the country's booming outsourcing sector, executives say.
Companies in India are offering trained lawyers using legal databases such as Westlaw and Lexis/Nexis to provide law firms in the United States with low-cost research, writing and analysis in a move to capture a market worth billions of dollars.
"We did a survey of corporate houses in the US in which 86 per cent identified the high cost of legal services as their number one cost worry," said Sanjay Kamlani, co-founder of the legal outsourcing firm Pangea3 LLC.
"Add to that there are one million lawyers in India and 70,000 graduating from law schools every year. We realised that we had an enormous, enormous business opportunity," he said.
The National Association of Software and Service Companies, an Indian lobby group, said in July that outsourcing firms had barely scratched the potential of the estimated 250 billion dollar legal services market. It estimates Indian firms now get 60 to 80 million dollars worth of outsourced legal business annually.
India earned 6.7 billion dollars in the year ended March 2005 in outsourcing services such as software and call centres in an industry that employs almost 350,000 people as the country taps a large pool of English-speaking professionals.
The work has expanded in the past five years into almost all fields from computer-aided design to medical consulting and fashion to provide jobs for a one-billion plus population, more than half of whom are under 25 years old.
Much of the advantage is based on labor costs, with Indian firms reportedly paying legal researchers about 12,000 dollars a year, or a third of their US counterparts.
The distinction is deemed important as clients may not be happy to know that the firm they retain does not do their work.
Research firm Forrester Inc has estimated that at least 12,000 legal jobs had been outsourced from the United States to offshore locations up to 2004.
The number of outsourced jobs to low-cost countries such as India will grow to 35,000 by 2010 and will reach 79,000 by 2015, Forrester predicted.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Read this story
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Elite spent some time at our website and has sent you this story link
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=105634
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Friday, October 07, 2005
Someone has sent you a story from MySanAntonio.com
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Thursday, October 06, 2005
[Patent Baristas] Recommendation: Outsourcing Legal Work (to the Midwest)
ronweb@gmail.com has sent you a link!
Legal Process Outsourcing
Title: Outsourcing Legal Work (to the Midwest)
Link: http://www.patentbaristas.com/archives/000249.php
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Monday, October 03, 2005
Financial services dominate BPO segment
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Article Title: Financial services dominate BPO segment
Article URL: http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2005/105100108.asp
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Bad hiring practices leading to BPO attrition: Study
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