UK firms to drive offshore outsourcing boom
Silicon.comDemand for offshore outsourcing services among UK and European companies is set to increase by 50 per cent per year over the next two years, according to Gartner. Globally the analyst predicts the number of organisations doing offshore outsourcing will increase from 13 per cent to 20 per cent over the same period. In the next decade China will move from manufacturing to services. But being able to speak English is one thing. Being able to think it is another.
Ian Marriott, research VP at Gartner, said: "We are seeing increasing uptake in offshore services in the UK and Europe both with traditional providers and Indian providers. It's not an add-on anymore. Deploy those resources wherever they can be found." India remains the first choice of offshore destination for European countries and China also features as a potential top three choice, although it is still hampered by a lack of English language skills and a focus on the US. more...
Wanna be a software testing expert?
Economic TimesSoftware Testing, also referred to as software quality assurance, has come up as a rewarding career in the computing industry. Companies need people to write software programmes, also called applications, but they also need professionals to discover defects in these applications, before the customer does. And it's here that the need for software testers is felt. While simply defining software testing, Sunil Bellara, Associate Director, Recruitment and Staffing, Capgemini , said: “It’s a process used to identify the correctness , completeness and quality of developed computer software. Testing involves operation of a system or application under controlled conditions and evaluating the results.” Pankaj Agarwal, CEO, Sopra Group, India, added, “There are many approaches to software testing, but effective testing of complex products is essentially a process of investigation , not merely a matter of creating and following rote procedure.” more...
TCS bags $500m Citi deal
RediffTata Consultancy Services has bagged $500 million outsourcing deal from global financial services giant Citigroup Inc. It is an application, maintenance and development contract, based on a 'take-or-pay-order' system. TCS officials confirmed the deal and its size but declined to spell out the client's name. "It's not our policy to divulge the client-specific information," they added. Industry sources said the order came from Citigroup's consumer division and TCS was expected to start the work in the first quarter of this financial year. more...
Why India Succeeds
Line56.comAs far as I know, Line56 is the only news outlet on the Internet or in the world of print that regularly presents both sides of the offshore outsourcing debate. We often speak to foreign vendors, as well as to U.S.-based vendors who are adding service capacity abroad. We acknowledge the cost benefits of IT and business process outsourcing (BPO), but we also feel obliged to point out some of the cant around these processes -- for example, Dell's repeated claims that they hire Indian call center agents because they are better than American agents, or industry claims that there are not sufficient number of educated Americans to pick up the IT slack. We have never advocated the rollback of offshore, just an open discussion of what offshore trends, taken to their logical conclusion, would mean in a global context. Right now, there's anything but an open discussion. more...
Is GM pushing offshore outsourcing?
Autoserviceworld.comAccording to reports in a Detroit newspaper, some of U.S. auto giant General Motors Company's parts suppliers, are being sent a very clear, if not explicit message: outsource to cheap labour nations, or lose the business altogether.After an internal investigation by GM, it was learned that a single employee sent out the policy in question and had suggested that suppliers find parts form a list of countries such as China and Namibia.GM global purchasing chief Bo Andersson immediately released a statement to all employees suggesting that the automaker should not "direct suppliers where to source" parts. In his comments he wrote: "GM's suppliers must determine how to compete in this hyper-competitive market."However, after GM lost some 10 billion dollars last year, some auto parts manufactures say the message is still clear; outsource or else.Despite the controversy over the issue, GM maintains that it purchases 99 per cent of its parts from North American sources. However, that stated number includes parts that are only assembled on this continent, even if the vast majority of their components are imported from low-cost countries. more...
BPOs help staff cope with stress
Economic TimesBlame the nature of the job, deadline pressure or customer expectations. BPO jobs undoubtedly involve high stress. Prashant Chawla, COO, Integreon, a Mumbai-based KPO, says that there are three types of stress an employee may experience — tight deadlines, repetitive nature of the job and late night shifts. Aashu Calappa, VP-HR, ICICI OneSource, says, “Everything gets measured and this puts employees under pressure.” Companies are now making efforts to help their employees cope with stress because it is an occupational hazard. For example, night shifts are rotated on a regular basis. However, deadlines can’t be controlled. more...
