Business,Technology & Gadget News

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2011-04-15T02:30:00.000-07:00

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Ward-off the Relentless Finance Despair with Commercial Remortgage

2009-12-13T22:36:00.000-08:00

More often than not it happens that a business suffers from a sudden deficit of funds. The deficit can occur for many a reason, but it can be met with only one resource – money. That one resource becomes hard to find and the world seems to turn its back on you. However, relief is not impossible to find. Commercial remortgage can emerge as a knight in shining armor to aid your finance dearth. Opting for this remortgage can actually ward-off even the most relentless financial despair.

We are all humans, and to err is human. You might have led astray in your business’ journey towards success, or may have been cheated by an urchin whom you had entrusted with monetary responsibilities.

There is a way out from this turmoil. The rescuer is called commercial remortgage which can emerge as a knight in shining armor to aid your finance dearth. Opting for this remortgage can actually ward-off even the most relentless financial despair.
When you are at outs with your business associates, you are sure to feel out of the game but you have to regain the lost confidence and win back your position as a prominent name in the business world. You should take it as an object lesson and do all that it takes to come back to a new lease of life.

Commercial remortgage acts as a purveyor of fund in times of voracious finance paucity. By freeing the accumulated equity in your previously mortgaged commercial property, it can ease the heavy going tumult. You will be able to use the same commercial property or business asset as collateral again and obtain a lower rate of interest.

Reconnect your ideas, vision, innovation, confidence, hard work and repertoire with the headspring of finances through this remortgage. Getting hold of funds by obtaining for this is even easier these days since a lot of online financial institutes have emerged to provide you with the money you so need with just a few click of the mouse.

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10 quick and hands down ways to precipitateness up your computer!

2009-11-03T04:25:00.000-08:00

Many people are interested in making the most of their hardware. So here are 10 clean tips on how to command your Windows XP computer run faster without having to purchase additional hardware.
1. Defrag Disk to Facilitate Up Access to Facts
One of the factors that crawling the exhibit of the computer is disk fragmentation. When files are fragmented, the computer should search the hard disk when the file is opened to share it break weighing down on together. To zip up the feedback time, you should monthly run Disk Defragmenter, a Windows utility that defrags and consolidates fragmented files on quicker computer response.
* Copy Start > All Programs > Accessories > Scheme Tools > Disk Defragmenter* Click the drives you lack to defrag and click Analyze* Click Defragment
2. Detect and Set right Disk Errors
Over era, your enigmatic disk develops bad sectors. Corrupt sectors out of it down hard disk dispatch and on occasion assertive data novel contrary or calm impossible. To peeper and repair disk errors, Windows has a built-in tool called the Slip Checking utility. It’ll search the callous disk as a remedy for bad sectors and combination errors and repair them for faster performance.
* Follow Start > My Computer* In My Computer right-click the hard disk you have a yen for to scan and click Properties* Click the Tools tab* Click Authenticate Minute* Select the Scan for and attempt recovery of hurtful sectors inspect box* Click Start
3. Disable Indexing Services
Indexing Services is a little practice that uses a great deal b much of CPU. Before indexing and updating lists of all the files on the computer, it helps you to do a search in the service of something faster as it scans the clue list. But if you know where your files are, you can disable this system service. It won’t do any abuse to you shape, whether you search over or not utter often.
* Repair to Start* Click Settings* Click Sway Panel* Double-click Add/Remove Programs* Click the Add/Remove Window Components* Uncheck the Indexing services* Click Next
4. Optimize Unfurl Settings
Windows XP is a looker. But it costs you system resources that are toughened to ceremony all the visual items and effects. Windows looks prime if you disable most of the settings and resign from the following:
* Prove shadows underneath menus* Show shadows below mouse stick* Expo translucent picking rectangle* Capitalize on dash shadows in place of icons labels on the desktop* Eat visual styles on windows and buttons
6. Disable About Counters
Windows XP has a playing crt utility which monitors a sprinkling areas of your PC’s performance. These utilities assess as up procedure resources so disabling is a attractive thorough idea.
* Download and install the Extensible Show Counter Schedule (http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/exctrlst-o.asp)* Then best each counter in turn in the ‘Extensible performance counters’ window and clear the ‘conduct counters enabled’ checkbox at the truly button underneath
7. Optimize Your Pagefile
You can optimize your pagefile. Setting a definite estimate to your pagefile saves the operating pattern from the lack to resize the pagefile.
* Truthful click on My Computer and best Properties* Choose the Advanced loop* Under Dispatch settle upon the Settings button* Opt for the Advanced tab again and under Virtual Memory exceptional Convert
* Highlight the conduct containing your page organize and make the incipient Size of the send in the unchanged as the Pinnacle Magnitude of the file.
8. Rub out Fonts in place of Speed
Fonts, principally TrueType fonts, resort to somewhat a bit of routine resources. For optimal exhibition, dapper your fonts down to unbiased those that you necessity to advantage on a daily basis and fonts that applications may require.
* Uncover Control Panel* Clear Fonts folder* Trick fonts you don’t need to a temporary directory (e.g. C:\FONTBKUP?) good in cause you essential or deficiency to bring on a not many of them back. The more fonts you uninstall, the more combination resources you wishes gain.
9. Bring into play a Dazzling Memory to Shoe Playing
To improve dispatch, you constraint to fix in place additional SLAM memory. It’ll let you boot your OS much quicker and run divers applications and access facts quicker. There is no easiest and more technically courtly cave in to do it than from eBoostr (http://www.eboostr.com).
eBoostr is a scarcely program that lets you overhaul a performance of any computer, powered by Windows XP in much the same temperament as Vista’s ReadyBoost. With eBoostr, if you acquire a glint go, such as a USB ray thumb drive or an SD be forthright, you can consume it to make your computer stand for better. Simply promote in a ray make during a USB socket and Windows XP inclination shoot up eBoostr to utilize the suggestion tribute to get better performance.
The effect shows the upper crust results inasmuch as time acclimatized applications and data, which becomes a great feature on people who are using office programs, graphics applications or developer tools. It’ll doubtlessly appeal to a special distinction of laptop owners as laptop upgrade is large more confused and laptop impecunious drives are during acutance slower than those of desktops.
10. Carry on a Boot Defragment
There’s a candid started to alacrity up XP startup: fashion your modus operandi do a boot defragment, which will send all the boot files next to unified another on your intricate disk. When boot files are in close vicinity to joined another, your system will start faster.
On most systems, boot defragment should be enabled during default, but it potency not be on yours, or it might be subjected to been changed inadvertently. To draw up sure that boot defragment is enabled:
* Put on some speed the Registry Reviser* Continue without to HKEY_NEARBY_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction* Set the Authorize keep on tenterhooks value to Y if it is not already back to Y.* Departure the Registry* Reboot

MTSS - Fast Computer Repair

2009-10-09T02:14:00.000-07:00

Tip # 1: Reformat
Reformatting or repairing the operating system is the most common fast computer repair. Some would consider reformatting as to slow because first you need to back up all the files and to wait for the reformatting process once you have started it. But to others, this is the easiest solution to the problem. Reformatting your computer will guarantee you that your system will now be functioning without any problem. Reformatting takes time but if you are literate in doing the process then you might be faster in doing this than the others.

Tip # 2: Use an Antivirus program
Some corrupted computers that won’t function correctly is because of the series of viruses there is in the system. One fast computer repair for this problem is to have a reliable Antivirus software scan the whole system for malwares. In this way, your computer might have the chance to be functioning again in good shape. This is worth the try because there are good antivirus softwares in the Internet that can be downloaded for free.

Tip # 3: Find a program that can restore your system
Restoring your system to a state when it was still functioning perfectly can do the trick. Your computer has a system restore that can do this process but you can also look up in the Internet for a more effective solution. There are now programs in the Internet that can help you restore or repair your corrupted operating system and this can be effective. But some requires membership and maybe money.
Repairing the computer is not an easy job unless you are very literate and you know your own way around the digital world. But if you’re not quite sure of what you’re doing then it’s best that you let an expert or a professional do the work so as to avoid further damages with your computer. But take in some of the tips listed above because, somehow, those listed are the safest possible ways on fast computer repair. Good luck!

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Japanese Finance Minister on the Country's Economy

2009-10-07T04:21:00.001-07:00

Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii spoke Tuesday with Wall Street Journal reporter Alison Tudor at the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo. Read excerpts from the interview.
On the Japanese economy:
"I'm not sure if the numbers are going to get worse but up until now we had an export-led economy. In the month of August exports had a 36% decline. I think the economic situation is reflecting the fact that we were heavily dependent on exports, so we believe we have to steer our economy into a domestic demand-led economy, so we are now working on a major economic policy shift.
"I think this policy change has only become possible with the change of government. In the past it was very difficult because it meant a major policy change to change this export-led economic management."
* * *
On U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner:
"The other day I met with [Timothy] Geithner, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, and I told him about our intended policy change and he said this policy direction matches well the course that American economic policy is pursuing, and indeed that world economic policy is pursuing.
"As you know, in the U.S., Geithner is trying to revert the U.S. economy into a savings-led economy, and he wants to see a strengthened dollar."
* * *
On structural changes:
"By fiscal means, we would like to implement the reallocation of resources to as many people as possible directly.
"We shouldn't be overly dependent on export growth. Recently 60% of Japanese GDP growth came from exports. That is quite abnormal, and something we have to correct.
"However, I'm not saying that exports altogether are wrong. Japan has an outstanding state-of-the-art technology. So through our state-of-the-art technology we can make a contribution to the international community."
* * *
On currency intervention:
"I for one do not believe that authorities should intervene in foreign-exchange markets in an excessive way. However, if forex market movements are outrageously reckless, or acting without any order, then I think some kind of measures are needed and I think that is the way it always is all over the world regarding foreign exchange policies."
* * *
On the yen:
"Looking at the current situation, I don't regard it as being extremely abnormal."
* * *
On the U.S. dollar:
"Looking at the economic competence and the economic prowess of the countries of the world, I see the United States by far exceeding other countries in terms of economic capability. I think currency is something that reflects the real economic prowess of any given country and therefore I have no doubt whatsoever that for the time being the key currency will be the U.S. dollar.
"The current situation stems from the fact that the dollar is weakened. The reason is that the U.S. is sticking to the consistent policy of low-interest rates. I respect the consistency of policy.
* * *
On China's advantages from a weakened dollar, because its currency is tied to the dollar and a weaker currency makes its exports attractive:
"This issue is not an issue of China alone. The U.S. dollar is involved. So saying something strong to China alone would not resolve the situation. This should be dealt with as part of the international currency problem."

Tips on Joining Gun Collectors' Association

2009-10-06T01:25:00.000-07:00

A gun collector's association is a group of people interested in gun collection and preservation and having an ownership of gun. A guncollector's association may hold meetings where its members come together to discuss gun legislation, special collectors items and other relevant issues. A gun association may also put out a newsletter or publication to inform members of news, historical information and opportunities only available through the associations.
Interested people who want to join an association of gun can be helped by following steps to join an association of guns.

Step-1 Apply for a gun association membership. A gun collector's association application will ask for contact information and detailsabout your collection. The association may also inquire about special skills or benefits you can offer as a member.

Step-2 Pay your initial membership fees and yearly dues to take advantage of association's offer. Get a receipt for your transaction.

Step-3 You should join the state's gun collector's association. A state gun collector's association may host local gun shows and othernearby events for members to travel to and enjoy.

Step-4 If you have a unique gun collection, there are gun collector's associations dedicated to foreign, replica and antique guns. You canjoin these association.

So these were some of advice to join a gun collecting association.

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Outsourcing: The Norsemen Are Coming

2009-10-03T02:31:00.000-07:00

With high cost structures during a recession, many Nordic countries are looking towards India to help them cut those costs by almost 30-40%. Some of the biggest banks in the Nordic region, NORDEA AB, Svenska Handelsbanken and SEB are looking at outsourcing technology to India.
According to a senior official of an offshore advisory firm, QuantumStep, Nordic companies studied many successful offshoring case studies like Ericsson and Ikea before considering India. Nordic countries prefer to start off with small contracts in the region of $10-20 million, but are expected to sign larger ones only after looking at the benefits of the earlier contracts. Belgium, another potentially huge market for service providers, is also signing contracts to the tune of almost $30-40 million and more, said the official from QuantumStep.

EquaTerra, an outsourcing advisory firm, in a study involving 370 contracts, signed by over 200 Nordic customers and worth around $4.3 billion, found that Indian service providers were better than their European counterparts such as TietoEnator and Capgemini when it came to quality of services offered. EquaTerra said in a recent report that there’s no doubt that India leads the pack when it comes to providing services for the Nordic firms with at least 61% of firms using India for all or at least some of their outsourcing needs.

Unlike other European markets, such as Germany, where labor laws make it difficult for service providers, Nordic countries are more flexible and this is what makes it more viable for India. Major Indian IT companies are looking at outsourcing contracts to the tune of $100 million each, in the coming years.

When Handelsbanken was looking at offshoring, it shortlisted many firms, including European and Indian ones, before finally deciding on Indian firms. Handelsbanken had tentatively been exploring offshoring for almost a year; the recession forced them into considering it as a definite possibility. Handelsbanken are looking for suppliers to maintain their legacy mainframe systems in addition to making them work with newer business software applications.
Though one top Indian IT firm confirmed that Nordic countries are indeed looking at outsourcing to India, others declined comment.

The head of the European division of an Indian IT firm says that the overall Nordic market will not grow much this year but the demand for outsourcing is seeing a steady growth. According to him, about 100 deals which have been signed over the past six to eight months are collectively in the vicinity of € 500,000 to € 150 million with the most significant one in size and in terms of frequency being in the vicinity of € 8-20 million.
Norway is expected to show a high IT market growth in Europe this year, around 1-2% every year, while most other markets have not grown or have declined.

The Responsive Manager/Leader

2009-10-02T04:57:00.000-07:00

The Responsiveness Paradigm outlined elsewhere in this newsletter is applicable at a number of levels. For example, it applies to organizations in general, and the ability of the organization to respond to the needs of customers, staff and other stakeholders (eg. politicians, etc). It applies to non-supervisory staff, and their ability to respond to the needs of their managers, customers and co-workers. This month we are going to look at responsiveness as it applied to managers, leaders and/or supervisors. Influence Of The Responsive Manager
The responsive manager tends to succeed by building bonds of respect and trust with those around him/her. Staff respond positively to responsive managers; they work more diligently, work to help the manager and the organization succeed, and will go the extra mile when necessary. That is because responsive managers act consistent with the principle that their jobs are to help their staff do their jobs. So, a basic inter-dependence emerges based on behaviours that show concern, respect and trust.
Responsive managers also influence those above them in the hierarchy. Because responsive managers have the ability to read and act upon the needs of their "bosses", they are perceived as helpful and reliable, or in a simple way, very useful. This allows them to get the "ear" of people above them in the system, and further helps get things done when needed.
Contrast this with the limited influence of the UNresponsive manager. The unresponsive manager is restricted in influence because those around him/her do not respect or trust them to look out for their welfare. Influence is more limited to the use of power coming from the formal position, and fear, a motivational component that is hard to sustain over time. Unresponsive managers tend to be perceived as self-interested, or at best uninterested in the needs of those around them. They also tend to be perceived by those above them as less reliable and less useful due to their focus on empire building, organization protection, and self-interest, rather than getting done what needs to be done.
How Do They Do It?
Responsive managers apply a number of specific skills and abilities to the task (as outlined generally in The Responsiveness Paradigm article). Above all, they appear to be "withit". Withitness
has a number of components. First withit managers are able to put aside their concerns to listen to (and appear to listen to) those around them. As a result, they know what is going on, and know what is both said, and said between the lines. They have the knack of appearing to know what people need even if those needs are not expressed directly.
However, knowing what is going on, and identifying the needs of those around them is not sufficient. The responsive manager also acts upon that knowledge, attempting to help fulfil the needs of employees, superiors, etc. Responsive managers wield influence to solve problems for those around them, often before even being asked.
Here's an example:
I was responsible for automating an office system in a government department. As happens sometimes, the Management Information Systems people were not keen on our going our own way on the project, despite the fact that they had indicated they could not do it for us in the near future. As a result their cooperation (needed for the project) was patchy. As team leader, I faced a number of roadblocks, despite the fact that our Assistant Deputy Minister wanted to see this project come to fruition. I regularly reported back to our Director, outlining progress and roadblocks. Every time I communicated roadblocks to the Director, they were removed within a short time, despite the fact that I did not request direct action. In addition, the Director advised and counselled me on how to deal with the "systems people" so I could have maximum impact. Despite the roadblocks, the project was completed on time and was very successful, much to the chagrin of some of the systems people, who I think were hoping we would fail.
This is a simple story, but one full of meaning. In this situation the Director was able to identify the project leader's needs with respect to the project, listening carefully, and identifying actions she could take to "smooth the path". Not only was the Director able to remove obstacles and fulfil the need of the project leader, but the Director responded on a deeper level, helping to teach the Project Leader methods of becoming more effective, fulfilling yet another need. All of this was assumed to be the proper role of the Director, and was done without expressing all of the needs specifically or explicitly.
We can contrast this with the unresponsiveness of the MIS people. They lectured, they fussed, they predicted dire consequences, rather than offering consistent, responsive help. They focused not on responding to the needs of their clients, but on some other factors having to do with control, and their own needs. Eventually, their lack of responsiveness resulted in the very thing they did not want; loss of control of the project. As a result of this project their overall status in the organization suffered, simply because at both an organization and individual level they were seen as barriers, rather than useful.
Let's look at one more example.
An employee had been working for a government branch for about a year, having moved to the city as a new resident. In a casual conversation, the supervisor noted that the employee wasn't looking at his best, and asked how he was feeling. The employee explained that he hadn't been feeling well lately, and sounded very tired and overwhelmed. The supervisor determined that the staff member didn't have a local family doctor, asked if he would like the supervisor to arrange an appointment, and proceeded to do so immediately. The problem turned out to be a minor one.
In this example we see again the ideas of "withitness" and responsiveness. The supervisor was able to identify that the staff member was in need of some help, despite the fact that the staff member did not state this explicitly. Note that the supervisor didn't pressure the staff member to go to the doctor, but identified needs, checked them out, and then acted upon them. In this case, help consisted of direct, helpful action.
Conclusion

These two examples are the stuff of loyalty and commitment. They are remembered years and years after the fact, and continue to extend the influence of managers. In this sense responsiveness is a critical component of management success, because it allows managers and supervisors to get things done, for the benefit of all players.
In the limited space we have, we have attempted to give you a feel of what responsiveness means. You might want to extend your own understanding by considering some of the following questions.
1. If you are a manager or supervisor, how can you modify your own behaviours so that you become and are perceived as more responsive by a) your staff, b) your boss and c) your customers?
2. Again, if you are a manager or supervisor what is your definition of the "responsive employee"? Can you identify your "favourite employees", and consider how they are responsive to you? Our bet is you will find that your most valued employees are responsive.
3. If you are non-management, what would you need to do to be perceived as more responsive by the people

BPO staff may soon work from home too

2009-09-30T04:50:00.000-07:00

A year after the department of telecommunications conditionally relaxed rules on IT-BPO employees working from home, Raman Roy, chairman & managing director of Quatrro BPO Solutions, has started pilot projects in Mumbai and Delhi to explore the possibility of scaling up the model.
Quattro is the first BPO to have secured permission for this model from DoT. "This is a provisional permission. Once the company is able to meet all our security concerns, we will grant them a license," confirmed a senior DoT official on condition of anonymity.
The license is a prerequisite for service providers to provide infrastructure and last-mile connectivity.
The $11-billion BPO sector employs over 750,000 people, and 'working from home' could add significantly to the employment numbers, said Roy. He added that he has been 'toying with the idea for nearly two years before I got help from software body Nasscom and the required permission from the DoT.'
Roy plans to launch another pilot in Chennai soon. He has also appointed a dedicated team of six senior employees -- including a lawyer and a technician -- to make these pilots successful.
"We feel this is the next-generation step for the industry. It will create jobs for people who are educated but don't have the flexibility to go to offices. Besides opening a career option for them, it will create a flexible workforce. So, housewives and others can work from home, will have flexible work timings and also earn money," said Roy.
Currently, the 30-odd employees who work from home have a computer that is connected to the company's server (using virtual private network or VPN technology). Whenever an employee logs on to the computer, the data on the screen is monitored by a supervisor sitting at the Quatrro headquarters in Gurgaon.
The supervisor sits in front of four large Plasma screens and can see each of the employees' monitors. If he wants to speak to anyone of them, or clarify any of their doubts, he accesses the webcam.
Currently, these employees are involved only in non-voice work which comprises both low-end data entry work and in some cases high-end data analytics, Roy said.
The main hurdle in this case is ensuring that a client's data is secure. "The test is all about security. So, the solution is that when the employee logs onto our server, the supervisor will be able to see him and his activities. The plasma screens ensure constant monitoring and guidance. The VPN pipe takes care of security," Roy said.
Usually there are 8 to 15 supervisors in one shift but for this virtual model one supervisor will be able to supervise 16 or 32 sessions at one go.
If the pilots are successful, Quatrro plans to expand this concept and train people by sending supervisors to tier-II and III cities and towns where it will set up training centres.
Roy said he has already spoken to some schools and received a favourable response from the principals. Quatrro will set up a computer lab with around 10 computers in schools that will be used by the schools in the morning and for training BPO 'work- from-home' aspirants in the evenings.
Going forward, employees who are selected for the work-from-home programme will be provided with computers in their homes for which Quatrro will stand guarantee with banks.
The company will deduct the monthly installment from the employee's salary.The salary structure for such employees, said Roy, will mainly be variable as the fixed salary structure will not work here. "We plan to make the pay structure transaction-based.
The higher the number of transactions, more the pay," he explained.
Another company that is experimenting with this concept is Aspect Software. "The home agent is the new wave of offshoring and is not intra-continent but intra-country. The processes demands what percentage of people can be home-based," explains Rajeev Soni, Managing Director, Aspect Software.
The company has experimented with this concept with Sparsh BPO and its own BPO for both voice- and non-voice work. However, it is yet to get a licence from the DoT to roll out the services on a commercial scale.
Soni explained that by using Microsoft's Unified Communications in the work-from-home concept, the follow-up calls went down from 18 to 20 per cent to 8 to 9 per cent, thereby reducing costs.
Analysts, however, remain sceptical about arrangements related to working from home on the ground of- data security, infrastructure, data processes, employee motivation and monitoring problems and lack of a controlled environment.
"Independent work can be done in a work-from-home arrangement but group work requires a controlled environment. Models like these work only when data masking is possible," says Sabyasachi Satpathy, partner at advisory firm Tholons.
Moreover, processing needs to be scrutinised and a faster turnaround can't take place in such models, said analysts. Few companies are interested in the work-from-home policy as infrastructure is another problem and the work will have to be verified.
"We understand and appreciate these concerns," countered Roy, adding: "After all, I have been there and seen this industry grow to its present size. But I believe that we will make this concept work."

Infy scouting for BPO firm in Canada

2009-09-29T02:05:00.000-07:00

Infosys BPO Building

Infosys BPO Ltd, the business process outsourcing operation of Infosys Technologies, is looking at raising its headcount in the Americas through inorganic growth. The company is understood to be scouting for a strategic acquisition in the $40-60 million range either in Canada or the US, according to industry sources.

"Infosys is looking at acquiring a small or mid-sized company, specialised in providing mortgage or insurance BPO services to grow faster in Canada.
This will help speed up verticalisation efforts currently on at Infosys BPO. The mortgage sector in Canada has seen a number of promising start-ups, as well as established mid-sized companies coming up over the years.

Infosys BPO is looking at further growth in the key mortgage and insurance verticals in Canada, where a strategic acquisition will boost the scope for higher knowledge work, like financial research and analytics," sources said.
The BPO arm has a stated focus on transaction-based processing work, particularly in the finance & accounting software space. Mortgage solutions have emerged as a key vertical for the BPO operations.

An Infosys BPO spokesperson declined to comment on any acquisition plans or time-frame for the deal. The company is presently in its self-imposed silent period as a run-up to announcing its first quarter financial results on July 10.

Infosys has said that it will increase its hiring in overseas markets, including the US and Canada. In the current fiscal, the company plans to hire about 1,000 people in overseas locations, including the US, which is more than double that of last year's figure.
The company is not keen on making acquisitions in India, as it is capable of growing organically quite fast in the country. Chief Executive Officer S Gopalakrishnan had said at the company's annual general meeting in Bangalore on June 21 that Infosys saw a requirement for acquisitions more outside India, where it faced challenges in adding employees.

To tackle pricing pressures from clients in the US and Canada, Infosys Technologies has been increasing its focus on new engagement models, such as platform-based BPO services, Software-as-a-Service and Finacle to maximise the value delivered to its clients. The BPO business of Infosys posted gross revenues of $316.2 million (Rs 1,520 crore) in the fiscal year to March 31, 2009 and employed 17,398 people at the end of the fiscal. The BPO arm is presently recruiting from smaller towns like Mangalore and Mysore, as part of its focus on the domestic market and to capitalise on lower rentals and employee costs. It is also looking at tying up with rural BPO outfits to save on real estate costs. The company had last month set up a dedicated domestic market arm, with an eye on the $1.6-billion domestic BPO market.
Infosys Technologies, which had cash reserves of Rs 9,695 crore (Rs 96.95 billion) as on March 31, had made two successful acquisitions during its nearly three decades of existence. Earlier acquisitions were that of Australian firm Expert Information Technologies for close to $23 million in 2003, and the buyout of Philips' global BPO operations in 2007.

Best BPO Companies in India

2009-09-25T02:47:00.000-07:00

BPO or Business Process Outsourcing is one of the sunshine sectors in India. According to statistics by World Bank and Goldman Sachs, an investment banking firm India will attract about 80% of the world's BPO industry by 2020. BPO is one of the most outperforming sectors in the Indian economy. Services, which account for almost 35% in India's productivity has BPO at the heart of the growth.India is blessed with 50% population below 35. India is fortunate to be blessed with a young English speaking population. The British left their main legacy behind, when they granted independence to India; English. India, according to statistics is the second largest English speaking in the world just below the United States. Moreover, Indians are known to be processing one of the most neutral accents in the world. The citizens of India, especially the BPO workers have the potential to speak various accents in the world including American, British, Canadian and Australian to name a few.Recently, many BPO companies from East Asia and continental Europe have set up BPO offices and call centers spanning all of India. Indians, especially BPO workers are trying their best to learn new languages apart from English. There is a rapid rise in the use of foreign languages of Korean, Japanese, French, German and Spanish. Young Indians are constantly getting acquainted with these languages to serve their clients and customers based in these countries.The most important reason why companies outsource to India, besides being the country of young English speaking people, is the cost advantage. The Indian currency, Rupee, is pegged at Rs. 50=$1. Indians, due to the far lower cost of living are happy to work at only 25% of an average westerner. They are not only more efficient and work for a mere amount compared to a westerner. It is beneficial to outsource, and India is the best destination for all your outsourcing needs.

TCS bags outsourcing contract

2009-09-24T05:07:00.000-07:00

Tata Consultancy Services has been selected as an IT vendor by BP for the oil and gas majors refining, manufacturing and corporate maintenance works. "Our selection as a strategic IT vendor for BP demonstrates our strong domain expertise and highlights the investments we have been making in the technology-led energy sector," TCS Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director N Chandrasekaran said in a release.When contacted a TCS official told PTI that the deal was for five years, but she did not reveal the value of the deal.BP has a rigorous procurement selection process which assessed the capability, oil and gas sector knowledge and cost.BP is one of the world`s largest energy companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.TCS energy vertical serves international and domestic energy companies across the industrys value chain. It also works with oil field services companies on solutions that help increase the production and reliability of upstream operations, the release said."In awarding TCS our refining, manufacturing and corporate maintenance work, we look to benefit from their knowledge of the oil and gas sector," BP Group CIO Dana Deasy was quoted as saying in the release.The contact would help BP to reduce complexity, standardise processes and lower overall cost base, Deasy said.

Global BPO vendors poach staff from local cos

2009-09-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

Global outsourcing vendors such as Accenture and Capgemini are increasingly poaching employees from Indian rivals as they tap into professionals with expertise in offshoring to compete more effectively against companies like TCS, Wipro and Infosys.
As offshore outsourcing goes mainstream, multinationals are hiring Indians to head their sales teams in key markets in Europe and the US, a shift from the practice of employing locals to win contracts.
“This is happening for several roles spanning from sales, sales support to delivery. There is in a sense, even positive discrimination towards Indians now,” an Indian executive who joined a multinational in Germany recently told ET on condition on anonymity.
Offshore outsourcing, or remote delivery of software application development, maintenance and support from countries like India, helps customers such as GE and Citibank save up to 40% in costs. Indian companies such as TCS, Wipro and Infosys started using offshore outsourcing to their advantage around a decade ago by wooing customers with significant cost-benefits.
In recent months, about a dozen or so top professionals have left an Indian company to join multinational competitors. Padmanabhan Ananthanarayanan, who headed India’s largest software exporter TCS’ sales organisation in Europe until February this year, joined Accenture in March as director of its outsourcing business based in Germany.
Shishir Kumar and Vikas Baranwal quit TCS earlier this year to join Accenture as sales directors, Nimit Chawal and Dev Sharma joined Capgemini to lead the company’s sales team. Mr Sharma headed Wipro’s business development and account management for manufacturing and automotive customers in Germany until December last year, before becoming director, business development for Central Europe at Capgemini.
Sridhar Vedala, managing director of offshoring advisory firm Quantum Step, says global service providers are hiring more Indian professionals to influence the perception of customers who are looking at India and Indian professionals as synonyms for offshore outsourcing.
“Now when offshoring is in demand, obviously customers prefer Indian providers. In order to influence the perception, global providers are hiring Indian managers,” he observed.
Among such customers is the world’s largest chemical company BASF, which is seeking offshore suppliers to support its business IT systems and looking to commence a dialogue with Indian offshore managers. “Initially, global providers did not care about the competition from Indian providers. Probably, they never thought that Indian providers will be able to compete with them for larger deals,” he added.
A top executive at an Indian tech firm says many outsourcing dialogues these days are being spearheaded by Indian offshore delivery managers, unlike in the past, when local experts would help them gain access to a potential customer. “The chief information officers are specifically asking for Indian suppliers.”
The over $40-billion Indian software outsourcing industry derives almost 70-80% of its revenues from offshore outsourcing. While established outsourcing vendors, such as IBM and Accenture, still lead the market because of their early relationships and ‘onshore intimacy’ with large customers, several new outsourcing customers are now looking at pure offshoring, which is helping the Indian vendors.
“For all large application management deals, the question is no more offshore or no offshore, but how much to offshore and in some cases ‘why should anything be onshore anymore’,” said a person involved with decision-making at a large enterprise in Germany.
“This is such a contrast. Until a few months ago, some Indian companies were trying to hire more locals in Germany and France, but now customers are becoming more comfortable with Indian managers,” said a senior Indian professional based in Munich, Germany, who recently quit one of the top ten Indian software exporters to join an MNC rival.
Hema Ravichander, who was the head of human resources at Infosys and is now an independent consultant, says Indian professionals are highly valued because of their early offshoring experience.
“Speed, adaptability, networking, deep understanding of the competitor landscape make them valuable. Also, they have been there, done that; so they enjoy high credibility,” she said.

RPG proposes investment of Rs 15,000 crore in power

2009-09-21T00:52:00.000-07:00

RPG Enterprises envisaged an investment of Rs 15,000 crore in the power sector in five states in the coming five years including hydropower and non-conventional forms of energy. The sources informed that the five states selected by the company for the new projects are Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra and Bengal.
The sources further informed that RPG's entry into the hydel and non-conventional energy, will increase its plants power capacity by 6000 MW over the next few fiscals.
The company stated in a communiqué that the funding of the proposed power projects would be done in a 1:2.3 debt-equity ratio.

Global recession ending: OECD

2009-09-04T03:51:00.000-07:00

PARIS - The global recession is coming to an end faster than thought a few months ago and may already be over, but recovery will rely on massive government spending and low interest rates for some time, the OECD said on Thursday.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development issued forecasts showing a broad return to economic expansion in the third quarter of 2009.
It also said that while authorities needed to map out a strategy for withdrawal of fiscal and monetary stimulus once recovery was surer, now was no time to economies off life support.
Click on http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/32/43551364.pdf
The recovery might prove a little stronger than previously predicted, OECD chief economist Jorgen Elmeskov told Reuters in an interview where he elaborated on the forecasts for several key economies.

"Compared with expectations a few months ago, we now have a recovery which ... may be coming a little earlier and it may be slightly stronger because financial conditions have improved more rapidly than we assumed a few months ago," Elmeskov said.
The OECD forecasts show a third-quarter return to annualized quarter-on-quarter growth in the United States of 1.6 percent, 1.1 percent in Japan, and 0.3 percent in the 16-country euro zone, led by its two largest economies, Germany and France.

The pickup that started with a "quite dramatic turnaround" in China and other Asian emerging market economies in the second quarter remained heavily dependent on government stimulus and ultra-low interest rates across the world, Elmeskov said.

TURNING POINT FOR G7
While it predicted continued third-quarter contractions in Britain and Italy, and a rise followed by a fourth-quarter dip for Japan, the OECD said the broad picture for the G7 group of industrialized powers was better.
The forecasts, including information up to Sept 2, show the euro area turning positive in both of the last two quarters of 2009 after five straight quarters of contraction.
Indeed, a monthly business survey on Thursday showed an index measuring activity in the euro zone manufacturing and services sectors combined now edging into expansion territory in August.
The OECD now expects 2 percent annualized growth in the euro zone in the fourth quarter, compared with its June prediction for a 0.5 percent contraction.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank raised its staff projections for euro zone GDP this year and next, predicting growth in 2010 of between -0.5 percent and +0.9 percent.
The previous OECD growth forecasts for the United States had been zero and 0.5 percent for the third and fourth quarters -- now upped to 1.6 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.
It sees annualized GDP rises of 1.2 and 1.4 percent in the third and fourth quarters for the G7 as a whole, also signaling an exit from recession at that level.
"In some countries including the United States it also looks as if the bottom of the housing market might have been hit a little earlier than assumed," Elmeskov said, noting a rise in house sales and a drop in the "overhang" of unsold homes.
DON'T PULL THE PLUG YET
The OECD forecasts came on the eve of a meeting of finance ministers from the G20 group of developed and developing economies, at which they are likely to agree it is too soon to begin withdrawing stimulus measures.
"Substantial slack combined with the prospect for a weak recovery implies that strong policy stimulus will continue to be needed in the near term," it said.

The Future of Business Processing Outsourcing Industry

2009-09-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

Outsourcing is an age old practice and the advent of business process outsourcing is clearly an example of paradigm shift. It is the way in which business operates, or can be operated. The advent of current BPO revolution has been driven by the availability of cost effective technology such as Internet broadband services, inexpensive data storage, continued business process specialization and online analytical processing tool.

The paradigm shift is that, the technology has enabled global exchange of BPO services. Today, BPO industry had matured to the extent that the costs are normalizing and becoming attractive. Over the last three decades Business Process Outsourcing has been catering to number of services like retail, insurance, mortgage, banking, finance, health care, telecommunications, travel, technology, hospitality and many more.

Today, many offshore firms are consolidating and standardizing their operations by outsourcing their business process to third parties. There are many BPO service providers in India that offer cost effective and focused management expertise. In the present scenario many UK and US based firms are looking at countries like India, Philippines, China and other South Asian territories to outsource their services.

According to a research conducted NelsonHall- a BPO analyst firm
✔ 80% of the firm claimed that, outsourcing has increased their competitiveness.✔ 87% of the companies said that, outsourcing had improved their internal processes.✔ While 77% of the companies said that, they could see a significant drop in their operational cost through outsourcing.

The offshore BPO services are expected to grow at a significant rate per year within the Asia-Pacific market. The growth rate will be about $14 billion by the year 2010. The BPO business in India will be booming despite the current economic recession. The economy will stabilize and there five fold growth of the BPO industry within the next five years.

According to a research, ‘Road map 2012 - capitalizing on the expanding BPO landscape’, conducted by Nasscom and Everest Group, the revenue of the Indian BPO industry will touch $50 billion and will add about 2.5% of the gross domestic product by the year 2012. Presently BPO sector employs about 8 lakh people and the annual revenue is about $11 billion. Over the next 5 years the BPO industry will employ nearly 2 million people.

Once again, one reason why BPO has grown over the 10 years is the availability of high end technology and infrastructure. Without the availability of Internet and broadband, this could not have been possible. The development in technology has broken down the barriers of global communication.

Considering the progress made in the outsourcing industry over the last ten years is standardizing and automation of business processes, the next five years promise similar advances. Typically, the multinational companies define market trends and the acceptance of new product and services. Keeping all these in mind, the BPO industry could take a new shape over the next five years.

BPO Industry As A Career Option

2009-09-02T04:54:00.000-07:00

Taking a look at the current financial crisis, one may not feel too optimistic about business process outsourcing( BPO) industry in India. However Mr. P. G. Raghuraman, Lead Delivery Centers for BPO in India, Accenture, sees the positive aspects in the growth of BPO service providers and also potential for the industry to attract young professionals as their chosen career.

According to Nasscom study, the current size of BPO industry is $11 billion and it is expected to grow by five-fold in size to $50 billion by the year 2012. This growth in Indian BPO will add nearly 2.5 percent to the India's GDP from the export earnings and employment to nearly 2 million people.
There is popular belief that,there are numerous job opportunities but fewer career opportunities in BPO sector. This is not true,the Indian BPO industry has boundless career opportunities. This is evident from the fact that, over the years the BPO services have grown from just voice to other customer relationship management services like human resources,finance and accounting, learning and procurement, animation and multimedia, legal transcription, content development, as well as industry-specific services focusing on the health care,insurance, pharmaceutical and utility industries.

The companies in the life science industry are quite familiar to the process of outsourcing. They outsource some of their critical process like drug discovery, product manufacture,clinical trials and data management. Thus the mainstream BPO service providers requires special knowledge and skill set to perform the traditional life science functions such as clinical data management and monitoring of drug safety.

India happens to be one of the most attractive destination for such specialized functions due to low cost benefits and availability of high skilled work force.
Today, the Indian BPO companies are creating comprehensive roles for employees by expanding globally and providing them the opportunity to work on multiple verticals. It is indeed a fast growing industry as it provides ample opportunity for growth and entrepreneurship.

This change in the role of BPO sector from transaction-processing to high end specialized services has led to the growing demand of skilled workforce. Today the industry needs capability development. Even the professionals with degrees like M.tech,MBBS,MBA, CA, ICWA are taking up work in domain specific back office processes in advisory,analytical and consulting arena. This requires a clear relationship between IT/BPO industry and the academic world which train the workforce with industry specific jobs.
Nowadays even parents are becoming more supportive to the youngsters who want to join the BPO industry because they genuinely see it as a long term career. There is a realization that, BPO are not only about call centers but providing the right opportunities, skills and global exposure. In a nutshell the employees in the BPO industry are now getting challenging careers with tremendous job opportunities,hands-on experience,information about the culture and customs of various countries across the globe. This experience in understanding and appreciation of diversity is valuable for their personal as well professional growth.

Of late, BPO industry does get support from reputed academia. There are companies who provide training programmes specifically designed for the BPO sector in collaboration with some of the renowned institutions of India. More courses of this nature are being designed by other companies to provide outsourcing services. This one step forward towards making BPO as a long term career opportunity.

outsourcing.

Free ATM usage now curtailed!

2009-09-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

You are an account holder of ICICI Bank and have withdrawn cash from HDFC Bank's ATM without any charge. Isn't it great? No need to look out for the ATMs of your bank. Just go to any ATM of any bank and withdraw money without paying anything.

Ofcourse as on date you can still do that but not with as much freedom and abandon! Why? RBI has now put a withdrawal limit of Rs.10,000 per transaction and restricted the number of such free ATM usage transactions to about five times a month. This has been done in response to IBA recommendations as the earlier RBI mandate did not fare well for the banks. Heres why:

History of free ATM usage

Before April 1, 2009, if you had to use the ATM of any bank with whom you don't have any banking relationship, you ended up paying fees. It meant you had to find the closest ATM belonging to your bank to withdraw cash and make balance inquiries. So RBI introduced a directive to the banks to allow free use of ATM machines irrespective of which bank a customer had accounts with.

This meant that irrespective of which bank you bank with, you could use any other bank's ATM free of cost. However the banks were only to charge for the cash withdrawal made by the customers by using their credit cards, while cash withdrawal on debit card was made free. So with effect from April 1, 2009, you could withdraw cash from any ATM free of charge.

Banks make a loss

However, this has not worked out in the favour of banks. Earlier when the use of ATM was not free, the interchange fee was borne by the customers. This fee covered the expenses incurred by both the concerned banks when a customer from bank A used the ATM of bank B. This meant bank A paid an interchange fee of Rs 18 to Rs 20 to bank B per transaction.

Once the ATM usage became free, this fee was borne by the banks. This made banks approach RBI through IBA, which is the industry lobby of Indian banks. They had submitted some recommendations to the central bank last month citing the financial burden faced by banks on account of huge number of third party withdrawals and small-ticket withdrawals.

One of them was to impose a withdrawal limit of Rs 10,000 per transaction at the third-party ATM as well as limit such transactions to 5 per month. The RBI after mulling over the suggestions has now agreed to both these recommendations and communicated the same officially to IBA.

Why did this happen

The underlying cause for this was the fact that most banks were losing money in comparison to the value of the transaction. So if a person withdrew just Rs 100, his bank ended up bearing this interchange fee, which worked out to be quite expensive. E.g. ICICI Bank is losing around Rs 4-5 crore (Rs 4-50 million) per month, as most of its customers have opted to use third-party ATMs.

Also, if a customer uses the free ATM facility for his current account, the banks not only end up losing money in the form of interchange fee but also have to contend with low float (balance in the account). This is because current accounts don't have requirement of maintenance of minimum balance and any money deposited here, doesn't earn interest. Hence, the banks' recommendations to impose limit on the amount withdrawn as well as number of free transactions.

Will free ATM usage fall out?

The recent announcement from RBI curtailing the use of free ATMs to five times a month and a upper limit of Rs 10,000 per ATM withdrawal, the joy of the consumer in availing this service has become shortlived. However, with people working 24x7, but banks not being open during that time, customers will always have a need to use ATMs of other banks.

Also certain banks don't have pan-India presence nor have multiple branches at various points. So customers of these banks will always end up using the ATMs of other banks. Hence, it is impossible that inter-bank ATM usage will see a fall out but will definitely come in handy for emergencies and urgent cash requirements.

RBI did take an innovative step by making ATMs free for all the customers of all the banks. However, as banks started losing money as the value of transactions at third-party ATMs did not justify the interchange fee, a sort of middle ground has been reached to keep both the banks and consumers happy.

Fed Can Avoid Inflation Danger: NY Fed President

2009-08-31T05:00:00.001-07:00

Fears of inflation because of the Federal Reserve's massive quantitative easing measures are overblown, because the Fed can pull the liquidity out of the market to prevent price increases, says New York Fed President William Dudley.

What It Takes To Start A Call Centre Business

2009-08-27T03:43:00.000-07:00

Today, any young entrepreneur who is getting into call centre business should understand that, he is entering into a commodity- like business.

Anyone who claims to offer innovative ideas regarding starting a call centre business is clearly not in the loop of the industry. One should accept the fact that, call centre business is not based on innovation but rather on strategies.
Given this, there are some people who go ahead with the proposition of call centre business. To start a call centre business you need to arrange for a certain amount of capital. After having finalized that you want to get into call centre business, it is imperative that you need the infrastructure in place. Then plan out for a core team to propel your business and around ten trained call centre agents to start the pilot process.

If any call centre firm has to make a mark in the call centre business, the focus should be on high-end quality. Any call centre business will excel if there are experienced people in the company. Accent neutralization and training in various situations is must. The message should be very clear in terms of handling a call. This is an intense business and there is no getting back after the call has been messed up.

The next is to register under STPI so as to get maximum benefit of duty free imports for all kinds of computer hardware. In addition to this, the other important requirements are carpet area, equipment, communication and manpower. The carpet area can range from 55-155 sq feet per agent and this depends on number of seats. It also depends on the number of services rendered by the centre.

You can estimate the total carpet area by planning the space for facilities, amenities and support areas. The communication or connectivity depends on the volume of traffic and services rendered by the call centre firm.
For example a 200- seat call centre will usually invest in a 2 Mbps international private leased circuit for inbound services. This will comprise of two half circuits in India and the other two in US or UK through an international carrier.
The manpower employed in call centre falls under two broad headings. These are operations or agent and management or support staff. The ratio between the two depends on variety of parameters based on organization, services deployed and the client requirement.

Next comes the technological needs, in terms of technical resources the following things are needed like a voice witch/EPABX, modems, routers, multiplexers ( for data and voice transport), RISC/CISC servers, headsets, desktops, IVR( Interactive Voice Response), E1/T1 circuits for connectivity, CTI( Computer Telephony Integration) and ACD( Automatic Call Distributor) are needed.

One can look up to spending $10,000 per agent for setting up a call centre that includes all types of expenses. The cost of maintenance for a seat would be around $4000-$5000 per year. The industry experts say that most of the operation costs will be two- third of their billings.

One thing which has been highlighted before is the consistent delivery of value services and no BPO firm should be generalist but should have an expertise in certain vertical. In terms of getting clients, the company should have a core team who have gone through a learning process in a call centre and the essential team of HR, Finance, Trainers and Operations in place.

Speaking in terms of return on investment, if a call centre business is managed efficiently, the entrepreneur can reap profits within two or three years in business. One more important aspect of this business is the attrition level of BPO industry. One should have proper recruitment plan in mind and should try to stick to it.

Know The Basics Of Starting A Call Center

2009-08-26T00:34:00.000-07:00

What is a call center?

A call center is centralized office where large volumes of requests are received and transmitted by telephone. A call center is a place set by a company to administer incoming product support or to answer the queries of the customers. It is a physical place where customers and telephone calls are handled by a BPO service provider usually with the help of computer automation. Typically, a call center has the capability of handling considerable volumes of calls, screen calls, forward them to qualified agent who can handle calls and log them.

Types of call center:

Call center are of two types, these are outbound call center and inbound call center

The other types of call center are web enabled call center, CRM (customer relationship management) call center, telemarketing call center and phone call center

What are the key responsibilities of outbound call center personnel?

Make outgoing calls to prospective customers to promote product and services
Update relevant information in the database as and when required
The agent is expected to stick to the highest standard of quality and compliance.
Be friendly and courteous to the customers.
Make sales to the required target.

What are the key responsibilities of inbound call center personnel?

Handle inbound calls relating to customer queries on a product or service.
To offer customized services that are designed to meet the requirements of the business.
To integrate customer care services.
To understand the business, product and services
Help in maximizing the efforts of direct marketing.

How does a call center function?

A typical call center functions in the following way, a caller dials a toll free number that is connected to a customer support center. When the call reaches a call center, a trained call center agent answers the call and has access to wide database of information. The dedicated telecommunication links connects the remote call center to the parent organization through voice links and online database access. Therefore even if the caller may be calling a local US number but the calls will be diverted to an offshore BPO service provider.

What are the application areas of call center?

Sales support
Technical queries
Database development
Complaint handling
Relationship and accounts management
Lead generation and follow up
Telemarketing
Credit and billing
Market research

How to start a call center?

Starting a call center is a complex, time consuming and expensive business. The steps to start a call center may vary depending on whether you want to start an in-house or outsourcing call center. Similarly the equipment and manpower requirement is also different for an inbound and outbound call center. Both large and medium sized companies are realizing the benefits of call center. Starting a call center of your can be a lucrative business. Here are some points to consider while starting a call center.

Study the call center industry and select a location.
Examine the four basic types of call center.
Determine the process, permit and licenses required in order to comply with the rules and regulation of your area.
Compare the prices of equipment such as Internet and telephone.
Define the company’s strategy and methods that you will apply to measure the productivity, quality, customers and employee satisfaction.
Create a business plan and outline the business goals, financial needs, staffing plan and logistics
Choose a business mentor. There are experts who offer business advice to entrepreneurs, their advice can be beneficial.

Most of the in-house call center function as part of the business and provides services for that business. While an outsourcing call center is the one that provides BPO services to other companies. By knowing the basics of call center industry one can successfully venture into call center business. The next important goal is to follow the plan, improve it, expand it and fine-tune it.

Inbound Customer Service

2009-08-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

Today many companies outsource their inbound customer services to an offshore call center. Most of the business owners have a hard time to give up the responsibility to their own employees, let alone an outsider. Customers are lifeline of any business and most of the companies value their esteemed customers. Most of the large business houses outsource the non-core aspects of their business after much thought and extensive research.

Today, the companies have realized that, customer service outsourcing is an important tool to boost sales and gain maximum revenues. While there are still many who are reluctant to outsource their inbound customer services. The truth is that in today's competitive business environment inbound customer service is smart choice. It allows companies to handle the important aspects of their business. Most of the reputed call centers have skilled work force. They are professional and are trained to handle calls proficiently which are needed to manage a business successfully.

Inbound customer service is important for retention of customers. Acquiring a new customer is seven times more costly than keeping the existing ones. An inbound customer representative understands the importance of customer relations and manages those relations in most professional manner. The call center services offered by an outsourcing firm is tailored to place the importance of customer service.

The inbound customer service offered by reputed call center is focused to make each customer a customer for life. A professional call center agent makes sure that each phone call that he or she handles results in something positive that your business can build upon. They play a pivotal role in making sure that the customers are satisfied with your product and services.

By outsourcing inbound customer service, a company actually increases the level of customer service. A call center has trained operators that are always available to handle customers need,concerns and problems. They process the requests of the customers as well as answer the queries of the customers related to the product or services. They also take all necessary action to resolve each and every issue so that the customers have unmatched level of satisfaction.

Today running a small or a large business is a daunting task. This is due to labor costs, recruiting problems and ever changing telecommunication equipment. At this time inbound customer service provides the basic ingredient for a company's success.

The call centres in India providing inbound customer service are well equipped with good infrastructure, highly qualified agents, security solutions and cutting edge technology.

The call centres in India have state-of-the-art multimedia centers that offer multichannel interaction through voice email, SMS and fax services. There is no doubt that Indian call centres can handle a range of outsourcing services.

Some of the inbound call centre services have specialization in appointment setting, research surveys, lead generation, debt collection, consumer response, dealer locators, direct mail response, email management services, help desk solutions, inquiry handling, interactive voice response, product technical information and telemarketing in verticals like mortgage, insurance, telecom industries. The inbound customer service includes order taking, technical support, customer service, answering service and help desk services.

In today’s business environment outsourcing is often not a decision that needs to be justified. Some of the non core business functions that are handled internally could be outsourced. Business process outsourcing refers to the rearrangement of entire business functions to some other BPO service provider. Most of the companies that look to outsource are multinationals or companies from the western part of the world. Most of the BPO units are in countries like India, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Kenya and even Russia.

Is Time to Fire Your Call Center?

2009-08-24T03:19:00.000-07:00

Over the last decade call centers have become the anonymous faces of business. And though the call center business has grown by leaps and bounds the problem remains- the ANONYMOUS FACE. Inspite of personalization of call center scripts customers can instantly make out that the customer service representative from the company is actually from a call center.

Call Center Services have grown tremendously in the last decade. The reason is that companies are saving on the bottom line by cutting costs and outsourcing this work by opting for these services. The CCS faces a lot of challenges which surrounds customer experience. If you try find respond of customers of CCS, only one-third of them register positive responses! The agents have to shoulder responsibility not only to sell the products of the company but also establish brand equity for it through various channels. Some of the common problem of these services is high employee attrition, absenteeism, inconsistent answering performance and poor call quality. An often carefree attitude within a call center directly affects the overall performance of the call center.

A few of the service complaints of CCS are failure to resolve customer problems in one call, accumulation of clutter in reaching the appropriate representatives or to qualified supervisor if the problems not solved within five minutes of calling, failure to create credit among the customers especially in outsourced customer care centers. First of all, do not treat your CCS as cost cutting centers. Do not cut on training and quality control measures. In your haste to cut the cost you will lose on quality services to your customers and lose reputation and ultimately revenues. Improving the functioning of your call center must include these- efficient deployment and use of labor, effective leveraging of technology, capacity management, and demand management.

Coming to the internal functioning of CCS, there should be absolutely no lack of communication among the agents and customers. Only communicating through e-mails is not enough. It is easier and cost effective nowadays to be in touch trough the internet. Provide your account manager with as many voice interactions with the customer. Language and cultural difference of the customers is another problem in CCS. This problem needs certain contact points between the customer and service providers make way for smooth execution of any project. The offshore CCS has more problems with the accent of the customers. In this case it is advisable to go on a Live Chat. If any target is missed by the service providers, the party that will decide on the payment withholding needs to be defined frankly. This will assure that the service providers will never make frequent errors and will be extra careful.

The CCS should take extra care to keep its customers updated on a weekly basis. They should always feel they have got track of their project. It ensures less errors and hassles at the time of project delivery. Call centers generally lack leverage to invest in innovative technologies and strategies. Using knowledge base applications helps in managing the information load and keeps the agents up-to-date on the latest marketing based promotions. There are many communication applications such as Voice of the Customer (VOC) which helps to make the workforce more effective and reduce cost.

Greater effort should be make to encourage customer feedback through prompted questions and unstructured feedback which is then mined using speech analysis. You must absolutely make sure that your agents do not type when they are talking to the customer or take multiple calls and talk to more than one customer at a time. This will ensure that the agent is actually listening to the customer and 100% attention is given to the customer. Ongoing alignment is necessary because expectations are a moving target. Innovations, competitors' moves, and economic and social trends are some of the forces that cause continual morphing of customers' expectations. CCS is a consumer-centric business; this should kept in mind all the time.

All Call Centers should make themselves well equipped for call floods. At such times it happens that the calls are routed to inexperienced agents and results in consumer dissatisfaction or even frustration. Be pro-active and invent solutions for any imaginable situation at your center; make a strategy and develop a call routing strategy and test them in advance to cope with the actual problems when they arise.

There are many technical solutions available such as extension of voice of the customer program. You may also establish a call handling service, which would report about out of the service phone lines before the customer does! Make sure your agents can flag problems (such as slow pop-up windows or poor voice quality) during a call. If the quality has already deteriorated, it is no use rectifying the technical lapse later. You should also pay attention to forbid any fraud perpetuated by the agents which might involve false representation of data. There should be constant detecting of problems of the IVR systems.

The agents too need to have some fun and relaxation sessions. The call center management and employees should stay current all call center news and trends. Subscribe magazines or create a library shelving books and reports for the employees whereby they can increase their knowledge and skills. All this help in planning a customer service program that works for both their employees and customers. You will be able to address the customer needs all the time and making them happy even though they may not satisfied with the product or service. You may also subscribe to newsletters and whitepapers for the knowledge growth of the members of your Call Centre.

Customer Communications Group Joins Forces with Pluris Marketing

2009-08-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

Customer Communications Group, Inc. (CCG), a full-service customer relationship marketing agency, and Pluris Marketing, a provider of multi-channel marketing solutions that optimize the value of each consumer engagement, today announced the formation of a strategic partnership to provide marketers with the groundbreaking promotions optimization solution, COMP. COMP, the CCG Optimized Marketing Platform, drives traffic from a business’ most profitable customers with minimal impact to resources by combining engaging customer content with Pluris’ proven real-time data analysis and sophisticated modeling.

"COMP is all about making customer-centricity easy for our clients, and Pluris brings to the table a high-functioning, real-time optimization technology that is simply unequaled in the industry," said Sandra Gudat, President and CEO of CCG.

The partnership idea between the two companies began when Gudat and Pluris Marketing’s Senior Vice President, Bob Fetter, had a conversation about the state of traditional segmentation and offer versioning. Both knew they had complementary resources for a one-of-a-kind promotions optimization offering.

"The match between CCG and Pluris seemed like the perfect combination," Fetter said. "We knew that both CCG and Pluris Marketing clients needed a better way to produce highly targeted, relevant communications. Many of our clients understand that more than half of all of their promotions were disproportionately reducing margins on generated revenues."

Gudat agreed. "This partnership allows us to meet a need that’s been growing in the marketplace for some time. And now, because of the current economic climate, that need for an ROI-based, seamless optimization offering has grown exponentially."

The COMP product will reduce the time needed to gather customer data, analyze it and respond to it with a customized offer from more than six months to less than one day.

I have to leave now as I have to catch the news of Soccer 2010 World Cup

The Career Goal in Finance

2009-08-20T04:07:00.001-07:00

What’s the end game after a number of years of going to school? Maybe to have a stable career and life but this does not occur overnite. It takes blood, work, sweat and tears which is also the career goal in finance. How will we do that? Well, folks always say a good education opens doors.

A finance career works the same way given that there are numerous corporations that you can work in after graduation explaining why you must do a little research first to discover what facets of the industry interests you the most. When you’re able to perform some research in each of them, it will be easy for you to develop the talents wanted to excel in this in the future.

A career in finance can occur if you graduate with a degree in mathematics, economics or stats. But since the market is really competitive, you’ve got to make yourself shine by earning an MBA degree years on. You do not have to get one after 2 years of work as there are some people who are studying in their forty’s.

Aside from that, it’s best to read up books and participate in meetings and become an affiliate of a pro organization. You have got to be informed of the most recent trends and build up your network because that somebody you know may get you that job you’re looking for. 2 examples of these organizations include the Yank Financiers organisation and the Association for Fiscal Pros . They have events prepared all year long that will enable you meet new folk with similar career goals.

For those that do not have an idea what facet of financing yet to chase, this is the time to ask help from one of your professors. Certainly , this person can tell you what sort of job is firmly related to what was taught in class. With that in your head, it’s time to go looking for firms that engage in precisely that.

While you’re still at school, another thing that might help will be to apply as an intern in one of these firms. Some corporations will give an income while other won’t . If you do well here, they will potentially give you an offer even before you graduate or inspire you to work for them full time.

If the company you’re looking for does not have any vacancies now, leave your resume or application anyhow so that if an opening comes up, somebody will give you a call so all you have got to do is give it your best in the interview. At the same time, be active in your faculty organization because an alumni member may looking out for new abilities that will be of benefit for the company. We need to target something so a concept can be turned into a plan and then executed. A career goal in finance is only 1 example because folk with other interests can do the same and achieve success in whatever enterprise they opt to pursue.

US-Colombia deal 'not a threat'

2009-08-19T03:35:00.000-07:00

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has sought to calm fears in Latin America about a planned new military agreement with Colombia.

Some countries in the region have expressed alarm over the US plans to use Colombian bases to combat drug traffickers and rebels.

But Mrs Clinton said the accord would respect Colombian sovereignty and other countries would not be affected.

It would not lead to a significant increase in US troop numbers, she said.

Speaking after talks in Washington with Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez, Mrs Clinton said the agreement would not lead to the creation of US bases in Colombia.

"It does provide the United States access to Colombian bases but command and control, administration and security will be Colombia's responsibility," she said.

"Any US activity will have to be mutually agreed upon in advance. The United States does not have and does not seek bases inside Colombia."

She also said there would be "no significant permanent increase in the US military and contractor presence in Colombia" and that other countries would not be affected.

"This is about the bilateral co-operation between the United States and Colombia regarding security matters within Colombia," she said.

Regional benefit

Under the deal, the US military will be able to operate on Colombian soil to tackle drug-trafficking and terrorism.

Mrs Clinton said the threats were very real and that the US was "committed to supporting the government of Colombia in its efforts to provide security to all its citizens".

Mr Bermudez said developing "more effective mechanisms of co-operation" would benefit both Colombia and the region.

"We have suffered, and we have learned from the lessons as a result of this suffering," he said.

A number of countries in the region have condemned the plan and Argentina has called the agreement "not helpful".

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has expressed fears the move would amount to preparation for an invasion of his country by US forces.

Cognizant to offer BPO services from Phoenix centre

2009-08-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

IT major Cognizant today announced operational expansion of its Phoenix delivery center and that it has added BPO services to an existing portfolio of application development, application maintenance, testing, and related services. Cognizant's Phoenix BPO center will initially provide claim processing services for one of the largest healthcare plans in the US, it said in a statement.

Cognizant Building

The company also said it expects to hire over 100 full-time professionals in the next 12 months, drawing talent from the local market and academic community. As a result, Cognizant's overall presence at Phoenix will grow to about 400 full-time employees, it added. "With this expansion, we are able to offer clients US- based delivery capability across all our major service offerings," Cognizant President and Chief Executive Officer Francisco D'Souza said. Phoenix is one of Cognizant's six delivery centers in the US. Besides Phoenix, the company delivers BPO services from local, regional and global centers in the US, Eastern Europe, India, and China.

Obama attacks insurance premiums

2009-08-17T03:10:00.000-07:00

Speaking in Colorado, Mr Obama said that under his plan companies would not be allowed to charge exorbitant fees nor place arbitrary limits on coverage. Mr Obama is making a series of "town-hall" speeches to back his campaign. Extending coverage to the millions of Americans who lack health insurance is Mr Obama’s top priority for 2009. His reform plan is currently under debate in the US Congress. Some 46 million people in America currently do not have health insurance, and rising healthcare costs are a major contributing factor to America’s spiralling budget deficit.

‘No silver bullet’

Mr Obama said insurance companies had to be held accountable for practices that had led to premiums nearly doubling for the average American family over the past few years. HEALTHCARE IN THE US

46 million uninsured, 25 million under-insured

Healthcare costs represent 16% of GDP, almost twice OECD average

Reform plans would require all Americans to get insurance

Some propose public insurance option to compete with private insurers

Q&A: US healthcare reform

Anger clouds US healthcare debate

He said: "We’re going to ban arbitrary caps on benefits. We’ll place limits on how much you can charge on out-of-pocket expenses. No-one in America should go broke because they get sick."

Mr Obama admitted there was "no perfect painless silver bullet out there that solves every problem, gives everybody health care for free". But he said he had "a lot of really smart people around me who’ve been working on this for months now". Mr Obama also accused his political opponents of using scare tactics in their campaign against the reform. He added: "I need you to stand for hope. I need you to knock on doors. I need you to spread the word. Because we are going to get this done this year."

There remains serious disagreement in the US about how to go about reforming the healthcare system. Democrats in the House of Representatives have reportedly reached a deal on a bill that would mandate all Americans to take out health insurance, with subsidies for the less well-off paid for by a tax on families earning over $350,000 a year. But in the Senate negotiations have stalled, with moderate senators expressing opposition to both the tax and the public plan proposed by the House. Both chambers need to agree on a bill before it can become law.

India, The Most Preferred Destination For BPO Services: Know How?

2009-08-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

The global organizations all over the world have always preferred India to outsource their non-core business services. Today, outsourcing BPO services in India has almost become a norm for many global companies. In fact, BPO services are one of the fast growing segments of Information Technology Enabled Services( ITES) industry. India has constantly been able to provide the growing demand for BPO services in terms of cost effectiveness and customer support contact centers.

Over the years, many call centers have mushroomed in India, because India has a huge array of working professionals. Most of the work force here, specializes in science and technology. BPO services also help in time management and proper use of resources. In other words, it can said that BPO services in India help organizations to improve their level of efficiency as well as effectiveness.

Most of the offshore clients outsource work to India due to multiple reasons. These have been summarized below :

More number of English speaking tech-savvy professionals
Expertise in all types of customer support services.
Time zone advantages enables offshore clients with 24 -hour support services.
Large, skilled and educated work force.
Specialized BPO services
Supportive and flexible Indian government policies.
Equipped with latest technology and high end infrastructure.
Cost-effective BPO services.
Confidence and trust of global organizations

The common BPO services in India are as follows:

Inbound call center services

Outbound call center services
Order taking services
Telemarketing services
Technical help desk services
Email support services
Chat enabled services.
Business transcription services
Medical transcription services
Human resource outsourcing
Accounting services

BPO services in India is undergoing a sea change. This radical transformation has give rise to many new areas of outsourcing. The BPO services in India offer a wide range of cost-effective and quality driven services. Here are some of the new areas of BPO services in India.

Research and analytics services
Data entry services
Financial services
Engineering services
E-learning solutions
Creative services
Web designing services
Health care services
E-governance services
Retail services
Pharmaceutical services and a host of other services

The BPO services is one of the fastest growing segments in India. BPO has also attracted huge number of youngsters to join the industry. Most of the young and sharp minds are willing to work in 24X7 environment. Most of the companies globally are looking India as a potential option because Indian companies have proved themselves with quality services and high end performance. Today, some of the world's big giants have their base in India. India has been the main hub for BPO services around the globe. Most of the successful BPO ventures have encouraged more and more companies to outsource their BPO services to India.

T Mobile UK outsource in INdia

2009-08-13T05:45:00.000-07:00

T-Mobile is under a burden of cost cutting as the parent company, Deutsche Telekom, posted a goodwill writedown of €1.8b

n for the UK operation in Q1, after which there have speculations that T-Mobile is looking to offload its UK business.

2009-08-13T05:33:00.000-07:00

T-Mobile UK has inked a five year outsourcing deal with the Indian firm Infosys BPO for its finance operations. Infosys will support T-Mobile’s core processes in its finance directorate, covering customer finance, commercial finance and accounting (F&A) and procurement operations. The move will leave T-Mobile to concentrate on financial issues that are “strategically important or which deliver competitive advantage”.
T-Mobile is under a burden of cost cutting as the parent company, Deutsche Telekom, posted a goodwill writedown of €1.8bn for the UK operation in Q1, after which there have speculations that T-Mobile is looking to offload its UK business.

21 Indian firms among world's top 100 BPOs

2009-08-11T02:32:00.000-07:00

Twenty-one Indian companies, including Infosys Technologies, TataConsultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro, are among the top 100 BPO firmsin the world, according to a new study.

Five of the Indian firmsfiguring among the 10 best outsourcing service providers are: Infosys(No.3), TCS (6), Wipro (7), Genpact (9) and Tech Mahindra (10),according to the study - '2008 Global Outsourcing 100' - compiled bythe International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP). Accentureand IBM head the list published as an advertising feature by IAOP inthe current Fortune 500 issue of Fortune magazine. The other 16 Indian companies in the list are HCL Technology (11), Mastek (16), WNS Global Services

Telus opens fourth call centre in Manila

2009-08-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

There are not many bright spots in the Philippine economy these days. Exports are tanking. Remittances are tumbling; and some of the country’s legion of so-called overseas workers are returning home from the hardest-hit of world markets. Amidst this, one B.C. company, Telus, is deepening its reach into the Philippines’ BPO or business processing outsourcing industry, which is expected to post stellar growth of 20 to 30 per cent in 2009. This month, Telus International opened its fourth call centre in Manila, one that currently employs 900 workers, but will ramp up to include at least 3,000, possibly by the end of the year. To fill these new positions, Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said the company would “absolutely” look to hiring from a growing pool of returning workers to the Philippines.

“Because of its history as a U.S. colony, the Philippines is a great place to run these kinds of businesses,” Hall said. “People there have very good educational levels, speak English well and have an affinity to North American culture, as well as lots of family.”

In recent months, a slew of other mid-sized and large BPO centres like the one opened by Telus have announced their own expansion plans, according to Manila-based consultant Michael Hamlin. His clients, including Convergys, TeleTech, eTelecare, Sitel and StarTek, have been keeping him busy with one inauguration ceremony to another. “BPO really is the only bright spot,” he said in an interview. “Everyone I know is hiring.” A new survey published jointly by Hamlin’s company, Team Asia, and the Business Processing Association of the Philippines found that more than 80 per cent of respondents said they will increase their workforces this year and almost 50 per cent cited a growth of between 10 and 200 per cent. The BPAP is projecting 30-per-cent growth for the industry overall.

For an increasing number of clients, Hamlin said, the Philippines is one of many BPO centres in an international string. “For risk mitigation, they don’t just want a presence in India or just in Eastern Europe or North America,” he said. Indeed, while the bulk of Telus International’s employees are already in the Philippines, the company recently announced plans to open a 1,000-seat centre in Las Vegas and three others in Central America.

Speaking to reporters at the opening of the new facility in Manila, Telus International president Jeffrey Puritt emphasized that the expansion is focused on getting beyond basic call centre capabilities into more complex tasks such as network troubleshooting, risk analysis, human resources and finance. He said: “As the contact centre industry evolves, it’s more than just voice. The trend is definitely up the value chain.” However, how exactly to move up is a big issue for the industry, said Hamlin. “Finding people with supervisory and managerial skills is key,” he said. There definitely was a more sobering side to the survey’s results, which suggests that it will not just be a matter of plugging in casualties of the global economic slowdown, that is, would-be or returning overseas workers into the Philippine BPO industry. Almost 70 per cent of BPOs said that they hire only 10 per cent or fewer of the applicants that apply for work, indicating that a significant skills mismatch continues to exist, according to Hamlin. Survey respondents cited oral and written communication skills as the biggest gap, followed by analytical thinking and problem solving. In Vancouver, Maria Javier, a program manager at Multicultural Helping House, which is helping foreign workers from the Philippines cope with the economic downturn, added that while it might seem encouraging to hear that BPO facilities are faring well, most workers from the Philippines who lose their jobs here and face being forced to return will find little comfort in such news.

Outsourcing Teaching, Overseas

2009-08-08T02:38:00.000-07:00

How to teach university degree programs offered overseas is a complicated question. Does a university rely on faculty from the home campus to travel abroad for a year, semester or month at a time to teach, hire a new cadre of faculty at the overseas location, deliver coursework through distance education, or some combination thereof?

In offering B.S. in economics degrees at three partner universities in China and Hong Kong, Utah State University’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business uses a different kind of teaching model, similar in some ways to the three approaches but with a significant, and potentially risky, twist. The programs are based on a lead professor/local facilitator model, in which the professors of record at Utah State rely on local instructors, who are not Utah State employees (but are approved by Utah State departments) to deliver much of the course content on the ground.

The degrees in question are Utah State degrees, as opposed to joint or dual degrees with the partner universities, and the arrangement is described in the business school's 2008-9 annual report thus: “Departments assign 'lead professors' to write the course syllabus, pick the text book and other instructional materials, and to write exams and other assignments for the course. The teaching materials are provided to 'local facilitators' (faculty at our partner institutions) who have been approved by the USU department to deliver the lectures and other course material on-site in China and Hong Kong. Lead professors and local facilitators are in contact each week to make sure that the courses are on-track and to deal with teaching and evaluation issues. Final grades are assigned by the lead professor.” In other words, the instructor who interacts with the students face-to-face on a regular basis doesn't have the ultimate grading authority, but the professor back in Utah does.

In the financial model, as outlined in that same report, “tuition for our students in Asia is shared equally between the Asia program and our partner institutions. The partners are responsible for providing the facilities, textbooks, and for paying the local facilitators. The Asia program in the Department of Economics and Finance and the Huntsman School of Business is responsible for providing lead professors, for counseling students, and for admitting, matriculating, and graduating students who meet the requirements, as well as for arranging visits to the Asian sites by lead professors and administrators."

Utah State’s B.S. in economics, with an emphasis on international economics and trade, is currently offered in English at three sites: the Beijing Institute of Technology, Northeast Dianli University, in Jilin City, and the Institute of Advanced Learning, in Hong Kong. In spring 2009, 560 students were enrolled; according to the annual report, the school expects to grow its Asian program enrollment to 800 students and, once a fourth program location is approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education, more than 1,000.

"One of the preconditions for us to get approval from the central Ministry of Education in China was that they required our program to have face-to-face instruction. One of the challenges U.S. universities have had extending their educational products to China is the high expense of maintaining their own faculty on site. So our model tries to leverage the design and review role of a senior faculty member with a local facilitator who is also a professor, and those professors who are local facilitators are approved by our departments," said Chris Fawson, senior associate dean and a professor of economics in the Huntsman School of Business.

“We think it’s a model that will help foster broader collaboration. While faculty are collaborating on preparing high-quality instructional materials, we hope that they’re collaborating on research interests,” Fawson said.

“Does everybody do that? Well, again, I couldn’t say that everybody does that, in [terms of] faculty that are mentoring graduate students who are teaching courses on our campus. But I can tell you our commitment… We talk about a high level of collaborative interaction, and we talk about our commitment to integrity and our commitment to quality. If I thought that we couldn’t do that, we would drop the program tomorrow, to be honest with you.”

Franchising Degrees?

Inside Higher Ed recently learned of the Huntsman School's degree programs in Asia via an anonymous e-mail, purportedly from a group of Utah State students and alumni with concerns; the extent of such concerns could not be verified.

In fact, some at Utah State see the Asia Degree Program as part of an exciting expansion of international opportunities. Adam Croshaw, a senior and the business school’s student senator last year, said fellow students did not bring any concerns to him during his tenure as their representative. “I haven’t heard much other than I know it exists and there’s excitement ... just because it’s a new thing. The Huntsman School of Business is trying to give their students a better opportunity to do things internationally because that’s the way business is going these days," he said.

Outside Utah, Philip G. Altbach, professor and director of Boston College’s Center for International Higher Education, said he was very skeptical of this particular model for promoting internationalization, however. “My view, and I am in a small minority on these matters I think, is that foreign degrees should be taught by faculty from the sponsoring university faculty, and not be random local scholars, even if they are ‘approved’ by the home campus faculty. What USU is really doing is ‘franchising’ their degree -- in a McDonald's way -- which is common especially among low prestige British universities in countries like Malaysia these days. Those British institutions have in some cases gotten themselves into hot water with the British quality assurance agencies and the press for low standards, inadequate supervision and the like. USU may well get into that bind,” he said in an e-mail.

Carving up Responsibilities, and Collaborating

Utah State has offered degree programs in China since 2000, but until 2008 operated the programs, then in interdisciplinary studies, through the university's continuing education unit. By narrowing the academic focus to economics, and moving the Asia Degree Program to the business school (which includes the economics department), administrators were both responding to student demand and moving to better safeguard the quality of the program, said Fawson. ”We've felt that degree programs that don't have a core academic home tend to lose their way a little bit. So it was a way to push a program back to college and a department, where the integrity of the academic foundation is grounded and anchored, so there is a reference point of what we are doing from a core academic perspective."

Fawson said the business school absorbed the Asia degree programs in part to serve the broader interests of the university, and also to expand its own footprint in China. "We're looking for opportunities to have high-quality positive engagement in China. We think there's a great ability to build up some brand equity in China and to build a strong alumni base," he said.

In describing the nuts and bolts of the program, Fawson described a lively virtual exchange between lead professor and local facilitator, and also a physical flow of faculty: “Their professors come and spend a whole semester on our campus… And then our professors historically have gone on two-or three-week trips where they actually sit in on classes and observe the classes." Not all local facilitators come to Utah State, but Fawson estimates that about 30 local facilitators, two to five in any given year, have traveled to Utah State in total.

The local facilitators, he said, mostly are faculty with appointments in the partner institutions, although not universally. Not everyone has a Ph.D. – “there’s a strong business orientation to what we’re doing … but they would go through the same kind of screening process that a faculty member would go through here to be approved as a local facilitator.”

In terms of how the Utah State professor assigns a final grade in a course facilitated by a non-Utah State employee, Fawson said, “There’s hopefully [been] lively interaction between the lead professors and local facilitators. I’m sure that there is some variation between how lead professors are interacting with local facilitators, but our expectation is that lead professors take this very seriously.

“There’s a sense of professional responsibility and accountability that comes with that assignment.”

Terry Glover, a professor of economics at Utah State, has served as a lead professor for about seven years, he said, and has experienced the upside and the challenges of this kind of collaboration. “You try to hang onto the local facilitators for some years, because you develop a working relationship and such,” he said, adding that some local facilitators have collaborated with him on data collection and research. “Not only is it a teaching partnership but a research partnership as well.” On the other hand, he’s twice recommended that local facilitators try a different career and those instructors, he said, did not return.

Glover also periodically travels to the partner institutions' campuses, and takes advantage of the ability to do some face-to-face teaching while he's there. He maintains a heavy teaching load, typically teaching two courses each semester at Utah State, and taking on another 3-2 load as lead professor in Asia degree program courses. “Essentially now in the last couple of years, we’ve developed more of a partnership. It used to be Utah State and then the step-cousin, but now it’s a joint kind of partnership,” said Glover.

The model represents an improvement on distance education, Glover said, which is "not our mold"

Instead, “You’ve got someone there, with them, who knows the program, has communicated with me and such, and they know that the two instructors are attuned to each other.... I get lots of e-mails from students and I e-mail them back."

The Huntsman School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, but the economics department, while housed in the business school, is outside the accreditor's purview. "This program is not an AACSB-accredited program; therefore, none of our standards come into play," said Jerry Trapnell, AACSB International's vice president and chief accreditation officer. That said, Trapnell added, "We see programs delivered in a lot of models.... We've seen similar models to this, sure, where the delivery mode at the remote site is facilitated, assisted or delivered through arrangements with the local faculty. Again, the key is to having very good expectations and understanding of the quality of that faculty, their background, and then the strong communication at work between the Utah State faculty and the faculty there.

"I'll be clear. There are risks there, that essentially they are delegating to someone else to deliver their program," Trapnell said."They're trying to manage that carefully, I'm sure.

“It’s an innovative model, and I expect that as schools seek ways to work internationally, these models will continue to be fairly diverse."

“It looks as if the proposed breakdown of responsibilities is an effort at quality control,” said Andrew Ross, a professor of social and cultural analysis at New York University who has written about branch campuses and the academic workplace. “However, it also shows how globalization hastens on the way in which professorial work can be broken down and reassigned to cheaper and more remote locations. In the twentieth century, professions were able to distinguish themselves from industrial labor process by resisting efforts to separate the conception and execution of tasks. This is an example precisely of that division of labor. It points in the direction of the routinization, at offshore locations, of instruction, while retaining the higher-level tasks onshore

Cisco profits fall 46% but beats forecast

2009-08-07T03:45:00.000-07:00

Cisco Systems said on Wednesday that earnings fell 46 per cent in its latest quarter, but the profit beat Wall Street expectations. Cisco chief executive John Chambers said business conditions were improving for the world's largest network equipment manufacturer but he cautioned that it was too soon to call a recovery, dragging its shares down 3 per cent.

'We saw a number of positive signs this quarter in the economy and in our business,' Mr Chambers said in a statement. He added that if trends keep improving, there's a good chance the latest quarter was a 'tipping point'.

'While this is a very important trend, I would want to see the sequential trends continue for several more quarters before we'd be comfortable with saying that we are returning to normal business momentum,' he told analysts on a call. Cisco is one of the first large-cap technology companies to report results that include sales from most of July, making it an early indicator of trends in technology spending. Cisco has seen sales hit hard as clients delayed investments and capital improvements. However, good profit margins and a large pile of cash have helped it ride out the downturn.

The company posted a profit of US$1.1 billion, or 19 US cents per share, for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended July 25. That was down from US$2 billion, or 33 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Sales fell 18 per cent to US$8.5 billion. Excluding the cost of stock-based compensation and other items, Cisco's earnings were 31 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of 29 cents per share on US$8.5 billion in revenue. Cisco's revenue outlook was mostly in line with Wall Street's expectations and profit for the July quarter exceeded forecasts. But the CEO's cautious remarks disappointed those who sought a stronger declaration that global technology spending was on the mend. Analysts said his comments made sense amid mixed economic data, but likely let down investors who have been betting on a recovery in technology demand. 'When he qualified that statement and said we've got to wait and see for several more quarters, I think maybe that was a little more conservative than what the Street wanted to hear,' said Ronald Gruia, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan.

Cisco said it expects fiscal first-quarter revenue to fall by 15 to 17 per cent from a year earlier. That was in line with expectations for a drop of about 16 per cent, according to Reuters Estimates. That outlook represented a quarter-on-quarter rise of one to 3 per cent, a key improvement after a steep quarter-on-quarter decline in sales earlier in the year. Many analysts, including RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue, saw the results and Chambers' comments as positive.

'The confidence from increased bookings and orders should be welcome news to long-term investors,' he said. 'Things are improving even though I don't think John Chambers wants to wave a green flag just yet.' Shares in Cisco initially rose about 3 per cent after its quarterly results slightly beat expectations and Mr Chambers said in an earlier statement that he saw 'positive signs' in economic and order trends. After Mr Chambers' comments on the call, the stock backpedalled to US$21.51. Cisco shares had closed at US$22.17 on Nasdaq.

IntelePeer and Transera Team to Offer Virtual Contact Center Solutions

2009-08-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

IntelePeer Inc., a provider in hosted rich media communications, announced a partnership that combines Transera’s Seratel(R) on-demand contact center software with IntelePeer’s global carrier-grade infrastructure and next-generation voice and rich media capabilities.

The partnership provides hosted SIP trunking connections to any agent location combined with Seratel’s advanced routing capabilities. As a result, Transera customers can rapidly deploy virtual contact centers staffed by agents located anywhere in the world who are connected by IntelePeer’s carrier-class global voice peering network and SuperRegistryTM infrastructure. By routing all calls through this infrastructure, Transera ensures seamless worldwide connections to any traditional landline, mobile or VoIP soft phone while dramatically reducing telecommunications expenses.

Multi-channel contact center environments can simplify the integration and deployment of additional channels and contact methods such as social networking and Web-based click-to-call via the IntelePeer AppworXTM Open Communications Platform. The AppworX platform allows customers to accelerate implementations and minimizes the time needed to bring the virtual call center into production to generate value.

The entire virtual contact center solution, provided through the Software as a Service model, eliminates up-front capital costs and deployment delays. The combined solution provides a wide range of advanced features, including:

- True end-to-end on-demand, virtual call center – supporting multiple locations, agent types and voice technologies

- SIP trunking for toll-free and local direct inward dialing (DID) services, as well as outbound U.S. and international termination

- Web-based click-to-call and click-to-conference

- VoiceBlast and SMSBlast integration

- Enhanced traffic routing

- Automated VoIP soft phone registration, supporting call routing to remote agents for work-at-home and disaster recovery situations

"The global recession is forcing businesses to find ways to reduce their capital and operating expenses without sacrificing performance or service," said Prem Uppaluru, Transera’s CEO and president. IntelePeer’s global peering grid, which carried more than 7 billion voice minutes last year, ensures our customers can depend on reliable, high-quality voice connections for each customer call, while reducing their telecommunications operating expenses -- a critical advantage in these challenging economic times."

"At IntelePeer, we make it easy and cost-effective for innovative companies such as Transera to offer groundbreaking new services like the Seratel virtual contact center solution. With hosted capabilities delivered from the cloud, complex integration with premise-based equipment is completely eliminated and services are instantly deployed to any location," said Haydar Haba, IntelePeer founder and chief visionary officer. "The IntelePeer AppworX platform provides a powerful foundation to seamlessly deploy high-value services like Transera’s that help contact centers dramatically improve the way they connect with their customers."

About Intelepeer:

IntelePeer, a provider in hosted on-demand rich media communications, enables carriers, businesses and software vendors to easily deliver voice and multimedia capabilities to any phone or network-connected device – without incurring up-front capital costs. Through our innovative, communications-as-a-service platform, IntelePeer AppworX™, our SuperRegistry™ and our extensive Voice Peering Network, we provide our customers with the platform to offer high-quality interactive voice, video,

New Sony e-book reader $100 cheaper than Kindle

2009-08-05T00:09:00.000-07:00

Electronic books are often mentioned in the same breath as Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle digital reader. Now e-book rival Sony Corp. is determined to recapture consumers' attention with a smaller reader that's also $100 cheaper. On Wednesday, Sony is expected to announce that it will release the Reader Pocket Edition by the end of August. Like the Kindle and Sony's previous Readers, the Pocket Edition will come with an "electronic ink" display, which shows dark gray text on a lighter gray background. As the word "pocket" implies, its five-inch screen will be smaller than that on the Kindle and other Sony models.

Unlike other Readers, the Pocket Edition won't play digital music files, and it won't have a slot for a memory card to supplement internal storage that can hold 350 books. It will retail for $199, a third off the price of the basic Kindle model and about $80 less than Sony's PRS-505 reader, which will be discontinued. Color choices include blue, red and silver. The device is entering a small but growing market. U.S. e-book sales totaled $113 million last year -- up 68 percent from 2007 but still a fraction of the estimated $24.3 billion spent on all books, according to the Association of American Publishers.

Steve Haber, president of Sony's Digital Reading Business Division, expects the Pocket Edition's price tag will lure new consumers who haven't wanted to shell out for such a device thus far. And he's not worried that the Pocket Edition's chances for success will be diminished by the rising popularity of reading e-books on smart phones like the iPhone and BlackBerrys.

"Once you see it, it's been a consistent response of, 'That's cool,'" he said. Sarah Rotman Epps, a media analyst at Forrester Research, said the Pocket Edition's price below $200 breaks an important psychological barrier.

"This is something that is affordable for the holiday season, and I think that you'll see sales of e-readers outpacing current forecasts," she said.

Her current forecast calls for sales of 2 million digital reading devices this year; she said a little more than 1 million were sold by the end of 2008.

She doesn't expect Amazon to rest on its laurels, adding that the online retailer will have to respond to counter Sony's new price point.

Sony is also announcing on Wednesday the release of a $299 touch-screen model to replace its existing $350 touch-screen PRS-700. The Touch Edition will have the same six-inch (15-centimeter) screen as its predecessor but not the PRS-700's built-in light. Haber said removing the light will correct some screen clarity problems it has caused.

With the PRS-700, users can highlight text and take notes with a touch-screen keyboard. On the new model, users also can write notes with a finger or a stylus that is included.

The new model has a built-in dictionary and is faster at changing pages when readers swipe a finger across the screen. It will sell in red, silver or black and can hold 350 books in its built-in memory or more on a memory card.

A big difference between Sony's Readers and Amazon's Kindle has always been the lack of wireless access for quick and simple downloads of books. The new models are no different: They have to be connected to a computer to acquire books.

For the first time, they will be compatible with PCs and Mac computers, though. Sony will offer current Reader owners a software update to make theirs compatible with both.

As he has indicated in the past, Haber said Sony is working on a wireless model, though he wouldn't say when.

Sony also is adjusting prices to some of the e-books it sells through its online eBook Store. New releases and best-sellers will now sell for $10, $2 less than current prices. Amazon's Kindle Store offers most best-sellers and new releases for $10.

Sony's eBook Store includes more than 100,000 books, as well as a million free public-domain books available from Google Inc. through its Google Books project. The Kindle Store currently has more than 330,000 available titles.

The Kindle can only download books from Amazon's store, while Sony's Readers can display texts sold in the "epub" format -- an open standard supported by the International Digital Publishing Forum that numerous publishers use to make e-books.

Toyota reports $819 million quarterly loss

2009-08-04T03:42:00.000-07:00

Toyota reported a smaller-than-expected 77.82 billion yen ($819 million) quarterly loss and expects less red ink for the full year even as the world's top automaker battles plunging sales and a strong yen. The maker of the Corolla subcompact and Lexus luxury models said Tuesday it expects a 450 billion yen ($4.7 billion) loss for the fiscal year through March 2010, better than the 550 billion yen ($5.8 billion) loss initially projected. The result for the April-June quarter underlines that Toyota Motor Corp. is getting some traction from aggressive cost-cutting. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast a fiscal first quarter loss of 210 billion yen.

Toyota, which dethroned General Motors Corp. as the world's top selling automaker in 2008, raised its global vehicle sales forecast for the fiscal year by 100,000 to 6.6 million vehicles. The increase reflected improved sales in Japan, partly because of government measures to boost green car sales. The better forecast is still markedly below the 7.57 million vehicles Toyota sold worldwide for the fiscal year ended March, showing how far Toyota has to go to stop the flow of red ink, now into its third straight quarter. Toyota sold 1.4 million vehicles around the world during the quarter, a decrease of 785,000 vehicles from a year earlier. Quarterly sales dropped 38.3 percent to 3.836 trillion yen ($40.4 billion) as vehicle sales slipped in almost all regions, including North America, Europe, Japan and the rest of Asia. Other Japanese automakers have also reported better-than-expected earnings, with No. 2 Honda continuing to stay in the black, bucking expectations for losses. Analysts say Toyota, because of its bigger size, may need longer for a full recovery. Tatsuo Yoshida, auto analyst at UBS Securities Japan, said a solid recovery can come only when the global economy starts improving and people start buying cars again.

"The damage was great at Toyota because it was heading toward aggressive expansion with its foot slammed on the accelerator," he said, comparing the global financial crisis to a car wreck. The growing popularity of environment-friendly vehicles has given Toyota some respite from the meltdown in auto demand. The automaker's new Prius gas-electric hybrid has been the top-selling model in Japan, for two months straight, the first time a hybrid clinched that spot, and is reportedly on track to take that spot again for July. The Japanese government recently made hybrids tax-free and began a cash-for-clunkers program, helping boost sales of all ecological vehicles, including rival Honda Motor Co.'s Insight.

The last fiscal year, Toyota posted its worst loss ever in its seven-decade history, running up 436.94 billion yen of red ink. For the April-June quarter last year, it had posted a 353.6 billion yen profit. Toyota had appeared almost unstoppable before the global financial crisis, with sales booming on its reputation for mileage and quality. It planned to sell 9.85 million vehicles in calendar 2008, but its annual sales ended up dropping for the first time in a decade to just short of 9 million vehicles, as the financial crisis on Wall Street morphed into a global recession.

The automaker has aggressively cut costs to ride out the downturn -- slashing jobs and production, trimming managerial pay, reducing investment and foregoing travel and other expenses. Still, vehicle sales continued to suffer as the recession crushed demand. Japan quarterly sales totaled 407,000 vehicles, down 105,000 from the previous year, while Toyota said it sold 387,000 vehicles in North America, down 342,000.

"Although we were able to make certain improvements in fixed cost and cost reduction efforts, the decline in vehicle sales and the appreciation of the Japanese yen had a severe impact on our earnings," said Toyota Senior Managing Director Takahiko Ijichi. Toyota, based in Toyota city, central Japan, lost 140 billion yen ($1.5 billion) during the quarter ended June 30 because of the appreciation of the yen. It lost another 650 billion yen ($6.8 billion) in operating income because of miserable auto sales. Other Japanese automakers are also reporting signs that the worst may be over. Honda posted a 7.5 billion yen ($79.8 million) profit for the April-June period, and raised forecasts for the full year on optimism auto sales will improve.Nissan Motor Co., the nation's third-biggest car maker, reported a smaller-than-expected 16.5 billion yen ($175.5 million) loss for April through June. Earlier this year, Toyota chose Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the automaker's founder, as its new president in an effort to use his charisma to bring the ranks of workers, dealers and suppliers together. Toyoda has said the automaker will be making more managerial decisions by region, to stay nimble despite its size but has yet to give details of a turnaround strategy.Toyota shares slipped 1.5 percent to 4,030 yen ($42) in Tokyo. Earnings were announced before trading ended.

Study says Outsourcing Is Healthy & Good

2009-08-03T03:37:00.000-07:00

Those who felt that there was a chance the outsourcing industry would die out, may not be too happy with this recent survey by KPMG. According to the study Strategic Evolution, outsourcing is increasing and almost all the organizations that are involved in this practice want to maintain their sourcing level. And quite a few of them even want to increase the sourcing levels. This survey which collated responses from nearly 700 organizations from 32 countries proves that the only path open to this industry goes forward.

Contrary to the belief in certain quarters that outsourcing is creating new problems, most respondents believed that service providers made positive contributions to the success of their organizations. Oh, and it was not only services that had improved. The financial baseline of most firms was also showing an improvement and as they became more lean and mean, their competitiveness increased. Too much good news for a day. What do you say?

RBI plans to policy rollback

2009-08-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could look at rolling back its expansionary monetary policy, which it started as the nation's economy was hit by the global financial meltdown and a local industrial downturn. "The current monetary and fiscal stance is not the steady state. The Reserve Bank needs to roll back the special monetary accommodation," RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao said in his JRD Tata Memorial lecture organised by the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) on Friday. However, RBI will continue to pursue an accommodative monetary policy until economic conditions improved, he added, while signalling a need to reverse expansionary policies. The challenge for the Reserve Bank was to maintain a comfortable liquidity situation while at the same time anchoring inflation expectations, he added.

Subbarao said that the increased fiscal deficit, which the Centre this fiscal year projects at 6.8 per cent of the gross domestic product, would pose "more than a proportionate challenge" on the monetary side.

Subbarao said that the monetary stimulus from the central bank came through a sharp reduction in the policy interest rates and the cash reserve ratio (CRR) - the share of bank deposits that must be kept as cash with the RBI by commercial banks - and a lower statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) that requires banks to park funds in specified bonds.

Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh may spin miracles

2009-07-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

Projecting India's small towns and cities as better investment destinations, an Indo-UK trade body said Pune, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh among others are more likely to produce economic miracles on the back of a growing middle-class.

Pune IT Park

India is increasingly seen as a source of value-added goods and services and an important business partner, the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), which promotes trade between the two countries said in a report released here.

The report, "Emerging Cities of India", identifies Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Jaipur as the top four emerging cities followed by Vadodara, Goa, Indore, Kochi and Nagpur.

While India's urban giants may dominate the business agenda in the short-term due to the sheer size of their human capital clusters...We believe it is the country's lesser known small towns and cities that are more likely to produce the economic miracles.

Tips to grow your business

2009-07-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

Finding new customers is an expensive business which is why it pays to invest in hanging onto your existing clients. Good service can also give small companies a lead over their bigger rivals. Great service can do wonders for your business.

Talk to your customers

Research shows that businesses spend six times as much on recruiting a new customer as they do on retaining an existing one. Every business - no matter how small - should have a strategy for dealing with customers. Listening to customers can help in all areas of your business from developing new products to finding out more about your competitors.

Decide how and when to communicate with customers - by newsletter, telephone, e-mail or questionnaire, at point of sale or delivery, or as a post-sale follow-up;
Encourage staff to record feedback from customers;
Keep talking to your customers - their opinions will alter over time;
Tell customers of any important changes that will affect them. If you warn them of a possible problem in advance they will be able to adapt more easily.

According to the Government's Small Business Service some of the things customers find most annoying include:

Talking to a recorded telephone message, being held in a queue or paying premium rates for advice;
Having their consumer rights ignored - such as being refused a refund for faulty goods;
Bureaucracy;
Rude or over-friendly staff - both are equally irritating;
Staff who refuse to tell you their name;
Broken promises;
Inflexible delivery times.

Let staff take control

Have a measurable standard of service and make sure that staff work towards it. Invest in training so that everyone is aware of the importance of customer care. Remind staff to put themselves in the customer's shoes: would you like someone you've just met to call you by your first name, how would you feel if your order went missing?

Encourage employees to use their initiative and let the rest of the business know when something has worked well - or if it hasn't. Taking immediate action - for example sending a disgruntled customer a bottle of champagne - can prove more cost-effective than waiting to write them a formal letter

Reliability is good for fashion business

2009-07-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

Reliability is good for business - 1,000 brands from 26 countries present their 2010 Spring/Summer collections at the 13th CPM – Collection Première Moscow Strong demand for information still present in Russian garment retail Attractive sales markets with potential are more in demand today than ever before. This also applies to the international garment industry.

Russia is still among the countries that look forward to a bright future based on the economic forecasts. Russia experts agree:Anyone wishing to benefit from tomorrow's economic upswing should lay the fundamentals for his business today. With their first participation at the 13th CPM – Collection Première Moscow, the German premium label Marc Cain delivers a clear statement to the Russian market: 'Marc Cain is betting on markets with potential," explains Distribution Director Norbert Lock. "While we do already have numerous customers in Russia, it is a good time to expand our customer base. We are swimming against the current. Russia remains an important market and CPM is an ideal platform for presenting our label and reaching out to new customers from across the country."

Business ideas in recession market

2009-07-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

This is the recession time in almost all parts of the country and in this recession period, we can easily notice that the stock market is falling and the thousands of jobs are being lost. In this bad patch, No one wants to invest in this market to open a new business. But if you watch this market closely then you will find that this is also one of the best time to make profit if you are watching the market closely.

To start a new home business at this period of time is really a risk factor and very scary but at least you should have a back up plan like home business so all of the sudden if you loose the job then you have the option of home business.

Here, I am providing you 5 relatively plan for money making home business. I am not sure whether these ideas will give you the profit or not but according to me these are the best possible choices. And the 5 ideas are as follows:

1. Internet Marketing Services
2. Home Staging Home Business
3. Medical Billing
4. Virtual Assistant
5. eBay Trading Assistant

1. Internet Marketing Services : Internet marketing services is a high growing Those who are aware of good online business presence needs to know how effectively market his or her site or blog on the Internet. Hundreds of people look for an Internet marketing firm for assistance. This is where Internet marketing specialist role comes all they need is to share thier ideas. It can also be SEO businnes like how to increase the traffic of your website / blog.

2. Home Staging Home Business : It's a very low cost business. You don't have to spend lot for that. All you need is to learn or gather information about interior designing on the weekends. Then you can be a good Interior designer. This buiness is more useful for the females than males. Who knows, if this business grow rapidly then you will be decison maker whether you should continue your present job or not. Real estate agents & houose lenders may also be very useful contacts for anyone who are engaged in this kind of recession resistant home business.

3. Medical Billing : I think that it would be very promising if you chose medical billing career. You have the option of both either as a home business or as a work from home medical billing job. In a poor economy situation, lots of medical providers still looking for handling their billing details & health care. This is where you have the potential to make huge money.

4. Virtual Assistant : The Virtual Assistant is known as VA industry. It's a industry which is growing very fast and it's becoming a useful for those who want to run their own new home business.

5. eBay Trading Assistant : eBay Trading Assistants help hundred of people to sell their items at ebay and earn a lot. You can also sell the unused items at your home. Just simply visit the site and login with your name and bank details. You can also sell those items which are found only at your place.

Hope you liked my 5 ideas. if you have also some ideas to share then you can share it throgh your comments.

Tech Mahindra opens BPO services in Kolkata

2009-07-20T02:26:00.000-07:00

Good News for the Kolkatans. As a Kolkatans, I am feeling good too. One of the most reputed Company in India Tech Mahindra has announced that they are going to start new BPO centre in the city of Kolkata. By the end of July 2009, they will select for 500 seats then it will reach by 1000 seats within few August 2009.

Though, Tech Mahendra already running theier BPO centers in Noida, Pune, Chandigarh and Chennai. Kolkata is the new name in the list. Tech Mahindra President Sujit Baksi has informed media reporters that they are keen to expand their business in Eastern India. At the initial stage, Tech Mahendra will primarily work for Relaince Communication then they will also start work for other clients too.

What is BPO?

2009-07-18T04:56:00.000-07:00

Business Process Outsourcing

BPO stands for Business process outsourcing. BOP means basically a form of outsourcing and it involves the contracting between the two parties. One party say ABC Bank has given contract to the XYZ Services Ltd to make a software program for them. The Bank will mention all the criteria to the other parties. Once the cost and time period settlement is over then the outsourced party starts the work. It doesn't need that a Bank or any other firm will keep programmer all the time that's why they outsource their project and in this way thy can say lots of money.

BPO comes under the category of back office outsourcing. Back office outsourcing concludes many things like internal business functions and it can be anything like human resources or finance and accounting, and front office outsourcing. If a Business process outsourcing (BPO) is fixed to serve in the outside a company's country then it is called as offshore outsourcing. But if the BPO projects is contracted to a firm neighboring nation then it is known as near shore outsourcing.

BPO industry comes under the information technology industry. You must have heard the terms like Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and legal process outsourcing (LPO) and let me inform you that these are some of the sub-segments of BPO (business process outsourcing) industry.

Kolkata, Inida Sector V site plan building

BPO Revenue:
If any country has taken the advantage of BPO Industry then that is India. India has revenues of around 11 billion US Dollar from offshore BPO. Not only that, India has also revenues of 30 billion US Dollar and it comes from the sector of IT (Information and Technology). There are many cities in India which are getting benefit of BPO sector but the main centers in India are Bangalore, Kolkata (specially Salt Lake & Rajarhat IT park Area), Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Noida, Gurgaon and New Delhi. India is still doing well because the figure show that India has done well even in this recession market.

Kolkata, India Sector V IT Park Area

BPO Benefits:
BPO has many benefits but the one of the most important advantages of BPO sector is the way in which it has helped to increase a company’s flexibility.