Monday, May 14, 2012

BPO companies saying bye to big smokes, Capturing Tier III areas

In the beginning of Christian era, One observation spread all over, that the India were essentially a greenhouse, which depends only on their agriculture and a myth of lacking in a spirit of globalisation and industrialization, is already dispelled.


India had the distinction of being the world's largest economy via globalisation in the past few years, as it accounted for about 32.9% share of world GDP and about 32.5% of the world population. The goods produced in India had long been exported to far off destinations across the world. Since independence India has been rapidly globalised & industrialized. giant industrial concerns are located at suitable places and not all over the country, they concentrated only to the metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, or to some IT hubs like Bengaluru or Chandigarh.
But we never deny that villagers comprise the core of Indian society and also represent the real India. And it is for these villagers that we need to make sure we build a system that delivers basic social infrastructure in an effective manner. “Lower cost of operations and better retention of employees are driving growth,” (NASSCOM). Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector is first among all, who not only understood the situation but also they are leading to betterment of rural India.

BPO companies are now going away from the big smokes to the small towns or even to the villages in search of talent as well as to economies the cost of their operations. Rural BPOs are compelling outsourcing companies and business ventures due to factors such as availability of talent, affordable real estate, low attrition rates, cheap labor and minimal operational costs. According to a NASSCOM survey IT-BPO firms are set to increase the total rural BPO employee base by more than 10 times over the next three years.

According to the Nasscom Regional Director Mr. K. Purushothaman, BPO companies are moving away to low-cost countries such as the Egypt & Philippines. If India needs to retain its brand image of world's outsourcing destination, it will have to explore newer avenues and areas. “Small towns, Tier-III areas and rural areas are the next best options for these outsourcing companies. Talent is available in these rural areas, but it will have to be re-oriented to meet the requirements of the industry standards,” The challenge, however, is not just finding skilled workforce. It lies in getting the right infrastructure, adequate quality power and bandwidth connectivity. These are certainly worrying factors for BPOs who seek to set up shops in rural areas.

Nasscom has been urging the State governments to provide subsidies to help these companies make a foray into rural India. Nasscom, according to Mr. Purushothaman, is working with many smaller BPO firms in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, asking them to set up rural BPOs.

Rural India holds a lot of potential and talent waiting to be tapped,” feels Shalabh Jain, Executive Vice-President, Asia Business Unit, First-source Solutions. The company has partnered Rural-shores to set up a 135-seat delivery center at Chand, a village in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh. First-source and Rural-shores have joined hands to set up this rural office to empower the Indian youth and create employment opportunities.

Major BPO companies such as First-source Solutions, Wipro, HDFC, Tata Group, and Priamal Foundation are making a beeline for rural areas. These companies are either partnering local NGOs (non-government organisations) or existing small outfits to set up rural BPOs.
In order to increase the BPO presence in rural areas, Nasscom, in collaboration with the ICT (information, communication and technology) Academy and the State governments, has been inviting BPOs to set up their centres in rural areas. It has asked these companies to use the infrastructure and talent available at the government college campus. This will pare the real estate cost for companies and also reduce the attrition levels.




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