The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) in association with FORTUNE® Custom Projects is pleased to present the 11th edition of its world-renowned conference series – The Outsourcing World Summit.

This year’s theme is Built for Change: Reconceptualizing the Corporation in an Era of Outsourcing, Offshoring, and Globalization. Outsourcing, offshoring, and globalization have proven to be powerful value-creation engines for customers, providers, and the economy as a whole. But they’re still too often seen as simple extensions of the company’s basic way of doing business; adding value, but not changing the company at its core.

IAOP believes that tomorrow’s winners will actually be those organizations that truly use these new management models to redesign their businesses from the ground up as change-enabled enterprises – ones with the ability to adapt, respond, anticipate and most importantly capture markets in ways never before thought possible.

Download 2008 Summit Program

The growth story of Indian IT and ITeS sectors may continue unabated, but it is the big names that are dominating the market with double the growth rate recorded by the rest.

The six IT majors -- TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam, HCL Technologies and Congizant -- along with two BPO giants Genpact and WNS are recording a yearly growth rate of over 40 per cent, according to technology consultancy firm Everest Group. Read More

The IT sector and BPO companies have seen only good times, except in early 2000. This trend of the rising rupee will force them to be more innovative in managing their treasury, operational efficiency and their geographic footprint. For last several years, many Indian companies (the top 10), were satisfied with their on-site /offshore (read India) model.

Now it has become important to speed up plans to not only spread the geo-political risk but to manage the strategic risk. Indian IT/ITES companies have also started diversifying globally in order to reduce their exposure to the US market. For instance, the big five Indian IT companies, derive about 70% of their revenues from the US, have now started focusing on Europe in a big way (Infosys, WIPRO and TCS get about 28%-30 % revenue from Europe.)

The Indian rupee is on a rising curve. In the past one month it has appreciated by 3.6% to the dollar and since January 1 by a whopping 12% to the dollar. The rising rupee has become a major cause for concern among Indian ITES/BPOs firms, especially the smaller firms that are not adequately hedged. Minimum alternative tax (MAT) and service tax further add to their blues. With every 1% appreciation in the rupee the operational margins decline by almost to the tune of four basis points.

The BPO companies are primarily offshore driven. More than 95% people are from here, so that means their cost is in Indian rupees and many of them earn in dollars. So, they will have a larger impact than the IT companies with a large part of onsite component where people work in the US so their salaries are also paid in the US. So to that extent, there is less impact . Almost all Indian companies have started hedging their currency positions. Some companies park a part of their dollar deposits abroad, so as to avoid the risk of currency movements.

Companies are trying to bring in efficiency in various ways to mitigate the impact. The improvement in billing rates can offset some of the currency impact. More importantly, new clients are coming in at higher price points. This may be difficult as the local companies are not affected by this trend and compete very well with the global delivery capabilities of the Indian companies. Read More

The BPO industry wants to initiate its notorious bunch of cab drivers into meditation to bring some sense of discipline into their driving. So, after senior-level employees and agents, it’s the turn of BPO cabbies to take to the stress-busting sessions.

The initiative has been crystallised by the recent incident of a BPO cab mowing down seven people in Delhi. Even in the past there have been a spate of incidents of rash driving by BPO cabbies, which have caused fatal accidents.

There’s a thought within the BPO industry that cab drivers, who are often on duty almost 16 hours a day, have little time to catch up with sleep or family.

“We are looking at yoga consultants and mediation sessions to reduce their stress levels,” says the president of Call Centre Association of India, Sam Chopra. “We are also devising tools for stress management, as a rash cab driver not only endangers his own life, but also that of the other seven people in the cab.”

Due to water-tight login times, cab drivers have to meet sharp deadlines every day. Cab drivers often over-speed to save on the penalty imposed by BPOs if they delay on reporting times. Courses like Art of Living will help alleviate their stress levels, the industry feels.

Many vendors make drivers do double shifts that stretch up to 16-17 hours. Seeing the rash behaviour of call centre cab drivers, the Delhi Traffic Police came out with a notice threatening to cancel permits if cab drivers speed over 40 kph in Delhi limits.

“All cabs will run in the middle lane. Violation will lead to impounding and suspension or cancellation of permits from November 1,” the Delhi Police notice said.

The notice has, however, evoked conflicting reactions from the industry. “It will lead to longer travel times and thus, more stress amongst employees and cab drivers alike,” says a senior call centre executive. “It can lead to a rise in attrition.”

Some BPOs have, however, welcomed the move. “It may lead to more travel time, but it will be safer for employees in the industry,” says Harsh Vinayak, MD, Keane BPO at Gurgaon.

“We already have severe penalties for over speeding such as cutting down margins of cab vendors if our service agreements are not met.” Some BPOs, however, just terminate or ground a driver permanently if he is found overspeeding.

The BPO concentration in satellite towns of Noida and Gurgaon has made cab service very lucrative, tempting villages around to start cab and taxi services.

Some village families own up to 15 cabs and run taxi services with hired and poorly-trained drivers. This has made such erring drivers a nuisance to the city.
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Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has received backing from leading Indian Americans, is walking a fine line on the sensitive outsourcing issue as key labour unions withhold endorsements pending clear position from the candidates on it, a leading American newspaper has said.

Media has profiled the predicament of Senator Clinton in a front page article contrasting the two different positions she has taken on the issue over the last two years.

Clinton has been pressed by Labour leaders on her support for expanding temporary US work visas that often go to Indians who get jobs in the US, the report said. read more