Happy Weekend

Will try to finally debug the template this weekend. The title's fonts are still too big and all the changes that I've done were of no effect....

.... well, time to outsource this function!

A good database of companies worldwide

Since the internet has bridged great oceans to enable most companies to compete with each other all over the world, it is very important to have access to the company information of most firms all over.

This is website is very useful not only for BPO firms but for most of all other companies out there. Named Masterseek, it is a new website that serves as a search engine/database of companies all over the world. At present, it has the company profiles of 45 million firms from 75 countries and the list is still growing. Should you need to look for potential clients in your own countries or anywhere in the world, search for it for FREE at Masterseek.

If you want to enter your own company profile and be found by your targeted customers, you may also do it for free. Visit the website now.

Philippine BPO's suffering from a strong currency

With its currency's continued appreciation, Call Centers in the Philippines are now starting to air the pains associated with dollar denominated contracts. With peso denominated wages continuing to increase, a rising peso value greatly reduces their profits from dollar denominated contracts.

I have already discussed my proposed solution to this problem in a couple of posts. This time, let me point out that just like the country's exporters, BPO firms benefited from several years of weak currency. When the peso's value was continuously on the decline, they made a lot of money.

Now that the peso has rebounded, let them ask for some government support but let me put things into proper perspective. The BPO firms should only be entitled to assistance up to the extent that should be given to all other exporters. Giving them excessive assistance will be tantamount to "Dumping".

SITE UPDATE CONTINUES

Managed to remove the photo of that beautiful automobile, courtesy of jason - the template's original designer. Still unable to change the fonts, though. I've replaced the codes but still, nothing happens...

Gotta try again...

For the meantime, more on the latest in outsourcing will continue to be posted.

Happy weekend.

TOP TEN COUNTRIES

According to Forbes Magazine, the ten countries for offshoring based on "Location Attractiveness" are the following:

India - Because of low wages, favorable tax rates, quality of IT training and education, English language skills.

China - Low wages and good educational system

Malaysia - low costs, high level of global integration, strong government support

Czech Republic -competitive infrastructure costs, good education system, stable business environment.

Singapore -education system, infrastructure, intellectual property protection, stable political environment.

Philippines - Graduates an estimated 15,000 technology students annually--more than any other country in the index except the four largest: China, India, Russia and Brazil. It's people has English language skills, low costs, cultural affinity for the U.S.

Brazil - low costs, large population, good business process outsourcing results

Canada - business environment, high-quality workers, infrastructure, language skills

Chile - good infrastructure, including telecom networks, good business environment

Poland - good education system, slightly lower costs than Czech Republic and Hungary.

Based on the current top destinations, another site prepared a list and the ranking is as follows: India, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Hungary, Czech Republic, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, Poland

Outsourcing News

Outsource Your Stuff
A new website has a solution: Outsource them. The website, www.domystuff.com, allows people to auction off chores and other tasks. "It solves two problems: ...

Financial services outsource IT support most
Companies providing financial services outsource IT support more than most other sectors and the growth of outsourced processes is set to continue according ...

Japanese firms asked to outsource parts from S. Korea
By Lee Joon-seung TOKYO, June 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's commerce minister urged Japanese companies Tuesday to outsource parts and components from ...

Spheris Ranks Among Nation's Largest Healthcare Technology Companies
NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 18 -- Spheris, a leading global outsource provider of clinical documentation technology and services, ranks number 22 on the 2007 ...

GSA proposal would outsource contract oversight
Marin said the Republicans recognize the need to outsource the oversight function because of a shortage of federal employees with sufficient training, ...

Interview: Reach Out and Outsource
Rick Mischel: We talked to a lot of developers and found that there weren't enough companies providing strictly outsource services like modeling, design, ...

NEW LOOK

Working on the new format of this website.

This look is through the generosity of I Blog-You Blog and Gecko and Fly. The two design beautiful templates that can be downloaded and used for free.

At this point, I am still trying to figure out a few things like how to replace the photo (automobile) at the top of this blog. I absolutely love that car and in fact, it is now the wallpaper of my PC. However, I need to use another photo for this blog.

Another concern is that I am finding it difficult to replace the font size of the post titles.

I also need to replace a few other items like the RSS and Technoratti feed links at the rightmost side at the top of this blog. Those subscription feeds will still direct you to I Blog-You Blog.

Well, one step at a time.

If you have any idea how to work on those settings in the template of this blog, please let me know.

Regards.

Myths about Outsourcing?

Check this out and tell us what you think.

NEW DOMAIN NAME

I have just registered the name http://www.youroutsourcing.info

Hopefully, this site will go by that domain name sometime next week.

Please bookmark that site and if you start failing to find this site, it should have been moved there.

Regards!

RE-ORGANIZING THIS BLOG

It's been a few months since I started this blog. Currently, we are trying to figure out how to merge this blog with the outsourced jobs and homebased opportunities site into one.

The intention is to host both blogs in one site but separate the contents via tabs. I am not sure if it will work. Let's see.

Later, we will be posting some of the latest in outsourcing. Please stay tuned.

Thanks!

IT GUYS ARE THE HIGHEST PAID BPO EMPLOYEES

It is not surprising to find out that top corporate honchos support IT outsourcing. Being so cost conscious, they need to do something about the fact that guys in the IT department command a high salary that continuous to sharply increase every year. In the Philippines alone, a survey showed that salaries in the field of information and technology surged to more 40% annually.

A few year ago, I also read a news article that in the US, salaries of those working in IT continuous to increase. Despite that, the number of students enrolling in IT courses continue to decline.

LATEST IN OUTSOURCING: PREMIERE OUTSOURCING DESTINATION TO OUTSOURCE OFFSHORE

A bit unbelievable but true.

Faced with brain drain, Indian CIO's will now look at offshore outsourcing companies for their IT needs. The current situation is that the demand for IT skills far outweighs its supply.

"Local service providers lack adequate focus on the Indian domestic market, widening the demand-supply gap by not allocating enough quality resources for Indian customers," said Linda Cohen, vice president of Gartner's IT sourcing group."

In my opinion, the Indians are way to classy to become a victim of their own success. If the trend continues, I can see a lot of Indian businessmen setting IT businesses in the Philippines and its neighboring countries. Foreign IT developers will surely benefit from the new employment opportunity. However, Indian companies can be seen as the largest profit takers in this situation.

TELECOM INDUSTRY TO OUTSOURCE $1... err, $1 TRILLION WORTH OF SERVICES

If the story is accurate, it seems that the Telecom industry's move to outsource a large amount of its business processes will be done to insure its own survival.

"With increased competition and lower-margin products cutting into their profitability, wireline and wireless carriers will be spending nearly USD 1.4 trillion over the next five years on outsourced services in order to reduce costs, according to Insight's newly-released market analysis report titled "Service Bureaus, Outsourcing and Telecommunications Networks 2007-2012."

Well, let's look at it this way, before Voice Over IP (VOIP) was introduced, the consumers all over the world spent a lot of money on long distance and related phone charges. The telecom companies all over the world then made a lot of money. Now, they have to cut down on costs through outsourcing in order to be able to keep up with the times. Though I symphatize end even worry for the employees who will be forced to look for other jobs, a large part of me rejoices at the thought that the consumers are ultimately benefiting.

Reduced communication costs will further result to more economic activity and create more jobs for the economy. That should be good enough for all of us.

TRYING THIS OUT

This site is outsourcing its audience.

By having their videos play in other sites, they increase their audience. Gut!!

Nice idea!!!

WAYS TO FIGHT THREATS TO ASIAN OUTSOURCING

Note: This article is about India but all of the problems discussed in this post are also being faced by most outsourcing companies in the world.

First, it was wage inflation which they are fighting by moving their offices out of the expensive business districts and by hiring fresh (low waged) graduates. Now, it's the Rupee's appreciation which creates an additional worry for India's outsourcing executives. The two events are further compounded by India's recent rationalization of its tax system which is perceived by some to be detrimental to the industry.

The problem of wage inflation increases in magnitude when Forex appreciation occurs. However, the two problems that can be managed with one solution. A creative method proposed by another blog is to settle wages and a few other costs in the currency of the outsourcing firm's contract price. the method effectively arrests the increase in costs brought about by any appreciation in the currency rate.

Should there be any devaluation of the local currency, the employees and suppliers alike are also bound to benefit. I would call that proposal "fair and equitable".

Taking it a step further, the outsourcing company can bring in additional value to their clients by introducing innovations that will result to bigger gains for their clients. A glaring example is India's newly introduced service area called "Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO)" industry which is turning out positive growth for 2007.

As for taxes, I maintain my position that Asia's outsourcing businesses should be officially considered a part of its export industry. As such, it deserves all he breaks being enjoyed by all the other exporters in the country. Importations of equipments should be free of any tariff, sales taxes should not be collected and several other incentives should be given to any offshore outsourcing company. An outsourcing firm exports its services and being a labor intensive industry, wages paid to the employees go back to the local economy in terms of consumer spending.

READER'S RESPONSE

I received a personal email from a blog reader who works as a researcher for a BPO outfit in India. He sent a query for BPO opportunities that may be worth exploring and we are on our 4th round of email exchange, as of this morning.

Reader feedback inspires the writer to continue. A queries and positive remarks are signs that things are doing well while negative feedback allows the author to correct his ways.

More letters will be appreciated and replies are assured.

Thanks!

US FIRMS PREFER THE PHILIPPINES FOR FINANCE AND OTHER BPO SERVICES

This is hardly surprising for some of us in the outsourcing industry. For quite sometime now, there are big American companies that has been using the Philippines as their base for their finance and other outsourcing requirements.

One big difference is that most of the finance and other BPO work were being done by their own employees. This is something that some US companies may try to keep confidential but some of them house their finance departments in the country. Furthermore, I was informed that some US accounting firms have also established working relationships with their Filipino counterparts and had the locals work on some of their processes.

Here are some selected quotes from a related article posted in a provincial news source:

Mr. Gary Reddick, Senior Vice President of AIG Worldwide Life Insurance, shared why his company selected, and is now running a business process operation in, the Philippines, stating “By locating in the Philippines, we are able to leverage AIG’s strong local presence in an environment that is highly conducive to US-focused outsourcing operations.”

AIG American General is the second largest life insurer in the United States. In 2002, it formed AIG-BPSI as a joint venture between AIG General and Philamlife, the largest and most diversified insurance company in the Philippines. AIG-BPSI was to provide outsourced backroom processing as well as contact center services to AIG and its various customers worldwide. AIG-BPSI launched full operations in January 2003. In April 2006, AIG American General completely bought out Philamlife interests in AIG-BPSI.

Mr. Reddick also noted that AIG selected the Philippines because of the country’s advantages over alternative Asian sites: Labor costs equivalent to China; lower and more stable than India; prevalence of spoken American English; cultural and social affinity with the US; modern and stable infrastructure such as water, power, roads, telecommunications; large pool of qualified college graduates seeking white-collar employment; access to specialized skills aligned with US professional standards; government support and tax breaks for the industry; and more familiar environment for expatriate trainers and managers than other Asian alternatives. He added that having a local partner like Philamlife helped a great deal.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO OUTSOURCING'S GROWTH

Despite criticisms and the occasional lampoon, most estimates indicate that business process outsourcing’s growth is unstoppable within the next few years. For example, a survey of investment management companies revealed that 31% are set to increase its administrative and back office outsourcing within the next two years. In addition, a study done by India’s department of commerce showed that its Engineering Process Outsourcing (EPO) industry is very likely to grow tenfold within seven years and reach an annual revenue figure of $30 Billion. The global EPO market is projected to reach $110~140 Billion by 2015.

Looking closely, outsourcing has evolved from being a mere cost saving measure to become a better way of doing business. For instance, Airbus sees outsourcing as a way to access technologies that are outside of the company’s existing know how. It seeks to avail of gains in carbon fiber composite technology by increasing the involvement of Japanese companies in its aircraft manufacturing process.

These developments will undoubtedly increase fears and hatred of offshore outsourcing. However, putting a halt to outsourcing is not the proper action to take, at this point. With so many gains (that can be attributed to outsourcing) being reported by a lot of companies, failure to seriously consider outsourcing is tantamount to giving the competition one’s own head in a silver platter.

BLOGGER'S HOUSEKEEPING INITIATIVES

Probably faced with a lot of spam blogs, Blogger unleashed its electronic spiders that temporarily froze suspected blogs. My other blog containing the latest home based business opportunities and BPO jobs was unfortunately among the accounts erroneously frozen.

This is what I read when I opened the blog's composer;

Your blog is locked

Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What's a spam blog?) Since you're an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and we sincerely apologize for this false positive.

You won't be able to publish posts to your blog until one of our humans reviews it and verifies that it is not a spam blog. Please fill out the form below to get a review. We'll take a look at your blog and unlock it in less than two business days.

If we don't hear from you, though, we will remove your blog from Blog*Spot within a few weeks.

Find out more about how Blogger is fighting spam blogs.

Get your blog unlocked

Word Verification:
Type the characters you see in the picture below....


I filled the appropriate section and the next page said;

Request Received

We have received your request for a review to verify that your blog is not a spam blog. Someone will look over your blog and respond to bpo.asia@gmail.com

Find out more about how Blogger is fighting spam blogs.

I hope to be able to post at the other site again very soon.. The aim of that blog is to be able to help people find work and business opportunities all over the world. Besides, a blog that is not updated becomes stale and losses its regular readers. Oh well!

COMBATTING WAGE INFLATION

Thank goodness work ended a bit earlier than expected..

Further to the "Greatest threat to Indian outsourcing", BPO firms are now taking steps to address wage inflation.

Fresh (low salary) employees are now being hired and offices are now being moved out of the metropolies in order to avail of lower real estate and other costs. In addition, other measures are being implemented that will hopefully maintain their competitiveness. The problem is not peculiar to Indian BPO. It's just that India leads the outsourcing world and is the hardest hit by this problem.

SITE NOTICE: SEE YOU ALL ON MONDAY

We will not be updating this site today since we have to work extended hours in a BPO project.

We shall be posting the next update on Monday.

Happy Outsourcing!