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Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Welcome to a new edition of Inside Outsourcing, where we explore the future of the outsourcing industry. Outsourcing reigns supreme despite layoffs in the tech industry. Find out why below.
Outsourcing demand remains at an “all-time high” despite the contraction in Europe’s top two economies and fears of a slowdown in the United States (US), said tech research firm ISG. In an interview with Deccan Herald, ISG principal analyst Mrinal Rai said that they are not expecting global tech spending to slow down over the next few months despite subsequent layoffs by tech giants. Rai added that the outsourcing industry would benefit from a possible recession in the global tech market — specifically in areas like remote working and automation — as companies focus their spending on areas that give quick returns.
Evidence of a never-slowing-down tech outsourcing market is Egypt! Industry body Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) recently held a signing ceremony with 29 big IT offshoring and business process services providers. According to Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr. Amr Talaat, these deals highlight the country’s position as a leading global offshoring and outsourcing hub. ITIDA CEO Amr Mahfouz added that this momentous event “demonstrates the strength of Egypt’s IT sector to attract new business and cement existing relationships.” These contracts are set to create over 34,000 jobs in the export sector and bring in an export value worth US$1 billion annually.
India is projected to create around eight million BPO jobs in the next two years. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Cabinet Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the progress of the local start-up sector allows for the creation of more employment opportunities in the country, especially in outsourcing. Aside from start-ups, Vaishnaw also stated that India is working on becoming a “technological leader” supported by its vast talent pool, inventiveness, high computer literacy, and commitment to excellence in its services. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom (UK) will be bringing in outsourced information technology (IT) providers to strengthen its cybersecurity laws and improve the protection of its essential services. According to UK Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sports (DCMS) Julia Lopez, tech outsourcing is important so that services in healthcare, water, energy, and computing services would not be brought to a standstill by “criminals and hostile states.” The agency added that they would also update the rules and cybersecurity regulations in the tech industry to include companies that provide security monitoring and digital billing. Lopez said that these changes would be made as soon as parliamentary time allowed and would apply to critical service providers in the country.
In other news, multinational IT services and consulting company Cognizant is set to acquire digital transformation consultancy firm AustinCSI. In a press release, Cognizant said that the acquisition complements its tech and vertical industry expertise and helps enrich its advisory capabilities to continue providing clients with comprehensive digital strategy and innovative solutions. Michael Valocchi, Senior VP and Head of Cognizant Consulting and Americas Strategy, added that AustinCSI’s stellar reputation in the telecommunications, media, technology, and automotive sectors would further enrich the value they provide to clients who are embracing various advancing technologies.
Telecommunications provider Tata Communications announced the extension of its partnership with United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based system integrator Intertec Systems to offer managed security services in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Under the deal, Tata Communications will bring its Cyber Security Operations Centre (SOC) and managed security services to bolster the cyber defense of enterprises in the region. Tata Communications Middle East, Central Asia & Africa Region Vaneet Mehta added that the combined forces of Tata and Intertec will bring “global expertise with local experience to help customers digitally transform with agility and flexibility.” At the same time, France-headquartered IT consulting firm Atos will partner with cloud computing services provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate clients’ cloud migration with a large infrastructure of outsourcing contracts. According to Reuters, this collaboration is another step in Atos’ recovery after its stocks dropped by more than 70% over the last 12 months. Atos co-CEO Nourdine Bihmane stated that working with AWS “sends a very strong message to my teams that the future will be made with ‘hyperscalers’ (AWS, Google, Microsoft’s Azure) and that we’ll have to start developing our services around their platform and not only in our datacenters.”
Call center outsourcing provider Energy BPO signed an exclusive licensing agreement to distribute DataScore Inc.’s Engagement Dialing in certain energy markets. According to Energy BPO Founder and President Matt Judkin, this partnership would result in “a solution that is simple, effective, and completely in compliance with all applicable laws.” DataScore’s Engagement Dialing enables sales representatives to connect and speak with more humans, using AI and sophisticated algorithms to select the best time and day to contact prospects based on the client company’s historical data. Since implementing this solution, Energy BPO’s call connection rates increased to five times the previous number, while talk rates increased 7.5 times more than the previous rate.
Digital-led Customer Experience (CX) transformation provider Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) launched a new multilingual CX hub in Barranquilla, Colombia. According to HGS, the expansion will support customers with English, Spanish, and Portuguese CX requirements. The new facility will also open several permanent leadership and frontline positions to help support the firm’s customers through the holiday season and beyond. Partha DeSarkar, Group Chief Executive Officer of HGS, added that they are confident that the new hub “will act as a catalyst to significantly scale our CX capabilities for our expanding multilingual client base globally.”
BPO and consultancy firm Webhelp is given top ratings in customer experience management (CXM) in the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC), and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) by global analyst firm Everest Group. Named as a Major Contender and Star Performer, Everest’s PEAK Matrix® Assessments validate Webhelp’s growth strategy across 60 countries in the past 12 months. Commenting on this recognition, Webhelp CEO and Co-Founder Olivier Duha said that their performance in the PEAK Matrix assessments “[demonstrates] our position as a global leader” and underlines the success of their strategic expansion and investments across key regions. Similarly, outsourcing provider Peak Support won the Best Outsourcing Provider of the Year at the 2022 International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) Global Contact Center Awards. Peak Support CEO Jonathan Steiman said that being recognized by the ICMI “is a big deal” and is the result of their “talented and tireless team showing up, diving in, and staying at it for our world-class clients.” Peak Support’s COO John Yanez added that the award is a testament to their incredible team, “which is deeply driven by providing an exceptional customer experience for our clients and their customers.”
Congratulations!
BPO giant Atento S.A. recently appointed Dimitrius Oliveira as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and board member. Atento’s Chairman of the Board, Robert Payne, said that they are confident that Oliviera “is the best positioned to assume this role given his significant experience at Atento and his strong business vision and operational insights.” Oliveira succeeds Carlos López-Abadía, who will continue working with Atento as an advisor. Meanwhile, to ensure a smooth leadership transition, Atento also appointed Anil Bhalla as its new Executive Chairman of the Board. Replacing Payne’s position, Bhalla would lead key strategic transformational initiatives and specific growth objectives within the firm.
Advertised jobs in Switzerland’s IT industry grew by 7.5% month-on-month in November as demand for tech workers remained. According to the newly-released Michael Page Swiss Job Index, demand was particularly high for IT support specialists, systems, telecommunication and database specialists, IT administrators, and developers across the country. Page Group Switzerland Managing Director Yannick Coulange said that many companies have now finalized their 2023 IT budgets and have begun recruiting new IT specialists, given the strong competition in the sector. Overall, advertised jobs across Switzerland increased on a year-on-year basis by 14.4% and 1.4% on a monthly basis. In India, telecalling remains to be the most popular industry as job applications for executive roles jumped by 60% in the past 12 months. According to a poll by professional platform apna.com, 61% of their users prefer work-from-home telecalling jobs as it offers more flexibility than working on-site. Job posts in the industry also grew by at least 76%, with an average of 1200 new telecalling jobs being posted every day. apna.co Chief Business Office Manas Singh said that many of their users are applying for night-shift telecalling jobs to enhance their post-pandemic incomes.
The 4-day workweek has been officially greenlit in the UK! One hundred companies in the country signed up for a permanent four-day working week following several months of trial on the new work model. According to Joe Ryle, UK Director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, there was increasing momentum in the adoption of the four-day week, even as companies brace for a long recession. Out of 70 companies participating in the campaign’s trials, 88% said that the four-day week was working “well,” while 95% said that productivity had either stayed the same or improved since the introduction. The organization added that they are hoping that these firms will be the “vanguard of a major shift” in Britain’s approach to work.
Quality, not quantity…
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
NEWS THIS WEEK
05 December 2022
- Telecalling remains to be the most popular job in India, says Apna poll – read article…
- Egypt’s ITIDA signs deals with 29 IT, BPO providers – read article…
- Cognizant to acquire AustinCSI – read article…
- Advertised IT jobs in Switzerland up 7.5% in November – read article…
- Atento appoints new top officials – read article…
02 December 2022
- Atos, AWS collaborate to help fast-track cloud migration – read article…
- HGS opens new CX hub in Colombia – read article…
- Energy BPO signs exclusive distribution deal with DataScore – read article…
01 December 2022
- Webhelp named Major Contender for CXM by Everest Group – read article…
- Peak Support wins Best Outsourcing Provider of the Year – read article…
- India to create 8M BPO jobs in the next two years – read article…
- UK to improve cybersecurity with outsourced IT providers – read article…
29 November 2022
- Tata Communications expands partnership with Intertec Systems – read article…
- Outsourcing demand remains at ‘all-time high’ — ISG – read article…
- 100 UK companies sign-up for permanent 4-day workweek – read article…
- 1.2K tech employees laid off in Singapore – read article…
