Gujarat, which had been riding high on the BPO boom, is now concerned about a new proposed US law, which seeks to bar US call centres operating in locations such as India from seeking federal grants or loans.

The bill, if passed, also has a provision to charge US call centres a penalty of $10,000 per day, for failing to report a relocation to an offshore location, within 60 days to the US Department of Labor.

Industry estimates say that eight out of 10 companies in Gujarat caters to the US markets.

“It is unfortunate that a report relating to the bill cites reasons like outsourced call centres like the ones based in India pose a serious security threat. This is nothing but a political move,” said Jay Ruparel, co-founder and chief executive officer, Azure Knowledge Corporation.

The bill also proposes that customer service representatives will have to disclose their locations and transfer call back to the US on request. (more…)

Infosys BPO, the back office subsidiary of Infosys, has acquired Australia-based sourcing and category management services firm Portland Group. The A$37-million all-cash deal is expected to be completed by early January 2012.

According to Infosys, which has often been criticised by analysts and industry watchers for not being aggressive on acquisitions despite sitting on almost $4 billion of cash, the deal will help it establish presence in the Australian market with more offerings in the value-added segment.

“The deal will essentially enable us to have a reach into the Australian market. It will enhance our sourcing and procurement capabilities. Infosys’ focus has always been on value-added services and this will add to it,” Swamithan D, CEO and MD of Infosys BPO, told ET.

Portland Group has over 100 employees with a reported revenue of approximately A$31.3 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011. “Portland Group has over 100 procurement specialists with domain expertise and some 40-odd clients. None of them is our clients as of now. The deal will certainly help us intensify our service offerings and take sourcing and procurement functions to a higher level,” he added. (more…)

It was a feast for the ears and the eyes. The women were in red, the men in black, and the stage was rimmed in seasonal greenery and lights as the combined Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus awaited conductor JoAnn Falletta’s downbeat Friday morning in the annual “Classical Christmas” concert.

She responded with a lavish program containing 16 works ranging from music that everyone knows and loves to selections of considerably more substance than one usually expects in seasonal concerts of this sort.

From the listener’s perspective, the mix was marvelous.

The glittering orchestration of Rimsky-Korsakov illuminated the opening “Polonaise” from his “Christmas Eve” suite, immediately followed by Waldteufel’s “The Skater’s Waltz,” with its familiar theme and lilting rhythms. (more…)

Engineers from Delhi and Bihar are the best when it comes to IT product, IT services, KPO, BPO, software testing and hardware networking roles, according to a survey.

The National Employability Study 2011 by Aspiring Minds after analysing the employability scores of over 1.2 lakh final year engineering graduates reveals that while Delhi engineers are the best when it comes to IT services, BPO, KPO, software testing and hardware testing, engineers from Bihar (including Jharkhand) were the best in IT product roles where Delhi engineers come a close second.

Bihar and Jharkhand engineers took the second spot in IT services, BPO, KPO, software testing and hardware testing roles.
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh lag behind in quality even though they have a large number of engineering colleges. (more…)

Techno Brain, Africa’s leading ICT Solutions, IT Training and BPO / ITES services provider and a CMMI Level 3 & ISO 9001: 2008 Certified company with operations in USA and India announced today that its BPO / ITES division has been listed in the 2011 CIO Awards for Top 100 Innovative Companies in East Africa. Techno Brain BPO / ITES Division is also the only BPO Company to be listed in the Top 100.

“It is an honor to be listed in the CIO Top 100 Innovative Companies,” said Manoj Shanker, CEO, Techno Brain Group. He also added, “Being the only BPO Company to be present in the Top 100 list makes this award more important for Techno Brain. This award recognizes our journey and track record in integrating IT with business processes to deliver innovative solutions and long term business value to clients across the globe.”

Lakshman, General Manager, Techno Brain BPO / ITES, stated, “This is a pretty good start for us and getting listed in Top 100 Innovative Companies is a testimony to our best BPO practices. In the present market scenario, IT has become the key strategic player and differentiating factor for BPO companies. Keeping this in mind, we will strive to demonstrate excellence in implementing ICT for delivering significant and best-in class business process outsourcing services going ahead.” (more…)

To give girls belonging to backward classes an edge in the competitive job market, the Kerala SC/ST Women’s Welfare Association has decided to introduce BPO training programme for them in the district headquarters.

The association’s legal advisor advocate Sunil M Karani said on Tuesday that the short-term courses were aimed at equipping tribal students with the nitty-gritty of the BPO industry.

“The free course will be held with the support of BPO training centres and placement cells in every district. Our aim is to improve the professional standard of these girls and help them to be on a par with their urban colleagues,” he said.

Minister for the welfare of backward communities P K Jayalakshmi had promised financial aid for the training programme, especially designed for SC/ST girls who had passed plus-two or an equivalent course. (more…)

The Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards is an international series of awards, which recognizes the best in learning, talent management, sales and marketing.

Brandon Hall Group is a pre-eminent research and analyst organization, focused on developing research-driven solutions to drive organizational performance for emerging and large organizations. The Brandon Hall Group’s Excellence Awards Program is judged by a panel of independent senior judges along with the group’s industry expert analysts and leadership.

Speaking about the award, Mr. Raghavendra K., Vice President and Head - Human Resources Development, Infosys BPO said,“We are honoured to receive this prestigious award. The award recognizes the efforts of Infosys BPO towards exhibiting excellence through its innovative on-boarding programs whilst showing quantifiable business results to drive organizational excellence. The main objective of our on-boarding programs is to upskill employees by providing them with the most innovative and effective training programs. It also goes a long way in showcasing how high the benchmark has been set for superior quality and innovation.” (more…)

SPI GLOBAL Holdings, Inc., the business process outsourcing arm of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), has opened a new facility in North Carolina, United States in line with plans to expand into health care solutions.
This, after the firm in October consolidated its health care management subsidiaries–US-based Springfield Service Corp. and Laguna Medical Systems–under SPi Healthcare.

“This expansion addresses the demand for our services and will put us in a position for future growth. The demand is reflected in the five-year growth of…SPi Healthcare and the industry-leading profits we had. The trend is very encouraging,” Maulik Parekh, SPi Global preisdent and chief executive officer, said in the statement.

The newly-opened Greensboro facility is expected to add 75 employees to the firm by the end of 2013. (more…)

Filinvest Land Inc., the listed property unit of the Gotianun family, plans to build one of the biggest office portfolios in the country, as it remains bullish on the business process outsourcing industry.

Filinvest Land said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it had lined up new BPO buildings that would boost its leasable office space to 258,000 square meters by early 2014.

“Filinvest Land remains very bullish on the BPO sector and is rapidly expanding its office portfolio to meet the needs of the industry,” the company said.

The company recently completed the construction of its latest BPO office building at Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang.

Vector Two, the company’s 12th BPO building at the Northgate Cyberzone, is being turned over for tenant fit-outs and is expected to start contributing to revenues starting in January 2012. (more…)

With BPO companies expanding out to next wave cities and other key urban areas, Robinsons Land Corporation announced that it has completed mall-based BPO spaces in Luzon and Mindanao that are ready to receive tenants.

RLC’s Arlene Magtibay, Business Unit General Manager of Commercial Centers Division said the firm has already completed office spaces for lease, ideal for BPOs, in its malls in Paco in Manila, Tarlac City, and Davao City.

She added that RLC’s mall complexes in Tacloban and Dumaguete also have available spaces for the construction of an office building if there is demand from the market.

Magtibay said the three malls have a total of over 21,000 square meters of available office area for lease while the size of the Tacloban and Dumaguete BPO buildings will depend on the prospective tenants’ specifications. (more…)