The Hindu Business Line : BPO cos set sights on Europe

IN an effort to de-risk their largely US-centric business, Indian BPO companies are setting their sights on the relatively untapped markets of the European Union (EU).

According to a recent study by research firm IDC, the EU is warming up to the outsourcing concept with a 150 per cent rise in outsourcing deals in 2003 compared to 2002. The ITES industry too is gearing up to capture a piece of the pie.

"Companies are definitely looking at UK and other European countries. While UK is an established market, Germany, France and Spain are emerging as potential markets. However, language remains a challenge in some of the EU nations. UK will clearly be a preferred destination within Europe," Mr Rohit Arora, Chairman of BPO company eMR Technology Ventures, said.

eMR, which currently derives all its revenues from the US, is looking at establishing a presence in the UK by the end of the year. Mr Arora suggested that BPO companies that would like to overcome the EU language challenge could do so by establishing a presence in East Europe (Poland and Czech Republic), a cheaper base with the required skill sets.

For Mumbai-based Epicenter Technologies Pvt Ltd, revenues from the UK have risen dramatically from five per cent in 2003 to 30 per cent in 2004. "With 2004 an election year in the US, a lot of decision making had slowed down even as the UK picked up. UK's pro-outsourcing stance resulted in a lot of business coming to India," said Mr Navanit, Chief Operating Officer. He pointed out that despite the potential, other EU nations would take time to catch up with mature markets like the UK in wooing Indian companies. "Though non-English work involves serious efforts, it would initially translate into a marginal increase in business," he said. Mr Rohit Kapoor, President and CFO of Nasdaq headed EXLService Holdings, agrees that while Europe is emerging a strong market, business would remain heavily biased towards the UK.

"Companies in UK feel comfortable in outsourcing to India. UK has full employment and hence going forward, they will find it difficult to recruit professionals locally, and more and more work will be seen outsourced to India," Mr Kapoor said.

With insurance companies being the early adopters of outsourcing in the UK, Mr Kapoor sees the trend catching up in other verticals including banking, retail, technology and telecom.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
BPO cos set sights on Europe

Xenitis Infotech products

UAE Exchange to launch new remittance facility

Passport fails to take MS far on Web services

IT'll be 1-million strong quite soon

`30 PC virus outbreak incidences in 2004'

C-Dac workshop in Hyderabad

Looking Back