The Hindu Business Line : Raman Roy plans to tap underserved BPO areas

BARELY three months after he bid adieu to Wipro Spectramind, Mr Raman Roy is back on the drawing board finalising the blueprint of an ambitious BPO venture. The new venture would tap the high-value but underserved areas in domains, including legal and healthcare BPO.

Mr Roy, who founded Spectramind in 2000 and sold his company to Wipro two years later, plans to offer end-to-end processes in 4-5 domains as part of his new venture.

"We are looking at a few underserved areas where the ongoing work is low-end or lacks understanding. These include market research, legal, and healthcare. We will incubate some of these domains under what I see as Spectramind II," he said.

Legal BPO encompasses research linked to legal case studies, drawing up of contracts, and litigation support, while healthcare BPO work includes back-office activities for hospitals and insurance companies, or research linked to pharmaceuticals.

Mr Roy and his associates have already tapped the `market research' component by picking-up 40 per cent stake in Annik Technology Services, in their private capacities.

"We may incubate the remaining domains under the BPO company or participate in them in our individual capacities. I have been spending a considerable time meeting partners, customers, and companies in the US. We will also be keen on acquisitions that would allow us to participate in these underserved areas," he said.

Acquisitions would bring domain knowledge, customers, capabilities, go-to-market strategy, and management capabilities.

"Setting up the BPO company would require an initial investment of $6-10 million, which will be funded by my team, and through debt," he said, adding that once a strong business proposition is drawn out, private equity investors too could be roped in. "Texas Pacific Group is one of the companies I am talking to." (Former Wipro Vice-Chairman, Mr Vivek Paul, joined Texas Pacific group recently as a partner.)

This time Mr Roy is more ambitious, and is aiming higher. While Spectramind started with 54,000 sq ft space, the new venture would take up a larger facility.

"We will focus on the US, the UK, and Australia. I am also exploring the domestic BPO market."

Mr Roy says that he does not believe in starting a venture with the purpose of making money.

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