Comments
In what may turn out to be a major boost for tier II towns of West Bengal, several IT companies have shown interest in moving into smaller towns such as Siliguri for setting up BPO units.
Cost efficiencies of 25 per cent when compared with Kolkata and 35 per when compared with other tier I cities such as Bangalore and Hyderabad remain a major draw for them.
Mr Souparno Moitra, regional manager, National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), told Business Line : “It's a fact that non-voice / voice BPO companies will have to move to tier II towns in the coming days.
Cost pressure on them is high and they have to be globally competitive as well.”
Some new entrants such as SoftThink Intelligent Private Solutions will set up its BPO unit in Siliguri. SoftThink is primarily into software development, and will create around 750 jobs in the region.
Hinduja Global Solutions Ltd (HGSL) too is planning to set up its third centre in Siliguri. The centre will cover the northern region of West Bengal and the North-Eastern States.
HGSL has been among the first companies to have set up a voice BPO unit in Durgapur – another tier II township in West Bengal. HGSL provides outsourcing solutions that include back office processing, contact center services and customised IT solutions.
Industry sources add that even Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management (EIILM) has plans to set up a BPO unit there.
Acclaris, operating from Siliguri since 2007, confirmed a reduction in operating costs.
Acclaris is a software development and ITeS company that operates in the healthcare segment. It has three delivery points – Vizag, Kolkata and Siliguri.
“We operate from Siliguri at 20 per cent lower cost than what we normally would have had we been in Kolkata.” Mr Kalyan Kar, managing director, Acclaris, said.
ATTRITION RATES
According to industry sources, attrition rates in tier II towns are much lower – around 10 per cent – than in a metro where it is as high as 40 per cent.
“Our attrition rate in Siliguri is sub-10 per cent while nationally it stands at around 40 per cent,” Mr Kar added.
Staff salaries too are lower. While in Kolkata a call centre operator's salary is around Rs 7,500, in a tier II city it is Rs 5,000.
REAL ESTATE COSTS
Further, setting up a facility in a tier I city is cost-intensive considering sky rocketing real estate prices. In Kolkata, the rent is around Rs 150 a square feet while in a tier II city the rates are as low as Rs 40.
Mr Jayanta Saha, founder CEO and director, SoftThink told Business Line that operations in Siliguri will ensure a 25 per cent reduction in costs for the company.
HUMAN RESOURCES
On the availability of human resources in the region, Mr Saha said that initial studies by the company have shown an availability of “English speaking” people in the region, especially in the surrounding areas of Kurseong, Darjeeling and Siliguri.
“Most of the schools here are English medium ones and hence language is not going to be a problem,” he added.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.