Business Outsourcing Articles
India, the dominant player in outsourcing presented as the "world's back office", would soon have to fight against a rival of the third world – the Philippines.
A highly skilled English speaking labor force. A reliable telecommunications infrastructure. Low cost of qualified personnel. Here are some good reasons for choosing India or the Philippines for outsourcing support.
IT outsourcing in India
India, a former colony of the British Empire for almost two centuries, has the second largest pool of IT talent in the world, following his system UK education under the influence focuses on science and mathematics. With 120,000 trained professionals added to the workforce Indian annual, India is preparing to be an IT giant in the third world and is ranked as the first choice of U.S. companies for software subcontracting. According Nasscomm, a conglomerate of India-based software and services companies, Indian companies are software solution provider to more than half of the Fortune 500.
The launch of India's submarine cable first private operator has greatly improved the situation of international bandwidth. In addition, considerable bandwidth is available with the State Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited, partly owned by the conglomerate India's largest business. The privatization of the telecommunications industry has also resulted in a significant reduction in telecommunication rates. Observers predict that the entry of new players in the industry is poised for a further reduction in telecom prices. In last ten years, telecom costs in India have dropped by 85 percent.
Over the years, India has constructed a capital strong brand as an attractive destination for software development and support. India is host to establish IT companies like IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Sun, HP and Alcatel.
Offshore destination: PHILIPPINES
But the Philippines – one of the second- populations of English-speaking world – is fast catching up in India.
With a literacy rate of 94%, the Philippines has a large number of professionals of information technology and telecommunications infrastructure at competitive prices. The country ranks third in the knowledge and use Information based on 2002 research conducted by Global Technology Index META Group. Three million college graduates join the market work each year, providing a huge source of talent.
An American colony for nearly 50 years, the Philippines has a growing influence West, a unique trait that clearly distinguishes the country from other destinations abroad. Although the Asian orientation, Filipinos watching American television and are therefore able to communicate effectively in American English.
PHILIPPINES: CALL CENTER HUB
In recent years, the Philippines became the destination of choice for Offshore Call Center Outsourcing, specializing in support services customers. Because of the Filipinos' high level of English proficiency and strong customer orientation, many multinationals have used the Philippines as a global center for customer service. America Online, the largest U.S. provider of Internet services, maintains a staff of 600 at its center Appeal in Clark, Pampanga. Caltex, Procter & Gamble, Barnes and Noble, among others, have built service centers in large-scale Philippines.
A promising sector that has requested the support of outsourcing in the Philippines is the business of medical transcription. The Philippines has a vast talent pool of health professionals, including doctors, nurses and medical technologists. Demand for medical transcription has risen as U.S. hospitals are now required by federal regulations to convert files medical data format. Seventeen medical transcription companies are now in operation, employing 1,200 Filipinos.
Provide the country a run for its money
While the Philippines may not be as a leading provider of offshore software and Web services as India, it holds great promise in the industry customer service. Although India does charge lower than the Philippines – for the labor data encoding, the cost of India around $ 4 (U.S.) against $ 10 in the Philippines – more multinationals are choosing the Philippines because of the high quality of work. Moreover, Filipinos make good customer service agents not only because they are fluent in American English, but also because of their helpful and friendly character.
More companies have chosen the Philippines to support overseas. Among the services offered in the Philippines and companies are outsourcing copyediting and indexing, web design and maintenance, data conversion, data warehouses, the data entry and data capture and OCR scanning services, proofreading, coding and entry, imaging services and graphic design center calls and customer service, analysis and document conversion, composition, and tagging, among others.
About The Author
Winston Pepito is the President of Phil-Am Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. (one of most successful outsourcing companies in Asia) based in Cebu City, Philippines. More details about his company can be found at http://www.outsourcing-services.net
winston@outsourcing-services.net