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Bharti’s BPO JV bullish on prospects, eyes top-three
slot
Rahul Neel Mani / New Delhi
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| Sunil Mittal |
The BPO market in India is all set for robust
growth in the next five years with a potential to capture at least
30 to 40 percent share of the emerging $550-$700 billion global
market. Bharti Enterprises is now eyeing a major chunk of the BPO
business.
Announcing the launch of Teletech, a 50:50
joint venture partnership company of Bharti Teletech and TeleTech
Holdings, a leading player in the customer management solutions
arena, Sunil Mittal, chairman and managing director, Bharti Enterprises
said, “We are committed to playing a leading role in offering
an entire spectrum of telecom services and solutions and the decision
to strengthen our presence in customer management solutions is a
step in that direction. The company will look into business processes
such as active calling, sales and telemarketing.”
“The new joint venture company foresees
a staff strength of approximately 5,000 in the next three years,”
said Rakesh Mittal of Bharti Enterprises. The company is investing
$20 million in the first year of its operations in India and hopes
to break even in the second year of its operations in India. Teletech
India will initially work for internal customers such as Airtel
and Touchtel. The company will initially offer a state-of-the-art
facility with a capacity of 500 seats in the initial stages of business.
Company sources say that it plans to acquire major outsourcing contracts
from European markets and the US. Sounding optimistic on the occasion,
Sunil Mittal said, “The new entity would soon be among the
top three BPO companies in India.” Sources close to the company
predict another major round of mergers and acquisitions in the BPO
industry in India, which will ultimately lead to consolidation and
further strengthening of this nascent but very promising industry.
On the outrsourcing controversy, Garth
Howard, a senior company official said, “These kind of protests
will not result in any amount of business loss to India as the US
cannot afford to produce such quality services at rock bottom prices
as they are offered in India.” He further added that the US
is not the only market the company is eyeing. “We are also
looking at business opportunities all around the world,” he
said. The company will target the telecom and BFSI segments in India.
The people, business and assets of Bharti’s
existing customer solutions management arm—Bharti Infotrac
will be transferred to the new JV. Teletech India, headed by Sanjay
Kapoor, who takes over as CEO and president, will start operating
in the second quarter of 2003. TeleTech manages customer relationships
for over 150 global clients, including six Fortune top 10 clients.
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