Ankur Prakash Discusses TCS Latin America

As part of the Thought Leaders in Cloud Computing Series, Ankur Prakash, VP and COO of Tata Consulting Services Latin America, gives insight into the Latin American outsourcing market. To give a background on TCS Latin America, they began operations in Mexico City in 2003, and have since expanded into Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina. Brazil, and Uruguay.


Prakash gives his take on the talent in Latin America, the strategy behind seeking first tier cities, and recruiting from the Latin American labor pool.  When asked about the cost advantage of the region, he replied, "As for the Latin American cost advantage, cost arbitrage, I don’t think that any company that works just on cost arbitrage in Latin America can provide any kind of value additional and advantage to local customers."  He also explains that because of the vastly different economies that exist in the region, it is difficult to generalize on cost savings.  Indeed, companies will find most regional generalizations unhelpful when examining Latin America.


Read the full interview here.

Indian IT Firms Outsource Jobs to US?

Outsourcing has truly come full circle.


One of President Barack Obama’s most popular promises was his commitment to stop the outsourcing of American jobs to India. In a unique twist, some of the Indian companies he targeted are now hiring unemployed Americans by the thousands for BPO jobs, as the escalating unemployment rates have made US hires financially attainable for Indian providers.  However, it’s not cost savings but the “local knowledge, efficiency, and increased socialisation” provided by US workers that has Indian IT companies hiring from within the US.


For one, Aegis (the BPO branch of the Mumbia-based Essar Group) currently employs 5,000 US citizens with plans to hire 10,000 more by 2013.  According to an Aegis spokesperson, clients appreciate having local US agents attend to their calls, so Aegis plans to respond by increasing the number of local agents.  Other companies, including Infosys, India’s second largest IT company, Genpact, TCS, and Wipro either have large centers developed in the US or have plans to develop one within the year.  Many industry leaders including Ameet Nivsarkar, spokesperson for IT provider Nasscom, argue that this trend is a very logical step for the growing IT market in India.  ”Most of the multinational hire locally to strengthen their base.  As Indian IT companies look at larger markets and move up the value chain, it makes sense to include local people,” Nivsarkar said.


Read it at Business Today.

Everest Group Says Stop Looking for the "Next India"

Eric Simonson, managing partner of Everest Group Research, argues that the search for the “next India” should be redirected. Rather, outsourcing customers will benefit more from a portfolio-like approach, matching their own needs to unique strengths offered by different regions. For now, India remains a low-cost, low-risk option for clients, but companies can achieve real business value when they recognize and capitalize on different regional strengths, perhaps looking to Latin America for real-time communication with vendors, cultural compatibility, or Spanish Language skills.

Simonson’s belief that we won’t find a “next India” is based on India’s unique advantages like the sheer size of its workforce, maturity of its outsourcing industry, and low labor costs.  India has the second largest labor force in the world with 478,300,000 people. That’s about twice as many laborers as offered by all of the Latin American outsourcing players combined, totaling 244,005,000 people (figures provided by UN 2011 HDR). The paradigm switch from finding the next India to finding a customized portfolio of destinations will allow companies to meet their specific needs and lower risk with an alternate skill source in case, for example, Indian labor rates suddenly soar.

Read it at Global Delivery Report.