Wipro BPO bullish on overseas demand

In the next five years, Wipro BPO expects a smart surge in revenues from international operations.

"We are looking at markets like China, the Philippines and the US", said V Anandkumar, vice president, people supply chain and employee branding, Wipro BPO. Wipro has just started off with its operations in Shanghai last month, with 100 employees, and is in the final stages of looking at Chengdu in China as another prospective destination in the country, Anandkumar added.

Business process outsourcing (BPO) operations abroad would recruit locals with a few managerial positions to be held by Indian managers, unlike IT companies which employ around 15 to 20 per cent locals. The Atlanta operations will be based on small town university programme. The company has also recently flagged off its operations in Bucharest.

Currently, only 2 per cent of the BPO revenues come from India. Around 80 per cent ofr revenues was from US operations, with the rest flowing in form the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

In India, the company is looking at research and analysis, finance and accounting (F&A), and banking financial services, and insurance (BFSI), as the major growth areas. Wipro will soon start a F&A operations in Kolkata after Chennai, said Anandkumar.

Its non-voice BPO operations have grown by more than 60 per cent over last year, and the company is looking at bagging back-end banking jobs in India.

Telecommunications is another major area of growth in the country. "We have already started due diligence on the sector, and are bidding request for proposals for the various projects", he said. Wipro as a company believes in offering integrated IT-BPO solutions, and the Wipro Infotech projects are likely to be backed with the back-end services and BPO services option, he added. Commenting on the impact of rupee appreciation on BPO business, Anandkumar was confident in saying that it hardly created any discomfort for the major players.

In the next five years, it is expected that the Indian BPO scene will see around five major players with $1 billion revenues. The smaller companies with a profit margin below 7 to 8 per cent, are the ones most likely to be adversely affected, he added. Wipro has profit margins as high as 23 per cent, which are comparable to margins in the IT sector.