Poor image hampers outsourcing business

Saturday, May 10, 2008
By our correspondent

KARACHI: Poor global image and lack of branding are the basic impediments faced by Pakistan in attracting Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and despite a huge potential in the country, regional competitors like India and the Philippines are capturing the $45 billion BPO market.

This was the crux of a presentation on ‘How The Resource Group (TRG) Pakistan Ltd bas become a success story, a Pakistan’s case study’ by TRG’s Country Manager Pakistan Nadeem Elahi here on Thursday.

“Business Process Outsourcing is a viable solution to employing our skilled youth,” Nadeem Elahi, who is also TRG’s Managing Director, said. “But BPO in Pakistan is facing problems like poor image of the country in the world and infrastructure problems.”

The BPO industry provides a variety of outsourcing services such as customer care, payroll processing and other administrative functions primarily related to large-scale service-based organisations such as financial institutions and telecom companies.

The worldwide BPO market is worth around $45 billion with India holding a huge 70 per cent share. Indian information technology and BPO exports are worth over $30 billion per annum and it employs a big number of skilled workers.

“Poor global image of Pakistan is our serious problem, and its proximity to Afghanistan, especially after 9/11, has badly damaged the image of the country worldwide. On the other hand, Pakistan has made absolutely no efforts to create brands,” he added.

Pakistan has the potential to capture the BPO market, which is supported by sufficient English-speaking youngsters. Though the country is a new entrant, it has an edge over India as the Indian labour pool has now reached the saturation point.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=111629

This is an area that's virtually untapped and has massive growth potential. I've been seriously thinking about it in past couple of months. I work for a European IT company that outsources to India. When I see how many IT specialists are hired from India and almost none from Pakistan it really disappoints me. Especially when I know the pool of talent that exists in Pakistan. Every IT manager I've spoken to acknowledges the huge potential and ability of Pakistan's IT sector. Every IT professional recognizes the advantage of affordable highly skilled manpower and the level of service quality that they expect from a country like Pakistan. In fact, some companies seriously consider moving to Pakistan having been dissatisfied in India. The only thing that prevents these companies from making the move is the perceived image and lack of organization in the country as the article points out.

I am involved in the outsourcing business as well. You avoid saying Pakistan till very end.The thing is that even if the management wishes to come to Pakistan, and is knowledgable about the many oppurtunities, the shareholders avoid it. All they have to say is "Pakistan?" "but theres a war on". make some joke and thats it.

how can one go about setting up a software companie in pakistan?

is it difficult to make cliets?

HOW? if you provide solution and proper packages im more than poitive you will attract clients. Its not ppl love Indiann but they love the fact tht it gives them best solution for less of a price else where. So thats what you need to do.

Im sure there are many IT graduates in Pakistan who need job and many things can be done.

You can't expect business when almost every news item about Pakistan is negative. Indians set up IT businesses in the late 90's, when Pakistani leaders were busy looting their country.

i know but what are the ways to contact cliets,
i am thinking of opening a BPO companie or a KPO companie

Not really, if you have product and solution that suites the need of client they will come to you. Very simple.
yeh some part of IT might have image problem, but if you have software which meets the clients requirement and is at attractive price and there is assurance of support i doubt the client is gonna think hey what if the system goes suicide.




Depends where you live and what is you target market and what kind of access you have. If i eva decide to have a go in this area i will have a crack at software development and hardware development. Pakistan has talent but lack the bucks and thats what it needs.

Remember pakistanis were the creator of one of the first if not the first computer virus in the world. So we do have imagination and innovation.

1 Pakistani is right, out of you lot who live outside Pakistan the software which runs your email or your computer games, where was it programmed, who knows? at the end of the day its about supply and demand. Too many pakistanis are just looking for excuses as to why Pakistan has not succeeded. When what they should be doing is making an attempt to do something themselves. Last year Vodaphone took a big stake in Al Warid telecom. There is massive money to be made in Pakistan which is what drives companies there.

I work for Capita which claims to be the largest BPO company in the UK, we have an indian subsidiary too, but its a small one at the moment. Pakistan has huge potential.

ps I went on an software anti virus course here in the UK a few years back, where they told me the world first pc based virus was built in Lahore, back in 1985!

It was created by 2 brothers who wanted to stop people pirating their software, it was called the Lahori dimaag (The Lahori brain) aka the brain.

in Australia its called "Pakistani virus" though not a good name, but it high lights the potiential of our ppl and to my information there is no cure for this virus, though it is controlled but if somehow it gets onto you system you can kiss part of you system good bye. Its a bootsector virus as far as i knnow and it basically stuffs it up.