India’s KPO market is
expected to touch US$30 billion by 2015 from the FY2013 level of US$20 billion,
which highlights the fact that KPO industry in India, continues to grow at a CAGR
of about 30% annually, according to ASSOCHAM. India dominates the Global KPO
industry as it controls the 70% market and industry is seeing good growth
despite the economic slowdown that impacted the outsourcing industry as a
whole. Growth in the Industry is fueled by demand for profession-based services
in areas of research for capital & financial markets, legal works, editing
jobs for international publishing houses, analytics, etc. KPOs has also other
advantages like better work tools and processes, sophisticated client
centricity, higher billing rates & more domain focused organizations. Currently
the industry has more than 3.5 lakh professionals specialized in engineering,
medicines, management and professionals in the field of accountancy, company
secretary and legal fraternity but there still is huge demand for professionals
as the industry still needs around 6-8 lakhs professionals by 2015. Not only HR requirement is an issue but also
the fact the KPO industry deals with highly confidential and secured data,
India needs to work its data security and privacy laws. The KPO sector deals
with confidential data, including financial data, treasury and cash management
functions and investment portfolio decisions and needs to address the issue of
data security raised by international clients, said Mr. Mr. D S Rawat, ASSOCHAM
Secretary General.
Some of the KPOs in
India are Evalueserve, Genpact, EXL Service, Copal Partners, WNS, PANGEA3, etc.
Availability of highly educated talent, cost arbitrage, favorable government
policies, Time Zone advantage, India has become the most attractive location
for KPO. Companies like Bain & Co, Mckinsey & Co, Ernst & Young,
and KPMG have their own knowledge centres in India. India’s professionals are
proficient in KPO software like SPSS, SAS and MS Excel and well trained in
advanced analytical, technical and interpretation skills. But industry is
facing stiff competition from countries like Philippines, Russia, China, Poland
and Hungary as these are emerging strong contenders for KPO business in view of
qualified KPO professionals, low-cost advantages, domain expertise, location
advantage, sales and marketing capabilities and data compliance, according to
ASSOCHAM. Industry have to look at Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities where there is
good talent available due to presence of good educational institutions and the
companies can work closely with these institutions and train the talent
accordingly. With high speed internet penetration, Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities
are a good option for KPO Industry players and since KPO work can be done by
individuals or small teams – remote work is also possible. KPO companies have
to come up with working models that can tap into the isolated resources pools
available in smaller towns across India, adds the ASSOCHAM. KPO industry growth
will be driven by factors like breadth and depth of coverage, domain expertise,
location advantage (e.g., near-shoring & language capabilities), sales and
marketing capabilities, data compliance with respect to regulatory standards
(especially of USA, Canada & the European Union) and the management of
business risks, according to ASSOCHAM. The KPO industry has matured and the
range of services being provided has expanded from research and analytics, to a
variety of services, such as legal process outsourcing and clinical trial
management.
