COGNIZANT RECOGNIZED AS AMONG THE TOP BUSINESSES

Global beverage giant Pepsico and outsourcing major Cognizant, both headed by Indian-origin persons, figure on a list of '50 best corporate performers' by US financial magazine BusinessWeek.

However, both the companies – Indra Nooyi-run Pepsico and Francisco D'Souza-headed Cognizant Technology – have dropped from their previous year rankings.

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Business outsourcing at the heart of Morocco's interests

Business outsourcing at the heart of Morocco's interests

Business Intelligence Middle East (press release) - United Arab Emirates
Many Western companies have benefitted from cheaper labour costs by outsourcing work to foreign countries in a process known as "offshoring". ...

Selecting the best hosting services provider

People put up websites to be able to impart a message. If the website is commercial in nature, the message that it intends to pass on is for the readers to try its products or services. If the website is personal in nature, the message may vary from passionately passing on the site owners’ thoughts to simply informing the readers about happenings in their personal lives. Whatever the messages are, one thing is very clear – the site owners want it to be heard. A lot of site owners even go through the trouble of optimizing their sites for search engine visibility and Page rank. In fact, millions of dollars are currently being spent in such efforts. It is therefore a big taboo for a website to go down even for a single minute. A website should be up and running whenever a reader comes to it. For website owners to avoid experiencing any lost moment in cyberspace, they should look for the best web hosting providers. These providers should not only offer low rates but their packages should also come with redundant and backed hosting that will guarantee a 100% reliability come hell or high water. Kaushal Sheth, a blogger who provides free web templates has taken time to share his personal evaluation and ranking of various hosting services. In regard to outsourcing, BPO companies that rely on a lot of web interface with their clients should know the value of a good provider. After all, it is the lifeline of their businesses.

Outsourcing Updates (21 March 2008)

Sunbelt Outsourcing has changed its name to Sunbelt Business Solutions
13 March, 2008 - Incorporated as Sunbelt Outsourcing Pvt. Ltd in 2003, the Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) unit has made a steady progress to evolve ...

Over 60% of Tech Pros Cite Application Maintenance and Knowledge ...
"By outsourcing application maintenance, a company can expect to realize higher up-time and quality at reduced costs through process rigor, ...

Outsourcing security tasks brings controversy
By Ellen Messmer , Network World , 03/20/2008 When it comes to outsourcing security functions, skepticism still rules the day for many users. ...

Big companies look to benchmark recruitment outsourcing
“The reality is that most of us that are doing RPO are not outsourcing the hiring decisions; we are outsourcing the pieces of hiring that we need help with ...

Using used equipments

When starting your own outsourcing facility, one should also be conscious of his hardware costs. Brand new servers can eat up a lot of a start up company’s cost. There are companies that buy used cisco products and sell it to companies wanting to save up on hardware. This used equipment also comes with service warranties. Just be careful and make sure that your chosen supplier serves 24 x 7 so that your company will not have any downtime. Anyway, you will need redundant equipment so why install one set of used equipment?

Lighting in BPO facilities

When putting up a BPO facility, make sure that there’s adequate indoor lighting. Poor lighting conditions can easily increase the stress levels in your employees and minimize their productivity. However, one must also be conscious when specifying the kind of lighting that will be used. Bright lights can consume too much electricity and send your air-conditioning bills skyrocketing. Consult a number of suppliers and do some Google search on your own before deciding on the final specs.

Fringe Benefits of Call Center Employees

One thing that the BPO employees are enjoying now includes various fringe benefits on top of their existing pays. I suggest that enterprising souls prepare their most competitive life insurance quote and send it to these outsourcing firms. Just getting one company can easily mean hundreds of policies sold in a day. Now, that’s a good way to start a sales career.

Sell Exercise Videos

Another good business is producing a yoga dvd. You may outsource its talent pool to good looking but knowledgeable people in your locality and offer them a percentage of the gross sales. With proper search engine optimization and good internet marketing, sales can skyrocket. Just like the $0.99/download song of Ashley Dupree, your video can also make a lot. Think about it.

Home Gyms

This is something that can’t be done through the internet but nonetheless, is a home based opportunity. Health/exercise buffs (like me) like to buy various equipments for personal use. These equipments are so expensive and do not earn money for you. Why not put up home gyms in your respected neighborhoods? You can convert your garage into a small gym that will accept clients on reservation basis.

LATEST IN OUTSOURCING (20 March 2008)

Outsourcing--life after the contract
By Paul Bentham , Special to ZDNet Asia The UK public sector outsourcing has overrun by billions, according to a recent study by the European Strategy ...

Broadridge Brings on New Outsourcing Customers
Traders - New York,NY,USA
By John Hintze Broadridge Financial Solutions is gaining traction with its outsourcing solution, signing two new clients over the last several months, ...

Can’t Say It Enough: Don’t Let Cost Overtake Other Outsourcing ...
Thanks to aggressive contract negotiations, UK companies are getting price concessions of up to 23 percent from their outsourcing suppliers, according to a ...

Auriga Named to 2008 Global Outsourcing 100 List
2008-03-19 18:48:25 - AURIGA, a provider of elite software R&D services, has made The Global Outsourcing 100 list of the world's best outsourcing service ...

Palm mulls outsourcing handsets from local manufacturers
19 Mar, 2008, 2032 hrs IST, PTI MUMBAI: US-based smartphone maker Palm Inc on Wednesday said it may start outsourcing handsets from local manufacturers once ...

BT wins CLSA data centre outsourcing contract
BT has secured its first major data centre outsourcing contract in the Asia-Pacific from Hong Kong-based brokerage and investment group CLSA Asia-Pacific ...
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'Silent offshoring' new trend in outsourcing
The globalisation of IT outsourcing means that a growing number of businesses do not know where their outsourced services are being carried out, ...

How Will Outsourcing and Offshoring Impact Women in Technology?
How will outsourcing and offshoring affect their roles in the future? By Keith Hanks March 19, 2008 — CIO — Women's contributions to technology are often ...

CALL CENTER UPDATES (10 March 2008)

New condo project targets OFW, call center markets
Inquirer.net - Philippines
A REAL estate company will be constructing a mid-rise residential condominium in Cebu City, which targets the growing market segments. ...

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Call centre geared up for Sports Aid
This Is Lancashire - Blackburn,England,UK
By Staff Reporter A BURY call centre will be buzzing next month when its phone lines will open to accept donations for Sport Relief 08. ...
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DST Launches New, Improved Care 151 Call Centre
Bru Direct - Brunei Darussalam
By James Kon Bandar Seri Begawan - DST Group officially launched its new DST Care 151 Call Centre yesterday at its headquarters' new premises in Tungku Link ...
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The Case for Third-Party Monitoring of Customer Calls
CRM Buyer - USA
By Susan J. Campbell Third-party remote call monitoring is essential for training and coaching within the call center. Agents can gain significant advantage ...
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Central Alberta customer call centre to close its doors this summer
The Canadian Press - RED DEER, Alta.
A customer call centre that's been in business in Red Deer, Alta., for nearly five years is closing its doors. The move by Convergys affects 280 people in ...
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Life's little rewards

By the way, I have been working so hard that I have totally neglected some of my personal needs. Well, I have a stash of nice clothes courtesy of my last high paying job. But I probably need a few things like a new Johnston and Murphy wallet. Those things are elegant looking but definitely not as expensive as the mont blanc purse given by a client. I gave that wallet to my brother, not knowing that I will be out of a job soon. Well, I have some extra change here. I got to buy myself a new one.

START UP WOES

Talking more about money, there was a time when I was in search of mortgage lenders so I can have contingency funds for my outsourcing business. I was just a start up then and there were clients close to delivering “Manah” (from heaven) but costly mistakes were made much earlier took so much of my funds that I was afraid of running out of cash, even before I start making serious profit. It’s a good thing that I was able to dispense with that option but looking back, this victory would not have been as sweet sans the difficult times.

Outsourcing personal health maintenance

If only I can outsource my health maintenance, I’ll be feeling almost complete. I know that “Health is wealth” and it’s also fun being healthy. However, there are times when you’ll be forced to prioritize other things in order to save immediate concerns such as your livelihood. Nothing beats exercise but without it, diet pills of the safe kind should do the trick.

Add value - or think again
Times Online - UK
Careful analysis is called for Management guru Tom Peters is a long-time advocate of outsourcing but he’s not a fan of using it primarily as a means to cut ...
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Here come the professionals
Times Online - UK
It seems Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) has grown up and is finally delivering on its initial promises. For a maturing industry that’s shaking off a ...
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Conflict resolution at work
Times Online - UK
Outsourcing has traditionally focused on administrative or lower-grade HR functions, but increasingly companies are turning to outsourcers to handle ...
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Is your hiring operation firing on all cylinders?
Times Online - UK
Firms need to assess how effectively they handle recruitment, then decide whether it might be worth outsourcing all or part of these activities. ...
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Not my idols at all

Just the other day, I came upon an article about stars and alcohol and drug addiction. It seems that with so many of them falling into the pattern, undergoing addiction treatment is becoming more of a norm than exception. I’d say, “That is not the way these celebrities should be acting. They are idolized by many and they should at the very least, serve as role models.

Own a vacation house

Having a vacation home can be very costly. Should the location and amenities required be top notch, the cost can go much higher than your suburban mansion. Considering that one uses the place only a few days of each year, why not opt for a fractional ownership plan. Under such a method a property’s ownership is shared by a handful of people and they simply coordinate with each other the use of property so that they do not end up arriving at the same time.

Outsourcing Outdoor Furniture Manufacturing

Whenever I visit a factory, I make it a point to mentally take note of possible areas for outsourcing and the processes that are already being outsourced. In a furniture factory in the Philippines, I was given a tour of a popular furniture factory and realized that some outdoor furniture brand in the UK is actually being manufactured there. They fabricate the items, label it and send it directly to the client’s showroom. Wow!

Read before playing

For those who like to play with money, it is highly recommended that they research on the sites that they intend to login to and examine what people are saying about it. Being in an online casino may be fun but all the dangers associated with the internet are very much present in this section of cyberspace. There are sites that specialize on reviewing these kinds of sites and for sure, reading what they have to say even before choosing a website will be helpful.

For beginners, a guide to beginners can be found in this link and a pilgrimage to it is recommended prior to any betting. It should also be noted that a lot of websites do not allow US players and before a US resident makes the mistake of going there, checking the List of available sites for them will be very helpful. Overall, I would like to say that though gambling on a controlled basis is not bad, one must always bear in mind that the operative word here is “control”. Never lose it.

For the gaming community

The numbers of ideas that people have regarding any topic is not limited even by the number the number of people in the world. In regard to relaxation, some people prefers to transform into couch potatoes during their free times, there are those who simply has to get out of the house and become a mall rat and there are the gaming enthusiasts, whose idea of recreation is playing in an online casino. However, playing online is not as simple as surfing for a site and getting down to the games. There are thousands of online gaming sites and quite a number of them are operated by scam artists who will run away with your money even before you know it. It is a good thing that there are those who come out with regular reviews of this kind of sites. That way, people can log in and play and totally enjoy the experience. Since a number of online players are from the US, some review sites also come out with reviews of sites that are available to US players. I don’t gamble but for those who do, online casino review sites are for you.

OUTSOURCING UPDATES (04 MARCH 2008)

IT Outsourcing Gaining Ground for Business Enhancement, According ...
By Susan J. Campbell Outsourcing is a strategy that organizations throughout the world use to improve processes, reduce overhead and gain a better outcome. ...
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NEWS | SAN DIEGO Outsourcing might be key to better products
... during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, about how outsourcing may help to persuade the videogame industry in to rethinking the way it ...
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More on Lost Outsourcing Opportunities
I wrote a quickie blog two weeks ago when Deloitte dropped a new report on outsourcing. While companies are largely realizing their expectations of saving ...
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GDC 2008: New Tools, More Convergence and Outsourcing
Fred Galpern reports back from GDC 2008 on the launch of Havok Cloth and Destruction, Star Wars: The Forced Unleashed, realtime rendering and more. ...
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Nearly Half Of US Tech Companies Outsource Offshore
Nearly eight in ten -- or 79% -- of the CFOs also said their companies have business operations outside the US "Outsourcing [offshore] is a lot more ...
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Productivity gains driving IT outsourcing
Silicon.com
By Nick Heath Businesses are increasingly outsourcing to improve performance - although cutting costs is still the number one reason for most. ...
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IT outsourcing market undergoing rapid transformation - IDC
The global outsourcing services market is undergoing rapid transformation, according to a new report from IDC for BT Italia subsidiary I.NET. ...
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Neoris Reports Strong 2007 Due to SAP Implementations, Nearshore ...
Brown-Wilson singled out Neoris in its Black Book of Outsourcing 2007 as the best-ranked nearshore outsourcing player from Latin America. ...
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GSK's UK plant to lose out to outsourcing
We are determined to keep as many of these jobs in Ulverston as we can, and are appalled by the company's plans to outsource elements of chemical ...
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Pharma industry to drive next IT outsourcing wave
By Kirsty Barnes 03-Mar-2008 - 2008 will be a year for both challenges and opportunities in outsourcing, according to Indian IT and business processing ...
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Musings...

If I will be asked to organize an outsourcing convention, I will hold it in the sin city and billet the participants in hotels Las Vegas. The will surely be a blast for a number of reasons. Should there be boring speakers (God forbid that there wouldn’t be any), the participants can simply go out of the plenary rooms, walk around and enjoy the sights. If they so wish, they can probably enjoy a round or two of poker in one of the hotel casinos. Well, that’s just me daydreaming.