The Next Mark

With the slowdown affecting different segments of enterprises, it is but

obvious that the industries are thinking of ways and means to beat the slowdown.

In this regard, the outsourcing industry believes that 3G and WiMax will help

them in offering innovative business to its clients. It believes that innovation

would definitely become a necessity in the near future.

One of the biggest advantages that the outsourcing industry foresees as a

result of the entry of 3G and WiMax is of course reliable connectivity at all

times. “Since the outsourcing industry depends heavily on connectivity 24x7,

this wireless technology can work as an alternate 'last mile' access, thereby

ensuring business continuity. Employees who are on the move can use mobile

access and still be connected to their company network, access resources and

communicate real-time,” says Suman Thirikotla, senior manager, network,

insurance and business process solutions, Perot Systems.

Officially, 3G has already been launched in the Indian market with MTNL and

BSNL launching the 3G services commercially. However, the market is really

likely to open up once private operators make an entry in the segment.

3G is associated with efficient and effective data transfer and this is

crucial for BPOs. The technology will go a long way in increasing the kind of

services BPO firms offer to their clients right now. It is clearly going to be

an important step in the evolution of the BPO industry since the firms would be

able to offer hi-end video applications. They are not able to do so now in the

wake of 2G services available in the market.

“Stability and reliability of the networks, cost effective packaging of

services along with other modes of access like kiosks, and most importantly,

robust security for the data while in transit are going to be some of the major

advantages of using 3G and WiMax,” says Thirikotla.

3G and WiMax are definitely potential revenue generating services. They will

not only provide high speed data connectivity in the network but also high speed

mobile communications. It will also help in the collection of data, and moving

the data from point A to point B, hence, it definitely helps in speeding up the

process. It offers flexibility which is not available today.

“Though EDGE networks do provide a certain amount of flexibility, the speeds

are different. From the management perspective, the whole decision-making

process can be streamlined with 3G. Apart from that, for people who travel

frequently, it will be possible for them to store and view data over ISB

networks,” says Sanjiv Dalal, CTO, FirstSource.

Video Calling



The first major advantage to outsourcing firms will be that video will

become more common. As of now, unified communications is becoming very popular

in the outsourcing industry and is likely to further increase in popularity in

the coming months. However, the video aspect of unified communications can only

become popular once 3G and WiMax come into the picture, since then data transfer

will become easier with these technologies.

Employees who are on the move can use mobile access and still be connected to their company network Suman Thirikotla, senior manager, network, insurance and business process solutions, Perot Systems	From the management perspective, the whole decision-making process can be streamlined with 3G Sanjiv Dalal, CTO, FirstSource	Video-based call centers with 3G and WiMax are excellent technologies Minhaz Zia, national sales manager, unified communications, Cisco India & SAARC, Cisco

“The main advantage of 3G and WiMax is that right now the video transmission

quality is very poor and this is the main reason that the video part of UC is

not seeing increased traction. However, this is likely to pick up once 3G makes

an entry in the market. As of now, MTNL and BSNL have launched their 3G services

in the country but they are at a very small scale,” says Raghunath

Vijayaraghavan, director marketing, Bay Talkitec.

Once 3G and WiMax enter the market, it is but a matter of time when

video-based contact center will become a reality. Video-based call center offers

new opportunities for self-service. It will enable the outsourcing firms to

offer more effective technical and installation support. “For instance, if an

agent has to explain how to install GPRS on your phone, it would be much easier

once video applications are available. Providing video clips for frequently

asked technical questions will decrease call time significantly. The caller can

also replay the video as needed and see what comes next. It will also offer new

branding and advertising opportunities to the clients. It will definitely open

new revenue streams for the industry,” says Vijayaraghavan of Bay Talkitec.

Video will also offer enhanced agent effectiveness for complex sales. It

helps the agents to better assist customers and speed up purchasing decisions.

It will be of special relevance to outsourcing firms working with the banking,

travel and technology industry, where a real-time experience can greatly

increase the chances of conducting a transaction.

“Video-based call centers with 3G and WiMax are excellent technologies.

Though voice has a medium of interactivity, there has to be some visual

medium/product related facility where you can demonstrate related things. For

example, an agent can ask about the customer when 3G becomes a reality. These

kinds of solutions will definitely create a prospect of a video-based contact

center where it would be much easier to identify the problems and recommend the

solutions,” says Minhaz Zia, national sales manager, unified communications,

Cisco India & SAARC, Cisco.

Not Ready Yet



However, there are some discordant voices as well. “It is definitely

potentially possible to have a video-based call center once 3G services are

launched in the country. However, at the same time, this is not how the

situation has developed in the other markets,” says Dalal.

The second biggest advantage of 3G and WiMax for the Indian market is that it

will become relatively easier for the outsourcing firms to have agents working

from home.

With the last mile broadband access enabler, WiMax is expected to create a

sweeping change in the connectivity scenario in the country, BPO firms will be

able to send agents who do not handle critical processes to work from home. So

agents can save a lot of time and energy spent on commuting, while their

employees make substantial saving in terms of operational costs. A number of

off-line functions like finance and HR, as well as selling and marketing and

other low-end processes can be done from home while data-critical functions

would require much more control as they are connected to privacy and data

security issues.

3G and WiMax hold immense potential for the outsourcing industry but it

remains to be seen how the situation develops once the industry starts using

these services. However, it will definitely help in providing reliable

connectivity, critical to the very survival of the BPO industry.

Gagandeep Kaur



gagandeepk@cybermedia.co.in