Vertex, one of the largest UK-based business process outsourcing ((BPO) firm with revenues of over ?400 million, is re-establishing its India operations.
The company, which had a workforce of around 3,000 in 2003 had scaled it back to the current 400 people due to the exit of two of its major clients, one of them being a major UK-based telecom firm.
However, the company is now aggressively looking at strengthening its presence in the country. Jeff Chittenden, chief operating officer, Vertex told FE, ?Our India strategy involves a 3-4 year programme where our India centres will service our international clients, the domestic market in the country which is now opening up and our shared service centre which is for catering to the company?s internal business?.
Though the company has not set a target in terms of how much it wants to scale up its India headcount, its CEO for the India operations Keshav Gaur, who has recently been appointed, said that the number could be 10-15 times of its present workforce in the country.
The company has also announced the appointment of Paul Sweeny as its global chief executive on Monday. Sweeny comes from IBM, where he was global managing director in the financial services business.
While the company, which has 9,000 people globally, is not planning to shift any existing work to its India centre, Chittenden said that its future growth will be serviced from the delivery centre in the country.? On being asked if the move would arouse protectionist sentiments, Chittenden said, ?We are not scared of it. It is temporary anyway?. The size of its India business will depend on how the economic situation pans out in the next few quarters and how many new client wins it has in the near future. ?This is the reason why we do not have any specific targets on the headcount front,? added Gaur.
Vertex has clients like National Trust, Westminster City Council, United Utilities and ScottishPower under its portfolio and is strong in the financial services, utilities and the public sector globally. The company plans to bring its global expertise of servicing clients in these verticals to the country, as it sees huge opportunities emerging in the domestic space especially in the public sector.