Monthly Archives: April 2011

Wouldn’t it be nice to have your office in the Himalayas?

April 27, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: India, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Working in the himalayas

Every day I see people working hard in congested cities, breathing bad air, and under a lot of stress.  Sometimes I think, wouldn’t it be nice to have an office in the Himalayas?  Sure, its hard to run a business from Dehradun, or Darjeeling, but what if employees could have a two week “Workation” where they could work, and then enjoy tours.  It would be a nice breather to get out of their Software company in Bangalore, or their Mumbai call center.

Travel rejuvinates
Personally, I find it stressful to be in the same place too long. I need to move around.  But, sometimes its fun to do your regular work, in a place that is not regular for you. Imagine being in a cabin in the woods with good internet connectivity, and you could work from there.  You would have lunch in a completely different place and see different sites, feel a different feeling, and meet different people. Its very refreshing, and good for worker morale.

The vibe in different places
One thing to consider is that the vibrations in different parts of the world is very striking. I’m speaking of metaphysical vibrations that you sense, but don’t necessarily “feel”.   Some places are lazy places, where you will feel lazy upon entering. Some are frenetic, where its hard to concentrate. Others have an adventurous energy, where you will want to hike in the wilderness.  For working, its good to have a place where you can concentrate and have a lot of drive too. Sometimes, if you are in a downtown of a big city like Mumbai, Los Angeles, or Bangalore, you will feel driven to work all the time, because that energy is in the environment.  But, what about the mountains?

Are the mountains good for work, or only for spirituality?
When people think of the Himalayas, they think of a mystical place where you might want to meditate, or go on a long hike with a sherpa and eat some Nepali mo-mo dumplings. Parts of the himalayas are considered the best places in the world to meditate because the atmosphere is so light metaphysically.  Deeper meditations will be easier there.  Since there is not much going on, there is no influx of work or stress vibrations in the mountains.   No wars have been fought there, so there is no vibration of murder either.  But, can people concentrate and get lots of work done in the mountains?  The answer is that it depends on the mountains.  I have been to many mountains and some of them have a good work energy, while others have a lazy energy.
 

The only way to assess is to spend a few days in a place and see how you feel.  Do you feel like working or not?

Building an office
I think it would be wonderful to have companies building offices in the mountains.  Employees could spend a month per year up there in shifts and enjoy clean air and a good environment while they did their software, accounting, legal outsourcing, or whatever other job they did.  This would be expensive to build and transport people, so it would be for higher skilled staff members.  I think that an office with beautiful views of trees, landscapes, and people who can bring you samosas and chai would be perfect.  Dormatories could be walking distance from the offices, to allow more time to focus on work and other activities.

My only regret
I just hope that building offices in the mountains doesn’t disturb the metaphysical vibration of the place.  Sometimes its better to enjoy a place for what it is without implanting your own “stress-trons”, or other non-physical forms of pollution.  Garbage and chemical pollution are equally serious and detremental, so lets keep the world clean, especially the mountains.  On the other hand, maybe offices in the mountains would build a harmony of productivity and the nurturing essense of nature.

How to Start an Outsourcing Company

April 24, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

How to start an outsourcing company

To start a BPO, Call Center, or Data Entry outsourcing company, you will need a lot of skills.

Be an expert in your field
You need to be an expert at your field, so that you can supervise work and know who to hire. If you know nothing about data entry, and have no clients, nobody will hire you, because you don’t know anything. People want to hire responsible experts, so if you are not an expert, please become one.

Get clients
How do you get clients?  Many people tell me they want to start a 20 seater BPO, but they are asking me how to get clients.  My advise is start with one seat, and then when you get more clients, get more seats.  The clients come before the seats.  No clients = being out of business. If you are asking me how to get business, you are really in trouble, because I am not in the call center business — I’m in the directory business with 10 years of experience.

Contact other call centers or data entry companies and see if they have any advice or overflow.
Contact call centers or other outsourcing outfits in America by phone and ask them if they need your services.
Contact companies in India by phone and ask if they need your services. Create a beautiful website and advertise on web directories
Facebook can sometimes be a great way to market a business too, as it is a way to network with more and more computer literate people.

Have a decisive offering
If you want to create a call center, but don’t know what you are offering, you will sound uneducated to your potential clients.  Figure out what types of services you offer, and then figure out what type of price categories to assign your various services. My advice is focus on being flexible and helpful if you want to attract lots of business. The other call centers are rigid, and half of them want to cheat their new clients. In the long run, the helpful and responsible companies win the game!

Free trials – am I crazy?
If you want to offer people free trials, thats even better.  Many companies will be skeptical about using a new outsourcing company who they never heard of before.  If you have an amateurish phone manner, they will question whether you even are a business, or some unemployed guy who is desperate for work.  If you offer a few hours of free trial work, so that the client company can test you out and get comfortable with you, you might win over some good long term contracts.

Short contracts or no contracts
Established call centers have a reputation and contacts. They can demand six month contracts for at least three seats and get away with it. If you are starting off, its best to let companies try you out for a short time and see if they like you.  It will be hard to get long
contracts when nobody has ever heard of you before.

Equipment?
This is not my industry, so you have to ask other local call centers what they use.  You need good computers and good phone connections for all of your seats. You will need to ask local utility companies what type of connections they can offer and how reliable they are. VoIP is popular these days, but thats all I know.

A place of business
If you have no clients, and want to get a 15 seater office, how do you intend to pay salaries and rent for fifteen people, when you have not a single client, and no knowledge of how to get a client.  Find a real estate broker, and find a small place to start off in while you get your business acumen  in ship shape condition.  Start small and learn the business is you are starting a BPO

How do I start a call center or outsourcing business?
Have a database of people in the area who can work part time.  Lots of ladies with kids don’t want a full time job.  Interview these people, make sure they can function well, and try them out on small projects. While you are doing your outreach calls, you will hopefully get a few contracts.  Hire these part time folks when you have work, and if the work dries up, they can go back home to their family life.  They can be your “on call” staff members.  One week you might be very busy, and the next week you might have hardly any work at all.  Once you develop some long term clients who are comfortable with you and your services, then you will have regular work, and can think about that 15 seater office.  Don’t jump ahead of yourself though.

Training?
Being a small company doesn’t mean you are worse than anyone else. You might have less resources, but you might have more caring!  If you have a system of overseeing your workers and coaching them so they can be their best, you might really impress your clients.  Obviously, you should start out with workers who have good skills, but refining their skills, and customizing their skills to the needs of specific clients will win you tremendous popularity and customer loyalty. You have to be on top of your workers, or they will not function optimally, and you will lose your business.

Where do I advertise my company?
Advertise on www.123outsource.net.  We offer free and paid advertising for all types of outsourcing companies.  Advertise in our Call Center, BPO, Data Entry, Software, or any other category.

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How to start an outsourcing company — 2016 version
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/12/29/how-to-start-an-outsourcing-company-2016/

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http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/05/22/marketing-your-bpo-outsourcing-firm-from-a-to-z/

Compilation of best posts about how to get clients for your BPO
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/20/how-to-get-more-clients-for-your-bpo-or-call-center-compilation/

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http://bpo.123outsource.net/2010/11/24/marketing-your-outsourcing-company/

How to get clients for your call center — CONTRACTS
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/04/05/how-to-get-clients-for-call-centers-contracts/

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BPO – China Software BPO Industry

April 22, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: China | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

China Software BPO Industry Growth
 
China is growing rapidly as an outsourcing country.  Manufacturing has been an economic strength in China for many decades, but outsourcing is a new opportunity that China is quickly capitalizing on.  China has five economic zones that specialize in export manufacturing are often on or near the coast, making shipping easy.  But, what about China’s inland cities like Cheng-Du for example? Sze-Chuan is a province named after the four rivers that pass through it. They are famous for spicy dishes such as Kung Pao Chicken and Pandas. However, they are very far from shipping ports, and the status of China’s freeway system is far from mature.   Outsourcing technical tasks to faraway metros in Western China seems perfect.
 
Labor Costs
Labor costs in remote parts of  China are also much less than in the larger cities, giving remote areas another huge advantage in the outsourcing industry.  IBM set up a global delivery center in Cheng-Du in 2007 after opening up centers in more mainstream urban areas of Coastal China.
 
Relocation in China
China is a country where many will be willing to relocate to get a good job.  Although Chinese are very sentimental about their families, the drive to get ahead in their career is so powerful, that if companies were set up in the farthest extremes of Xin-Jiang province, droves of people would flock there to get a programming, BPO, or other type of job.
 
Other Factors
The banking industry in China facilitates fast business growth which is a boon which many other countries don’t have.  Additionally, the government is very clever about building good buildings and roads, to enable companies to be created and grow efficiently.  Good internet connections are found in many parts of China, and without internet, many businesses couldn’t exist at all.  Its easy to get low rent for office space in China which is yet another reason why China is a country with the fastest economic growth rate of any country on the planet.

Outsourcing Spirituality? A tale of two ashrams

April 18, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Vaastu Feng Shui | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Outsourcing spirituality – a tale of two ashrams
 
America is a land of spiritual poverty.  There is an acute shortage of qualified gurus, so we have to outsource our spiritual help to India, Israel (for Kabbalah), or Japan (for Zen Buddhism).  America went from being a land of shamanistic Native Americans to being a Christian country, but is now a multi-religious and mostly athiest and spiritually lost country.  The best spiritual help we receive is from groups from India.  There are two spiritual groups that stand out in my mind.  Both have wonderful spiritual benefits, but vastly different management styles.
 
SRCM – The Sri Ram Chandra Mission AKA Sahaj Marg.
A very spiritually potent group based in Manapakkam, Chennai, of Tamil Nadu, India.  With a lineage of three very powerful Masters or “Gurus”, this group has a lot to offer spiritually.   However, the management of the group engages in a multitude of sins including neglegence, discrimination, and general disorganized behavior. The current living guru is very capable at administering fast spiritual work to aspiring followers (abhyasis).  The previous guru has long since departed this world, but remains available to many of us in spirit form.  One French lady has written volumes of very long books with her conversations with this departed spirit.  The lady is a clairvoyant medium, and considered to be very talented spiritually, and at spirit communication.  The issue is that SRCM has had a presence in North America for roughly forty years, but has not grown its presence.  The Master is frustrated with the lack of growth, and therefor feels its not worth his investment in time to visit here.   The reason behind the lack of growth seems obvious — the group doesn’t cater to the preferences of Westerners and only attracts a small clicque of cliquish Indians who often leave others out of the picture. Behind the constant and deceptive use of the word “Brother” to address others when there is an acute absense of any semblence of brotherhood. Its clear, that SRCM or Sahaj Marg is a half cult, half spiritual group, and embraces a culture of excluding people.
 
Despite the superior spiritual offerings, culturally, this group is so opposite to what is acceptable to even the most accepting Westerner, that only a few hundred Westerners seem to stick to the practice on a national level.  The followers are too cowardly to confront the Master and let him understand that a policy of “Cultural condusiveness” is absolutely essential for the group to grow.  What I mean by cultural condisiveness is that you (1) don’t force Westerners to remove their shoes, (2)  you don’t harrass Westerners when they don’t follow Indian customs and habits, (3) you don’t force Westerners to sit in gender segregated meditation halls (at least during their first few years until they are well used to the group), (4) you don’t force Westerners to eat ONLY Indian dishes and the same dishes each time for the rest of their lives every single time they attend a function (BTW – when they cook American food, its so bad we beg them to cook Indian food again) (5) you don’t have the same set of talks again and again and again for the rest of our lives without offering some variety (6) you don’t play garbled videos that nobody can understand. (7) don’t harrass people taking a nap, (8) don’t harrass people who eat meat, (9) don’t give evasive answers to serious spiritual questions, (10) don’t have an inner circle which excludes everyone else.  The list of what not to do is endless.  It is because of these multitudes of sins, plus the lack of welcomingness and warmth in the environment that Westerners wouldn’t be caught dead at Sahaj Marg.
 
On a brighter note, if the Master really tuned in to these problems, and appointed managers and leaders who were devoted to solving these problems, then Sahaj Marg would be a valuable asset to the West.
 
The Ananda Mission
As a world traveler, I have come across the Ananda Mission.  Another spiritual mission who outsources its spiritual offerings from a lineage coming mainly from India.  They also acknowledge Jesus as one of their spiritual guides which is unique for an India-centric group. On the other hand, there are many records that show that Jesus spent themajority of his life in various parts of India, while only spending less than two non-consecutive decades in Israel, making Jesus — Indian!  Additionally, this group’s members are 90% caucasian, but they mostly have Indian names! The Ananda mission does everything right, that Sahaj Marg does wrong.
 
There are warm and caring people to greet you at their Nevada City Ashram.  The members are warm and caring and sweet too.  There is no fake brotherhood or fake “Universality”.  The food is high quality vegetarian food that is different every day and a treat to eat.  I don’t even like vegetarian food, but I love THEIR vegetarian food because of the care they put into it.  There is no monotonous culinary torture at the Ananda Mission.  Spiritually, meditation is perfect there, and my spiritual condition is positively altered long after I leave their venue.  To top it off, they have an endless variety of programs about everything from improving your health, and life, to understanding spirituality, one aspect at a time.  They have many events each day given by caring people who really try to give good answers to questions.  Although this group is very Indian in its spiritual philosophy, it is 200% acceptable to Westerners who are looking for a nice and informative spiritual group to belong to.
 
Conclusion
I feel stuck in the SRCM mission which is a constant source of grief, and I love the Ananda Mission which I am only a visitor too. Unfortunately the Ananda folks practice Kriya Yoga which is a very high quality of Yoga, but very different from the Raja Yoga that I have bee practicing for 20 years.  I guess my persional mission is to try to improve the mission that I belong too, even if it means pulling teeth (which it does).  We’ll see what happens…

The Japan Earthquake of 2011

April 16, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Japan Earthquake

The earthquake and tsumani in Northeast Japan near Sendai were devestating.  Its ironic, but I had two dreams several weeks before the earthquake where earthquakes happened. I interpreted the dreams to mean that there would be an upheaval in my personal life.  Maybe that is yet to come in a few weeks. We’ll see.  After the Japan quake, I had another dream that I was visiting a friend’s cottage on a river in Greece which was an hour by boat from China.  There was a terrible earthquake at the cottage where I was staying.  It lasted more than a minute, but I kept my cool in the dream.  I wonder if I could be so cool in real life?  After meditating on this dream, I interpreted this dream to mean that China would have a large earthquake, but on the coast or on a river.  But, my psychic said that the dream was about a future personal upheaval.

The death toll passed 18,000 and hundreds of thousands were left homeless.  It is hard to see such hard working people left helpless after one of nature’s statements.  What is more scary is the nuclear situation at Fukushima.  There is a high exposure to radioactivity and there have been many incidents where people have been injured due to high radioactivity. One worker was hospitalized due to possible high exposure to the skin in their foot.  None of the reactors will be able to be saved as well.

Radioactive water is spilling into the ocean and the radius of the effected area is growing.  But, Japanese authorities seem to be treating too small an area as the disaster area, where they should prohibit entry to a much larger radius for safety reasons.  Its hard to do testing when disasters happen so fast, but radiation readings need to be done in the seawater every single mile to see how far the damage goes.

My bigger fear is for the long run.  How will Tokyo fair in the long run?  They are only 150 miles from the power plant.  Their radioactivity was 23 more than normal, but is that dangerous?  How dangerous will it be in the long run for them to be there?  How will the countries economy be in the long run after this disaster.  What if they have another disaster?  2012 is around the corner and many of us feel that there will be all types of frequent disasters throughtout the globe, but potentially more if you live near an ocean or fault line like the Japanese do.

How does this effect outsourcing?  Will Japan outsource less due to this horrible quake and tsunami, or will they be more reliant on countries around them?  Will they be weakened so much in the long run that China might gobble them up?  Its a growing concern for many, and some people regard it as inevitable.  A lot of Japanese outsourcing is done by Japanese nationals who have taken up residency in nearby Asian countries such as China or Thailand.  However, if Japan’s situation gets much worse, they will be forced to accept help from people who are not culturally Japanese, or they might perish as a nation!

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How to start a website for an outsourcing company

April 15, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How to start a website for an outsourcing company
 
Since the 90’s, it has been the in thing to do to start a website.  Having a website can drastically improve your marketing presence, and get you many more clients. Unfortunately, people are not aware of the costs involved in having a website, or how difficult it is to promote a site.
 
Sites for general outsourcing companies
There are different purposes for having a site.  One, is to be able to refer people who you already know or met to a site online so that they can easily get an overview of your company.  The other, is so that potential clients who do not know of you can find you online and perhaps contact you to purchase your services.  Just having a site which you don’t market much is a challenge in itself, but marketing a site can be murder.  
 
What to put in the site
The main components of a site are a flashy home page, a contact us page, an about us page, and a services page.  If your services are very involved, you might have several back up pages to elaborate on your various services.  The home page should have an easy to use navigation system that links to the various additional pages.  The site should look good, be functional, and information should be easy to find.  The hard part is that good artwork and layout are not easy and can cost a lot of lakhs to do a good job.  The mere act of finding someone capable of doing a good job in web design is also no easy feat.   If you are in India, the other websites in your country may be a bad role model.  Some of the fancier travel sites and web design sites may have flashy styles, but the other sites are very plain and unappealing. India is modernizing fast, so the trend is to have flashy sites, but this trend is unfolding slowly.  
 
Maintaining your site
Most people just want some price quotation of how much their site will cost.  The cost never ends.  Hosting goes on as long as you keep your site.  You have to renew your registration with the DNS.  And then, updating information and fixing things that break (especially in databases) is a real hassle.  If your information dosen’t change, then the server’s platform, or something on internet explorer might change.
 
Marketing your site
Optimization is a world of its own.  I do optimization ten hours a week for my sites. I analyze where traffic is coming from, and what various types of clicks are worth to me.  I create new content to support certain keywords and do linking strategies to link my internal pages. I also have a network of people who link to me in exchange for advertising.  Analyzing what content to put on pages, or what pages to link to what other pages is not easy.  There are many factors to consider there.  How many people click on the link, how good the content is you are linking to, and how relevant the information is.  Where you put the link and what type of artwork the link is housed in is critical as well.  With these multiple factors, you could be analyzing all day long for months. 
 
Keywords
The place to start with a small website is to identify which keywords you want to stress, and promote them on selected pages.  Having an analytics account to track what incoming keywords come to your site is irreplaceable for the analysis that you will need to do later on.  Regional keywords are critical, because there is less competition for the key word “Web Design Darjeeling”, than there is for “Web Design”.  There are hundreds of thousands of web designers world wide, but only a handful in Darjeeling.
 
Ask for help
Need help with optimization ideas?  Ask us at 123outsource.net.  I am not a professional optimizer, but I have four years of experience optimizing my own sites with considerable success!
 
SEO
What is SEO?  It just means search engine optimization.  It is a fancy word for optimization.  SEM is search engine marketing that can be done with pay-per-click networks such as google adwords. That is a fast way to get clicks and see which keyword variations generate traffic.
 
Please visit
India Web Design Search Results

India SEO Search Results

India Programming Search Results

Mumbai City Profile

April 14, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: City Profiles | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mumbai City Profile
 
Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, is a peninsula located on the coast of Western Maharashtria and is the most populated city in India.  People stream into this city from all parts of India with aspirations of striking it rich, or at least making a living wage.  Many do not have proper work skills and end of living in slums on the outskirts of the city, while others who have better work skills, work hard and prosper.   Its a common myth among countryside people, that everyone in the city is rich, and that its easy to make money there.  It is true that there are numerous jobs in the city, but people work twelve hours a day and put up with horrendous commutes just to get by with modest salaries.  Big city life is not for everyone.
 
History
Mumbai was historically a fishing colony, and the decendants of the original fishermen are still living there in Mumbai, but their population has been dwarfed by the huge influx of roughly 20 million other human beings from all over.  Mumbai was under the control of various local empires, and then colonized by Portugal, and later by Britain.  It is now the economic capital of India, or the “New York” of India, as well as being the film capital of India with its huge Bollywood film industry.
 
Outsourcing
We have outsourcing listings for many types of companies in Mumbai.  Companies tend to be more business oriented, but less technically oriented as the technical specialties are better represented in South Indian cities and Pune.
BPO  
Call Centers
Data Entry
 
Economy & Transportation
Bombay residents have higher salaries than in most other parts of India. Major banks, airlines, and other large companies will typically have a head office in Mumbai.  The Bombay stock exchange not surprisingly also has its head in Mumbai as well as the national stock exchange of India.  However, the cost of living, especially the rent is murderous, leaving many large families living in a single room.  They live, cook, eat, and sleep in that same room.  The train or local railway (as they call it) is the pulse of the city, connecting people from very far away at rapid speeds.  Its common to travel 25 kms to work everyday in a crowded train.  The problem is that the trains are so packed, the only way to breathe is to tilt your head up.  And if the train jerks to a stop, don’t worry about falling, there will be at least two dozen soft bodies to cushion your fall.  Squeezing in the train is another mystery of the East, but all you need is a few square inches to plant one of your feet and something to hang onto and you’ll be fine.  Auto rick shaws are only allowed to operate in Northern Mumbai while South Mumbai uses only cabs.
 
Architecture
Mumbai hosts some beautiful architecture, especially in the Southern parts of town like Nariman Point and Fort.  You can see some hybrid British / Indian architecture that doesn’t exist in any other part of the world.  Victoria Terminus which is currently known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminous is a beautiful architectural feat and worth a visit.  Gateway to India is another famous landmark in Nariman point thats worth seeing.
 
Ports
Mumbai has two major ports including: Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust which handles 55-60% of the countries container cargo.
 
Culture
The majority of Mumbaikars (local Mumbai people) are Marathi in origin.  Some are indiginous to the local area, while others are from the various rural parts of the state, or Pune, Nasik, or Nagpur. The second most populous ethnic group are Gujarathis which is not surprising as Gujarat is Maharashtrias neighbor to the North.  These two groups make up roughly half of Mumbais population and are generally conversant in Hindi. The rest of the population is from all over. Keralites, Biharis, Tamils, Bengalis, and people from many other states inhabit Mumbai.  It is noteworthy that there are very few Asiatic looking Indans from the Northeastern states as they prefer to go to Bangalore or Delhi if they leave their homeland.  Additionally, there are very few Sikhs in Mumbai too as they prefer to stick to places like Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi.  
 
Religion
There are people of a wide variety of religions in Mumbai.  Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians are in large numbers. The Fort area has many Zoroastrians too, and this religion is practiced by Parsis who are people who fled Iran more than one thousand years ago and have been living in India ever since.  Mumbai even has had a Jewish population for over one thousand years!
 
Urban growth
These days, the city is growing outward.  The land in Mumbai has been used, and Navi Mumbai across the bridge is being quickly developed with lots of new construction and roads being built.  Thane and the area north of it are developing too.  It looks like there will be a solid wall of civilization streaming out of Mumbai for hundreds of Kms one day soon if the population there keeps growing.  The new trend in India is to try to build industry in remote areas. The land is cheaper, and this will slow down the huge national migration to large cities which causes overcrowding, crime and other serious problems.

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A solution to India’s transportation nightmare!

April 12, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: India | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A solution to India’s transportation nightmare
 
India has so many people, and so little space, at least in the metros.  One block in Pune has as much humanity and action as a linear mile does in Los Angeles.  It takes less time to go one mile in Los Angeles as it does to get through the one block obstacle course in Deccan Gymkhana!  Road taxes, custom buses and walkways are solutions discussed in another blog.  But, what about something really far out and fun?
 
The snake train
This idea is the coolest idea I have ever had. Its ridiculously expensive and probably not even buildable.  But, people would love it!  The snake train is a train that goes really slowly and smoothly. It is designed to move on a curvy track that resembles the shape of a long snake.  The cars would be wide and there would be no stations. You can jump on the train anywhere and get off anywhere.  The tracks are snakelike to allow more getting on and off points.
 
What would the train be like?
The train would be a mile long to ensure that you would be able to jump on or off without waiting long for the train.  Trains would have some space between them, but the point is to have a system where there is minimal or no waiting for getting on and off at any of the non-stations.
 
Non-stations
There would be no stations. You could go down a stairway wherever there are entrances and just run and jump on the slow moving train where you like. Although the voyage would be slower than a normal train, there would be little or no waiting time, and once on the train there would be plenty to do.
 
Multi-tasking
The point of the train is to have multi-tasking.   Each car would have its own theme.  One car could be an office supply store.  Get your paper and toner on the way to the office.  That way you are killing two birds with one stone as the Americans say.  Get to work while you are getting your shopping done. And don’t worry about parking to go shopping.  You are on a train, your car is out of the picture. Another car could have a cafe, an internet parlor, art gallery, Japanese lessons, a gym, TV room, or anything else that would be popular.  You could walk down the corridors of the mile-long train to find a car that had an activity appealing to you during your 45-minute commute.
 
What about the cost?
Dont’ even ask.  This would cost a mint, but it would make transportation fun.  The snake would be the new craze that would make the automobile obsolete.  “Oh, you still drive?  You’re so old fashioned” would be the phrase you would hear most.
 
Where would you put this monstrocity?
This type of transportation needs space to build and caters towards the upper-middle class.  It might be possible or practical to build something like this in Bangalore.  A city too small would not make sense to build something this expensive.  A city with distances too large would only be able to use such a system in a limited part of the city with high population density.  The train moves too slow to go more than ten miles in any direction.

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Outsourcing in Japan

April 10, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Japan Outsourcing

Japan has always been big on outsourcing, but it takes a different form in Japan than in other countries. Since Japan gained economic strength in the 1980’s it became very expensive, and they had to outsource labor and services.  It was common for Japanese to fly to Thailand to get some dental work done and then relax at the beach sipping on coconut water and enjoying some Rad Na (noodles).  Japanese would even go overseas just to go on a shopping spree. Of course, now the Japanese economy has been suffering for a long time. I could never figure it out. Japanese are the most efficient people on the planet, but they are no longer in the top ten for per capita income.

The primary country for outsourcing is India, and the primary language used is English.  Japanese have never been strong in their foreign language skills.  Since they are East Asian, and there are many local countries to outsource to, they might often prefer outsourcing to China, Korea, or Thailand.

Many Japanese nationals are moving to foreign countries to outsource themselves.  One call center employee moved to Thailand to get a job servicing Japanese companies.  The overhead is a fraction of the cost in Thailand, and the noodle dishes are just as good too!  American companies are happy with  English speaking Indian employees in India, while Japanese companies prefer to hire their own nationals transplanted in foreign soil.  The linguistic handicap of the Japanese people is one of the reasons for outsourcing to their own nationals, but cultural condusiveness and politeness is another.  Japanese are not very tolerant of those who have not mastered their infinitately complicated forms of etiquette.

Companies such as Transcosmos and Masterpiece have created call centers, data entry offices, and technical support services in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.  Other jobs are going to Jakarta, Indoesia, and other places.  Many of these jobs are for larger companies, while the freelancers have gained a much higher market share recently.

Although Japan is the most efficient country on earth in my mind, their inability to outsource work to well established outsourcing countries like India is a huge handicap.  India can get programming, data entry, call center work, and any type of BPO, KPO, LPO, or other work done very quickly and for very reasonable prices.  The Japanese reliance on their own culture is a handicap that is very inefficient in this age of globalization.  I am personally happy that I am a universal human being and not addicted to any particular culture . You can put me in an African, Latin, Indian, European, Arab, Israeli, or American cultural environment and I’ll be quite happy.  But, for our friends in Japan, few will ever have the flexibility that I have due to their culture which traditionally is not accepting of foreign ideas.  The word for different in Japanese is the same word for “bad” unfortunately.

To end this post with a joke.  There was an old Woody Allen movie from many decades ago where a beauty pagent winner was giving a speech. She said that it’s okay to be different, just as long as you are not TOO different.  That was just too funny,  because it was an honest version of what otherwise would have easily been a hypocritical speech.

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Solutions to India’s transportation problem

April 10, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: India, Popular on Google+, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The solution to India’s transportation problem

To see the 2015 version of this article — click here!
 
India used to be a poor country a few years ago, but now is having growing pains on their way to being #2 in the global economic scheme, with China looking like its going to be #1 for the majority of this century.  News articles keep stressing the same issue.  India can not grow its GNP without proper infrastructure.  But, roads and buildings take time, resources, money, and space to build.  These are things that India has a real shortage of.  India is short on time, because the time it has is spent in traffic, leaving little or not time left to build roads. It’s a catch 22.
 
The status quo
India’s main forms of local transportation are buses, trains (in certain metros), cabs, and especially the auto-rickshaw.  One British born Indian kid working in Mumbai I met on the train was quoted to say, “Two trains and a rick” in the context of him getting to his meeting.  Roads are congested and traffic law obedience is shaky outside of Mumbai.  There must be a solution.  Whats the answer?  You need to “Think outside the rick”.

Also see:
Wouldn’t it be nice to have your office in the Himalayas?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/04/27/wouldnt-it-be-nice-to-have-your-office-in-the-himalayas/

A stand up comedian at a stand up restaurant in India
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/05/stand-up-comedian-at-a-stand-up-restaurant-in-india/
 
Thinking outside the rick
India is used to certain modes of transportation, but those modes don’t work effectively for everyone.  Buses are too congested for women to get into without unwanted physical contact with men.  Rick shaw drivers often harrass women and the wait time for a rick can be unpredictable. Cabs in India are expensive and require waiting time. It seems that the country that is known for its respect for women…. well… doesn’t respect women.  For a woman to find a clean public bathroom is another nightmare of India.  It is not mandatory for India to have all of these unnecessary headaches.
 
The problem is that whatever mode of transportation you use, it either can’t move due to congestion, or you can’t get in the vehicle even if you really are a sardine.  Needs to be other options.  Here are some options that think outside the rick and solve these problems.

Also see:
Compilation of our most interesting articles from 2015
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/06/04/compilation-of-interesting-posts-from-2015/

India in 2140 — Rahul wanted a job at a multi-planetary company
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/29/india-in-2140/

Moving walkways
Near downtown areas where congestion is high, and distances are small, it is faster to walk. But, walking is itself an obstacle course, tripping over the front wheels of rick shaws, having your bag get caught on the handlebar of Rajiv’s bike, getting run off the road into a puddle by a truck. Its just not funny.  Moving walkways are expensive, but they solve a problem.  They would be elevated, and only pedestrians would be on them.  The walkway could move 4km/hour, and you could walk 5km per hour which nets you 9km per hour.  There could be coconut water salespeople, newspaper stands, and other conveniences on this moving network.  Additionally, a roof could go over the walkway giving protection in the monsoon season.  Get your exercise, while safely coming and going.  Additionally, traffic could move more easily without a zillion people trying to cross the road all the time. They could cross on these elevated walkways.  
 
Mini-Buses
I always remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff’s famous line, “Women are like buses”. Aparantly he felt that in Russia, women, were shaped like buses. But in India, women DON’T like buses.  Mumbai has the consideration to have women-only bogies (cars) on commuter trains..  Men will get arrested if they dare go in.  Women only buses, or women’s sections in elongated buses would solve problems for women.  Even a women’s waiting area with comfy seats and a bathroom with toilets that are cleaned throughout the day would be super.  To Americans this seems sexist, but try being a woman squeezed between four men who feel deprived of pleasure and you will very quickly see how gender separation is not only appropriate, but should be a universally enforced law.
 
Minibuses have the advantage of being small.  They can come more often, and can fit into smaller bus stations and smaller roads.  There can be particular buses for women only, or buses with larger seats that charge more for entry. You have flexibility with a minibus that a regular bus doesn’t have.
 
Also see:
Indians are used to noise, but do they like it?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/07/08/indians-are-used-to-noise-but-do-they-like-it/

Why your sitar & tabla lessons are the most important traning for business
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/09/why-your-sitar-tabla-lessons-are-the-most-important-training-for-business/

Standing only?
Indian buses don’t make sense.  They are always so crowded that you can never get a seat, but you don’t have room to stand either, since the few square feet available have been monopolized by seats.  This is illogical and inefficient!  REMOVE THE SEATS.  If you get rid of most of the seats, then there is room to stand, and you can squeeze more people in.  In a country that prides itself on its ability to squeeze humans as efficiently as it squeezes a sugar cane stick for a glass of juice, they should do it correctly.  Charge triple for a seat, and then people will be able to find a seat.  People should be charged for what they get.  
 
Compartments
Now are are talking.  A bus with the seats removed could have standing compartments.  Spare yourself from the risk of pickpockets with a vinal sheet attached to padded poles.  Of course in India, they don’t like padding.  They want you to get HURT when the bus slams on the brakes leaving you hurled into a piece of metal.  There is no satisfaction if the driver can’t cause you some misery. But, in a few years, the joy of seeing others hurt will wear off, and safety and consideration will become the norm — and padded metal bars will be a standard feature. Imagine a vinal compartment big enough for you to get in.  Nobody can touch you or your wallet.  Maybe there could be a pocket for your briefcase or bag.  Safe and comfy.  I love it!
 
Considerate drivers?
Now I’m really  out there.  I may as well be talking about science fiction.  I’m not sure if its possible for a bus driver in India to have manners.  I have never seen a polite bus driver there. Everyone else in India is polite… so the rude people are outcasted and can only do jobs like being… a lowly bus driver.  But, if local governments require drivers to go to school to learn formalized manners and drive considerately (not running people into the ditch, and not slamming on the brakes constantly), bus drivers could get a completely new rep.
 
Luxury buses
The affluent classes in India see it as not only a comfort, but a status symbol to have a car.   Not having a car is almost as bad as not having a maid.  But, what if buses were so comfortable that they had large, wide seats like on a first class flight. What if designer drinks were served like a Mumbai-Mocha-Latte, or a Soy-Green-Tea-Masala-Chai?  Buses could easily become the in thing.  Drivers could have nice outfits, greet people, and not make jerky driving manouvers.  You could even have wi-fi on the bus!
 
Special roads for buses
If buses had their own elevated roads that were really smooth and level, then buses would be fast and comfortable to use.  With smooth and leveled roads, you could use your laptop if the bus would maintain a constand speed.  People would be less inclined to drive if they could have fast and comfortable alternative transportation.
 
Singaporian style taxes
Indians will never buy into this… Or will they?  Singaporian roads function because there is a highway tax.  For a permit for rush hour use you pay a hefty yearly fee, and off hours, you pay a lesser fee. Taking up space on highways is expensive, and people should pay for this.  Indian roads would open up if drivers wer taxed. More people would take buses, and people would save time. Instead of taking 90 minutes to go to work, 35 minutes would be all you would need. What is your time worth?

A snake train!
What is this? I never heard of this before! A snake train would be a train with hundreds of slowly moving cars that you could read, eat, exercise, or just relax in. Click here to read more about the snake train!

Excuses will kill you
Its easy to say, “Its too difficult, it won’t work, it can’t be done!” Those excuses will leave India behind and leave room for China to quickly gobble up its revenues which is happening as we speak. Take action and find sensible ways to fix this nightmare!

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Women programmers in India and the U.S.
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Is it important to have an English accent if you work at a call center in India?
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If you invested in training your BPO employees, what types of skills would you teach them?
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The effect of the British on India
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/02/02/the-effect-of-the-british-on-india/

2014 version: solutions to India’s transportation nightmare
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/08/23/solutions-to-indias-transportation-problems-2014/

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KPO Bangalore in the News

April 9, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: India, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

KPO Bangalore News
 
Bangalore KPO
Bangalore is India’s main outsourcing hub, and has the highest concentration of KPO companies anywhere in the world.  Knowledge Process Outsourcing is a fast growth industry in Bangalore and India as a whole as India is leaning towards more specialized work which most of the highly competitive newer outsourcing nations can not compete with.
 
Wipro of Bangalore
Wipro, a Bangalore headquartered company, opened up operations in Brazil four years ago and is happy with the performance of their Brazilian employees.
 
GIIP – Bangalore KPO Training
According to pr.com, a company in Bangalore called Global Institute of Intellectual Property  is now offering an eight week training program where post graduate students can learn the skills they need to work in a KPO, LPO, MNC, or R&D company.  All of the students in the first batch have been successfully placed in relevent jobs, and more than 75% of the students in the second batch have been placed even before they finished the program.
 
Research and Development KPO in Bangalore
financialexpress.com’s May 10th, 2010 article called, “Going up the value chain” explains how Indian metros have their various niches in the KPO industry.  Bangalore was in stiff competition with Moscow and St. Petersburg for research and development, while Chennai was competing with Guang-Zhou for engineering services.  Hyderabad meanwhile was focusing more on healthcare related KPO work.  The main point here is that Indian metros are getting more sophisticated in their value offering, and niches are developing in certain areas.  
 
A joke about the Bangalore KPO industry
A young man named Ramesh, a research expert walks into a pub on Church Street in Bangalore.  He drinks to excess, falls unconscious, and the next day finds himself in one of Bangalore’s many KPO companies and was told that he would have to work there for the next six months.  Ramesh asks, “Have I been Shanghaid?”.  The reply was, “No, you’ve been Bangalored!!!”

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Accounting India in the News

April 7, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Accounting, India | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Accounting India Outsourcing News

OPI
prnewswire.com’s December 8th outsourcing article states that Outsource Partners International has partnered with financial software provider Blackline Systems to bring accounting and finance software to OPI’s global client base, many of whom are interested in outsourcing accounting. India has a very fast growing accounting outsourcing industry which could be very heavily effected by software developments in any part of the world.

Outsource Partners International has 3700 specialists working in its offices which span five countries including the U.S., India, U.K., Bulgaria, and Malaysia. This company focuses on drawing upon best in class practices, continuous improvement (called Kai-Zen at Toyota), and using outsourced accounting talent and enabling technology to make the clients’ experience optimal with finance and transform operations.

Eversheds
According to thelawyer.com, Eversheds has begin offering a support services outsourcing deal, sending procurement work to Accenture. Most of the HR, administration, accounting and BPO work will be outsourced to India.

Quickbooks
Outsourcing Quickbooks services saves companies a lot of money. Bookkeeping can be done by a specialist company domestically or overseas. They might provide more reliable, efficient, and cost effective services.

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