iwebconnects

Custom development software - Genie in a package by Jay Moncliff

Technology is making the world approach newer developments everyday and today, high competition compels us to find the best programming packages that fulfill the exact needs of our businesses in minimum possible time and at most appropriate budget. This demand brings the idea of custom development software. These are exclusive programs created with the demands of a specific business in mind and differ from the off-the-shelf programs, which may not meet individual business specifications. Also, a readily- available package, at times, is difficult to operate unlike the custom development software solutions. However, the requirement for great expertise and knowledge is paramount for developing custom software as much as the powerful backing of proven processes.

The field of custom development has opened opportunities for every one: employees, partners and clients. The professionalism that one expects from software developers and a development company are thus reflected from the timely delivery of projects, stating of major project goal accomplished, and timely assistance: be it in any difficulty or general help, a reliable custom development software company shall see that all these services are taken care of.

The Benefits of custom development software

* Less expensive as compared to generic applications.

* Lack undesirable features that are of no use to a certain business unlike readily available ones.

* Saves time.

* Easier to operate.

* Flexible for future modifications. The Process

Custom developing starts with identifying the goals and the needs of a business. That way, one gets the exact features that are needed, saving time for both the business and its employees. With discussing the requirements and performing a detailed analysis of your business, the process for building custom software starts off. Software professional and developers then get started with the development and designing.

The effectiveness of custom development software depends upon many factors. These are:

* Supporting processes. * A team of professionals and their expertise in the domain. * Company Infrastructure. * Customer support. * Software Quality. * Maintenance and support

Finding the right service provider

It is of utmost importance for the team to understand the type of business to develop the software. A well-planned and structured approach is thus important to bring about an effective functionality. However, before outsourcing the orders for custom development software, one must go for a prior research to find out the best software development company that holds a sound experience, employs robust software development processes and lays great emphasis on testing and quality assurance. An offshore development center and a dedicated team adds extra benefits to the service buyer in terms of observation of the entire project.

About the Author

Jay Moncliff owns and operates http://www.onlynux.com/custom-development-software Custom development software

KPOs - offering great career opportunities for knowledgeable professionals by James Smith

KPO or Knowledge Process Outsourcing is a value added form of a BPO. While BPO is a highly process-based sector requiring lower level of expertise, KPO requires extensive knowledge in the domain being outsourced. India and China are emerging at the leaders in KPO due to the cost advantages and availability of talented resources. The segments of KPO in India The major segments that you can work in a KPO include legal services, financial services, engineering, R&D, market research, analytics, education, training, content development, healthcare services, pharmacy, and biotechnology, etc. If you have the required qualifications and some bit of experience in any of the fields mentioned above, you are the right candidate for a KPO job. Growing career opportunities in KPO sector Based on the rate at which KPO is growing, it is estimated that KPO sector would employ over 250,000 people by 2010. With new areas of specialization, opportunities are also increasing. Although the salaries of beginners in this sector might not be as high as BPOs, but as the performance level increases, the salaries also start increasing substantially. Eligibility for jobs in KPO Engineers, doctors, lawyers, CAs, MBAs, research analysts, scientific researchers and PhDs, who have extensive domain knowledge, can get great jobs in KPO. Right qualifications will easily lend you a job in a KPO company, but your growth will depend on how you perform. Although it is not a must to have a formal degree if you have a great deal of experience to boast about, but candidates with qualifications like MBA, B.E., B.Tech., M.Tech., MBBS, CA, LLB, B.Ed., Architecture, Journalism, etc., are preferred. Skills required for KPO jobs Knowledge Process Outsourcing companies look for highly-qualified and knowledgeable candidates with great analytical and research skills. For all the jobs good communication skills and command over English is absolutely necessary, as constant interaction with foreign clients is required. Proficiency in using all major computer applications like MS Office and online research skills are also very important for a KPO job. The other job-specific skills include appropriate writing capabilities, raw data analysis, report creation, client servicing, etc. KPO jobs vs. BPO jobs BPO jobs are great for beginners with limited experience, while KPO jobs require in-depth domain expertise. Although, BPO jobs might pay more initially, but considering the direction of career growth and salaries of senior employees in KPO, it is definitely a better choice for those looking for a more fulfilling and long-term career. Qualified individuals who perform well can get handsome salary packages in this sector - much higher than BPOs. KPO jobs require a higher commitment level and a positive attitude towards work.

Salaries in KPO jobs Qualified beginners may get anywhere between Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 9,000 per month in a KPO firm. If the candidate has the right experience, the salaries can be much higher. A person with 4 to 5 years of experience can get anywhere between rupees three to seven lacks per annum. The future of KPO in India is promising, so it is the best time to get into this sector and grow along with it.

Re-Print Guidelines Do You Want To Use These Articles? FREE Re-Print Rights! Permission is granted to reproduce any of these articles but the article content CANNOT be altered and credit must be given to the author and also an active link to http://www.bpojobsite.com. As a courtesy, please email James at admin at bpojobsite.com if you decide to use any of his articles.

About the Author

Find the hottest Indian BPO jobs in Call Center, Software & Technology, Website Design, Data Processing and Transcription Services. http://www.bpojobsite.com

How To Combat The Worldwide Skills Shortage by Sam Polniak

Introduction

In the past decade, we have experienced a steady erosion of skills amongst people working in various industries, professions and businesses. This includes many large industries like chemicals, petrochemicals, oil refining and the like. This is a very provocative statement which will, no doubt be hotly contested by some people, but nevertheless it is true, like it or not. This is the reason why one often hears a cry amongst HR professionals, business leaders and management gurus of a "worldwide talent crunch". A side effect of this skill erosion has been an increase in salaries and benefits in many companies to those employees who have retained or enhanced their skills ( as contrasted with the pay cuts seen everywhere not so long ago), as well as concrete steps to stem attrition at all levels. This paper attempts to provide an insight into the issue as well as provide a solution for companies and businesses that are suffering from this problem.

History of the problem

The problem of the skills shortage can be directly attributed to three reasons. The first and primary reason is the "Downsizing " effect. The second reason is Demographics. The third reason is that not enough young workers are entering the workforce in some sectors. We will study these one by one and also attempt to provide a solution.

Downsize 'em all!

In the mid to late nineties, there was a wave of a new management fad that cut across all sectors, industries and professions. This fad was the concept of "downsizing" and "rightsizing". Coupled with its cousin of "outsourcing", it played a dominant role in creating todays' problem. Like many other temporary quick fixes, it only proved the old adage , that the solution to a problem can create a bigger problem.

Until the nineties, typically employees in most companies, shared between them, a vast body of knowledge, that was the real driver of the growth and profitability of the business. This was never acknowledged or measured as such by top management seriously. Thus this "intellectual property" of the business was never cared for properly. Merely having a physical location (like an office or a factory) and machines (or plants or computers or other physical assets) and money in the bank, does not make a business. The business requires skilled people, in various functions, having diverse skills, to glue it all together. They co-ordinate the people and assets, use the money productively and thus create value. This key insight was lost on the swashbuckling managers and cost-focussed bean counters of the "cutting nineties" (a term similar to the swinging sixties, but more sinister), who looked askance at people, mocked them as mere "cost centers" and concentrated on cutting them out of the business.

No doubt that every business does acquire some flab and bureaucracy as it grows older, but this wave of downsizing threw out the baby along with the bathwater. This scored the managers of those days some brownie points and lifted the bottom lines of those companies during the recessionary times by some percentage points. Not to speak of the increase in their own bottom lines because of the bonuses and stock options. But then, when the economy picked up again, this downsizing process left the companies with gaping skills shortages. This left companies with little or no resources to again expand capacities, regain their market positions, introduce new products or even to take care of existing products.

This opportunity cost has been never seriously measured by any of the management gurus, to my knowledge.

Demographics

In Europe the average age of the population has now increased. This fact is well known and publicized often. However, what is not emphasized enough, is that the aging is far from uniform. In some industries, like chemicals manufacturing, the average age of a typical plant operator is more than 50! Besides, because of the decrease of retirement age by the industry (in its cost-cutting era), it means hundreds of these operators would retire at the same time, permanently cutting off their knowledge of so many years of industries and processes. There won't be enough operators to go around since this age profile cuts across many chemical companies in the western world. Hence, once these operators exit the workforce, finding replacements won't be easy. Ditto for other large manufacturing sectors.

Bad PR and "Uncool" industries & sectors

Professional PR managers say, that there is no such thing as "bad PR", any publicity is good, if it generates interest amongst a community to discuss it. While this may be true for businesses like software or mobile phones, bad PR has badly affected the chemical industry, by painting it as eco-unfriendly, polluting and bad smelling. This is simply untrue with respect to many chemical industries today, who have far less pollution & environmental problems today. In fact most of the problems of pollution and warming in cities can be attributed to vehicular pollution rather than industrial pollution. However, who's listening? To the youngsters graduating out of college the "chemical industry" is simply "uncool". There also do not seem to be many efforts at correcting this view from the manufacturers of chemicals. Besides, the memory of the downsizing campaigns is still fresh and nobody wants to join the chemical industry, IT industry or other manufacturing industries, to make a career. They would rather join a TV channel, become a Radio Jockey, or go into the hospitality business or perhaps even try stock broking or merchant banking. This "bad PR" has also hit the IT industry in the US, where not many young people are enrolling in Computer Science courses in universities, because of the fear of not getting jobs due to outsourcing. Thus this leads to further shortages from the IT businesses point of view.

The effect of combined factors

The effect of all the factors in combination above, has been a dramatic shortage of skilled people in the industry. This creates not just problems of paying more for available skills or overtime, but the fact that a wrong operation because of lack of skills and / or training can result in a disaster, in case of a chemical company, affecting entire communities, not just individuals or companies. Wrong operations in other professions like the IT industry can have also serious undesirable consequences, which may also be catastrophic (imagine a software code with many bugs in your banking application software).

The solution to the problem

The only solution to the problem, is by spending more time, attention and money on training programs that enhance the skills of the workforce in general, refresh old skills that workers have and bring up the skills of the freshers or semi skilled workers who join the workforce, all in a short time. This can be achieved, only by employing innovative training solutions. The old training technique (which is hundreds of years old, by the way), can no longer be used effectively in todays' situation.

We are talking about classroom based training here. When somebody says "training" to a manager, the first thing that comes to his/her mind is "Oh! My God! Not again! I am already short of xx workers and they ask me to spare somebody for training!!". This is because many of us still associate the word "training" with "classroom training".

This is of course not correct. The world has moved ahead and training can now be imparted online, at home, in the garden or on the beach. It is now ON DEMAND learning, thanks to the proliferation of the Internet, easy availability of PCs/laptops and mobile phones.

We are talking of e-learning and m-learning here. Besides being flexible, it can be imparted in bite sized chunks, easily digestable, over a period of time. Repeating it hardly costs anything, whereas a classroom refresher training directly doubles the cost.

An added benefit is that, for young entrants to the workforce, it gives them learning on platforms that they are already used to and comfortable with (i.e on laptops, PDAs and Mobile phones). It somehow enhances the "cool" factor and removes the image of the industry as staid, conventional and old-world.

Topics for learning

Previously there were not many courses with ready made topics with e-learning providers. Typically, most e-learning service providers used to provide custom-made, bespoke learning packages to individual companies. While this approach had its benefits, the downside is, that the courses are suitable only for the company for which they were designed, leading to a very high cost per user, nullifying the low cost advantages of e-learning.

However, now newer companies like Abhisam Software have e-learning titles on topics that are suitable to many process industries. Examples include Hazardous Area Instrumentation and Gas Monitors. Since these are standard courses, they can be offered at a much lower cost than the earlier custom designed courses. Besides, if the number of learners is sufficiently large (say about 50 or more) then some degree of customization of these courses is also possible, again at a low cost.

Summary

Due to historical reasons, there has been a skill shortage in the industries and businesses, all over the world.

This skill shortage will only worsen, as seniors retire and not enough youngsters enter the workforce in large numbers.

If somehow more youngsters do enter the workforce in large numbers, the cost of training them, using the traditional training methods will be prohibitively expensive and unviable. Also not enough technical training personnel are available, to offer one-on one training.

Using newer education technologies like e-learning and m-learning, knowledge and expertise, can be imparted quickly and precisely, to those people whose skills need to be developed. This can be done at a fraction of the cost of traditional learning. Thus new recruits can be trained effectively. Using standard topics and templates for learning, reduces the cost of the training further. Customization if required, however is always possible. In most cases, even with the cost of customization added, the total cost of training using these modern methods is lower than the cost of traditional training.

Additionally, e-learning provides managers with a way to track training remotely, because most e-learning systems will provide test scores, record time spent on each module or page, log the students activity and provide very detailed measurements, that can be used to improve the training. Traditional methods hardly provided any data, save for a feedback form at the end which students themselves filled in, which then lies forgotten in some dusty file, forever.

E-learning and m-learning does not mean merely reproduction of classroom training materials into 'soft' copies and viewing them on a PC or a mobile. Companies like Abhisam Software provide e-learning that is media rich, with lots of pictures, Flash based animations (that simulate a process or show the working of a machine or a phenomenon), interactive simulations (that include the learner in the Flash exercises), real-life video clippings of events or procedures and online assessments. This kind of "rich-media" training is simply not comparable with the traditional classroom based training. The courses are designed with the help of several subject matter experts, Instructional designers, animation and user-interface experts.

Thus the worldwide shortage of skills can be addressed by using training to enhance workers' skills, cross train workers, enhance the skills of semi skilled workers or freshers. This is possible only if company managements focus their attention on effective e-learning and m-learning philosophies. It is by far the best solution to bridge the skills shortage and gain competitive advantage.

About the Author

Sam Polniak works with Abhisam Software (http://www.abhisam.com), a provider of e-learning courses on various topics such as Hazardous Area Instrumentation (http://www.abhisam.com/hazareainst.html), Gas Monitors (http://www.abhisam.com/GasMon.html) and RFID (http://www.abhisam.com/rfidcourse1.html)

Getting the Most Out of Your Investment! by Joe Samson

Great, you have decided that you want to invest in real estate, perhaps you are thinking of flipping a house or thinking of renting it for long term appreciation. Regardless of your exit strategy, more likely your investment will include challenges such as finding the funds to support the project, finding the right property, dealing with contractors and so on.

The truth is that everyone invests in something throughout their lives. Some of us invest in stocks, gold, stamps, cars, their hobbies or real estate. Personally I believe in real estate not because of what the media says on the 6 o' clock news but rather due to the fact that history shows that over 90% of all millionaires have become wealthy by owning real estate. If this is true, why isn't everyone doing it? Unfortunately there is more to investing than most people might think. The first obstacle that most of us have to cross is coming up with the money to invest.

Who says it has to be your money to invest? Lets get high on OPM or other people's money. Generally humans go through three phases in their lives. When we are born we are dependent on our parents, then we want to become independent and finally we realize that we cannot do everything ourselves therefore we become interdependent of others. You can easily approach your circle of influence to partner with you in a project. For example if you know someone who has some cash sitting around and he is tired of earning 2%-3% at the bank you can create a win-win relationship by offering your real estate expertise in exchange for his investment. Your expertise could include finding the property, renovating it, and taking care of the day to day management activities. The key is to remember to make sure that each one of you brings different values to the relationship. If neither of you have any investment funds but you are great buddies, it's not going to propel you forward.

If you have owned a house in Calgary for the last couple years you should have seen a substantial equity increase in your home. The money sitting in your home is a great feeling, it gives you security and piece of mind to your family. Ask yourself the question, how much profit is that equity putting in your pocket each year? Banks nowadays will be happy to provide you or your investor partner with a PLC (personal line of credit) against your home and then you can use those funds to invest in real estate and earn a lot more than your savings account would generate.

The Calgary real estate market is so expensive, where do I buy? Probably 99% of the listings today aren't going to fit your criteria. But that still leaves you with lot of options available to choose from. One of the biggest mistakes that I see Investors making is calling up their REALTOR® and asking them to give them a call when he sees a great deal out there. In my point of view this statement is no different than saying to a Doctor to fix your problem but you won't let him to examine you. My suggestion to serious investors is to decide what part of Calgary or communities he is planning on investing and get familiar with the neighborhood. The investor will need to consider the type of homes he is after, general size, garage or no garage etc. The more specific the criteria the better chances a REALTOR® have of finding a solution. This approach will also forge the investor to become a specialist in the area and he will have a great insight on property values. It will take some time to go through the learning process but dividends will be rewarding especially when an undervalued property shows up on the market.

You think you've found the right house, how do you make sure it's going to work? Doing too much due diligence will never get you into any trouble, not doing any research will cost you a fortune. At this point you should be educated enough to know approximately how much do certain renovations will cost. It's worth the effort to visit suppliers to get familiar with prices. I suggest outsourcing the same suppliers as builders are using, this could easily save you 10%-25% compared to retail price. If you just need to replace a couple of doors you can find business in the city who sells recycled materials. Most of the time if you just paint it, it will look brand new and you could buy it at 1/3 of the new door. At the time of making an offer, you aren't going to have any time to ask contractors to provide you with a quote. Plus homeowners wouldn't appreciate strangers coming through their homes. Prior to your house hunting, you can interview a few contractors and have a general idea of what their prices are. For instance to replace a carpet in a house it would probably cost $3.50/sq.ft. supply & install or paint $2/sq.ft. I don't recommend starting to measure floor space when you are viewing a home but you should be able to estimate an approximate cost of repairs in 5-10 minutes by using round figures to the nearest thousands. Always over estimate your expenses because it's guaranteed that you will have surprises.

What kind of renovations should I be doing to maximize my profit? The trick here is to renovate the house to the point where the potential buyer will fall in love with it but it doesn't cause the resale price to be above the norm in the community. According to the Appraisal Institution of Canada finished basements will only return about 1⁄2 of the investment and the greatest values are usually gained from the renovated kitchen and bathrooms. If you are planning on doing multiple renovation projects you need to set up a system to follow. You need to now exactly the type of colors, carpet, baseboards, window coverings that you are going to use. Once you have this information nailed done, you are just repeating the same process over and over until it becomes "cookie cutter" and that will save you a lot of time.

After the renovation is complete staging always helps to sell a home quicker and for a higher price. To speed up your learning curve on how to stage a house you can visit a few show homes on the weekend. You don't need to reinvent the wheel you just need to get some ideas from what works for others.

Finally you've got the keys to the house and you are ready to swing the hammer. Prior to submitting your offer you've decided what kind of renovations you will be doing and you have an idea how much it's going to cost. How do you orchestrate the contractors so it won't be nightmare? First and most importantly who ever you choose to hire at whatever price, make sure that both of you understand the exact plan. The best way to avoid any misunderstanding is to have everything in writing and in great detail. If you want to establish a long term relationships with contractors it doesn't hurt to discuss your policies and perhaps have them to sign off on it.

Keep in mind that you must take action. As with anything in life, knowledge without action equals nothing. Although, dreaming is an enjoyable and important process, only actions can transfer dreams into reality.

About the Author

Joe Samson is currently a realtor For Calgary Real Estate and has been for the past 7 years. You can read more articles like this at his web site http://www.joesamson.com.mall scale software development company in Florida and engaged with a professional employee leasing service provider(http://www.vtlglobal.com).

Professional Employee Leasing Service A next step with the name of BPO by Stephen Seinfeld

Professional Employee Leasing Service A next step with the name of BPO, you might have lots of questions and as there already are so many myths regarding :-

a)How these service providers work? b)what quotient of control we are left with after we hand over our secure data or projects to some BPO house or PEOs? c)How much economical it falls on needs? bla bla bla.

You can find a lots of questions regarding do's and dont's about these services but truth is stranger than fiction as it came out be a blessing for small business houses in U.S, who are inefficient to place highly skilled Software developers just to fulfill there short term needs. Most of the times it's seen and becomes a matter of worry when for weeks you have no work and you still pay your employees as you may need them for future since we all know how much pain,time & cost does it take to place a new employee.Why should we pay someone even when we don't need his/her services.For such employers this PEO/BPO or so called KPO(knowledge process outsourcing) has become a midas touch because these organizations serve you with employee(s) untill or only when you need them. It not just cut down overall HR costs & time but also exempt you paying other benefits like Health insurance,Setup maintenance costs which is huge, and in-case we are not happy with any of there virtually leased employees they immediately provide us a better replacemet.where, As far as qualification and experience is concerned I can bet they provide better than the crap we interview and recruit ourselves since these organizations could survive only if we are impressed.Thats why most of these famous organizations like "virtual technology leasing" work 24/7 and have employees who can understand and speak our language (English) nicely.

Dealing with security might be one major issue you may eager to know! Since once you hand over your codecs to some far located employee you may get dependent, But as we all know about citrix RSA(Remote server adminstration) i.e how safe and securely work is done over these servers. Since whatever routine work is done it will only be saved on your machine.Virtual employees are forbidden to have any other rights except what they are hired for. It helps you keep full control over your projects.You can even see what is being typed!! What else can one can ever look for, Despite the only major diffrence is that employee is located somewhere else, but virtually it is right here ! in your own office !.

Technically it is called PEO (Professional Empoyee Leasing Organization) a name similar to KPO ( knowledge Process Outsourcing ) OR some call it BPO ( Business Process Outsourcing). Last time when I met one of my co-employers we discussecd a lot about outsourcing and peo services but the truth is there is no harm in trying it once as it may help us begin a new business era and who knows in coming days you write your own experiences happily like me. My main motive is to reveal the truth behind the reality. I myself was a bit depressed the way my business was going ,but,I did not find any risk in using these services especially when some leasing company is offering me a free 15 day introductory trial like "virtual technolgy leasing" a floridan based employee leasing company, they help you setting up every thing from scratch even if you are technically a rookie as I was and help you quite nicely to understand every thing,I really owe them a lot as its been a year I am using there services continuously and I already have saved more than I might have earned in years. Know more about PEO at http://www.vtlglobal.com

About the Author

Stephen Seinfeld is running his small scale software development company in Florida and engaged with a professional employee leasing service provider(http://www.vtlglobal.com).

KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) Clientele by Scott Naxton

There is too much talk about "outsourcing" in nowadays. However, this trend in US is not a new and was existed well two decades back. Outsourcing means turning over jobs to outside companies to cut costs and be competitive. However, this concept came into limelight after the worldwide internet boom as well as the economical development of labor-intensive nations.

Before the wide spread of outsourcing, only few big corporate houses were outsourcing especially for their Information Technology projects in order to be more competitive and to be more focused on core competencies. The advantages of outsourcing, however, analyzed by other small and mid-sized businesses and they started following the footsteps of big companies resulted in "outsource boom" across the globe. Corporate sources believe that almost 70 to 80% of the consumer products, IT companies will outsource their jobs to progressive economies having pool of well-educated English speaking workforce, such as India, China, Philippines, Pakistan and so on.

Global KPO (knowledge process outsourcing) economy spurred by big corporate houses has brought new challenges, which other small businesses have also realized. In order to have a fair share in outsourcing business, you need good clientele base. Good KPO/BPO companies have to go a long way in finding such clients. However, following few guidelines could help you in getting them on board.

1. Meeting Industry Analysts Approaching KPO industry analysts such as Gartner, Abardeen and other prominent outsourcing companies will help you in getting true picture of KPO business, latest happenings in the industry. Brief them about your company and business to enable them to assess your company's outsourcing potentiality. Such KPO analysts release newsletters periodically, which you can obtain after becoming their member.

2. Attending conferences Attending conferences of outsourcing companies association or any such organization, which represents outsourcing companies can help your company in understanding the business more better. You will be well-informed about the outsourcing industry. You will interact with many successful outsourcing companies' representatives, which will further augment your knowledge on outsourcing business.

You may also host the conferences and appoint leading outsource companies to participate and express their views.

3. Media help Media is the powerful source of spreading information. Publish news and articles in the leading outsourcing magazines. Useful facts on the progress of the company, numbers of yearly revenue generated from the outsourcing business, yearly employment report etc will help in improving the company's credibility. You can also publish articles having few quotes from the industry's reputed representatives. Being in news frequently will help your company more popular.

Please do visit at KPO and Knowledge Process Outsourcing to know more about the KPO business.

About the Author

Scott Naxton is a freelance journalist having experience of many years writing articles and news releases on health, insurance, internet businesses and many other public issues.

KPO - the next big thing in the outsourcing sector by James Smith

KPO or Knowledge Process Outsourcing involves outsourcing of knowledge intensive business processes to other geographic locations. KPO and BPO are closely related sectors. The major difference is that BPO is labor intensive and requires low level of expertise, while KPO requires in-depth knowledge in the area that is outsourced. Also, BPOs are more process based while KPOs are knowledge based. The major areas that are outsourced under KPO Since outsourcing offers several advantages like cost savings, access to skilled resource pool and better quality, many global companies are outsourcing their knowledge based processes to India. The major ones are designing, web applications, business and market research and analysis, data management, financial and legal services, research and development, medical, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology related services, training, publishing, content development, remote education, etc.

The biggest segment is however, data search integration and management which holds 29% of the KPO sector revenue. Next is biotech and pharmaceuticals, followed by engineering and design, R&D, education and publishing, and animation. Growth of KPO sector in India KPO is expected to grow at a cumulative growth rate of about 45% and it is estimated that by 2010, India will have 70% of the global KPO market. The Indian KPO exports are estimated to touch USD 12 billion by 2010. The current number of KPO employees in India is estimated to be 25,000. NASSCOM projects that the number of KPO professionals will increase to 250,000 by 2010. India is all set to become the global KPO leader KPOs were started in India by McKinsey when it opened up a knowledge center in 1987. In 2000 companies like OfficeTiger, GE, Gartner, etc., opened their research centers too. Since then KPO sector is growing as India is evolving to become the leader. There are many advantages that India offers, these include: * Established support infrastructure * Talented resource pool of qualified professionals and subject matter experts * Better English language skills than other major outsourcing destinations * Lower cost * Government support The top KPO companies in India The biggest companies in KPO sector include Evalueserve, McKinsey, RocSearch, Copal Partners, Pipal Research, Inductis, WNS Global, Accenture, Aptara, etc Career scope in KPO KPO is creating a huge number of career opportunities for educated and talented professionals including engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, designers, teachers, consultants, etc. It is also estimated that the salaries in KPO sector would be 25-50% higher than in other fields.

KPO companies look for a diverse range of professionals who have a certain level of expertise in some domain. This sector is not too great for freshers or beginners as it offers better opportunities and salaries to more qualified and experienced candidates.

If a person is armed with right qualifications, experience, managerial skills, and client interaction skills, then there are endless possibilities of growth in KPO sector. You need in-depth domain knowledge, passion and aptitude for that field of work, and great communication skills, to soar high in this sector.

Re-Print Guidelines Do You Want To Use These Articles? FREE Re-Print Rights! Permission is granted to reproduce any of these articles but the article content CANNOT be altered and credit must be given to the author and also an active link to http://www.bpojobsite.com. As a courtesy, please email James at admin at bpojobsite.com if you decide to use any of his articles.

About the Author

Find the hottest Indian BPO jobs in Call Center, Software & Technology, Website Design, Data Processing and Transcription Services. http://www.bpojobsite.com

KPOs - offering great career opportunities for knowledgeable professionals by James Smith

KPO or Knowledge Process Outsourcing is a value added form of a BPO. While BPO is a highly process-based sector requiring lower level of expertise, KPO requires extensive knowledge in the domain being outsourced. India and China are emerging at the leaders in KPO due to the cost advantages and availability of talented resources. The segments of KPO in India The major segments that you can work in a KPO include legal services, financial services, engineering, R&D, market research, analytics, education, training, content development, healthcare services, pharmacy, and biotechnology, etc. If you have the required qualifications and some bit of experience in any of the fields mentioned above, you are the right candidate for a KPO job. Growing career opportunities in KPO sector Based on the rate at which KPO is growing, it is estimated that KPO sector would employ over 250,000 people by 2010. With new areas of specialization, opportunities are also increasing. Although the salaries of beginners in this sector might not be as high as BPOs, but as the performance level increases, the salaries also start increasing substantially. Eligibility for jobs in KPO Engineers, doctors, lawyers, CAs, MBAs, research analysts, scientific researchers and PhDs, who have extensive domain knowledge, can get great jobs in KPO. Right qualifications will easily lend you a job in a KPO company, but your growth will depend on how you perform. Although it is not a must to have a formal degree if you have a great deal of experience to boast about, but candidates with qualifications like MBA, B.E., B.Tech., M.Tech., MBBS, CA, LLB, B.Ed., Architecture, Journalism, etc., are preferred. Skills required for KPO jobs Knowledge Process Outsourcing companies look for highly-qualified and knowledgeable candidates with great analytical and research skills. For all the jobs good communication skills and command over English is absolutely necessary, as constant interaction with foreign clients is required. Proficiency in using all major computer applications like MS Office and online research skills are also very important for a KPO job. The other job-specific skills include appropriate writing capabilities, raw data analysis, report creation, client servicing, etc. KPO jobs vs. BPO jobs BPO jobs are great for beginners with limited experience, while KPO jobs require in-depth domain expertise. Although, BPO jobs might pay more initially, but considering the direction of career growth and salaries of senior employees in KPO, it is definitely a better choice for those looking for a more fulfilling and long-term career. Qualified individuals who perform well can get handsome salary packages in this sector - much higher than BPOs. KPO jobs require a higher commitment level and a positive attitude towards work.

Salaries in KPO jobs Qualified beginners may get anywhere between Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 9,000 per month in a KPO firm. If the candidate has the right experience, the salaries can be much higher. A person with 4 to 5 years of experience can get anywhere between rupees three to seven lacks per annum. The future of KPO in India is promising, so it is the best time to get into this sector and grow along with it.

Re-Print Guidelines Do You Want To Use These Articles? FREE Re-Print Rights! Permission is granted to reproduce any of these articles but the article content CANNOT be altered and credit must be given to the author and also an active link to http://www.bpojobsite.com. As a courtesy, please email James at admin at bpojobsite.com if you decide to use any of his articles.

About the Author

Find the hottest Indian BPO jobs in Call Center, Software & Technology, Website Design, Data Processing and Transcription Services. http://www.bpojobsite.com

What is a basic Difference between KPO and BPO?

The basic difference between KPO and BPO is that BPO mainly deals with technical support, transaction processing, customer care, telemarketing etc. and KPO is offshoring of knowledge intensive business processes that require specialized domain expertise. For such tasks KPO requires people with a good educational background and experts in a particular field. KPO employee is expected to have better qualifications, skills and knowledge as compared to his/her BPO counterpart.