India Calling- A Report on the Call Center Industry

Based on several personal in-depth interviews with top-level executives in the industry call center operators, solution providers, training majors, the report offers a realistic assessment of the current status of the industry and a futuristic view of the industry. This report thus is of relevance not only to existing call center players but also potential entrants, banks/financial institutions/venture capital funds that are likely to fund these enterprises, IT majors who want to foray into this lucrative space and other global companies both in the call center business and others who want to sharply reduce their costs by outsourcing to India. The report aims to provide the much needed answers to key questions such as,

• What is the current status of Indian Call Center Industry?
• What is the current services spectrum?
• What is the existing value chain in the industry and is there a value migration that is taking place?
• How does the call center fit into the overall CRM strategy?
• Will the integrated call center make the conventional communication channels redundant?
• What are the factors that you should consider before deciding on the location?
• What is the kind of monies that one should invest while building a global call center?
• Where is the money being channeled? Is labor the main cash guzzler or is it technology?
• How important is metrics in this industry? What are the key metrics that are being monitored in this industry?
• Quality- Is it a mere fashion statement in this business? Are Indian players really serious about this key parameter?
• How important is the agent to your firm’s success? What is the kind of training and retention strategies that you should have in place?
• Is India the only outsourced destination? Who are the other global competitors? How is India placed vis-à-vis other countries such as Canada, Australia, Jamaica etc
• What are the key concerns that is/ likely to affect this industry?
• What are the major emerging trends in this nascent industry?
• What should you do to emerge as a successful player in this industry?

• The Indian IT Enabled Services (ITES) Scenario- An Introduction
  
• What this study is About?
  
• Call Centers- An Introduction
  
• India- Destination Future
  
• Entry Barriers in the Industry
  
• Need for Call Centers- Abroad and At Home
  
• The Case for India
  
• Evolution of Customer Relation Services
  
• Call Centers in India
  
• Segmentation in the Indian Call Center Industry
  
• Current Status of the Domestic Call Center Industry
  
• Gurgaon Or Mumbai- A Tale of Two Cities
  
• The Services-Market Spectrum
  
• Value Chain in the Industry
  
• Technology- The Backbone of a Call Center
  
• The Advent of Integrated Call Centers
  
• The “Hard” Issues
  
• The “Soft” Issues
  
• People- The Most Valuable Assets in the Business
  
• Recruitment Policies & Processes in the Indian Context
  
• Training- A Key Component of Your Success Story
  
• Retention- Gain by Preventing the Drain
  
• Quality- The Deciding Factor in this Business
  
• The Call Center Operational Performance Certificate (COPC) Standard
  
• Metrics- The All Important, But Neglected Factor
  
• Operational Parameters- An Overview
  
• Strategic Parameters- An Insight
  
• Money-What, Why and How?
  
• Where the Money Goes?
  
• Governmental and Industry Initiatives
  
• The NASSCOM Call Center Forum
  
• Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Guidelines for Call Centers
  
• The Telecom Group on IT Enabled Services
  
• Emerging Trends in the Industry
  
• Migration to a Server-based Call Center
  
• Greater Focus on Web-based Call Centers
  
• Movement Up the Value Chain
  
• Lesser Dependence on the Financial Services Industry
  
• The Stumbling Blocks
  
• Global Competition
  
• Bandwidth- Disconnecting Rather than Connecting Customers
  
• Limited Range of Offerings and Technology- Major Dampeners
  
• Stringent Evaluation by Customers
  
• Increasing Domestic Competition
  
• Real Estate Crunch
  
• Our Prescription for Success
  
• Opportunities Galore
  
• Our Recommendations
  
• Profile of Major Players
  
• Annexure 1: Indicative list of technology solution providers
  
• Annexure 2: Agent Evaluation Form In-bound - A Sample
  
• Annexure 3: List of Tables
  
• Annexure 4: List of Exhibit