Kolkata, Hyderabad ranked at bottom of BTO scene

Kolkata, May 19: According to a report, Kolkata and Hyderabad is ranked at the bottom among potential hubs in the business transformation outsourcing (BTO) scene, while West Bengal is trying to position itself as a top-tier IT destination.

BTO, which is often described as third-generation outsourcing, combines traditional business process outsourcing (BPO) with IT outsourcing. Several firms like IBM, Accenture, Nipuna and Wipro BPO are taking big strides in this emerging segment. Though the domestic BTO turf is growing at 9 per cent, it is expected to grow at 10-15 per cent in coming years.

Report on potential BTO hubs has been prepared by Assocham after checking out large players in the segment. It has identified Bangalore, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Pune at the top of the BTO pack. In the middle rung is Chennai. While Kolkata and Hyderabad figure at the bottom of the are BTO barrel.

The study notes: "BTO is a normal extension of BPO. The cities that are already a hub for BPO&IT are most likely to be considered before others," it states. Accordingly, no surprises why Bangalore leads the pack as the most preferred BTO destination.

As per the Assocham study, the prime factors that BTO vendors consider while setting up shop are availability of quality infrastructure, and talent pool, the geographic location, local climate and tax benefits available from the local government.

Bengal Chamber of Commerce&Industry's (BCCI) agrees that there is a huge demand-supply mismatch for IT talent in Kolkata which has hindered BTO growth prospects.

Assocham report also notes that the government could play a major role in driving BTO growth by providing land and other amenities at subsidised rates. The Assocham ranking of BTO destinations has been undertaken with responses from firms such as Genpact, Stracon, Transworks Information Services, Salient BPO and 24/7 Customer.

In traditional BPO, the vendor makes minimal changes to the services before providing it back to customers while the BTO spectrum looks at transforming the process or service. BTO processes are expected to result in cost optimisation, increased efficiency and productivity.

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