In line with strategy to enter the BPO space Mascot Systems , a leading global offshore software services company, today announced its entry into the IT Enabled Services (ITES) segment with the proposed acquisition of the Contact Center and Facility Management businesses of Delhi-based outsourced services provider IT&T Ltd. The Company has signed an agreement to acquire as a going concern, IT&T’S BPO business, by way of a business purchase. It will also acquire IT&T’S Facility Management business by buying out IT&T Technology Services Ltd., a subsidiary of IT&T. The acquisition is subject to approval of Mascot’s Board of Directors, terms and conditions of agreement, and other statutory and regulatory approvals as may be applicable.

Explaining the rationale for the acquisition, the company said in a statement that the acquisition is in line with Mascot’s earlier articulated strategy to enter the BPO space.

The acquisition will enhance Mascot’s services portfolio and enable it to rapidly establish a presence in the BPO space in a relatively cost-effective manner so that the Company can leverage its own strengths and global resources to ramp up the acquired business.
According to Gartner Group estimates, the global BPO market is expected to reach $234bn by 2005. NASSCOM and McKinsey have recently increased their projections for the Indian IT Enabled Services market in 2008 to $21bn from the $18bn earlier.
IT&T’S domain expertise, proven team and operating experience in Customer Relationship Management, Affinity Marketing and Helpdesk Support will enrich the suite of services offered by Mascot and enable it to provide its clients a complete range of IT services and solutions. Mascot has plans to rapidly scale-up the acquired business - both, financially and operationally - over the coming two years by building upon Mascot’s established strengths and competencies.

The BPO business will come to Mascot Systems for a cash consideration of Rs188.81mn while the Facility Management business will cost Rs23.9mn. The acquisition will bring in the BPO business of IT&T Limited as a going concern, including over 400 employees, its infrastructure, equipment, facilities, contracts and intellectual property. Mascot will acquire the customers and prospects of IT&T across the United States and Europe. As part of the deal, the vastly experienced executive management team will become part of the Mascot Group and drive the day-to-day business.

We've heard a lot about the "fast approaching day" when agents will be able to interact with customers via two-way video. This is a really cool idea -- and I see a wide variety of ways that video communications could be used to enhance our daily routines in the not-too-distant future. People in the call center industry have been exploring the idea of integrating Internet Protocol Video in the contact center for years, and now many of the software and equipment makers, including Cosmo COM, Verint, Genesys, Radvision and others are finally ready to make this prophecy a reality.

Future of Customer Service

Within the next few years, experts say, two-way video communications will be the new cutting edge way of doing business.

The banking industry is already starting to deploy "virtual tellers" at branch offices (this in addition to completely branch-free, Internet-based "virtual banks") -- while the retail industry is apparently gearing up to introduce "virtual store clerks."

Banking Industry Leading the Way- For now, it appears the banking industry is taking the lead in bringing this new technology in play. Numerous banks have already deployed "virtual tellers" at branch locations, and some banks are doing away with branches altogether and going to a pure "virtual banking" model (where all transactions are handled electronically via the Internet).

For most of us, using a "virtual teller" at a branch office will not be too different from using an ATM, except you'll be able to communicate via video link with a "virtual teller" who is, in fact, a call center agent located miles away. In addition to handling basic transactions (such as cashing and depositing checks, which in many cases will be handled via pneumatic tube), these "virtual tellers" will be able to answer questions about your account, as well as cross-sell and up sell new products and services that the bank is offering.

This new technology also brings tremendous advantages to the banks themselves, as they will be able to centralize and reduce staff, lower their real estate costs (as branches can be made much smaller) and deliver more consistent service to all customers. This "kiosk-based" form of video communications at bank and retail locations is the prelude to the much larger rollout of fixed-line and mobile two-way video communications, which will ultimately bring this new form of communication into the privacy of our homes.

Hurdles need to overcome- Obviously, there are still hurdles to overcome before video communications becomes commonplace. For one thing, there's still the basic problem of not enough bandwidth on our last-mile networks (in fact, almost half of the U.S. is still on dial-up).

Then there's the simple fact that most consumers do not have video phones or even video cameras and microphones connected to their PCs at home. Perhaps more importantly, there is still a question of how many people really want two-way video communications -- whether actually seeing the person you are speaking with offers enough value to the consumer to make the cost of rolling out IP video communications worth it.

However, with the major wireless service providers of the world working in concert with the handset makers and aggressively rolling out video capabilities on their next generation networks, we are no doubt getting closer to the day when two-way video communications will become a reality. As advanced new mobile devices (i.e., videophones) come onto the market, and consumer demand for them increases, it only makes sense that the call center industry will follow suit.

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