• The Australian BPO market is expected to grow by 20 % over the next year or two.
  Get your copy of the Australian BPO research study now.
  Go to – http://thesauce.net.au/sauce-research
• The Australian Business Process Outsourcing Association (ABPOA) is hosting a Cocktail Reception in honour of a trade delegation from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) and the Australian-based Philippine Trade and Investment Commission.

  We would like to invite ABPOA members and guests to attend, meet, and network with our friends from the Philippines. 



  Where: Level 15, NSW Business Chamber, 140 Arthur Street, North Sydney NSW 2060
  When: Monday 21st May from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

  Tickets: To secure your place at this popular event, please register at
  Go To – http://abpoabpap2012.eventbrite.com

• Vocal Authenticity and Insightful Learning
  Transform your business through Vocal Authenticity and Insightful Listening

Use your voice to create more meaningful and trusting connections with others over the phone and face to face!

  Business Enterprise Centre

19/323 Castlereagh Street
Haymarket NSW
  Thursday 31 May 2012
  6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Beverage and canapés provided
  Contact: admin@ccma.asn.au

• New Generation of UTM Firewalls Deliver Proven Enterprise-Grade Security to Small and Distributed Organisations. Dell SonicWALL TZ Series Provides Market-leading Security Combined with High Performance, Ease of Deployment and Broad Mobile Platform Support.

  The TZ 105 and TZ 205 provide an array of security features that deliver enterprise-grade network protection powered by Dell SonicWALL’s patented Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection®. The only firewall in its class to truly enable mobile workforce with native SSL VPN remote access client for Apple iOS®, Google® Android™, Windows, Mac OS and Linux devices Delivers wire-speed Deep Packet Inspection performance and protection for today’s broadband connections.

By Robin Stanley

The Faculties of Information technology and Business and Economics held a well-attended breakfast seminar at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne last week, focusing on outsourcing. With over 60 delegates drawn from a wide range of industry sectors and the various outsourcing professional associations, the audience were given an update on Monash research on current outsourcing trends and practice together with some perspectives on supplier/customer relationship management from a leading consultant in the field.

Professor Rudy Hirschheim, a Monash visiting academic from Louisiana State University who provided a historical perspective on the growth of outsourcing. The first wave beginning in the early 70s with large US multinationals outsourcing their IT needs. The second wave involved offshoring to India, the Philippines, etc. More recently, the past decade has seen the emergence of microsourcing or crowdsourcing with an exponential growth in microsourcing vendors address everything from micro tasks through to complex projects.

Professor Hirschheim said that the microsourcing market will exceed US$20 billion by 2015 and will be driven by a future involving “non-ownership of assets” involving triadic relationship (A group of Three) structures between clients (buyers), labour pool (suppliers) and platforms (websites). Already we are seeing the future with the emergence of the networked enterprise supported by social media for communicating externally and crowdsourcing for collaborating externally.

Mr Andy Zaple, a Director of the Sydney-based Pitt Crew consultancy, provided some of his insights from many years of practical experience assisting both users and providers of outsourced services. His main theme was based on the metrics for managing a successful relationship that should be based on outputs rather than inputs. All too often, client-vendor relationships deteriorate because the focus tends to be on things that go wrong rather than devoting effort towards improving service levels and developing strategy. Managing service levels through appropriate rewards and rebates is critical in achieving success. Here, Mr Zaple advised against monitoring too many targets and to beware of averaging performance outputs as this can dilute the focus on the critical measures of process improvement.

Finally, Dr George Rivers, from Monash’s Faculty of Business & Economics, provided an interesting analysis of the economics of outsourcing based on the real transaction costs associated with the outsourcing of different services. Dr Rivers was able to show that the various drivers of transaction costs were themselves a function of some key parameters including: organisational structure, value/volume/frequency of transactions and other, less obvious measures such as R&D intensity. A move towards more outsourcing can only be justified where the transaction costs of labour are greater than the true transaction costs of intermediate goods or services.

The seminar host, Dr Robin Stanley, Senior Business Development Manager with the Faculty of Information Technology, closed the session with some questions from the audience and a challenge for organisations to take advantage of the generous State and Commonwealth support for research by working with institutions like Monash University. Flexible relationships ranging from short-term honours projects and consulting exercises through to more complex longer-term projects allow industry partners to gain competitive advantage from the thought leadership provided in the emerging practices and supporting technologies associated with business processes such as outsourcing.

Brisbane Sundowner: Thursday 17 November 2011

The Great Social Media Debate! Hear from six Industry Experts…
Thinking about Social Media…does is assist Companies or just act as a distraction?

Information and Bookings: https://ccma.worldsecuresystems.com/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=156315

Melbourne Luncheon: Friday 2 December 2011

Neil Rainey, Leadership, Talent and Development Guru ‘ How to Work your brain Brilliantly!’

Neil examines recent scientific information on the brain and how it works, looking at how the work we do can either be done well or implode into a world of stress and pain…

Information and Bookings: https://ccma.worldsecuresystems.com/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=137759

A quiet but dramatic resurgence in manufacturing has been underway in Philippines for some time. As the stampede to China falls away, global decision makers are looking again at Philippines and are finding a vastly improved business and lifestyle environment. With a government that is perceived as both politically stable and fiscally responsible, and a workforce that is as dynamic as it is loyal, a meaningful revival seems in store.

One of a number of senior managers leading the charge is Chandra Anamirtham, President of Hitachi Global Storage Systems Philippines. Under his energetic guidance, the global company has designated Philippines as the key worldwide manufacturing hub for various high-value processes. The result being a near doubling of employment and hugely increased career mobility opportunities for Filipinos.

Join us to hear the winner of the Expatriate Executive of the Year award at last year’s Asia CEO Awards, Chandra Anamirtham PhD, President of Hitachi Global Storage Systems Philippines, speak about how he created a globally recognized powerhouse organization in Philippines. This month’s Asia CEO Forum is being held on Wednesday, August 24th beginning at 7:45am at the DUSIT THANI HOTEL.

Specifics about Chandra Anamirtham PhD, President of Hitachi Global Storage Systems Philippines, can be viewed at this address: http://www.asia-ceo.org/events/Hitachi-Chandra_Anamirtham.htm

Please confirm your attendance in advance through our online reservation system at http://www.asia-ceo.org/register.htm. Breakfast is included and the nominal cost of admission is Php1,000.

Asia CEO Forum, presented by PLDT ALPHA Enterprise, is the largest regular business event in Philippines. For information on how to participate, go to http://www.asia-ceo.org/.

Next CCMA event on Brisbane: Social Media and the Contact Centre. Guest Speaker – Michael Ossipoff.

If you missed him in Melbourne, catch him in Brisbane!

Wed 14 September 2011

Telstra Presentation Centre
L4, 275 George St, Brisbane CBD

7.30 to 9.15, including breakfast

See link below for booking details.
https://ccma.worldsecuresystems.com/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=145565

The Australian Business Process Outsourcing Association (ABPOA) is hosting a Cocktail Reception in honour of a trade delegation from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) and the Australian based Philippine Trade and Investment Commission.

ABPOA members and guests are invited to attend, meet and network with our friends from the Philippines.

The Philippine IT Services industry has experienced phenomenal growth, and has developed a reputation for excellence in Customer Service, Back-Office Solutions, Medical & Legal Transcription, Software and Applications Development, Animation, Engineering Services and other technology support solutions.   It is backed by strong government support, business-friendly policies, and reliable supply of managerial talent and knowledge workers, a strong telecommunications infrastructure and competitive cost structure.

Where:
Level 15, NSW Business Chamber, 140 Arthur Street, North Sydney
When:
Monday 30th May from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

To secure your place at this event, please send your RSVP to Peter Springett at pspringett@foobooonline.com, by Monday 23rd May 2011. Please note that places are limited and will be allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis.

To help defray costs we ask for a small contribution of $25 per person

ABPOA members Datacom and Avnet are sponsoring the event

Datacom’s Maximising Service & Program Delivery for Government Event

Datacom Connect will be holding a lunch and learn event for government agencies and departments for those officials who are designers, implementers of service and program delivery. The impressive lineup of speakers over this succinct event includes:

Chris Butler, Head of Division, AusIndustry (DIISR),
Sarah Staveley, ANZ Customer Service Manager, APGC Microsoft
Mark McWilliams, Head of Strategy Datacom & ABPOA Board Member
Keynote by Jonathan Ladd, Group CEO, Datacom

The event will provide insights on how citizen and people centric designed programs can markedly improve service and program delivery. By taking an look at the real and present issues facing government and its programs and services; the event will discuss how the new age normality of service excellence expectations and doing more with less with the average engaged Australian worker and on the trending channel preference of customers and people can help improve outcomes

Seats are limited. Register now to attend this event: http://bitly.com/fk2ewx

Location: The Boat House by the Lake, Grevillea Park, Menindee drive, Barton ACT 2600
Date: 25th May 2011
Time: 11:45am to 1:30pm
Contact us: (02) 9023 5000

International Strategy for Cyberspace
The White House yesterday released their United States International Strategy for Cyberspace, which sets out their vision for the future development of the internet.

This is a far reaching discussion document that brings together the contemporary issues that the industry is facing globally.

The stated goal is:

“The United States will work internationally to promote an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable information and communications infrastructure that supports international trade and commerce, strengthens international security, and fosters free expression and innovation. To achieve that goal, we will build and sustain an environment in which norms of responsible behavior guide states’ actions, sustain partnerships, and support the rule of law in cyberspace.”

With the forthcoming NetHui at the end of June this document will no doubt be a key discussion point, I encourage you to study it.

China’s Shared Services and Outsourcing Industry – May 26th Beijing China

Contact:
Contact Name: Ben Hasson
CEBEX Group-China Entrepreneurs
phone number: +86 10 8530 6215 /250
fax number: +010 8561 1933
Email Address: ben.hasson@cebexgroup.com
www.chinaoutsourcingconference.com
Beijing, China, 26.5.2011

Over the past several years, China’s shared services and outsourcing Industry has achieved Impressive growth, emerging as a “go to” outsourcing destination due to advantages China has In terms of labor costs, a profitable Inflation scale, management capabilities, and social stability.

China Entrepreneurs’ Shared Services & Outsourcing Summit will give a unique look at the progress of this promising industry and its synergy with china’s business ecosystem. It will not be a purely theoretical conference, but an in depth shared experiences featured by a number of seasoned international and local providers of shared and outsourcing services, corporate decision makers and industry experts.

This conference will present a platform for overseas and Chinese buyers, providers, and advisers to meet and discuss current global opportunities and challenges by shining a light on the latest industry trends, decision-making strategies, technological advances and governmental reforms related to outsourcing. This conference will instruct businesses on how to make the best use China’s shared services and outsourcing resources.
What do we do?

China Entrepreneurs, a branch of CEBEX Group, develops custom tailored conferences and forums, mainly held in China, focused on initiating conversation within the Chinese business, finance and legal communities. China Entrepreneurs was established in 2003 and has grown significantly in the past two years. For more Information go to www.ce-online.cn or visit our conference website at: http://www.chinaoutsourcingconference.com

By Martin Conboy President Australian BPO Association

Last week I attended the Frost & Sullivan Customer Contact Australia 2011 seminar in Sydney.

We heard a great presentation from Rolf Hanson, the CEO of new Telco amaysim, Australia’s latest Mobile Network Virtual Operator (MNVO) about customer centricity and how after only operating for a few months in Australia they have already grabbed significant market share form the big Telco. Hansen spoke about the type of customer service they offer via their local call centre, albeit more expensive than the options off shore. He explained how his company had created a positive customer focussed culture and a flat rate of 15 cents per minute for mobiles, that he believed was the difference between his offer and the major telcos. Their marketing tag line is interesting “Purity in a dirty market’.

Joe Bellini, Executive VP and Chief Sales Officer and Jonathan Gray, Executive Director, Marketing of TeleTech who flew in from Denver HQ also spoke at the event.

Bellini advocated the utilisation of social media and new technologies to deliver a consistent customer experience in a multi-channel world. “A holistic and integrated strategic approach is essential to the effective leveraging of new and emerging channels such as social media”.

Brad Norman CEO of Philippines based ‘Taking You Forward Inc. “ gave an excellent presentation on benefits and opportunities around outsourcing to the Philippines.

I sat on a panel that addressed driving profitable growth in times of heightened competition and customer expectations. There were a number of points raised about best practices for gaining and retaining customers. Even though the discussion centred on integrating social media and tools like video for face-to-face customer contact, and mobile marketing, I believe that the main consumer sticking point was missed. That is how contact centres need to increase customer loyalty and spending. I raised the point that while many call centres are struggling to come to grips with Social media they have still not fixed the most hated of all call centre tools, the badly engineered IVR .It’s all very well thinking about the future but for goodness sake fix up the existing tools first. Badly engineered IVR systems drive consumers away from businesses.

As consumer confidence in the economy returns and global markets regain strength, companies in all industries are jostling for position in the ultra competitive new economic climate and consumers will simply not wait in the madness of looped IVR messages telling them how important their call is. In a recent article about ‘Innovation, the new currency of success’ for Virgin Blue, Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, the Australian economy is at a tipping point, with profound consequences for business, the economy and the Australian way of life, and innovation is its only saviour. “As a country we are facing serious competition on a global scale,” he said.

Carr believes innovation is key for Australian businesses to remain competitive in the tough domestic and international markets that have become constricted since the GFC. Those who do not invest in innovation, he says, are locked in to a race to the bottom.

Many companies who believe that some markets will come back are only fooling themselves. They are cutting costs and dropping prices in a downward spiral that will guarantee their eventual demise. “ We must insure we’re involved in a race to the top in terms of providing economic opportunities for all people, not a race to the bottom by cutting wages, lowering standards or reducing quality,’ Senator Carr says.

During the call centre conference I found the sentiment towards outsourcing and Off Shoring to be lukewarm at best and leaning towards the negative at worst. Its surprising how little major corporations know about the positive impact that outsourcing can have on their business. I nearly swallowed my tongue when I heard one senior executive from one of Australia’s leading financial organisations say that outsourcing was a price cutting option to throw low level customer interaction work over the fence and that she made her problems the outsourcing companies problems and that they had better make sure that they just got on with it, as the company basically washed their hands of the challenge. Amazingly there was no consideration of the customer experience in this approach.

These days outsourcing as a service tool is very much part of the business landscape and is an innovation used by companies that allows them to play to their strengths and use outsourcing to drive business outcomes. Consumer needs change constantly and companies must find ways to serve them in ways that are favourable to consumers. Today companies are no more than a click away from being sacked by customers who cannot get first call resolution in a way that suits them.

There is no questioning that many consumers at very comfortable with technology and using the web for everything from booking travel to buying a product on line via eBay, so I raised the concept of ‘Self Service’ and once again was left with the view that the Australian call centre industry lacks clarity about their role and what their value add is with respect to customer centricity.

This week as I write I am at the 14th annual Australian Shared Services & Outsourcing Conference. Shared Services is a bit further along the value chain and what a difference a week makes. There are 470 senior professionals and the atmosphere is electric with the opportunities in Outsourcing and off shoring. Major Australian companies, like Macquarie Bank, ANZ bank, BlueScope Steel, BP, Rio Tinto, Deloitte, Telstra, Qantas, TABCORP, Aegis and Shell Oil talk about how they use various offshore locations around the world to augment their business processes. Interestingly the same lack of understanding of how to organise and utilise the channels of social media and commercial application around mobility marketing is prevalent at this conference as well. Another point of interest is that I notice that there are a lot more women in senior positions in this part of the BPO value chain and that can only be a good thing.

On another front we have so many brilliant people in the industry its hard to understand why we are not more actively selling that expertise into the growth markets in Asia.

Next week I will share the stories of the people that I met at the SSON Conference.

It is a geological fact that Philippines sits within one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. The 12-million person megalopolis of Manila has a massive fault-line running directly through it where damage will be most severe when the next one strikes.
 
At this month’s Asia CEO Forum, Felino (Jun) Palafox, the country’s most prominent architect and urban planner, will present his views on what people need to know to protect their businesses. He will address issues around where not to locate a business (away from fault-lines and other high risk areas) and what to look for in earthquake-resistant building construction.   
 
Mr. Palafox will also provide an executive update on the future of Metro Manila. As perhaps the world’s fastest growing megalopolis, there are major trends in place that will determine which neighborhoods will be pleasant to live in and which commercial areas will be good for your business.  According to Jun, everything to do with business and personal real estate issues has already been decided by established mega-trends.
 
Palafox Associates is ranked by World Architecture Magazine as the top architecture firm in Southeast Asia, and it also ranks among the top 100 in the world.  Mr. Palafox and his firm have been engaged in high-profile projects in 33 countries over the past 20 years.  He was recently elected President of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), the country’s foremost leadership association representing the country’s most senior management practitioners.
 
You can hear Felino (Jun) Palafox talk about earthquake risk in The Philippines. The event is being held on Wednesday, April 27th beginning at 7:45am at the Tower Club of Manila, (33rd floor, PhilamLife Tower, 8767 Paseo de Roxas at the corner of Ayala Avenue, Makati City, Manila). 
    
The event brochure is pasted below. Specifics about Jun Palafox, Principal Architect of Palafox Associates and President of Management Association of the Philippines, can also be viewed at http://www.asia-ceo.org/events/Palafox_Jun_Architect.htm
 
Please confirm your attendance in advance through the on-line reservation system at http://www.asia-ceo.org/register.htm. Breakfast is included and the nominal cost of admission is Php800.