Friday, October 30, 2009

Essential Qualities of a Lawyer to be a Part of LPO (Legal Process Outsourcing)

Lawyers represent the intellectual strata of society. They are considered to be highly intelligent, are aware of the different legislations and have more than the normal capacity to fight their case in any court of law. Lawyers are expected to be expert craftsmen in the matters of court proceedings’. However, the essential qualities of a lawyers, varies from society to society.

With the sudden outburst of self-owned businesses across the world, another category of lawyers was created. These lawyers were expected to be well-versed in the concerned law and had to do all the other legal functions except for appearing at court. This quickly led to the emergence of a different category of lawyers, better known as the “arguing lawyers”.

Over the years, a good number of lawyers have started looking towards a whole new arena to improve their careers – the Legal Process Outsourcing industry. The Legal Process Industry or LPO industry requires lawyers to have a different set of qualities. To enter the LPO industry, every individual has to have the following traits in common:

• He or she has to be a law graduate.
• He or she has to have an excellent command over the English language.
• He or she must be conversant with the application and usage of legal software’s.

Today, solicitors who outsource their work have made it mandatory for legal service providers in countries like India to employ lawyers for doing a large part of their legal work. Apart from being a law graduate, there are other requirements for a person to deal with the legal work being outsourced by international law firms. Lawyers need to first be trained to work according to the different outsourcing assignments. In an LPO, a lawyer will deal with different categories like document matching, real estate, immigration, preparation of legal notes, research, etc. Each of these separate categories requires different sets of training in order to produce quality work. The command over the English language should not only be restricted to good written communication, but should also extend to include excellence in verbal communication. Lastly, lawyers are required to have the ability to recognize and distinguish between different accents that they may have to come across on a daily basis. Share/Save/Bookmark

Monday, May 18, 2009

Animation - An Accolade to Advertising

What with the recession period still going strong, all the marketing and advertising agencies across the globe are under a tremendous pressure, as media budgets are being reduced all over the world. But even so, the possibilities for spewing forth good ads are still not out of reach, what with the current budgets needing to provide us with unbeatable ROI.

Advertising agencies around the world are now being faced with a number of obstacles with regards to the production budgets of television advertisements, since other forms of low cost media are being given the first preference.

From a personal point of view, more and more companies should start looking towards adopting animation as a good alternative to television and commercial production since the budget that is required for animation is extremely cost-effective when compared to the budget for a live video production. Unlike in video production, animation doesn’t really need any additional manpower and equipment. Due to this, marketers and advertisers can now save large sums of money by not having to shell out any extra cash on equipment hiring, production teams and shoot insurance. Not to forget that there is always extra money that is saved due to time related costs.

Some of the other benefits of animation

• Everyone knows that animated characters are timeless.
• When talking about animation, there are no limitations. Animation can bring to you the best possible special effects without the stress of possibilities and logistics.
• Ideas can be brought to life at very reasonable rates with regards to production methods.
• If used effectively, animation can go a long way in demonstrating the full potential of a product.
• Animation is an extremely effective mode of communication especially when you are thinking of marketing a product that’s aimed at children. Children relate well with “cartoonistic” imagery.

Animation when used in advertising or marketing is in a league of its own. Although it has a lot of the same characteristics as many of the other communication media like video, it posses its own set of unique characteristics that no other marketing medium can match up to. So, when you think about the advantages that animation has coupled with the fact that it is cost effective, then it becomes very clear why animation is increasingly becoming a favored medium for marketing and advertising. Share/Save/Bookmark

Friday, April 24, 2009

How does KPO differ from BPO

India has a huge pool of talent in the Information Technology (IT) sector and is rapidly becoming a worldwide hub for the KPO industry. Since time immemorial, knowledge has always been the number one selling factor in India. Since most of us know what BPO is and most of us know what KPO is, the one question we need to ask ourselves is if we know the real difference between KPO and BPO.

So, how does KPO differ from BPO?

KPO stands for Knowledge Process Outsourcing and it literally means outsourcing any process that requires processing of knowledge in any form. Supposing you have business processes that cannot be automated easily, then you would rather have people think for you and be proactive on your behalf instead of you yourself following a checklist of activities. In such a case, you would require a sophisticated firm to aid you; a firm that has a highly skilled set of professionals who are willing to act upon and process all kinds of information in order to bring success to you – their client. Such a firm is known as a Knowledge Process Outsourcing unit.

KPO requires the outsourcing of high-end knowledge business processes, which in turn require expertise that delivers great values to companies through the provision of business specializations. A few examples of KPO include online teaching, investment research, legal & insurance claims, patent filing, value research, and supply of media content.

BPO on the other hand stands for Business Process Outsourcing and it means getting a certain business process implemented using outsourcing as a channel. Imagine you are running a business and it requires the implementation of a number of different processes so as to accomplish tasks that are crucial to your business model. Once your business begins to expand, more and more processes will be introduced, and implementing these new processes means increasing your manpower, administration and HR activities, resources, etc. This can add to the burden and increase your costs. A good alternative is outsourcing a large part of your work to a third party firm who is well-equipped to provide you with solutions. This is Business Process Outsourcing.

BPO is basically a pre-defined manner in which one can handle a number of business processes, in which the agents or employees have to undergo training. BPO services include selling of insurance policies, transaction processes, technical support systems, setting up of bank accounts, and email as well as voice based support.

Now that you know what each of these sectors stands for, you should know the real reason as to why they differ from each other? In reality, KPO is nothing but a more advanced form of BPO.

KPO services help companies to manage their serious processes in a more competent manner, offer research on markets, services, products and competition, reduce design-to-market lead times, and boost the company to competence. KPO’s consist of all that is needed to aid in dealing with fast growing business processes. Research and Development in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology sectors are two areas that are considered to be immense growth prospects.

Today, more and more Indian companies have joined the KPO sector and sooner or later when you take into consideration the number of job opportunities and revenue generation opportunities that are provided by KPO, you will realize just how important this industry is to us. It has been predicted that the number of individuals engaged in the outsourcing industry are estimated to grow, as more and more companies have decided to get involved with BPO’s and KPO’s.

Whatever may be the future, I am sure that India is all set to gain recognition as a country having strong economy in the world. Share/Save/Bookmark

Monday, March 9, 2009

Offshoring: An edge above the business slowdown

Whenever there is a worldwide economic recession, it is but natural for businesses to show a kind of downward spiral that indicates poor prospects for the future of the concerned country. But, on the other hand, when you look at it from a different angle – a period of economic recession can also be a golden opportunity for many a business, provided you fully utilize resources and convert them into above average outcomes.
When you take a look at the IT industry, the recession is not what you would necessarily call a bad phase for this industry, as this period brings along with it a definite positive change in terms of better business prospects and cost reduction. One such business prospect is indeed offshoring. Whether it is the offshoring of products and services, or whether it is the outsourcing of human resources to provide skilled labor force for the outsourcer – the dynamics of offshoring, especially IT offshoring, is definitely taking a turn for the best.
IT companies that operate on one or more models of offshoring generally do so as per the requirements of their respective clients. Most companies start by evaluating their clients’ needs and requirements, and then they move on to setting the wheel for offshore services in motion. Location is one of the most important criteria when it comes to offshoring services and cutting costs. Many organizations undergo major makeovers as they set out looking to revive and transform their businesses. When choosing a location that is ideal for your business, the offshore location offers many advantages that are based on specific attributes like language, skills, culture, socio-political system, and so on.
So whether you are talking about bigwigs like Microsoft or IBM, many big as well as small organizations have made their presence felt in a number of countries by offering the best in offshoring products and services. Many of the Indian IT companies like TCS and Infosys have established permanent bases in the United States and Canada so as to offer the best in terms of services. Undoubtedly, India has emerged as one of the top hottest IT destinations for offshore outsourcing.
1. Study the location – Whenever a client is in need of your offshoring services, it is very important to do some research before you offer your services. Understand the organization right from its management to its complete structure, and make it a point to find out about the assets and how you could benefit from them.2. Offer reduced prices – Being an offshore outsourcer, this would be a customary approach. Only if you offer valued services at reasonable costs will you be able to achieve success.3. Emphasize on efficient services and quality delivery – Delivering quality services at reduced costs is the solution to your problem. Always offer the best in terms of services and quality, and you will experience success in the long run.4. Build your own HR capital – By including the best in terms of brains and hiring the best foreign nationals, the chances of enticing offshore location organizations are stronger.
While the financial and banking sectors were probably the worst hit during the period of recessions, the IT industry on the other hand had a very good start in the past and still maintains a good growth rate. On very occasions has the IT industry witnessed a cut in the budget where offshoring is concerned. India has emerged as the leader in terms of organization culture and talented resources, while other countries like Japan have just begun to explore the option of offshoring. Share/Save/Bookmark

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Advantage LPO!

In the last couple of years, the legal industry has experienced a paradigm shift globally where the delivery model for all legal services is concerned. This delivery model, better known to most as Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO), involves transferring legal processes from developed nations to offshore low-wage markets.

Yes, Legal Process Outsourcing in India is indeed growing tremendously in popularity as established law firms all over the world seek to minimize costs, expand in-house capabilities and increase flexibility. Legal process outsourcing joint ventures have sprung up all over the country. Initially, the concept of LPO appealed largely to the mammoth multinational companies and law firms because of the various opportunities it offered. However today, small as well as mid-size legal markets have also begun to capitalize on the LPO rage.
LPO services in India range from data entry and legal transcription, to pre-litigation documentation, due diligence, legal research, intellectual property services and contract management. LPO is a very complex process and is perhaps not the best solution for every organization. But it has many advantages to it, which include:

• Cost Savings
• Round-the-Clock Operations
• Access to the Global labor pool
• Flexibility

The Indian LPO services are efficient, affordable and skilled. Outsourcing legal work to India cuts a great amount in the costs (almost 80%), which is definitely less than the cost of using the services of International law firms.

But it isn’t all about the cost savings. LPO’s make attractive business prospects for Global law firms and larger companies for a number of reasons. LPO users can also avail a range of different benefits in the least possible time. What’s more, LPO users can gain a lot of operational efficiencies by focusing on certain core business activities while at the same time having access to a full scale of skills, service offerings and technologies, at a much reduced cost.

It goes without saying that LPO’s offer great advantages. Share/Save/Bookmark

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Choosing the Right KPO Service Provider

The success of any Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) project depends entirely on the vendor assigned to it. Any KPO business calls for highly specialized domain expertise, advanced analytical skills, high level domain-based processes, business proficiency and experience.

It is indeed a very challenging task to select just the right KPO service provider, especially if you are looking for various KPO services for the very first time. And although choosing the right services is definitely a good thing, the wrong choice could potentially ruin your business in the long run. As far as KPO services are concerned, India has always been (and perhaps always will be) the ultimate outsourcing destination for many overseas companies.

What with the Indian KPO scenario being so much in demand, there is no dearth of KPO service providers in the country, making it very difficult to choose just the right one. Most providers claim to deliver quality services at reasonable rates, but do they really live up to their commitments? When it comes to finding the right KPO service provider, the things you need to look out for in your prospects are: quality, price and time. A good service provider will always deliver quality, at a reasonable cost and within the assigned timeframe. Thus, it is of utmost importance to consider certain factors when hiring a KPO provider.

The biggest factor to consider is that different KPO service providers have expertise in different processes. For example, you have service providers that have expertise in telemedicine or in research. Depending on the nature of the KPO, you can contact any KPO provider with the concerned expertise and experience for your projects. Apart from this, other factors that need to be considered when searching the right KPO provider would include:

• Experience
• Quality of Services
• Additional Costs
• Data Privacy
• Risk Management
• Honest Dealing
• Work Ethics & Culture
• Skilled Staff

With so many established KPO providers already in business, and many new players joining every year, choosing the right KPO provider can be very challenging for overseas KPO companies. Since there are many risks involved in doing this, it would be very wise to consider the above mentioned points when choosing your vendor. Share/Save/Bookmark

Friday, January 16, 2009

Cartoon Animation Outsourcing

A new outsourcing fever has taken over the whole Indian subcontinent. On the one hand, global giants in the media and entertainment space like Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, Sony and Imax have been signing up projects with many of the Indian animation companies. On the other hand, other companies have also started outsourcing commercials and computer games to India.

Indian animation studios are cropping up all over the country right along with call centers and software firms. And although they might not seem like the most obvious outsourcing candidates, cute cartoon characters and hi-fi special effects are also being outsourced to Indian studios. Off late, India has been winning many animation contracts for a number of reasons. Yes India is becoming the next biggest animation hotspot for the very same reasons that it is a big outsourcing destination for other types of industries. Low working costs, a workforce that is fluent in English and a record in meeting standards makes India a preferred cartoon animation outsourcing destination.

Specializing in different types of computer animation that range from flash animation and architectural animation to 2D and 3D animation, the number of professionals in this field continues to increase. Yes indeed cartoon animation outsourcing continues to grow and the future for India in this field promises to be bright. Share/Save/Bookmark