BPO is an Industry, Finally!

The IT services firms had reacted to BPO in a way incumbents typically do to a new, disruptive opportunity — first shrugging it off; then embracing it quite apologetically; and finally arguing that the only way forward for BPO is to align itself with IT services. Now, they have decisively been proved wrong.

IT COMPANIES GOT INTO BPO NOT BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT WAS THE NEXT BIG THING. ON THE CONTRARY, THEY TOOK IT AS A SHORT-TERM REMEDY FOR COUNTERING THE SLOWDOWN IN IT SERVICES.

Xchanging, Genpact, WNS, and EXL Service are all examples of what the industry calls pure-play BPO service providers. They make all their money selling business services, in contrast to many others who also provide IT services.

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