Good Web Site Design Practices

These tips will help beginners to create highly functional and accessible Web pages. Some of the tips focus on writing valid HTML syntax while others focus on designing pages for "ease-of-use."
General Tips
Write your pages for multiple types of Web browsers--to provide trouble-free access to the widest possible audience. The World Wide Web is a multi-platform, non-browser specific medium. It should not matter whether people browse your Web pages using Netscape, Explorer, Opera, Lynx, WebTV, NetPhonic's Web-On-Call, Mobile Telephones, or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs, or palmtops, the little computers with screens the size of a credit card). Each browser ought to render your informational Web pages without problems. If a Web page is designed properly, blind individuals, or anyone using text-to-voice or Braille displays, can easily listen to and review your work.

What You See Is Not What Others Get On The WeB Bobby

Run Web pages through a validator to test their compliance with common HTML (HyperText Markup Language) specifications. Modify pages until they validate, because compliant pages have a better chance of being rendered by various Web browsers, as the writer intends. However, if you intend something that is impractical with HTML, it will be no less impractical for being syntactically valid. Work with the strengths of HTML rather than trying to batter it into a WYSIWYG page design system. (WYSIWYG stands for What You See Is What You Get.)
Specifications for HTMLWDG HTML Validator
W3C HTML Validation Service
Condense textual content to fit the time and attention constraints of today's busy Web users.
Thoughts on Web Style Inverted Pyramids in Cyberspace
Use small (byte-wise) graphics so graphics load more quickly in graphics-capable browsers. (It is not advisable to use GIFs for everything. It's of the first importance to make the right choice between JPEG and a palette-based format. Avoid blindly choosing GIF and then trying to rescue yourself from the resulting problems.) JPEG Image Compression Frequently Asked Questions
When using graphics, provide textual alternatives for image-disabled or text-only Web browsers and indexing agents. Some people never turn images on. Use of ALT Texts In IMGs
Test. Every visitor will see your pages differently. Test your pages with as many browsers and platforms as you can. For example, run pages through a browser like Lynx to see how the "text-only" world sees your documents. Note that search engines are, in effect, text-only browsers. Make documents Lynx-friendly. Try different preferences, color and font settings, and window sizes. Always check how pages look with higher/lower monitor brightness settings. Lynx Viewer Lynx-me Lynx For the future, to add presentational effects and Web page style, validate documents at the HTML 4.0 level (for the cleanest possible markup), so pages contain little or no HTML 3.2 presentational markup or proprietary stylistic hacks, and use the World Wide Web Consortium's Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) language to add stylistic effects to your pages. W3C's HTML Home Page Web Style Sheets Spell check and proof-read your documents. Site Inspector by Link Exchange
Establish a routine for locating and fixing broken internal and external Web site links.
Include contact information and a copyright notice. Sign It!
If your Web site URL or email address will change occasionally, consider using a service that provides email forwarding and URL redirection. Pobox Persistent Uniform Resource Locator
Submit your Web site address to an appropriate newsgroup for a critical peer review. Newsgroups
Promote your Web site by adding your Web address to search engine indices and subject directories. To ensure that people can easily find your Web site, it may be necessary to modify your pages to take best advantage of current search technologies. Search Engine Watch
Special Tips
Be aware of the pitfalls of character sets. (Here comes a pound sign £ what did you get?) Currency signs are a real danger. It might be safer to write the currency in full. It is not just the signs that fail in some way; even those that do display may be misinterpreted. Let's say you are in the USA and write $25.00 without qualification. How much does that look like to a browser in Australia, Canada, or Hong Kong? If the local $ is worth more than the US$ then you risk someone dismissing a product as overpriced. If the local $ is less, your strangely eager customer may suddenly turn sour when she or he thinks you have been deliberately misleading.
ISO 8859-1 Character Set Overview
If you specify a background color or image, but don't specify text and link colors, the user's text and link colors will be used against your background. In some cases, there won't be contrast between the user's text and link colors and your background color or image, so your text and links will disappear. The rule of thumb is that if you set one color, then you need to set them all.
Acknowledgements

Website Desingn

Maar Ventures : Outsourcing and Offshore Business Processing Solutions

http://mannan.zabvision.edu.pk

Outsourcing Offshoring

Website Development

http://uk.geocities.com/itsmani1/

http://itsmani1.blogspot.com/

What can you sell? Who can get started and how?

Sell products, services and solutions that are needed by anyone anywhere in the world. The current hot market to sell to is USA. Sell what is in demand. Sell what you know will be in demand soon. Sell what will improve the Return on Investment (ROI) of the host company or individual. Remember, it is not possible to solve today’s issues with yesterday’s solutions. Think out of the box. Read. Surf the net. Research eBay completed items. Chat with people online. Learn. Soak it up. Be a sponge for knowledge. Be a star with your imagination and ambition.There are the obvious organizations you can sell for: hotels, banks, travel agencies, airlines, pharmacies, insurance companies, counseling centers, newspaper home delivery, charity drives and more. The services that call centers typically provide are customer service, technical support, telemarketing, and administrative support.
Where do you get new ideas? Let’s consider a few things. If a man is sitting on a donkey facing the rear, why do we automatically think that it is the man who is backwards? Isn’t the donkey backwards? How about this? Is the best way to hear something is with your eyes? Because you have heard the sound of tinkling bracelets, when you see them, don’t sometimes imagine hearing them?
Some will look at an old bicycle and see either possible parts to repair other bicycles or mere trash. Pablo Picasso, a great Spanish artist, took the seat and handle bars of one, and welded them together into the head of a bull. He saw something that was not there in the eyes of other people.
The African American female inventor Grace Murray Hopper, was "Amazing Grace" to those who knew and loved her. Her mission was to make computers accessible to everyone. Without her vision that computers could be programmed in plain English and her invention of the first computer compiler, it is unlikely that many of us would be on the web today.
What is the point here? There is an infinite number of possibilities in opening call centers in Pakistan and making Pakistan THE CHOICE, but maybe we cannot see them right now. One out of every twenty readers of or listeners to this seminar clearly understand the possibilities available to the nation, the economy, the labor and even the individual entrepreneur.

Case Study 1:
Maria Ramos of Houston, Texas has been buying refurbished computers at $50 each and reselling them on eBay.com and Half.com from $300 to $500 a piece. She also holds down a part time job in small business consulting. Her resale business has gotten so big that she had to analyze the situation and hire someone else to assist. Maria found Suchitra of Chennai, India who had skills that complimented her own. Suchitra could graphic-edit, web-edit, answer sales inquiries by email, chat or even phone, and relate to potential buyers in a very friendly, professional manner. Maria shipped one of those refurbished PC’s (ready to use with FrontPage, MSN chat, FTP, spreadsheets, and other software) a $99 router, and an Internet phone device for unlimited USA outgoing and incoming calling ($299 purchase with $99 per month flat rate) to Suchitra. Maria pays for Suchitra’s DSL service, approximately $40 US dollars/month (common range of DSL price is $20-$50USD/month).
Now, Maria has a “back office” in Chennai. She buys wholesale still, takes the pictures, and ships the product when auctions and buys close. Customers get immediate attention. Maria’s ROI and number of closed sales have increased tremendously. She has more time for other ventures.
What is in it for Suchitra? She has always been a night owl. She is most creative in the late evening, perfect timing for USA eBay customers. Her DSL service is paid for by Maria. Her new career provides new job experiences and the opportunity to improve her English language skills. The extensive research required on what is selling and what is not on eBay and how best to sell is supplying her with material for her Master’s thesis. She never has to leave her home for work. Plus she is making $75 more per month than she would have locally. It’s a win-win situation for all.

Case Study 2:
A large multinational cell Phone Company needs billing, MIS and customer care support. Its headquarters are in the USA where the local labor force cannot fulfill these positions lucratively. The employment must be flexible, multi-lingual, and savvy to technology and market change. The local cost of living puts wages at $15 per hour. High turnover in employment results in high costs for the company. They turn to third world countries for help. The cell phone company saw the value of the "discarded bicycle." In addition, now there are 50 agents improving their way of life intellectually and economically. They value their new jobs at the call center, where they are treated with more respect than they have experienced before, and they will not quit because of trivial reasons such as their USA counterparts would. Overhead for the host company is much lower. There are surprise issues that arise, but the positive aspects of the call center solution outweigh the problems.

Case Study 3:
A travel agency sees more and more of its clients needing service between 10 PM and 7 AM EST. They cannot find a qualified employment force willing to work overnight hours at an affordable pay rate. Half a world away lays waiting in its day time hours with the right skills and the desire to fulfill the travel agency’s customers’ needs. Just a PC, fast Internet access, the right software, an affordable VOIP solution for incoming/outgoing calls between the customers in Europe and the Americas and the beckoning call center on the other side of the world will get the show on the road.

Case Study 4:
A fashion outlet in a rural area of Alabama serves a diverse clientele that want unique ladies’ wear. Something different! In addition, this same clientele has been surveyed to find that they are increasingly now shopping online for shalwar kameez and saris. These clients are African, Anglo, Latin and Asian-American women with a taste for Persian and Indo-Pak styles. They are so bi-lingual Americans. Should the outlet continue simply offering discount blue jeans and t-shirts, or do they venture out of the box and try to meet these needs? How can they meet them? The outlet has the collateral and USA point of presence. Just a few Karachi families can complete made-to-order items sold through a web site and shipped directly to the customer. Bulk items can be shipped to the store. A call center can be set up in a spare area of one of the Karachi homes for customer service, billing, and sales. Internet access, a PC, and VOIP affordable long distance solution is put in place and bingo! The fashion outlet is the most popular ladies’ shop around. The Karachi residents have never been so busy in their lives. Profits sore for all involved. The clients are enthralled.

Case Study 5 OBJECTIVE:
A large retail toy company began to sell merchandise through catalogs. They had developed both a multi-ethnic small-scale catalog and a science-technology for kids’ small catalog, but the company wanted to start marketing this new merchandise year-round, worldwide, not just during the holiday seasons. They needed a call center to handle what was predicted to be a huge increase in sales by phone volume from both the retail and wholesale catalogs.
This company was referred to Super Technologies from one of their current clients. They needed Super Technologies to help set up the call center’s telecommunications facet in the Middle East. Basically, one was needed that would balance cost reduction with customer satisfaction. This was a brave decision, to open a call center in an area where English was a second language; they were starting from ground zero in a country that was very new to call centers.

Case Study 5 SUPER TECHNOLOGIES’ RESPONSE:
Following Super Phone long distance solutions since 1999, Super Technologies assigned a special marketing team to the company’s project. A customized long distance calling solution of Super Phone Unlimited (http://www.superphoneunlimited.com/ and http://www.virtualphoneline.com/ ) was chosen. Why? Unlimited incoming calls from anywhere in the world and unlimited outgoing calls to any USA phone number for a flat monthly rate, perfect! The center was set up with the local DSL service and DHCP-enabled router technology. The center started with five Virtual Phone Lines using the Super Phone Unlimited service. Area codes chosen were Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, and Detroit. Each had a 1800 number forwarded to them from our partners at http://www.kall7.com/. Incoming calls would be placed to the domestic USA number or the toll-free number by the customers.
Local managers hired in the Middle Eastern country implemented quality customer service, customized training (such as accent training) and monitoring to fulfill the company’s call center mission statement.

Case Study 5 RESULTS
Before this solution, the company would never have dreamed of opening a call center in the Middle East, no matter how much was saved through reduced labor costs. Now, the unlimited incoming and outgoing calls on each phone line coupled with the reduced labor costs made this a realistic solution. Since the project began, the average revenue for each order has increased by approximately $40 per order (retail). The toy company has enjoyed a cost decrease of 15% and at the same time a revenue increase of 35%. The toy company has started with inbound sales at the call center. Within just a few months’ training of call representatives and a few additional purchases of equipment and software, they will add outbound cold sales.

Important web links
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/july-dec02/telemarketing_11-05.html#
Dialing for dollars. A look at international source of telemarketing calls.
http://www.maair.net/

Outsourcing
Offshoring
Maair Ventures : Outsourcing and Offshore Business Processing Solutions

http://www.sellingpower.com/
Zero cost articles on every topic imaginable for sales success.
http://www.callcentermagazine.com/
Technologies, services, and strategies for contact centers. Everything you need and more for success.
http://www.callcentermagazine.com/article/CCM20011204S0007
The smell of predictive dialing success.
http://www.callcentermagazine.com/article/CCM20021127S0002
Quality control.
http://www.ptcl.com.pk/call_center.html
PTCL position on call centers.
http://www.outsource2india.com/why_outsource/articles/call_centers.asp
Call centers: catalysts for corporate change.
http://www.erlang.com/forum/callcenter/
Share ideas on call center operations and engineering in this forum.
http://www.callcenterops.com/
Call center operations.
http://www.callcentrevoice.com
Call Centre Voice discussion forums.
http://www.callcentercareers.com/home.jsp
Call center careers.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
World time zones.
http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Universal currency converter.
http://www.supertec.com/
Innovative and cutting-edge VOIP solutions for call centers and back offices.
http://www.k7.net
Get a USA voice mail and fax number.
http://a4esl.org/q/h/
About 1000 self-study quizzes for ESL students. Free!
http://www.ebay.com/
Become an eBay seller with online auctions.
http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/famous.aspx
Famous USA places for more cultural literacy.
http://www.incoming.com/
Host of Incoming Calls Management Institute seminars and workshops.
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/templategallery/
Templates for business documents.
http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif/cda/page/0,1641,15565,00.asp
Business articles and tools for success.
http://www.multi.net.pk
DSL in Karachi.
http://www.dsl.net.pk
DSL in Islamabad.
http://thecallcenterschool.com/
The Call Center School.
Creative Whack Pack. Roger von Oech. Copyright 1983. Creative Think, Menlo Park, California. (Excellent source of ways to think “out of the box.”)
Website Desingn

Maar Ventures : Outsourcing and Offshore Business Processing Solutions

http://mannan.zabvision.edu.pk

Outsourcing Offshoring

Website Development

http://uk.geocities.com/itsmani1/

http://itsmani1.blogspot.com/

Permissions

Even PTCL states that the call center business “has enormous growth potential due to unprecedented growth in service industries of the developed countries.” The site also states, “PTCL is not only interested in revenue generation but also interested in generating new employment opportunities.” Discover the government of Pakistan’s position on call centers and special permissions that are required at http://www.ptcl.com.pk/call_center.html.

Let me compliment Pakistan government in its effort to publicize its policies for call centers on the web. I tried entering the key words “Sri Lanka Call Center Policy” and “India Call Center Policy,” and my returned responses were not meaningful at all. I entered “Pakistan Call Center Policy.” The return response included the following on the date of 28, December 2002 at 10:45 AM CST.

http://www.ptcl.com.pk/

Call center business is not illegal. The government of Pakistan encourages it, gives incentives, and gives cheaper bandwidth and lower taxes. What is holding Pakistan back perhaps?

Take a look at the web sites of the Pakistan government. The Minister of Information and Media Development has designed and maintained the government of Pakistan's web site. Visit it, and you will have a feel for the future-thinking mentality of this country that you can be proud of, and it is because of people like you and the respected people who run the country. So, at least start with what is available. This book, this seminar and the web site are all meant for your benefit.

We will summarize some of the details of the permissions required in Pakistan. PTCL has an interconnect agreement for call center operators. The applicant will meet certain requirements and present a business plan and company profile. In addition, registration with the Company Registrar Office is necessary. The applicant must adhere to the legalities involved with the Pakistan Telecommunication (reorganization) Act 1996. Other requirements deal with interconnectivity, bandwidth termination, details of customer service partner contracts, foreign exchange laws, leased line network requirements, etc. Forms, directions and requirements are on the web site of PTCL.

Hardware and software needed

With LAN-based switches, internet-based transaction processing, client/server software systems, and open phone systems, any call center or back office can have a highly sophisticated call handling and customer management system, even down to ten agents or less. Even so, an acceptable setup for as little as one call center seat would include one PC set up with the necessary live chat, database, spreadsheet, word processor, web editor, and other software (depending upon the purpose of the back office); and a VOIP solution such as Virtual Phone Line (http://www.mysuperphone.com/ ) that interconnects the telephone with high-speed Internet.

Large call centers are generally set up with workstations that include a computer, a telephone set (or headset) hooked into a large telecom switch and one or more supervisor stations. The center may stand by itself, or could be linked with other centers. It is possibly linked to a corporate data network, including mainframes, computers and LANs. Often, the voice and data pathways into the center are linked through a set of new technologies called CTI, or computer-telephony integration with predictive dialers.

A center can be located in a remote office at any location, a manufacturing site, a place as huge as a warehouse, even one’s home, or on the road with wireless Internet. But again, the center may need some hardware and software. For outbound calls, one can use predictive or auto dialers. A predictive dialer uses up to three lines per person. It works best with 8-16 people with 16 predictive dialers. The cost per predictive dealer is $1000. Give the predictive dialer the phone list to call. It makes 3 simultaneous phone calls at the same time. As soon as one call is answered by an agent, the predictive dialer drops the other two calls.

Predictive and Auto Dialers

Predictive dialers sense answering machines and busy signals. They use pacing algorithms so that call center representatives are talking right away when customers answer their phones. Since predictive dialing lets you make a considerable number of calls in a short time- as many as 100 calls in, for example, a 90-minute period - dialers help call centers improve their ROI (return on investment) by cutting down on the time and overall cost it takes to reach customers for any calling campaign whether for customer service, sales, technical support or other reason.

An auto dialer dials a few numbers and plays a pre-recorded message. If a customer is interested in buying, he presses a certain key on the telephone keypad and the call is switched to a live sales agent at your call center. "I'm calling on behalf of Future Technologies with hologram wake up call service. You get to choose the character, tone of voice, the wake up message and music in the background. Please press 3 on your telephone keypad if you would like to talk to one of our representatives.” No time is wasted. The cost is approximately $1000 for 4 lines with an auto-dialer.

Agents will feel more confident about incoming calls via the auto dialer calls, knowing the customer has pressed a button with interest in his company's solutions. At the same, there is nothing like seeing your call center representative overcome the objections of the customer in a professional and understanding and close the sale on her own.

Look up “Automated Call Distributor.” ACD reads your 800 number when dialed and displays your company name to the MSR, allowing him or her to greet the caller with a customized response. This added touch helps your customers feel as if they are calling your company directly.

Since the ACD identifies specific 800 numbers, it is of great assistance to your marketing efforts. You can use unique 800 numbers for different media sources: one for your magazine ad, another one for your newspaper ad, one for your television ad. Then you can record the number of calls that come in for each 800 number, providing you with accurate media tracking data. This lets you know which media source gives you the best return for your advertising dollar.In addition to predictive or auto dialers, the call center can buy recording machines to record conversations between agent and customer for quality assurance, training with demonstration of best practices, and coaching and counseling sessions. All kinds of software are available from $500 to $5 million. Look at what other call centers are doing. Who are their clients? Who are they selling to? How are they doing it? How do I want to start?

DSL, a great investment

Your call center or back office or even you as an individual businessman or woman need a DSL line. Think of it as an investment. Why do people go to CEBIT in Germany and Comdex in Dubai? Why do they spend the money for hotel, airline, car rental, exhibition fees and time away from their business? As an investment in their future! Get DSL for your business and also for your home. Our company does not sell DSL. We can be thankful to Allah the He has allowed you have some excellent providers who offer this service in Pakistan. DSL is available in Pakistan at 7000 rupees/month equivalent to $120 per month. Multi.net.pk sells DSL in Karachi. Dsl.net.pk in Islamabad, and you have a Cable provider World Telmeca in Lahore.

Users can also get a wireless Internet from Brain Net or PTCL. Brain Net charges 12,000 rupees for a CIR 64 K interface. This is a dedicated 64 connection to have 2-3 phone lines simultaneously. Or if you don't have that available, get an ISDN connection.

No matter how good of a dialup connection, get a fast Internet access and a Virtual Phone Line. I know personally there is a big difference between dialup and DSL. I can surf several web sites at the same time; have MSN, ICQ and Yahoo messenger open with my video cam open for a business conference; have 3 different email programs open; and make phone calls at the same time, all with my DSL connection.

To get started, there is one given. One thing you have to realize. You have to be "virtually" in the USA. Get a Virtual Phone Line on the web at mysuperphone.com. Sign up before you go home. Without it, you are at zero. It's just the way it is. No questions. Simple obvious truth.

What is a call center? A successful one?

A call center in the year 2003 is different from the call centers of the past. Because of Voice over IP, it is now any location in any time zone where Internet is available. It is located physically at any place where incoming and outgoing phone calls are made between call center representatives and customers. Just during the month of Ramadan, over 3 million seconds passed and billions of customers were served by these global call centers.

(Two popular terms are used to refer to the call centers that are opened in locations that are geographically away from the parent company’s location, “back office” and “outsourced center.” We will refer to them often.)

A customer does not care what a call center is nor where a call center is located. What truly matters is how well the call center representative treats the customer. The call center can be manned by one to an infinite number of representatives, depending upon the situation. It can be located in a corner of a residence, in the back room of a restaurant or other business, in the library of a school or university or again, on the top floor of the spice market, or anywhere that Internet is available. The call center of today and the future has no limits to the imagination. The limits are only those imposed by bureaucracy’s “red tape.”

It is clear now what a call center is. A huge number of those 3 million seconds of incoming and outgoing calls during Ramadan could have been placed to and from call centers in Pakistan. Why wait? What makes a successful call center in Pakistan? Certain types of manpower, Internet, VoIP long distance calling solution, and encouragement by the government are essential.

A successful call center will employ persons with a minimum of good English speaking ability and good English listening comprehension; basic skills in computers and Internet such as e-mail, chat programs, and web browsing; and a polite and confident attitude toward customers. The ideal back office representative will have all of the above capabilities, but he is also motivated by something inside of himself to succeed. Other terms for this concept are motivation or self-initiative. He will pursue a good command of English written and reading comprehension, an understanding of English idioms and different types of American slang, and have a will to be persistent, caring, flexible, observant, and assumptive with each unique customer he deals with. He will know that he is serving often well-informed customers who expect respect. He will be able to adjust to changes in technology as well as the products and services he will offer.

Next, reasonably priced Internet service is vital to take advantage of low-cost VoIP services. Government and private industry should work together to encourage DSL and other fast Internet access to be a common standard; this allows the representative to use a computer on the Internet and still make outgoing and receive incoming phone calls at the same time. At the least, a mere minimum bandwidth of 30 kbps per phone line is required. The people of Pakistan must be empowered with the same tools of success as citizens of other countries.

In the year 2000, India ended its monopolies on long distance and Internet bandwidth. It is not a mistake to say that this has helped India to be in the top four choices for outsourced call centers along with the Philippines, Canada, and Jamaica.

What advantages does Pakistan have over other countries to be the successful call center choice of the world? Will it be possible that in less than one year’s time, someone asks, “What is a call center?” Can we hope for the following reply to that question? “Let’s answer that by showcasing the thousands of such prosperous call centers in Pakistan.”

Why not? It is a land of citizens who are proactive, future-thinking, entrepreneurial, self-starting, creative, tough people. It is a people who have undergone many challenges in life, who have learned how to meet their basic needs in innovative ways.

I can remember meeting a gentleman on Super Highway at a truck stop who made me realize some of the innate qualities of Pakistanis. He was sitting in a small cubicle carved into the side of a store, not even big enough to stand up in. He had one light bulb above his head. It was midnight, and he was mending work jeans for truckers on a manually operated sewing machine. On top of this, he was smiling. This may not seem incredible to other Pakistanis, but this is exactly the incredible resourcefulness and attitude for success in this world. It is also what is needed by USA companies from Pakistani call center representatives.

A large number of Pakistanis comprehend and speak English as their second or third language, and not just from local English lessons. It is because of the Internet, where English is the main language used. The same Pakistani citizens who cannot afford many luxuries of life have found ways to use the Internet. It may clearly surprise many to know the number of Pakistanis whose second language English is quite fluent, in fact. This Internet we are speaking of has allowed the sharing of Pakistani culture and English language among people all over the world. It has provided good opportunities for Pakistanis that were, before the Internet, unheard of. It is the same Internet that can empower the country to be among the top call center choices of the world. We are referring, again, here to VoIP (voice over Internet protocol), not a mystery but a standard around the world. The future of long distance calling is here now, and it is through the Internet. Why block that? Why block the tool that will help make Pakistan be the call center choice of the world and improve standards of living?

It offers the same citizens a chance to build their employment resumes with excellent experience and references. The potential results even include some surprise advantages to both countries. The USA company who reduces its labor costs will be able to pass on some of that savings to its customer base. The Pakistani citizen improves his standard of living that improves the local economy and even decreases crime.

Straight from an entry at http://www.callcentrevoice.com, Faisal Javed says, “For a country of its size, Pakistan is unique in that a significant percentage of its educated workforce is technology-savvy, English-speaking and highly motivated. When you look at that combination, you realize that Pakistan presents a great opportunity for worldwide companies to service their clients with highly skilled people, while offering a cost-effective solution.”

What will make Pakistan the call center choice or even one of the typical call center choice locations of the world? It is the fantastic potential of well-educated, English-speaking, people-friendly citizens of Pakistan, the huge pool of those who have taken advantage of the opportunities of the Internet against many odds. The people, the Internet, VoIP long distance calling solution, and encouragement by the government can make Pakistan the call center choice, a reality.

Finance & Accounting Outsourcing: What Buyers Are Saying

Outsourcing finance functions -- like auditing, tax consulting and payroll processing -- has been going on for many years. But today, companies increasingly are asking solution providers to manage business processes on more of a turnkey, full-service basis, rather than transactional or processing services. Suppliers like Exult and others lend credibility to the value that many companies have seen from outsourcing portions of their finance procedures.

The finance and accounting (F&A) business process -- including accounts payable, accounts receivable, order management and tracking, treasury functions, financial reporting, tax consulting and internal audit services -- is expected to be one of the most widely outsourced business process categories in the near future. One industry estimate pegs spending on F&A outsourcing services at $65 billion by 2006, a 12.3 percent five-year compound annual growth rate. Even Dun & Bradstreet's Global Barometer for Outsourcing predicts that F&A outsourcing will represent 10 percent of the total worldwide market for outsourced services by 2005.

All of this data shows the growing importance of F&A outsourcing and makes it one of the fastest-growing segments of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

To understand what finance professionals -- as the buyers of these services -- truly think about F&A outsourcing, Financial Executive partnered with Ross Research of Cambridge, Mass., a firm noted for its research into outsourcing practices. Working with principal Lisa Ross, we developed a questionnaire on the subject that was emailed in December 2003 and January 2004 to FEI members. More than 100 members responded. Ross then tallied and interpreted the results and drafted a full report. Two sponsors, Exult and the law firm of Hunton & Williams, supported the research; neither organization was involved, directly or indirectly, in this project or the analysis of results. (For more about the methodology, see the box, "The Research Methodology.")

Why Outsource F&A?
A myriad of factors drive companies to outsource F&A. The most important reasons listed by study participants indicate a growing sophistication on the part of outsourcing buyers - cost savings is no longer the preeminent reason for outsourcing, though it is still an important consideration. The most important reasons that executives said were primary drivers in their decision to outsource F&A include:

• Access to better technology and systems

• Cost savings (reduce and control operating expenses)

• Increased service levels

The table below illustrates the importance levels that senior financial executives place on each factor as being a driving force behind the decision to outsource F&A functions.

Finance & Accounting	29%
Human Resources	29%
Other	22%
Customer Service/Call Center	21%
Logistics	16%
Procurement	15%
eLearning/Training	11%
Source: Ross Research and SBPOA, September 2003, from Ross Research report titled: "BPO Buyer Demand Exposed: Buyers Reveal Their Readiness to Purchase"

What's Being Outsourced?
The types of F&A functions that have been outsourced to date, as noted by the senior financial executives in our study, represent relatively simple types of processes. The most widely outsourced F&A functions are:

• Tax consulting

• Payroll (Note: Some companies include payroll as a finance function, while others categorize it as part of the human resources business process.)

Two additional F&A functions that CFOs and other financial executives might consider outsourcing, if they are not already doing so, include:

• Travel expense reimbursement

• Risk management

The top three F&A functions that respondents would not outsource include:

1. Financial management activities (operating budgets/ forecasts, capital investments, treasury functions, equity financing/debt, cash management, budgeting, performance analysis, investor relations)

2. General accounting (general ledger, cost accounting/revenue, equity accounting/debt, statutory accounting, fixed asset accounting, business unit accounting)

3. Financial reporting and accounting We were surprised, frankly, at the high number of F&A activities that CFOs and other senior financial executives would not consider outsourcing; yet, we believe that over the course of the next year or two, smart organizations will change their minds and elect to outsource more of these F&A functions. Why? Three reasons:

• Transactional F&A functions -- like accounts payable/receivable, leases, order management and tracking, billing/customer invoice, customer credit and expense reporting -- are becoming increasingly commoditized, making them ripe for outsourcing.

• Today's worldwide economic realities and competitive business environment are forcing finance departments to operate in a more strategic and "lean" manner.

• The challenges of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance -- both current and "Year 2" -- make outsourcing of certain F&A processes an extremely sound business decision.

Outsourcing service providers are typically in a better position to meet Sarbanes-Oxley compliance issues than the client company, according to sourcing advisory firm EquaTerra (http://www.equaterra.com/), since outsourcers already have to document workflows and processes. Service providers will not assume fiduciary responsibility, but will be responsible for the processes instituted during an outsourcing transition that enable the company to insert control points for far less cost than if implemented on their own.

Difficult Phases
The largest number of financial executive study participants believes that transition/implementation is the most difficult phase of the F&A outsourcing process. This phase is where the "real work" begins and everything starts being gauged -- from the quality of the contract to service level agreements to the true capabilities of the service provider and the relationship between buyer and outsourcer. The next "most difficult" phase, according to respondents, is ongoing operations, followed by negotiation/agreements.

What ONE phase of the F&A outsourcing process do you feel is the most difficult?
	% of total
Information Gathering	7%
Strategy Formation	9%
RFP/Provider Selection	3%
Negotiation/Agreements	11%
Transition/Implementation	41%
Ongoing Operations	21%
Exit or Renegotiation	6%
Total Respondents = 97

The transition/implementation stage is of utmost importance because it represents the first real task that the outsourcer is assuming on behalf of the client, so expectations of the client company's financial executives are extremely high. Change is almost always difficult, but such a huge change -- coupled with new processes, cultural issues and new worries about managing a function not in their control, so to speak -- is particularly worrisome.

Some financial executives who participated in this study offered the following verbatim responses as to why the F&A outsourcing transition/implementation has been the most difficult phase for them:

• Implementing change to internal processes

• Cultural issues

• Important to get it right and keep it transparent with our customers

• Steep industry learning curve, coupled with adverse affect on morale

• Risk of noncompliance if implementation is flawed or fails

• Change management of our employees and their willingness to assist in the knowledge transfer process

• This is the area where it will work or it won't.
  

Is F&A Outsourcing Working?
Despite some challenges, nearly all financial executives (90 percent) indicated that they are satisfied with their current F&A outsourcing arrangements. In addition, nearly half, or 42 percent, of study participants have every intention of outsourcing additional F&A functions. The executives noted that factors contributing to their satisfaction include: improved handling of the outsourced functions, cost effectiveness and delivery of reliable results.

They also are pleased that they can leverage their in-house staff and take advantage of specialized services from the outsourcer when they cannot afford a narrow expertise. One study participant even stated, "The board applauds the improved reporting," demonstrating that F&A outsourcing's benefits can be appreciated at an organization's highest levels.

Not all, not surprisingly, are completely satisfied with their outsourcing arrangements. Several study participants indicated that their outsourcers lack industry specific skills. Others noted that their service provider "lacked intuitive knowledge of our company and related operations."

What Will Make It Work Better?
Nearly half of all study participants said that they might hire an external sourcing advisor (lawyer, consultant, research firm) to assist their company with the F&A outsourcing process, while another 28 percent said they definitely would do so. These third-party advisors assist with the outsourcing lifecycle - from how it may fit into an overall business strategy to choosing a vendor, signing a contract and ultimately managing the deal.

According to an earlier Ross Research study, the "value" that external sourcing advisors bring to the table can be expressed in a number of ways: time and money saved, clarifying objectives, risk mitigation, instilling a methodology to the outsourcing process (including tools and templates) and leveraging experience. As a result, these financial executives must believe that by using an external sourcing advisor, they would get a better overall contract.

Hunton & Williams finds that customers are using more savvy and thoughtful deal processes to make sure that only the right vendors get selected, which ultimately leads to a more satisfying arrangement. "Old-fashioned planning, careful RFP [request for proposal] construction and focus on value become more important than ever in assuring that the deals that get signed actually deliver what they promise," says Scott Hobby, one of the firm's outsourcing attorneys. The firm's attorneys often find themselves spending as much time thinking about the strategic elements of a transaction as the legal issues.

How to Ensure Success
Peer-to-peer recommendations about F&A outsourcing can serve as incredibly valuable sources of information. If you're considering outsourcing F&A or just are interested in "lessons learned," consider the advice given by several participants in our study. We asked them to share with us what they like/do not like about their F&A outsourcing experiences and offer advice as to how prospective buyers should capitalize on this opportunity.

Moving Forward
The drive towards cost cutting and better financial reporting and regulatory compliance will force more chief financial officers than ever before to consider outsourcing finance and accounting (F&A) business functions in 2004 and beyond. Additional motivations include access to better technology and improved service levels. F&A outsourcing increasingly is being used as a tool not only for cost savings but also for business transformation. The industry is still in its early stages; yet, by all analyst accounts, and as shown by participants in this study, F&A outsourcing increasingly will become a more popular business and operational strategy for companies around the world.

Many organizations clearly embrace F&A outsourcing as a strategy for improving service levels, reducing expenses, increasing stakeholder value and gaining a greater competitive stronghold in their marketplaces.

"Our experience is that companies should approach BPO outsourcing like one would approach a marriage." wrote one FEI respondent -- "expensive to enter, more expensive if it ends in a divorce. To date, we are very pleased with our partner's performance and look forward to a long relationship."

Nonetheless, many organizations have yet to acknowledge the inherent value in outsourcing transactional F&A functions to an external service provider.

The word "transactional" is critical here: it would be difficult to find anyone who would advocate outsourcing highly strategic F&A processes. But outsourcing the transactional elements of F&A is not only a sound business decision but also one that should result in success- if researched, defined, contracted for and managed properly. The overall key to success, however, is building a strong, trusting relationship with a competent service provider that has deep process knowledge and is flexible enough to work within your industry's and company's constraints and guidelines.

To purchase a copy of the full 28-page research report, go to http://www.rossresearch.com/.

The Research Methodology
Of the 100 executives who filled out the questionnaire, which consisted of multiple choice and open-ended questions, nearly all represent chief and senior financial decision- makers within their organizations. CFOs represent the largest number of participants, and nearly 70 percent of participants hold the responsibility of recommending their company's decision to outsource F&A functions.

They work for companies ranging from fewer than 1,000 employees to more than 75,000, with the largest number having between 1,000-5,000 employees. A wide range of industries is represented, with a particular concentration in the manufacturing and business services sectors. Among these were: ING U.S. Financial Services, Lillian Vernon Corp., Binney & Smith, Earle M. Jorgensen Co. and Solvay Pharmaceuticals.

Ross Research is the only outsourcing-focused market research and advisory firm in the industry. Since 1999, it has provided the outsourcing vendor community with actionable intelligence to get the most out of their business, marketing and sales initiatives. Ross Research focuses on four distinct topics and has deep expertise in each: Finance & Accounting Outsourcing, Human Resources (HR) Outsourcing, Offshore Outsourcing and Sourcing Advisor Research. It publishes research reports on a monthly basis and provides custom consulting services - such as marketing strategy advisory, competitive intelligence, virtual analyst time, webcasts and on-site sessions - for outsourcing service providers and advisors. Its products and services are available via an annual subscription package or off the shelf.

Clients include: Accenture, Caspian Group, EDS, Extreme Networks, Exult, Fidelity Investments, HROToday Magazine, Hunton & Williams, International Data Corp. (IDC), IT Services & Marketing Association (ITSMA), Kennedy Information, Lexmark, McKesson HBOC, Mellon HR Solutions, Rockwell Automation, Shaw Pittman, Sybase, TPI, Williams Communications and Wipro Technologies.

Survey Sponsors
Exult Inc. is a market leader in HR-led business process outsourcing for Global 500 corporations, with U.S. headquarters in Irvine, Calif., European headquarters in London and client service centers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Through its proprietary Exult Service Delivery ModelSM, Exult offers comprehensive, scalable process management solutions designed to manage clients' Human Resource and related Finance & Accounting and Procurement functions.

Exult uses its expertise in HR and F&A functions, process management, MultiDeliverySM shared client service centers and its myHRSM Web-enabled applications to help Global 500 corporations improve productivity, reduce costs, streamline processes and provide superior HR services to their employees.

Hunton & Williams LLP is a U.S. law firm, founded in 1901, with a significant international presence. More than 850 attorneys serve clients in 80 countries from 17 offices around the world. The Outsourcing/System Integration Practice Group at Hunton & Williams assists its clients worldwide in executing large-scale BPO and ITO [information technology outsourcing] transactions, ASP [application service provider] arrangements, system integrations and voice and data network procurements.

Over the past 20 years, the group has completed dozens of transactions for the world's largest utility, consumer products, aerospace, technology, insurance, financial services and other companies. The firm says, "We understand our clients' demands for integrated solutions that quickly deliver reduced costs, improved performance and process transformation while maintaining core business operations. We share our experience in achieving these goals at every stage of each new deal, from pre-RFP planning through post-contract relationship management."

Courtesy : http://www.smartpros.com