Port@l net services to set up three contact centers in India

NEW DELHI: Port@l Net Services (PNS), a part of the UK-based Port@l Group,

plans to set up three contact centers in India with 1000 - 1500 seat capacity

over the next 12 months. The company is looking at investing approximately $7.5

million into the Indian market and will in the first phase of its India

operations, use Port@l's proprietary 'Reverse Hosting' model to lease 750 seats

from existing call center units located in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.






Given the problems of under utilization and lack of quality standards which is
impacting the Indian call center industry, the 'Reverse Hosting' model being

introduced by Port@l Net Services (PNS) in India will allow the company to

negate the existing imbalances in the Indian operating environment, while

simultaneously allowing it to leverage off the inherent advantages for ITES that

the country offers.






The critical element of the 'Reverse Hosting' model being deployed by PNS in the
first phase of its India operations is the fact that it will be leasing existing

capacity from three call centers in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, which it will

then utilize to provide its global English language response services to its

international customer base.






As part of its business model, PNS will also pay special attention on selecting,
recruiting and training the agents that are deployed at its facilities. To

facilitate the same, PNS is looking at partnering with global HR companies to

provide its employees soft skill accredited training and assessment modules that

would help them enhance their competency levels to globally accepted industry

standards.






Commenting on the potential for IT Enabled Services in India and outlining the
global strategy for PNS, Probir Dutt, CEO PNS said, "PNS has been developed

as a strategic route forward for companies looking at increasing the quality of

their customer care services while simultaneously gaining cost savings in their

contact center activity. PNS India will serve as a Global English language

Response Center (GERC) for the Port@l Group and is the first of 4 major language

response centers that the Group will set up in India, China, Japan and Brazil

over a 2-3 year period."