PLDT call center forges alliance with BPO unit of India’s Infosys

Ventus, the contact center company of ePLDT, and Infosys BPO Ltd., a leading business process outsourcing (BPO) subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, a Nasdaq-listed Indian company, will collaborate in offering call center solutions to Infosys’ existing and prospective clients.

"This is a pioneering partnership between an Indian BPO and a Philippine call center company," according to Ventus president Rose Montenegro. "We feel the Ventus and Infosys BPO Ltd. agreement is a very strategic partnership that will enable both companies to reach additional markets and offer expanded services to customers."

Infosys BPO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys Technologies handling the BPO requirements (data and voice) of its US customers, and Ventus, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ePLDT, the information and communications technology arm of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., said the alliance will provide US companies the best that Asia has to offer.

"It is no longer about which country is better but which country is best suited to provide the specific skill sets that US and British companies require," Montenegro added.

Through this partnership, Infosys BPO and Ventus hope to create a synergy of each company’s strengths. Under the agreement, Ventus will host Infosys’ entire call center activities backed by Ventus’ redundant and reliable 24x7 Network Operations Center. This involves inbound call center support and global networking solutions.

Infosys BPO currently provides BPO solutions for a number of industries that include customer service, finance and accounting, human resource, order management and procurement.

"By elevating additional internal functions that our clients currently handle, we’re increasing their productivity and providing them with more cost-effective solutions. Ventus and Infosys BPO Ltd. are therefore giving US clients a broader range of choices through this alliance," Montenegro emphasized.

Ventus, one of the country’s fastest growing call center companies, now has 4,500 seats housed in seven sites: two in Fort Bonifacio, and one each in, Jupiter, Garnet, East Avenue, Libertad and Molo in Iloilo City. By the end of 2006, it expects to increase the number of seats to 5,000. Another 1,000 seats will be added in 2007 using existing PLDT facilities.

Ventus operates multiple call centers located in multiple sites in Metro Manila and Metro Iloilo, serving Fortune 500 companies. With 5,000 outsource call center seats, Ventus holds 11 percent of the total market share in the country. It is also account holder information security (AIS)-certified for 2005 and is the only Philippine-owned call center company. Its services include inbound customer care, inbound technical support, inbound sales, outbound sales, email support, and website maintenance.

"It’s a double win for Ventus and PLDT because PLDT earns rental income from the use of the facilities, while Ventus gets preferential pricing since it is a fully-owned subsidiary," Montenegro noted.