EDS opens new offshore facility in India

MIAMI – Electronic Data Systems (EDS) opened a facility in Mumbai, India, that will provide help desk and business process outsourcing services to clients worldwide.

The Mumbai center began operating in May and its current staff of 150 will grow to 700 before the year ends, EDS announced Monday.

When fully staffed, the center will provide help desk technical support services via phone, e-mail and online chat, said Doug DeLay, an EDS spokesman, on Tuesday.

The center will also provide business process outsourcing (BPO) services, including data entry, phone-based marketing, management of financial processes and management of administrative processes, DeLay said.

Management of financial processes involves services related to things such as payrolls, credit cards, loans and mortgages, he said. Management of administrative processes involves things such as medical and insurance claims, DeLay said.

The Mumbai center is part of EDS’ Best Shore program for providing services to clients from various locations worldwide, a red-hot phenomenon known in the industry as offshore outsourcing.

For example, an EDS client could choose to receive some services from its home country, and other services from abroad. The motivation for receiving services from abroad could be that they cost less, that some staffers in a particular country have specific skills the client needs, or that the client requires support outside of his or her country’s normal work hours.

The Mumbai center is one of 16 facilities staffed by about 6,200 employees that EDS has devoted to the Best Shore program, DeLay said.

EDS, based in Plano, Texas, launched Best Shore in November. The company expects to have about 20,000 staffers devoted to Best Shore by the end of 2004. Best Shore focuses on two broad types of services: help desk/business process outsourcing (BPO) and application development and delivery.

EDS, the second largest provider of IT services in the world, also has Best Shore facilities in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, South Africa, the U.S. and New Zealand.

In India, EDS now has about 1,100 employees. It expects to end 2004 with 3,500 employees in India, which has emerged as the leading country in the provision of offshore outsourcing services. EDS’ initial capital investment in the Mumbai center totals around US$12 million.