Date:13/12/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/13/stories/2005121302550600.htm

Back Aviva plans to shift 3,500 BPO jobs

Vishwanath Kulkarni

Bangalore , Dec. 12

EUROPEAN insurer Aviva Plc proposes to step up its outsourcing initiatives and is sending around 3,500 more business process outsourcing (BPO) jobs to India by 2007-08.

Sources at Aviva Offshore Services said the new jobs being outsourced by Aviva's Norweich Union subsidiary would be split among thethree India vendors — EXL Services, WNS and 24/7 Customer. By 2007-08, Aviva plans to have around 7,800 jobs outsourced to India.

About 2,400 of these jobs are likely to land up with 24/7 Customer, which is setting up a 1,800-seat dedicated centre for the insurance major in Chennai. 24/7 Customer handles Aviva's British and Canadian operations from its Bangalore centre, which has some 1,100 people to service the insurance firm. The company recently set up a 1,700-seat dedicated centre at Brookefields in Bangalore to provide services for the life and motor insurance business of Aviva. The centre being set up in Chennai is expected to start operations in February 2006.

Mr S. Nagarajan, Founder and COO of 24/7 Customer, said, "We are confident that expansion to Chennai will take us a step further in addressing Aviva's requirement and exceeding their expectations. With this addition, 24/7 Customer will provide a variety of back-office and customer facing services with a total of 3,500 seats across Bangalore and Chennai dedicated to Aviva."

Mr Rajnish Virmani, CEO of Aviva Offshore Services, said, "The Chennai centre demonstrates our commitment to grow in India and provide world-class services. We are confident that Aviva will continue to derive the desired benefits from the partnership with 24/7 Customer."

Aviva has some 4,300 people at these three vendors handling its BPO operations from their centres in India and Sri Lanka. EXL Services Aviva from its centres in Pune and Noida, while WNS handles the operations from Pune and Colombo. Aviva also outsources its IT operations to two Indian vendors - TCS and Wipro - between whom 1,100 jobs are split.

Aviva's first move to outsource BPO jobs in 2003 had attracted the wrath of Amicus, the conglomeration of British trade unions. Amicus had then claimed that about two lakh finance jobs could leave the country in five years.