Part of the multi-billion dollar conglomerate, Hinduja Group, HTMT Global solution is a $130 mn company with around 13,000 employees across the globe. The company offers solutions in back office processing, contact center, and customized IT services.

HTMT has grown inorganically with the acquisition of US-based AFFINA for $30 mn in FY 2006-07. The acquisition helped HTMT to not only add sixty-five clients but also seven delivery centers across the US and Canada. The company remains looking for acquisitions in Europe and China.

The domestic market remains significant focus area for the company with over 15% of its revenue coming from this segment. HTMT has eleven delivery centers in India, and recently inaugurated its second delivery center in Chennai. The center will cater to both domestic and international business.

We spoke to Subramanya C, global chief technology officer of the company to find out about the company's IT infrastructure and their future plans regarding the same. Excerpts

How will you describe the IT infrastructure at HTMT?
As a third party provider we have to be agnostic about the solutions available in the market. We generally use products from different companies, and continuously look at technology to help reduce cost and innovate.

We have a diverse infrastructure which is not specific to any company in particular, and our company uses products by all the top brands like Cisco, Nortel and Avaya in India and across the locations. In telecom infrastructure we use both, TDM and IP, depending on customer requirements. In dialer, we are using Aspect for international outbound calls. In voice recording we have both the platforms-`Variant' and `Nice'. In server, we are using HP and Dell. And in workforce management and customer relationship management, we use Aspect and Blue Pumpkin.

We also have a network symposium, which immediately links inbound calls to the most appropriate representative to best serve customer needs. For instance, if a call is received in the US, it would be routed to India or any other center which is at that time most appropriate to take the call.

What percentage of your revenue do you spend on IT? And how big is your team?
As a BPO we have to continuously invest in technology. And as a global company we have to have the best technology and continuously enhance the infrastructure to meet the growing needs of an enterprise. We spend around 8-10% of our revenue on IT spend, and our team consists of around 36 people in India, and another 120 globally.

On which technologies do you plan to invest in the near future?
We have invested partially in IP infrastructure and are planning to invest more in this technology. We are also deploying SAP in some of our departments like material management and finance, which will help us in a much-desired single view, especially in the finance segment. Recently, we implemented Cognos, a consolidation tool that helps in extracting information.

In telecom, as well, we have deployed cutting-edge technology. We have also started deploying multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), which would integrate our email, videoconferencing, and chat within the organization.

What technological challenges do you face in integrating the acquired company into HTMT?
Basically, we like to keep our business objectives in mind. If it is not required to change the technology of the acquired company then we don't touch it. However, if we are not happy with the technology then we go ahead and change it, so it meets our business objective. We have to merge the technologies keeping the business objective in mind.

And to speak about acquisitions, we have plans to go for either Europe or China by the end of the year.

What challenges do you face in establishing centers in such locations like Durgapur?
The Durgapur center was actually driven by an Indian customer, since they had a synergy with the place. There are various advantages of having a center at a place like Durgapur. For instance, the attrition rate is very low and people are very proud of working for a multinational. The processes followed by a person in Durgapur are the same as processes followed by our employees elsewhere. There is no difference.

The government recently gave a go-ahead to agents working from home. Is the technology going to be vastly different? How is it likely to evolve?
The US has been using home agents for a while now. And although, the technology to be used is not much different, whether we will use them is not yet clear. The decision totally depends on our clients, considering that they should be comfortable with using home agents. Apart from that, security will also be an issue. Clients are usually very particular about security. Simultaneously, we have also to think about the processes that can be driven from home. Not all processes can be transferred to home agents. I feel that it will be for lower-end customers. Also, infrastructure might be an issue with connectivity and electricity being other problem areas.

What would you say are the major technological trends in the outsourcing industry?
In the outsourcing industry, there is a definite movement toward tier-2 cities since connectivity is not an issue any more. Also, attrition is very low in smaller towns. Another factor that has triggered this movement is that connectivity in such cities is not a problem. BPOs are also moving toward MPLS and IP technology.

How do you think the role of the CTO has changed over the years?
While earlier CTOs were driven by technology, this has considerably changed since now they are driven by the business objectives of the company. Our functioning has to be aligned with the rest of the organization. Technology has to find solutions to the problems being faced by the organization. And in our case, sometimes, it is a differentiating factor in getting business for the organization.

Gagandeep Kaur
gagandeepk@cybermedia.co.in