Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

NEW DELHI: They are the professionals who design our insurance policies. Their job is to assess the financial implications of unforeseen events and the money needed to cover the risks.

As the global insurance market hots up, actuaries have become hot property. And ever since actuarial process outsourcing (APO) has caught up, KPOs especially in India are wooing actuaries with lucrative packages.

Experts say, the estimated revenue from Indian offshore insurance BPO services are expected to rise from $790 million in 2007 to about $2 billion by 2010. However, as the market matures, Indian IT companies, who till now provided only back office insurance services like claims processing and others, are now moving to doing the more complex actuarial valuations jobs as well.

While APO is fast emerging as a niche KPO segment, there are no official studies to forecast the market yet. “The global insurance KPO market is estimated to be around $430 million in 2007 and India’s share is expected to be about 70% at about $300 million by 2010,” says Mohit Thukral, senior VP, Genpact.

According to Sanjiv Kapur, Senior VP Head, Patni BPO, “Various sources of market research predict the KPO industry to be anywhere between $10 billion to $17 billion by the year 2010. Going by the indication and the response we are seeing from the global market, India has the potential to become actuarial back office of the world.”

Patni BPO has almost 120 actuarial workers in India. Kapur feels, considering, APO is not driven by volumes, growing to 125 FTEs in itself is considered significant. So what is driving this market? Apart from significant cost savings and improved productivity, India provides global companies access to skilled resources.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

MUMBAI: Satyam Computer Services Ltd, India’s No. 4 software-services exporter, said on Monday it had acquired Belgium-based S&V Management Consultants for $35.5 million in an all-cash deal.

The supply-chain management firm services clients in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries, it said. Satyam also acquired construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc’s market research and customer analytics operations for $60 million in an all-cash deal, it said.

Satyam will service Caterpillar’s new product development, customer survey execution and other areas, it said. “It accelerates development of our business transformation capabilities and enhances our end-to-end business solutions — from strategy on through to BPO” Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju said Satyam earlier reported on Monday that an 18.5% rise in quarterly profit to Rs 467 crore ($117 million), lagging forecasts, as a slowdown in the US crimped outsourcing deals.