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24/7 Customer eyes US acquisitions
By siliconindia
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Friday, 31 October 2003, 20:30 IST
BANGALORE: Third party BPO service provide, 24/7 Customer is eyeing the US market for acquisition. An announcement in this regard is expected within the next six months. The company had secured an investment of $22 million in financing led by leading venture investor Sequoia Capital in July 2003.
"We are looking at companies supplementing our services in the US. This is part of our strategy to establish ourselves as a global player," said S Nagarajan, COO of 24/7 Customer. "The names of the company would be announced by the end of this quarter or latest by beginning of next."
The Bangalore based Indian BPO major employs roughly 2400 English speaking graduates across its centers in Bangalore and Hyderabad. It is planning to end the year with about 2800 on board.
As part of the expansion plans, 24/7 Customer will soon be establishing an additional center in Chennai. "A center in Cochin is a long term plan," added Nagarajan. In June 2003, the company opened its European office after signing a large multiyear outsourcing engagement with a leading European insurance firm.
To build its brand as a global BPO player, the company has hired the ex-global marketing head of iGate Global Solutions, as AVP sales and global marketing for 24/7 Customer.
Also to emphasize on quality the company has added Satya Gopal Kalluri as AVP Quality. He was earlier heading the Six Sigma initiative at Satyam's BPO arm, Nipuna. At 24/7 Customer he would be in charge of the company's quality initiatives. Incidentally 24/7 Customer was the first BPO in India to get the COPC certification.