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Indian BPO company acquires Minacs

| Tuesday, June 27, 2006

TransWorks, the BPO (business process outsourcing) arm of the Aditya Birla Group of India, has acquired all outstanding shares of Minacs, a Canadian BPO specialist for the sum of $125 million.

Minacs has a contact center service, but the company also offers marketing services and back office administration.

It claims business across six major industries: automotive (the company is a past GM 'supplier of the year'), consumer products, financial services, public sector, telecommunications, and technology. Contact centers are the big play for Minacs, contributing 67 percent of revenue.

By contrast, back office administration contributes 18 percent, and integrated marketing 15 percent.

Minacs' 35 current job openings are all for positions in Canada (which accounts for 46 percent of company revenue) and the U.S. (49 percent of revenue) The company also has a presence in Europe, where its headquarters are in Germany. Minacs has 5,000 employees.

The interesting thing about the acquisition is that Minacs is bringing much more to the table, in terms of revenue, than legacy TransWorks. Minacs does about $260 million in revenue versus $35 from revenue. That said, TransWorks is part of a much bigger business empire, with the Birla Group doing $7.6 billion in annual revenue.

The normal pattern has been for U.S.-based companies to expand their BPO footprint by acquiring an Indian company.

As far as we are aware, this is the first deal in which an Indian company has expanded its BPO footprint so radically by acquiring a North American company.

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India catching up with online B2B : India News

| Monday, June 26, 2006

Business to business collaborations in India are going virtual. Many Internet savvy businessmen here are finding a partner and even landing deals online. Though at a nascent stage, experts say it is redefining the age-old ways of doing business and has great potential.

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Online networking is being touted as the new-age way of doing business, where people need not travel physically to remote locations for promoting their businesses. Moreover, it's faster, there are more choices available and it is more economical.

It is estimated that in 2006, the annual retail business in US alone would be worth around 105 billion dollars. The net global online trade is fast approaching the trillion dollar mark. In India about Rs 2500 to Rs 3000 crore worth online business was done in the last financial year.

Industry watchers predict that by the turn of the century, almost all forms of collaborations would be done via a software or using online process. This would save the companies millions of dollars in travel, infrastructure and promotion cost.

Internet is fast emerging as a reliable medium for doing work globally, and companies in India are catching up with the advantages of doing business remotely, without the costs of travel and sending people abroad," says Mahesh Murthy of Pinstorm Technologies, an online marketing firm.

Though the brick and mortar model of business continues to flourish, a silent revolution is taking place where people need not travel physically to remote locations for promoting their businesses. Though the birth of e-commerce happened some time back, its significance in the form of cutting costs across the enterprise has been realised quite recently, says Gurudatt Shenoy of Netalter, a software company.

For B2B collaborations, a proliferation of new collaborative tools is taking place with almost all major software vendors bringing out multiple business to business and business to client tools, says Shenoy, whose group has developed a browser, which forms virtual network with the client, dealers, agents and vendors.

"There are various factors which drive online retail businesses in India and also affect its growth. One is the penetration of ISP and the other trust and security of online transactions... People are still not very confident of sharing personal information," he says, noting not many people are even aware on online networking other than using sms on mobile phones.

However, broadband penetration is increasing in major cities and this would lead to increase in online transactions, notes Shenoy.

In fact, Murthy notes corporates in India are already doing business with other companies online. They handle marketing for large business clients from Europe, USA and South East Asia, work with them on the Internet, are able to demonstrate results, track projects in process, bill them and even get paid online through fund transfers and credit card payments.

"There is much more chance of your credit card being misused by a waiter in a restaurant than by a miscreant online," says Murthy, noting "we are yet to come across any instance of cheating."

"The Indian cyber laws are a step in the right direction to build confidence among consumers and businesses that their data will be protected and their transactions are secure. However, the laws need to go a step further and keep up with the times," notes Murthy.

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Cityscape Dubai now largest B2B real estate platform in the world

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IIR Middle East the organisers of Cityscape Dubai 2006, which is due to take place at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre (DIEC) on 4-6 December 2006, announced that the premier property investment and development event has grown to such an extent that it is now clearly the largest event of its kind in the world.

According to Cityscape Dubai Exhibition Director, Rohan Marwaha, “Cityscape can now legitimately claim to be the world’s biggest b2b event in the property investment and development sector. Last year we booked 11,000 square metres of exhibition space which made Cityscape the undisputed market leader in the Middle East. We have now secured an additional 14,000 square metres, making a total of 25,000 square metres which represents 130 per cent annual growth. This means we will now surpass the likes of MIPIM in Cannes and Expo Real in Munich, to the number one spot.”
Earlier this year, the Cityscape officials confirmed that an astonishing 80% of exhibition space had been sold, nine months ahead of opening. At that stage 16,000 square metres had been reserved, but due to unprecedented demand, Cityscape now has grown still further to the record-breaking size of 25,000 square metres.

The final figures for the 2005 show were striking in their own right, 281 exhibitors from 29 different countries, 23,552 industry professionals participating from 85 countries and 626 conference delegates and speakers. At Cityscape Dubai 2005, real estate projects worth US$27 billion were announced.

“Having increased the amount of exhibition space by 130 per cent year-on-year, Cityscape Dubai 2006 will undoubtedly trump last year’s impressive figures. Not only is Cityscape the largest in the world, it is the fastest growing and the most diverse with up to 85 countries being represented, clearly reflecting the regional market growth,” added Marwaha.

To date regional heavyweights, Emaar Properties, Nakheel, Tanmiyat Group, Aldar Properties, Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group and Dar Al Arkan have signed up as platinum sponsors, with The Commercial Real Estate Co. Tameer and Saraya Holdings taking gold sponsor status, with Future Brand and Mawared going for silver.
The three-day exhibition and conference attracts key investors, property developers, architects and designers amongst others. Cityscape Dubai 2006, as in previous years will feature the hugely successful Cityscape conference, which last year attracted 80 internationally acclaimed speakers who gave 50 presentations as well as dedicated workshops devoted to specific industry issues. The coveted Cityscape Architectural Review Awards will also be distributed during a glittering gala dinner, these international awards are keenly contested and the 300 entries received last year are sure to be surpassed this year.

Commenting on the future of Cityscape, Marwaha declared, “We have recently announced plans to export the Cityscape brand to Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Shanghai. Considering that this show is only five years old, the brand-potential is colossal. This year’s event must be the most eagerly anticipated ever, and a true measure of Cityscape’s eminence on the international industry calendar”.

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Majority of B2B Marketers Lack Customer Knowledge

| Friday, June 23, 2006

Eighty-seven percent of b-to-b marketers have little confidence in their customer data, according to an on-site survey of attendees at DMA's DM Days by Extraprise.

Fifty-four percent of b-to-b companies surveyed indicated that the lack of sales and marketing collaboration is their most important challenge. Fifty-two percent of companies surveyed claimed to have integration between their sales and marketing systems. Thirty-nine percent of respondents indicated that data-related issues were the next challenge facing their marketing efforts.

Other topics covered included how many disconnected data sources cover some aspect of their customers (59 percent have data in at least four different locations whereas 18 percent cite between 5-10 locales and 23 percent claim to have data in more than 10 systems).


Related topics: Direct, Research, Sales/Repping...Eighty-seven percent of b-to-b marketers have little confidence in their customer data, according to an on-site survey of attendees at DMA's DM Days by Extraprise.

Fifty-four percent of b-to-b companies surveyed indicated that the lack of sales and marketing collaboration is their most important challenge. Fifty-two percent of companies surveyed claimed to have integration between their sales and marketing systems. Thirty-nine percent of respondents indicated that data-related issues were the next challenge facing their marketing efforts.

Other topics covered included how many disconnected data sources cover some aspect of their customers (59 percent have data in at least four different locations whereas 18 percent cite between 5-10 locales and 23 percent claim to have data in more than 10 systems).


Related topics: Direct, Research, Sales/Repping...

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The Value of Branding in B2B Markets : B2B News

| Tuesday, June 13, 2006

By Richard Heimsch, director at Protean Marketing

A brand is the most important strategic asset your business will ever possess.

Yet even the most experienced marketer might struggle to communicate the concept in a single sentence. Furthermore, if you were to approach the majority of today's business-to-business organisations, they would probably tell you that branding finds little application in a market allegedly filled with dispassionate decision makers. However, an increasingly competitive market landscape is eroding this reality - if, indeed, it ever existed. B2B marketing must follow the example of its consumer-focused counterpart and embrace the notion that a strong brand has the power to differentiate, build and protect those it represents in the face of incessant commoditization.

Stamping your agenda
We've moved far beyond the historical definition of a brand: "The name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them, intended to define the goods or services of one seller or groups of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors." And we're also moving past more current definitions of brand as a "trustmark" or reputation, a culture or corporate identity.

It is simply impossible to reduce the complex notion of brand down to a mere logo. A brand is undoubtedly much more than this, incorporating both tangible and intangible benefits and identifiers for what it represents. As the culmination of the end users' experience of a business, product or service, a brand is comprised of a multitude of marketing encounters, actual performance and perceived identity. Properly developed and applied, brands can be used over and over again to create new value.

As a promise of both rational and emotional reward, a strong brand will generate a resonance impossible to reproduce. Once developed to this point, branding has the power to fulfil a range of business objectives. For example, with a strong brand, a business is able to sustain price premiums, reduce risk and create a kind of shorthand for end users who will immediately recognise everything it stands for, thereby narrowing the choices the purchaser has to make. Largely this process is intangible, reliant on more abstract concepts such as association. (Do you ask for cola or Coke?)

The Human Factor
Naturally, it helps that during the Coke-buying process your decision was not complicated by the presence of a buying team, a complex performance matrix and specifically developed test criteria. However, regardless of the attempts to make B2B wholly objective, is it really plausible to suggest that unconscious programming of this magnitude evaporates when the consumer enters the office? Of course not, and this is the myth that B2B is beginning to face up to.

Traditionally, this sector has not been the most brand aware. However, the belief that the critical emotional component within purchasing is limited to the personal consumer is distinctly misguided. Are we honestly suggesting that we are suddenly devoid of all human emotion as soon as we assume 'work mode'? As B2B marketers, by ignoring the inevitable human factor, we also ignore a whole host of opportunities to differentiate our offering.

Assuming that this is in place, brands function as important social influencers, and this is a phenomenon that is not limited to the consumer environment. In B2B arenas, brands are symbols of quality, reliability and risk reduction, in addition to being significant aspirational targets. In a corporate capacity, we may like to think we are above the allure of peer group approval but then again, 'no one ever got fired for buying IBM,' right? In short, we wish to mitigate risk and will be reassured by purchasing a brand name synonymous with quality and reliability.

Perhaps there was a time in both B2C and B2B environments when products and services could be marketed solely at income brackets. However, as markets evolve, so does the customer chain. The breakdown of a homogeneous society necessarily means developing an understanding of wider influencers such as lifestyle and value systems. This is exactly what proper brand development seeks to address and what successful B2B companies have already recognized.

In part two of this discussion, we'll further investigate the "Brands by Design" fundamentals and their specific relevance in technology markets.

Technology Markets
The value of branding in B2B environments is epitomised by modern technology markets. Traditionally associated with a reluctance to invest in brand, this industry is accustomed to spending vast amounts on technical facilities and capital equipment. Technology markets are especially reticent to channel resources into what it often identifies as abstract concerns and until recently, this attitude was acceptable. Previously, demand for technology predominantly centred on product functionality and cost, conforming to the stereotype of today's B2B model.

However, technology suppliers were forced to re-examine this approach as their markets matured. As new technologies grew commonplace and supply grew dramatically proliferated, wider differentiation became essential. Added to this, the effect of increasingly short product lifecycles has further created a need for brands which can exist outside of individual products and services. The continuous introduction of new and competing products, updates and enhancements has forced technology suppliers to look beyond their conventional reliance on product attributes alone. In this respect, a strong brand has the capacity to restore stability to an overcrowded marketplace, and combat the downward price spiral of commoditization. .

The continual collapse of market boundaries is another factor that today's technology markets must contend with. The advancing nature of technology has led to a growing climate of convergence, meaning that products are increasingly able to transcend the confines of specific industries. Even if a product is renowned for its application in one particular field, it can often be reduced to near anonymity when transferred into another.

Absurdly, this situation can work against even the most innovative products or services. It is a truism that your most absolute strengths will inevitably become your most destructive weaknesses, a philosophy that has extreme relevance in the case of technology markets. As a consequence, it is vital that businesses develop a brand that can exist outside of their specific product markets and that will stimulate end user confidence even in alien environments. To take up the famous IBM example once again, the multinational's successful transition from hardware provider to business consultancy was ultimately, a direct result of a powerful B2B brand.

Like the majority of modern markets, technology markets have been significantly affected by the growing influence of the internet. While online is fast becoming a key purchasing channel, most buyers will be aware of the element of risk that is perceived to be heightened by this medium. Strong branding activity will inevitably become more important due to its ability to generate trust. Equally, as the internet dramatically increases the content channels open to technology marketers, fiercer competition means that prospects and customers are now more skilled at filtering out the noise. As such, it is imperative that technology markets and the B2B sector in general, partner with marketers that understand the full scope of their concerns and objectives.

Resistance is Futile
Successful brands build strong customer relationships for perhaps the very reason that B2B has historically resisted investing in them. A strong brand is based not just on tangible benefits but on intangible drivers with the capacity to provoke strong emotional responses. For less progressive B2B environments it is perhaps something of a culture shock to invest in strategic branding activity. However, in line with increasingly competitive markets, evolving industries, converging technologies and the increase of content channels, resistance to the significance of branding can only be destructive. Individuals react not to reality but to their perception of it.

You may have the most superior product offering in your market, but if your market does not believe it, or if they do not know who you are or what you stand for, this will go largely ignored. Ultimately, business prospects demand facts. However, they will also respond to an overt recognition of their human propensity for emotional stimulation. At the very least, in the B2B environment a powerful brand will hold the attention of your prospects and convince them to process the facts.

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