Saudi Arabia: The New BPO Kingdom
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is fast becoming home to a
number of business process outsourcing companies from
all over the world. The principle of contracting
services for noncore operations from an outside source
has been readily accepted by a lot of companies in
Saudi Arabia.
More and more companies have adapted to this new
business trend. Most of Saudi Arabia’s biggest
business groups capitalize on the very convenient
Business Process Outsourcing services.
This trend has been quickly accepted as the norm in
various industries in the country. The industries of
banking, consumer goods companies, insurance companies
and telecommunications companies are already using
outsourced call center services for their marketing,
collection and other department needs.
Majority of companies in Saudi Arabia have already
outsourced their customer service department. And the
IT based customer service is the first sector that has
utilized the convenience of outsourcing services from
the onset of business process outsourcing trend in
Saudi Arabia.
Lately, business process outsourcing companies from
abroad have started proliferating in the Kingdom. More
and more BPO companies are recognizing the viability
of Saudi Arabia as a great location for business
process outsourcing services.
The emergence of a lot of business process outsourcing
and call center companies benefited many people in the
nation, locals and overseas workers alike, because it
generated a lot of job vacancies. The jobs ranges from
customer service executive, to customer
representatives, call center associate, BPO executive,
to telemarketer.
One of the reasons why more and more BPO companies are
putting up their business in Saudi Arabia is that
India-one of the most lucrative location for business
process outsourcing companies-is becoming more
expensive with the increasing wage rate and attrition
rates.
For this reason, BPO companies are seeking other
locales for their outsourcing operations. Other
regions that are potential locations for BPO companies
are the Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin
America. However, it is North Africa and Middle East
(including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), which are
neck to neck in the competition for the housing these
BPO companies and their service centers, sales staff
and technical support staff.
Another reason for Saudi Arabia’s allure to business
process outsourcing companies is its multi-lingual
labor force and its very favorable time zone, which
allow the companies to operate more efficiently and
provide better service to clients. Other companies are
also attracted for its conduciveness for business
expansion and oil-related investment opportunities.
The healthy flow of income in the kingdom is just hard
to resist. Saudi Arabia’s market, which is estimate to
be worth around $100m, is even expected to grow
annually at a compound rate in the next few years.
Few of the companies that have established their
businesses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia include
AllRiyadhJobs.com, Hiring Solutions, Riadaa Services
Company and even India’s Wipro Ltd.
Recognizing the great potential for economic growth
with the boom of business process outsourcing
industry, the Arabian government is showing efforts of
diversifying and freeing up their economy. The
government is now very open to foreign investors who
want to tap into their local market. The dynamic
sector of business process outsourcing is beginning to
play a central part in building the kingdom’s economic
growth, penetrating more and more business.
However, there remains the challenge of political
issues causing instability and the deep-seated
bureaucracy in the region. But with the way things are
going, it’s apparent that foreign companies believe
that it is worth taking the risk, making Saudi Arabia
the new Kingdom of BPO companies.
