Gauteng Business 2016 edition

Outsourcing
Call it business process outsourcing (BPO), call it business process management,
call it what you like—the business of outsourcing is about to put the City of
Tshwane on the international BPO map.
OVERVIEW
Outsourcing brings with it many benefits to all the role-players
involved. The biggest of them all is most likely that it’s a costsaving
measure for tasks that a company requires but does not
depend upon to maintain their position in the marketplace,
thus such activities are non-core business.
A big player in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) field is the
contact centre (also known as captive centres, call centres or global inhouse
centres) industry. Until recently, India was favourably looked upon
by countries in the west, which could have their outsourced work done
at a fraction of the costs than would otherwise be expected locally due
to much higher labour costs in their countries of origin.
According to the national agency promoting the sector in
South Africa, Business Processing enabling South Africa (BPeSA),
Gauteng is host to the head offices of most of South Africa’s largest
companies and the province h as the largest domestic market in South
Africa, with approximately 133 800 employees contributing 71% to the
national domestic market share. Gauteng is also home to more than
70% of the country’s call centres, and the sector is growing all the time.
Among the reason for the rapid growth of the outsourcing industry
in Pretoria, is the City of Tshwane’s strategic position in the province
to service international Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) investments.
At present an estimated 11 000 people are employed in the
BPO industry in Tshwane, while the sector annually contributes in the
region of R2,5-billion to the city’s economy.
The ultramodern Tshwane BPO Park (TBPO), to be created in partnership
with the University of Pretoria, will secure the city’s position as BPO
leader in the region. Consisting of a contact centre that can seat 3 000
people, an incubator for SMMEs and an academy offering a national
tooling programme, the TBPO will benefit both the university and
all those living in the metropolitan area and has been described as a
milestone that will help to the realise the City of Tshwane’s Vision 2055.
Referring to the development of the new project, Tshwane’s
Executive Mayor, Councillor Kgosientso Ramokgopa, said over and
above the benefits of job creation, infrastructure and skills development
envisaged by the Tshwane BPO Park, the City of Tshwane will gain
first-mover advantage above other regions, accelerate industry growth
and attract new clients. “The Tshwane BPO Park will also position the
city as a key role player and an ideal BPO investment opportunity,”
said Ramokgopa.
Investment opportunity
The new Tshwane BPO Park will be
the ideal investment opportunity
for both local and foreign businesses.
Tshwane is the third-largest
city in the world in terms of land
area, after New York and Tokyo/
Yokohama. It contributes 27% to
Gauteng’s economy and 10% to
South Africa’s economy. It is South
Africa’s automotive industry hub
and the main anchor for research,
innovation and the knowledgebased
economy in Gauteng, owing
to the location of renowned
research institutions such as the
Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research, the National Research
Foundation, the Department
of Science and Technology and
Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute.
Once operational, the TBPO
will provide a globally competitive
facility to both the public and
private sector and will contribute
significantly to the Gauteng
Province’s Township Revitalisation
Programme. The park will also provide
modern fully equipped plugand-play
infrastructure including:
high-speed fibre-optic link; VOIP;
high redundancy servers; back-up
power supply; on-site technical
support; training; and excellent
staff care and support facilities. An
on-site incubator will oversee the
development of SMMEs in the BPO
domain and related industries.
109 GAUTENG BUSINESS 2016