Wipro BPO targets 40 % non-voice work.

Bangalore: Wipro BPO in the last few quarters has been stepping up its focus on non-voice (transaction processing) component of the business. The company is aiming for a 60:40 voice and transaction processing mix. Currently non-voice business accounts for only 16 % of the total BPO business.

" Though this is an ambitious target, it is the direction we are heading in and we are driving towards this aggressively", said Wipro Chairman Azim Premji.

Wipro BPO has also shed 650 employees in Q2. As of end September 2005, the number of employees was 12,979, compared to 13,630 employed in Q1.

However Suresh Senapathy, CFO of Wipro clarified that the reduction in work force is not due to the move towards non-voice business. " Voice business will also grow," he added.

Wipro BPO, till recently called Wipro Spectramind expects its BPO business to be back on the growth trajectory over the next few quarters. Revenue growth in the BPO business was flat during the September quarter compared with the previous quarter, as the company is still in the process of restructuring it. However, on annual basis, revenues were up by about 10 per cent to Rs 181.7 crore in Q2 over corresponding period of the previous year.

Though the BPO business witnessed flat revenues, the profitability improved significantly, said Premji. "Even though the revenue growth in this business will be muted in the near term, our wins in the transaction processing business during the quarter gives us confidence that we are on the right track," he said.

Wipro BPO signed master service agreements for finance and accounting related work with a leading broking house in the US, and human resources and analytics work for a US-based manufacturing company during Q2.