Changes In H-1B Visa Norms May Not Hit Outsourcing Industry: WNS CEO

Mumbai: The business process management service provider believes the changes in H-1B visa norms by the Trump administration will not hit the BPM and BPO industry hard, which hires a good number of locals, a senior industry official said. NASSCOM has projected the IT-BPM industry to grow at a rate of 8.6 percent (in constant currency) in FY2017-2018 and become a $155 billion business, in spite of disruptions in technology, fluctuations in global trade and geo-political uncertainties.

"These disruptions have had limited impact on the BPM industry due to a number of reasons. The industry is still at a nascent stage, with an under-penetrated market. So even in times of a global economic slowdown, there is adequate scope for us to grow.

"Secondly, the anticipated clampdown on H-1B visas by the Trump administration will not affect us since we are not H-1B users," Nasdaq-listed WNS chief executive officer Keshav Murugesh said here.

The BPM industry has grown beyond the shores of India and created assets across the globe. As a result, we are creating jobs in different parts of the world and giving clients access to the best talent wherever they are.

"Of the three companies WNS has acquired in this financial year, two are in US. First one is Denali Sourcing Services and the most recent one is HealthHelp. Both these acquisitions have strengthened our presence in the US. WNS today has 22,000 employees in India, and 12,000 outside India, he said.

Growth for IT services will come by leveraging next-gen technologies such as cognitive technologies, robotics, cloud and the Internet of Things. By embedding these technologies into IT offerings, the industry will create higher value for customers, Murugesh added.

Commenting on the Brexit impact, he said, in a post-Brexit era, the relevance of the IT-BPM industry has grown, contrary to what some may believe. Without free access to the EU market, businesses in the UK will now have no option but to move to a smarter and more efficient way to do business, and rely on best-in- class services being offered by their IT and BPM partners.

The BPM industry has always been quick to adapt and today it is set to ride a new wave on the strength of next-gen technologies such as digital, cloud, analytics and robotics.

Between 2014 and 2016, there was a four-fold increase in the digital spend of companies. Today 12-15 percent of the revenue of an IT-BPM company comes from digital offerings, and will continue to fuel growth in the coming years, he added.

Automation in the industry will impact job growth, but the industry still has a long way to go, we will continue to capture new markets and create new jobs, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)