‘Studio I’ to Handle Architectural KPO

Gensler, the San Francisco-based architecture design company, and Singapore-based architecture firm, Space Matrix, have set up their joint venture — ‘Studio i’ in Bangalore. ‘Studio i’ has been set up to handle architectural and interior design knowledge process outsourcing (KPO).

The company’s operations will be carried out from its facility at Divyashree Park SEZ in Whitefield, Bangalore.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Anurag Srivastava, chief executive officer, Space Matrix, said, “Key factors like design capacity, cost and capability of Indian talent has led Gensler to form a joint venture with us. Through Studio i, Gensler will have access to trained architects and designers for its execution globally.”

“In addition to architecture services, design development and construction documentation will also be taken up in India. The team will get involved right at the design phase based on project needs and goes up to their execution,” he added.

Initially, the company plans to recruit about 20 persons to begin operations and gradually increase the strength to 150 to 200 by end of first year of operations depending on the projects to support Gensler requirements.

According to Daniel W Winey, managing principal, pacific northwest and Asia, Gensler, “In addition to KPO, our strength in building high raise structures will be put to use through Space Matrix in India. But, here we are facing many difficulties by way of different bye laws which govern construction and execution of high rises.”

Gensler and Space Matrix presently have 10-12 projects in hand through partnership and on a standalone basis totalling 10 million square feet, valued between $75 million and $1 billion in residential, airports and office space accommodation.

Prominent projects include designing airports at Chennai, Goa and Vadodara, design and development of twin towers — a 1.5 million square feet residential project for Divyashree Developers in Bangalore.

A five million square feet mixed use (retail, office and hospitality ) project for Bajaj Hindustan in Hyderabad.

“Space Matrix, on its own, has about 100 projects in their various stages of construction. India plays a vital role for us and 65 per cent of our revenues are generated here,” said Srivastava.

Source from: Business-Standard.com

Beyond Cost Benefits of CAD Drafting Outsourcing

Research studies have explored that outsourcing non-core operations (like CAD drafting, IT Infrastructure Management) to an expert in that field brings about a minimum 33% overall growth for the company. This is apart from the obvious monetary margins gained through outsourcing where services can be availed for as low as ten times the cost of doing it internally.

In the case of architectural firms, the best model for growth is to do the design phase through the resident architects and outsource the architectural drafting segment to some drafting support services provider. With the rapid advancement in IT and convergence systems, global barriers have dissolved to create a unified work platform.

Outsourcing architectural services not only helps meet the cost bottom-line, but also gives access to experts in the field. It is the core functionality of the outsourcing architectural service provider.
Global architectural firms have been able to effectively manage their scales by taking help of CAD conversion services, along with modern solutions like CAD 3D Modeling, etc. Outsourcing the CAD design and drafting segment allows architectural companies to sharpen their focus on marketing their projects or in coming up with innovative designs, new construction techniques, etc.

Outsourcing CAD services gives access to expert “skills-on-tap” around the clock. In case you experience a sudden surge in your work load, you can easily ramp-up your capacities with the help of CAD services partner, located overseas. CAD drawings need to be turned around sooner for quicker execution of the project. Most CAD conversion service providers understand this and build their business around this theme. Therefore, you do not have to be unnervingly wary about the service promptness of the outsourcing architectural services company.

CAD design is taking the world by a storm. In fact, there’s another tornado round the corner, christened as CAD 3D Modeling. The future growth of all architectural firms, no matter big or small, is going to be determined by how good they deliver their services, while keeping the costs to mass levels. This is where architectural outsourcing service providers step in. They are your sure-fire missiles in obtaining the intended end-result while keeping the pressure of costs under cool.

It doesn’t make sound economical sense if a company doesn’t leverage the benefits of a flat world, which we live in. It is only very practical to tap the human resources of a region who offer their services for a price that wouldn’t cost you the Earth.

Submitted by Architecture.BluEnt.Net

Patni Launches Green IT- BPO Knowledge Centre

The environment-friendly facility complements the organisation’s green initiatives around efficient utilisation and conservation of energy, water and natural resources.

Patni Computer Systems has launched its first Green IT-BPO knowledge centre in Noida with an investment of Rs 175 crores ($40 million). Developed on Green Architecture, the eco-friendly facility is spread over 5 acres and has a seating capacity of over 3,500. Christened Patni Knowledge Centre, this facility is designed and constructed as per the guidelines of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) India Green Building Rating System for New Construction. The centre is currently under certification process and is jointly audited by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) and US Green Building Council (USGBC).

“We are delighted that a leading IT and BPO organisation like Patni is one of the front runners in the green architecture brigade. The concept of Green Buildings is still at a nascent stage in India; with only 26 certified green buildings and very few Platinum certified green buildings,” said Dr P. C. Jain, chairman, IGBC.

Inaugurating the ‘green’ Knowledge centre, Narendra K. Patni, chairman and CEO, Patni, said, “We recognise our responsibility to protect the environment. The launch of our first Green centre is a significant step in demonstrating the company’s commitment to environment conservation.”

According to Sanjiv Kapur, senior vice president and head, Patni BPO, “Over the last four years, Patni’s northern India operations have grown exponentially. Leveraging an integrated IT-BPO model, we are providing variety of advanced outsourcing services including benefits administration, actuarial valuations, health insurance, F&A, securities and capital markets, services desk, product engineering services and life sciences. We see tremendous potential in these segments and as we expand and diversify, the new centre will support our aggressive growth. Above all, the new Knowledge centre will give our employees a healthier and environment friendly workplace, especially as BPO and KPO operations run on a 24×7 basis.”

Source from Efytimes.com

Architecture Design Rides KPO Wave

The growth story of Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) industry in the state is witnessing a new sub-plot. Architectural designing outsourcing has seen new players entering the segment. Domestic architectural designing units are also upgrading their facilities and infrastructure, and equipping themselves with the latest technology to join the race.

Armed with the latest software and growing offshore demands, architectural design KPOs are expanding their client-base in the US, UK and the Middle East. Rupee appreciation and crunch of skilled human resources notwithstanding, these firms have been holding up to the difficult times. In the last two years, there have been a few additions in the number of such KPOs in the state, most of them being small-and-medium-enterprises with around 50-plus employees.

What’s more, with the industry estimates predicting architectural design KPOs to become the second largest segment in service industry in the country, they feel a good time is in store for them. The country, as a whole, is expected to contribute two-third of the global KPO by 2011, accounting to $16.7-billion revenue.

According to industry sources, there are already around 40 architecture design firms with 50-plus manpower in the state. Several companies have begun bagging designing projects abroad, although on a small scale. Cost factor coupled with a decreasing pool of professionals abroad are driving this growth, say industry sources. Designing process here costs about one-tenth of what will be in the US.

Burthill Design, a recognised global architectural design unit, opened its India unit in Ahmedabad recently. Most projects handled by the unit are from the US and the Middle East. “Ahmedabad was our first choice because of the skilled pool of architects there. Cost cutting on international projects is another incentive to our Indian venture,” said Nitin Narang, project architect of Burthill in Ahmedabad.

London Infotech, which started operation two years ago in Ahmedabad, has benefited from the outsourcing. However, the company is facing the heat of shortfall in skilled pool of designers. “This field has a good future but the shrinking talent pool coupled with the recent rupee appreciation has upset us. There is no dearth of projects,” said director Gunjan Chag.

Source from: EconomicTimes

Benefits of CAD Outsourcing

Outsourcing CAD services provide a comprehensive range of CAD offshore outsourcing services such as CAD conversion, CAD drafting, 3D modeling Services, Conversion of manual drawings to CAD, GIS mapping services, Architectural drafting, Steel Detailing, Rebar Detailing, Fabrication Drawings, etc. In the field of architecture and building construction, CAD outsourcing services are very important. Computer aided design or CAD design involves the use of computer operated tools and applications to automate and simplify the design process. Architects, designers, builders, drafters and interior designers all benefit greatly from outsourcing CAD services. Architectural CAD drawing is made simpler by the use of CAD. CAD 2D drafting, drawing and modeling has created newer and better opportunities for architectural design firms.

Using CAD involves blending CAD software and specially designed hardware. CAD software helps create construction documents that are accurate and comprehensive. These drawings can be drawn to scale according to required specifications and measurements even if the drafter lacks the required technical expertise and qualifications. CAD conversion outsourcing helps in the conversion of manual architectural drawings into digital documents. These digitized drawings and documents are easy to store and can be easily accessed and edited by those involved in the design process. They allow for changes to be made easily and quickly without having to redo the entire design.

Through CAD Services Outsourcing, engineers and others in the engineering field can avail CAD Drafting Services for all kinds of engineering drawings including design data, assembly layout/drawings, maps and sketches. You can benefit from the unparalleled capabilities in 3D and 2D CAD. The advantages of CAD outsourcing is that you can gain from the highly advanced technologies that specialized CAD outsourcing services providers possess. This facilitates the digitization of engineering drawings using cutting-edge tools and software. By way of CAD conversion, drawings available in various kinds of media such as maps, sketches, blueprints and films can be converted into CAD files. The digitized CAD files have multiple layers; including all line-work, true editable text, and precise dimensions.

CAD Conversion Services such as Raster to vector Conversions in CAD and various other vectorization services are also within the ambit of CAD services. Also, 3D Modeling services and Technical illustrations to meet the engineering, architectural and industrial requirements are also provided by CAD services providers. This service help in transforming your designs into precise 3D models for conceptual design, analysis and manufacturing needs.CAD outsourcing specialists are proficient in all sophisticated software tools and packages such as AutoCAD, ADT, MDT, Inventor 9, Pro-E, Solid Edge 16, Solid Works 2003 and CAP Architect. Outsourcing CAD services provide many advantages such as cost feasibility, eliminating the need for infrastructure investments, recruiting, training, staffing specialized workforce.

Posted by: BluEnt.net

Engineering and Architectural Outsourcing at Boom

Domination of India software industry doesn´t need introduction any more. India software development and support services are catering the industry in the best possible manner. And making these more complimentary is the outsourcing process of services and support to India. Big shots gun Like US and UK are outsourcing their work to India. And in the process of outsourcing each and every single work is outsourced and architectural and engineering outsourcing is vital part of this outsourcing process.

Engineering and architectural outsourcing implies producing drawings in India where as the designers are far there in other countries waiting for the drawings produced in India. This is called on-site (design base) where as the production site is called off-shore. As Indian brains are best in the industry countries like US, Europe and Australia are outsourcing engineering and architectural designs and work. They are open to Indian market and this is making our economy more booming and strong.

Successful engineering outsourcing has following points for success:

Great Brains at Minimum Budget: Engineering outsourcing is not an easy job and these engineering designs and work needs lot of input. The ontime delivery and throughput is must for the timely success of the project. Which is very much essential to make any project successful? And keeping in mind the budget and the duration of work involved, Indian market offers best man power with brilliant brains and less costing. Delivering the quality engineering drawings and work at the right time. The main reason for engineering outsourcing to India.

Motivational Factors: Great Indian brains are more motivated showing more productivity for higher rewards and remuneration. As the cost difference between onsite and offshore has great difference. People on offshore production center are highly paid and show more productivity.

Quality and Standard: As engineering outsourcing, engineering works, engineering designs needs great perfection and quality. World knows that India brains are hard to find. And work standards are very competitive and error free. Indians show great level of professionalism, in each and every department of services. Getting the best quality and timely works lure these countries to outsource engineering and architectural work to India.

Pricing: As the pricing of quality work, design and development is very much cheaper in countries like India. Countries like US and Europe get their work delivered at low price.

Brain Drain: As due to bad infrastructure and economy, India suffers brain drain, but due to engineering outsourcing. Indian brains will not be going to leave their country as they will be lured by good salary and prospects by these companies. They will also have all options open to visit the on. Thus attracting the best talent to them these engineering outsourcing firm benefits to maximum.

These points make engineering outsourcing so successful in India. And there are many firms which are offering the best services for engineering outsourcing.
Source from: losangeleschronicle.com

Architectural Outsourcing – Drawing A New Design

ASK an architect fresher what he or she is earning, and he or she will mumble something about `growth prospects’ and `initial period’, because the field, they say, is a slow starter in terms of salaries. However, today freshers have the option of making close to five figures if they choose to go into offshoring companies.

Architects say that while medium-sized architecture firms pay a starting salary of Rs 5,000-6,000 for fresh architecture graduates and Rs 3,500 for fresh draughtsmen, architecture-outsourcing companies start with a salary of Rs 10,000-12,000 and about Rs 6,000 respectively.

Architectural outsourcing could mean anything from designing an entire building that is going to be erected thousands of miles away with the help of satellite pictures, to receiving a few rough sketches from faraway clients and filling in the details.

Mr Umesh Pujara, ASE Design Soft, an engineering design and draughting services company, said the company’s clients provide it with a few rough sketches, and the company then takes over the entire back office work, from detailing to elevations. “The complete job is done here,” he said.

The driving force, of course, is the cost, about one-tenth of what it would cost in the US, according to Ms Sujitha Arvind, Lead Architect, Exceed International, India, a company that specialises in commercial development. “Also, the number of professionals in the US and Europe have decreased in the last few years,” she added.

Ms Arvind explained that detailing of projects from the US is simple because all the details are standardised. She said that a fresher could be trained in the details over a period of six months. In fact, Exceed prefers to recruit freshers. “We have very few senior people,” she added.

And as an industry it seems to be picking up. ASE Design Soft has seen the number of projects that come in double over the last three years since its inception in 2003, according to Mr Pujara.

The real estate division of Exceed’s Chennai branch started two years ago with four employees, and now has about a hundred draughtsmen, architects, engineers and project managers. “And we can expect to grow to around 1,000 in two years,” said Ms Arvind.

As a result, mainstream architectural companies are being deprived of their share of an already decreasing pool of talent. Mr Pramod Balakrishnan, Senior Architect, Edifice, an architecture and interior design company, said, “Growth in terms of number of employees is not as much as we would like. The volume of work is growing, but there is a real paucity in available talent.” Architects said that the top students passing out of architecture schools opt to study abroad, while it is the bottom half that stays back, which might account for that paucity.

Ms Arvind said that not only is the pay much higher, but also BPOs provide a better work environment. “The facilities at a BPO are at the same standard as a multinational corporation, both in terms of work environment and also software,” she added.

And the smaller companies have been hit the hardest. Mr Yogesh Sharma, Architect/Partner, Design Works, said the attrition rate at his firm is high. “Freshers work for one or two years, and then go either to a bigger firm or to an outsourcing company. We have become like a training centre.”

He said that despite the salary factor, the growth opportunities are not as strong in an architectural BPO, because you cannot build up a significant portfolio working there.

Written by Abhinav Ramnarayan
Source from Thehindubusinessline.com

The New KPO Mogul : Architectural Designing Offshoring

The Indian Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) industry is witnessing the growth of a whole new segment. Indian architectural KPOs are stepping up on infrastructure and technology and ramping up skilled manpower to cope with the influx. Architectural designing outsourcing to India is growing at an unprecedented pace and is showing no signs of slowing down. With the availability of talented manpower, lower costs and best of the best infrastructure architectural outsourcing to India has gathered commendable speed.

With the increase in offshore demands and wielding the latest software and technical skills, architectural designing outsourcing in India serves clients from UK, the US and the Middle East. A number of small-medium firms with 50+ employees have mushroomed across the country offering quality architectural designing outsourcing serves at a fraction of the cost. The growth in the industry has been so spectacular that the rupee crunch and fall in the number of skilled resources has not drastically affected most firms.

Industry estimates predict architectural design KPOs will form the second largest segment in the service industry of India. Offshore architectural designing poses enough benefits to the overseas markets, which is the reason behind a marked growth in the demand for these services in leading KPO industries such as in India. Accounting to $16.7 billion in revenue, India is expected to contribute to two-third of the global KPO by 2011.

Several architectural design outsourcing companies in India have bagged small scale design projects abroad, mainly from UK and the Middle East. A decrease in the number of skilled professional abroad along with the quality of services and the lower costs offered by offshore architectural design companies are driving this demand home. There is a disparity of one tenth of the cost between designing process in the US and in India.

New Players Eye Architecture KPO Business

The growth story of knowledge process outsourcing industry in the state is witnessing a new sub-plot. Architectural designing outsourcing has seen new players entering into the segment in the state.

Domestic architectural designing units, on the other hand, are also upgrading their facilities and infrastructure and equipping themselves with the latest technology to participate in the process.

Armed with the latest software and growing offshore demands, architectural design KPOs are making their client-based in the US, UK and Middle East happy with their service. Rupee appreciation and crunch of skilled human resources notwithstanding, these firms have been holding up to the difficult times.

In the last two years, there have been a few additions in the number of such KPOs in the state, most of them being small-and-medium-enterprises with around 50-plus workforce.

What’s more, with the industry estimates predicting architectural design KPOs tipping BPOs to become the second largest segment in service industry in the country, they feel a good time is in store for them. The country on a whole, it is expected, will contribute two-third of global KPO by 2011, accounting to $16.7 billion revenue.

According to industry sources, there are already around 40 architecture design firms with 50-plus manpower in the state that are specifically focussing on architectural designing. Several of these companies were, until recently, catering to domestic requirements.

However, of late, they have begun to bag designing projects abroad, although on a small scale. Cost factor coupled with a decreasing pool of professionals abroad are driving force behind this growth, say industry sources. Designing process here costs about one-tenth of what will cost in the US.

Burthill Design, a recognised global architectural design unit, opened its India unit in Ahmedabad recently. Although basically an architectural firm, the Ahmedabad unit is the first design unit of the company that will outsource international projects. Most of the projects handled by the unit are from the US and West Asia.

“Ahmedabad was our first choice because of the skilled pool of architects here. Cost cutting on international projects is another incentive to our Indian venture. But we are not completely in outsourcing business. We also have our domestic designing operation,” said Nitin Narang, project Architect of Burthill in Ahmedabad.

Big design units are paying good packages and several incentives to the architects they hire. However, small firms are making extra efforts to retain skilled architectures as they are less in number and more in demand.

City-based London Infotech Ltd, which started operation two years ago in Ahmedabad specifically as an architectural design firm, has benefited from outsourcing architectural skills in architectural design segment, to which it caters exclusively. However, the company is facing the heat of shortfall in skilled pool of designers and are making extra effort to retain them.

“This field has a good future but the shrinking talent pool coupled with the recent rupee appreciation has upset us, like any other service sector. However, there is still no dearth of projects,” said London Infotech Inc director Gunjan Chag. While companies like London Infotech Inc might revert to cater to the domestic requirements, there are several small architectural firms that have sensed an increase in international demands and are turning to global market to increase profit margins.

Take, for example, Meghana Infotech, which started off as a domestic architectural designing unit in 1998. Now, the firm has at least 40% of its turnover of Rs 1.15 crore from offshore projects. “We recently begun outsourcing our business, encouraged by the growth story of the architectural design outsourcing market. We upgraded our services for the new client-base in the US and UK,” said Meghna Infotech CMD Udit Vivekia.

“Lack of talent pool is an issue. But we are also running a CAD training centre, which is also the first authorised training centre for Autodesk Inc.USA. This addresses our manpower requirement.”

Source from: Time Of India