Perot aims for 40% growth in India, CIOL February 05, 2004

Along with Perot Systems Technology Solutions India, which has capabilities in software services, Perot Systems also has its BPO arm, Vision Healthsource in India. Brian Maloney COO of Perot Systems Shares the details in this article.

Vision To Set Up New BPO Centre - February 27, 2004

The Chennai-based Vision Healthsource (Vision), one of the leading providers of billing, receivables and claims Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) solutions for the health-care service providers in the US, is setting up a new 800 seat facility in Chennai. The facility is expected to go on stream in May. Vision already has three facilities here which put together have a 850 seat capacity.

Perot aims for 40% growth in India - February 2004

Perot Systems is expecting a growth of nearly 40% this fiscal, following the acquisition of HCL's stake in its Indian JV, HCL Perot Systems (HPS). While HPS itself was slated to grow by nearly 30%, the integration would result in a further boost to its growth. This was revealed by Brian Maloney, Chief Operating Officer, Perot Systems Corporation, during Nasscom 2004. Other than the software services capabilities of HPS, the integration also brings into table the business of HPS's BPO operations, Vision Healthsource. In the new scenario, Perot Systems would have two separate business units- the Technology Practices and Business Processes.

Perot Systems to shift 3,500 jobs to India - February 2004

Computer Services Company Perot Systems plans to add 3,500 jobs to its India operations and will soon move into new facilities at Chennai and Bangalore. Texas-based Perot already has a business operation centre at Noida. Founded by 1996 presidential candidate Ross Perot, it has about 13,000 employees worldwide of which 3,000 work in India. With the planned addition, the count head in India will go up to 6,500. Company Spokeswoman Mindy Brown said the expansion was related to acquisition of two companies in India that Perot Systems has made over the past year. Perot Systems paid about $10 million in July for Vision Healthsource, which handles medical bills. It paid $105 million in December for technology outsourcing provider HCL Perot Systems, buying its Indian joint venture partner HCL Technologies Ltd.

Perot to raise workforce in India - February 2004

Perot Systems, the computer services company founded by former presidential candidate Ross Perot, is all set to add about 3,500 jobs in India and move into two new facilities there this year. Most of the growth will come from a call centre and medical claims processing business, whose employee numbers are expected to rise to 2,800 workers from 800, said a report in the Star Telegram, published from Dallas, Texas. Mindy Brown, a spokeswoman for the company, said the expansion was related to acquisitions of two Indian companies made by Perot Systems in the past year. In July, Perot Systems paid up to $10 million for Vision Healthsource, which handles medical bills.

Build, operate, sell: The BOT philosophy The Economic Times, April 30, 2004

There are things beyond just build, operate and Transfer that keep Anurag Jain going. This article captures his reasons for selling the Vision Business and his role going forward. Says Anurag, “A guy who worked with me in Chennai for Rs 1,200 per month, recently bought my Toyota in the US, and he lives a few blocks down my street, and is a senior manager today who earns $70,000-80,000. Making that happen, motivates me,”

Healthcare outsourcing on high despite backlash - June 2004

If the once much-hyped medical transcription is looking down, outsourcing in imaging, disease management and claim processing are the new areas to look up to, as experts say a great opportunity awaits Indian BPO industry in the healthcare sector. Explaining about the main reason behind India emerging as a favourable destination for medical outsourcing, Anurag Jain, CEO, Vision Healthsource, one of the largest healthcare BPO service provider in the country, says, "India's inherent strength is the quality of our human resource pool. We have the analytical thought process that is required to develop complex applications and manage complex process, which is of utmost importance for healthcare BPO particularly".

Healthcare, a shot in the arm for Indian BPO, rediff.com June 29, 2004

Explaining about the main reason behind India emerging as a favorable destination for medical outsourcing, Anurag Jain, CEO, Vision Healthsource, one of the largest healthcare BPO service provider in the country, says, "India's inherent strength is the quality of our human resource pool. We have the analytical thought process that is required to develop complex applications and manage complex process, which is of utmost importance for the healthcare BPO particularly."

On the opportunity for Indian BPO companies in the healthcare sector, Jain says, "Most Indian companies have not yet matured in terms of developing a global outlook. Customers are today looking for service providers who can give them multiple options like a multi-shore model to deliver to any need from applications to consulting and from processes to managing the infrastructure.

"Unless you have the ability to service these multiple needs, a BPO provider would not be viewed as adding value and Indian BPO companies would come of age only when they build these capabilities," Jain adds.

The faces of outsourcing - July 2004

Large corporations – including Perot Systems Corp. and Electronic Data Systems Inc., both of Plano – are hiring in India while their U.S. employment remains stagnant. They derive cost savings from the salary differentials and the 24-hour work cycle created by the time difference. (India is 10.5 hours ahead of Dallas time). Perot Systems, for instance, does billing, claims and collections work for U.S. health care providers in Chennai. Employees follow up on bills on behalf of American doctors and hospitals, working from Monday evening to Saturday morning. The associates receive training to neutralize their accents. They're coached extensively on the business processes involved in bill collection. As part of the informal cultural orientation, "they watch lots of reruns of Friends and Will and Grace," says Anurag Jain, chief executive of vision Healthsource, a Chennai company that Perot Systems bought last August.

Synergies Drive Perot's Offshore Acquisition and Create New Value Proposition in Outsourced Medical Billing Services - August 2004

When Automated Medical Systems, a US provider of medical billing management services, encountered challenges with recruiting and retaining night-shift data-entry staff, the company decided to outsource those functions to specialist Vision Healthsource, a Chennai, India company founded in 1997. Their outsourcing relationship was born in 1998 during the early "prove it to me" phase when people had seen success with sending IT work offshore but were still highly skeptical that sending business process outsourcing (BPO) work to India was a wise strategy.

Taming the wild revenue cycle - August 2004

Miami Pediatrics, a medical practice with seven doctors and three locations, could serve as a model for how much better management is when billing is under control.Since tapping athenahealth, a firm in Waltham, Mass., that provides Web-based billing services on a subscription basis, the medical group has reduced its claim denials by 10 percent and increased its collection ratio from 40 percent to 51 percent. Reimbursements are coming in more quickly, too, usually within 21 days instead of 50 days. Athenahealth’s strategy is BPO (business process outsourcing), not software sales, said Eric Brown, healthcare analyst with Forrester Research. The suite includes scheduling, registration and claims generation — front office work. It’s in the back office that athenahealth distinguishes itself, says Brown. The company’s U.S. operations – bolstered by 200 people from Perot Systems’ Vision Healthsource in India — does the manual work like keying in paper forms, receiving and depositing payments and calling payers to rework claims.

Hiring cost, attrition mar BPO firms - October 2004

Rising per-hire costs, attrition, problems of `bad hire' and choosing the right hunting ground for recruitment are among the challenges that HR managers of person-intensive BPO companies face today. At a recently held seminar, HR chiefs from various companies spoke of the strategies their companies have adopted for recruitment and retention. Vision Healthsource, a BPO company operating in the health space that recently became a part of Perot Systems, strives towards creating a brand identity through advertisements and, therefore, prefers to recruit through job ads.

'We do IT better' - October 25, 2004

THE last time Peter Altabef came to India, there was little that the media wrote about him. He seemed happy to let Ross Perot Jr, CEO at the time, do the talking. Now, with Perot as Chairman and Altabef as President and CEO, Altabef has begun to be audible. eWorld garnered the first interview that he has given to the Indian media since his elevation in mid-September. But even if he did talk, Altabef showed himself as a role model for CEOs wishing to stick to the copybook. Not a word out of place - seemed to be his motto, as you would discover in the excerpts from the chat reproduced below. Anurag Jain, now head of the Business Process Solutions group in Perot, which acquired Jain-founded Vision HealthSource, joined us.

We build tomorrow's leaders - November 3, 2004

Interview with Mr. Ramanand, Head, Human Resources,Vision Healthsource, Chennai.

India Responds to Growing Concerns Over Data Security - December 2004

A recent opinion poll of 115 IT companies in both India and the US found that 82 percent of customers of Indian IT companies and 76 percent of customers of US IT companies are more concerned about information security than ever before.According to Anurag Jain of Perot Systems Business Process Solutions and CEO of Vision Healthsource--a part of Perot Systems' healthcare group, major gaps remain in two areas: enforcement and awareness. As a result of high demand by companies looking to reduce costs, some outsourcing service providers in India are hiring new staff by the thousands in a single month.

Vision Ranked amongst the top 5 MNC BPO companies in India by India's leading IT/ITES Magazine-Dataquest

PDF of the Article

"Indian BPO business set to rejoice: Nasscom, Upbeat on Business opportunities arising from Insurance, Healthcare & Utilities market in the US and the UK" , The Economic Times, Monday, 12th August 2002

"Insurance Claims processing requires capabilities that are highly domain intensive. This requires significant investment in training as a result of which training consumes about 25% of the total expenditure." -Srinivas Rao, COO, Vision Health source.

An eye for change October 2, 2002

IT takes a chameleonic skill to change with the times. And to change quickly within a matter of three or four years takes a good feel for where the industry is heading. Vardhman Jain, Chief Executive Officer of Vision Healthsource, along with brother Anurag Jain (who built up Brigade Solutions to a level where VCs were glad to pump in money, before quitting Brigade), is making changes that he needs to, to survive and thrive in business process outsourcing in the area of healthcare.

"Hooking 'em up, for good", Business line-Financial daily from The Hindu group of newspapers. Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Vardhman Jain shares his ideas and provides insights into managing people and the HR practices- Job rotation, incentive schemes etc. adopted by Vision.

"Call Centers move out of metros", Hindustan Times, December 19, 2002

Even as most business process outsourcing companies continue to be on recruitment high, the impending resource crunch in the four metros is gradually pushing them to look at second-tier cities. Says Vision Healthsource Vice-President Marketing Siva Namasivayam, “We are seriously looking at Cochin and Vijayawada for further expansion"

"Vision Healthsource Corporate Profile - Reproduced from the "The Economic Times Knowledge Series" Book on "IT Enabled Services" (in India) 2002

The article details the portfolio of services offered, our technology infrastructure, and the Services Delivery Model.