Saudi Arabia: The New BPO Kingdom

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is fast becoming home to a number of business process outsourcing companies from all over the world. The principle of contracting services for noncore operations from an outside source has been readily accepted by a lot of companies in Saudi Arabia.

More and more companies have adapted to this new business trend. Most of Saudi Arabia’s biggest business groups capitalize on the very convenient Business Process Outsourcing services.

This trend has been quickly accepted as the norm in various industries in the country. The industries of banking, consumer goods companies, insurance companies and telecommunications companies are already using outsourced call center services for their marketing, collection and other department needs.

Majority of companies in Saudi Arabia have already outsourced their customer service department. And the IT based customer service is the first sector that has utilized the convenience of outsourcing services from the onset of business process outsourcing trend in Saudi Arabia.

Lately, business process outsourcing companies from abroad have started proliferating in the Kingdom. More and more BPO companies are recognizing the viability of Saudi Arabia as a great location for business process outsourcing services.

The emergence of a lot of business process outsourcing and call center companies benefited many people in the nation, locals and overseas workers alike, because it generated a lot of job vacancies. The jobs ranges from customer service executive, to customer representatives, call center associate, BPO executive, to telemarketer.

One of the reasons why more and more BPO companies are putting up their business in Saudi Arabia is that India-one of the most lucrative location for business process outsourcing companies-is becoming more expensive with the increasing wage rate and attrition rates.

For this reason, BPO companies are seeking other locales for their outsourcing operations. Other regions that are potential locations for BPO companies are the Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America. However, it is North Africa and Middle East (including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), which are neck to neck in the competition for the housing these BPO companies and their service centers, sales staff and technical support staff.

Another reason for Saudi Arabia’s allure to business process outsourcing companies is its multi-lingual labor force and its very favorable time zone, which allow the companies to operate more efficiently and provide better service to clients. Other companies are also attracted for its conduciveness for business expansion and oil-related investment opportunities. The healthy flow of income in the kingdom is just hard to resist. Saudi Arabia’s market, which is estimate to be worth around $100m, is even expected to grow annually at a compound rate in the next few years.

Few of the companies that have established their businesses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia include AllRiyadhJobs.com, Hiring Solutions, Riadaa Services Company and even India’s Wipro Ltd.

Recognizing the great potential for economic growth with the boom of business process outsourcing industry, the Arabian government is showing efforts of diversifying and freeing up their economy. The government is now very open to foreign investors who want to tap into their local market. The dynamic sector of business process outsourcing is beginning to play a central part in building the kingdom’s economic growth, penetrating more and more business.

However, there remains the challenge of political issues causing instability and the deep-seated bureaucracy in the region. But with the way things are going, it’s apparent that foreign companies believe that it is worth taking the risk, making Saudi Arabia the new Kingdom of BPO companies.