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KPO or the Knowledge Process Outsourcing is a booming industry these days with a tremendous potential for future. It is different from BPO and is a knowledge based industry. Youngsters and experienced people from various fields with good educational qualifications to back them are taking up KPO jobs. It is an outsourcing business where high-end knowledge work is outsourced and handled by employees at the KPO center. The work could be related to any field such as finance, legal issues, intellectual property, analytics, market research and data management. It includes research work too. A KPO job requires deep knowledge in that area of work and high levels of confidentiality are maintained here.

It is estimated that by 2010, in India, nearly 2, 50, 00 people would be employed in the KPO industry. It may even surpass the BPO industry in India. With a huge population of educated people in India, it has become the preferred KPO destination of the world. With this wealth of talent, India is well-equipped to effectively handle high-end knowledge-based work in any field. The sector does not cater to any one field but requires specialized knowledge in various verticals. Unlike BPO, where only a good grasp on English language is required, in a KPO job, one has to be skilled and knowledgeable enough in the particular vertical that one is working for.

The biggest advantage for outsourcing knowledge-based work and research to India is the cost advantage. International companies are increasingly finding it more cost effective to offshore KPO jobs to India here they can get quality work gets done at very reasonable rates as compared to their own country. Even in clinical and research trials, India enjoys a cost advantage. Thus, it is gaining steam here in India and it will soon edge out the BPO sector.

For employees, it is a very lucrative career option. And what’s more, KPO jobs are not a favorite of just the youngsters, unlike BPO jobs. Even experienced and retired professionals from various industries can find high paying jobs in the KPO industry. It purely depends on the skill of the person and the knowledge of the industry that he possesses. Also, a KPO job offers its employees a chance to hone skills in a specialized field. It offers good pay packets to its employees. A professional with about two years of experience can look forward to an annual pay packet of around Rs 6 lakh (Rs 600,000) to Rs 8 lakh (Rs 800,000) whereas, an experienced professional would get anywhere between Rs 15 lakh (Rs 1.5 million) and Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million).

Although knowledge-based back end work is required in many fields but the areas with significant potential in this field include business research and legal services, financial services, pharmaceuticals, data search, computer-aided simulation and engineering design and professional services integration and management services, research and analytics, technology research, biotechnology etc. All these fields require a lot of knowledge based work which is being outsourced to India in KPOs. Many foreign firms have set up their offices in India to carry out research and development work. They hire experienced and talented professionals here and get the required knowledge based work done at cheaper rates. Also, many Indian firms offer KPO services in various fields. The work is outsourced to them and is processed by the employees at these firms.

The industry is fast picking up in India but there are a few challenges also that this industry faces. For instance, the industry faces a lot of attrition. The employees are snared away with the promise of higher pay packets and perks. Also, there is a perception that it is an unstable career so people are initially reluctant to join it. Most people are still unaware of the potential of this industry and the bright future prospects that it offers. Once it gains popularity and more and more people find out the benefits of working in a KPO, there will be a surge in this industry.

To get a KPO job, one has to have good educational qualifications in a particular field. There are no fixed domains and people from various fields can join a KPO. The firms train their employees and create a knowledge based environment for employees to learn and grow.

Few useful links:

http://naukri.com/

http://jobsearch.naukri.com/callcenter-ites-jobs/