Vodafone International Services


Denise's Interview in GT Publication

January - 2011 From Global Trade Publication
London Chamber of Commerce (LCC)

Vodafone's International Services Director:

"The objective is to improve our customers’ efficiency, reduce their costs and create unbeatable experiences for the end user, either for internal customer support or dealing directly with our customer’s customers"


Q1: Denise, thank you for taking time out to talk to us today, can we begin with a little background on Vodafone International Services and its history?

"We are headquartered in Egypt, and Vodafone International Services is a subsidiary of Vodafone Egypt. The company was originally set up in 2002 as a small department developing IT projects for Vodafone UK and offering call centre services to Vodafone Australia. But we’ve grown substantially since then and VIS is now the largest off-shoring & outsourcing services provider in Egypt"


     
Q2: When you talk about Offshoring and Outsourcing what is it exactly that makes up your core offer and what sort of businesses buy the services?

"Our customers are usually large organisations with international or global operations looking for outsourced solutions individually tailored to meet their specific requirements. VIS specialises in delivering contact centre, business process, IT and consultancy services to these customers to address whatever complex business challenges their organisations are facing by helping to specify, design, build and manage outsourced programmes. The objective is to improve their efficiency, reduce their costs and create unbeatable experiences for the end user, either for internal customer support or dealing directly with our customer’s customers. We have programmes running that cover over 80 countries and our expertise is focused on areas like Managed Services, Consultancy, Data Centre Services, Enterprise Services, CRM & Application Services"



Q3: It sounds like a big operation. How far do your services extend today and what plans do you have to expand your global reach?

"VIS provide services in several countries including UK, Germany, Egypt, Qatar, Australia and New Zealand and our expansion plans include France, USA, Canada and the Gulf region. Our objective is to be our customer’s global outsourcing provider of choice by delivering the highest possible standards of Business Process Outsourcing and IT Outsourcing solutions and services"



GT Publication Back Cover - VIS Ad

Q4: Technology developments are continuous, what plans do you have to add new services to your portfolio in the near future?

"The outsourcing landscape of the world is changing rapidly on several levels. We are seeing demand changing both in terms of location and in the type of services enterprises are looking to outsource. VIS is well positioned to take the lead in new services such as cloud computing, Green IT and CRM and we are doing a lot of preparation work in anticipation of these developments to make sure we can offer the best possible services to our customers"



Q5: Vodafone has a lot of subsidiaries around the world. Why did you choose Egypt as a base to establish VIS?

"The decision was an easy one. Vodafone Egypt launched as a mobile operator in 1998 and very quickly demonstrated a clear competitive advantage over the competition with its IT and Call Centre capabilities. We also knew Egypt has a very skilled readily available work force so everything added up to a big opportunity for us and encouraged our management to enter the market, leverage the advantages Egypt offers, and build VIS into the successful business it is today"

      Q6: You mention Egypt’s skilled workforce offering you a competitive edge, but what else makes it work as an outsourcing destination?

"Egypt is unique. Its value proposition includes a structurally low cost of operations, the quality and scalability of its infrastructure, an abundant talent pool with the benefit of true multi-lingual skills, government support, conducive business environment and the list of benefits goes on. In fact, A.T. Kearney ranked Egypt as the #6 most attractive destination for outsourcing services in the world last year, which is clear evidence that Egypt is really starting to compete on the global stage as I think it was ranked #13 the year before. This year Egypt also won the Off-shoring Destination of the Year at the European Off-shoring Association Summit so it’s pretty clear we are getting noticed"



Q7: The offshoring industry suffers a high turnover rate in human resources. How do you manage to maintain the calibre and quality of your people?

"Vodafone is recognised by Nielsen as the best employer in Egypt and this really helps us attract and retain the best people. VIS also invests heavily in training and development and we make a big effort to provide them with structured career paths, a great working environment, international experience and competitive remuneration which all adds up to a very attractive package"



Q8: People are your main asset but they are only human. How do you make sure standards are maintained and the quality of services provided is guaranteed?

"This is an area we are very proud of. We are very careful to make sure training, policies and procedures, adhering to international standards and our own quality control departments are all part of our approach to what we call Total Quality Management. The scheme is closely monitored to ensure that we deliver consistently with the sort of high quality services that our customers expect"



Q9: Security is a big issue for business these days. How do you manage the security of customer information?

"VIS has one of the best data centres in Egypt, the region in fact, and we enforce strict physical and data security measures to ensure absolute confidentiality when it comes to customer information. We also deploy the latest in data security in terms of applications, standards and policies so we are as secure as it is possible to be"



Q10: If you put yourself in the customer’s position, why would you choose VIS above the other players in the market?

"I think there are a number of things that set us apart like the diversity of VIS’s services, our highly skilled professionals, world-class infrastructure married to global delivery capability and great service levels. But probably the most attractive thing would be its very competitive pricing and the evidence available supporting proven cost efficiencies for the customers we already work with"



Q11: Denise, thank you for talking to us today, before you go perhaps you would sum up for us with your vision for Vodafone International Services?

"My vision? To become our customer’s global outsourcing provider of choice by consistently delivering the highest possible standards of BPO and ITO solutions and services"



Related Links:


Media Contact:
For media-related inquiries, please contact VIS on VIS Email (vis@vodafone.com)




Download High-Resolution PDF Version