Argea works to improve business performance for more companies through outsourcing

    /24-7PressRelease.com/ -- Princeton, NJ, September 27, 2004 --
A group of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young, Hewlett-Packard and Lucent alumni have formed a new company that assists US companies to become more globally competitive using outsourcing as a strategic tool. The new venture, Argea, has corporate headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey and key professionals located in the West and in the Midwest.

Argea’s unique model combines traditional consulting and advice with outsourcing education and implementation services. In contrast to most outsourcing consultants, Argea’s experts believe the challenges of effective outsourcing may sometimes require education on issues like cross-cultural business communications and global project management. Additionally, Argea’s experts know that many outsourcing projects fail because companies lack many of the internal skills for execution. To fill this need, Argea provides implementation services to clients, including temporary personnel with outsourcing and offshoring skills, technical experience and skills to monitor suppliers. The Argea team has extensive experience in outsourcing education, planning, implementation and management.

Bill Batiste, Founder & Chairman, led the Business Process Outsourcing practice for PwC North America. He was instrumental in establishing a groundbreaking BPO initiative based on the combined use of process, technology and software. Prior to that, he led the Western Region for PwC’s Global Consulting practice.

Ram Iyer, Founder & CEO, has managed equipment outsourcing at Boeing, been a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and entrepreneur, and worked for Lucent as one of five international strategists leading strategy and marketing for the largest commercial account, valued at $4.3 billion annually.

Donnie Foster, Founder & EVP Consulting Services, has been involved in outsourcing since 1988. He led the North American Software Services business for Hewlett-Packard where he set up offshore centers in Bangalore and Chennai. Additionally, he managed HP’s outsourced operations in Japan, Eastern Europe, South America and China.

Vim Anand, EVP Business Development, a former partner and Chartered Accountant, led the North American Shared Services practice for Ernst & Young. He has assisted both clients and vendors in the selection and implementation of outsourcing projects. Clients who are considering outsourcing to reduce costs and improve performance seek his expertise in back office operations.

Argea’s business focus is primarily Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) but includes an Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) component, as most successful outsourcing solutions combine business processes with technology. Argea’s current industry focus includes financial services, high-tech, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

Bill Batiste, Founder & Chairman of Argea said “Executives use the terms outsourcing and offshoring interchangeably. Not all offshoring is outsourcing and not all outsourcing is set up offshore. We are committed to helping clients make the right choices, whether it is outsourcing to a local provider or setting up a captive offshore center in Beijing.”

More than half of all outsourcing projects fail to fully deliver the promised returns. To address this growing need, Argea’s short-term focus is to help companies improve the effectiveness of their outsourcing efforts. Donnie Foster, Founder & EVP of Consulting Services for Argea said “A recent survey of 100 companies we conducted showed that companies repeatedly make the same mistakes when they outsource. Having experienced the client-side and vendor-side of outsourcing, our staff has the requisite experience to improve client outcomes.”

Argea’s long-term focus on the middle market includes companies with revenues between $400 million and $1.4 billion that are seeking to leverage global resources to improve their competitiveness. Many of these companies have minimal outsourcing experience, primarily in HR, payroll and benefits functions. As a result, they have achieved only limited advantages. For long-term competitiveness, they must embrace outsourcing as a strategy.

Ram Iyer, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Argea said “The long-term competitiveness of American companies lies in assisting middle market companies leverage global resources and markets like large multinational companies do. Crafting solutions for the middle market requires a different approach and different models. We will fill that gap in the marketplace. I am committed to helping these companies succeed at outsourcing.”

About Argea
Argea’s mission is to help US businesses become more globally competitive by intelligently choosing and collaboratively integrating global resources and technologies to drive business performance. Argea’s deep business operations and outsourcing experience supports this mission through education, advice and implementation assistance. To find out how Argea can help your business, please visit our website http://www.argea.com/ or email us at info.argea.com

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