User:Soulrefrain/PeopleSupport Corporation

PeopleSupport Inc. is a US-based offshore multinational business process outsourcing (BPO) company that provides customer management services, transcription and captioning, and back office support. The company serves clients in a variety of industries, such as travel and hospitality, financial services, technology, telecommunications, consumer products, healthcare and insurance, entertainment and education, and law enforcement.

PeopleSupport bases its operations in three countries: the Philippines, Costa Rica, and the United States. Most of its services are performed in the Philippines, where it is one of the largest BPO companies, having more than 8,600 college-educated, English speaking employees. Its current headquarters is in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Revenue for the first quarter of 2006 was US $23 million, a 64% increase from US $14.1 million reported in the first quarter of 2005. Net income for the first quarter of 2006 was US $2.9 million or US $0.15 per diluted share, compared with the US $2.8 million or US $0.15 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2005. Operating cash flow in the first quarter of 2006 was US $5.5 million, compared to US $5.1 million in the first quarter of 2005.

In September 2006, PeopleSupport reported revenues of US $30.1 million, an increase of 85% from previous consecutive years. For that quarter, the company reported US $0.18 earnings per share on a GAAP basis and 13% operating margins. From January to September of 2006, it reported US $15.0 million in cash flow from operations.

For the year ended 2006, it reported revenues of US $110.119 million, up from US $62.124 million in 2005, an increase of 77.25678%.

Foundation and initial operations
PeopleSupport was founded on July 2, 1998 by David Nash and Lance Rosenzweig. Its original business model was to provide outsourced web-based customer management services to Internet-based companies, or dot-coms, via chat and e-mail. During that period, PeopleSupport had 100 clients, 400 employees, and was essentially a call center taking no calls.

The dot-com bubble bursts
In 2000, many of PeopleSupport's clients began to go out of business because of the bursting of the dot-com bubble. In response, PeopleSupport made three strategic decisions:


 * Broaden service offerings to more comprehensive CRM outsourcing services, which included taking calls.


 * Change sales focus away from dot-coms to large enterprises.


 * Cut cost structure significantly by migrating operations to the Philippines.

These decisions were critical to PeopleSupport as it enabled the company to survive the dot-com crash.

Move to the Philippines
In executing the three strategic decisions, PeopleSupport initially restructured its business model and relocated outsourcing operations to St. Louis, Missouri. Subsequently the company closed operations in St. Louis and completed migrating operations to the Philippines. PeopleSupport previously considered other countries to find a low-cost location, such as India. However, the BPO industry in India had initially originated out of a need for text-based communications, where Internet consumers merely click or type their preferences and queries. At that time, India's internet connections were slow and majority of people were still relying on dial-up modems. Compared to India, the Philippines had a much more Americanized workforce and culture. Although salaries in India were about 15% lower than in the Philippines (US $3 an hour), PeopleSupport selected the Philippines based on the familiarity with the American accent rather than lower costs.

Initial public offering
On May 11, 2004, PeopleSupport filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations system (NASDAQ) in order to raise up to US $86 million; SG Cowen & Co. and Piper Jaffray & Co. served as its lead underwriters. It originally estimated an offering price between US $10 and US $12 per share, offering more than 4.5 million shares of stock. On October 1, 2004, PeopleSupport announced that it had priced its IPO at US $7 per share and began trading on NASDAQ as PSPT.

Addition of Transcription and Captioning Services
On January 9, 2006, PeopleSupport acquired Rapidtext, Inc., a provider of transcription and captioning services, and its subsidiary, The Transcription Company. Rapidtext, based in Newport Beach, provided voice-to-text services for entertainment, education, medical, law enforcement, and insurance markets. This acquisition marked the beginning of PeopleSupport's transcription and captioning service offerings.

Timeline

 * 1998: Founded by David Nash and Lance Rosenzweig on July 2 in Delaware, USA.
 * 2000: Dot-com bubble bursts.
 * 2004: Files for US $86M IPO on May 11.
 * 2004: Estimates offering price on July 28.
 * 2004: Prices IPO offering on October 1.


 * 2006: Acquires transcription and captioning firm Rapidtext on January 9.
 * 2006: Opens facilities in Costa Rica on March 2.


 * 2007: Realigns organizational structure into verticals on June 11; names Richard Bledsoe as COO.

Market Verticals
PeopleSupport’s BPO solutions are organized according to four business verticals. The chief operating officer is responsible for managing all four business verticals, each of which is led by its own managing director.

The four business verticals are:


 * Travel & consumer


 * Technology & telecommunication


 * Financial services, healthcare & insurance


 * Entertainment & education

United States
PeopleSupport's corporate headquarters is located at Suite 1250, Westwood Center, 1100 Glendon Avenue, Los Angeles, California, leasing approximately 11,000 square feet.

Two other production centers exist in Southern California, totaling approximately 15,000 square feet. PeopleSupport also leases three data centers located throughout the western United States, totaling approximately 1,000 square feet.

PeopleSupport Costa Rica
In February 2006, PeopleSupport signed two leases in Costa Rica totaling approximately 35,000 square feet, and could initially support up to 500 seats. The facility opened on March 2, 2006. It is located in Buildings 7B and 3A, Ultrapark Free Zone, 800m East of Real Cariari Mall, La Aurora Heredia.

PeopleSupport Philippines
PeopleSupport has eight facilities in the Philippines. The largest is PeopleSupport Center, spanning approximately 162,000 square feet. . The other seven facilities, totaling approximately 255,000 square feet, are located in three other cities. The three largest facilities are: PeopleSupport Baguio; PeopleSupport Cebu; and PeopleSupport Davao.

Metro Manila
PeopleSupport's Metro Manila operations are headquartered at the PeopleSupport Center, located in Ayala Avenue corner Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, Metro Manila.

On July 20, 2005, PeopleSupport Philippines announced the completion of its operational migration to its newly constructed regional headquarters in the Philippines, the PeopleSupport Center. Previously only leasing office spaces along Ayala Avenue, the PeopleSupport Center is one of the first facilities built specifically for BPO services. The building is on a long-term lease and has a capacity for approximately 3,400 total production and non-production seats, increasing PeopleSupport's total seat capacity in all current centers to over 5,000 workstations for operations, management, and support staff.

The PeopleSupport Center offers a 24/7 network operations center, IT helpdesk, and workforce management. It features numerous employee benefits, such as modern break rooms on each floor, ergonomic workstations, a 24/7 medical clinic, free gym, shower rooms, and an employee lounge. It is also home to PeopleSupport University, housing a number of training rooms. Several fastfood restaurants and retail establishments can be found on the first level of the PeopleSupport Center, some of which also operate 24/7.

Baguio
PeopleSupport Baguio is located at the SM Fiesta Strip Building, Harrison Road, Baguio City.

Cebu
PeopleSupport opened its second facility in Cebu City on October 13, 2003. The new expansion covers three floors of the new Skyrise Building at the Asiatown IT Park in Apas, Cebu City, across the existing facility at the e-Office building. PeopleSupport initially occupied the first of the three floors with around 450 seats.

Davao
PeopleSupport Philippines opened a recruitment center in Davao City on March 6, 2006, tapping the southern Philippine workfore for deployment in Manila and Cebu. This temporary recruitment site was located at A-301 Plaza de Luisa, 140 Ramon Magsaysay Avenue, Davao City. It has since been replaced by a permanent office located at Luisa Avenue Square along Jacinto Extension in Davao City.

Current Executives

 * Lance Rosenzweig, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer
 * Richard Bledsoe, chief operating officer
 * Caroline Rook, chief financial officer
 * Rainerio "Bong" Borja, president of PeopleSupport Philippines, vice president of Global Strategic Programs


 * Joseph S. Duryea, vice president of sales
 * Tim Miller, chief of staff and managing director for travel and consumer
 * Jennifer Sherry, vice president for human resources

Recognition and Awards

 * Named to the 2006 Top 50 Best Managed Global Outsourcing Vendor List in The Black Book of Outsourcing
 * 2006 Philippine Employer of the Year by the Philippines Economic Zone Authority
 * Named to the 2006 'Global Services 100' List of Most Innovative Technology Services Companies by Global Services Magazine
 * Ranked #14 on "Hot Growth Companies to Watch" (2006) by BusinessWeek
 * Recognized Most Outstanding Call Center Company by the Philippine Marketing Excellence Awards