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Allstate invests over $100 million in India annually [Strategy] [Times of India](Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) BANGALORE: Allstate Solutions (ASPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Allstate Corporation, provides software development and business process outsourcing services to its US parent company. Allstate Corporation is US's largest publicly held personal lines insurer serving approximately 16 million households through its Allstate, Encompass, Esurance and Answer Financial brand names. Suren Gupta, executive VP of Allstate Technology & Operations, talks about how its Bangalore centre complements the company's global operations cutting across business lines. Excerpts: How is the India centre helping you explore cross-business synergies? We've got people in India associated with every line of business that we have in the US and thereby complementing our global operations with functional and technical knowledge. We provide a host of services like raising claims, claims accounting, customer service, sales and marketing support through a combination of in-house and third-party IT vendors. In the US, you can locate an Allstate agent within a mile and half radius and today we serve close to serves 17 million customers. Allstate engages around 5,000 people from India leveraging on its network of over 16 IT vendors including Infosys, Wipro, Genpact, and Syntel. We have rebalanced our portfolio such that core competencies are managed in-house so that we can control time to market and speed of execution. Is the India story attractive beyond cost arbitrage? In the last ten years, our association with Indian IT companies was driven by attractive price points and value that firms delivered. It made good business sense and that continues to be the case even today. For me, cost arbitrage is marginal. Cost arbitrage has to come with added value and how we differentiate ourselves in a competitive market. India has a unique value propositions that offers more than just price in that equation. It has a repertoire of skill sets and sizable engineering talent pool to hire from. Some skill sets that are difficult to find in the US are easier to find in India. That drove the decision to be here. About 2 lakh engineering graduates come out of colleges every year and the next country coming to India has a graduate engineering pool that's a third of that. It's an enormous engine for creating tech talent. I want to ensure we take full advantage of that. How much have you invested in India so far? We have invested in excess of $100 million every year over the last ten years. The India centre offers services across three functions: technology, back office and customer service. Globally, we have $100 billion in investment portfolio and collect premiums to the tune of $29 billion every year that creates an investment fund in excess of $100 billion. About 65% of our revenues come from vehicle insurance followed by home insurance. We are exploring the option of setting up a second facility in the country in Pune later this year. How are you collaborating with the Indian IT companies in newer areas like cloud and analytics? There are areas where we could come together from an innovation standpoint and where they could bring in some skin in the game by partnering with us. We are currently in the process of figuring that out. Allstate will invest in newer technologies like big data and business intelligence. We have started talking to decision scientists on how we can help our customers decide on a product using social media and analytics. (c) 2013 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited |