ICT Group acquires US data firm to expand BPO services

US-based ICT Group, a leading global provider of integrated customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, has acquired data capture company DPS Data Group, LLC, of Wilmington, Delaware to help further expand its business process outsourcing (BPO) services capabilities.

The company is planning to use resources at its Philippine and other global contact center operations to support its BPO business. Currently, ICT is supporting 14 separate sales and service programs for eight different clients from its existing facilities in Makati City and Ortigas.

ICT is a leading global provider of customer relationship management (CRM) and business services outsourcing solutions. The company has more than 11,000 customer sales, service and market research representatives at more than 40 contact centers in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, Mexico, the Caribbean and the Philippines. It has more than 8,400 agent workstations interconnected to a centralized, common IT platform. Its annual revenue was $298 million in 2003.

DPS Data Group provides BPO support services through relationships with strategic partners in Barbados, Mexico and India. These services include back-office data capture, document imaging, mail processing and time-sensitive transaction printing services for the financial services and healthcare industries.

Through this acquisition, ICT officials said they expect to be better positioned to offer expanded BPO services for both existing and prospective clients within its core vertical industry segments and new niche-oriented markets as well.

Utilizing the company’s global network of over 40 outsourced contact centers, combined with the back-office business support services available through DPS Data Group’s offshore strategic partners, ICT said it can now provide applications and claims processing, document scanning/imaging and data capture services for financial institutions, including credit card issuers, mortgage service providers, brokerage firms and credit bureaus, as well as healthcare insurance organizations and pharmaceutical companies.

According to ICT chairman and CEO John Brennan, their outsourced contact center sales and service expertise, combined with DPS Data Group’s expanded business process outsourcing (BPO) capabilities, will allow the group to better leverage existing client relationships, increase capacity utilization, particularly in offshore facilities, and amortize infrastructure investments across a broader base of business, while at the same time helping to gain entry into this rapidly growing market.