New Delhi, April 7: HCL Technologies today bagged a $ 160-million contract from British Telecom (BT) for its business process outsourcing (BPO). The company plans to invest $ 16.5 million in its BPO operations over the next six months. The services will be delivered through its ‘next generation contact centre’ to be set up exclusively for BT at Noida near Delhi. However, BT managers will monitor the centre.

The company feels that the dedicated links into BT’s co-location in the UK will ensure smooth transition, seamless execution of processes and enhanced quality of both telemarketing, billing and conferencing work.

The award of the contract is the latest progression of the close relationship between HCL and BT. In December 2001, a 90:10 joint venture was formed through HCL’s acquisition of BT’s 90 per cent stake in Apollo Contact Centre, Belfast.

“The acquisition not only provided HCL with a unique European bridgehead and the capability to provide European multilingual services, but also the experience of BT processes and environment available at Apollo. It was valuable in establishing comfort and credibility across various BT operations and functions,” HCL chairman Shiv Nadar said.

Sujit Bakshi, CEO of both India and Northern Ireland BPO units of HCL Tech said, “Currently, ours is the only company in the country that offers a three-way communications resilience between India, UK and the US through our centres located in the three countries. This, coupled with our range of service offering, proven calibre and emphasis on investments to develop international standards and facilities, has won us this prestigious order from BT.”