Argea to raise the bar in outsourcing performance to enhance competitiveness of US companies

Princeton, NJ (BusinessWire) October 6, 2004 -- A group of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young, Hewlett-Packard and Lucent alumni have formed a new consulting company that will help US companies become more globally competitive by using outsourcing as a strategic tool. The new venture is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey with consultants in the West and Midwest.

Argea uniquely combines traditional consulting with outsourcing education, planning, implementation and management services, including temporary personnel with specialized outsourcing skills. Research has shown that effective outsourcing often requires specialized training, and many outsourcing projects fail for lack of essential internal skills.

Bill Batiste, Founder & Chairman, led the Business Process Outsourcing practice for PwC North America in a groundbreaking BPO initiative that combined process, technology and software. He said “We are committed to helping clients make the right choices, whether it is outsourcing to a local provider across the street or setting up a captive center in Beijing.”

Batiste will work closely with Ram Iyer, Founder & CEO of Argea, who managed equipment outsourcing at Boeing, and was one of the principal executives leading strategy and marketing for Lucent’s largest account.

Donnie Foster, founding member and EVP of Consulting Services at Argea, led the North American Software Services business for Hewlett-Packard and has been active in outsourcing since 1988. He set up offshore centers in Bangalore and Chennai and managed HP’s outsourced operations in Japan, Eastern Europe, South America and China. Foster is joined by Vim Anand, EVP Business Development, a former partner and Chartered Accountant, who led Ernst & Young’s North American Shared Services practice. There, he built a strong reputation with both outsourcing clients and vendors in process improvement, cost reduction and back office operations.

Argea’s business focus is primarily Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), but includes an Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) component. The company’s industry focus includes financial services, high-tech, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and healthcare. Argea’s immediate objective is improving outsourcing effectiveness. Foster said “Our recent survey of 100 companies showed companies repeatedly make the same outsourcing mistakes. “We have the optimal blend of client-side and vendor-side outsourcing experience and can improve client outcomes.”

“Our long-term focus is on middle market companies and outsourcing strategy to improve their competitiveness.” said Iyer. “America’s future competitiveness lies in helping these companies leverage global resources like large multinational companies do. Mid-market solutions require 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

Argea
Lee Swindall, VP Marketing
Argea
5 Vaughn Drive
Princeton, NJ
609-734-9100

http://www.argea.com
info@argea.com