Billing specialist Convergys is opening an Australia and New Zealand office in Melbourne that will also function as a support centre for its activities in the Asia Pacific pay TV sector. Existing local clients include Telstra (on behalf of Foxtel) and New Zealand's Sky TV. Convergys' experience in billing for digital TV and associated interactive services will be relevant to the planned digitisation of the Foxtel network, said country manger Henrik Thomsen, but the timing of the announcement reflected a commitment to the company's existing customers and to the market in general.
Melbourne will be one of a few locations where the company engages in software development including customisation for specific user requirements, said Thomsen: -We have a really good centre of expertise."
The company chose Melbourne as the home of its Australian and New Zealand operations because of the good infrastructure, skilled workforce, reasonable living costs and proximity to existing customers, he explained.
While the company also operates in the call centre and outsourced human resources markets in other territories, for the near term the local branch will remain focussed on telecommunications-related billing, Thomsen said. Convergys also handles billing for utilities and major municipalities (eg, rates and parking fine collections), and may in time diversify locally into these markets.
