The HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) academy in the US has developed the HIPAA certification program for BPO employees in the health care industry. Certifications include
Certified HIPAA Administrator (CHA)
Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP) and
Certified HIPAA Security Specialist (CHSS).
Link: http://www.hipaacertification.net/

The COPC-2000 VMO Standard provides Vendor Management Organizations (VMO) a framework for effectively managing their third party Customer Service Providers for high performance operations. The VMO Certification Process enables outsourcers to assess the performance of VMOs and third party Customer Service Providers (CSPs) globally, based on a single standard of performance.
Link: http://www.copc.com/standards.aspx

NASSCOM pilot launched the NASSCOM Assessment of Competence (NAC) program for the potential employees in the BPO industry in late 2005. 36 ITES-BPO companies and nearly 15,000 graduates participated in the pilot. The NAC will ensure a steady supply of quality ITES-BPO professionals to meet the present and future requirements of the industry. The national roll-out of the NAC report is expected in November 2006.
Link: http://www.nasscom.org/Nasscom/templates/NormalPage.aspx?id=28800

The IS0-27001 is the highest certification standard available from the International Standards Organization (ISO). The ISO-27001 is awarded for effective e-security and physical security measures. By going in for this certification, an organization can receive an independent assessment of their Information Security Management System (ISMS). At present, very few Indian IT and BPO firms are ISO-27001 compliant. Some of the certified ones are Satyam Computers, Keane India, Accenture, Cranes Software, Aztecsoft, Microland and PSI Data Systems.
Link: http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm

Given the media attack on the reliability of the BPO industry in India, the BPO companies are taking strong security measures to prevent any misuse of the details of the customers and ensure that all the employees adhere to the rules. Most BPO companies have certifications such as BS 7799 and SAS 70 and undergo third party audits at regular intervals. BS 7799 (British Standards 7799) is set by the British Standards Institute (BSI) and is the most widely recognized security standard in the world