Date:27/06/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/06/27/stories/2005062700571300.htm

Back SunGuard to ramp up Pune operations

Our Bureau

Pune , June 26

SUNGUARD Offshore Services (SOS), India, a subsidiary of the $3.5 billion SunGuard Data Systems, is ramping up its operations at Pune with plans being firmed up to increase headcount from 300 to 800 in the next couple of years. The company, has invested an estimated $5 million in adding infrastructure and equipment over this period, Mr Harsh Barve Chief Executive Officer, said here.

The company, which offers a range of services to clients worldwide, including new product development, prototyping, production support, enhancements/maintenance, data migration support and interface development among other things, is now poised for rapid growth according to Mr Barve who said that revenues are expected to go up from $4 million at the end of fiscal 2004-05 to $15 million in the year ending March 2007.

The company, which currently implements a variety of services for global clients through a network of SunGuard's other subsidiaries (SunGuard has acquired 100 companies across the world in the last 20 years), is also now preparing to market its services independent of this network. "Revenues from external clients will account for 40 per cent of the total revenue in the next two years," Mr Barve said.

SOS, meanwhile, is in the process of preparing for increased work, with a foray into the higher education software segment powered by the Bangalore-based STC, recently acquired by SunGuard. "This company now becomes part of SOS and brings with it domain knowledge of this segment," Mr Barve pointed out, adding that STC's 100-strong work force will be focussing on work related to development of software in higher education.

With SunGuard worldwide being acquired recently by a consortium of financial institutions (top management will remain the same), SOS expects the tempo of work and expansion to further speeded up, according to Mr Barve who said the new owners are in favour of outsourcing.

The company, meanwhile, has opened a corporate call centre, which will offer support to the group's corporate clients worldwide. It already has an established production support team in place.

The company currently has a 35,000 sq.ft. office space and is in the process of acquiring an additional 50,000 sq.ft. for the proposed expansion.

With annual growth rates over 100 in the last two years the company has 16 clients across the UK, US and Europe and has clients and projects in the pipeline, some of them in the Far East and Israel, Mr Barve said.