Unisys plans rapid ramp up

Unisys Global Services - India, the captive centre of the global IT services and solutions company, has faced some hiccups ever since its launch was announced in April 2004.

But, with the move to new premises just two weeks ago, Mukul Agrawal, managing director of the organisation says everything is on track and that they will be 1,000 strong by the end of 2005.

During its launch, Unisys India had announced that they planned to be 2,000 strong in two year's time. Agrawal said that they should grow to 4,000 strong in four years time, stating that the expansion need not necessarily take place in Bangalore.

The Bangalore centre will do both software development and business process outsourcing work for its parent. Though internal requirements will make up 10 per cent of the work done here, the majority will be for Unisys' clients.

"Software development will make up around 40 per cent of the work and call centre will account for 30 per cent. Our infrastructure management services will occupy around 10 per cent and work for insurance companies and payment processing will involve the rest," said Agrawal.

He said that BPO work for the healthcare vertical will begin in late 2005.

The software portion, across the categories of system software and application architecture, will cover most verticals the company operates in, including financial services, transportation and telecom. Agrawal expects the Bangalore centre to start filing patents in the next two years.

Speaking about the reasons for the centre, Agrawal said, "Though there will be some migration of existing work, the centre is mostly for enticing new businesses. Most customers today want us to have an offshore component that is preferably captive. Therefore, it is not only a profit centre but one that helps us be in the game and ensure more new business."

The centre also gives savings of 50 per cent when compared to US costs. Though Unisys will continue to have outsourcing partners in India, Agrawal did say that there will be fewer new projects handed to them.

Unisys saw a revenue dip from $5.9 billion in fiscal 2003 to $5.8 billion in 2004. Their profitability took a bigger dip from $258 million in 2003 to $38 million for 2004.

The company had promised an investment of $180 million in India spread across five years during the launch of the global services centre.

Around $10 million in FDI has already been brought in for the centre by the company, which has sales offices in both Mumbai and Delhi.