Sybase To Set Up 100% Subsidiary

Sybase Inc, the US $1 billion software company, is setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary in India with an investment of around $10 million. The company is currently awaiting FIPB clearance for the venture.

Sybase recently opened its Indian liaison office in Bangalore. The company has subsidiaries in 16 countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, UK and China. "Our investment could be around $8-10 million in the subsidiary," said Ramana Gogula, country manager, Sybase India and managing director, Sybase SAARC.

Sybase has three major product brands--Sybase, Powersoft and EnterpriseConnect, focused on the core market segments of on-line transaction processing (OLTP), data warehousing, distributed processing and electronic commerce. Its product-lines--Database, Tools and \--provide customers solutions ranging from the desktop to enterprise-wide solutions.

According to Gogula, the proposed investment will be spent on building infrastructure at its various regional offices and for establishing newer ones. Sybase has also launched a special education program called `Sybase technology education programme' (STEP). Under its aegis, selected universities will be provided with a set of key Sybase technologies applicable to all departments in the university, where the development of computer skills is necessary.

It has also tied up with Pentafour Software and Exports Ltd, Chennai, to provide 'Pentabank', a solution for the retail and commercial banking industry. Both companies also plan to work together towards providing value-added services like systems integration, consulting and on-site training for customers.

The company has also appointed Pentafour as its authorised training partner to provide training and related services throughout India.

"Our focus in India is on providing software and services to assist customers and partners in solving business problems using distributed computing technologies," he said.