Esquire Systems opens offshore development centre in Chennai
To invest Rs 15 crore to add more facilities in the city
| The company's 10,000 sq ft offshore centre in Chennai has been built to seat 150 professionals. The centre is expected to be fully operational in the next two months. The launch of Chennai operations comes close on the heels of its customer expansion in the Middle East. |
| The centre is based on its ESDF (extended software development facility) model, an offshore model considered to be a virtual and cost-effective development option providing complete project control and ownership to the clients. The company is expected to direct many of its projects from the Middle East to the development centre in Chennai. |
| Addressing a press conference, Anil Nair, chief executive, Esquire, said that the company was consolidating its operations in India following its initial success in the US and the Middle East markets. |
| Noting that 2006 would be a year of growth for Esquire, he said that Islamic banking, e-governance project and the market boom in the Middle East offered huge opportunities for the company. Chennai operations, with first rate of professionals, would play a key role in supporting its growth, he added. |
| Impressed by the quality of the professionals in the city, the company is planning to invest Rs 15 crore to add another 20,000 sqt facility during the next quarter. It is also planning to add another 15,000 sq ft by the end of the year. |
| The company, which reported a revenue of $7 million (about Rs 31 crore) last year, will be funding the expansion through internal accruals. |
| The company is looking to add 300 people during the next quarter and is also hoping to take the total staff strength to 1,000 from the present 500-plus by the end of the year. Other than its operations and offices in Dubai, it has offices in Chennai and Bangalore. Of the 500 plus professionals, about 110 are in Dubai. |
| While the number in Dubai would be ramped up to 160-170 people by the year end, the rest would be hired from India. |
| Founded as system integrators in Dubai in 1999, Esquire Systems has been developing applications for some large multinational banks in J2EE and websphere using the IBM component architecture. |