iGate plans to double its Japan team

iGate Global Solutions, a mid-tier integrated software services and BPO firm, has announced that it is aggressively targetting the huge Japanese IT services market. The company has plans to hire over 100 IT professionals in Japan over the next 6-12 months, thus doubling its headcount there.

Commenting on plans for the Japanese market, Srinjay Sengupta, chief sales officer, iGate Global Solutions said: "Language communication and comfort factors are important ingredients to be successful in Japan. We have built and refined a local organisation where all documentation and communication with customers is in Japanese. While iGate has an Indian parentage, in Japan it is 'more like a Japanese software company with a global delivery model'.

With nearly 70 per cent of its employees in Japan being bi-lingual, iGate's customers in Japan have got the benefit of dealing with a local technology and operations company, iGate noted in a statement.

On the outlook for the Japanese market, Phaneesh Murthy, CEO, iGate said, "With our integrated technology and operations (iTOPS) model, we have ensured a customer doesn't have to worry about outsourcing bits and pieces. We believe, with our global delivery model, strong localised operations and local business domain, we are well positioned to further strengthen our presence in Japan."

According to iGate, it has registered some significant wins recently in Japan based on its iTOPS vision, achieving a double digit growth in that market. New wins include a global Japanese conglomerate, a leading Japanese automotive OEM manufacturer and an insurance company.

iGate presently has a global employee strength of over 4,000 people. In India, it has offshore operations in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Noida.

The Phase II expansion at its 14 acre integrated 'technology & operations' campus in Bangalore has taken its total offshore infrastructure to over 5.5 lakh sq. ft. The company plans to commence work shortly on Phase III of its campus at Whitefield (Bangalore) at an investment of Rs 25 crore.

It is expected that the 1,000 people facility will become operational by Q1FY07.