Talisma, Orient Information in marketing pact

Talisma Corporation Pvt Ltd, a CRM solutions provider, has announced a tie-up with the Mumbai-based Orient Information Technology Pvt Ltd, a $17 million IT solutions company.

Orient will market and deploy Talisma's CRM products in the Gulf market, especially the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Dan Vetras, president and chief executive officer, Talisma, said, "Orient's reach in the market will enable us to establish a stronghold and reproduce the success we have achieved in major verticals in India which include banking, insurance, financial services and consumer electronics."

Talisma is expecting revenues of nearly $2-5 million from the Gulf market within the first year of this tie-up, while Orient expects at least a 10 per cent growth in its bottomline.

Currently, Orient derives 65 per cent of its revenues from its customers in Gulf.

Ketan Sheth, chairman and managing director, Orient Information Technology, said, "Of the nearly 40 active customers in the Gulf, at least 15 are in need of a mid-market CRM solution as they cannot afford solutions from SAP and Siebel. Going by the huge spending power in this area, it is estimated that the CRM market in the UAE is expected to touch $90 million by 2008 from the current $10 million plus."

Besides starting Canada operations that is scheduled for this week, Talisma intends to increase its US headcount of sales personnel.

The company maintains that it would achieve the cash flow positive by March 2004.

Talisma was on the verge of being merged with Nasdaq-listed Pivotal in October last year by private equity firm Oak Investment Partners.

Oak, which has so far pumped $ 17.5 million in Talisma and is a majority investor, decided not to re-bid for Pivotal when Chinadotcom offered to pay an excess of nearly $10 million to take over Pivotal.