EDS India plans for more broad-based portfolio

Electronic Data Systems (EDS) India is expanding its delivery capabilities across the industry and service segments by adding on the retail industry vertical to its already existing portfolio of telecom, banking, financial services, and insurance and manufacturing.

EDS India plans for a more broad-based portfolio of services out of its applications services business in India during the next six months. It is adding on the retail vertical as there is a match with the skill-set availability in the country for the same in addition to growth in the demand for retail services globally.

Globally, EDS operates across 11 verticals which include manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries. EDS India is a subsidiary of US-based EDS, a leading technology services company that clocked $20.7 billion revenues in 2004.

"We want to develop deep pools of expertise in India , especially in the application (services) area as we define skill-sets for specific sites, (Microsoft) .Net and SAP is targeted for continuous growth in India," said Iain Blacklaw, vice-president (service delivery "� Asia Pacific), EDS.

Investments are to be made in additional technology capabilities, especially in these two areas.

In addition, EDS India is to double its headcount of 2,000 personnel in the next 12 months. This increase will be mainly at its Pune and Chennai facilities. Its other delivery centres in India include Gurgaon and Mumbai.

The off-shoring of work to India is part of its global best-shoring strategy to provide customers with an optimal mix of on-shore, near-shore and off-shore options. All services that EDS provides from India are for its global customers outside of the country.

EDS currently has 18 best-shoring locations across the world. In India, EDS offers BPO, application maintenance and IT outsourcing services.