Ness Tech in expansion mode in India

Ness Technologies, which provides IT services to global clients, plans to expand its Indian operations in the coming months.

The Israel-headquartered company intends to double its staff strength from the existing 2,700 in the next 18 months.

The company focuses on outsourced product development and financial services. The $475 million company, which entered India in 2003, has presence in five locations -- Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai -- across the country.

According to Ness Technologies CFO Ofer Segev, the growth from Indian operations will be entirely organic. The company is banking on the Indian operations to enhance its revenues.

"The contribution of the Indian operations towards our global revenues is significant. It is one of the fastest growing centres for the company. We expect the region to help continue the growth momentum," he added.

Ness Technologies India serves clients in North American and European regions providing outsourcing and offshore services across business verticals spanning Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and high-tech, financial services, BFSI, life sciences, telecom and utilities.

The Nasdaq listed company registered revenue of $110 million in 2006 from its Indian operations, recording a growth of 28 per cent.

"We expect the growth rate to remain more or less the same in the coming months," Segev stated.

Ness Technologies India MD Bharath Kalyanram pointed out that the company would expand rapidly into the life sciences vertical. "We are also looking at providing managed healthcare services for various clients," he said.