Is Mahindra Satyam Back on the Growth Path?

The recent events indicate that scam-hit Satyam is on the recovery path. And this time the Hyderabad based Company seeks the BPO route to success. The BPO arm of Mahindra-Satyam has gone on a hiring spree. Only last month the company hired some 700 new employees. And by next month some 300 more people are expected to join Satyam BPO workforce. “We have won a 1000-seater contract. To support the client we have already hired 700 employees in the last one month and will hire another 300 by the end of next month,” Mahindra Satyam BPO CEO Vijay Rangineni conformed.

So what made the company suddenly go on a hiring spree? The company is lucky enough to bag a high value contract from a domestic client. The job involves providing back office support to the client company. Although the name of the client was kept as a well guarded secret by the company for quite some time, now everybody knows that the client belongs to Telecom sector and it is no other than Tata Docomo. With the recent hiring of 1000 people, the company’s human resource will touch the mark of 2,900. And this is not all; “Mahindra Satyam BPO will be adding 300 people every year over the next five years to service this telecom client,” the official added.

The buzz is: this new contract marks Mahindra Satyam BPO’s first giant leap into the domestic market. The domestic players should better take guard, for they are expected to face a serious competitor in Satyam BPO. The CEO informed that the company would fight tooth and nail to grab a sizeable share of the domestic market. “Post the acquisition by Tech Mahindra, we now have a footprint globally and will leverage the strengths of Tech Mahindra wherever they are present,” Rangineni revealed.

Ever since Tech Mahindra acquired the controlling stake of the scam hit company, Satyam seems to be on the right track. The acquisition gave the company much needed stability. Since last April, Satyam has added 30 new clients to its hat. Among them is 5 year SAP contract with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.

One thing is for sure; the Mahindra- Satyam conglomerate is shifting their focus from the USA. Rather the emerging markets like India, Europe, Middle East and Asia (MEA) and the Asia Pacific are heavily in their radar. The business from USA is likely to drop at 45%, while the new destinations are going to make up some 55% of its total business. No wonder, since June, Mahindra Satyam has recalled 1,000 employees as part of their one-time virtual pool program designed to effectively address the idle staff costs and retain the employees that matter. “We will be calling back some more,” an inside source confirmed.

Of 30 “large deals” the company currently pursuing, some are sure to materialize during the current financial year. The company is targeting the engineering, public service and life science sectors for these big deals which can be worth of anything between $50 million and $100 million.

Either as the BPO arm or IT service providers, Satyam is all geared up for a successful second innings. And Mahindra Satyam’s success means a lot for the recession-struck, oxygen-starved IT and BPO sector of the region.

Niyamath Parveez