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India's Satyam acquires BI consulting firm in S'pore

The software services company expands its business operations and establishes a center of excellence in Singapore to cater to global customers.
Written by Vivian Yeo, Contributor
SINGAPORE--Satyam Computer Services, one of India's leading software companies, has acquired a Singapore-based business intelligence (BI) consulting firm for S$9.2 million (US$5.4 million).

The acquisition of Singapore's Knowledge Dynamics, which has several customers in the finance and telecommunications industries, is Satyam's first in the Asia-Pacific region. In April, the Indian company acquired Citisoft, a London-based firm that provides business consulting services to financial institutions.

Shailesh Shah, Satyam's director and senior vice president of corporate strategy, said at a media briefing here today, that the acquisition would help position the company as a player in the niche area of BI consulting. It could also significantly improve Satyam's presence in the region, particularly in Singapore which is its headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region, Middle East, Africa and India.

Shailesh noted that the company will establish a center of excellence in Singapore to "develop research and expertise capability" in BI-specific intellectual property, which Satyam owns from the development of its Chasis and Knowledge Dynamics' iDecisions software tools. He added that the center, which will begin operations in a couple of months, will also focus on business process outsourcing.

Satyam, the fourth largest software company in India, is also looking to hire. Shailesh estimated that the joint headcount for BI from the merged companies will double to 200 in Singapore within the next 12 months.

He noted that the business consulting arm currently contributes about 10 to 11 percent of the company's overall revenue. He declined to comment how much Satyam is targeting to grow in this market segment, adding that it is still too early to give an accurate estimate.

Shailesh said that Satyam has plans for greater organic growth globally, and is targeting one more acquisition in the Asia-Pacific region. The company is currently in talks with several potential companies in the region, he added.

"Both the acquisition of Citisoft last quarter and Knowledge Dynamics this quarter clearly positions us in two specific areas--consulting in the management industry and business intelligence consulting, which cuts across industries," said Shah. "We're also looking at acquisitions which will help better position the company in non-English speaking countries."

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