Satyam flags big plans for Australian IT industry

Stan Beer
Friday, 28 October 2005 11:00

IT Industry - Strategy

Indian outsourcer Satyam is in talks with top government officials and industry delegates from Australia to discuss the establishment of an entry level talent pool in Australia to fuel the local IT industry.

Senator Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Shaun Anthony, advisor to the minister and a group of high-profile Australian delegates met the founder & chairman of Satyam Mr Ramalinga Raju in the Satyam Development Center in Bangalore. Mr Raju shared Satyam’s experience in successful implementations of the company's shared services model and proposed an initiation of the same in the Government sector in Australia.

Speaking on her visit to Satyam Development Centre, Senator Coonan said, “Satyam has made significant investments in Australia and has also created employment opportunities for the large pool of IT talent in our country. Our delegation is glad to have met the leaders of the company and we look forward to further opportunities in the future.”

Speaking on the developments in Australia, Mr Raju, said, “Australia has given us immense opportunity to work with the leaders across diverse industry segments who use technology as an enabler for their business. We have also been fortunate to receive consistent support from the government, to expand our operation in the country. We are now ready to take on greater challenges and responsibilities in the region.”

The delegation included familiar names from Australian IT industry bodies such as Rob Durie, CEO, Australian Information Industry Association, Edward Mandla, president of the Australian Computer Society and Neville Roach, president, Australia India Business Council. Along with Mr Raju, Satyam was represented by Shailesh Shah, sr. vice president, corporate strategy, and T.R Anand, director and sr. vice president, business unit, TIMES.

Satyam has a strong customer base in Australia comprising of Telecommunication, Retail, Finance, Insurance, and Automobile industries and has presence in all the major cities of the country- Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and Canberra. It has also established its largest Global Development Centre, outside India, in Melbourne and has 2 centres of excellence for Datawarehousing and Policy Administration. This year the company has initiated a strategic tie-up with the Victorian University and University of Melbourne to induct fresh graduates into Satyam’s entry-level training program.