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Putting central India on IT map: The Hindu
Bangalore, July 08; `Size does matter` may be a `mantra` that appeals to both Godzilla and gargantuan Information Technology (IT) players.
Bangalore, July 08; "Size does matter" may be a "mantra" that appeals to both Godzilla and gargantuan Information Technology (IT) players.
But once in a while, the location of one's stomping ground also matters.
CSC-India should know. Almost single-handedly the fully-owned subsidiary of the El Segundo, California (U.S.)-based and global number 3, software services and consultation company Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) has put Central India, specifically Madhya Pradesh, on the IT Enabled Services (ITES) map of the country. When the Indian operation was launched in September 1996, the parent company released just $ 1 million and said in effect: "Get on with it.'' Outsourced services were still a novel concept then — but metros such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi or Chennai, were already `no-go' because of very high real estate prices. That was when the Madhya Pradesh Government was offering attractive subsidies to persuade major enterprises to set up shop there. CSC-India's Jaipur-born CEO, Arun Maheshwari, with parental connections in Madhya Pradesh, decided to pay back what he owed to his cultural roots, and set up the company's first unit in Indore in 1997, offering vertical services in the financial, healthcare and banking sectors.
``Sometimes it pays to be a big fish in a small pond,'' says Dr. Maheshwari. "We received every possible help from the State Government. We were allotted direct power connection from the grid to keep our `24 by 7' operations going.'' The company paid back the largesse with interest. CSC-India became the magnet that attracted the best students from institutes such as Indore's Devi Ahilyabai University, the Regional Engineering Colleges of Bhopal and Kota, the Harcourt Butler Technical Institute in Lucknow, IIT-Roorkee — and provided employment, not too far from their homes, to candidates from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. It also launched a number of social welfare drives to equip neighbourhood rural schools and colleges with personal computers.
Even as CSC-India expanded into its second and third centres in Noida, near the national capital, the Indore operation — 400 strong — made it the biggest IT outfit between Delhi and Mumbai. It also put the stamp of quality on the human resources of Central India. In May, the Indore Centre attained the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model Level 5 (SEI CMM Level 5), certifying that the software engineers in India's often neglected heartland were among the world's best. On the telephone today from Delhi, Dr. Maheshwari shared news of another milestone: CSC-India had just become 1,000 strong. And with demand for outsourced services, particularly from the U.S., showing no let-up, he expected this number to double within a year. By month end, the company would also finalise plans to locate its newest unit in a southern capital.
They will celebrate tonight in Indore — even as they continue non-stop, bringing Indian skills to bear on the challenges of thousands of unseen clients abroad.
CSC-India should know. Almost single-handedly the fully-owned subsidiary of the El Segundo, California (U.S.)-based and global number 3, software services and consultation company Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) has put Central India, specifically Madhya Pradesh, on the IT Enabled Services (ITES) map of the country. When the Indian operation was launched in September 1996, the parent company released just $ 1 million and said in effect: "Get on with it.'' Outsourced services were still a novel concept then — but metros such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi or Chennai, were already `no-go' because of very high real estate prices. That was when the Madhya Pradesh Government was offering attractive subsidies to persuade major enterprises to set up shop there. CSC-India's Jaipur-born CEO, Arun Maheshwari, with parental connections in Madhya Pradesh, decided to pay back what he owed to his cultural roots, and set up the company's first unit in Indore in 1997, offering vertical services in the financial, healthcare and banking sectors.
``Sometimes it pays to be a big fish in a small pond,'' says Dr. Maheshwari. "We received every possible help from the State Government. We were allotted direct power connection from the grid to keep our `24 by 7' operations going.'' The company paid back the largesse with interest. CSC-India became the magnet that attracted the best students from institutes such as Indore's Devi Ahilyabai University, the Regional Engineering Colleges of Bhopal and Kota, the Harcourt Butler Technical Institute in Lucknow, IIT-Roorkee — and provided employment, not too far from their homes, to candidates from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. It also launched a number of social welfare drives to equip neighbourhood rural schools and colleges with personal computers.
Even as CSC-India expanded into its second and third centres in Noida, near the national capital, the Indore operation — 400 strong — made it the biggest IT outfit between Delhi and Mumbai. It also put the stamp of quality on the human resources of Central India. In May, the Indore Centre attained the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model Level 5 (SEI CMM Level 5), certifying that the software engineers in India's often neglected heartland were among the world's best. On the telephone today from Delhi, Dr. Maheshwari shared news of another milestone: CSC-India had just become 1,000 strong. And with demand for outsourced services, particularly from the U.S., showing no let-up, he expected this number to double within a year. By month end, the company would also finalise plans to locate its newest unit in a southern capital.
They will celebrate tonight in Indore — even as they continue non-stop, bringing Indian skills to bear on the challenges of thousands of unseen clients abroad.