Capgemini hires Satyam honcho

Capgemini, the France-based information technology outsourcing and consulting major, has thrown its hat in the ring for domestic IT outsourcing and consulting business deals.

IDC, the market intelligence tracker for the sector, estimates the domestic IT services market, currently around $6 billion (Rs 28,800 crore), will touch around $13 billion (Rs 62,400 crore) by 2012. It is this growth potential that has made frontline Indian companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies look inwards for growth.

The $12 billion Capgemini, whose current revenue from India is negligible, is now ready to give the home-grown majors a run for their money by playing a bigger role in the India market with its high-end consulting and outsourcing capabilities.

To strengthen its case, it is believed to have hired Satyam Computer's Ranjan Tayal, as vice-president and head of India business. Tayal, till recently, was driving close to 4 per cent of Satyam's revenue for the past four years as the Vice President and Business Head for India and South Asia.

Capgemini was in the news earlier this year as a possible contender to acquire fraud-hit Satyam, though the company had denied it. With over 90,000 employees in 36 countries, it is spoken of in the same breath as IBM and Accenture in global IT consulting. It has over 20,000 employees in India, which it aims to double in a year, but they cater to global clients.

A Mahindra Satyam spokesperson confirmed that Tayal has quit the company. "Yes, he was holding fort for India. But the transition is already in place," he added. Atul Kanwar from Tech Mahindra has moved into Mahindra Satyam as head of business development and operations for the regional business groups (Europe, Australasia, Middle East, Africa and India).

Satyam had seen a spree of top-level exits in the recent past, including it's engineering services head, T S K Murthy, automotive and manufacturing practices head, Subu Subramanian and Deepak Nangia, its head in Australia.