The Hindu Business Line : `Virtual delivery teams not far behind'

What started as an internal efficiency exercise within organisations could soon become a major delivery approach for an IT services company and that could redefine overall efficiencies to its clients spread across the globe as well.

These are early days but research studies point that by 2006, virtual delivery teams would distinguish one company from another.

The Senior Vice-President and Head of Virtual Delivery Practice, Satyam Computer Services, Mr Zain Hussain, told Business Line, "by the end of this fiscal, the company's virtual delivery team would have grown to about 800 people handling the entire gamut of services across various operations, countries, working seamlessly as if it was a single barrierless unit."

"Today, over 90 per cent of Satyam's associates numbering over 16,000, access the company's Virtual Delivery Services, currently offered through an enterprise service portal. It is actually possible to quantify its benefits and efficiencies have improved by about 40 to 65 per cent. This has enabled the management to align the organisation's process to meet "What the Business demands," its punchline.

"Areas such as human resources, learning, corporate services, finance and purchase and a whole gamut of other applications have been integrated to the virtual delivery process. This is supported by a call centre for management and support," Mr Hussain explained.

"Just look at this possibility. A team leader is looking at about 100 resources cutting across multiple teams spread across 30 centres across the globe. He can just requisition their services and instantaneously get hooked to the project. These teams, thus created, would work across locations, as if they were part of the same team.

The beauty of the project is that the client can also look at what they are doing thereby monitoring the progress online as and when it actually happens. This is the power of the virtual delivery process we have created, Mr Hussain explained.