The Hindu Business Line : 3i Infotech plans thrust on consulting, managed services

"We are engaged with three States guiding them to chart eGovernance strategies as a consultant and would possibly help them build State wide area networks."

Hyderabad , Aug. 28

Consolidating its operations with three recent acquisitions, 3i Infotech Ltd, a technology solutions provider, is planning special thrust on consultancy and managed services across verticals it currently operates in, with focus on eGovernment projects.

The company has had a remarkable acquisitions-lead growth and to date has acquired about 14 companies, including three of them last year, which include SDG Software, a player in anti-money laundering space, Data Cons, a BPO player and Delta Technologies.

While the company has managed to successfully integrate them, the effort is directed to take a wider range of products to the market, including offer of business process outsourcing services, particularly to the domestic market.

Recruitment on

The Chief Operating Officer, 3i Infotech, South Asia region, Mr Anirudh P., told Business Line that the company, which now employs some 3,600 people, has begun recruiting people for its managed services business, that could encompass areas of banking, financial services, insurance and eGovernment.

Mr Anirudh, who joined the company last quarter, said that the company has aligned its business across verticals and horizontals that help the company better address the business needs of enterprises.

As enterprises themselves are passing through a transition, there is increasing preference for single vendor.

As a company that has wide range of products and services to offer, managed services was a logical extension.

The thinking was that if we could manage for one of the largest banking and financial services player why not for others, he explained.

A lesser-known fact about 3i Infotech is its focus on eGovernance vertical, both as a consultant and a managed services provider.

"We are engaged with three States guiding them to chart eGovernance strategies as a consultant and would possibly help them build State Wide Area Networks," Mr Anirudh said.

Complex projects

Citing the five-year BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) project which 3i now handles, Mr Anirudh said that the Tax Information Network Information System is one of the complex eGovernance projects that the company is managing. This project, which has a data centre in Thane, and a Disaster recovery centre at Chennai, helps the Government track inter State value added tax issues.

The Union Central Government has announced a move to invest about Rs 22,000 crore for various eGovernance projects over the next five years. This is an extremely fragmented area, where many vendors operate. As governments look to vendor consolidation, 3i is keen to tap the growing market with consultancy and managed services offerings. We are already engaged with governments of Delhi, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, he explained.