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L.N. Revathy

Coimbatore, July 22 Patni Computer Systems, according to its Executive Vice-President and Head (European operations), Mr Brian Stones, “is actively considering acquiring business consulting companies and SAP integration units in the product engineering space”.

This follows the acquisition of Logan-Orviss International, a telecom consulting services company, in Europe a year ago, and months after striking the $200-million deal with the UK-based The Carphone Warehouse.

“We have set aggressive goals, are assertively hiring people at the senior level and plan to consolidate and grow in the UK,” Mr Stones told Business Line over phone.

Stating that there is a positive change in the company and radical change in the management, Mr Stones, who joined Patni last June said “There is a sense of morale as we face the future and we are well-positioned to weather the change.”

He was in India to attend a review meeting of the company.

Asked if the company was focused on the UK market, he said “We have opened up a vigorous campaign in the emerging German-speaking market, because it lagged behind Europe’s English-speaking market, and it is one where the trend is moving towards off-shoring services.”

Towards making its presence felt in the German-speaking market, Patni has strengthened its alliance with German companies. “We help companies by taking SAP to the next level and educating them on SAP applications, extend IT service and support services and build software products for the German and Swiss market.”

While Patni has no active engagements in Germany at this point in time, Mr Stones said the company was dovetailing 100 per cent of its resources residing offshore.

Asked about Patni’s acquisition plans, he said “We will be able to talk about this in the next two to three months. We are not window shopping.”

He conceded to Patni getting a huge chunk of its business from the UK, where it proposed to consolidate and grow. “Helsinki in Finland is an interesting market in the product engineering space. We are looking at France and southern European countries such as Portugal, Spain and Italy. We will be shortly announcing a deal in Turkey (in the telecom space), have some interesting business developments in Palestine and Dubai.

“The India market is just waking up. We are looking at what the emerging corporates here have to offer. It has nevertheless been a market that we have traditionally been focused on.”

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