Consultancy ZS Associates ramps up Bengaluru data-sciences team

At a time when Indian firms are augmenting their advanced data science teams by either setting up or acquiring expertise in the US, the UK, Israel, Ireland and China, global consulting firm ZS Associates has ramped up its advanced data sciences and analytics team with a new office in Bengaluru.

The Illinois-based firm was founded in 1983 by Prabhakant Sinha and Andris Zoltners, who worked as professors at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

The consulting firm’s 3,900-strong India headcount in Pune and Delhi will be further enhanced with its new 20,000 sq ft office in Bengaluru that can accommodate 200 people.

“We started in Pune in 2005, added a second location in Delhi in 2009 and are now in Bengaluru, making it our 23rd office worldwide. India is where we develop data-driven analytical solutions for clients and drive innovations out of. Our workforce here constitutes 65 per cent of our global talent and is one of the top five success stories in ZS’s history,” Sanjay Joshi, Managing Principal and Head of Asia, ZS Associates India Pvt Ltd, told BusinessLine.

Elaborating why, Joshi said, “We never thought of India as our ‘back-office.’ Our India team has always worked in tandem with our global offices. The proof point of that is, unlike employees of many other companies which have a large presence in India, who are not even on partner track, when we hire an associate from IIT-Madras or IIT-Trichy, they could go on to become a partner in the firm. No innovation in ZS happens where the India team members are not a critical part of.”

The company has been hiring 600-700, both freshers and laterals annually, over the last three years to support growth and back-up for attrition.

Asked how ZS manages to source data science experts, Shankar Viswanathan, Office Managing Principal – Bengaluru, ZS Associates India, said freshers are put through a 12-month-long Masters-like programme at ZS that combines classroom training with problem solving. It also taps all-India talent by conducting online data science hackathons.

According to Coursera, global leader in online education, India is among the top five countries with the highest number of enrolments in data science courses on its platform.

ZS has worked with over 1,200 companies in 70 countries across pharma, biotech, consumer products among other industries. The company helps clients gain market share at lower cost by creating data-driven strategies that they can implement on their sales and marketing operations to make them more competitive.