Tech Mahindra Asia

ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

Telecom on lockdown

Part of India's US$6.7 billion Mahindra Group, a massive and multifarious conglomerate, Tech Mahindra's story began in 1986 when British Telecom (now known as BT Group) and Mahindra established a joint venture called Mahindra-British Telecom (MBT). Undergoing a name change and an IPO in 2006, Tech Mahindra Limited is now an international leader in IT services and solutions for the global telecommunications industry. Headquartered in Pune and with locations all over India, the firm also has offices throughout Asia Pacific and Europe, as well as outposts in the U.S., Canada, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Tech Mahindra continues as a joint venture between Mahindra and BT, and is one of three Mahindra Group companies operating in the IT sector; its siblings include SAP-allied supply chain consulting firm Bristlecone and IT solutions firm Mahindra Logisoft. Employing over 24,900 people in 24 offices worldwide, the firm is one of the largest IT solutions companies in India, and the largest focused on the telecommunications industry. BT remains a key client, inking a US$700 million tech outsourcing deal with the firm in July 2008—bringing BT's total orders to over US$2 billion in total. The British giant is also a major shareholder in Tech Mahindra, controlling 31 percent of the company's stock. Other big telecom clients include AT&T, Alcatel and Vodafone.

Following Tech Mahindra's April 2009 acquisition of a controlling stake in fallen-from-grace Satyam Computer Services (which was subsequently rebranded in June 2009 as Mahindra Satyam), the firm became even more of a titan in tech consulting and outsourcing, adding another 40,000 staff under its umbrella.

Business breakdown

Tech Mahindra's three primary business lines are IT services, research and development (R&D) services, and business process outsourcing (BPO). IT services is subdivided into offerings including solution integration services, application development and management, consulting, managed services and infrastructure management services. Within consulting, the firm aims to provide businesses with effective implementation of software solutions through strategy planning, assessment, procurement, re-engineering solutions, audits and more.

The R&D division, meanwhile, works primarily with telecom equipment manufacturers, providing über-high-tech services like product life cycle management, element management systems (EMS) and network management systems (NMS), embedded platforms, optical and wireless networks, and more. Finally, the firm's BPO segment employs 3,800 associates and is supported by two facilities in Pune and Mumbai, which offer outsourced tech support, network planning and order management.