Mahindra Satyam bags Saab deal

HYDERABAD: Mahindra Satyam on Tuesday said that it won an IT outsourcing contract from Swedish defence and aerospace firm, Saab, to develop its operations for the global defence and security market in India in a deal valued at around $300 million.

The contract, which spread over a period of five years encompasses engineering services and technology maintenance, will enable both the companies jointly address the Battlefield Management System (BMS) for the Indian Army, according to a release.

Mahindra Satyam said that it has already initiated the setting up of a centre of excellence for network centric warfare (CoE ��� NCW) which will offer comprehensive skills and a repository of tools, systems, middleware, integration platforms and system showcases in the field of NCW.

The company through the CoE hopes to tap the high potential market for nationwide security, for which the Indian government has large investment plans. ���This relationship will jumpstart our foray in mission critical areas of defense. Our commitment in the domestic market will be reaffirmed by this collaboration and also set the stage to enter uncharted territories in the global arena,��� said C P Gurnani, CEO, Mahindra Satyam.

The centre, which will be accessible to both the partners, is for mission critical applications and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence solutions for global opportunities. The capabilities of the centre will also span areas of homeland security to provide end to end security solutions.

���We view this relationship with Mahindra Satyam as a strategic meeting of two highly skilled teams believing in technical and engineering excellence,��� said ��ke Svensson, President and CEO for Saab.
Mahindra Satyam, which counts Citigroup, GE, GlaxoSmithKline, Cisco Systems Inc and Nissan among its top five clients, has over 430 clients now. Over the last four months, the company, erstwhile Satyam Computers gained over 32 new customers including some large clients.

Satyam was acquired by Pune based IT services firm Tech Mahindra in April, after the firm���s defamed founder B Ramalinga Raju confessed to perpetrating India���s biggest corporate fraud. Customer confidence took a knock after Raju���s confession.

The company is attempting to regain contracts and enter into new strategic alliances to turn-around, even as its accounts are in the process of being re-stated.