According to reports, Paris-based Unilog has been in talks with Keane India to provide its existing clients with project work from Keane’s two software development centers in India. The talks follow the announcement in February this year to include Keane in Unilog’s IT services alliance scheme ESCAN (European IT&C Services Companies Allied Network), which also includes Italian and Spanish services firms Gruppo Met and Ibermatica.
The alliance brings together a total of 18,000 consultants across the French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Canadian, Austrian, German, UK, Swiss and Indian markets. The alliance partners claim that all projects spanning Europe and the US will be run jointly between Unilog, Met and Ibermatica in Europe and Keane in the US. Keane is now also planning to expand its offshore development facilities by a further 500 people in 2003. The company acquired a presence in the market last February when it snapped up US-based Signaltree Solutions for $62m, which has development centers in Delhi and Hyderabad.
Unilog’s interest in offshore development follows an increased interest in sending work to low cost regions within the French market. John Torrie, UK CEO of Unilog’s local rival Groupe Steria told ComputerWire recently: In France it has become a pre-qualification on all big outsourcing deals to have an offshore element to your work.
Source: Computerwire
