Capgemini looks to woo Indian firms

After providing software solutions to European and American banks, governments and other financial institutions through its Indian operations, Paris-headquartered Capgemini is eying India to fuel its next phase of growth.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Capgemini CEO Paul Hermelin said: “We view India not only as a low-cost destination for working on our global clients but we are eying the second-fastest growing economy to fuel our future growth.” The $12 billion group with 80,000 employees globally has set up four centres in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi that will staff around 500 people who will work on providing solutions to the Indian government, banks, and retail and telecom companies.

“We are in talks with the Indian railways to manage their entire IT systems,” Hermelin said. The retail development centre will be based out of Kolkata, government centre will be handled out of Delhi and telecom from Bangalore. While India still does not contribute significantly to Capgemini’s growth, Hermelin said there were a lot of Indian firms competing on a global scale that were looking for the latest technologies to help them fight that battle.

Competition from global giants such as H-P, IBM and Accenture, which already have extensive operations in the country, is one of the reasons for Capgemini to increase its focus in India. IBM has tied up a string of deals such as its outsourcing contract with Bharti. H-P and Accenture have bagged similar outsourcing deals in India.

“Large Indian retailers have hit the ground running. Most are executing aggressive growth plans and could benefit from consulting,” said Hemant Kalbag, principal, consumer industries and retail practice, India, AT Kearney.

(The writer was a guest of Capgemini.