Ness Technologies of Tel Aviv plans to increase its
software development staff and cut engineering costs through
acquisitions in India and Eastern Europe.
The IT services company, which made its initial public offering
(IPO) in October, also plans to acquire services companies in the
US addressing vertical markets such as life sciences, independent
software vendors (ISVs) and defence, according to Raviv Zoller,
president and chief executive officer of Ness.
The US acquisitions will help the company increase its footprint
there, said Zoller. However, Ness is not close to finalising any of
the planned acquisitions, he said.
The US accounted for about 28% of the company's revenue, and
Israel for 56%, in the third quarter of this year.
Ness set up operations in India about 18 months ago.
Its "Managed Labs" unit in Bangalore offers product development,
maintenance, testing and release automation services to mid-sized
ISVs. Another centre in Mumbai develops software for the company's
retail and financial services customers.
The company employs about 1,350 staff in India, and needs to
double that over the next year, Zoller said.
"We are currently seeing very strong demand from our clients,
and we are in a situation where we are trying to meet that demand
in an effective way," he said. "One of the ways to grow our head
count in India would be through an acquisition."
The company employs about 2,400 in Israel.
"Within the next year or two, India will have a higher head
count than Israel, for reasons of economics and the ability to
scale in India," said Zoller. The cost of software engineers in
Israel is three times that in India, he said.
Ness also has development centres in the Czech Republic and
Slovakia in Eastern Europe, with a total staff of 300, as some
European clients prefer Eastern Europe as a development
location.
"There is high quality talent available in Eastern Europe,
though not in the same numbers as in India," Zoller added.
John Ribeiro writes for IDG News Service