Indian IT service provider Satyam says that its delivery of
services to customers has not sufferedin the aftermath of a massive
fraud scandal.
Speaking to Computer Weekly, Aloke Palsikar, head of Satyam for
Central Europe,said there is a lot of inaccurate information about
the company being reported.
Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju
admitted last month that he had fiddled the company's books for
several years.Thecase, which is the biggest corporate fraud to hit
India, has put the company's future in doubt.
Palsikar said a large numberof speculative articlesare being
written about Satyam. Butdespite reports to the contrary, the
turnover rate of both staff and customers remains normal.
Satyam has received fiverequests for proposals from potential
customers in Central Europe alone since the fraud came to
light.These include large German and Swiss manufacturers, he
said.
"When news broke about the fraud it shocked us and we took time
to get together and ensure that our service delivery remained
normal," saidPalsikar. The board immediately wrote letters to
customers and assuredthem that services will continue.
The company is not reducing its prices to retain market share he
said,and no potential customers are attempting to use the firm's
precarious position to negotiate lower prices.
Manyof the enquiriesfrom customers, in the Central Europe
region, that came in before the fraud was revealed are still
current, he said."We have talked to these prospects and asked them
if they still want us to submit offers and all of them said
yes."
Palsikar said the firm is constantly monitoring to ensure that
their customer's service levels are not reduced.So far none have
reported a fall in service levels. "If customers see a drop in
service levels it could be a reason for them to leave."
There has been speculation that Satyam staff have been trying to
leave the firm and that morale is low. This according to Palsikar
is a concern, but he said that there is a lot of emotional capital
invested in the firm by staff, which has meant they have continued
to provide high service levels.
"In this case the entire company was plunged into it in one go.
We are 53,000 destinies all tied together," said Palsikar.