Troubled Indian IT
supplier Satyam has lost 46
customers since it was rocked by the admission of its former
chairman that he had
cooked the books to the tune of $1bn. According to reports, the
company has lost the customers to its Indian and global
rivals.
Satyam declined the opportunity to comment, but high-profile
customer losses already revealed include the
National Australia Bank (NAB), which suspended an IT project
because of uncertainty about the supplier’s future, and
US insurance firm State Farm.
Bindi Bhullar, head of marketing and alliances Europe at Indian
supplier HCL, said the number of contracts lost or gained is not as
important as their size.
"I would be very surprised if these customers were Satyam’s
biggest customers," he said.
Bhullar played down the scale of the opportunity for rival firms
to pick up Satyam’s lost business.
"There will be certain incremental business to be gained, but by
the time you spread it among all the suppliers, no single company
will make huge gains," he said.
Satyam is in the process of
being sold as its new board, which was appointed by the Indian
government, seeks a rescue after the accounting fraud left it short
of cash and its customers low on confidence.
Satyam’s customer base, as well as its
skill set, will be important parts of any
acquisition.
The
bidding process for the company, which was once India’s forth
largest IT supplier, entered its second phase this week.
The first stage of bidding for the company ended on Friday 13
March, with applications of interest received by Thursday 12 March.
The company requires more detailed expressions of interest and
proof from bidders of available funds to the value of $290m by
Friday 20 March.
Satyam said last month it had
signed 15 new contracts in January alone.