Birlasoft to become $250 mn co by 2008

New Delhi, Aug 7: Birlasoft, the information technology arm of the 1.2 billion dollar Chandra Kant Birla Group, today said it is aiming to become a 250 million dollar company by 2008, and is open to the inorganic mode of growth.

''We will continue to look at the right kind of acquisition aligned with our overall strategy and long-term vision of being experts in certain specific areas we have identified. We are confident of meeting our overall vision of being a 250 million dollar company by 2008,'' Birlasoft CEO Kamal Mansharamani said.

The company had acquired Australia-based Fusion Technology Group and the IP rights of Portfolio InsightTM, a real time, risk-based loan pricing and active portfolio management software product for banks and financial institutions, in October 2005.

Birlasoft has acquired record number of customers and earned record revenue during the last few months, Mr Mansharamani added.

During the last 12 months, it established three development centers in the country and its manpower increased from 2,300 to 3,500. The employee strength is expected to touch the 5000 mark by the end of the current financial year.

The company has also renewed its Master Service Agreement (MSA) with GE as its Global Development Centre (GDC), for three more years.

The agreement gives Birlasoft the opportunity to bid for GE's IT management spend across the globe. GE had made an equity investment in Birlasoft in 1999 and the GE-GDC operations were launched towards the end of year 2000.

''The renewal of our agreement with GE is yet another confirmation of Birlasoft's mature and robust delivery models across the globe. Though there is tough competition, Birlasoft is determined to scale up rapidly,'' Mr Mansharamani added.

UNI