Empresas y finanzas

Anantara Pioneers Second Generation Outsourcing



    The global IT services and outsourcing industry is set to undergo
    a significant paradigm shift with the formation of a radical and
    innovative company -- Anantara Solutions Private Limited. This new
    company is a pioneer of Second Generation Outsourcing that combines
    business consulting services and IT services to deliver unprecedented,
    measurable business value. Anantara Solutions is founded by
    G.B.Prabhat, co-founder of Satyam Renaissance Consulting and former
    Director, Consulting and Enterprise Solutions, Satyam Computer
    Services Limited, and his management team of eight partners.

    The company today also announced the closing of its Series A
    financing of US $6.5 million from a syndicate led by Helion Venture
    Partners. Sanjeev Aggarwal, Managing Director, and Ashish Gupta,
    Managing Director, Helion Ventures Pvt Ltd have already joined the
    Anantara Board. Helion is the lead investor in Anantara, along with
    other prestigious investors, including Walden International, SVB
    Financial Group and Christian Wedell, a former senior Microsoft
    executive and venture capitalist.

    Second Generation Outsourcing (SGO) is an inclusive model that
    ensures all the benefits of first generation outsourcing. First
    generation outsourcing is predicated primarily on cost arbitrage,
    which is now almost eliminated. SGO shifts focus from cost arbitrage
    to creating business value. SGO is a multi-pronged value proposition,
    several prongs not dealt with at all in first generation outsourcing.
    Through this model, Anantara will redefine the provision of consulting
    and technology services delivery with the clear aim of helping its
    clients compete better. SGO would also provide for unambiguous returns
    on both business and technology investments made by its clients.

    Anantara also announced the launch of Nextgen Sourcing, its
    proprietary methodology for helping clients migrate to SGO. Nextgen
    Sourcing would also focus on the continuous improvement of the SGO
    model to act as Anantara's vehicle of innovating on the delivery of
    outsourced consulting and technology services.

    G.B.Prabhat, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anantara
    Solutions, said, "By pioneering SGO, we at Anantara Solutions are
    reinventing the offshore delivery model combining the efficiencies of
    a top-notch consulting firm and a high-quality offshore delivery firm.
    The investment from Helion Venture Partners and our other investors is
    a powerful endorsement of our unique value proposition. Our customers
    worldwide are greeting SGO with enthusiasm."

    Anantara's leadership team includes leading industry veterans who
    pioneered the idea of offshore consulting as an extension of offshore
    application development and maintenance. The team played a seminal
    role in building the Consulting and Enterprise Solutions business of a
    prominent Indian IT giant to a billing of nearly US $200 million in
    2007. Over the last decade, team members have built methodologies for
    offshoring the most sophisticated consulting work and providing
    value-based pricing. These rare capabilities, which they assiduously
    built over the last several years, are now being parlayed into
    pioneering Second Generation Outsourcing (SGO).

    Investor Optimism

    "Second Generation Outsourcing is fast becoming the need of the
    hour. We are very pleased to partner with Anantara Solutions, and
    through this long-term partnership Helion will continue supporting
    this innovative company and its new business model," said Sanjeev
    Aggarwal.

    Hock Voon Loo, Managing Director, Walden International, said,
    "This is a very unique investment opportunity as we are backing a
    first-class team. There is enormous potential in the company's vision
    of value-based pricing, virtual supply chain and new engagement
    models. Walden is very pleased to join this financing round and looks
    forward to working with Anantara Solutions."

    "SVB Financial Group is delighted to be part of the investor group
    at Anantara Solutions. The management team is an accomplished group of
    individuals who can make the vision and promise of SGO a reality,"
    said Suresh Shanmugham, Senior Vice President -- India, SVB Global, an
    SVB Financial Group subsidiary.

    Added Christian Wedell, "Anantara Solutions is built on a clear
    vision of the future of the outsourcing industry. The company's focus
    on bringing world-leading expertise to its customers in a
    results-oriented and cost-efficient way makes this company highly
    attractive, for potential clients and investors alike."

    Customer Enthusiasm Worldwide

    Within a few weeks of inception, Anantara has managed to garner
    clients from various parts of the world: USA, UK, Germany, France,
    Hong Kong and India. The company sees its acquisition of customers as
    a continuous endorsement that clients expect a new order of benefits
    from the offshoring model.

    "Anantara is helping us reduce our intranet maintenance costs by
    nearly 50%. We are convinced of Anantara Solutions' unique position as
    a Second Generation Outsourcing company, and its ability to help
    customers find the best solutions for their business needs," said
    Mahesh Alimchandani, Technical Coordination Manager, International
    Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities,
    France.

    "Anantara possesses excellent solutions that actually translate
    into better profits and savings," says S. Venkateswaran, Chief
    Financial Officer, Mulitex Group Ltd, Hong Kong. Mulitex, a
    conglomerate, deals in garments, electronics, footwear and sundries.
    Anantara is developing a workflow-based B-2-B solution to improve the
    procurement efficiencies of Mulitex.

    "Under very tight time constraints, the Anantara team collected
    and commented on key business data for the Indian logistics market. We
    appreciate and value the content of the deliberations," said a
    representative of a leading German business architecting firm for whom
    Anantara worked on an India strategy for logistics.

    Indian industry has also been quick to respond to the potential of
    SGO.

    Mahindra Logistics, the logistics arm of the US $4 billion
    Mahindra & Mahindra group, has engaged Anantara to design an IT
    solution fully aligned to its business strategy. Sanjay Sinha, Chief
    Executive, Mahindra Logistics, said, "Business strategy and technology
    strategy must converge for our business to be sustainable. We are
    delighted to be working with Anantara in this partnership mode."

    Cooper Foundry Pvt. Ltd is planning a major expansion and
    diversification drive. "Anantara is helping us craft the business and
    information technology architecture for our expansion. We are very
    impressed with the pedigree and experience of the Anantara team," said
    Farrokh N.Cooper, Chairman and Managing Director, Cooper Foundry.

    Anantara is devising the business process strategy for Pricol
    Ltd., India's leading auto instrument company. Vijay Mohan, Chairman
    and CEO, Pricol, commented, "Pricol's association with Prabhat goes
    back more than a decade when his team undertook a tremendously
    successful BPR exercise that enabled us become more efficient and cost
    competitive. It will be a pleasure for Pricol to associate with
    Anantara Solutions."

    About Anantara Solutions

    For more information about Anantara, please visit
    www.anantsol.com.

    About Helion

    Helion Venture Partners is a $140 million multi-stage,
    India-focused venture fund. For more information on Helion, please
    visit www.helionvc.com.

    About Walden International

    Walden International is a leading international venture capital
    firm with an unrivaled pan-Asia network. For information on Walden,
    please visit www.waldenintl.com.

    About SVB Financial Group

    SVB Financial Group is a diversified financial services group
    headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. More information on the
    company can be found at www.svb.com.

    About Christian Wedell

    Christian Wedell is a former senior Microsoft executive and a
    Munich-based venture capitalist.