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.
