Tech Mahindra reverses IT downturn; wins $350-million deal from BT

Amidst all the gloomy talk of reduced outsourcing in the face of a general economic downturn, the news of Pune-based Indian IT major Tech Mahindra winning a $350- million deal from BT must surely sound as music to the ears for the Indian outsourcing industry.

Of course, it does increase Tech Mahindra's increasing dependence on a single client after the $ 1-billion deal signed with the telecom major earlier, but any deal in this morose economic climate is sure to bring cheers all around.

Moreover, the work involved is also quite different as compared to the previous agreement, according to Clive Selley, managing director, BT Worldwide Business.

Although both the deals are spread over a period of five years, the new deal focuses on ''application support and maintenance'' supporting retail, wholesale and global services businesses, while the previous agreement, in Selley's words, was about assisting BT ''in delivering major global customer deals and delivering the IT elements of those deals''.

Expectedly, the Tech Mahindra management is quite excited about this deal, which reposes faith in the quality of their work. Sanjay Kalra, president, Tech Mahindra, was quite enthusiastic when he said, ''This deal showcases Tech Mahindra's strengths in delivering business critical services that have so far been hidden under ''business-as-usual'' application support. We are delighted at the confidence BT has shown in us and this contract will further strengthen trust and partnership between our two companies.''

In addition, for those reeling under the news of recent job cuts at TCS and IBM, the news of Tech Mahindra ramping up its headcount to service this deal is manna from heaven.