The Hindu Business Line : BEA Systems keen to expand in India

THE San Jose-headquartered BEA Systems, the fifth largest application infrastructure software company in the world, is keen to expand its operations in India. The global IT major already has a subsidiary in India with some 20 staff.

Replying to questions from Business Line, Mr Alfred S. Chuang, Founder, Chairman & CEO of BEA Systems, said that there were great opportunities for business development and growth in India.

"There is huge potential in India and we are keen to seize the opportunities that exist and expand our operations there, not because of cost advantages but because of the huge talent pool that exists in India."

BEA Systems's Indian subsidiary, which is based in Bangalore, is in the process of acquiring its own property in India.

The number of people working in the Indian subsidiary is expected to go up to 80-100 this year, he said. "India is a great place to groom talent which can learn a lot about product development."

Mr Chuang cited the instance of China, which has a huge domestic market, and said that BEA Systems employs around 200 persons there to pursue its business objectives. "In India, too, there is the opportunity to grow in that fashion."

He particularly mentioned the scope for IT applications in sectors such as financial services and telecommunications.

Currently, BEA Systems outsources development work to its Indian operations, which is connected to the company's development centre in the US.

Besides using its own set-up in India for outsourcing work, it executes works contracts through its remote area partners in India as well.

In addition to catering to the requirements of foreign companies operating out of India, BEA Systems also sells product and service offerings to domestic Indian companies.

Mr Chuang talked at length on BEA Systems's focus on innovation and innovative products and on its `Service Oriented Architecture' offerings.

He said that the time had come for the development of mission-critical applications based on mobile technology.

"BEA Systems is working on the development of such products for real-time enterprise applications."

To help grow the market, BEA Systems has partnered with Hewlett-Packard. "We need each other to go to the market and offer what our customers are looking for."

BEA Systems, which has already clocked an annual turnover of $1 billion, hopes to top the list of global application infrastructure software companies in the years ahead.

"Our vision is to achieve a turnover of $3 billion in the next five years. We know it is a lofty goal but we are confident of achieving it."