IT Outsourcing India

The outsourcing market will continue to grow in 2009, though it is not immune to the downturn. Allie Young writes that both providers and buyers of outsourcing services have to however develop relationships that not only address near-term cost objectives but also factor in longer-term performance improvements and enhancements when the situation improves.

In the last few months the global economic uncertainty has become so widespread and the path to economic recovery so obscured that ‘cautiously optimistic’ is the most positive position most organizations can muster. With a globally connected economy and intertwined market behaviors that tether multiple vertical sectors to each other, the complexity is almost unfathomable.

In this uncertain and rapidly changing environment, the outsourcing market represents something of a dichotomy. On the downside, organizations’ outsourcing strategies may negatively impact market growth (i.e. IT budget constraints, lower cost deals, and contract renegotiations will occur), but at the same time, the upside is that outsourcing can help organizations to work through financial and competitive challenges. The potential for outsourcing to address immediate cost pressures as well as long-term recovery goals will be unprecedented in the coming months and years. However, only organizations that are diligent about understanding the pitfalls of cost-focused outsourcing and that apply business-outcome-focused outsourcing will be successful.

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Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest IT services firm, is exploring moreavenues in the life sciences and healthcare space as demand from clients gains momentum. Outsourcing analysts say there are deals worth USD300-400 million in the market at various stages of negotiations. Life sciences and healthcare is the sixth-largest vertical for TCS and accounted for 5.2 percent of the firm’s revenues at the end of fiscal year 2008-09. TCS provides offerings in the areas of clinical trial data management , pharmacovigilance and medical device design, besides software and solutions to aid drug discovery.

There are multiple small deals ranging between USD25-50 million and a couple of USD100 million deals by American pharma firms in the market, said an outsourcing analyst.

The sector has not been impacted so much by the economic slowdown. This presents an opportunity for outsourcing firms, he said. TCS vice-president and global life sciences and healthcare head Debashis Ghosh said the firm was exploring venturing into claims processing and other knowledge process outsourcing KPO work in the healthcare insurance area as well as genome analysis. Work in the area of genomics, which focuses on determining the entire DNA sequence of an organism, is already on at the firm’s innovation laboratory in Hyderabad. Genome analysis could help ascertain what diseases a person is prone to and, thus, lead to timely prevention and care, Ghosh said.

Meanwhile, the software services firm is also seeing strong demand from its traditional clients pharma companies and healthcare providers. Ghosh says there is increased pressure on pharma companies to improve R&D productivity as the spectre of patent expiry looms large over them.

One implication of that is pharma companies doing more clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of the drug. At the same time, healthcare regulators are becoming more vigilant worldwide. This signifies opportunities in the areas of clinical trial information management and pharmacovigilance for TCS.

While the Indian IT firm largely caters to clients in the US the largest healthcare market in the world emerging markets in Asia Pacific are also becoming more attractive as pharma companies look to tap these markets. A lot of work related to electronic medical records and hospital management systems is happening in Asia Pacific, Ghosh said.

He added that developments such as the Obama government’s re-look at the healthcare insurance system in the US and insurers in the West seeking to linking payments to outcome of treatment at hospitals will also spell growth opportunities for TCS.

Source : http://www.offshoringtimes.com/