BANGALORE, INDIA: Even as the debate and discussions on the global slowdown continues, there are many small and medium businesses (SMBs) who have not felt the impact. Bangalore-based Nous Infosystems, an IT services company, is one such company which has braved the slowdown and is on an expansion mode. Nous, a mid-sized enterprise, has started a new development center in the city with state-of-the-art facilities.

Nous' move to set up a new facility, which almost doubles its head count, comes at a time when most IT majors are talking to cost cutting measures. In an exclusive interaction with CIOL, President and CEO of Nous Infosystem, Ajith J. Pillai, shared the plans and strategies towards the company's growth, advantages of operations in Bangalore, and more. Excerpts:

CIOL: What has been the key focus of Nous's operations? Which are your key markets ?

Ajith Pillai:  Nous specializes in software development, software consultancy, remote support services and testing with a wide range of services under each expert offering. We have over 200 satisfied clients worldwide with 24x7 operations. We have multiple Offshore Software Development Centers at Bangalore and Coimbatore along with operations in US, Canada, UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia and Middle East. The US centre contributes up to 55- 60 percent of the revenues while UK pitches in 35 percent.

CIOL: Being a company more dependent on off shore market, what is driving Nous to go in for  expansion at this time of global slowdown ?

AP: Despite the slowdown, outsourcing is still going to be there. Our clients are Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) for whom IT services is the bread and butter. I would like to mention that the slowdown in US or elsewhere is likely to affect service providers who are dependent on non - IT majors which are looking at cost cutting measures. The SME segment, which is quite strong in the US and Europe, is unlikely to be affected.

CIOL: Why did you choose Bangalore for setting up the new facility ? Why not Tier 2 cities?

AP: It's true that cost of operations are higher in Bangalore but there is availability of vast talent pool here. The cost of setting up a facility may be cheaper in Tier -2 cities but the availability of resources remains a matter of concern. Moreover, one has to invest heavily on in-house training in Tier- 2 cites which ultimately make investing in Bangalore a wise option.

CIOL: Tell us more about the Development Centers? 

AP: Nous already has three facilities in Bangalore and one in Coimbatore. As of today there are 1000 plus staff at Nous centers in Bangalore and Coimbatore, most of them in Bangalore. The new development center will have 800 plus staff which will almost double the staff count. On the international front too, Nous is on an expansion mode with the setting up of its operations in Canada to provide both offshore and onsite IT services to clients in the region. Europe too being an important market for us, we have set up an office in The Netherlands to further penetrate the market. These offices are going to complement Nous' global reach in North Americas and Europe apart from their operations in Australia and the APAC.

CIOL: How has been the growth thus far? What is your future projection?

AP: We started as a IT service provider in Bangalore in 1996. In 2000 our revenue was Rs 2 crore. Today, Nous in a Rs 100 crore (2007) company and we are expanding. We have projected a 30 - 40 percent growth in 2008-09. At Nous our mission is to provide global quality software solutions which we have been pursuing since inception. The same is reflected in all projects executed for our clients worldwide.

CIOL: What will be the key growth areas for Nous in future?

AP: Presently, IT Services remain our focus areas. But we have identified three high growth segments like Testing, Remote Infrastructure Management and Enterprise Applications as key growth engines. I expect a lot of work in these segments in the coming years.