Sutherland plans 2 centers in India; mulls IPO

MUMBAI: New York headquartered Sutherland Global Services, a BPO company, is planning to open two new centers in India. The company that received $30 million in equity funding from Oak Investment Partners in March last year is also contemplating an IPO next year. It also plans to foray into newer verticals.






Sutherland chairman and CEO, Dilip R Vellodi said, "We have been growing rapidly and to cater to global needs we have to expand exponentially and the two centers are in line with that. We have enough funds available to grow organically but, if we go for acquisition, we might look at another round of VC funding or an IPO next year."





Sutherland already has centers in Mumbai and Chennai and is planning to open another one in Chennai and one in tier-2 city, for which the company is still scouting for location. Most of the company's revenue comes from technology and communication vertical and it is now focusing more on BFSI and retail segment.





According to Vellodi, after this the next major focus area for the company would be healthcare where it does not have any presence as yet. The company generated revenue to the tune of $150 million last year and is planning to cross the $200 million mark this year, with its employee base reaching 15,000 by the end of this year. It currently has around 10,000 employees, of which 7000 are in India and rest in other geographies. India contributes around 40 percent in overall revenues of the company.





The company has onshore delivery facilities in the US and near shore facilities in Canada and is planning five more in other geographies this year. According to Vellodi, the rapid ramp up has been the result of the addition of a number of new clients and significant expansion of existing contracts. "This was accomplished primarily, by leveraging our blended shore delivery capabilities," he added. The company added 15 new clients last year to take the customer tally to 50.