Synechron geared up to give certifications

PUNE, INDIA: In the next two to six months, Synechron, a specialist IT services company in financial domain, might start doling out certifications for subject matter experts on specialized areas like stocks, bonds and derivatives as an extension of its internal varsity programme.

In the last one year, Synechron has been training its employees on specific platforms and architecture for some chosen financial categories through an in-house mechanism drawn on exhaustive curriculum, said Siddharth Madhusudan, Director - Marketing & KPO Services.

"We are now ready to facilitate Synechron-certified subject matter experts and specialized consultants for special modules based on exhaustive written tests and grades. The process is in initial stages but within six months, we hope to fully implement it. To start with, we will look into capital markets and debt equity and then move to insurance and mortgage banking," he said.

The internal varsity programme has been key to the 4.5 per cent attrition rate in Synechron's SDCs, which are dedicated captive centers for financial domains, in comparison to the company's overall turnover rate of 11.5 per cent and industry range of 18 per cent, he claims.

Synechron's "Domain University Training Programs" are classified into various groups, each focusing on one of the company's key domains of capital markets, mortgage banking and insurance. Within each vertical, these programs are further divided into two tracks, one focusing on the business aspect, and the other covering the technical details.

The programs have been developed by Synechron's team of in-house experts and are aimed at specifically nurturing true "Techno-functional" experts, who not only possess technical expertise but also are well versed with the business aspects of the domains they work in.

Madhusudan rules out any negative impact from the US mortgage crisis for the company which is basically a customized software solutions and services company catering to mortgage banking, capital markets and insurance domains.

"The good thing is that we saw it coming. We have diversified heavily into insurance and capital markets. Insurance specially has come up as a dark horse in these times. We added many new clients last year. Also, this is an ideal time for companies to cut their costs. We anyway serve them mission critical jobs so there would not be any major business impact with the crisis."

Still, the company has started hedging and steering from the US to markets like the UK and Europe with a bigger focus where it is doing considerable activity and bagging new businesses.

It would be hitting 1000 mark in its headcount soon and is setting up massive expansion plans and new facilities with an ambition to scale up to 10,000 over the next five years.

It grew in revenues from about $14 million to 28.5 million on March 31, 2007 and will be touching $50 million this year.

The company is looking for an IPO on a two-year horizon with the US exchange being the most probable and preferred choice.

"For a US-centric company this would be better and would drive more credibility with the investment banks that are our major focus," he said.