Virtusa to add 900 people by end '05

HYDERABAD: Massachusetts based Virtusa Corporation, a global provider of software development and IT services, has decided to increase its Indian headcount from the present 1,900 to 2,800 by the end of 2005. The company also has plans to foray into European markets and strengthen its base in the insurance and financial verticals.

The Indian subsidiary has two Advanced Technology Centers (ATCs), one in Hyderabad and one in Chennai. "We would be adding 900 more in India by the end of 2005. Hyderabad alone has a workforce totaling 1,200 and 500 more would be added there, whereas in Chennai 400 more would be included," said Virtusa (India) Pvt Ltd GM, Santanu Paul.

"Of the 500 to be employed in Hyderabad, 50 percent of them would be selected through campus recruitment. The rest would be references from the existing employees. Similar would be the case with Chennai ATC too," said Virtusa HR director, Jagadish Bapat.

Talking about Virtusa's flagship product, chief software architect, Virtusa, Arjun Mukherjee said, "Productization is a software development process of rationalizing and consolidating technology assets into reusable core platform. It leverages the platforms to rapidly build vertical product lines."

"Virtusa designs and develops custom-built software platforms to meet specific needs of our clients. We at Virtusa try reducing the operational costs and increase business agility," explained Paul. The company's client base includes companies from verticals such as financial services, communications, retail and software products.

"We would be strengthening our base in financial and insurance verticals and also intend to foray into European markets. There's a huge potential in the BFSI segment that could be tapped and we see good business momentum in this area," asserted Paul.