Satyam launches biz solutions lab

In a major initiative expected to give a big boost to its consulting and enterprise business applications space, Satyam Computer Services Ltd on Friday announced the launch of 'Futurus', a state-of-the-art business solutions laboratory in Chennai.

Futurus lab will combine Satyam's domain expertise in consulting and enterprise application deployment to help design, simulate and test customers' future business scenarios.

"We are quite confident that Futurus, perhaps the first initiative in the world, will add lot of value to our customers," co-founder and managing director, Satyam Computer, B Rama Raju told reporters at the inauguration of the lab at Satyam's facility here at Tidal Park.

Emerging technologies and methodologies like RFID, SOA and composite applications can be combined with established enterprise class applications such as ERP, CRM, SCM to simulate future scenarios while considering business trends like mergers, acquisitions and large-scale process changes.

Futurus, which was inaugurated by TRW Automotive Holdings LLC vice president and chief information officer Joe Drouin, will initially employ 60-70 professionals and is expected to increase its headcount to 200-300 in the near future.

However, the core team will have only lean staff. People will be deployed from various practices whenever the company bags projects.

Presently, the lab, which is an initiative of Satyam's Enterprise Business Solutions Unit, has half a dozen projects, across various verticals, in its hand.

Futurus will be available online and customers do not have to necessarily visit the premises of the lab.

Director, Consulting and Enterprise Solutions, Satyam Computer Services, G B Prabhat said that the objective of Futurus was to convert its customer relationships into partnerships to shape its customer's future needs besides executing its present agenda.

The lab will also serve as an incubator of new service offerings and new practices until they attain critical mass and it will also function as a university to train business solutions architects, who will provide new generation solutions to address business and technology dimensions.

The company also expects its technology partners to participate in Futurus. "Our tech partners will contribute through licences and advanced versions of their technologies," he said, adding that "the lab will add one distinct stream of revenue that doesn't exist today."

The enterprise business solutions unit accounts for 35 per cent of Satyam's revenue.