Aegis to use Essar internal tech arm to chase IT deals

The Essar Group’s internal IT unit, which was moved into its business process outsourcing arm Aegis, is looking to attract external customers and doubling of business every year for three years.

The unit, which is going to the market under the name Enterprise Business Services, currently clocks annual revenue of about Rs 50 crore. “By the end of this financial year, we want Essar to contribute under 20 per cent of the unit’s revenue. That is because we have been successful in winning new clients and also because some of the Essar projects are running down,” Sandip Sen, CEO of Aegis told ET.

Sen said he has given the unit a target of growing 100 per cent year-on-year for the next three years. “It’s a small base, so growth isn’t too high. We think we can do that organically. There have been no discussions on mergers or getting outside funding to grow the unit,” he said.

Sen said the company is initially focusing on banking, insurance and non-banking financial services companies, in addition to manufacturing. “We are just starting. We have 500 people, so we are picking our sectors and picking our markets. We will look at India, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. This is a place where Aegis already has large clients and we can open the door for the IT unit,” he said.

Aegis has large BPO and call centre contracts with most large banks, telecom players and ecommerce companies. Its revenue is about $400 million a year.

Sen said the company has won SAP Treasury Management deals from large insurance companies in India and also struck deals with an electric and telecom company in Saudi Arabia.