41. BIRLASOFT: Back on Track

This Delhi-based CK Birla Group company further reduced its exposure in the

domestic market last fiscal with 99.7% of revenues coming from software services

export. Interestingly, in a year when most companies were reducing their

exposure to the US market, Birlasoft actually increased its revenues from there–from

90% to 94.8%. Europe accounted for a little over 4.5%. The company grew by

nearly 66%–from Rs 166 crore in 1999-00 to Rs 276 crore in 2000-01. The

above-industry growth rate was crucial in the wake of a bad patch in 1999-00,

when the company grew by just under 20%.

In

November last year, the company announced the setting up of a global

development center in Noida, housing 500 professionals, for

developing software solutions for General Electric, whose subsidiary

GE Equity owns 20% of Birlasoft’s equity. Birlasoft also entered

into partnerships with BEA, and iPlanet, the Sun-Netscape alliance.

A big catch of the year was an order from the MEA to computerize

Indian consulates in New York and Dubai, to be followed by 38 others

around the globe.