The big five Indian IT services giants look set to double their share of the UK market in the next four years.
However, as they start to dabble in bigger and more complex contracts they are likely to face some big obstacles during their climb to the top.
So says Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC), which has just published a new report detailing how HCL, Infosys, Satyam, TCS and Wipro are on track to boost their share of the UK software and IT services market from less than three per cent to seven per cent, with at least one of them exceeding 1 billion in annual revenue generated from this country.
PAC's predictions of growth are set against the backdrop of a buoyant 18 months for Indian players, with UK companies such as the Carphone Warehouse and DSG signing 100 million-plus outsourcing deals.
But continued good fortune will not come easily, warns PAC, with Indian services companies needing to prove themselves in order to sign more deals of this ilk. Specifically, they will need to demonstrate that they can effectively carry out staff transfer deals, manage subcontractor and local partner networks and find workarounds for the gradual disappearance of their price advantage.
"Low prices are no longer the only weapons in the armoury of the Indian services vendors, and they are winning business against Western suppliers on the quality and depth of their offerings," said Nick Mayes, senior consultant at PAC.
"But if they are to become major players in areas such as infrastructure outsourcing, they will need to prove their ability to successfully handle the TUPE transfer of staff from the client, which is an area where the likes of IBM and EDS carry far greater experience."
