Philips software staff to grow 15-20% for 5 yrs

As Philips' Indian businesses consolidate themselves into Philips Electronics India Private Limited, the Dutch electronics company's software team here is poised for growth.

Its team of 1,600 software engineers will see a compounded annual growth rate of 15-20 per cent "for the next five years", Bob Hoekstra, chief executive officer of Philips Software Centre, told Business Standard.

As Philips consolidates itself in India, all of its businesses, with a total of some 5,000 staff, will grow, Hoekstra said. On adding more engineers to Philips Software, "there are no signs of that slowing down", he said.

The bulk of Philips Software's 1,600 engineers are based in Bangalore. Another 3,500 engineers are spread over Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore, working for Philips Medical Systems India and Philips India Limited.

In August, the company plans to shift all of Philips Medical Systems India's staff to its new campus here. The campus is being built in two phases, with a total investment of Euro 50 million. When the second phase is complete, adding another 4,00,000 sq ft to the campus next year, Philips Software staff will move as well.

Meanwhile, one area where Philips is ramping up staff strength fast is a captive BPO unit, in Chennai. This shared services centre was started in August last year, to handle the accounting work of Philips' American operations, K Ramachandran, chief executive officer of Philips India, said.

Staff strength at the centre will increase from 190 now to 300 by the end of this year, Ramachandran said, and up to 500 by end of 2006. "There are seven or eight domains under the accounting work that is gradually being shifted to this centre," he said.

Philips, which is consolidating its three Indian subsidiaries into a single legal entity, should be through with the "technicalities" by August, he said.

Philips had said in September 2004, Philips India Limited, Philips Medical Systems India Private Limited and Philips Software Centre Private Limited will merge to become Philips Electronics India Limited.

Philips India, which went private after the parent bought back its shares in late 2000, and Philips Software India are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Royal Philips Electronics. Philips Medical Systems India is a subsidiary of Philips India.