Cambridge Tech in talks with govt for auto, IT services

Cambridge Technology Enterprises (CTE), provider of service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based solutions and services, is in negotiations with the defence ministry and the Centre to provide automation and other IT services to them following its success in the US.

The company's US operations are headquartered on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from where the company had undertaken special automation projects for the US government.

"CTE is planning to bring the same services that it offered to the US government for which presentations have been made to the defence ministry and officials of the Central government, " Bhaskar Panigrahi, chairman and CEO, CTE, said.

If CTE's proposal is accepted by the defence ministry and other departments of the Central govt, who have shown interest, the company would be providing services related to e-governance, process automation and IT consolidation among others.

The company is currently eyeing acquisition of undisclosed number of companies, mostly based in the US in the coming few months.

Along with the acquisitions, the company is expanding its reach by establishing four regional offices and competency centres in the US, IP Creation and establishment of reusable components, library, enhancement of IT and collaborative infrastructure for which it plans to enter the market with an issue of 63,15,800 equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a price of Rs 38 per share aggregating Rs 24 crore through a fixed price issue.

CTE would also be focusing on providing SOA-based solutions on Oracle platform and would migrate to common fusion platform over the next few years.

"According to a Nasscom report, the global SOA market is growing at a rate of 100 per cent per year and by the end of 2006, more than 60 per cent of the $527 billion IT professional services market will be based on the exploitation of SOA/web services standards and technologies, which makes SOA services a market with great potential for companies like ours," added Panigrahi.