Datamatics to set up R&D arm for Bupa

Bupa Foundation, the UK's leading healthcare NGO with a strong international presence, will set up a global development centre in Mumbai. For this it has signed a multi-million pound agreement with Datamatics. The companies have not disclosed total contract value.

This long term agreement encompasses application development, maintenance and support services for the foundation's healthcare service activities worldwide.

Bupa has currently 8 million customers in 180 countries and 42,000 employees. Its main interests are health insurance, hospitals, care homes for older people and young disabled, health assessments, workplace health and childcare services.

The organisations like Sanitas in Spain, HBA in Australia, IHI in Denmark and Amedex in the US are all part of the Bupa Group.

Bupa is a provident association, which reinvests all its surpluses back into the business. In 2005, it earned revenue of £3.9 billion and paid out a record £2.1 billion in claims. The Bupa Foundation also funds medical research.

Datamatics is already engaged in certain IT service projects with Bupa. Lalit Kanodia, chairman, said; "At Datamatics we believe that we have been able to reduce Bupa' s costs on a like-for-like basis over 35 per cent on key projects we have been involved in, through our engagement in the application development and by providing maintenance and support services to Bupa across the world for over six years now. Datamatics has also delivered value to Bupa in terms of improved quality and customer responsiveness."

John Lister, global chief information officer, Bupa,said that the Foundation has confidence in Datamatics and this contract builds upon its existing long-term relationship with Datamatics adding that a focus on quality, customer satisfaction and previous successes were instrumental in the signing of this contract between Bupa and Datamatics.