Mastek to up focus on US markets

With the rupee appreciating against the dollar, Indian IT companies are working towards reducing their dependence on the US market. However, Mumbai-based IT services provider Mastek plans to do just the opposite.

The company has been growing its US business over two years at 80-85 per cent. It expects the profitability from this region to be similar to the figure it attained in fiscal 2006-07, that's between 30 and 35 per cent.
Sudhakar Ram, chairman and managing director, Mastek, said, "For us, the US market will grow faster than Europe as the base is small." More than 60 per cent of Mastek's revenue is generated in the UK.

Ram also pointed out that until now the US market was primarily a services driven market.

"If you look at our strategy, it has been driven by a solution-based model. Hence we found our abilities more accepted in the UK markets. However, now the US market is also more open to accept such business models, and hence the shift," he explained.

The company, meanwhile, has strengthened its management team for the US markets during the second quarter of fiscal 2007. It also acquired an Indianapolis-based company, Vector Insurance Services.

The acquisition not only added customers to Mastek's kitty but also a new capability of software-as-a-service (Saas).