Maveric, UK firm in pact

Maveric Systems, an independent software testing firm, has entered into a partnership agreement with UK-based Mission Assurance and Testing Ltd, to offer managed services in the software testing space.

Mission Assurance and Testing Ltd is an independent software testing services provider and a fully-owned subsidiary of £1,436-million The Capita Group Plc, the UK's leading business process outsourcing and professional services organisation.

Under the agreement, Mission Assurance will take accountability for initial assessment, service definition and onsite service delivery while Maveric will focus on service transition and offshore service delivery.

Both Maveric and Mission Assurance have been working together over the last two years on project specific works in which Mission Assurance was using Maveric's capabilities in some areas.

This exclusive agreement is aimed at building long-term agreements with the clients and offer managed services to clients in a seamless manner.

Addressing a press conference, Ranga Reddy, chief executive officer, Maveric Systems, said with this partnership, the company would move up from being predominantly a domestic client-focused organisation to a global testing player.

He added that the UK was an integral part of Maveric's international expansion plan and the company had orders worth £2 million (Rs 17.6 crore) from the UK market. The company's headcount in the UK is expected to increase by 100 over the next one year, from the present 35.

Chennai-headquartered Maveric is planning to invest about $2 million (about Rs 9 crore) in overall infrastructure expansion in India in the next couple of years to support the growth.

It will be expanding its operations in its existing locations such as Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. The expansion would be funded through internal accruals and debt, Reddy said. Chris Shaw, managing director, Mission Assurance and Testing, said the company considered a number of companies in other geographies for tie-up, but chose a company in India considering the country's mature IT market, communication infrastructure and the availability of high quality testing professionals.

The company chose Maveric for its complementary capabilities and quality of processes, he added. At present, Maveric employs about 300 people in India, the UK and Middle East and reported a revenue of Rs 14.5 crore for the year ended March 2006. It targets to garner a revenue of Rs 32 crore by the end of the current fiscal. It already has orders worth Rs 28 crore. Domestic market accounts for 45-50 per cent of the revenue of the company. The company expects its revenue share from the international market to grow in the future. About 90 per cent of the company's revenue comes from the banking, finance and insurance segments. However, the company is aiming newer verticals like healthcare and telecom in the coming years. A Gartner Group study estimates the global software testing market at $13 billion.