Over the weekend, Misys announced that it had signed a joint venture agreement with an Indian company called Scandent.
The terms of the agreement would see Scandent set up a professional services competency centre in India dedicated to offering trained consulting services on the Misys Midas Plus suite of products, thereby enhancing the expertise of the professional services arm of Misys' wholesale banking business.
The deal reflects a growing trend of software companies looking to move into services. It also shows the determination to crack India, arguably the most important software emerging market in the world. It also reflects the outsourcing trend in that Scandent will become the preferred partner for Misys Midas Plus global implementation services, with worldwide coverage, immediately addressing the increased uptake of the solution among Misys' customers.
"This strategic partnership agreement sets the perfect platform for sharing the growth opportunities between the two organizations in a mutually beneficial way," says Dilip Keshu, CEO of Scandent. "A competency centre model will ensure that the working standards and knowledge base are effectively synchronized between the two organizations. We are very excited to be working with Misys and are looking forward to working on opportunities for sharing our mutual growth."
"The need for software implementation and support services is always growing, and we believe it is important to respond to this need quickly and cost-effectively," says Elsie Bonnett, Director of Global Services for Wholesale Banking at Misys. "With the success of Misys Midas Plus, it is clear that greater resource will be needed to ensure that our services capabilities remains consistently high."
The India deal comes two weeks after it was announced that Misys had won the beauty parade for Bank of Beijing's implementation of new trade finance and treasury management services. The deal will see Misys implement Misys Opics and Misys Trade Innovation on the Chinese bank's systems by the end of the third quarter 2005.
"Increasing competition in our key markets has meant that we have become increasingly focused on our corporate customers, adapting and improving our operations to meet their needs more effectively," said Zhao Rui An, Vice President at Bank of Beijing. "Implementing the Misys solution has enabled us to enhance our product offering, improve our services and realize new levels of operational efficiency."
John Palmiero, Head of Sales, Asia at Misys Banking Systems, adds: "Over the past few years, Misys has been steadily increasing its footprint and knowledge in China, working with customers and partners alike to develop a good understanding of the market. This implementation is a further indication of our capability to offer world class solutions tailored to the needs of our Chinese customers."
