UST Global to add 8,000 staff in India - Sajan Pillai speaks to Economic Times

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Kerala - July 13, 2010 - Sensing an uptick in business in the post-recession environment, end-to-end IT solutions provider for Global 1,000 companies, UST Global has chalked out major hiring plans. UST Global’s Orange County, California-based CEO, Sajan Pillai told ET here that that the company planned to add 8,000 professionals to its headcount in India, a large majority of them in Thiruvananthapuram, where the company presently has a staff strength of roughly 4,000. The remaining numbers will be added at the company’s other India centers at Chennai, Kochi and Bangalore. "That will take the India headcount to about 14,000 over the next 12-18 months", Pillai said. UST Global is also considering an operations base in Hyderabad, and has firmed up plans to "immediately raise headcount at the Philippines centre to 1,000 from the present level of 300 staffers". The company already has the infrastructure to accommodate 1,000 staffers at its Philippines base. Pillai said a "new normal" situation prevailed across the international business horizon in the post-recession phase, where "companies are demanding increased productivity levels from all suppliers including IT suppliers". "Earlier, when a customer wanted to drill a hole in the wall, the choice was often the equipment to do that, while it now has changed to the solution rather than spending on the gadget. The IT services space is also witnessing that change from an emphasis on putting more people on a job to offering enhanced services. So we see companies having their HR work or sales management processed externally, bringing more exciting times for IT services and solutions providers", Pillai said. He said IT companies were presently opting to be multi-location based, both for geo-political reasons as well as for hedging operational risks, and that large clients were looking at medium-sized IT providers, too, bringing better prospects for the lower-rung tech companies that had competitive offerings. UST Global is in the process of launching a new campus in Thiruvananthapuram, and in the US the company had recently implemented next generation business process management solution for Catalina Marketing, a retail enabler and leader in precision marketing.

About UST Global UST Global® is a NEXT-Gen IT services and solutions provider focused on the Global 2000 market. Headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California and London, England, it provides IT and business process outsourcing services through its state-of-the-art centers in India, Chile, and the Philippines. UST clients get the advantages of its highly efficient Global Engagement Model; a seamless blend of expertise from locally based senior resources with the productivity, cost, scale, and quality of its offshore teams. Since its inception in 1999, UST Global has grown to over 7,000 employees and has been recognized for an unmatched focus on its clients and for its “Commitment beyond Contract.” It follows a philosophy of “fewer CLIENTS, more ATTENTION” to be able to service each of its customers individually. For more information visit: www.ust-global.com