Satyam BPO, an integrated subsidiary of Satyam Computer Services, is bullish on high growth energy and utility sectors. Joining the bandwagon of Vertex Corporation and Wipro BPO, the company is scouting for collaborations in the vertical and to organically expand its client base in the near future.

?We are working out on strategies to foster collaborations with companies which would be complimentary to our services in the energy and utility sector. We are currently in talks with three to four companies in this segment for collaborations,? Venkatesh Roddam, chief executive officer, said. There is a huge potential from this niche segment, he added.

The outsourcing services to the energy and utility sector are estimated about $350 million for 2006-07 globally. As per available statistics, the services to the energy and utility sectors are estimated to touch $655 million in 2008, with a growth rate of 7.7% CAGR until 2012.

The factors fuelling this growth are consolidation of enterprise wise systems, system integration projects of SAP, etc. Moreover, global procurement function is also undergoing consolidation and energy and utility clients now need intelligent indirect and direct procurement support and analytics, he opined.

The focus towards this vertical in increasing as the demand is coming in the form of e-procurement support, procure-to-pay life cycle support, tactical sourcing, contract management, procurement and spend analytics, engineering services, IT and application multi-level support.

?The sector is not undergoing a phase of cost rationalisation owning to increase in input costs of their core businesses. The energy sector is now showcasing increased appetite in IT and BPO offshore models,? Roddam adds.

On the general trend in outsourcing, he said that the company is looking at a revenue mix from both the US and European markets. ?Though the US market is still large, we will be reducing our dependency on the US markets with focus on other geographies as well,? Roddam said. The other geographies include Australia, Eastern Europe, Egypt and Latin America.

In the next three years, the company would be maximising on the platform which it has created a seamless environment, he said.