The country?s IT companies are grappling with a huge staff shortage for implementing Oracle Retail (Retek), a retail solution from Oracle.

Experts say that most IT companies have global clients for Oracle Retail, that contributes a major part of revenues from the retail vertical. For a decade or so, SAP was being used as a solution by IT firms for retail clients.

The organised retail segment in India is booming and contributes 4% to the overall $12 billion retail industry, where rapid economic growth and increasing disposable incomes have seen changing lifestyle habits and higher spend on consumer goods. This, experts feel, presents a large opportunity for IT firms in the country.

Siva Rangaswamy, global head ? retail technology, Zensar Technologies, said, ?We have about 650 people dedicated to this domain and 125 of them are for Retek. We can get non-technical staff from retail organisations but to obtain and retain technical staff is a challenge.

This is because poaching is rampant and every six months to a year, salaries tend to double.? Zensar is targeting a growth of 18%-20% of revenues from the retail vertical.

Retek was introduced in India about two years back and therefore, experienced people are not available. Besides providing training in collaboration with Oracle, IT companies are increasingly employing from abroad to make up for the scarcity. Ganesan Sekar, senior vice-president, Satyam Retail unit, said, ?There is a lot of pressure in retaining talent and we are hiring people from abroad to make up.? He added, ?I can hire 30 experts today, but there is no talent available.?

HCL has about 2,500 consultants in its retail unit and caters to about 60 clients across the US and Europe, Asia-Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong.

Sidhartha Chowdhury, vice-president, retail and consumer delivery, HCL Technologies, said, ?At HCL, we undertake certification from the National Retail Association, which is required by all retailers in the US. This is one way we try to retain talent.?

According to Nasscom, IT and retail sectors have the potential to create 7.5 million jobs in the next five years.