The Hindu : Business : Satyam Computers losing big customers?

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Tuesday, Jan 20, 2009
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Satyam Computers losing big customers?

A. Saye Sekhar

A senior executive expects at least 15-20 % attrition

HYDERABAD: At least half a dozen “big customers”, together contributing about 20-25 per cent of the company’s revenues, are on their way out of the fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services.

Among the big customers reconsidering their continuance with Satyam are companies in healthcare, telecom, energy and insurance.

A senior executive of the company, who is privy to the negotiations with the customers, expects at least 15-20 per cent attrition on the customer side and also on the employees’ front.

Some big and a few midsize customers asked the company to sort out the issues and also keep them posted on its plans on how it was going about.

“Nobody will tolerate uncertainty for too long,” said the executive.

Some customers also served vendor transition notices, but with rider that if Satyam is not able to set things right in order to safeguard the business interests of the customers.

The company, on its side, was telling them that it was just a week since it was rattled by the confession of its erstwhile Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and it needed “little more time to come to terms” before it picked up the threads.

However, transition of a big project is not easy. Knowledge transfer process involves validation of methodology of transition. The customer will have to work with the software vendor, handhold the company and supervise the independent performance of the vendor. Each of these three stages takes one month, because most of the projects are mission-critical.

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