US firms bullish on Nepali IT sector but wary of attrition

US firms bullish on Nepali IT sector but wary of attrition
Republica, 5-Nov-11
By SAMIKSHA KOIRALA

The number of IT companies in the country working for American companies has significantly gone up. In recent months, some of the local companies have been acquired by the US-based companies and also the number of new companies with tie-ups with American companies is on the rise.

Chief Executive Officer of Software Paradigms International Group (SPI), Nepal, Yajurendra Shrestha said the growth can be attributed to lower cost compared to neighboring countries and a growing pool of software engineers in Nepal.

SPI, Nepal, which was operating under the brand name of WorldLink Technologies was acquired by Atlanta-based software solution provider SPI about six months ago.

Sudesh G C, Chief Executive of Traffic Geyser, Nepal, with its headquarters in San Diego, opined the growth in the IT sector is thanks to availability of IT experts with necessary skills. " The number of skilled IT professionals has gone up," G C further echoed Shrestha, adding that Nepal is more cost-effective compared to other countries specially in human resources.

Although there is no definite figure about the number of America-based IT companies in Nepal, professionals say there are over a dozen of such companies and they came into operation in the last two years. Some of these companies are active in BPO sector while others are making products for their parent company.

The BPO sector companies are not limited to call centres. Rather, they work on making out application for renowned companies like Apple, Google, Hollywood and also for social networking sites like Twitter and Youtube.

Overwhelmed by the response, most companies claimed to have doubled their staff strength in recent years and are positive about hiring deserving IT professionals.

President of Verisk Information Technologies Amrit R Pant said his company is employing over 300 engineers, which is one of the largest recruitments for a software company in Nepal. The company which claims to be the only CMMI Level 3 certified is an offshore company of America-based Verisk Analytics Inc.

Incessant Rain Animation Studios (IRAS), which started in 2008 with 15 animation and graphics artists, has now 135 employees. The company produces a range of computer generated animation projects for television, home and theatrical production including several Hollywood projects. "With our new division of visual effects, we have been able to bag several Hollywood projects including features and TV series," Robina Maharjan, head of production at IRAS, told Republica.

Verisk Information Technologies is mainly working on projects of 15 companies listed under its parent organization. The works include software development, software quality and performance, production, data analysis and others. "We are also working with newer technologies such as System Virtualization, Development in the Cloud, Large Data Systems and mobile application," Pant said.

SPI, Nepal, had decided to add 250 more professionals after being acquired.

The biggest challenge for these companies is to retain highly-skilled employees. In order to overcome this, companies claim to be offering lucrative incentives and international level benefits to their employees.

Pant at Verisk said, "We invest heavily in building expertise and keep our team members up-to-date with required programs. Medical benefits include regular visits of doctors to our offices in the US as well as extra-curricular activities like sponsored weekend trips."

G C at Traffic Geyser said the major challenge is to retain employees. "We are offering good salary and benefits but the immense opportunity outside this country puts us in a spot," he said adding.