Sony Europe outsources IT to India

Sony Europe, the European division of the Japanese electronics colossus, has outsourced some of its core IT development functions to India-based Satyam Computer Services.

SAT application development and support, enterprise application integration (EAI) and testing services for Sony Europe have been transferred to Satyam’s new offshore development centre (ODC) in Bangalore, the IT services company announced.

The move will “enable the Sony Infrastructure Services (IS) team to focus on core activities such as platform enhancement, optimisation and innovation,” Satyam said in a statement announcing the move. It will also enable Sony to reduce IS costs, the statement added.

Satyam, which has previously collaborated with Sony Europe, stated the transfer would help Sony Europe to integrate key business processes, increase operational efficiency, improve information flow and access, and enable interoperability among heterogeneous applications.

“Satyam’s deep expertise and proven track record with SAP will enable Sony Europe in meeting its objectives,” said Keshab Panda, director and senior vice president at Satyam Europe. “We are well on our way to creating real business value and bolstering our outstanding relationship with Sony Europe,” he added. Som Sarma, Satyam’s European vice president, said that the deal was a milestone for ODCs. “The fact that Sony has decided to go ahead with an investment inside Satyam shows the maturity of offering such a service at such a high level,” Sarma said.

He added that the centre was expected to employ between 55 and 80 members of staff by the end of the year. The outsourcing comes at the end of what has been a difficult year for Sony.

The company has been plagued by difficulties as various notebook vendors including Apple, Dell, Toshiba and Lenovo recalled millions of its lithium ion batteries.

To add to its woes, Sony now seems to be losing market share in video games to rival Nintendo after releasing its delayed PlayStation 3 console.

According to the latest figures from NPD, Nintendo sold more than 476,000 units of its new Wii video game in the US in November, more than twice the number of the new PlayStation sold by Sony.