Indian outsourcer Wipro is to develop open-source business software and offer system integration services around the open-source database from software vendor Ingres, which will be marketed jointly by the two companies.

The tie-up with Wipro is one of a number of systems-integration partnerships that Ingres plans with Indian outsourcers, said Vivek Bhatnagar, Ingres’ country director for India, on Wednesday.

Last month, the company struck a deal with Satyam Computer Services, an outsourcer in Hyderabad, India, to meet the systems integration needs of government, retail and pharmaceutical customers around the world. It also has partnerships with outsourcers in the United States that have operations in India, like Cognizant Technology Solutions, an IT services company in Teaneck, N.J.

Indian outsourcers can influence their customers worldwide to use Ingres’ open-source software, said Bhatnagar. Ingres can also refer some of its clients to Indian outsourcers that have a practice around Ingres’ technologies, he added.

Ingres is also planning tie-ups with multinational service providers that have services delivery from India, Bhatnagar said.

Wipro of Bangalore is setting up an open-source Center of Excellence around Ingres’ technology, the company announced Wednesday. The company will focus on software in the areas of business intelligence, content management, data warehousing and business process management, Bhatnagar said. Wipro brings in the business expertise, while Ingres will provide the technology platform on which Wipro will be able to provide an open-source alternative to its enterprise customers, he added.

Wipro’s Ingres open-source practice will also focus on the Indian market, where open-source adoption is accelerating, Wipro said.

-John Ribeiro, IDG News Service (Bangalore Bureau)

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