U.S. Services Firm GCI Sets Up Shop in Brazil, China

IT services company Global Consultants (GCI) plans to set up shop in Brazil and China to service the operations in those countries of its multinational customers, according to an executive of the company.

Later, the services delivery centers in those two countries will also be used to service clients’ operations worldwide, said Jawahar Bekay, chief executive officer of the Indian operation of GCI.

The centers in Brazil and China will be set up during this year, and the company may take the acquisition route from the point of view of getting started faster, and also because having a local partner helps, Bekay said.

GCI, based in New Jersey, employs about 3,000; of those, around 2,300 are in the United States, and the rest are in India.

The company lets its clients choose whether they are serviced entirely from the United States, or from a combination of the United States and India. By setting up operations in Brazil and China, GCI can offer more options to its customers, Bekay said.

GCI is also focusing on China as low-cost alternative to India, as staff costs have been rising in India.

However, in the next three years, most of the company’s expansion will continue to be in India, Bekay said. The company plans to add more than 4,500 staff over the next three years, and the largest additions are likely to be in India followed by the United States, he added.

GCI’s expansion will be funded by a US$30 million investment in the company by Oak Investment Partners, which has acquired a minority stake in the company.

-John Ribeiro, IDG News Service

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