IT Outsourcing Continues Growth in Healthcare, Life Sciences

IT outsourcing has made its way into all manner of industries, from financial to retail to government. One area that seems to be heating up a bit is the life sciences and healthcare market.

Clearly, the down economy is pushing more interest into IT outsourcing among life sciences and healthcare organizations, even though this sector has suffered less financially. Another catalyst is the ongoing interest, and push, for the development and adoption of health IT and electronic medical records.

Just last week, Indian outsourcing provider Wipro’s India, Middle East and Africa IT Business – Wipro Infotech – has landed a five-year outsourcing gig with Vasan Eye Care, one of India’s largest networks of eye care centers.

Vasan Eye Care, a unit of Vasah Healthcare Group, operates a network eye care hospitals in India, treating up to five million patients annually, and provides services such as cataract surgery, glaucoma services, vision rehabilitation, optical services, and even operates a clinic for treating ‘Computer Vision Syndrome’ (CVS), a range of complex of eye and vision problems which are experienced by computer users, according to Vasan Eye Care.

As part of the contract, Vasan Eye Care will outsource its entire IT infrastructure to Wipro for monitoring and management. The scope of service includes data center management and end-user support services.

The healthcare organization’s chief, Mentor K. Premraj said in a prepared statement that the group decided to outsource its IT so it could return its full attention on its core competency of offering eye care. The financial details of the deal were not released.

Meanwhile, Computer Sciences Corp. inked a deal that should help it get a stronger foothold in the life sciences market. CSC is acquiring Image Solutions Inc., a New Jersey firm specializing in regulatory submission management solutions and outsourcing services. (Again, financial terms were not disclosed.)

As reported in this article, ISI has more than 450 employees specializing in health care business process outsourcing, software design and integration, and professional services solutions. The company has offices in the U.S., U.K., Germany, China and South Korea.

In a statement released by CSC, the acquisition will support CSC’s strategic direction to expand its presence in the life sciences sector. Jinsoo Kim, ISI founder and CEO, said in a prepared statement that the “combination of these companies will establish CSC as a strong player in healthcare IT. Both companies will make a compelling combination to yield an end to end drug submission management solution that will serve our clients very well.”