Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Asia's largest global software solutions and consulting services company, today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Zoom Networks Inc, a leading IT and telecommunications service provider in China, to deliver world-class IT consulting and system integration services to local and multinational companies operating in China.

This MOU will leverage on the synergies between Zoom’s extensive local market knowledge and vertical domain expertise, and TCS’s track record in system design and quality management. The alliance will be focused initially on the telecommunications and financial services sectors, which is experiencing an increasing demand for software development and services. China’s software market is expected to grow at a rate of 21.3 per cent from 2002 to top 7.48 billion by 2005. As part of the MOU, TCS and Zoom will also jointly train local professionals in software design, management and implementation.

Commenting on the partnership, Girija Pande, regional director of TCS for Asia Pacific and chairman of Tata Information Technology (Shanghai) Co Ltd, said, "We see Zoom Networks as an excellent partner for the China market. They have deep domain expertise and an established track record developing and implementing solutions for telecommunications companies. Zoom also shares the same commitment to quality and we see that augmenting our vision to deliver best-in-class solutions to benefit the China market."

Said Xu Ling, CEO and president of Zoom Networks Inc, "With the fierce competition brought about by China’s entry into the WTO, we believe Zoom and Chinese companies will benefit from the best practices in systems design, management and implementation that TCS has developed from working with multinationals and Fortune 500 companies since 1968."

Mr Xu added that TCS also has an extensive base of customers in the telecommunications and financial services industry. Some of these customers include:

• Financial services: AXA Group, Citibank, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Standard Chartered Bank, Visa

• Telecommunications: AT&T, British Telecom, Far East Tone, Lucent, New World Mobility, Nokia

The MOU with Zoom Networks is another important milestone for TCS in China. In June 2002, TCS became the first Indian IT consulting company to set up a wholly-owned foreign enterprise (WOFE) in China with the opening of Tata Information Technology (Shanghai) Corporation. TCS concurrently established an office in Beijing to undertake marketing activities for the company’s China operations, and to cover areas in client relationship management, public relations and legal areas, in addition to providing support to the north-east and north-west regions.

TCS recently opened a development centre in Hangzhou which will provide end-to-end services for clients over the Asia Pacific region. The Hangzhou development centre will add to TCS's network of 28 global delivery centres located around the world including the US, Australia, Japan, India, Hungary, Uruguay and the UK.

Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a division of Tata Sons Limited, is Asia’s largest global software solutions and consulting services enterprise. With over 20,000 professionals working at over 100 branches in 31 countries worldwide, the company has over 1000 global clients including six of the US Fortune 10 companies. Its clients include companies such as AIG, Boeing, Citibank, Dell Computer Corporation, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Kellogg’s, Lucent Technologies and Nike among others. Tata Consultancy Services has 15 delivery centres assessed at SEI-CMM Level 5 – the highest number in the world. TCS has established the Tata Research Development and Design Centre (TRDDC) in Pune, India, dedicated to software research and development and the only one of its kind in Asia. The company’s website can be found at www.tcs.com

Zoom Networks Inc
Established in 1996, Zoom Networks Inc is one of the leading telecommunications service providers in China. The company is dedicated to its fundamental principles of utilising the most advanced technologies to develop a number of personalised products using network as its base platform. Zoom has proven itself to be one of the most successful system integration and software and hardware suppliers in China's telecommunications market. The application of its products and market share are consistently on the rise as it continues to differentiate itself with its unique product development capability, global quality inspection, and screening process. The company's products and services have obtained a substantial market share in China's telecommunications and finance sectors.