Misys expands operations in India

Misys is expanding its software development operations in India, by setting up a facility in Bangalore for product development and professional services around wares from its Risk Management Systems business unit.

The expansion in Bangalore is in line with the company’s strategy to expand its offshore software development centers in India and the Philippines, according to Helen O’Dea, people and communications director of Misys Banking and Securities Division.

The facility will have 100 people by next year, which will go up to 250 by 2006, according to Jim McGregor, head of development and support of the Risk Management Systems unit.

“With the 2006 deadline for banks to implement the Basel II recommendations, major European financial institutions will need to upgrade their existing risk management systems to comply,” said McGregor. “Misys Risk Management Systems is upgrading its flagship risk management product suite – Risk Vision – to incorporate the new functionality required, and we expect the Bangalore team to contribute significantly to this effort.” Basel II is a new set of worldwide banking regulations covering risk assessment and operational procedures.

Misys, in London, is a software company focused on the banking and securities, health care, and financial services markets. The Retail Banking Systems unit of Misys Banking and Securities Division already has a 300-staff center in Bangalore, which does end-to-end product development and offers professional services around the company’s Bankmaster product suite. Misys Hospital Systems, a part of Misys Healthcare Division, also has a software development center in Bangalore, that employs about 100 people.

Besides the centers in Bangalore, Misys also has offshore development centers in Manila. The centers in Manila do software development work around Equation, a retail banking product, and Midas, a product for wholesale banking. The cost of doing software development in India is about the same as in the Philippines, but India offers manpower with a larger variety of software development skills and expertise, according to Donal McGranaghan, head of the Bangalore center of the Retail Banking Unit.