Why IT firms love doctors?

Indian IT and BPO companies are stepping up their focus on newer markets, and many of them have identified healthcare and life sciences as key growth drivers. Already, large firms such as TCS, Wipro and Infosys Technologies have 3,500, 3,000 and 1,500 people, respectively, in their healthcare practices.

The opportunity is massive; the global healthcare and life sciences industry is expected to spend $40 billion (Rs 1.6 lakh crore) on its IT requirements in 2008. “Healthcare providers are looking to modernise their legacy infrastructure and cut costs by outsourcing both their technology and BPO work to us,” says V. Balakrishnan, CFO, Infosys Technologies.

Apart from developing solutions and updating the technology platforms of foreign healthcare companies, tech companies like mid-tier vendor iGate Solutions have set up specialised clinical trials arms, while others such as Patni Computer Systems have graduated from developing applications for medical devices to actually developing the hardware itself.

The BPO sector, too, is lining up for a bite of the healthcare industry. “We process over 21 million medical claims annually and process over $40 million in healthcare documents daily,” says Neeraj Bhargava, CEO of WNS.

— Rahul Sachitanand