Tech Slump Helps Wipro As Companies Farm Out Services To India Firm Grows, Diversifies.(A)

Byline: J. BONASIA

Richard Garnick, chief executive of Wipro Technologies for the Americas, has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Garnick was fortunate enough to join Wipro, an India-based provider of technology services, in 2001 when the U.S. tech economy tanked. The downturn has been a boon for Wipro and other offshore outsourcing firms. Such companies use inexpensive labor to write software and provide services at a fraction of the cost of U.S. counterparts.

Wipro has notched 22% revenue growth in the past two quarters. Sales topped $700 million last year, up from $668 million in 2001.

"There's tremendous interest and growth now for offshore firms," Garnick said. "We're still in the early phase for this model."

Information technology is thriving in India, which has a large pool of well-educated, English-speaking workers. The Indian IT industry's sales rose from $150 million in 1991 to $13.5 billion last year, says the Confederation of Indian Industry.

India isn't alone. Other offshore tech centers have sprung up in Ireland, Russia, China and Poland. And U.S. firms have started to outsource more tech projects to near-shore providers in Mexico and Canada.