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September 21, 2006
EPAM expands Russian presence
By Tamina Vahidy
EPAM, an outsourcing provider with strong ties to Russia, has expanded its presence in that region. EPAM is merging with Vested Development (VDI).
EPAM and VDI have similar models, with both companies having a strong managerial presence in the U.S. but technology seats in Russia. In the wake of the merger, which will see the combined entity retain the EPAM name and Arkady Dobkin as CEO, EPAM will go from 1,700 to 2,200 seats, based mostly in Russia.
Given the nature of Indian IT outsourcing competition, 2,200 seats is not a lot; but the Russian IT philosophy has always been about quality over quantity. EPAM is pursuing a more targeted philosophy, zeroing in on clients and geographies (e.g. Germany) friendlier to its model.
However, the merger with VDI gives EPAM another option, that of selling more heavily into Russia itself. "Compared to EPAM, VDI started to work on the Russian market much earlier and by now has a more substantial track record on this market," stated Dobkin, who says that the company's ultimate goal is to derive between 15 and 20 percent of total revenue from Russia.
Dobkin says that many of EPAM's existing clients are more established software vendors who use EPAM as an adjunct to their own development efforts. Such clients include SAP, Microsoft, BEA, and Hyperion.
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