MahSat paves way for IT cos' sports deals

KOLKATA: Mahindra Satyam — which as IT services provider to the FIFA World Cup was India’ sole representative at the month-long carnival in South Africa — has paved the way for other local tech firms also in clinching more deals in the fast-growing and lucrative sports vertical.“The whole world saw what weachieved in South Africa....handling the most popular sporting event with almostzero defects. We have shown the way... put India on the map, and hopefully, thebenefits of this would accrue to not just us but other Indian companies alsowanting to make a name for itself in the sports vertical,” Mahindra Satyamsports marketing head Sridhar Maturi told TOI from South Africa onMonday.Maturi said the 2010 soccer World Cup has proved agame-changer for the company not just in terms of brand visibility but also insilencing detractors about its ability to handle a project of such magnitude.“FIFA had been very supportive even during the period of crisis and webelieve we have lived up to the confidence they reposed in us,” he said.“We will now also look at securing more deals in other popular sports,besides football,” he added.However, Maturi did not elaborate whether a deal with the NBA — with whom the Mahindra Group has a tie-up — was a possibility for Mahindra Satyam. “The effect would be felt in areas beyond the sports vertical, which naturally would become a greater area of focus for Indian IT companies after the World Cup,” former Mahindra Satyam chairman Kiran Karnik said. “I expect more companies to expand their involvement with Africa, particularly South Africa since it is the most developed market in that continent, seeing what Mahindra Satyam did there,” added Karnik, a former Nasscom president.Mahindra Satyam CEO C P Gurnani could not be reached forcomment.