HCL Tech to acquire UK firm Datawave, assets of Alpha Insight

By Keshav Sunkara

  • 06 Sep 2017
Credit: Reuters

HCL Technologies Ltd, India’s fourth-largest software services exporter, has agreed to buy Edinburg-based data management firm Datawave for up to £7 million (about Rs 58.57 crore) in cash, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

The acquisition will enhance HCL Tech’s digital analytics capabilities in data management and bolster its overall data analytics offering in the financial services vertical of the company, the filings stated.

Operated by ETL Factory Limited, Datawave’s automation platform enables enterprise customers to execute large scale, complex data-migration and data-integration projects

ETL Factory was founded in 2012 and has been engaged in supporting data integration for the financial services vertical. In 2016-17, the company had a turnover of £6.2 million.

“In the recent market study done by HCL, 81% of organisations said they were overwhelmed with the volume and variety of data needed to drive digital transformation. Datawave’s automation solutions will significantly help our clients accelerate their digital journey through a robust data architecture,” said Anand Birje, head of the digital and analytics division at HCL Technologies.

The IT services firm also partnered with London-based fin-tech company Alpha Insight by acquiring select assets for up to £3.25 million (about Rs 27.17 crore), stock exchange filings indicated.

The partnership will integrate Alpha Insight’s operations intelligence platform iControl with HCL Tech’s DryICE suite of products. Besides complementing DryICE, the acquisition will also create new opportunities for HCL Tech’s software-as-a-Service model, the filings stated.

Founded in 2013, Alpha Insight specialises in business flow monitoring and operational intelligence with a primary focus on the financial services sector.

HCL Tech, founded by billionaire Shiv Nadar, has snapped up several overseas assets as Indian software services exporters seek to diversify their offerings beyond their traditional outsourcing business. It is a global IT services company operating out of 32 countries. The company registered consolidated revenue of $7.2 billion for 12 months ended 30 June 2017.

Recent acquisitions by HCL Technologies

Earlier this year in April, HCL Tech acquired US-based Urban Fulfillment Services LLC for up to $30 million (Rs 193 crore).

In October last year, IT services firm agreed to acquire US-based engineering and design services provider Butler America Aerospace LLC for $85 million.

In April 2016, the company bought the IT business of Mumbai-based engineering services provider Geometric in an all-stock deal valued around Rs 1,300 crore (around $200 million).