I got a much deeper understanding of the relationship between the newly expanded iGate Patni (see iGate gets into gear) and its key UK public sector partner, Serco, yesterday, from Serco learning MD, Mohamad Djahanbakhsh. We wrote about (then) Patni’s landmark contract to develop Serco Leaning’s new flagship training management platform, Progresso, just over a year ago (see Patni helps Serco get educated). What wasn’t clear at the time (at least, not to me) is that iGate Patni retains the rights to the IP for the new product as well as to the legacy product (Facility) that it acquired from Serco and is now supporting.
There’s two key themes here. First, it’s another example of IT services players (and notably, India-based IT services players) building up their ‘platform’ IP portfolio (see Offshore suppliers up the stakes in platform-based BPS). Secondly, it shows how partnering can provide access to the UK public sector market that might otherwise be, if not a no-go area, then certainly a difficult one to traverse for players the size (and, dare we say, heritage) of iGate Patni.