Taking advantage of India’s low-cost software developers.
By: George Frey
Mascon, a global information technology firm with offices in Princeton Township, recently formalized a joint venture company to develop and maintain core processing software for MasterCard.
The new venture, called Mascon-MasterCard Global Technology Services Limited, will develop and maintain proprietary software for MasterCard’s core processing functions of authorization, clearing and settlement, Mascon announced.
Additionally, the company will provide consulting services to MasterCard member financial institutions, processors and vendors. The joint venture will operate a sophisticated and secure software development center in Chennai, India.
The new company hopes to create a systems platform that will present options for MasterCard and the banks that issue MasterCard, according to Don Wilcox, a vice president of projects with Mascon who has been involved with the MasterCard program since its inception.
The platform options include more flexibility in how data are handled in order to provide better and faster services for everyone involved with MasterCard transactions. The new system also will allow international banks more flexibility to customize both the time of day they want to settle their accounts and the currency in which they settle the accounts.
It also will allow banks to communicate with one another through the system, which was not possible in the past, Mr. Wilcox said.
"MasterCard wanted to develop and maintain its core processing software," said Robert Reeg, a vice president of systems development for MasterCard. "India offers extremely good technology. We did not choose to go with the lowest-cost provider. We have pretty high standards, and we went with what we thought was the best company."
The new partnership also represents a milestone for Mascon in that it will serve as a model for future offshore projects the company hopes to establish, said Naru Narayanan, a managing partner with Mascon.
Mascon officials said a project of this scope done in India has significant financial benefits. A project may see cost differences between 40 and 60 percent, compared with a project done domestically, company officials said.
Mascon Global is an active solution provider to both the banking industry and Fortune 500 clients. It works with major U.S. and Asian banks to develop banking applications.
Mascon was ranked fifth on the 2001 Deloitte & Touche Technology 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in North America. The rankings are based on five-year percentage revenue growth from 1996-2000. Mascon grew 74,900 percent during that period.