"We now jointly own the IT with FIFA," says Gandhi. "We were also the sponsors, so the Mahindra Satyam branding was also important at that point of time. It had a huge impact. The brand recall was amazing. After this, we have started a sports vertical now."

For Mahindra Satyam, there were some positive signs to begin with, at least in the Asia Pacific region. "Now, in Asia Pac, we have not lost customers," he says. "On the contrary, we have found 12 new significant customers, netting in large, multimillion dollar deals. We have found a new customer in the Singapore government. We signed up with a large financial institution in Australia, a new customer in the area of platform BPO vertical. That is something people are talking about."

Gandhi outlined Satyam's growing expectations for Japan. "From an existing customer in Japan, we were managing certain parts of their applications. Another major player was managing the other part. With an open tender, we could significantly increase our share and grow our Japan business."

In Singapore, Satyam has signed multiple deals with the Singapore government, says Gandhi. "Employee strength in our office in Singapore has doubled in one year."