December 30, 2008; MUMBAI:

Bang smack in the middle of recession, an acquisition. What's more exciting? The acquisition is by an Indian company. What's even more exciting? It's by an Indian IT and Engineering company of a Chicago-based IT for Oil and gas company. What a happy thought to step into the new year.

Rolta has announced the acquisition of Piocon Technologies Inc. Post the acquisition, Rolta claims to have in place, 'a template based solution to address the unique needs of the oil and refining industry'.

Piocon, a company that has been focussing on this industry for about 15 years, has received accreditation from Nuclear Power Operations (NPO) worldwide with a standard Ap-913, originally created to ensure equipment reliability in the nuclear power industry.

Rolta's acquisition hopes to strengthen its expertice in the area of SOA, data integration and business intelligence, besides opening up a niche, but vital industry vertical for operation.