TORRANCE, CA: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of the world's largest IT software and services consulting organizations, announced a three-year contract with Toyota Financial Services (TFS), a leading provider of automotive financial services, to provide application support and development services for more than 60 TFS applications across a variety of hardware platforms. This is the first time that TFS, a subsidiary of the $120 billion Toyota Motor Corporation, has chosen to move its IT business outside the United States, notes the press release. Apart from the current engagement, TFS may leverage several of TCS' software products. Transitioning of application support ownership to TCS has already been done. A potential future project is to lay out a new open architecture for TFS in support of its efforts to expand its product offerings. Further, the new architecture would allow TFS to leverage the more open systems so that its global counterparts can also benefit, optimizing TFS' competitiveness worldwide. The project will be based on the onsite/offshore service delivery model. The onsite component would be carried out at the TFS facility in Torrance, CA and the offshore component at TCS' facility in Kolkata, India. TFS President and CEO George E. Borst inaugurated TFS’ new offshore development center in Kolkata on March 6, 2003. "Given TCS' experience and expertise in the IT software and solutions area, our domain knowledge in financial services and insurance, and our unmatched global reach to provide deployment and support, we are confident of delivering best-of-breed solutions to TFS," said Arup Gupta, president, TCS in North America. "We are pleased to add another company to our Southern California client roster."