MakeMyTrip, India’s leading travel portal has entered into a strategic tie-up with IBM Daksh for five year contract for outsourcing contact services.

This is for the first time a travel portal in the country has outsourced its customer support functions and after-sales support to a BPO company. The contract valued at US$ 15 million, involves augmentation of MakeMyTrip’s sales, customer service, and back office capabilities.

As per agreement, IBM Daksh, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IBM, would absorb about 225 employees from MakeMyTrip.com.

Launched in September 2005, MakeMyTrip was funded by Helion Venture Partners, headed by Sanjiv Aggarwal who incidentally started Daksh and later sold to IBM for approximately $170 million in April 2004. The company recorded sales of Rs 1,000 crore in financial year ending 2008, making it India's largest travel site, with 40% market share.