Blackstone today announced a strategic investment in ThoughtFocus Technologies LLC, a leading IT Service provider. The investment will establish the Blackstone Center of Excellence, an IT outsourcing and offshore delivery center, to provide key technology and other administrative services.

The Blackstone Center of Excellence was developed under ThoughtFocus's new business model for a Hybrid Center of Excellence (CoE), which addresses many of the shortcomings of the traditional IT outsourcing and offshore delivery centers by enabling the customer to build a true extension of their team and culture.

William Murphy, Chief Technology Officer at Blackstone, said, 'We have worked with ThoughtFocus to craft the Hybrid CoE model, which is the perfect combination of control and convenience in an offshoring relationship. The key to long-term success is creating a one-team culture around the globe, and our center at ThoughtFocus is an extension of our team at Blackstone. Blackstone's investment reflects our confidence in the new Hybrid CoE model as well as the expectation of the company's continued growth and success.'

Suman Radhakrishna, Chief Executive Officer of ThoughtFocus, said, 'The strategic partnership with Blackstone is a validation of the relationship we strive to forge with our customers. We listen to what they really need and act on it. The Hybrid CoE is an innovation that came from listening to our customers. The CIOs wanted to contain their risks with greater control over offshore people and processes. We flexed the rules of engagement of traditional outsourcing and came up with the Hybrid CoE model. It has been a runaway success with many clients who are excited to share their story.'

About Blackstone

Blackstone is one of the world's leading investment and advisory firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, the companies we advise and the broader global economy. We do this through the commitment of our extraordinary people and flexible capital. Our asset management businesses include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, hedge fund solutions, non-investment grade credit, secondary funds, and multi asset class exposures falling outside of other funds' mandates. Blackstone also provides various financial advisory services, including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

About ThoughtFocus

ThoughtFocus is a leading IT Service provider with over 575 employees serving customers in over 15 countries from 7 locations in the US and India. ThoughtFocus specializes in Offshore IT Outsourcing, Outsourced Product Development, Enterprise Applications, Payment Processing Solutions, Mobile Applications and Legacy Modernization among other IT Services. ThoughtFocus also offers several products prominent among which are FocusPay, ACE, FocusSales and FocusCRM. The company has found a niche in helping large & mid-size companies leverage offshore skilled labor and cost efficiencies with a unique Hybrid CoE model that de-risks outsourcing and delivers the value of captive centers without the regulatory overheads. For information visit www.ThoughtFocus.com or write to info@ThoughtFocus.com.