While the mood is upbeat in Mahindra Satyam headquarters, the uncertainty is far from over. The massive attrition at senior levels with job market opening up and liabilities still unsettled, the management is readying up for a long-drawn battle.

One year on, the life at fraud-hit Satyam is back to normal.  With a new owner, Mahindra, the company has survived but is still bruised and wounded.

CP Gurnani, CEO of Mahindra Satyam, is the man in the hot seat and he knows there is no room for error. But with the billion-dollar Upaid case settled for just under-100 million dollars, confidence is high on Mahindra Satyam's campus to tackle the next big hurdle: class-action suits.

Gurnani, the CEO, said, "The clients were asking about Upaid all the time. Now, that the dispute is behind us, the focus is on growth and we are running hard to settle pending matters."

Its only when the liabilities are sorted and financial results restated by June 2010, the merger will become a possibility. Drawing synergies between Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam for a joint go-to-market strategy and win deals is for now a work-in-progress.

Padma Parthasarathy, head of special initiatives of Mahindra Satyam, said, "We have completed the basic get-to-know exercise but now is the time to got to market more visibly and draw from the M&M group synergy in a big way."

While the mood is upbeat in Mahindra Satyam headquarters, the uncertainty is far from over. The massive attrition at senior levels with job market opening up and liabilities still unsettled, the management is readying up for a long-drawn battle.