State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on Tuesday announced a long term partnership with Microsoft Corp to offer software solutions to its customers. The first product to be launched under the the BSNL Managed SaaS (Software as a Service) brand will be business mail services, the company said in a statement.
"Managed Business Mail is an innovative messaging and collaboration service for Indian businesses that will provide enterprises with rich enterprise-class email applications at an affordable price," BSNL chairman and managing director Kuldeep Goyal said. "The unique feature of BSNL's Managed Business Mail will be its availability from the mobile platform. This implies that the service will be accessible on smartphones of any service provider," he added.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Satyam
Almost no customer attrition recently, says Mahindra Satyam
Mahindra Satyam Ltd has seen almost no customer attrition since mid-April, new chief executive C. P. Gurnani said on Tuesday.
The company will also announce its reorganisation within 48 hours, he said. Outsourcer Satyam Computer Services rebranded itself as "Mahindra Satyam," as part of efforts to recover from India's worst corporate fraud. Tech Mahindra, 31 percent-owned by Britain's BT Group, won an auction in April for a controlling stake in Satyam.
The company will also announce its reorganisation within 48 hours, he said. Outsourcer Satyam Computer Services rebranded itself as "Mahindra Satyam," as part of efforts to recover from India's worst corporate fraud. Tech Mahindra, 31 percent-owned by Britain's BT Group, won an auction in April for a controlling stake in Satyam.
Layoffs in India
MySpace to shut 4 offices outside US
MySpace, the social network owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, said it plans to cut about two-thirds of its international workforce and close at least four of its offices outside the United States.
The proposed move comes a week after it said it will cut 30 per cent of its staff. Roughly half of MySpace's total user base comes from outside the United States. Rival Facebook's worldwide user base is more than double that of MySpace, according to market researcher comScore.
The proposed restructuring plan would apply to all international divisions of MySpace, reducing its international staff to about 150 from 450.
Under the proposed plan, MySpace would place all existing offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden and Spain under review for possible restructuring.
Upon completion, London, Berlin and Sydney would become primary regional hubs for MySpace's international operations. MySpace China, a locally owned, operated and managed company, and MySpace's joint venture in Japan will not be affected by the proposed plan, the company said.
The proposed move comes a week after it said it will cut 30 per cent of its staff. Roughly half of MySpace's total user base comes from outside the United States. Rival Facebook's worldwide user base is more than double that of MySpace, according to market researcher comScore.
The proposed restructuring plan would apply to all international divisions of MySpace, reducing its international staff to about 150 from 450.
Under the proposed plan, MySpace would place all existing offices in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden and Spain under review for possible restructuring.
Upon completion, London, Berlin and Sydney would become primary regional hubs for MySpace's international operations. MySpace China, a locally owned, operated and managed company, and MySpace's joint venture in Japan will not be affected by the proposed plan, the company said.
Satyam
Mahindra Satyam gets new CEO, CFO
IT services provider Mahindra Satyam (formerly Satyam Computer Services) today got a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in C P Gurnani and a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in S Durgashankar.
Gurnani replaces A S Murty who, till the rebranding of Satyam on June 21, was the CEO. Murty will continue with the company. His new designation could not be confirmed, but he is likely to get a title like ‘Chief Technology Officer’.
“What is sure is that Murty will be a senior member of the corporate strategy group,” confirmed a source. Murty was made CEO by the government-appointed board after Ram Myanampati quit the post and left the country. Myanampati has reportedly put in his papers. However, a company spokesperson declined to comment on “speculation”.
Durgashankar, as CFO, fills the long-standing vacancy left by the departure of Srinivas Vadlamani, implicated in the multi-crore fraud at Satyam and currently in judicial custody. Durgashankar, till this announcement, was Senior VP (Mergers & Acquisitions) at Mahindra & Mahindra.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Kalra — also on the board of Mahindra Satyam — was today appointed CEO of Tech Mahindra. Vineet Nayyar has now become executive vice-chairman for both Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam. The announcements were made here by Chairman Anand Mahindra.
“These executive appointments will help the respective companies leverage their immense global experience across different verticals, in their quest to take an unassailable lead,” he said. The new owners are also planning to have a common board to chart the future road map.
Nayyar, Gurnani and Kalra form the key part of the executive team at Tech Mahindra. This team was brought in from HCL just before TM went public in 2006.
“I am delighted to announce these two names. The three of us go a fairly long way. We have continued our journey through a number of companies and we have been fortunate so far. But these two individuals face the biggest challenges going ahead,” said Nayyar.
He said, going ahead, integration of both these firms is inevitable. “Both the firms will exist under the umbrella of the Mahindra family, but I don’t think they will act as two separate companies,” he added.
While Kalra, at the helm of TM, will be responsible for further deepening the domain knowledge and to broaden the areas of operations, Gurnani will have more than a handful with the challenges that Mahindra Satyam is facing.
“At Mahindra Satyam, the challenges are greater, the issue is of governance, for which I will take responsibility and see that nothing like this happens ever again. My job is to see that there is congruence and ultimately there is convergence. Governance needs to be ingrained and implanted in the area of finance,” said Nayyar.
As for Gurnani, he will have to focus on retaining clients, regain market share, bring in operational efficiencies and build a brand. The Mahindra-Satyam combination can offer art-to-part services to customers, said Nayyar. “While Mahindra brings in its manufacturing expertise, Satyam has design capabilities. With 110 customers at Tech Mahindra, there is a huge opportunity for the company to grow”.
On clients, Gurnani said since April 13 the customer attrition has been almost zero, but a much more important thing was that the firm has won several deals. Tech Mahindra has already taken the synergy proposition to several clients. One of its clients from Germany also visited the Hyderabad centre recently, said Gurnani.
While the Mahindra Satyam stock was down 5 per cent at Rs 73.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Tech Mahindra stock was up 0.99 per cent to Rs 747.45 at close of trade on the BSE.
Tech Mahindra plans to raise funds via share sale
IT firm Tech Mahindra, the new owner of Satyam Computer, plans to raise funds by selling 13.6 million shares to institutional investors.
The board of directors of the company at its meeting yesterday approved the issue of 13.6 million shares by way of private placement or Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) basis, Tech Mahindra said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The company, however, did not disclose how much it was planning to raise through this share sale and at what price the shares would be alloted.
Gurnani replaces A S Murty who, till the rebranding of Satyam on June 21, was the CEO. Murty will continue with the company. His new designation could not be confirmed, but he is likely to get a title like ‘Chief Technology Officer’.
“What is sure is that Murty will be a senior member of the corporate strategy group,” confirmed a source. Murty was made CEO by the government-appointed board after Ram Myanampati quit the post and left the country. Myanampati has reportedly put in his papers. However, a company spokesperson declined to comment on “speculation”.
Durgashankar, as CFO, fills the long-standing vacancy left by the departure of Srinivas Vadlamani, implicated in the multi-crore fraud at Satyam and currently in judicial custody. Durgashankar, till this announcement, was Senior VP (Mergers & Acquisitions) at Mahindra & Mahindra.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Kalra — also on the board of Mahindra Satyam — was today appointed CEO of Tech Mahindra. Vineet Nayyar has now become executive vice-chairman for both Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam. The announcements were made here by Chairman Anand Mahindra.
“These executive appointments will help the respective companies leverage their immense global experience across different verticals, in their quest to take an unassailable lead,” he said. The new owners are also planning to have a common board to chart the future road map.
Nayyar, Gurnani and Kalra form the key part of the executive team at Tech Mahindra. This team was brought in from HCL just before TM went public in 2006.
“I am delighted to announce these two names. The three of us go a fairly long way. We have continued our journey through a number of companies and we have been fortunate so far. But these two individuals face the biggest challenges going ahead,” said Nayyar.
He said, going ahead, integration of both these firms is inevitable. “Both the firms will exist under the umbrella of the Mahindra family, but I don’t think they will act as two separate companies,” he added.
While Kalra, at the helm of TM, will be responsible for further deepening the domain knowledge and to broaden the areas of operations, Gurnani will have more than a handful with the challenges that Mahindra Satyam is facing.
“At Mahindra Satyam, the challenges are greater, the issue is of governance, for which I will take responsibility and see that nothing like this happens ever again. My job is to see that there is congruence and ultimately there is convergence. Governance needs to be ingrained and implanted in the area of finance,” said Nayyar.
As for Gurnani, he will have to focus on retaining clients, regain market share, bring in operational efficiencies and build a brand. The Mahindra-Satyam combination can offer art-to-part services to customers, said Nayyar. “While Mahindra brings in its manufacturing expertise, Satyam has design capabilities. With 110 customers at Tech Mahindra, there is a huge opportunity for the company to grow”.
On clients, Gurnani said since April 13 the customer attrition has been almost zero, but a much more important thing was that the firm has won several deals. Tech Mahindra has already taken the synergy proposition to several clients. One of its clients from Germany also visited the Hyderabad centre recently, said Gurnani.
While the Mahindra Satyam stock was down 5 per cent at Rs 73.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Tech Mahindra stock was up 0.99 per cent to Rs 747.45 at close of trade on the BSE.
Tech Mahindra plans to raise funds via share sale
IT firm Tech Mahindra, the new owner of Satyam Computer, plans to raise funds by selling 13.6 million shares to institutional investors.
The board of directors of the company at its meeting yesterday approved the issue of 13.6 million shares by way of private placement or Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) basis, Tech Mahindra said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The company, however, did not disclose how much it was planning to raise through this share sale and at what price the shares would be alloted.
Young Indians are risk-averse; Swiss Re survey
Indian youth have the lowest risk appetite in Asia-Pacific, according to a survey done by Swiss Re, a global reinsurer. The survey that interviewed people between 20 to 40 years of age said Indians prefer a secure job instead of turning entrepreneur.
Indians rank last in Asia-Pacific risk-taking index much behind Australia and China. According to Swiss Re, this ranking is attributable mainly to the respondents’ low appetite for career and finance risks. Capital preservation tops Indians’ investment priorities with only 29 per cent willing to take risks as against 36.8 per cent in China and 45.9 per cent in Japan.
So much so that 80 per cent of the 20 to 40 year-old Indians surveyed said that they are willing to sacrifice a high return in exchange for this security.
Clarence Wong, head- economic research and consulting, Asia at Swiss Re said, “the fact that only around 10 per cent of Indians are covered by any form of pension scheme helps us understand the low financial risk tolerance of Indian respondents.
But Indians are not alone – most young adults in Asia-Pacific care about their future financial security, though some are a little more daring in their investment goals.”
To a certain extent, the reluctance of Indian consumers to use professional advisory services shows that the concept of financial planning itself, in contrast to mere savings or investments, is a notion that has only just begun to take root in that country, said the survey.
Indians are also Asia’s least willing to take career risks, with stability a key factor for employers or job seekers. About 75 per cent of Indian respondents, the highest percentage in Asia, said they prefer to work for a large and established company rather than move to a smaller company even if it offers them a higher salary or better growth prospects. This contrasts with China, where only 35 per cent opted for the security of working for a large company.
Similarly, almost 75 per cent of Indians chose a stable job over the challenge and opportunity of running their own business, whereas only 51 per cent of Chinese chose this option. The survey found that Indians, Chinese and Malaysians were most careful about health risks whereas the Koreans and Japanese were least careful.
Indians rank last in Asia-Pacific risk-taking index much behind Australia and China. According to Swiss Re, this ranking is attributable mainly to the respondents’ low appetite for career and finance risks. Capital preservation tops Indians’ investment priorities with only 29 per cent willing to take risks as against 36.8 per cent in China and 45.9 per cent in Japan.
So much so that 80 per cent of the 20 to 40 year-old Indians surveyed said that they are willing to sacrifice a high return in exchange for this security.
Clarence Wong, head- economic research and consulting, Asia at Swiss Re said, “the fact that only around 10 per cent of Indians are covered by any form of pension scheme helps us understand the low financial risk tolerance of Indian respondents.
But Indians are not alone – most young adults in Asia-Pacific care about their future financial security, though some are a little more daring in their investment goals.”
To a certain extent, the reluctance of Indian consumers to use professional advisory services shows that the concept of financial planning itself, in contrast to mere savings or investments, is a notion that has only just begun to take root in that country, said the survey.
Indians are also Asia’s least willing to take career risks, with stability a key factor for employers or job seekers. About 75 per cent of Indian respondents, the highest percentage in Asia, said they prefer to work for a large and established company rather than move to a smaller company even if it offers them a higher salary or better growth prospects. This contrasts with China, where only 35 per cent opted for the security of working for a large company.
Similarly, almost 75 per cent of Indians chose a stable job over the challenge and opportunity of running their own business, whereas only 51 per cent of Chinese chose this option. The survey found that Indians, Chinese and Malaysians were most careful about health risks whereas the Koreans and Japanese were least careful.
BPO, New Deals
Firstsource bags Rs 1.45 bn Idea deal
Business process outsourcing firm Firstsource Solutions Ltd said on Tuesday it has secured a five-year, Rs 1.45-billion outsourcing contract from mobile operator Idea Cellular.
Firstsource will provide a range of services, including customer service, billing, new product information and plan details-related interaction services to Idea from its centre in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, it said in a statement. The outsourcer derives about 34 per cent of its revenue from services to the telecom sector.
Firstsource will provide a range of services, including customer service, billing, new product information and plan details-related interaction services to Idea from its centre in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, it said in a statement. The outsourcer derives about 34 per cent of its revenue from services to the telecom sector.
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