Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he was forced to give up on the social networking phenomenon Facebook after too many people wanted to be his friend. Gates, the billionaire computer geek-turned-philanthropist who was honoured Saturday by India for his charity work, told an audience in New Delhi he had tried out Facebook but ended up with "10,000 people wanting to be my friends".
Gates, who remains Microsoft chairman, said he had trouble figuring out whether he "knew this person, did I not know this person".
"It was just way too much trouble so I gave it up," Gates told the business forum.
Gates was in the Indian capital to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, awarded by the government for his work for the charitable organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The foundation, built by his massive fortune, has committed nearly one billion dollars to health and development projects in India, targeting especially AIDS and polio.
Gates also confided to the audience that he was "not that big at text messaging" and that "I'm not a 24-hour-a-day tech person".
"I read a lot and some of that reading is not on a computer," he said.
Gates, who sought to drive a vision of a computer on every desk and in every home, said the information technology revolution had been "hugely beneficial" but added: "All these tools of tech waste our time if we're not careful."
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Infosys, IT market, Recession, Satyam, TCS, Wipro
Campus Recruitments: IT cos freeze recruitments before final semester
The days of goofing off in the last year of college after getting job placements in the penultimate academic year are over for students.
The IT industry, the biggest recruiter in colleges, has decided to visit campuses only in the final semester leaving students with no choice but to study hard even in their last year.
Most IT companies have so far been making offers at least a year or so before graduation, prompting students to take it easy in their final year. But not any more.
“All our member companies have unanimously taken this decision. The change is not only for this year, it is permanent,” said Som Mittal, president of software industry body Nasscom. The decision taken by Nasscom is unlikely to be reversed even if demand picks up. In fact, the trend may even catch up with companies outside the IT industry.
Nasscom has sent a communication to industry associations, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), which have in turn circulated it among their members.
The IT industry hired 2,26,614 people in 2008-09, and an even bigger number 3,89,000 in the previous year. In the last few quarters of 2008-09 and in the current year, the slowdown has caused the industry to recruit less and also extend joining dates for freshers. The uncertainity in demand has made it hard for IT firms to forecast how many employees they would need to meet their future requirements.
Some students who have graduated in 2008 and have been made job offers are yet to join companies as uncertain demand has made it hard for companies to predict the number of employees they will need in the coming year.
“WE felt it would be better if we go to campuses in the eighth semester when we would be in a better position to understand what the demand would be,” Ajoy Mukherjee, Global Head - Human Resources, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), said.
TCS, which interacts annually with the heads of some of the top management and engineering colleges, said the colleges were agreeable to it.
“That’s the kind of feedback we were getting from the institutes also. They felt students tend to relax once they have got a job and focus less on studies. Trainee offers were being done a year in advance. For example, the students we made offers to last year will be joining us this year,” added Mr Mukherjee.
“It is better for the companies and for the students,” said Infosys Technologies board member and director-human resources, Mohandas Pai. He said Infosys had communicated its decision to all the 500-600 colleges it visits . “I cannot comment on how many colleges we will exactly visit. All I can say is that the colleges are happy,” he said.
According to Mr Mittal, companies were hiring almost three years ahead of demand as they were visiting campuses in the fifth semester (around the third year) of engineering.
After the students graduate, it takes approximately another year before they become productive because they have to undergo training before being assigned any client projects.
The IT industry, the biggest recruiter in colleges, has decided to visit campuses only in the final semester leaving students with no choice but to study hard even in their last year.
Most IT companies have so far been making offers at least a year or so before graduation, prompting students to take it easy in their final year. But not any more.
“All our member companies have unanimously taken this decision. The change is not only for this year, it is permanent,” said Som Mittal, president of software industry body Nasscom. The decision taken by Nasscom is unlikely to be reversed even if demand picks up. In fact, the trend may even catch up with companies outside the IT industry.
Nasscom has sent a communication to industry associations, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), which have in turn circulated it among their members.
The IT industry hired 2,26,614 people in 2008-09, and an even bigger number 3,89,000 in the previous year. In the last few quarters of 2008-09 and in the current year, the slowdown has caused the industry to recruit less and also extend joining dates for freshers. The uncertainity in demand has made it hard for IT firms to forecast how many employees they would need to meet their future requirements.
Some students who have graduated in 2008 and have been made job offers are yet to join companies as uncertain demand has made it hard for companies to predict the number of employees they will need in the coming year.
“WE felt it would be better if we go to campuses in the eighth semester when we would be in a better position to understand what the demand would be,” Ajoy Mukherjee, Global Head - Human Resources, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), said.
TCS, which interacts annually with the heads of some of the top management and engineering colleges, said the colleges were agreeable to it.
“That’s the kind of feedback we were getting from the institutes also. They felt students tend to relax once they have got a job and focus less on studies. Trainee offers were being done a year in advance. For example, the students we made offers to last year will be joining us this year,” added Mr Mukherjee.
“It is better for the companies and for the students,” said Infosys Technologies board member and director-human resources, Mohandas Pai. He said Infosys had communicated its decision to all the 500-600 colleges it visits . “I cannot comment on how many colleges we will exactly visit. All I can say is that the colleges are happy,” he said.
According to Mr Mittal, companies were hiring almost three years ahead of demand as they were visiting campuses in the fifth semester (around the third year) of engineering.
After the students graduate, it takes approximately another year before they become productive because they have to undergo training before being assigned any client projects.
IT market, Recession
The tough get going
Source: BusinessStandard.com
India’s information technology leaders have managed to beat analyst and market expectations by turning in a credible performance in the quarter ended June, in challenging times that show no clear signs of getting any easier.
While TCS and Infosys hold back from saying that light is visible at the end of the tunnel, Wipro chairman Azim Premji has struck half a note of optimism by declaring that he sees the “first signs of stability in the business as ramp downs start to taper off and volumes start to stabilise.”
What this stability means is that while things were in some kind of a free fall, with technology chiefs in client companies not knowing what budget would be available for the year, now both the industry and clients know where they stand. But there is no upside, as new projects are nowhere in sight. This is reflected in Infosys cutting both its current quarter and full year guidance, and Wipro issuing a virtually flat guidance for the current quarter.
In a situation where global IT spending is projected to go down in the current year by 6-11 per cent, Wipro’s IT services revenue has gone down for the third successive quarter and Infosys’s for the second, while TCS’s revenue has gone up by less than 1 per cent in the last two quarters. This is the result of an across-the-board fall in prices, with no sign of recovery in sight. N Chandrasekaran, who is set to take over from S Ramadorai at the head of TCS, has flatly declared that “we will be lucky if we are able to contain prices at the current levels.” The leading IT firms have sought to counter this in a number of ways. They have raised utilisation (the percentage of staff who are billed) and sought to deliver greater volumes — offering more for less. Plus, they have brought more work home. This has lowered both costs and revenue (on-shore billing rates are higher) while managing to protect margins for the most part. Infosys’s net margin at 28 per cent is virtually where it has always been and TCS’s net margin is down by no more than a percentage point to 18. Both TCS and Infosys have reduced their headcount in the last quarter and the latter passed over increments last year.
One plus point for India’s leading IT services firms has been the absence of any serious political fallout on their business in the client countries, despite historically high levels of unemployment. There has been no impact on outsourcing and offshoring and, if anything, the developed economies will rely more, not less, on Indian IT capabilities in order to improve efficiencies and lower costs. Indian vendors are aware that the easy times are over and are de-risking their business by reducing their reliance on the North American market. Another plus for them is the slow emergence of the domestic market, with government spending through the rollout of e-governance leading the way. This market deserves far more attention than it has got so far.
India’s information technology leaders have managed to beat analyst and market expectations by turning in a credible performance in the quarter ended June, in challenging times that show no clear signs of getting any easier.
While TCS and Infosys hold back from saying that light is visible at the end of the tunnel, Wipro chairman Azim Premji has struck half a note of optimism by declaring that he sees the “first signs of stability in the business as ramp downs start to taper off and volumes start to stabilise.”
What this stability means is that while things were in some kind of a free fall, with technology chiefs in client companies not knowing what budget would be available for the year, now both the industry and clients know where they stand. But there is no upside, as new projects are nowhere in sight. This is reflected in Infosys cutting both its current quarter and full year guidance, and Wipro issuing a virtually flat guidance for the current quarter.
In a situation where global IT spending is projected to go down in the current year by 6-11 per cent, Wipro’s IT services revenue has gone down for the third successive quarter and Infosys’s for the second, while TCS’s revenue has gone up by less than 1 per cent in the last two quarters. This is the result of an across-the-board fall in prices, with no sign of recovery in sight. N Chandrasekaran, who is set to take over from S Ramadorai at the head of TCS, has flatly declared that “we will be lucky if we are able to contain prices at the current levels.” The leading IT firms have sought to counter this in a number of ways. They have raised utilisation (the percentage of staff who are billed) and sought to deliver greater volumes — offering more for less. Plus, they have brought more work home. This has lowered both costs and revenue (on-shore billing rates are higher) while managing to protect margins for the most part. Infosys’s net margin at 28 per cent is virtually where it has always been and TCS’s net margin is down by no more than a percentage point to 18. Both TCS and Infosys have reduced their headcount in the last quarter and the latter passed over increments last year.
One plus point for India’s leading IT services firms has been the absence of any serious political fallout on their business in the client countries, despite historically high levels of unemployment. There has been no impact on outsourcing and offshoring and, if anything, the developed economies will rely more, not less, on Indian IT capabilities in order to improve efficiencies and lower costs. Indian vendors are aware that the easy times are over and are de-risking their business by reducing their reliance on the North American market. Another plus for them is the slow emergence of the domestic market, with government spending through the rollout of e-governance leading the way. This market deserves far more attention than it has got so far.
HP
HP targets publishing, pharma industry in Gujarat
The imaging and printing division of Hewlett-Packard India (HP) will be focusing on pharma and publishing industry in Gujarat in the near future. The company is also planning to increase its footprint in the state, which accounts for around 17 per cent of HP’s business.
“We will look at bigger opportunities in markets like pharma and publishing for our digital printing business. Around 80 per cent of pharma revenues comes from Gujarat. Publishing industry is also growing rapidly at 30 per cent per annum.
Therefore, it is being looked from a strategic perspective as far as the digital printing business in Gujarat is concerned,” said Puneet Chadha, director - graphic solutions business, imaging and printing group, Hewlett-Packard India
The company has already strengthened its position in the digital printing space by launching its Indigo Digital Offset Press in Gujarat. For this, HP has tied up with Gandhinagar-based Printwell Offset, an end-to-end digital offset printing solutions provider.
“The Indigo Digital Offset Press will offer a range of unique offerings for home consumers as well as businesses that address the latent gaps in the conventional analogue-based printing industry,” Chadha added.
According to Chadha, typically, an Indigo Digital Offset Press installation costs around Rs 3 crore.
“We will look at bigger opportunities in markets like pharma and publishing for our digital printing business. Around 80 per cent of pharma revenues comes from Gujarat. Publishing industry is also growing rapidly at 30 per cent per annum.
Therefore, it is being looked from a strategic perspective as far as the digital printing business in Gujarat is concerned,” said Puneet Chadha, director - graphic solutions business, imaging and printing group, Hewlett-Packard India
The company has already strengthened its position in the digital printing space by launching its Indigo Digital Offset Press in Gujarat. For this, HP has tied up with Gandhinagar-based Printwell Offset, an end-to-end digital offset printing solutions provider.
“The Indigo Digital Offset Press will offer a range of unique offerings for home consumers as well as businesses that address the latent gaps in the conventional analogue-based printing industry,” Chadha added.
According to Chadha, typically, an Indigo Digital Offset Press installation costs around Rs 3 crore.
H1-B, NRIs
Bill Gates: US curbs on talent a mistake
Microsoft founder Bill Gates said it would be a "big mistake" if the US imposes curbs on the entry of skilled workers from abroad, putting his weight behind "smart people" from countries like India who want to work overseas.
"I can't make any predictions. Immigration policy could get more difficult. Microsoft as a company is very vocal. It would be a big mistake," Gates, here for overseeing the philanthropic activities of his foundation, said in an interaction with India Inc.
"The US Congress is very tough on immigration. But why not make an exception for smart people?" said Gates while addressing an interactive session organised by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom).
Even though Gates now devotes most of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he has always been vocal about his support for migrant professionals that is reflected in the number of such workers at the
Microsoft offices in the US.
Gates said he was also keen to partner India in its ambitious plan to issue a single identity card and number to its 1.17 billion citizens for which a new authority has been formed under Infosys Technologies co-founder Nandan Nilekani.
"Microsoft wants to be part of the Unique Identification Authority of India project," he said, adding that he hoped to meet with Nilekani to discuss the issue.
"I can't make any predictions. Immigration policy could get more difficult. Microsoft as a company is very vocal. It would be a big mistake," Gates, here for overseeing the philanthropic activities of his foundation, said in an interaction with India Inc.
"The US Congress is very tough on immigration. But why not make an exception for smart people?" said Gates while addressing an interactive session organised by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom).
Even though Gates now devotes most of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he has always been vocal about his support for migrant professionals that is reflected in the number of such workers at the
Microsoft offices in the US.
Gates said he was also keen to partner India in its ambitious plan to issue a single identity card and number to its 1.17 billion citizens for which a new authority has been formed under Infosys Technologies co-founder Nandan Nilekani.
"Microsoft wants to be part of the Unique Identification Authority of India project," he said, adding that he hoped to meet with Nilekani to discuss the issue.
Cost cutting, Infosys
No cost-cutting in critical areas: Infosys
The Indian IT industry, which has grown rapidly due to innovation and low cost products, has not reduced strategic investment despite cutting costs, Infosys Technologies Chief Executive and Managing Director S Gopalakrishnan said.
Addressing a session on 'Role of Innovation in an Economic Downturn', organised by CII, he said that IT industry was still on a strong footing and bound to grow with more investment in research and development (R&D).
"We invest more in new services, value additions, new solutions and products, so that even if they don't pay now, they will pay later on. Though radical innovation is time consuming, it will definitely pay in the longer run," he said.
Though Indian companies were focusing on process innovations, they should switch over to product innovations, he said, adding Universities should also focus on R&D.
Indian companies were also buying companies located in the developed countries. This also helped them market their products globally and would also help to accelerate growth. "They can be successful and make a significant impact if they focus on new products and innovations also," he said.
Addressing a session on 'Role of Innovation in an Economic Downturn', organised by CII, he said that IT industry was still on a strong footing and bound to grow with more investment in research and development (R&D).
"We invest more in new services, value additions, new solutions and products, so that even if they don't pay now, they will pay later on. Though radical innovation is time consuming, it will definitely pay in the longer run," he said.
Though Indian companies were focusing on process innovations, they should switch over to product innovations, he said, adding Universities should also focus on R&D.
Indian companies were also buying companies located in the developed countries. This also helped them market their products globally and would also help to accelerate growth. "They can be successful and make a significant impact if they focus on new products and innovations also," he said.
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