IT analyst firm Gartner dismissed any threat to the over $60-billion Indian IT exports industry following US President Barak Obama's plan to stop giving tax breaks to those US companies shipping jobs abroad.
"There is no need for panic...Even if tax breaks are taken away, the US firms have to outsource because that makes business sense for them," Gartner senior research analyst Diptarup Chakroborty said.
"If the tax breaks are taken away, it is not going to impact the Indian IT industry adversely. With the global economy looking up, a lot of emerging markets are opening up. The contribution from those markets is going to offset the impact of tax breaks if any," he said.
As the overall market would be growing the problems of tax breaks will be overlooked by the firms. The software firms association Nasscom also has sought to downplay Obama's plan to slash tax breaks for companies shipping jobs abroad, saying the real worry is "protectionism" and not tax breaks.
"I think the concerns that we have is about indirect protectionism. I don't think tax break issue is really the one which is important for us. Obama's comment was not related to outsourcing. It's about US companies operating in regions where they get tax benefits," Nasscom VP Ameet Nivsarker said.
Friday, January 29, 2010
HCL, IT market, New Deals
HCL Tech bags Rs 231 cr Meggitt deal
Software company HCL Technologies today said it has received a contract worth around Rs 231 crore from UK-based defence equipment maker Meggitt for providing engineering services.
Meggitt signs $50 million (around Rs 231 crore) global engineering transformation services agreement with the company's engineering and R&D services (HCL ERS) division, HCL Technologies said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
"HCL integrates the right capabilities and business models to ensure organisations such as Meggitt establish a competitive advantage," HCL ERS Senior VP and Global Head of Sales & Practice Sandeep Kishore said.
HCL was selected based on its understanding of Meggitt's business challenges and proven track record of partnering with large aerospace and manufacturing companies on highly complex engineering development programmes.
"This strategic initiative will help us respond to the current economic environment while successfully positioning us for future growth," Meggitt's Chief Executive Terry Twigger said.
Meggitt PLC is an international group operating in North America, Europe and Asia, known for its specialised extreme environment engineering. Meggitt is a leader in civil and military aerospace equipment, sensing systems, combat support and defence systems training.
Meggitt signs $50 million (around Rs 231 crore) global engineering transformation services agreement with the company's engineering and R&D services (HCL ERS) division, HCL Technologies said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
"HCL integrates the right capabilities and business models to ensure organisations such as Meggitt establish a competitive advantage," HCL ERS Senior VP and Global Head of Sales & Practice Sandeep Kishore said.
HCL was selected based on its understanding of Meggitt's business challenges and proven track record of partnering with large aerospace and manufacturing companies on highly complex engineering development programmes.
"This strategic initiative will help us respond to the current economic environment while successfully positioning us for future growth," Meggitt's Chief Executive Terry Twigger said.
Meggitt PLC is an international group operating in North America, Europe and Asia, known for its specialised extreme environment engineering. Meggitt is a leader in civil and military aerospace equipment, sensing systems, combat support and defence systems training.
IT market
Microsoft profit up 60% to 6.7bn
Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that earnings in the most recent quarter jumped 60 per cent, helped by a rebound in personal computer sales.
The PC industry bounced back during the 2009 holiday shopping season after one of its roughest years to date. Microsoft's earnings are closely tied to computer sales because its two most profitable divisions make the Windows operating system and Office business software.
Microsoft said its net income for the fiscal second quarter that ended Dec. 31 rose to $6.7 billion, or 74 cents per share, compared with $4.2 billion, or 47 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 14 percent to $19 billion.
The latest version of Windows, called Windows 7, was released during the quarter. Revenue from the Windows business jumped 70 percent.
Shares of Microsoft rose 25 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $29.41 in extended trading after the release of results. Earlier, shares closed down 51 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $29.16.
The PC industry bounced back during the 2009 holiday shopping season after one of its roughest years to date. Microsoft's earnings are closely tied to computer sales because its two most profitable divisions make the Windows operating system and Office business software.
Microsoft said its net income for the fiscal second quarter that ended Dec. 31 rose to $6.7 billion, or 74 cents per share, compared with $4.2 billion, or 47 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 14 percent to $19 billion.
The latest version of Windows, called Windows 7, was released during the quarter. Revenue from the Windows business jumped 70 percent.
Shares of Microsoft rose 25 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $29.41 in extended trading after the release of results. Earlier, shares closed down 51 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $29.16.
IT market, New Deals, Wipro
Wipro in outsourcing deal with BAT
No. 3 Indian software-services firm Wipro Ltd said on Wednesday it signed a multi-year outsourcing deal with British American Tobacco Plc, the world's second-biggest cigarette maker.
Wipro will help British American Tobacco's application support services for global business operations, the company said in a statement. Financial details were not disclosed.
Wipro will help British American Tobacco's application support services for global business operations, the company said in a statement. Financial details were not disclosed.
IT market, Oracle
Oracle closes $7.4 bn Sun deal
Software major Oracle Corp has completed the takeover of hardware company Sun Microsystems Inc for $7.4 billion.
The deal, which was announced nine months ago, would transform the IT industry, Oracle said in a statement yesterday.
The two companies, which have a significant presence in India, together employs more than 26,000 people in the country. Oracle has more than 25,000 employees in India while Sun Microsystem has 1,200 people.
The Sun Solaris operating system is the leading platform for the Oracle database, Oracle's largest business. With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle can optimise Oracle database for some of the unique, high-end features of Solaris.
"With the addition of servers, storage, SPARC processors, the Solaris operating system, Java, and the MySQL database to Oracle's portfolio of database, middleware, and business applications, we plan to engineer and deliver open and integrated systems--from applications to disk--where all the pieces fit and work together out of the box," Oracle said.
The European Union's antitrust watchdog has approved the Sun-Oracle transaction last week saying the deal would not would restrict competition in the database's market. The approval from the EU came after months of investigation.
In April last year, Oracle has agreed to buy Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion or $9.50 a share in cash.
The deal, which was announced nine months ago, would transform the IT industry, Oracle said in a statement yesterday.
The two companies, which have a significant presence in India, together employs more than 26,000 people in the country. Oracle has more than 25,000 employees in India while Sun Microsystem has 1,200 people.
The Sun Solaris operating system is the leading platform for the Oracle database, Oracle's largest business. With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle can optimise Oracle database for some of the unique, high-end features of Solaris.
"With the addition of servers, storage, SPARC processors, the Solaris operating system, Java, and the MySQL database to Oracle's portfolio of database, middleware, and business applications, we plan to engineer and deliver open and integrated systems--from applications to disk--where all the pieces fit and work together out of the box," Oracle said.
The European Union's antitrust watchdog has approved the Sun-Oracle transaction last week saying the deal would not would restrict competition in the database's market. The approval from the EU came after months of investigation.
In April last year, Oracle has agreed to buy Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion or $9.50 a share in cash.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wipro
Wipro to give salary hike
India's third largest software exporter Wipro said it would hike salaries across the board this quarter, but did not indicate quantum.
According to Pratik Kumar, corporate vice president, human resources, the salary hike will be given out in February. He added, “The hike will be according to the industry standards.”
Wipro beat estimates with a 19 percent rise in December quarter profit and projected growth as a global economic recovery boosts demand for outsourcing services and eases pressure on fees.
New York-listed Wipro expects its IT services revenue to rise 3.6-5.4 percent in January-March from the preceding quarter to $1.16-$1.18 billion, after it posted a 4.9 percent sequential rise in the latest quarter.
The company also announced that it will hire people from campuses. Some 7,500 people hired previously are expected to join in Q4 and early next quarter.
Last week Tata Consultancy Services also announced that it expects to increase wages in the 2011 financial year.
TCS global head of HR Ajoy Mukherjee said the company has decided to give salary increments during financial year ending March 2011, although the exact quantum of hike is yet to be decided.
“There definitely will be a wage hike but the quantum is not finalised. We are considering three options,” Mukherjee said. While giving the hikes, the company will maintain the salary structure it moved to in FY10, which consists of a quarterly variable component and an annual variable component.
However, the company so far has no plans to increase the salaries of junior recruits.
According to Pratik Kumar, corporate vice president, human resources, the salary hike will be given out in February. He added, “The hike will be according to the industry standards.”
Wipro beat estimates with a 19 percent rise in December quarter profit and projected growth as a global economic recovery boosts demand for outsourcing services and eases pressure on fees.
New York-listed Wipro expects its IT services revenue to rise 3.6-5.4 percent in January-March from the preceding quarter to $1.16-$1.18 billion, after it posted a 4.9 percent sequential rise in the latest quarter.
The company also announced that it will hire people from campuses. Some 7,500 people hired previously are expected to join in Q4 and early next quarter.
Last week Tata Consultancy Services also announced that it expects to increase wages in the 2011 financial year.
TCS global head of HR Ajoy Mukherjee said the company has decided to give salary increments during financial year ending March 2011, although the exact quantum of hike is yet to be decided.
“There definitely will be a wage hike but the quantum is not finalised. We are considering three options,” Mukherjee said. While giving the hikes, the company will maintain the salary structure it moved to in FY10, which consists of a quarterly variable component and an annual variable component.
However, the company so far has no plans to increase the salaries of junior recruits.
IT market
IT cos: Pinkslips in '09, attrition in '10
India's top three outsourcing companies are ramping up hiring and increasing pay as global corporations, mainly from the US, send more work offshore to cut costs as they emerge from the downturn.
Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro expanded their global workforces by an average of 5.1 per cent last quarter, together adding 16,701 employees, company documents show -- an early sign that the Great Recession may ultimately benefit India as cost-conscious companies outsource more work, just as they did after the dot-com bust.
Also, after about a year of hiring slowdowns, all three companies are sweetening compensation as the fight to hold on to talented employees in India heats up.
Infosys offered its Indian employees an average 8 per cent pay hike in October, their first raise since April 2008, and executives said last week they are considering another raise to combat rising attrition.
“The market is heating up and we want to retain talent,'' human resources director of Infosys Mohandas Pai told reporters.
Infosys last week raised its gross hiring target for the second time this fiscal year, to 24,000 people. Wipro executives said they plan to offer staffers a raise in February.
Tata Consultancy Services has paid out 150 per cent of performance-linked pay -- which normally amounts to 20 to 45 per cent of compensation -- for the last two quarters, and executives say they will raise salaries next quarter, after a year-long wage freeze.
As demand for workers revives, employers have begun to worry about rising staff turnover. Employees who sat tight during the downturn have started to shop around for better jobs and better salaries.
Attrition at Wipro jumped to 13.4 percent last quarter, up from an average of 8.9 percent over the prior three quarters. Attrition at Infosys rose to 11.6 percent last quarter from 10.9 percent the prior quarter. Attrition at TCS has been stable, at around 11.5 percent, though executives say they expect that number to rise.
Indian firms say they are increasing global hiring, including in the US, as they pursue higher-end work like consulting. But US employees remain a fraction of total staff.
TCS, for example, recently finished hiring 250 Americans for its Cincinnati campus, but US employees still account for less than 0.5 per cent of the company's global workforce.
The employment revival in India's outsourcing sector, which counts on the US for about 60 per cent of global sales, comes as unemployment in the US stagnates around 10 per cent -- near a 26-year high.
Inflation-adjusted wages in the US last year fell 1.6 per cent, the biggest decline since 1990.
“When there is a downturn the compulsion to control costs increases,'' said Dipen Shah, an analyst at Mumbai's Kotak Securities. “The demand for offshoring will increase. That will play to the advantage of Indian IT companies.''
He argues that the cost savings from offshoring has helped US companies survive -- and that's good for the American worker.
“You might say jobs in the US are getting displaced by jobs in India, but because of the value provided by Indian companies and lower costs, there are firms who are able to keep their heads above water and continue to employ their existing employees,'' he said.
TCS, Infosys and Wipro, which can do everything from call center management and claims processing to software development and consulting, all reported stronger than expected results for the December quarter.
Revenues and volumes grew, signaling that the cost-cutting imperative of this last, lean year may be over for India's $60 billion software services industry.
Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro expanded their global workforces by an average of 5.1 per cent last quarter, together adding 16,701 employees, company documents show -- an early sign that the Great Recession may ultimately benefit India as cost-conscious companies outsource more work, just as they did after the dot-com bust.
Also, after about a year of hiring slowdowns, all three companies are sweetening compensation as the fight to hold on to talented employees in India heats up.
Infosys offered its Indian employees an average 8 per cent pay hike in October, their first raise since April 2008, and executives said last week they are considering another raise to combat rising attrition.
“The market is heating up and we want to retain talent,'' human resources director of Infosys Mohandas Pai told reporters.
Infosys last week raised its gross hiring target for the second time this fiscal year, to 24,000 people. Wipro executives said they plan to offer staffers a raise in February.
Tata Consultancy Services has paid out 150 per cent of performance-linked pay -- which normally amounts to 20 to 45 per cent of compensation -- for the last two quarters, and executives say they will raise salaries next quarter, after a year-long wage freeze.
As demand for workers revives, employers have begun to worry about rising staff turnover. Employees who sat tight during the downturn have started to shop around for better jobs and better salaries.
Attrition at Wipro jumped to 13.4 percent last quarter, up from an average of 8.9 percent over the prior three quarters. Attrition at Infosys rose to 11.6 percent last quarter from 10.9 percent the prior quarter. Attrition at TCS has been stable, at around 11.5 percent, though executives say they expect that number to rise.
Indian firms say they are increasing global hiring, including in the US, as they pursue higher-end work like consulting. But US employees remain a fraction of total staff.
TCS, for example, recently finished hiring 250 Americans for its Cincinnati campus, but US employees still account for less than 0.5 per cent of the company's global workforce.
The employment revival in India's outsourcing sector, which counts on the US for about 60 per cent of global sales, comes as unemployment in the US stagnates around 10 per cent -- near a 26-year high.
Inflation-adjusted wages in the US last year fell 1.6 per cent, the biggest decline since 1990.
“When there is a downturn the compulsion to control costs increases,'' said Dipen Shah, an analyst at Mumbai's Kotak Securities. “The demand for offshoring will increase. That will play to the advantage of Indian IT companies.''
He argues that the cost savings from offshoring has helped US companies survive -- and that's good for the American worker.
“You might say jobs in the US are getting displaced by jobs in India, but because of the value provided by Indian companies and lower costs, there are firms who are able to keep their heads above water and continue to employ their existing employees,'' he said.
TCS, Infosys and Wipro, which can do everything from call center management and claims processing to software development and consulting, all reported stronger than expected results for the December quarter.
Revenues and volumes grew, signaling that the cost-cutting imperative of this last, lean year may be over for India's $60 billion software services industry.
IT market, Layoffs in USA
Xerox to cut 2,500 jobs
Xerox Corp said that it plans to cut some 2,500 jobs, or five percent of its workforce, in a cost-cutting move aimed at saving some $200 million a year.
Xerox, which had 53,600 employees at the end of December, has already slashed 3,500 jobs starting in late 2008.
The latest job cuts were announced by Xerox chief executive Ursula Burns during a presentation of the photocopier company's fourth-quarter results.
Burns said some of the job losses would come in Europe but did not give a figure. She said the restructuring would cost $280 million this year with $30 million related to Xerox's $6.4-billion acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services, the world's largest diversified business outsourcing firm.
Burns said she expected the ACS acquisition to close next month. "Once completed, Xerox will be the world leader in business process and document management," she said.
The Norwalk, Connecticut-based Xerox said net profit rose to $180 million in the fourth quarter from $1 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
Revenue declined by three percent to $4.22 billion, better than the $3.92 billion expected by Wall Street analysts.
"We delivered a strong close to a difficult year, with solid operational results that reflect our disciplined approach to generating cash and reducing costs," Burns said in a statement.
"During the fourth quarter, we saw signs of improvement in several areas including developing markets, and we remain quite confident in our strong global competitive position," she said
"However, we believe revenue will continue to be under pressure until there is a more sustainable economic recovery," Burns said.
"To help offset this challenge, we remain focused on cost and expense management and sizing our business to better match current revenue levels."
Xerox, which had 53,600 employees at the end of December, has already slashed 3,500 jobs starting in late 2008.
The latest job cuts were announced by Xerox chief executive Ursula Burns during a presentation of the photocopier company's fourth-quarter results.
Burns said some of the job losses would come in Europe but did not give a figure. She said the restructuring would cost $280 million this year with $30 million related to Xerox's $6.4-billion acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services, the world's largest diversified business outsourcing firm.
Burns said she expected the ACS acquisition to close next month. "Once completed, Xerox will be the world leader in business process and document management," she said.
The Norwalk, Connecticut-based Xerox said net profit rose to $180 million in the fourth quarter from $1 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
Revenue declined by three percent to $4.22 billion, better than the $3.92 billion expected by Wall Street analysts.
"We delivered a strong close to a difficult year, with solid operational results that reflect our disciplined approach to generating cash and reducing costs," Burns said in a statement.
"During the fourth quarter, we saw signs of improvement in several areas including developing markets, and we remain quite confident in our strong global competitive position," she said
"However, we believe revenue will continue to be under pressure until there is a more sustainable economic recovery," Burns said.
"To help offset this challenge, we remain focused on cost and expense management and sizing our business to better match current revenue levels."
Satyam
Satyam to offer pay hikes, bonus
Mahindra Satyam is expected to offer pay hikes and bonus from January. The Hyderabad-based IT services provider, which is in the process of reinstating its accounts, had concluded its annual appraisals in December.
Staff in the S and T bands got pay hikes whereas employees of other higher levels like BI and I were offered associate stock option plans and promotions, according to an official who did not wish to be identified.
The increments ranged between 5% and 20% based on performance for the S band of employees where as T band employees were given 6-7% across-the-board hike.
The S band employees belong to the junior level while the T band people has over two years’ experience.
This apart, the company is said to have offered bonus of 20% of salary to staff across all levels of around 20%. The bonus will be paid at the end of this month.
“We strongly feel that hikes should help bridge some of the concerns and expectations and we have launched quite a few non-monetary and career development initiatives to enrich skills and competencies of our associates. The reinstatement of performance related variable pay along with the salary corrections across levels, has given the necessary confidence to our associates,” said Mukund Menon, head of business HR relations worldwide, Mahindra Satyam.
Employees whom ET spoke to across the bands said it’s getting challenging for the company since there were many exits which was affecting existing business.
However, the company, on its part, is engaged in hiring fresh graduates and also calling back employees from the virtual pool, as attrition seems to be a concern.
Staff in the S and T bands got pay hikes whereas employees of other higher levels like BI and I were offered associate stock option plans and promotions, according to an official who did not wish to be identified.
The increments ranged between 5% and 20% based on performance for the S band of employees where as T band employees were given 6-7% across-the-board hike.
The S band employees belong to the junior level while the T band people has over two years’ experience.
This apart, the company is said to have offered bonus of 20% of salary to staff across all levels of around 20%. The bonus will be paid at the end of this month.
“We strongly feel that hikes should help bridge some of the concerns and expectations and we have launched quite a few non-monetary and career development initiatives to enrich skills and competencies of our associates. The reinstatement of performance related variable pay along with the salary corrections across levels, has given the necessary confidence to our associates,” said Mukund Menon, head of business HR relations worldwide, Mahindra Satyam.
Employees whom ET spoke to across the bands said it’s getting challenging for the company since there were many exits which was affecting existing business.
However, the company, on its part, is engaged in hiring fresh graduates and also calling back employees from the virtual pool, as attrition seems to be a concern.
IT market, Wipro
Wipro to cut jobs in Finland
Wipro Ltd, India's No. 3 software exporter, said that it is planning to restructure some part of its Finland operations and the move could impact a maximum of 85 people.
The company's IT unit, which employs 300 people in Finland, will start a consultation process with the staff representatives as part of the restructuring of its telecom research and development operations there.
"After carefully considering all possible options, the company has decided to enter into a negotiation process with the employees given the challenging industry situation in telecom R&D," it said in a statement.
The company's IT unit, which employs 300 people in Finland, will start a consultation process with the staff representatives as part of the restructuring of its telecom research and development operations there.
"After carefully considering all possible options, the company has decided to enter into a negotiation process with the employees given the challenging industry situation in telecom R&D," it said in a statement.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Infosys, new openings
Infy’s Orissa project to create 5,000 jobs
IT major Infosys would soon set up its second project in Orissa at an investment of Rs 300 crore, official sources said. Infosys's plan for the state was announced by its director (human resource) TV Mohandas Pai after meeting the chief minister Naveen Patnaik here last evening.
While as many as 3,000 IT professionals were now busy working at the first Infosys project in the state, he said about 5,000 workers would get placement in its second project.
The second project would come up at IT valley on the side of the National Highway No-5 between the state capital and Khurda town.
Work on the second project would start soon, Pai said. The state government had agreed to provide required water and power to the second project.
The IT major was presently exporting software products worth Rs 850 crore per annum from its existing project in the state, he said.
Pai and Patnaik also discussed on mid-day-meal (MDM) project of Akshya Patra, presently being given to 61,000 students in Puri and Nayagarh district. The number of beneficiaries of the MDM programme was targetted to touch 2.5 lakh in next two years, they said.
While as many as 3,000 IT professionals were now busy working at the first Infosys project in the state, he said about 5,000 workers would get placement in its second project.
The second project would come up at IT valley on the side of the National Highway No-5 between the state capital and Khurda town.
Work on the second project would start soon, Pai said. The state government had agreed to provide required water and power to the second project.
The IT major was presently exporting software products worth Rs 850 crore per annum from its existing project in the state, he said.
Pai and Patnaik also discussed on mid-day-meal (MDM) project of Akshya Patra, presently being given to 61,000 students in Puri and Nayagarh district. The number of beneficiaries of the MDM programme was targetted to touch 2.5 lakh in next two years, they said.
IBM, New Deals
IBM wins 10-year IT deal with Gujarat bank
IT major IBM India has signed a 10-year information technology (IT) services agreement with Sardar Bhiladwala Pardi People's Cooperative Bank in Gujarat, the company said Monday.
'The operational expenditure in the pay-as-you-use model will enable the leading cooperative bank to save up to 50 percent in its capex (capital expenditure) on IT infrastructure,' IBM said in a statement.
As part of the deal, IBM India will provide the 80-year-old bank managed continuity services comprising server management, network and security management and back-up and database management.
'The operational expenditure in the pay-as-you-use model will enable the leading cooperative bank to save up to 50 percent in its capex (capital expenditure) on IT infrastructure,' IBM said in a statement.
As part of the deal, IBM India will provide the 80-year-old bank managed continuity services comprising server management, network and security management and back-up and database management.
HCL, New Deals
HCL Info bags Rs 110 crore order from Gujarat government
HCL Infosystems today said it has bagged an order worth Rs 110 crore from the Gujarat government to supply and implement biometric attendance and computer aided learning systems in over 7,000 schools across the state.
Under the scope of the contract, HCL will supply personal computers (PCs) with biometric finger print scanner and UPS to over 7,000 schools in the state, HCL Infosystem said in a statement.
HCL Infosystems, which makes, telecommunication and security equipment would also implement the biometric-based attendance system, offer facility management and run teacher training programmes, it added.
Out of the total schools to be covered, over 1,000 schools are under the Tribal Department and 6,000 under the Education Department.
Under the scope of the contract, HCL will supply personal computers (PCs) with biometric finger print scanner and UPS to over 7,000 schools in the state, HCL Infosystem said in a statement.
HCL Infosystems, which makes, telecommunication and security equipment would also implement the biometric-based attendance system, offer facility management and run teacher training programmes, it added.
Out of the total schools to be covered, over 1,000 schools are under the Tribal Department and 6,000 under the Education Department.
cognizant, CTS, H1-B, IT market
Information technology: The wonder decade
What started as an industry riding the demand from global customers seeking to make their IT and business systems Y2K compliant is today almost a $60-billion industry, contributing nearly 4% to India’s GDP.
Source: EconomicTimes
-1999 - The biggest inflection point was the role Indian companies played in combating the so-called millennium bug. TCS, Wipro and others become trusted partners for companies worldwide seeking to achieve Y2K compliance
-Infosys achieves $100 million in revenues, lists on Nasdaq. India’s outsourcing industry grows to $4 billion 2000-2001 - Indian IT industry moves from Y2K to complex e-business projects
-Dewang Mehta, who helped Indian IT industry grow in its early years, dies. Kiran Karnik takes over as Nasscom head
-US increases H1B visa limit to 1,95,000, the highest ever
-Wipro lists on NYSE
-2002-2003 - NR Narayana Murthy steps down from Infosys and Nandan Nilekani takes over
-Post the dotcom bust, companies such as DSQ Software, Pentafour and Silverline perish
-2004-2005 - TCS lists on BSE
-Large customers start offshoring ERP-based projects. Infosys becomes a $1-billion company, Wipro too crosses $1 billion in revenues
-GE sells 60% in GECIS — the back office pioneer — to private equity firms. The Indian BPO industry starts growing rapidly
-IBM, Accenture and HP start developing their Indian offshore presence to make them their largest operations outside the US
-2006-2007 - Indian IT becomes a $31-billion industry
-Protectionism in top export markets forces Indian IT companies to start hiring locals
-2008-2009 - Infosys’ revenues cross $4 billion. Nilekani joins the government as chairman of the Unique Identity Authority of India
-HCL acquires UK’s Axon for £441.1 million, the biggest ever acquisition for Indian IT
-Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju admits to over $1-billion fraud. Tech Mahindra acquires Satyam
-TCS’ annual revenues cross $6 billion. N Chandrasekaran takes over from S Ramadorai as chief executive
Source: EconomicTimes
-1999 - The biggest inflection point was the role Indian companies played in combating the so-called millennium bug. TCS, Wipro and others become trusted partners for companies worldwide seeking to achieve Y2K compliance
-Infosys achieves $100 million in revenues, lists on Nasdaq. India’s outsourcing industry grows to $4 billion 2000-2001 - Indian IT industry moves from Y2K to complex e-business projects
-Dewang Mehta, who helped Indian IT industry grow in its early years, dies. Kiran Karnik takes over as Nasscom head
-US increases H1B visa limit to 1,95,000, the highest ever
-Wipro lists on NYSE
-2002-2003 - NR Narayana Murthy steps down from Infosys and Nandan Nilekani takes over
-Post the dotcom bust, companies such as DSQ Software, Pentafour and Silverline perish
-2004-2005 - TCS lists on BSE
-Large customers start offshoring ERP-based projects. Infosys becomes a $1-billion company, Wipro too crosses $1 billion in revenues
-GE sells 60% in GECIS — the back office pioneer — to private equity firms. The Indian BPO industry starts growing rapidly
-IBM, Accenture and HP start developing their Indian offshore presence to make them their largest operations outside the US
-2006-2007 - Indian IT becomes a $31-billion industry
-Protectionism in top export markets forces Indian IT companies to start hiring locals
-2008-2009 - Infosys’ revenues cross $4 billion. Nilekani joins the government as chairman of the Unique Identity Authority of India
-HCL acquires UK’s Axon for £441.1 million, the biggest ever acquisition for Indian IT
-Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju admits to over $1-billion fraud. Tech Mahindra acquires Satyam
-TCS’ annual revenues cross $6 billion. N Chandrasekaran takes over from S Ramadorai as chief executive
Infosys, TCS, Wipro
TCS, Infosys, Wipro give local flavour to foreign operations
India's large software service providers are going increasingly local with hiring in overseas markets, part of a drive to position themselves as truly global players and polish their image in advanced economies reeling from job losses.
Beginning with employing foreign nationals for junior and mid-level positions, companies such as Tata Consultancy (TCS), Infosys and Wipro – together these three account for about a third of India’s IT exports – now have a number of foreigners in their top echelons.
“There’s a transition in mindset to grow out of the Indian mold and aspire to be like an Oracle , IBM, Accenture, SAP. Also, as Indian companies have gained scale they can tap the best foreign talent; earlier they had to settle for just about anyone,’’ says K Sudarshan, managing partner at executive search firm EMA Partners International.
In the past year, many of the top positions at Wipro Technologies have been filled by foreigners. American Martha Bejar left Microsoft to join India’s third largest software exporter as president, global sales and operations. Ralf Reich, a former Unisys executive in charge of strategic outsourcing in continental Europe, was appointed head of German operations. And Wipro’s centres in France and Japan are also headed by non-Indians.
Infosys’ German, French and Australian operations are managed by locals. Jackie Korhonen, ex-vice-president of managed business process services for IBM Australia and New Zealand, is now head of Infosys Australia.
“They want to be true multinationals. Besides, if you want to really penetrate a local market, bagging business from not only big companies but also small and medium, you better have a local face,’’ says Diptarup Chakraborti, principal research analyst, Gartner.
At TCS, India’s largest technology services company, foreign nationals comprise nearly 12% of the senior management. Among the key executives are John Lenzen, global head of marketing, Gabriel Rozman, global head of emerging markets and Carol Wilson, global business unit head, Hi-Tech solutions unit.
Amit Singh, head of the IT practice at Avendus Capital, says that Indian companies, used to expanding at 30%, are now seeing growth decline. “They want new avenues to maintain growth and hence the geographic expansion and local faces to drive it.’’
Indian software providers have also been expanding into new geographies in the past year. Infosys opened an office in Brazil in mid-December and in recent months Wipro started operations and ramped up investments in strategic development centres and near-shore centres like Atlanta (US), Bucharest (Romania), Wroclaw (Poland), Curitiba (Brazil), Chengdu (China) and Cebu (Philippines).
Continue reading on: EconomicTimes
Beginning with employing foreign nationals for junior and mid-level positions, companies such as Tata Consultancy (TCS), Infosys and Wipro – together these three account for about a third of India’s IT exports – now have a number of foreigners in their top echelons.
“There’s a transition in mindset to grow out of the Indian mold and aspire to be like an Oracle , IBM, Accenture, SAP. Also, as Indian companies have gained scale they can tap the best foreign talent; earlier they had to settle for just about anyone,’’ says K Sudarshan, managing partner at executive search firm EMA Partners International.
In the past year, many of the top positions at Wipro Technologies have been filled by foreigners. American Martha Bejar left Microsoft to join India’s third largest software exporter as president, global sales and operations. Ralf Reich, a former Unisys executive in charge of strategic outsourcing in continental Europe, was appointed head of German operations. And Wipro’s centres in France and Japan are also headed by non-Indians.
Infosys’ German, French and Australian operations are managed by locals. Jackie Korhonen, ex-vice-president of managed business process services for IBM Australia and New Zealand, is now head of Infosys Australia.
“They want to be true multinationals. Besides, if you want to really penetrate a local market, bagging business from not only big companies but also small and medium, you better have a local face,’’ says Diptarup Chakraborti, principal research analyst, Gartner.
At TCS, India’s largest technology services company, foreign nationals comprise nearly 12% of the senior management. Among the key executives are John Lenzen, global head of marketing, Gabriel Rozman, global head of emerging markets and Carol Wilson, global business unit head, Hi-Tech solutions unit.
Amit Singh, head of the IT practice at Avendus Capital, says that Indian companies, used to expanding at 30%, are now seeing growth decline. “They want new avenues to maintain growth and hence the geographic expansion and local faces to drive it.’’
Indian software providers have also been expanding into new geographies in the past year. Infosys opened an office in Brazil in mid-December and in recent months Wipro started operations and ramped up investments in strategic development centres and near-shore centres like Atlanta (US), Bucharest (Romania), Wroclaw (Poland), Curitiba (Brazil), Chengdu (China) and Cebu (Philippines).
Continue reading on: EconomicTimes
IT market
5 kinds of colleagues, who may be laid off soon
There are people in workplaces who cause problems that may result in them being laid off from work. According to HR expert Henry Fernandes, every office has problem employees. "Whether you are an employer or a co-worker, you have to deal with things diplomatically and on time if you do not want work to suffer," he says.
People who have attitude problem may become victims of layoffs. Such employees can make workplaces a very sad place. If other employees are demoralized, productivity will suffer. "It could be an employee's attitude towards work, excessive criticism of fellow colleagues or talking rudely," says Fernandes.
Those not coming to work on time may also face the wrath. This means work gets started late and deadlines are not met. "It sets a bad example and reflects on your working style and discipline in the office," says Fernandes.
Another reason can be if the employee doesn't keep his desks tidy. "Basically, the employee who does this is being careless," says Fernandes.
There are habits that disrupt work and affect productivity in workplace. A colleague who talks too much or discusses personal problems on the phone so loudly can result in you losing concentration on work.
Some people ask too many personal questions or keep looking at your computer screen to see what you are doing. "Even if you are sending a personal mail, they don't stop," says Fernandes.
The only way to deal with these kinds of employees is to have a serious talk with them. If you are the employer, you can be straightforward and question their behavior. If their behavior continues to affect others' productivity, it's time to show them the way out.
Source: SiliconIndia
People who have attitude problem may become victims of layoffs. Such employees can make workplaces a very sad place. If other employees are demoralized, productivity will suffer. "It could be an employee's attitude towards work, excessive criticism of fellow colleagues or talking rudely," says Fernandes.
Those not coming to work on time may also face the wrath. This means work gets started late and deadlines are not met. "It sets a bad example and reflects on your working style and discipline in the office," says Fernandes.
Another reason can be if the employee doesn't keep his desks tidy. "Basically, the employee who does this is being careless," says Fernandes.
There are habits that disrupt work and affect productivity in workplace. A colleague who talks too much or discusses personal problems on the phone so loudly can result in you losing concentration on work.
Some people ask too many personal questions or keep looking at your computer screen to see what you are doing. "Even if you are sending a personal mail, they don't stop," says Fernandes.
The only way to deal with these kinds of employees is to have a serious talk with them. If you are the employer, you can be straightforward and question their behavior. If their behavior continues to affect others' productivity, it's time to show them the way out.
Source: SiliconIndia
Monday, December 28, 2009
IT market
The top 100 IT projects of 2009
2009 InfoWorld 100 Awards: IT remains the lifeblood of forward-thinking organizations, as this year's recipients of InfoWorld's highest honor attest
Accenture
Unified Collaboration Initiative
Project lead: Frank B. Modruson, CIO
Project description: Accenture developed Accenture Client Exchange, a communications and collaboration platform that provides employees and clients presence, secure IM, voice and videoconferencing, virtual desktop sharing, and network-enabled phone functionality based on technology from Microsoft and Cisco.
Industry: Services
Activision Blizzard
WAN-Optimized Development Initiative
Project lead: Thomas Fenady, Senior Director of IT
Project description: Activision Blizzard increased the efficiency of its worldwide development efforts by revamping its network and moving away from MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) and DS3s (Digital Signal 3) in favor of WAN optimization technology from Riverbed.
Industry: Entertainment
ADP
Client Service Initiative
Project lead: Jeff Mullins, Vice President, Field Automation Engineering
Project description: ADP developed Workspace Manager, a unified customer service agent desktop built on Microsoft .Net and integrating Web, Java, Win32, mainframe, and legacy applications within a single user interface, while supporting the development of new composite application interfaces and eliminating the need for client service agents to individually log into 17 Citrix Presentation Server infrastructures.
Industry: Services
Click here to read complete list from InfoWorld
Accenture
Unified Collaboration Initiative
Project lead: Frank B. Modruson, CIO
Project description: Accenture developed Accenture Client Exchange, a communications and collaboration platform that provides employees and clients presence, secure IM, voice and videoconferencing, virtual desktop sharing, and network-enabled phone functionality based on technology from Microsoft and Cisco.
Industry: Services
Activision Blizzard
WAN-Optimized Development Initiative
Project lead: Thomas Fenady, Senior Director of IT
Project description: Activision Blizzard increased the efficiency of its worldwide development efforts by revamping its network and moving away from MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) and DS3s (Digital Signal 3) in favor of WAN optimization technology from Riverbed.
Industry: Entertainment
ADP
Client Service Initiative
Project lead: Jeff Mullins, Vice President, Field Automation Engineering
Project description: ADP developed Workspace Manager, a unified customer service agent desktop built on Microsoft .Net and integrating Web, Java, Win32, mainframe, and legacy applications within a single user interface, while supporting the development of new composite application interfaces and eliminating the need for client service agents to individually log into 17 Citrix Presentation Server infrastructures.
Industry: Services
Click here to read complete list from InfoWorld
IT market
Satyam, slowdowns make 2009 hard for software industry
The Satyam Computer accounting scam, slowdown and resultant hiring freeze by many made 2009 a forgettable year for the Indian Information Technology industry.
There was never a dull moment for bad news during the year, given the fact that Satyam's founder B Ramalinga Raju came out of the closet with an accounting fraud on January 7. The scam tarnished the credibility of India's IT story, requiring others to do a lot of convincing to retain clients.
As dramatic it was, the World Bank, within a week of the Satyam scam coming to light, announced it had banned, besides Satyam, Wipro and Megasoft from working for it for allegedly "providing improper benefits to the Bank staff" during the course of their projects with it. While the cases dated back to mid-2007, the timing of the disclosures only helped compound the woes of the IT industry.
To give the government its due credit, it acted swiftly by superseding the Satyam Board, which brought in new auditors to restate accounts, and ascertained employee count and within months found a new owner in Tech Mahindra. Satyam has since been renamed Mahindra Satyam.
Multiple agencies probed the scam, whose size was initially estimated at Rs 7,800 crore, and Raju, once a celebrated IT icon, is in custody awaiting trial.
2009 also saw the software exporting community trying hard to keep their margins as clients cut down on IT spends. The huge forex losses due to fluctuation of rupee didn't help them either.
Bulk of IT companies' revenue comes from the US and Europe and they earn more when the dollar is stronger.
Although the dollar was stronger, many of them had hedged against a stronger rupee - which it was in 2007 - thus losing out any which way.
The fallout of this was that top Indian IT companies, which used to hire up to 25,000 people annually, put recruitment on hold. Many of them, including Infosys, postponed campus recruitments.
Talking of Infosys, its poster-boy Nandan Nilekani left the IT company he helped found to join the government for a project to give every Indian citizen a unique identity number.
Globally, the industry saw a few mergers and acquisitions. In April, US business software company Oracle Corporation announced that it would buy its Silicon Valley rival Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion in cash.
The takeover has moved Oracle, the world's second-largest software maker, into the server and storage computers market, placing it against IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
In September, the world's second largest PC maker Dell Inc entered into an agreement to acquire computer services firm Perot Systems for about $3.9 billion, making it one of the biggest deals in the IT space since the global financial turmoil hit the sector. The acquisition was aimed at helping Dell foray into the software space.
Copier major Xerox Corporation announced that it will acquire outsourcing entity Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) for about $6.4 billion in a cash and stock deal.
Indian IT industry is passing through a difficult phase. Shrinking budgets, pressure on revenues and bottomline, competition from global bigwigs are staring at the home-grown software multinationals who have to adjust to a new scenario than the one they have been used to so far.
In a way, the game is just beginning now.
There was never a dull moment for bad news during the year, given the fact that Satyam's founder B Ramalinga Raju came out of the closet with an accounting fraud on January 7. The scam tarnished the credibility of India's IT story, requiring others to do a lot of convincing to retain clients.
As dramatic it was, the World Bank, within a week of the Satyam scam coming to light, announced it had banned, besides Satyam, Wipro and Megasoft from working for it for allegedly "providing improper benefits to the Bank staff" during the course of their projects with it. While the cases dated back to mid-2007, the timing of the disclosures only helped compound the woes of the IT industry.
To give the government its due credit, it acted swiftly by superseding the Satyam Board, which brought in new auditors to restate accounts, and ascertained employee count and within months found a new owner in Tech Mahindra. Satyam has since been renamed Mahindra Satyam.
Multiple agencies probed the scam, whose size was initially estimated at Rs 7,800 crore, and Raju, once a celebrated IT icon, is in custody awaiting trial.
2009 also saw the software exporting community trying hard to keep their margins as clients cut down on IT spends. The huge forex losses due to fluctuation of rupee didn't help them either.
Bulk of IT companies' revenue comes from the US and Europe and they earn more when the dollar is stronger.
Although the dollar was stronger, many of them had hedged against a stronger rupee - which it was in 2007 - thus losing out any which way.
The fallout of this was that top Indian IT companies, which used to hire up to 25,000 people annually, put recruitment on hold. Many of them, including Infosys, postponed campus recruitments.
Talking of Infosys, its poster-boy Nandan Nilekani left the IT company he helped found to join the government for a project to give every Indian citizen a unique identity number.
Globally, the industry saw a few mergers and acquisitions. In April, US business software company Oracle Corporation announced that it would buy its Silicon Valley rival Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion in cash.
The takeover has moved Oracle, the world's second-largest software maker, into the server and storage computers market, placing it against IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
In September, the world's second largest PC maker Dell Inc entered into an agreement to acquire computer services firm Perot Systems for about $3.9 billion, making it one of the biggest deals in the IT space since the global financial turmoil hit the sector. The acquisition was aimed at helping Dell foray into the software space.
Copier major Xerox Corporation announced that it will acquire outsourcing entity Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) for about $6.4 billion in a cash and stock deal.
Indian IT industry is passing through a difficult phase. Shrinking budgets, pressure on revenues and bottomline, competition from global bigwigs are staring at the home-grown software multinationals who have to adjust to a new scenario than the one they have been used to so far.
In a way, the game is just beginning now.
Accenture, Infosys, TCS, Wipro
Wipro, TCS, Infy plan to follow rival Accenture's sales model
India’s top tech firms, including Wipro, plan to follow rival Accenture’s sales model by hiring senior partners with a few decades of experience and capable of having a dialogue with chief executives of customer organisations, a shift from the earlier focus on selling services to IT heads of leading customers such as Citigroup and General Electric.
Wipro, which serves customers such as British Petroleum (BP) and Citi, has hired around a dozen senior partners from rivals Accenture, Ernst & Young and Deloitte over the past few months. Girish S Paranjpe, the company’s joint chief executive, told ET in an interview that his company would hire another 30 such partners in 2010.
Some senior professionals who have joined Wipro during the past few months as part of the company’s new sales strategy include Kirk Strawser, managing partner and global head, Wipro Consulting Services; Chris Rooney, global practice head, business transformation; and Roger Camrass, senior practice partner, business transformation.
“We often lost because of having pure CIO-level dialogues, we got hurt and even lost some deals,” he said. “We will hire another 30-40 such professionals who will be responsible for growing our client relationships to $30-40 million in revenues,” he added.
For many years, TCS, Infosys and Wipro have been focused on software application development and maintenance, getting new business from CIOs of large customers such as Citi, GE and many others. As they now seek bigger, multi-year transformational deals, they need to penetrate boardrooms of Fortune-500 companies.
“Client partners think and breathe business problems of customers who seek advise and guidance—they are people with a few decades of experience,” Mr Paranjpe added.
In a year when business was hard to come by, Wipro managed to penetrate large customers such as BP, helped by the new approach. Camrass, who joined Wipro as senior practice partner a few months ago, is respected by many decisionmakers within BP. With over 35 years of experience, Mr Camrass has worked with top consulting firms such as Ernst & Young.
India’s biggest software exporter, TCS, once perceived as a slow-moving IT behemoth, is also recruiting these partner-profile people, according to an industry analyst who wished to remain anonymous.
According to R Suresh, MD of executive search firm Stanton Chase, all top IT firms are looking at hiring partner-level people. “One of the reasons is they are winning huge long-term IT outsourcing contracts. These are annuity-based contracts and the client needs to see the same face when he’s interacting with the service provider,” he said.
Unlike the traditional Accenture model, Indian companies are hiring these professionals more as ‘client partners’, and not necessarily ‘equity partners’, added Mr Suresh.
Experts such as John C McCarthy, vice-president and principal analyst of Forrester Research, say Indian firms need to shift from having pure technology-based dialogues and work on their sales and marketing efforts. “This will be one of the biggest cultural shifts—these companies need to intensify their sales and marketing efforts,” he said.
Indeed, by engaging with top business leaders at a customer organisation, Accenture creates entry barriers for other suppliers. “Accenture’s partner-driven sales model is the ultimate form of client engagement,” Edelweiss analysts Viju George, Kunal Sangoi and Pratik Gandhi noted in their September report. Today, the common sales structure of the big three Indian tech firms is typically three-tiered—overall vertical head, client director in overall charge of client relationship, and multiple account managers handling different facets of the relationship.
Source: EconomicTimes
Wipro, which serves customers such as British Petroleum (BP) and Citi, has hired around a dozen senior partners from rivals Accenture, Ernst & Young and Deloitte over the past few months. Girish S Paranjpe, the company’s joint chief executive, told ET in an interview that his company would hire another 30 such partners in 2010.
Some senior professionals who have joined Wipro during the past few months as part of the company’s new sales strategy include Kirk Strawser, managing partner and global head, Wipro Consulting Services; Chris Rooney, global practice head, business transformation; and Roger Camrass, senior practice partner, business transformation.
“We often lost because of having pure CIO-level dialogues, we got hurt and even lost some deals,” he said. “We will hire another 30-40 such professionals who will be responsible for growing our client relationships to $30-40 million in revenues,” he added.
For many years, TCS, Infosys and Wipro have been focused on software application development and maintenance, getting new business from CIOs of large customers such as Citi, GE and many others. As they now seek bigger, multi-year transformational deals, they need to penetrate boardrooms of Fortune-500 companies.
“Client partners think and breathe business problems of customers who seek advise and guidance—they are people with a few decades of experience,” Mr Paranjpe added.
In a year when business was hard to come by, Wipro managed to penetrate large customers such as BP, helped by the new approach. Camrass, who joined Wipro as senior practice partner a few months ago, is respected by many decisionmakers within BP. With over 35 years of experience, Mr Camrass has worked with top consulting firms such as Ernst & Young.
India’s biggest software exporter, TCS, once perceived as a slow-moving IT behemoth, is also recruiting these partner-profile people, according to an industry analyst who wished to remain anonymous.
According to R Suresh, MD of executive search firm Stanton Chase, all top IT firms are looking at hiring partner-level people. “One of the reasons is they are winning huge long-term IT outsourcing contracts. These are annuity-based contracts and the client needs to see the same face when he’s interacting with the service provider,” he said.
Unlike the traditional Accenture model, Indian companies are hiring these professionals more as ‘client partners’, and not necessarily ‘equity partners’, added Mr Suresh.
Experts such as John C McCarthy, vice-president and principal analyst of Forrester Research, say Indian firms need to shift from having pure technology-based dialogues and work on their sales and marketing efforts. “This will be one of the biggest cultural shifts—these companies need to intensify their sales and marketing efforts,” he said.
Indeed, by engaging with top business leaders at a customer organisation, Accenture creates entry barriers for other suppliers. “Accenture’s partner-driven sales model is the ultimate form of client engagement,” Edelweiss analysts Viju George, Kunal Sangoi and Pratik Gandhi noted in their September report. Today, the common sales structure of the big three Indian tech firms is typically three-tiered—overall vertical head, client director in overall charge of client relationship, and multiple account managers handling different facets of the relationship.
Source: EconomicTimes
CTS, new openings
Cognizant makes 700 job offers at Anna Univ campus
IT services major, Cognizant on Tuesday announced that it has made 700 job offers to students of Anna University’s constituent colleges in Chennai.
Coming in the top slot among bulk recruiters, Cognizant picked up the students through a two-day long campus recruitment process covering students from almost all branches of the UG and PG programmes.
Welcoming the ‘future Cognizant associates," Cognizant corporate marketing and research VP R Ramkumar said Anna University, along with its constituent colleges, is the largest contributor to Cognizant’s talent pool of fresh graduates in each of the last several years across India.
"It is with justifiable pride that we can say that the alumni of this reputable institution, along with several others globally, have helped sculpt Cognizant with a difference," he said handing over the list of selected students to the University vice-chancellor, Prof R Mannar Jawahar.
"One critical aspect of our recruiting is the fact that we are branch/discipline agnostic. This helps us substantially today in solving the business problems of customers across industries by leveraging technology. With structural changes happening across industries and sub-industries, there is an increasing need for much deeper domain specialisation.," Mr Ramkumar added.
Noting that in addition to students from core circuit branches (computing, electronic, electrical and instrumentation), he said the students from different disciplines of study added immense value to Cognizant.
Coming in the top slot among bulk recruiters, Cognizant picked up the students through a two-day long campus recruitment process covering students from almost all branches of the UG and PG programmes.
Welcoming the ‘future Cognizant associates," Cognizant corporate marketing and research VP R Ramkumar said Anna University, along with its constituent colleges, is the largest contributor to Cognizant’s talent pool of fresh graduates in each of the last several years across India.
"It is with justifiable pride that we can say that the alumni of this reputable institution, along with several others globally, have helped sculpt Cognizant with a difference," he said handing over the list of selected students to the University vice-chancellor, Prof R Mannar Jawahar.
"One critical aspect of our recruiting is the fact that we are branch/discipline agnostic. This helps us substantially today in solving the business problems of customers across industries by leveraging technology. With structural changes happening across industries and sub-industries, there is an increasing need for much deeper domain specialisation.," Mr Ramkumar added.
Noting that in addition to students from core circuit branches (computing, electronic, electrical and instrumentation), he said the students from different disciplines of study added immense value to Cognizant.
Layoffs in USA
Berkshire cuts 21k jobs in '09
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reported 21,000 fewer employees than it had at the end of 2008 amid a slump at the firm's manufacturing and retail units.
Berkshire and its subsidiaries have about 225,000 workers, the company said this week in regulatory filings. That is 8.6 per cent lower than the 246,083 disclosed in the 2008 annual report. Berkshire provided the jobs information in a document tied to its planned $26 billion takeover of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Buffett did not reply to a request, left with an assistant, for comment on the cuts.
Buffett, Berkshire’s CEO, oversees a collection of more than 70 subsidiaries that sell products including Geico car insurance, Fruit of the Loom T-shirts and Dairy Queen ice cream. Profit at the firm's manufacturing, service and retail businesses plunged by more than half in the first nine months of the year, and Buffett replaced the CEOs of two operating units whose sales suffered in the recession.
"When times are good, you are going to have more people employed than when times are bad," Buffett, 79, said this month in a video address to the 37,000 railroad employees that Berkshire will take on next year with the completion of the Burlington Northern takeover.
Fruit of the Loom announced in March it would lay off 3,000 textile workers in El Salvador because of excess inventory, La Prensa Grafica reported, citing Jose Antonio Escobar, president of Camara de la Industria Textil y de la Confeccion de El Salvador.The newspaper reported on December 3 that the company plans to hire back 1,000 workers.
Fruit of the Loom had more than 34,000 workers at the end of 2008, according to Berkshires most recent annual report, the largest total among its operating units. John Shivel, a spokesman for Bowling Green, Kentuckybased Fruit of the Loom, declined to comment.
Buffett told shareholders at the firm's annual meeting in May that he expected more cuts at Berkshire following reductions last year at Clayton Homes Inc, which builds manufactured housing, and brickmaker Acme Building Brands. Berkshire reported its first quarterly loss since 2001 in the first three months of this year. The firm returned to profit in the second and third quarters, helped by an advance in the stock market.
"We will be adding people at some point, but we will not do it until we see the demand come back," Buffett said in a September interview conducted by the CEO of Business Wire. "It will be a little slow because we do not want to go through what we did before. Although, I will guarantee you that three years from now, our brick companies, our carpet company, and our insulation company will all be employing far more people than now."
Berkshire and its subsidiaries have about 225,000 workers, the company said this week in regulatory filings. That is 8.6 per cent lower than the 246,083 disclosed in the 2008 annual report. Berkshire provided the jobs information in a document tied to its planned $26 billion takeover of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Buffett did not reply to a request, left with an assistant, for comment on the cuts.
Buffett, Berkshire’s CEO, oversees a collection of more than 70 subsidiaries that sell products including Geico car insurance, Fruit of the Loom T-shirts and Dairy Queen ice cream. Profit at the firm's manufacturing, service and retail businesses plunged by more than half in the first nine months of the year, and Buffett replaced the CEOs of two operating units whose sales suffered in the recession.
"When times are good, you are going to have more people employed than when times are bad," Buffett, 79, said this month in a video address to the 37,000 railroad employees that Berkshire will take on next year with the completion of the Burlington Northern takeover.
Fruit of the Loom announced in March it would lay off 3,000 textile workers in El Salvador because of excess inventory, La Prensa Grafica reported, citing Jose Antonio Escobar, president of Camara de la Industria Textil y de la Confeccion de El Salvador.The newspaper reported on December 3 that the company plans to hire back 1,000 workers.
Fruit of the Loom had more than 34,000 workers at the end of 2008, according to Berkshires most recent annual report, the largest total among its operating units. John Shivel, a spokesman for Bowling Green, Kentuckybased Fruit of the Loom, declined to comment.
Buffett told shareholders at the firm's annual meeting in May that he expected more cuts at Berkshire following reductions last year at Clayton Homes Inc, which builds manufactured housing, and brickmaker Acme Building Brands. Berkshire reported its first quarterly loss since 2001 in the first three months of this year. The firm returned to profit in the second and third quarters, helped by an advance in the stock market.
"We will be adding people at some point, but we will not do it until we see the demand come back," Buffett said in a September interview conducted by the CEO of Business Wire. "It will be a little slow because we do not want to go through what we did before. Although, I will guarantee you that three years from now, our brick companies, our carpet company, and our insulation company will all be employing far more people than now."
Infosys, New Deals
Infosys bags $83 mn Karnataka project
Infosys Technologies, India's No. 2 software exporter, has been selected to implement a Rs 3.87 billion ($83 million) IT project for Karnataka's power distribution utilities, two government officials said.
"We have issued the letter of intent to Infosys," a source at the Bangalore utility said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
"It will cover entire Karnataka," he said. The project was awarded by all five electricity distribution utilities in the state last week and will cover 100 towns in the state, he said.
Infosys outbid 10 other companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, for the contract, the source said.
The projects must be implemented within 36 months, the other source said.
Infosys officials could not be reached for comment. The project is part of a central government-funded programme to use information technology to cap electricity losses in the country.
Tata Consultancy and HCL Infosystems Ltd have won contracts for similar projects in West Bengal and Rajasthan, respectively.
"We have issued the letter of intent to Infosys," a source at the Bangalore utility said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
"It will cover entire Karnataka," he said. The project was awarded by all five electricity distribution utilities in the state last week and will cover 100 towns in the state, he said.
Infosys outbid 10 other companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, for the contract, the source said.
The projects must be implemented within 36 months, the other source said.
Infosys officials could not be reached for comment. The project is part of a central government-funded programme to use information technology to cap electricity losses in the country.
Tata Consultancy and HCL Infosystems Ltd have won contracts for similar projects in West Bengal and Rajasthan, respectively.
H1-B, NRIs
Visa reforms on cards in the US?
Another Immigration reform seems to be on cards in the US. According to InformationWeek, a 600-page Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 proposes changes to visas provided to foreign students who get advanced tech degrees in the United States.
It aims to make it easier for foreigners with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from the US universities and who have worked in their field in the US for three years to get green card employment visas.
According to the news report, they would be fast-tracked to green cards, which provide foreigners with permanent residency status, rather than lingering in H-1B visa limbo.
The legislation would also require employers applying for H-1B visas to prove that no US workers are available to fill the positions. It may also bar companies that have recently laid off US workers from engaging in the visa programme.
Foreign students with advanced technology degrees are required to leave the US shortly after graduating from a US university if they're unable to obtain or renew an H-1B visa or get a green card. The annual cap on H-1B visas is 85,000. This includes 65,000 general H-1B visas and 20,000 H-1Bs set aside for foreigners with advanced degrees.
It aims to make it easier for foreigners with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from the US universities and who have worked in their field in the US for three years to get green card employment visas.
According to the news report, they would be fast-tracked to green cards, which provide foreigners with permanent residency status, rather than lingering in H-1B visa limbo.
The legislation would also require employers applying for H-1B visas to prove that no US workers are available to fill the positions. It may also bar companies that have recently laid off US workers from engaging in the visa programme.
Foreign students with advanced technology degrees are required to leave the US shortly after graduating from a US university if they're unable to obtain or renew an H-1B visa or get a green card. The annual cap on H-1B visas is 85,000. This includes 65,000 general H-1B visas and 20,000 H-1Bs set aside for foreigners with advanced degrees.
TCS
Employees want TCS passport project reviewed
The indefinite wait for the start of the Passport Seva Project -- an e-project for faster delivery of passports has got another sting in its tale.
The employees have now done a U-turn and asked for a "review" of the Rs 1,000-crore project outsourced to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
"We are of the opinion that there is a need to review afresh the whole project," said a letter from the All India Passport Employees Association (AIPEA) to Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.
The Passport Seva Project is an e-governance project of the Indian government which is supposed to streamline and bring efficiency in the process of distribution of passports.
The contract for implementing the project, worth Rs 1,000 crore (Rs10 billion or $21.4 million) was given to information technology major Tata Consultancy Services in October 2008, with an implementation timeline from June.
Since then, there have been multiple deadlines -- in October and November. But the project is yet to take off as TCS has been unable to provide fool-proof software.
Incidentally, AIPEA had earlier reached an agreement with the ministry before the contract was signed with TCS in 2008 for starting the project -- after long overdue promotions were given to a large number of employees.
The association consists of 2,400 employees located at regional passport offices around the country. Incidentally, there has been a freeze on the recruitment of new employees, despite the number of passports processed doubling in the last seven years.
The employees have now done a U-turn and asked for a "review" of the Rs 1,000-crore project outsourced to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
"We are of the opinion that there is a need to review afresh the whole project," said a letter from the All India Passport Employees Association (AIPEA) to Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.
The Passport Seva Project is an e-governance project of the Indian government which is supposed to streamline and bring efficiency in the process of distribution of passports.
The contract for implementing the project, worth Rs 1,000 crore (Rs10 billion or $21.4 million) was given to information technology major Tata Consultancy Services in October 2008, with an implementation timeline from June.
Since then, there have been multiple deadlines -- in October and November. But the project is yet to take off as TCS has been unable to provide fool-proof software.
Incidentally, AIPEA had earlier reached an agreement with the ministry before the contract was signed with TCS in 2008 for starting the project -- after long overdue promotions were given to a large number of employees.
The association consists of 2,400 employees located at regional passport offices around the country. Incidentally, there has been a freeze on the recruitment of new employees, despite the number of passports processed doubling in the last seven years.
IT market, new openings
2010 to bring 50K IT jobs
After a long hibernation of 18 months, headhunters are actively out in the market as talent requirements have started trickling in. The hiring momentum is expected to pick up from April onwards.
Even in a worst scenario, calendar 2010 will create around 50,000 fresh IT/ITES jobs against zero fresh jobs except a very thin campus hiring - in the previous year. The calendar 2007 had witnessed a bumper hiring at over 3 lakh while the growth got tapered off towards the third quarter of 2008 clocking a total hiring of only 1.8 lakh.
B S Murthy, CEO, Leadership Capital says the new year will usher in recovery and a wave of general optimism across segments. “This means a complete change from the current skeletal and need-based hiring. The large volume-hiring realm (services space) will warm up by the second quarter of calendar 2010. A 15% increment in hiring volumes is expected in the first two quarters while the growth could cross 20% or double towards third and fourth quarter.”
According to Nirupama V G, MD, AdAstra, requirements will start pouring in like tsunami, HR departments of many corporates have already geared up for large scale hiring after a long standstill. “Normalcy will return to the industry by April. In addition to domestic hiring , India is going to emerge as a huge sourcing ground for global jobs across segments, positions and profiles.”
“When we enjoy a vantage position in human resources, talent is still a scare commodity in global markets. The year 2010 is going to be bright year for India in terms of domestic and global placements,” adds Mohan Menon, CEO, Sentient Consulting.
Even in a worst scenario, calendar 2010 will create around 50,000 fresh IT/ITES jobs against zero fresh jobs except a very thin campus hiring - in the previous year. The calendar 2007 had witnessed a bumper hiring at over 3 lakh while the growth got tapered off towards the third quarter of 2008 clocking a total hiring of only 1.8 lakh.
B S Murthy, CEO, Leadership Capital says the new year will usher in recovery and a wave of general optimism across segments. “This means a complete change from the current skeletal and need-based hiring. The large volume-hiring realm (services space) will warm up by the second quarter of calendar 2010. A 15% increment in hiring volumes is expected in the first two quarters while the growth could cross 20% or double towards third and fourth quarter.”
According to Nirupama V G, MD, AdAstra, requirements will start pouring in like tsunami, HR departments of many corporates have already geared up for large scale hiring after a long standstill. “Normalcy will return to the industry by April. In addition to domestic hiring , India is going to emerge as a huge sourcing ground for global jobs across segments, positions and profiles.”
“When we enjoy a vantage position in human resources, talent is still a scare commodity in global markets. The year 2010 is going to be bright year for India in terms of domestic and global placements,” adds Mohan Menon, CEO, Sentient Consulting.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
new openings, Wipro
Wipro to invest Rs 1,000 cr in Bengal's second campus
Azim Premji-controlled Wipro Ltd will invest close to Rs 1,000 crore in its second IT campus near Kolkata that will employ 20,000 tech professionals. But the company proposes to start construction work after more than a year, especially since land handover and creation of allied infrastructure is expected to take time.
On Thursday, Wipro chairman Azim Premji met West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to assure him that his company had accepted the state’s offer price of Rs 1.5 crore per acre for the 50-acre plot in Rajarhat.
Confirming the development, a top source in the West Bengal government, who was privy to the discussions between Mr Premji and the chief minister, said: "Mr Premji has told the CM that his company will invest in a near Rs 1,000-crore IT campus in Rajarhat which will be equipped to house 20,000 IT/ITeS professionals once fully ramped up. Construction of the second Wipro campus in the city will start within 18 months and is expected to be operational by 2012."
While Mr Premji did not share details on the proposed investment in the Rajarhat campus, he did indicate that Wipro would fork out Rs 75 crore for the 50 acre plot. "We expect to start construction within 18 months, but before that the government needs to make the necessary infrastructure ready," he told reporters after his near 30-minute meeting with the chief minister at Writers’ Buildings on Thursday.
Significantly, Mr Premji inspected the campus site along with officials of the state IT department and Hidco, the government nodal agency that handles all land allotments in Rajarhat. Wipro’s new campus will be barely 15 minutes away from the Kolkata airport and will be right next to TCS’s upcoming 40-acre campus.
West Bengal IT minister Debesh Das said Wipro will pay the government the land price of Rs 75 crore in two installments. "The company will make the first tranche of payment of 25% of total land price in December 2009. The balance 75% will be paid subsequently. Wipro’s decision to invest in a second campus in Kolkata even during the downturn proves the state’s potential in the IT sector," he said.
Incidentally, Mr Premji also informed the chief minister that Wipro is significantly expanding headcount at its existing 20-acre IT SEZ in Sector V with growing business out of Kolkata. The headcount at its Kolkata campus will grow from 7,000 to 9,000 people shortly.
The much belated Wipro land allotment is a major breather of sorts for the Buddhadeb government, especially in the aftermath of the Vedic Village land scam that led to the scrapping of the mega IT township project in the vicinity where Wipro and Infosys were originally meant to receive 90 acres apiece. While the state managed has managed to make some headway in Wipro’s case, state IT department circles said Infosys was yet to respond to the government’s alternative land offer in Rajarhat.
On Thursday, Wipro chairman Azim Premji met West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to assure him that his company had accepted the state’s offer price of Rs 1.5 crore per acre for the 50-acre plot in Rajarhat.
Confirming the development, a top source in the West Bengal government, who was privy to the discussions between Mr Premji and the chief minister, said: "Mr Premji has told the CM that his company will invest in a near Rs 1,000-crore IT campus in Rajarhat which will be equipped to house 20,000 IT/ITeS professionals once fully ramped up. Construction of the second Wipro campus in the city will start within 18 months and is expected to be operational by 2012."
While Mr Premji did not share details on the proposed investment in the Rajarhat campus, he did indicate that Wipro would fork out Rs 75 crore for the 50 acre plot. "We expect to start construction within 18 months, but before that the government needs to make the necessary infrastructure ready," he told reporters after his near 30-minute meeting with the chief minister at Writers’ Buildings on Thursday.
Significantly, Mr Premji inspected the campus site along with officials of the state IT department and Hidco, the government nodal agency that handles all land allotments in Rajarhat. Wipro’s new campus will be barely 15 minutes away from the Kolkata airport and will be right next to TCS’s upcoming 40-acre campus.
West Bengal IT minister Debesh Das said Wipro will pay the government the land price of Rs 75 crore in two installments. "The company will make the first tranche of payment of 25% of total land price in December 2009. The balance 75% will be paid subsequently. Wipro’s decision to invest in a second campus in Kolkata even during the downturn proves the state’s potential in the IT sector," he said.
Incidentally, Mr Premji also informed the chief minister that Wipro is significantly expanding headcount at its existing 20-acre IT SEZ in Sector V with growing business out of Kolkata. The headcount at its Kolkata campus will grow from 7,000 to 9,000 people shortly.
The much belated Wipro land allotment is a major breather of sorts for the Buddhadeb government, especially in the aftermath of the Vedic Village land scam that led to the scrapping of the mega IT township project in the vicinity where Wipro and Infosys were originally meant to receive 90 acres apiece. While the state managed has managed to make some headway in Wipro’s case, state IT department circles said Infosys was yet to respond to the government’s alternative land offer in Rajarhat.
IT market
Convergys and Microsoft set up community technology centre in Bangalore
Convergys Corporation, a global leader in relationship management, and Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential, announced on Tuesday the opening of a Community Technology Center (CTC) in Bangalore, India.
The CTC will aim to increase computer literacy and develop the job-related technology skills of underprivileged children in the Bangalore area.
The joint Microsoft/Convergys programme will have a significant impact in creating new avenues for social and economic opportunities for local students from the government higher primary school and other organisations. Through the CTC program, students will grow their knowledge of computers and upgrade important technology skills essential for future job opportunities.
A team of dedicated Convergys volunteers with strong computer training skills will routinely conduct the classes, which use a highly successful, technology-intensive digital literacy curriculum designed by Microsoft. The practical course will cover topics ranging from the fundamentals to day-to-day practical applications, such as using the Internet, sending e-mail, and creating a risumi.
As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Convergys and its employees are committed to supporting programs that help improve lives and build stronger communities around the globe, by focusing on education, social, and human services.
Vikas Goswami, Community Affairs Manager, Microsoft India, said, "Under our global Unlimited Potential initiative, we are committed to reaching the benefits of technology to those currently underserved by it. This alliance with Convergys is another step in that direction, and one that we hope will have a positive impact on scores of lives."
Mahesh Dadlani, Director of Convergys' Bangalore facility said, "Together with Microsoft, we hope to reach children early and significantly narrow the digital divide to broaden their future opportunities. Digital literacy will continue to emerge as a key enabler in empowering children to improve their employability in the future and to help them hold a competitive edge amongst an increasingly enlightened workforce."
Located in Convergys' Bangalore facility, the CTC will feature an informal and welcoming environment and will be well equipped with computers, printers, Internet access, and teaching aids.
The CTC will steadily increase its outreach with the aim of inducting close to 1,000 students from primary schools and non-profit organisations.
The CTC will aim to increase computer literacy and develop the job-related technology skills of underprivileged children in the Bangalore area.
The joint Microsoft/Convergys programme will have a significant impact in creating new avenues for social and economic opportunities for local students from the government higher primary school and other organisations. Through the CTC program, students will grow their knowledge of computers and upgrade important technology skills essential for future job opportunities.
A team of dedicated Convergys volunteers with strong computer training skills will routinely conduct the classes, which use a highly successful, technology-intensive digital literacy curriculum designed by Microsoft. The practical course will cover topics ranging from the fundamentals to day-to-day practical applications, such as using the Internet, sending e-mail, and creating a risumi.
As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Convergys and its employees are committed to supporting programs that help improve lives and build stronger communities around the globe, by focusing on education, social, and human services.
Vikas Goswami, Community Affairs Manager, Microsoft India, said, "Under our global Unlimited Potential initiative, we are committed to reaching the benefits of technology to those currently underserved by it. This alliance with Convergys is another step in that direction, and one that we hope will have a positive impact on scores of lives."
Mahesh Dadlani, Director of Convergys' Bangalore facility said, "Together with Microsoft, we hope to reach children early and significantly narrow the digital divide to broaden their future opportunities. Digital literacy will continue to emerge as a key enabler in empowering children to improve their employability in the future and to help them hold a competitive edge amongst an increasingly enlightened workforce."
Located in Convergys' Bangalore facility, the CTC will feature an informal and welcoming environment and will be well equipped with computers, printers, Internet access, and teaching aids.
The CTC will steadily increase its outreach with the aim of inducting close to 1,000 students from primary schools and non-profit organisations.
H1-B, Recession
Sharp drop in H-1B visas being used by Indian cos
Reflecting the changed ground realties in the US in the wake of economic crisis, there has been a sharp drop in H-1B work visas being applied for and obtained by major IT companies from India.
For instance the Infosys, which got as many as 4,559 H-1B visas in the fiscal 2008 and was on top of the list of firms bagging the coveted scheme for professionals, received just 440 H-1B visas in the fiscal 2009 (from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009), according to the latest figures released by the US Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Similarly, Wipro, which in 2008 got 2,678 H-1B visas, received just 1,964 in 2009; but still topped the list in the fiscal 2009.
In 2008, four out of the top five spots for companies bagging the maximum number of H-1B visas were grabbed by Indian companies. These were Infosys (4,559), Wipro (2678), Satyam (1917) and Tata Consultancy Services (1539). Microsoft with 1037 H1-1B visas was the only US company to figure in top five.
However, the situation has changed dramatically in the year 2009 amid the global financial meltdown.
For instance the Infosys, which got as many as 4,559 H-1B visas in the fiscal 2008 and was on top of the list of firms bagging the coveted scheme for professionals, received just 440 H-1B visas in the fiscal 2009 (from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009), according to the latest figures released by the US Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Similarly, Wipro, which in 2008 got 2,678 H-1B visas, received just 1,964 in 2009; but still topped the list in the fiscal 2009.
In 2008, four out of the top five spots for companies bagging the maximum number of H-1B visas were grabbed by Indian companies. These were Infosys (4,559), Wipro (2678), Satyam (1917) and Tata Consultancy Services (1539). Microsoft with 1037 H1-1B visas was the only US company to figure in top five.
However, the situation has changed dramatically in the year 2009 amid the global financial meltdown.
IT market, Satyam
Satyam was a great place to work till the scam broke out
Ramesh D (43) had clocked three satisfying years at Satyam. “Satyam was a great place to be. It did not run like a family enterprise, but like a professionally managed company. And the brand had huge equity across Andhra Pradesh – something like what Infosys enjoys in Karnataka,” he says.
So like everyone else, when Ramesh heard of the Maytas acquisition, he was surprised, but dismissed it. It was only when the scam of Rs 8,000 crore unfolded (latest figures estimate the scam at Rs 14,000 crore), that Ramesh was left spellbound. “It was January 7, it was my wife’s birthday. Over the past one year, I have moved from shock to anger and later to reconciliation and now, hope,” he recalls.
He saw hundreds of employees being asked to leave and others left, as and when they got their hands on other offers. Ramesh too has been waiting for the right opportunity.
While Ramalinga Raju, PwC and the investors of Satyam got maximum attention last year, it was the employees of Satyam who were left in the lurch. Last December, the economic slowdown hit India Inc in full force and pink slips were flying faster than recession. Within minutes of the scam hitting headline, resumes of Satyam employees were flooding the market, but they had nowhere to go.
Vinay A (24), for instance, who had joined Satyam’s Bangalore office straight after engineering, managed an opening in a Kenyan firm. “Office was not running as usual. Our bosses would tell us to calm down and focus, but there was no way it could happen. And when it was all over the media, it became humiliating to even enter the office,” he recalls. “I was lucky to have got a break. There were so many who had nowhere to go and were worried because they had families and personal commitments.”
HR experts believe that it was the recession that saved the day for Satyam. “Had the news broken when the economy was on a boom, the company would’ve gone bust overnight, since everyone would’ve found jobs elsewhere,” says BS Murthy, CEO of Leadership Capital, an executive search firm. “Ever since signs of recovery became visible, the firm has seen 18 to 20 per cent attrition,” he adds.
Ramesh couldn’t agree more: “People in technical roles have already begun leaving. But it’s only in the new fiscal that people from areas like HR, finance, administration and facilities will start moving out.”
(Names of employees have been changed on request.)
Source: mydigitalfc
So like everyone else, when Ramesh heard of the Maytas acquisition, he was surprised, but dismissed it. It was only when the scam of Rs 8,000 crore unfolded (latest figures estimate the scam at Rs 14,000 crore), that Ramesh was left spellbound. “It was January 7, it was my wife’s birthday. Over the past one year, I have moved from shock to anger and later to reconciliation and now, hope,” he recalls.
He saw hundreds of employees being asked to leave and others left, as and when they got their hands on other offers. Ramesh too has been waiting for the right opportunity.
While Ramalinga Raju, PwC and the investors of Satyam got maximum attention last year, it was the employees of Satyam who were left in the lurch. Last December, the economic slowdown hit India Inc in full force and pink slips were flying faster than recession. Within minutes of the scam hitting headline, resumes of Satyam employees were flooding the market, but they had nowhere to go.
Vinay A (24), for instance, who had joined Satyam’s Bangalore office straight after engineering, managed an opening in a Kenyan firm. “Office was not running as usual. Our bosses would tell us to calm down and focus, but there was no way it could happen. And when it was all over the media, it became humiliating to even enter the office,” he recalls. “I was lucky to have got a break. There were so many who had nowhere to go and were worried because they had families and personal commitments.”
HR experts believe that it was the recession that saved the day for Satyam. “Had the news broken when the economy was on a boom, the company would’ve gone bust overnight, since everyone would’ve found jobs elsewhere,” says BS Murthy, CEO of Leadership Capital, an executive search firm. “Ever since signs of recovery became visible, the firm has seen 18 to 20 per cent attrition,” he adds.
Ramesh couldn’t agree more: “People in technical roles have already begun leaving. But it’s only in the new fiscal that people from areas like HR, finance, administration and facilities will start moving out.”
(Names of employees have been changed on request.)
Source: mydigitalfc
IT market
Hiring mails are the latest spam
Hackers are now increasingly using the new buzzword – Twitter – to dupe internet users. In the last month, security solutions firms have found new job spam messages that use Twitter as its tool to expand, which in turn entices the user to click the URL to view the details of the bogus opportunities.
For instance, spam messages containing Twitter URLs, had subjects like N3 Earn Extra Income! One of the spam messages doing the rounds says — “Have you heard about Google taking in workers online? I read it at ajobwithgoogle.com Very Interesting!” Yet another one says — “US Surveys is looking for the position of a social shopper”.
“While job-related spam has been prevalent since the recession, Twitter is now being used to lure internet users. These spam emails talk about part-time jobs from big brands,” said Abhinav Karnwal, product marketing manager – APEC, Trend Micro.
Victims are usually offered an amazing job and money, with or without experience. Sometimes they look for a money mule, where they’ll launder stolen money through your account, giving you a percentage. Sometimes, they promise to pay your salary into your account, but transfer money out instead, said Roger Thompson, AVG's chief research officer. They also lure potential money mules to help transfer money by convincing them that they are genuine jobs.
Symantec’s Shantanu Ghosh, VP – India product operations, Symantec, says a large number of Twitter accounts are being used and they seem to be a mixture of hijacked accounts (quite old, and have genuine looking updates) and false accounts set up purely for the purpose of spamming.
Incidentally, India has jumped to the third position in terms of spam volume in 2009. According to Cisco’s annual security report, the country saw spam messages of 3.6 trillion in 2009, 130.4 per cent rise over 2008’s 1.6 trillion.
For instance, spam messages containing Twitter URLs, had subjects like N3 Earn Extra Income! One of the spam messages doing the rounds says — “Have you heard about Google taking in workers online? I read it at ajobwithgoogle.com Very Interesting!” Yet another one says — “US Surveys is looking for the position of a social shopper”.
“While job-related spam has been prevalent since the recession, Twitter is now being used to lure internet users. These spam emails talk about part-time jobs from big brands,” said Abhinav Karnwal, product marketing manager – APEC, Trend Micro.
Victims are usually offered an amazing job and money, with or without experience. Sometimes they look for a money mule, where they’ll launder stolen money through your account, giving you a percentage. Sometimes, they promise to pay your salary into your account, but transfer money out instead, said Roger Thompson, AVG's chief research officer. They also lure potential money mules to help transfer money by convincing them that they are genuine jobs.
Symantec’s Shantanu Ghosh, VP – India product operations, Symantec, says a large number of Twitter accounts are being used and they seem to be a mixture of hijacked accounts (quite old, and have genuine looking updates) and false accounts set up purely for the purpose of spamming.
Incidentally, India has jumped to the third position in terms of spam volume in 2009. According to Cisco’s annual security report, the country saw spam messages of 3.6 trillion in 2009, 130.4 per cent rise over 2008’s 1.6 trillion.
IT market, Wipro
Wipro ties up with Ariba Inc
IT major Wipro on Tuesday announced its partnership with Ariba Inc, a leading spend management solutions provider, to help companies
across India accelerate their spend management initiatives and the results that they deliver.
Under the terms of a newly formed alliance, Wipro will leverage Ariba's on-demand sourcing solutions to help its clients drive procurement process efficiencies and savings that positively impact their bottom line, a release said.
"The economic crisis has taught us lot of things, the most common of them being that companies must procure goods and services for less", said Ramakrishnan R, vice president and Global Practice Head, Wipro Consulting Services.
"By joining forces with Ariba, we can help companies mature their procurement processes in ways that create superior financial impact for their organisations", he said.
Wipro will leverage Ariba sourcing on-demand to expand on the strategic cost containment services that it provides to clients and deliver sourcing services through which companies can effectively lower their costs on a wide range of goods and services.
across India accelerate their spend management initiatives and the results that they deliver.
Under the terms of a newly formed alliance, Wipro will leverage Ariba's on-demand sourcing solutions to help its clients drive procurement process efficiencies and savings that positively impact their bottom line, a release said.
"The economic crisis has taught us lot of things, the most common of them being that companies must procure goods and services for less", said Ramakrishnan R, vice president and Global Practice Head, Wipro Consulting Services.
"By joining forces with Ariba, we can help companies mature their procurement processes in ways that create superior financial impact for their organisations", he said.
Wipro will leverage Ariba sourcing on-demand to expand on the strategic cost containment services that it provides to clients and deliver sourcing services through which companies can effectively lower their costs on a wide range of goods and services.
Recession
ArcelorMittal could cut 10,000 jobs: Report
ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, could cut 10,000 jobs worldwide next year to boost productivity and reduce general expenses by around $500 million, French newspaper Les Echos said on Monday.
The company, which currently employs 285,300 people, wants to regain lost market share and has a goal for general expenses to account for less than 3.5 percent of revenue, the paper said, citing trade union representatives who attended a European workers committee meeting on Dec. 9 to 10.
ArcelorMittal said in an e-mailed statement it did not want to comment on the figures mentioned in the report as they were not final.
"During ArcelorMittal's plenary meeting with its European Works Council last week, company representatives discussed the possibility that the business could expect some global workforce reductions next year due mainly to natural attrition and optimization of production," the statement said.
The company has already moved to slash thousands of jobs earlier this year, amid the steel space suffering the impact of the global economic downturn.
The company, which currently employs 285,300 people, wants to regain lost market share and has a goal for general expenses to account for less than 3.5 percent of revenue, the paper said, citing trade union representatives who attended a European workers committee meeting on Dec. 9 to 10.
ArcelorMittal said in an e-mailed statement it did not want to comment on the figures mentioned in the report as they were not final.
"During ArcelorMittal's plenary meeting with its European Works Council last week, company representatives discussed the possibility that the business could expect some global workforce reductions next year due mainly to natural attrition and optimization of production," the statement said.
The company has already moved to slash thousands of jobs earlier this year, amid the steel space suffering the impact of the global economic downturn.
IT market, new openings
Hiring up by 8.38 pc in Bangalore
Hiring activity continued to surge in the country's IT capital with the job index moving from 598 in October to 649 in November 2009, up by 8.38 per cent.
Prominent industries in Bangalore which witnessed a rise in hiring activity include IT and ITES. The IT industry overall saw an increase in hiring activity in November 2009 by 5.35 per cent,, Naukri JobSpeak, the monthly job index released by job portal Naukri.com, said.
Hiring for IT professionals is 'back' after the dip in October 2009 with an increase of 7.8 per cent and 21.8 per cent in the index of IT-Software and IT-Hardware professionals in November'09 compared to the previous month, it said.
Prominent industries in Bangalore which witnessed a rise in hiring activity include IT and ITES. The IT industry overall saw an increase in hiring activity in November 2009 by 5.35 per cent,, Naukri JobSpeak, the monthly job index released by job portal Naukri.com, said.
Hiring for IT professionals is 'back' after the dip in October 2009 with an increase of 7.8 per cent and 21.8 per cent in the index of IT-Software and IT-Hardware professionals in November'09 compared to the previous month, it said.
Outsourcing
Shell transferring thousands of jobs to India, Philippines
In order to reduce costs, global oil major Royal Dutch Shell will soon transfer additional office jobs from Houston and elsewhere to India and the Philippines.
Shell has also announced that it would slash 5,000 jobs by year-end , including hundreds in Houston as part of a sweeping reorganisation new CEO Peter Voser said is needed to make the company more competitive.
According to internal Shell documents, the European oil giant has been transferring additional office jobs from Houston and elsewhere to India and the Philippines to reduce costs. The migration programmes affect employees in finance and other support functions, which are being consolidated in shared service centres in low-cost countries to fit the new company structure.
It’s unclear how many of Shell’s 13,000 employees in Houston will be affected by the migration plans. Partly, that’s because company officials are still deciding which jobs will stay or go abroad, and are rolling out the plans in phases that run into next year. But at least a few divisions in Houston are preparing to be downsized dramatically.
Major oil companies including Shell, ConocoPhillips and BP have been cutting jobs, capital spending budgets and other costs in response to the global economic downturn that has sapped demand for petroleum products like gasoline and diesel fuel. But Shell’s migration programmes could have broader implications for Houston .
Shell, which is based in The Hague, with US headquarters in Houston, has been involved in a major downsizing since Voser replaced Jeroen van der Veer as CEO in July. By year end, the company plans to cut 5,000 employees, or 10% of its global workforce, under a reorganisation he calls Transition 2009.
The process which merged the company’s three upstream businesses into two, expanded its downstream group and added a new projects and technology division trimmed management ranks by 20% and has forced 15,000 Shell employees to reapply for a smaller pool of jobs.
The company recently told employees within its finance division that some of their jobs are being relocated from Houston and Calgary, Alberta, to finance operations centre in Manila and Chennai. Spokesman Bill Tanner said foreign shared service centres are key to improving the finance unit’s competitiveness.
Shell has also announced that it would slash 5,000 jobs by year-end , including hundreds in Houston as part of a sweeping reorganisation new CEO Peter Voser said is needed to make the company more competitive.
According to internal Shell documents, the European oil giant has been transferring additional office jobs from Houston and elsewhere to India and the Philippines to reduce costs. The migration programmes affect employees in finance and other support functions, which are being consolidated in shared service centres in low-cost countries to fit the new company structure.
It’s unclear how many of Shell’s 13,000 employees in Houston will be affected by the migration plans. Partly, that’s because company officials are still deciding which jobs will stay or go abroad, and are rolling out the plans in phases that run into next year. But at least a few divisions in Houston are preparing to be downsized dramatically.
Major oil companies including Shell, ConocoPhillips and BP have been cutting jobs, capital spending budgets and other costs in response to the global economic downturn that has sapped demand for petroleum products like gasoline and diesel fuel. But Shell’s migration programmes could have broader implications for Houston .
Shell, which is based in The Hague, with US headquarters in Houston, has been involved in a major downsizing since Voser replaced Jeroen van der Veer as CEO in July. By year end, the company plans to cut 5,000 employees, or 10% of its global workforce, under a reorganisation he calls Transition 2009.
The process which merged the company’s three upstream businesses into two, expanded its downstream group and added a new projects and technology division trimmed management ranks by 20% and has forced 15,000 Shell employees to reapply for a smaller pool of jobs.
The company recently told employees within its finance division that some of their jobs are being relocated from Houston and Calgary, Alberta, to finance operations centre in Manila and Chennai. Spokesman Bill Tanner said foreign shared service centres are key to improving the finance unit’s competitiveness.
HCL, New Deals
HCL Axon bags 5-yr GlaxoSmithKline deal
HCL Axon, a division of HCL Technologies, said that it has signed a five-year global IT services deal with pharma company GlaxoSmithKline.
Under the Global Strategic Information Technology Master Services Agreement that HCL Axon has inked with GlaxoSmithKline, the IT company will provide systems integration, SAP implementation and IT consulting services to GSK globally, a release said.
The deal size was however not disclosed. This is one more major global SAP transformation win for HCL Axon since HCL Technologies' acquisition of Axon in December 2008, it added.
"This is an important win for us. It keeps our strategy of becoming the largest global SAP-based business transformation provider firmly on track and confirms the rationale behind the merger with HCL," HCL Axon President Steve Cardell said.
HCL Axon is the world's largest services provider dedicated to SAP solutions, it said.
Under the Global Strategic Information Technology Master Services Agreement that HCL Axon has inked with GlaxoSmithKline, the IT company will provide systems integration, SAP implementation and IT consulting services to GSK globally, a release said.
The deal size was however not disclosed. This is one more major global SAP transformation win for HCL Axon since HCL Technologies' acquisition of Axon in December 2008, it added.
"This is an important win for us. It keeps our strategy of becoming the largest global SAP-based business transformation provider firmly on track and confirms the rationale behind the merger with HCL," HCL Axon President Steve Cardell said.
HCL Axon is the world's largest services provider dedicated to SAP solutions, it said.
New Deals, TCS
TCS sole bidder for UK pension project
Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software outsourcer, is the only firm left in the running for the contract to administer Britain's new national pension scheme, the Mint paper reported on Wednesday.
Other outsourcing firms withdrew during the "competitive dialogue" phase of bidding after deciding the project was not commercially viable, the report said.
"They are an exceptionally strong bidder and we are making excellent progress, but we need to conclude the procurement process appropriately and evaluate their proposals," Tim Jones, chief executive of Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA), told the paper.
PADA will appoint a technology services vendor to manage the pension scheme. "We are keen to continue working with PADA to develop our proposed solution for the personal accounts scheme. This project will help millions of people save for their retirement and we are fully committed to it," TCS said when contacted for comment.
The paper did not say how much the contract was worth, and TCS did not disclose a value.
Other outsourcing firms withdrew during the "competitive dialogue" phase of bidding after deciding the project was not commercially viable, the report said.
"They are an exceptionally strong bidder and we are making excellent progress, but we need to conclude the procurement process appropriately and evaluate their proposals," Tim Jones, chief executive of Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA), told the paper.
PADA will appoint a technology services vendor to manage the pension scheme. "We are keen to continue working with PADA to develop our proposed solution for the personal accounts scheme. This project will help millions of people save for their retirement and we are fully committed to it," TCS said when contacted for comment.
The paper did not say how much the contract was worth, and TCS did not disclose a value.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Satyam
Mahindra Satyam agrees to pay $70 mn to UK firm Upaid
Mahindra Satyam has agreed to pay $70 million to UK-based mobile payment services firm Upaid in an out-of-court settlement, ending uncertainty over one of its long-drawn legal liabilities.
In return, Upaid will drop all charges against Mahindra Satyam and also provide a royalty-free licence on its patents on a worldwide and perpetual basis. The amount is a tenth of what Upaid was seeking in damages from the erstwhile Satyam.
Investors cheered the move that will allow Mahindra Satyam to focus more on business and customer issues as sentiment veers towards an economic recovery.
“It (the Upaid case) could have been pretty intractable,” commented one analyst, terming it a positive development. Satyam shares closed 1.3 per cent higher at Rs 102.65 on BSE on Wednesday.
Source: EconomicTimes
In return, Upaid will drop all charges against Mahindra Satyam and also provide a royalty-free licence on its patents on a worldwide and perpetual basis. The amount is a tenth of what Upaid was seeking in damages from the erstwhile Satyam.
Investors cheered the move that will allow Mahindra Satyam to focus more on business and customer issues as sentiment veers towards an economic recovery.
“It (the Upaid case) could have been pretty intractable,” commented one analyst, terming it a positive development. Satyam shares closed 1.3 per cent higher at Rs 102.65 on BSE on Wednesday.
Source: EconomicTimes
HCL, New Deals
HCL Tech bags 5-yr News Corp deal
IT major HCL Technologies said it has bagged a five-year multi-million pound deal from UK-based News International, a part of News Corporation, for providing software services.
"The company has entered into a multi-million pound, five year engagement for providing technology infrastructure management and transformation with News International," HCL Technologies said in a statement.
HCL will be responsible for managing News International's data centre and network environments along with strategically transforming them.
"The focus within New International on reducing operational costs and increasing technology process standardisation requires the best global technology partnerships," News International Technology Services Director Nick Leake said.
News International publishes several newspapers, including The Times, The Sun and The Sunday Times.
"We look forward to applying our technological and industry expertise to support News International's business goals," HCL Tech President Strategic Verticals Sanjeev Nikore said.
HCL Tech is also working with other News Corporation companies. News Corporation, led by media baron Rupert Murdoch, operates in segments such as film, television, cable, magazines, newspapers and publishing.
"The company has entered into a multi-million pound, five year engagement for providing technology infrastructure management and transformation with News International," HCL Technologies said in a statement.
HCL will be responsible for managing News International's data centre and network environments along with strategically transforming them.
"The focus within New International on reducing operational costs and increasing technology process standardisation requires the best global technology partnerships," News International Technology Services Director Nick Leake said.
News International publishes several newspapers, including The Times, The Sun and The Sunday Times.
"We look forward to applying our technological and industry expertise to support News International's business goals," HCL Tech President Strategic Verticals Sanjeev Nikore said.
HCL Tech is also working with other News Corporation companies. News Corporation, led by media baron Rupert Murdoch, operates in segments such as film, television, cable, magazines, newspapers and publishing.
Infosys, new openings
Infosys to hire 13,000 freshers
After a long dry spell, seems the hiring days are here again. Close on the heels of Wipro announcing its plans to hire 5,000 in the coming months, comes a similar announcement from its rival Infosys Technologies.
The Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies plans to hire 13,000 freshers in the coming fiscal (2010-11), according to a news report in WallStreet Journal.
The report quotes the company's senior vice president and group head, human resources, saying that the company will close with 18,000 freshers and 3,500 laterals this fiscal year.
Recently, Infosys announced plans to double its US headcount. India's second-largest software exporter by revenue plans to hire 1,000 employees in the US.
Earlier, Wipro Technologies said that it will hire 5,000 people in the next couple of months and is looking at a fresh recruitment strategy of taking in graduates from non-engineering institutes.
The Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies plans to hire 13,000 freshers in the coming fiscal (2010-11), according to a news report in WallStreet Journal.
The report quotes the company's senior vice president and group head, human resources, saying that the company will close with 18,000 freshers and 3,500 laterals this fiscal year.
Recently, Infosys announced plans to double its US headcount. India's second-largest software exporter by revenue plans to hire 1,000 employees in the US.
Earlier, Wipro Technologies said that it will hire 5,000 people in the next couple of months and is looking at a fresh recruitment strategy of taking in graduates from non-engineering institutes.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
IT market
Hot Skills for 2010: Dice
Will you be able to command premium pay in 2010? You have a better chance of receiving top dollar if you possess one of the hot certified or non-certified skills that employers are seeking.
IT consulting firm Foote Partners, has once again gathered and analyzed data from several sources, including technology spending projections from major research firms along with wage and salary data gathered through interviews with IT managers and professionals. It's produced a list of the IT skills commanding the highest pay premiums during the previous quarter.
In addition to its reflective look, the firm also projected the certified and non-certified technology skills that will be highly coveted by employers over the next three to six months. Here are the top five skills in each category for 2010:
Non-certified Skills
-SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management)
-Linux
-SAP SCM (Supply Chain Management)
-C++
-Microsoft Commerce Server
Certified Skills
-Red Hat Certified Engineer
-Cisco IP Contact Center Express Specialist
-GIAC Certified Incident Handler
-Systems Security Certified Practitioner
-Cisco Certified Design Expert
If you're thinking about boosting your career through additional training or a new certification, consider one of these hotties, if you want to earn the big bucks.
Source: DiceCareerNews
IT consulting firm Foote Partners, has once again gathered and analyzed data from several sources, including technology spending projections from major research firms along with wage and salary data gathered through interviews with IT managers and professionals. It's produced a list of the IT skills commanding the highest pay premiums during the previous quarter.
In addition to its reflective look, the firm also projected the certified and non-certified technology skills that will be highly coveted by employers over the next three to six months. Here are the top five skills in each category for 2010:
Non-certified Skills
-SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management)
-Linux
-SAP SCM (Supply Chain Management)
-C++
-Microsoft Commerce Server
Certified Skills
-Red Hat Certified Engineer
-Cisco IP Contact Center Express Specialist
-GIAC Certified Incident Handler
-Systems Security Certified Practitioner
-Cisco Certified Design Expert
If you're thinking about boosting your career through additional training or a new certification, consider one of these hotties, if you want to earn the big bucks.
Source: DiceCareerNews
IT market
Top Technologies for 2010: Get Up to Speed Now
Is it too early to make predictions for 2010? Not for the people at Gartner. They're in the predictions business, after all.
At a recent symposium, its IT research team revealed its list of the top 10 technologies for 2010 - the ones that will be most strategic for organizations.
"Companies should factor the top 10 technologies into their strategic planning process by asking key questions and making deliberate decisions about them during the next two years," said David Cearley, vice president at Gartner.
So let's see how many you're familiar with. Here's how the firm describes them:
Cloud Computing. Using cloud resources does not eliminate the costs of IT solutions, but does rearrange some and reduce others. In addition, consuming cloud services enterprises will increasingly act as cloud providers and deliver application, information or business process services to customers and business partners
Advanced Analytics. Optimization and simulation is using analytical tools and models to maximize business process and decision effectiveness by examining alternative outcomes and scenarios, before, during and after process implementation and execution.
Client Computing. Enterprises should proactively build a five to eight year strategic client computing roadmap outlining an approach to device standards, ownership and support; operating system and application selection, deployment and update; and management and security plans to manage diversity.
IT for Green. The use of IT, particularly among the white collar staff, can greatly enhance an enterprise's green credentials.
Reshaping the Data Center. Cutting operating expenses, which are a nontrivial part of the overall IT spend for most clients, frees up money to apply to other projects or investments either in IT or in the business itself.
Social Computing. Enterprises must focus both on use of social software and social media in the enterprise and participation and integration with externally facing enterprise-sponsored and public communities.
Security - Activity Monitoring. A variety of complimentary (and sometimes overlapping) monitoring and analysis tools help enterprises better detect and investigate suspicious activity - often with real-time alerting or transaction intervention.
Flash Memory. At the rate of price declines, the technology will enjoy more than a 100 percent compound annual growth rate during the new few years and become strategic in many IT areas including consumer devices, entertainment equipmen,t and other embedded IT systems.
Virtualization for Availability. Live migration is the movement of a running virtual machine (VM), while its operating system and other software continue to execute as if they remained on the original physical server.
Mobile Applications. By year-end 2010, 1.2 billion people will carry handsets capable of rich, mobile commerce providing a rich environment for the convergence of mobility and the Web.
So there you have it: a few hints about where we're heading and what you'll need to know as we journey into the months and years ahead.
Source: DiceCareerNews
At a recent symposium, its IT research team revealed its list of the top 10 technologies for 2010 - the ones that will be most strategic for organizations.
"Companies should factor the top 10 technologies into their strategic planning process by asking key questions and making deliberate decisions about them during the next two years," said David Cearley, vice president at Gartner.
So let's see how many you're familiar with. Here's how the firm describes them:
Cloud Computing. Using cloud resources does not eliminate the costs of IT solutions, but does rearrange some and reduce others. In addition, consuming cloud services enterprises will increasingly act as cloud providers and deliver application, information or business process services to customers and business partners
Advanced Analytics. Optimization and simulation is using analytical tools and models to maximize business process and decision effectiveness by examining alternative outcomes and scenarios, before, during and after process implementation and execution.
Client Computing. Enterprises should proactively build a five to eight year strategic client computing roadmap outlining an approach to device standards, ownership and support; operating system and application selection, deployment and update; and management and security plans to manage diversity.
IT for Green. The use of IT, particularly among the white collar staff, can greatly enhance an enterprise's green credentials.
Reshaping the Data Center. Cutting operating expenses, which are a nontrivial part of the overall IT spend for most clients, frees up money to apply to other projects or investments either in IT or in the business itself.
Social Computing. Enterprises must focus both on use of social software and social media in the enterprise and participation and integration with externally facing enterprise-sponsored and public communities.
Security - Activity Monitoring. A variety of complimentary (and sometimes overlapping) monitoring and analysis tools help enterprises better detect and investigate suspicious activity - often with real-time alerting or transaction intervention.
Flash Memory. At the rate of price declines, the technology will enjoy more than a 100 percent compound annual growth rate during the new few years and become strategic in many IT areas including consumer devices, entertainment equipmen,t and other embedded IT systems.
Virtualization for Availability. Live migration is the movement of a running virtual machine (VM), while its operating system and other software continue to execute as if they remained on the original physical server.
Mobile Applications. By year-end 2010, 1.2 billion people will carry handsets capable of rich, mobile commerce providing a rich environment for the convergence of mobility and the Web.
So there you have it: a few hints about where we're heading and what you'll need to know as we journey into the months and years ahead.
Source: DiceCareerNews
IT market, Wipro
Ex-Wiproite takes bosses to court
An ex-Wipro employee has reportedly filed a court case against nine of his former seniors who he says forced him to resign after making him go through hell at work
According to a news report in Mid Day, Hyderabad-based G Ram Mohan has filed a private complaint in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bangalore Rural, against nine Wipro officials because he says the police did not look into his grievances when he approached them.
In the complaint, Mohan told the court that he was an employee of Wipro Technologies, Electronics City, from December 3, 2007, till his services were terminated on March 10.
Mohan has alleged that his bosses made him run personal errands and humiliated him. In his complaint, the software professional has claimed that when he opposed this, they threatened him and sought his resignation. The nine Wipro employees named in the complaint are Keshav Kumar, Sreeranganathan, Ankur Chadha, Anuradha Raju, Ganesh Halapethi, Supriya Mahajan, Vikram Mirani, Sulekha Jagadish and Shalini Macaden.
Mohan told the news daily that he had nine years of experience in software testing when he joined Wipro in 2007.
According to the report, spokesperson of Wipro, when contacted, sought more time to reply to queries about the complaint filed in the court.
Source: IndiaTimes
According to a news report in Mid Day, Hyderabad-based G Ram Mohan has filed a private complaint in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bangalore Rural, against nine Wipro officials because he says the police did not look into his grievances when he approached them.
In the complaint, Mohan told the court that he was an employee of Wipro Technologies, Electronics City, from December 3, 2007, till his services were terminated on March 10.
Mohan has alleged that his bosses made him run personal errands and humiliated him. In his complaint, the software professional has claimed that when he opposed this, they threatened him and sought his resignation. The nine Wipro employees named in the complaint are Keshav Kumar, Sreeranganathan, Ankur Chadha, Anuradha Raju, Ganesh Halapethi, Supriya Mahajan, Vikram Mirani, Sulekha Jagadish and Shalini Macaden.
Mohan told the news daily that he had nine years of experience in software testing when he joined Wipro in 2007.
According to the report, spokesperson of Wipro, when contacted, sought more time to reply to queries about the complaint filed in the court.
Source: IndiaTimes
IBM, Infosys, New Deals, TCS, Wipro
TCS, Infy, Wipro, IBM to bid for Rs 2000 cr online FIR project
Vijay Kumar Singh hopes that by 2012, most of those he gets to see in person would be potential criminals.
Well, Singh happens to be a cop. And those whom he intends to spare from his appointment diary are the general public. Singh’s hopes are pinned on a new automated complaint filing and tracking system that the ministry of home affairs (MHA) plans to roll out across India, aimed at trimming the time the general public spends in doing the labyrinthine rounds of the good old police station.
At the Greater Kailash-1 police station in South Delhi, where Singh is the station house officer, the existing Zipnet search is pretty much an ornament. The system tracks from a set base of data, often outdated, and fails to read the latest inputs from other law enforcement agencies.
The new integrated system police officers like Singh are looking forward to will network initially 14,000 police stations across the country, and all the 6,000 higher offices in police hierarchy (like headquarters, range offices, zonal offices). It will bring the benefits of India Inc’s technology prowess to this British era institution, hopes Singh.
Well, Singh happens to be a cop. And those whom he intends to spare from his appointment diary are the general public. Singh’s hopes are pinned on a new automated complaint filing and tracking system that the ministry of home affairs (MHA) plans to roll out across India, aimed at trimming the time the general public spends in doing the labyrinthine rounds of the good old police station.
At the Greater Kailash-1 police station in South Delhi, where Singh is the station house officer, the existing Zipnet search is pretty much an ornament. The system tracks from a set base of data, often outdated, and fails to read the latest inputs from other law enforcement agencies.
The new integrated system police officers like Singh are looking forward to will network initially 14,000 police stations across the country, and all the 6,000 higher offices in police hierarchy (like headquarters, range offices, zonal offices). It will bring the benefits of India Inc’s technology prowess to this British era institution, hopes Singh.
IT market
Companies filter emails of staff to prevent data transfer
Any technological innovation can be used or abused. Unfortunately, many observe that mobile phones with cameras as well as internet facilities are more abused than used.
While Indian conglomerates are yet to bar the use of mobile phone cameras within office premises, they have started filtering mails being sent by employees to avoid transfer of key data or information to the enemy .
While some like the cigarettes-to-hotels & FMCG conglomerate ITC ensure that mails being sent by colleagues get approved by department heads, others like IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects are looking to impose these safety guards in its wholly-owned subsidiary company Hindustan Dorr-Oliver as it is involved in technical and complex work.
Said ITC Ltd CIO VVR Babu: “External email access in ITC is given to users based on specific approvals. Use of IT facilities including email is governed by the Employees Code of Conduct. Since our emails are archived, mails can be accessed and reviewed post facto by the user’s manager in case there is a need to do so.”
“This apart, we do not allow users to access external mail sites such as Gmail, YahooMail, Hotmail, Rediffmail, etc. from the ITC network for security reasons ,” Mr Babu added.
A leading IT security firm Websense’s spokesperson Manish Bansal concedes: “As much as 70-80 % of information leaked happen inadvertently. That is why a strict check on mails are a must for companies. There are instances where employees of a certain department have leaked classified information to colleagues of other departments.”
Adding, Mr Bansal said: “Organisations which keep a tab on their email systems define what breed of information can be termed as essential to a firm. These are carefully monitored. There are softwares that scan every mail — both outbound and inbound. IT service firms and financial organisations dealing with customer data as well as telecom companies are ones that use the monitoring system on a regular basis.”
Asked whether use of such software slows down the mail systems, Mr Bansal said: “Current day softwares are dynamic enough not to slow down systems .” Some like IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects have not felt the need to filter mails being sent by its employees.
“We are, however, looking to impose these safety guards in group company Hindustan Dorr-Oliver as the firm works on far more technical and complex projects,” E Sudhir Reddy, chairman & managing director , IVRCL Infrastructures, pointed out.
Elaborating further, Mr Reddy said, “Many of the processes being used by Dorr-Oliver are patented. In the past, Dorr-Oliver lost out because these processes were either transferred surreptitiously to the enemy camp or were retained by the fabricators and subsequently , used the processes to execute other projects. Past experience suggests that we put a strong system in place as far as Dorr-Oliver is concerned.”
“Chip design companies, manufacturing entities, healthcare firms, BFSI and software development companies even control use of USB drives, CD/DVD or uploading of data to the net either through mail or any other system . If an employee tries to upload sensitive company information, the system automatically blocks it and the company’s IT department can pin him down,” said Kartik Sahani, country head McAfee, another leading IT security firm.
“At Novartis, we have a code of conduct to which all employees are party as also an information security policy which clearly lays down the dos and don’ts to be followed by employees with regard to all information they come in contact with by nature of their jobs. While we do not bar employees from using other mail systems, we expect employees to not misuse company time and resources. In case an employee is found guilty of such misuse, he/she could be liable to disciplinary action,” said Ranjit Shahani, vice chairman & managing director, Novartis India.
The firm, however, restricts use of mobile phones with cameras in certain areas where there is a risk of data getting transmitted outside the company.
Does all this mean Indian conglomerates and business houses may soon restrict use of camera phones within office premises? Who knows!
While Indian conglomerates are yet to bar the use of mobile phone cameras within office premises, they have started filtering mails being sent by employees to avoid transfer of key data or information to the enemy .
While some like the cigarettes-to-hotels & FMCG conglomerate ITC ensure that mails being sent by colleagues get approved by department heads, others like IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects are looking to impose these safety guards in its wholly-owned subsidiary company Hindustan Dorr-Oliver as it is involved in technical and complex work.
Said ITC Ltd CIO VVR Babu: “External email access in ITC is given to users based on specific approvals. Use of IT facilities including email is governed by the Employees Code of Conduct. Since our emails are archived, mails can be accessed and reviewed post facto by the user’s manager in case there is a need to do so.”
“This apart, we do not allow users to access external mail sites such as Gmail, YahooMail, Hotmail, Rediffmail, etc. from the ITC network for security reasons ,” Mr Babu added.
A leading IT security firm Websense’s spokesperson Manish Bansal concedes: “As much as 70-80 % of information leaked happen inadvertently. That is why a strict check on mails are a must for companies. There are instances where employees of a certain department have leaked classified information to colleagues of other departments.”
Adding, Mr Bansal said: “Organisations which keep a tab on their email systems define what breed of information can be termed as essential to a firm. These are carefully monitored. There are softwares that scan every mail — both outbound and inbound. IT service firms and financial organisations dealing with customer data as well as telecom companies are ones that use the monitoring system on a regular basis.”
Asked whether use of such software slows down the mail systems, Mr Bansal said: “Current day softwares are dynamic enough not to slow down systems .” Some like IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects have not felt the need to filter mails being sent by its employees.
“We are, however, looking to impose these safety guards in group company Hindustan Dorr-Oliver as the firm works on far more technical and complex projects,” E Sudhir Reddy, chairman & managing director , IVRCL Infrastructures, pointed out.
Elaborating further, Mr Reddy said, “Many of the processes being used by Dorr-Oliver are patented. In the past, Dorr-Oliver lost out because these processes were either transferred surreptitiously to the enemy camp or were retained by the fabricators and subsequently , used the processes to execute other projects. Past experience suggests that we put a strong system in place as far as Dorr-Oliver is concerned.”
“Chip design companies, manufacturing entities, healthcare firms, BFSI and software development companies even control use of USB drives, CD/DVD or uploading of data to the net either through mail or any other system . If an employee tries to upload sensitive company information, the system automatically blocks it and the company’s IT department can pin him down,” said Kartik Sahani, country head McAfee, another leading IT security firm.
“At Novartis, we have a code of conduct to which all employees are party as also an information security policy which clearly lays down the dos and don’ts to be followed by employees with regard to all information they come in contact with by nature of their jobs. While we do not bar employees from using other mail systems, we expect employees to not misuse company time and resources. In case an employee is found guilty of such misuse, he/she could be liable to disciplinary action,” said Ranjit Shahani, vice chairman & managing director, Novartis India.
The firm, however, restricts use of mobile phones with cameras in certain areas where there is a risk of data getting transmitted outside the company.
Does all this mean Indian conglomerates and business houses may soon restrict use of camera phones within office premises? Who knows!
New Deals, Satyam
Satyam bags Rs 100-cr Airbus deal
Mahindra Satyam has won a Rs 100-crore ($20 million) outsourcing contract from the world’s largest maker of commercial aircraft, Airbus, to manage its internal quality and processes.
Sources said the three-year contract involving technology maintenance, will put Satyam at a vantage point as they can now have an overview of the projects and technology which controls the organisation. “The work outsourced mainly includes quality management,” said a person familiar with the matter.
An email query to Mahindra Satyam and Airbus remained unanswered at the time of this report going to press. This is the second important contract Mahindra Satyam has bagged in the last few months.
It won an IT outsourcing contract last month from Swedish defence and aerospace firm, Saab, to develop its operations for the global defence and security market in India in a deal valued at around $300 million.
Sources said the three-year contract involving technology maintenance, will put Satyam at a vantage point as they can now have an overview of the projects and technology which controls the organisation. “The work outsourced mainly includes quality management,” said a person familiar with the matter.
An email query to Mahindra Satyam and Airbus remained unanswered at the time of this report going to press. This is the second important contract Mahindra Satyam has bagged in the last few months.
It won an IT outsourcing contract last month from Swedish defence and aerospace firm, Saab, to develop its operations for the global defence and security market in India in a deal valued at around $300 million.
TCS
TCS' BaNCS ranked no 1 in China
The core banking solution of Tata Consultancy Services BaNCS has been ranked as the leading core banking solution in China based on its performance in 2008 by IDC, a global market research and analysis firm specialising in Information technology.
This was the third year in a row that TCS had been ranked at the top of solution providers for the financial services industry in China, an IDC release said on Monday.
"New customer wins on a periodic basis have been central to TCS' success as a leader in this region", Serena Shang, Senior Analyst, IDC China, said.
"TCS BaNCS' capability to scale and address a wide range of financial institutions coupled with their global track record is an attractive proposition. They can consolidate their initial learnings to make faster progress in perhaps one of the toughest markets in the world", she said.
This was the third year in a row that TCS had been ranked at the top of solution providers for the financial services industry in China, an IDC release said on Monday.
"New customer wins on a periodic basis have been central to TCS' success as a leader in this region", Serena Shang, Senior Analyst, IDC China, said.
"TCS BaNCS' capability to scale and address a wide range of financial institutions coupled with their global track record is an attractive proposition. They can consolidate their initial learnings to make faster progress in perhaps one of the toughest markets in the world", she said.
IT market
India beats Europe in IT pros salary
Is Indian software industry fast losing its low-cost destination advantage? So it may seem. According to the 2009 EE Times Global Salary & Opinion Survey, Engineers' salaries in India and China have risen at a pace faster than that in some of their counterparts like Japan and countries in North America and Europe.
Almost 40 per cent of the respondents in India have seen their salaries grow much or slightly higher than what they were 5 years ago, while only 34 per cent of respondents in Europe and 25 per cent of that in North America reported a hike during the same time.
The study says that competition for engineering talent in India and its emerging rival China has got tougher in the last ten years as hardware and software companies have accelerated the transfer of manufacturing and design operations from Western locations to lower-cost parts of the globe. This growing competition, often makes companies offer attractive incentives to hire experienced engineers, only to lose them to rivals after a couple of years.
However, though IT employees in both China and India have seen better raises over the last few years than their counterparts in the developed world, majority of the techies in the two countries still earn considerably less than their counterparts elsewhere, the study adds.
Almost 40 per cent of the respondents in India have seen their salaries grow much or slightly higher than what they were 5 years ago, while only 34 per cent of respondents in Europe and 25 per cent of that in North America reported a hike during the same time.
The study says that competition for engineering talent in India and its emerging rival China has got tougher in the last ten years as hardware and software companies have accelerated the transfer of manufacturing and design operations from Western locations to lower-cost parts of the globe. This growing competition, often makes companies offer attractive incentives to hire experienced engineers, only to lose them to rivals after a couple of years.
However, though IT employees in both China and India have seen better raises over the last few years than their counterparts in the developed world, majority of the techies in the two countries still earn considerably less than their counterparts elsewhere, the study adds.
New Deals, Outsourcing
Three IT cos bag $600 mn Walmart deal
Walmart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, has picked three IT vendors including India's Infosys Technologies for multi-year contracts worth over $600 million, the Business Standard said on Friday.
The other vendors are Cognizant Solutions and UST Global, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified source close to the development.
Initially the three vendors are expected to earn Rs 2.5 billion to Rs 3 billion ($54 million-$65 million) each annually, which will rise as Wal-Mart increases outsourcing more work.
Infosys and Cognizant, which will provide application development and support, are expected to get a larger share of the contract, the paper said. UST will be responsible for testing these applications, it said.
"What is more important is that these three vendors have now got a ticket to be in the club of Walmart's list of preferred vendors which will help them in growing this account in the long run," the paper quoted the source as saying.
"We do not comment on market speculation," a spokeswoman for Infosys told Reuters. Walmart's media relations director, John Simley, said in am emailed reply to the paper, "We have a large and growing business and productive relationship with many Indian companies. We do not comment on speculations about the nature of any business relationship."
A Cognizant spokesman also declined to comment, the paper said.
Source: IndiaTimes
The other vendors are Cognizant Solutions and UST Global, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified source close to the development.
Initially the three vendors are expected to earn Rs 2.5 billion to Rs 3 billion ($54 million-$65 million) each annually, which will rise as Wal-Mart increases outsourcing more work.
Infosys and Cognizant, which will provide application development and support, are expected to get a larger share of the contract, the paper said. UST will be responsible for testing these applications, it said.
"What is more important is that these three vendors have now got a ticket to be in the club of Walmart's list of preferred vendors which will help them in growing this account in the long run," the paper quoted the source as saying.
"We do not comment on market speculation," a spokeswoman for Infosys told Reuters. Walmart's media relations director, John Simley, said in am emailed reply to the paper, "We have a large and growing business and productive relationship with many Indian companies. We do not comment on speculations about the nature of any business relationship."
A Cognizant spokesman also declined to comment, the paper said.
Source: IndiaTimes
Friday, December 4, 2009
BPO, Satyam
Tech Mahindra plans BPO unit in Philippines
Resurrecting Satyam may be dominating mindshare at Tech Mahindra ever since it acquired the firm in April, but the company is silently expanding its global footprint in the BPO space.
Tech Mahindra is mulling a brand new BPO operation in the Philippines, which will be its third offshore contact centre after Northern Ireland and the UK. If Tech Mahindra indeed dials the Philippines, it will be emulating the likes of Wipro and Infosys, who have already established BPOs to cash in on the low-operating costs in that country.
Having tapped into the outsourcing opportunities that exist in the UK and the European Union (EU) by establishing contact centres in Belfast and South Tyneside, Tech Mahindra is now tipped to set up shop in the Philippines to cater to global telecom clients in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and North American markets.
Tech Mahindra is mulling a brand new BPO operation in the Philippines, which will be its third offshore contact centre after Northern Ireland and the UK. If Tech Mahindra indeed dials the Philippines, it will be emulating the likes of Wipro and Infosys, who have already established BPOs to cash in on the low-operating costs in that country.
Having tapped into the outsourcing opportunities that exist in the UK and the European Union (EU) by establishing contact centres in Belfast and South Tyneside, Tech Mahindra is now tipped to set up shop in the Philippines to cater to global telecom clients in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and North American markets.
Infosys, IT market
Infosys to reduce sub-contractors, perform their work in-house
IT major Infosys plans to reduce the usage of sub-contractors and perform their work in-house particularly at cheaper offshore locations, a top company official said on Friday.
"We found during our reviews that a large number of client work had been outsourced to sub-contractors. In such cases, we decided to reduce the usage of sub-contractors and use our (own) facility," Infosys' chief mentor, NR Narayana Murthy, said on the sidelines of an industry conference in Mumbai.
The company has also taken a new concept "more from the same", which will scrutinise budgets and look after areas where previously unnoticed expenses could be eliminated, he said.
Infosys believes that this new concept will benefit the company, its shareholders and its employees. During the second quarter of FY 10, the company saw a 2.9 per cent increase in revenues from the first quarter.
"We found during our reviews that a large number of client work had been outsourced to sub-contractors. In such cases, we decided to reduce the usage of sub-contractors and use our (own) facility," Infosys' chief mentor, NR Narayana Murthy, said on the sidelines of an industry conference in Mumbai.
The company has also taken a new concept "more from the same", which will scrutinise budgets and look after areas where previously unnoticed expenses could be eliminated, he said.
Infosys believes that this new concept will benefit the company, its shareholders and its employees. During the second quarter of FY 10, the company saw a 2.9 per cent increase in revenues from the first quarter.
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