IT financial services solutions vendor Oracle Financial Services Software today said its consolidated net profit rose by 75.99 per cent to Rs 185.78 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009, over the same period last year.
Consolidated total income decreased to Rs 670.1 crore in the latest quarter against Rs 681.02 crore in the same period last fiscal, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
"We are pleased to open fiscal year 2010 on a positive note, with product business revenues of Rs 442 crore, an increase of 22 per cent compared to the same quarter last year," Oracle Financial Services MD and CEO NRK Raman said.
On the standalone basis, the company has posted a growth of 65 per cent in its net profit to Rs 152.22 crore in the current quarter.
Standalone total income rose to Rs 545.62 crore in the quarter under review, against Rs 462.8 crore in the same period last year.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Capgemini cuts sales target
Capgemini SA cut its 2009 sales outlook on Thursday, saying it was unsure signs that activity might be stabilising in some regions would translate into a full-blown recovery for the battered technology sector.
But its shares jumped 8 percent as investors focused on solid first-half bookings, notably in outsourcing, good cash levels and a profitability goal in-line with market expectations. Europe's largest computer consultancy told investors it would strive to limit the decline in operating margin this year to around 7 percent of sales thanks to tighter cost control. This was roughly in line with a market consensus that the French group and analysts say is at 6.9 percent for operating margin, and compares to the 8.5 percent achieved in 2009.
"We're a bit more cautious than others. The second quarter was a bit tougher than we expected," Chief Executive Paul Hermelin told a conference call. "There are signs activity is stabilising in North America and sectors such as financials are improving but we can't say these recovery signs are widespread."
Capgemini plans to hold onto its 576 million euro cash pile in the tough current economic times and resume big acquisitions only once trading activity has stabilised, Hermelin said. Capgemini, which competes for IT budgets with US giant Accenture and France's Atos Origin, now expects like-for-like 2009 sales to slip 3 to 4 percent, after they fell 2.2 percent in the first half.
It had previously forecast a sales drop of around 2 percent. Capgemini's cautious tone contrasted with SAP, the world's biggest maker of business management software, which lifted its operating margin goal on Wednesday, giving Europe's battered technology sector a glimmer of hope. Overall, Capgemini sales were expected to decline by between 4 percent and 6 percent in the second half 2009.
"Our teams feel that 2010 should a be a bit better," Hermelin said when asked about sales prospects for next year, giving no further details.
Solid bookings, cash
Capgemini shares opened down 2.5 percent but by 0925 GMT the stock was 8.4 percent higher at 31.25 euros as investors focused on what analysts deemed relatively resilient first-half results.
"Strong first-half earnings offset the slight erosion in the top-line perspective for the second half," one trader said. "Capgemini remains the best-positioned company within Europe with the most evolved global delivery model," Credit Suisse said, also pointing at "solid" first-half bookings of 4.433 billion, driven by a 35 percent jump in outsourcing.
Capgemini's half-year operating profit fell to 167 million euros from 288 million, hit notably by a 102 million euros restructuring charge. The group still forecasts restructuring charges of 220 million euros for full year but plans to curtail these charges to below 100 million euros in 2010.
Revenue reached 4.38 billion euros, with consulting taking the biggest hit, down 13.4 percent. The closely-watched operating margin fell to 6.6 percent from 7.6 percent a year ago. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected first-half sales of 4.39 billion euros and an operating margin of 6.5 percent.
But its shares jumped 8 percent as investors focused on solid first-half bookings, notably in outsourcing, good cash levels and a profitability goal in-line with market expectations. Europe's largest computer consultancy told investors it would strive to limit the decline in operating margin this year to around 7 percent of sales thanks to tighter cost control. This was roughly in line with a market consensus that the French group and analysts say is at 6.9 percent for operating margin, and compares to the 8.5 percent achieved in 2009.
"We're a bit more cautious than others. The second quarter was a bit tougher than we expected," Chief Executive Paul Hermelin told a conference call. "There are signs activity is stabilising in North America and sectors such as financials are improving but we can't say these recovery signs are widespread."
Capgemini plans to hold onto its 576 million euro cash pile in the tough current economic times and resume big acquisitions only once trading activity has stabilised, Hermelin said. Capgemini, which competes for IT budgets with US giant Accenture and France's Atos Origin, now expects like-for-like 2009 sales to slip 3 to 4 percent, after they fell 2.2 percent in the first half.
It had previously forecast a sales drop of around 2 percent. Capgemini's cautious tone contrasted with SAP, the world's biggest maker of business management software, which lifted its operating margin goal on Wednesday, giving Europe's battered technology sector a glimmer of hope. Overall, Capgemini sales were expected to decline by between 4 percent and 6 percent in the second half 2009.
"Our teams feel that 2010 should a be a bit better," Hermelin said when asked about sales prospects for next year, giving no further details.
Solid bookings, cash
Capgemini shares opened down 2.5 percent but by 0925 GMT the stock was 8.4 percent higher at 31.25 euros as investors focused on what analysts deemed relatively resilient first-half results.
"Strong first-half earnings offset the slight erosion in the top-line perspective for the second half," one trader said. "Capgemini remains the best-positioned company within Europe with the most evolved global delivery model," Credit Suisse said, also pointing at "solid" first-half bookings of 4.433 billion, driven by a 35 percent jump in outsourcing.
Capgemini's half-year operating profit fell to 167 million euros from 288 million, hit notably by a 102 million euros restructuring charge. The group still forecasts restructuring charges of 220 million euros for full year but plans to curtail these charges to below 100 million euros in 2010.
Revenue reached 4.38 billion euros, with consulting taking the biggest hit, down 13.4 percent. The closely-watched operating margin fell to 6.6 percent from 7.6 percent a year ago. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected first-half sales of 4.39 billion euros and an operating margin of 6.5 percent.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Top employers of Indian IT services sector for FY08-09
As a part of the findings of its annual survey on the performance of the Indian IT-BPO services sector for FY08-09 and outlook for FY09-10, NASSCOM released the annual rankings for the Top employers of Indian IT services sector for FY08-09. The NASSCOM survey estimates that the IT-BPO export revenues will grow by 4-7% to reach $48-50 billion in FY09-10. NASSCOM also released list of emerging 50 companies in India and Best BPOs list.
1. Tata Consultancy Services
First on the list of biggest IT employers in India is Tata Consultancy Services. The Tata group company reported a total employee strength of 141,642 during its first quarter earnings of fiscal 2009-10. Utilization in Q1 FY10 was 79.2% (excluding trainees) & 71.3% (including trainees). There was a gross addition of 2,828. The attrition rate in Q1 was 11.5%. At the end of Q1, the total employee strength of the company was 141,642. Foreign nationals formed 8.3% of the total employee base and 30% were women.
2. Infosys Technologies
Second on the list is the country's second biggest software exporter Infosys Technologies. As on June 30, 2009, Nasdaq-listed Infosys and its subsidiaries had a total of 1,03,905 employees on board. However, the number of its employees declined by 945 in the first quarter of this fiscal. The company had hired close to 3,538 employees in the June quarter, but after taking into account attrition and other factors its total strength has actually lowered.
3. Wipro Ltd
At no. 3 is Wipro Technologies. The company had 98,521 people on its rolls as on June 30, 2009. During the first quarter of current fiscal, the company recruited 711 employees.
4. Cognizant Technology Solutions India
Cognizant Technology Solutions India ranks at no. 4 on the list of India's biggest IT employers. A member of the NASDAQ-100 Index and S&P 500 Index, with over 50 global delivery centers it reported 63,700 employees as of March 31, 2009.
5. HCL Technologies
HCL Technologies Ltd is fifth on the list of biggest IT employers in India. Its employee headcount stood at 54,026. HCL Technologies, along with its subsidiaries, had consolidated revenues of US$ 2.0 billion (Rs. 9,842 crores), as on 31st March 2009.
6. HP India
At sixth spot is the Indian subsidiary of the global IT giant Hewlett-Packard. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. The company has approximately 321,000 employees worldwide.
7. MphasiS Ltd
MphasiS Ltd, is at the seventh spot on the country's biggest IT employers' list. The group added headcount by 3,822 net, during the quarter. The group headcount stood at 33, 810 as at April 30, 2009.
8. Intelenet Global Services Ltd
Intelenet Global Services Ltd is the eighth biggest IT employer with around 27,000 employees. It has 30 delivery centres strategically located throughout the globe.
9. IBM-Daksh Business Process Services Pvt Ltd
At no. 9 is IBM Daksh operating from 25 delivery centers at nine locations in India and the Philippines. It employs more than 30,000 employees.
10. Genpact India Pvt Ltd
GE Capital International Services (GECIS), the India-based business process services operations of GE Capital is the tenth biggest IT employer. As of 2008, the company had over 36,200 employees. Currently the company has a global network of over 35 operations centers spread across 12 countries.
11. Tech Mahindra
The 11th biggest employer in India is TechMahindra (without including Satyam employees). The significant event to happen for them this quarter was the acquisition of a strategic stake in Satyam. Tech Mahindra now holds 42.7% shares in Mahindra Satyam all through its subsidiary Venturbay Consultants Private Limited. Tech Mahindra consolidated headcount increased by 510 employees to 25,482 at the end of June.
12. Aegis Ltd
At no. 12th is Essar Group's back office Aegis BPO. The company recently announced its plans to increase its global workforce by 12,000, summing up the total headcount to 43,000, by end of this fiscal.
13. WNS Global Services (P) Ltd
At no. thirteen is the Nasdaq listed second biggest BPO firm in India, WNS Global Services.
14. Firstsource Solutions Ltd
The 14th largest employer in India is Firstsource Solutions Ltd. It posted net profit of Rs 38 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009.
15. CSC India Pvt Ltd
Computer Sciences Corp is the 15th largest employer in India. It has about 90,000 employees globally and reported revenue of $17.1 billion for the 12 months ended July 2008. CSC's recent acquisitions and expansion activities have increased its development and delivery centers to seven locations within India, including Noida, Indore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Vadodara. Now, with more than 16,000 employees in India and an additional 3,000 in other geographies that support our India operations.
16. Patni Computers
Patni Computer Systems is the 16th largest IT employer in India. It has over 14,500 professionals service clients across diverse industries, from 27 sales offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and 22 Global Delivery Centers in strategic locations across the world.
17. L&T Infotech
At no. 17 is Larsen & Toubro Infotech.
18. Hinduja Global Solutions Pvt Ltd
BPO services provider Hinduja Global Solutions is the 18th largest IT employer in India. In March the company announced that it has over 9,500 employees.
19. Oracle Financial Services Software Ltd
At no. 19th is Oracle Financial Services Software. The company reportedly employed around 11,000 people as of December 2008.
20. Convergys India Services
At no. 20 is the leading contact centre and billing solutions firm, Convergys Corp. As of October 2008, the company claimed to have approximately 13,000 employees in India.
1. Tata Consultancy Services
First on the list of biggest IT employers in India is Tata Consultancy Services. The Tata group company reported a total employee strength of 141,642 during its first quarter earnings of fiscal 2009-10. Utilization in Q1 FY10 was 79.2% (excluding trainees) & 71.3% (including trainees). There was a gross addition of 2,828. The attrition rate in Q1 was 11.5%. At the end of Q1, the total employee strength of the company was 141,642. Foreign nationals formed 8.3% of the total employee base and 30% were women.
2. Infosys Technologies
Second on the list is the country's second biggest software exporter Infosys Technologies. As on June 30, 2009, Nasdaq-listed Infosys and its subsidiaries had a total of 1,03,905 employees on board. However, the number of its employees declined by 945 in the first quarter of this fiscal. The company had hired close to 3,538 employees in the June quarter, but after taking into account attrition and other factors its total strength has actually lowered.
3. Wipro Ltd
At no. 3 is Wipro Technologies. The company had 98,521 people on its rolls as on June 30, 2009. During the first quarter of current fiscal, the company recruited 711 employees.
4. Cognizant Technology Solutions India
Cognizant Technology Solutions India ranks at no. 4 on the list of India's biggest IT employers. A member of the NASDAQ-100 Index and S&P 500 Index, with over 50 global delivery centers it reported 63,700 employees as of March 31, 2009.
5. HCL Technologies
HCL Technologies Ltd is fifth on the list of biggest IT employers in India. Its employee headcount stood at 54,026. HCL Technologies, along with its subsidiaries, had consolidated revenues of US$ 2.0 billion (Rs. 9,842 crores), as on 31st March 2009.
6. HP India
At sixth spot is the Indian subsidiary of the global IT giant Hewlett-Packard. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. The company has approximately 321,000 employees worldwide.
7. MphasiS Ltd
MphasiS Ltd, is at the seventh spot on the country's biggest IT employers' list. The group added headcount by 3,822 net, during the quarter. The group headcount stood at 33, 810 as at April 30, 2009.
8. Intelenet Global Services Ltd
Intelenet Global Services Ltd is the eighth biggest IT employer with around 27,000 employees. It has 30 delivery centres strategically located throughout the globe.
9. IBM-Daksh Business Process Services Pvt Ltd
At no. 9 is IBM Daksh operating from 25 delivery centers at nine locations in India and the Philippines. It employs more than 30,000 employees.
10. Genpact India Pvt Ltd
GE Capital International Services (GECIS), the India-based business process services operations of GE Capital is the tenth biggest IT employer. As of 2008, the company had over 36,200 employees. Currently the company has a global network of over 35 operations centers spread across 12 countries.
11. Tech Mahindra
The 11th biggest employer in India is TechMahindra (without including Satyam employees). The significant event to happen for them this quarter was the acquisition of a strategic stake in Satyam. Tech Mahindra now holds 42.7% shares in Mahindra Satyam all through its subsidiary Venturbay Consultants Private Limited. Tech Mahindra consolidated headcount increased by 510 employees to 25,482 at the end of June.
12. Aegis Ltd
At no. 12th is Essar Group's back office Aegis BPO. The company recently announced its plans to increase its global workforce by 12,000, summing up the total headcount to 43,000, by end of this fiscal.
13. WNS Global Services (P) Ltd
At no. thirteen is the Nasdaq listed second biggest BPO firm in India, WNS Global Services.
14. Firstsource Solutions Ltd
The 14th largest employer in India is Firstsource Solutions Ltd. It posted net profit of Rs 38 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009.
15. CSC India Pvt Ltd
Computer Sciences Corp is the 15th largest employer in India. It has about 90,000 employees globally and reported revenue of $17.1 billion for the 12 months ended July 2008. CSC's recent acquisitions and expansion activities have increased its development and delivery centers to seven locations within India, including Noida, Indore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Vadodara. Now, with more than 16,000 employees in India and an additional 3,000 in other geographies that support our India operations.
16. Patni Computers
Patni Computer Systems is the 16th largest IT employer in India. It has over 14,500 professionals service clients across diverse industries, from 27 sales offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and 22 Global Delivery Centers in strategic locations across the world.
17. L&T Infotech
At no. 17 is Larsen & Toubro Infotech.
18. Hinduja Global Solutions Pvt Ltd
BPO services provider Hinduja Global Solutions is the 18th largest IT employer in India. In March the company announced that it has over 9,500 employees.
19. Oracle Financial Services Software Ltd
At no. 19th is Oracle Financial Services Software. The company reportedly employed around 11,000 people as of December 2008.
20. Convergys India Services
At no. 20 is the leading contact centre and billing solutions firm, Convergys Corp. As of October 2008, the company claimed to have approximately 13,000 employees in India.
For IT firms, it pays to be on networking sites
Recently, a prospective buyer of information technology services posted a query for Infosys Technologies on networking site Twitter. The Infosys team that tracks the online world forwarded the query to the sales team, which got in touch with the prospective buyer. The client was pleasantly surprised with the prompt reply and awarded the contract to Infosys.
In a month, the two joint CEOs of Wipro Technologies, Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani, are expected to become active on Twitter. The IT firm agrees that leads coming from its online presence on sites such as Linkedin, Webcasts, Webinars, and others have gone up by 50 per cent.
Bangalore-based Mindtree has created a community on professional networking site Linkedin. The company uses this as positive referral traffic, which can be converted into business.
These are examples of how Indian IT companies are using networking sites —social and professional. Traditionally focused on using business-to-business (B2B) tools, these companies are using business-to-consumer (B2C) tools like networking sites to gain attention.
IT companies are not new to the virtual world, having made their presence felt in secondlife.com — a three-dimensional virtual world where registered users socialise and connect with one another. Wipro has set up a virtual lab and uses 3D technology. The company boasts of 9,000 unique visitors and uses its virtual presence to showcase its technology offerings to clients.
But moving on to sites like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook is an altogether different thing. “It is about engagement and getting insight. What it gives an organisation is participation with stakeholders, opinion sharing, and co-creation. This does not replace the need for creating awareness (branding), but it does give a huge insight on the target audience,” says Aditya Jha, assistant vice-president, marketing, Infosys. He believes that in future research on any organisation will be done online. “Those who do not join now will lose big in this segment,” he cautions.
India’s second-largest IT company has a sizeable presence in the online world. For instance, the company started its blog almost three years back. It ventured on slideshare — a presentation sharing site — 15 months ago, has had videos on Youtube for over a year, and started on Twitter nine months ago. Recently, when the company was jolted by a bus accident, it immediately posted it on Twitter.
The target audience for IT-services companies are media, analysts, potential employees and, in some instances, clients.
Jessie Paul, chief marketing officer of Wipro, agrees that these sites are typically targeted at the B2C segment, but are relevant even to IT companies. “The impact of traditional media is diminishing. Sites like Linkedin are being used by sales teams to get in touch with business people. Analysts follow you, but, most importantly, so does competition,” she says. Wipro has a community on Linkedin. Its human resources department uses the site for hiring.
Wipro started its online foray (other than having a corporate website) with secondlife.com two years ago. After that, it ventured into Youtube and joined Twitter in August last year. “We will launch our new website next month and it will have all these clubbed together. Our CEOs will also start twittering,” says Paul. The company plans to have a one-day workshop on social media for its top executives.
At the same time, lessons are being absorbed. “I think earlier the objective was not clearly defined and hence the Second Life presence did not make much of an impact. But that’s not the case now. Apart from creating communities and blogs, this medium is being used for hiring as well as for extending the CSR (corporate social responsibility) reach. Most importantly, companies are trying to monitor the negative as well as positive press. Not being at these places creates more criticism than being there,” says Diptarup Chakraborti, principal research analyst, Gartner.
Pratheep Raj, responsible for the online marketing initiative at Mindtree, says every networking site has its own relevance. “We are using Twitter and Facebook for attracting talent and the younger crowd. Our presence on Linkedin is to get positive referral traffic.”
A Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) spokesperson agrees, “TCS Twitter, started early this year, has received overwhelming response from followers who want to know more about the company’s new initiatives. We have seen traction from analyst, opinion makers and journalists who are subscribing to news alerts.”
In a month, the two joint CEOs of Wipro Technologies, Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani, are expected to become active on Twitter. The IT firm agrees that leads coming from its online presence on sites such as Linkedin, Webcasts, Webinars, and others have gone up by 50 per cent.
Bangalore-based Mindtree has created a community on professional networking site Linkedin. The company uses this as positive referral traffic, which can be converted into business.
These are examples of how Indian IT companies are using networking sites —social and professional. Traditionally focused on using business-to-business (B2B) tools, these companies are using business-to-consumer (B2C) tools like networking sites to gain attention.
IT companies are not new to the virtual world, having made their presence felt in secondlife.com — a three-dimensional virtual world where registered users socialise and connect with one another. Wipro has set up a virtual lab and uses 3D technology. The company boasts of 9,000 unique visitors and uses its virtual presence to showcase its technology offerings to clients.
But moving on to sites like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook is an altogether different thing. “It is about engagement and getting insight. What it gives an organisation is participation with stakeholders, opinion sharing, and co-creation. This does not replace the need for creating awareness (branding), but it does give a huge insight on the target audience,” says Aditya Jha, assistant vice-president, marketing, Infosys. He believes that in future research on any organisation will be done online. “Those who do not join now will lose big in this segment,” he cautions.
India’s second-largest IT company has a sizeable presence in the online world. For instance, the company started its blog almost three years back. It ventured on slideshare — a presentation sharing site — 15 months ago, has had videos on Youtube for over a year, and started on Twitter nine months ago. Recently, when the company was jolted by a bus accident, it immediately posted it on Twitter.
The target audience for IT-services companies are media, analysts, potential employees and, in some instances, clients.
Jessie Paul, chief marketing officer of Wipro, agrees that these sites are typically targeted at the B2C segment, but are relevant even to IT companies. “The impact of traditional media is diminishing. Sites like Linkedin are being used by sales teams to get in touch with business people. Analysts follow you, but, most importantly, so does competition,” she says. Wipro has a community on Linkedin. Its human resources department uses the site for hiring.
Wipro started its online foray (other than having a corporate website) with secondlife.com two years ago. After that, it ventured into Youtube and joined Twitter in August last year. “We will launch our new website next month and it will have all these clubbed together. Our CEOs will also start twittering,” says Paul. The company plans to have a one-day workshop on social media for its top executives.
At the same time, lessons are being absorbed. “I think earlier the objective was not clearly defined and hence the Second Life presence did not make much of an impact. But that’s not the case now. Apart from creating communities and blogs, this medium is being used for hiring as well as for extending the CSR (corporate social responsibility) reach. Most importantly, companies are trying to monitor the negative as well as positive press. Not being at these places creates more criticism than being there,” says Diptarup Chakraborti, principal research analyst, Gartner.
Pratheep Raj, responsible for the online marketing initiative at Mindtree, says every networking site has its own relevance. “We are using Twitter and Facebook for attracting talent and the younger crowd. Our presence on Linkedin is to get positive referral traffic.”
A Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) spokesperson agrees, “TCS Twitter, started early this year, has received overwhelming response from followers who want to know more about the company’s new initiatives. We have seen traction from analyst, opinion makers and journalists who are subscribing to news alerts.”
Israeli co picks India over US for expansion
There was a time when global software firms came to India to set up development centres. That has changed. Now, they are coming to India because it is among the few markets that is still growing in an environment where IT spends are down.
Israeli firm, IDIT Technologies, a vendor of insurance software products, for instance, has chosen India over the US for its global business expansion. The firm, ranked among the leading players catering to the core software product for general insurance, believes there are better opportunities here than in the US after the ‘financial tsunami.’
“We have decided not to cross the Atlantic for several reasons which includes the financial tsunami. The general atmosphere is one that is defensive and financial services players are not in a rush to renovate their core systems,” said Moshi Shamir, vice president, IDIT. The software products firm has been present in Europe since 2000 and Mr Shamir said the financial meltdown had caused a number of contracts that were ‘ready for signature’ to be put on hold in countries such as Ukraine.
The Israeli firm has partnered with Ibexi Solutions, an Indian firm, to implement its solutions here. Implementation of the core insurance solution can take up to two and a half years and is similar to that of a core banking implementation, requiring significant knowledge of the sector as well. India will also serve as the hub for other financial destinations such as Singapore and Hong Kong, he said.
“India will see continued explosive growth in the insurance market,” said research firm Celent, which tracks IT in financial services. Celent estimates IT spending in India during 2009 to top $4.2 billion and by 2012 to cross $9 billion. While the financial meltdown may have altered some of the plans of the insurance majors to set up operations in India, IDIT believes it will not significantly change its direction.
Celent expects global IT spending by financial services companies in 2009 to decline 1.3% over 2008. Those in Asia-Pacific are expected to show the fastest growth among all regions with IT spending increasing at 8.9% in 2008 and a CAGR of 4.1% from 2008 to 2010.
Israeli firm, IDIT Technologies, a vendor of insurance software products, for instance, has chosen India over the US for its global business expansion. The firm, ranked among the leading players catering to the core software product for general insurance, believes there are better opportunities here than in the US after the ‘financial tsunami.’
“We have decided not to cross the Atlantic for several reasons which includes the financial tsunami. The general atmosphere is one that is defensive and financial services players are not in a rush to renovate their core systems,” said Moshi Shamir, vice president, IDIT. The software products firm has been present in Europe since 2000 and Mr Shamir said the financial meltdown had caused a number of contracts that were ‘ready for signature’ to be put on hold in countries such as Ukraine.
The Israeli firm has partnered with Ibexi Solutions, an Indian firm, to implement its solutions here. Implementation of the core insurance solution can take up to two and a half years and is similar to that of a core banking implementation, requiring significant knowledge of the sector as well. India will also serve as the hub for other financial destinations such as Singapore and Hong Kong, he said.
“India will see continued explosive growth in the insurance market,” said research firm Celent, which tracks IT in financial services. Celent estimates IT spending in India during 2009 to top $4.2 billion and by 2012 to cross $9 billion. While the financial meltdown may have altered some of the plans of the insurance majors to set up operations in India, IDIT believes it will not significantly change its direction.
Celent expects global IT spending by financial services companies in 2009 to decline 1.3% over 2008. Those in Asia-Pacific are expected to show the fastest growth among all regions with IT spending increasing at 8.9% in 2008 and a CAGR of 4.1% from 2008 to 2010.
Infosys Hyderabad SEZ to be operational in 12 months
Infosys Technologies, the second largest software services exporter, has said one of its two special economic zones (SEZs) in Hyderabad would become operational within 12 months. The SEZs span across 440 acre and work on both of them has already begun.
In all, the company would invest about Rs 600 crore to set up new facilities at Mangalore, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar during the current financial year, according to chief financial officer S Gopalakrishnan.
“The market now is slow. We are readying ourselves to cater to client needs when the economy revives,” he said.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a CII conference here on Wednesday, Gopalakrishnan said the company would hire about 18,000 employees this financial year. “Offer letters have been issued to some of the campus recruits already and we would take some more freshers gradually.” Infosys currently employs about 10,000 people at its Hyderabad centre.
To equip entry-level employees with more competencies, the company has extended the training from three to six months before putting them to the regular work.
Meanwhile, with an eye on IT products space, Infosys has started piloting a retail product in India and other countries. The product would assist retailers with stock positions and other information, which is done manually now.
On the IT industry, the CFO said most companies impacted by the slowdown would recover in the mid-2010. "This would also increase the employment opportunities and as a result most of the companies would start recruiting around January 2010."
In all, the company would invest about Rs 600 crore to set up new facilities at Mangalore, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar during the current financial year, according to chief financial officer S Gopalakrishnan.
“The market now is slow. We are readying ourselves to cater to client needs when the economy revives,” he said.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a CII conference here on Wednesday, Gopalakrishnan said the company would hire about 18,000 employees this financial year. “Offer letters have been issued to some of the campus recruits already and we would take some more freshers gradually.” Infosys currently employs about 10,000 people at its Hyderabad centre.
To equip entry-level employees with more competencies, the company has extended the training from three to six months before putting them to the regular work.
Meanwhile, with an eye on IT products space, Infosys has started piloting a retail product in India and other countries. The product would assist retailers with stock positions and other information, which is done manually now.
On the IT industry, the CFO said most companies impacted by the slowdown would recover in the mid-2010. "This would also increase the employment opportunities and as a result most of the companies would start recruiting around January 2010."
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