Infosys Technologies, in association with Oracle, will offer managed services platform that will help companies streamline their human resource (HR) operations and reduce costs.
"The platform enables us to offer the next generation of multi-process HR transformational outsourcing to our global clients cost-effectively," the company said in a statement.
Built on Oracle's PeopleSoft enterprise human capital management suite, the offering will help companies streamline their HR operations and reduce costs, as it includes hire-to-retire processes and functions such as HR administration, payroll and talent management.
"Clients can take advantage of the scalable IT infrastructure to achieve economies of scale, best practices and variable cost models," Infosys vice-president Anantha Radhakrishnan said.
"Offshore teams will provide integrated technology, process and language support from multiple offshore and near-shore delivery centers."
The global software major has teamed with Oracle to promote the offering in Australia and New Zealand and extend it to Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Oracle vice-president Tibor Beles said the combination of Oracle's platform and Infosys' IT and HR capabilities can help global organisations achieve HR process transformation and cost reduction using a "pay-as-you-go" variable pricing model.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
IT market
Citi continues to divest stake in Polaris
Citi completed another round of selling mid-tier software company Polaris Software Lab’s shares in the open market on Friday. In the last few months, OrbiTech, an entity controlled by Citi has sold off over 5% of its stake in the company.
According to bulk deal trade details on the NSE, OrbiTech sold 10.29 lakh shares at Rs 168.56 apiece on Friday. As of 30 June 2009, Citi held a 43.33% stake in Chennai-based Polaris but after a series of open market transactions, that stake is down by 5.2% to 38.13%.
Citi holds a stake in Polaris through two entities-OrbiTech and Citibank A/C OrbiTech Ltd. Apart from these, there is also an entity called OrbiTech Employees Welfare Trust, which has 1.41% in Polaris.
When contacted, Polaris CFO R Srikanth said that the transactions were a positive sign as it meant more diversification in terms of investors. “There is active buying happening at the Polaris counter, there is good interest,” he said. Mr Srikanth however added that the identity of buyers was not known.
According to bulk deal trade details on the NSE, OrbiTech sold 10.29 lakh shares at Rs 168.56 apiece on Friday. As of 30 June 2009, Citi held a 43.33% stake in Chennai-based Polaris but after a series of open market transactions, that stake is down by 5.2% to 38.13%.
Citi holds a stake in Polaris through two entities-OrbiTech and Citibank A/C OrbiTech Ltd. Apart from these, there is also an entity called OrbiTech Employees Welfare Trust, which has 1.41% in Polaris.
When contacted, Polaris CFO R Srikanth said that the transactions were a positive sign as it meant more diversification in terms of investors. “There is active buying happening at the Polaris counter, there is good interest,” he said. Mr Srikanth however added that the identity of buyers was not known.
IT market
Apple's Steve Jobs named CEO of the decade
He single-handedly saved Apple, wrought a revolution in online music, created a world-beating smartphone and led Pixar to dominate computer animation.
So it's no surprise that Apple chief executive Steve Jobs was named CEO of the decade on Thursday by Fortune magazine, which said that Jobs' success in reordering four industries - computers, music, movies and mobile telephones - was "unheard of."
"It's often noted that he's a showman, a born salesman, a magician who creates a famed reality-distortion field, a tyrannical perfectionist," the report said. "It's totally accurate, of course, and the descriptions contribute to his legend."
Comparing Jobs favourably to Henry Ford, PanAm's Juan Trippe and Conrad Hilton, the report said: "In the past decade, Jobs and Apple have entered and changed the industries of music, movies and cell phones. The company has also remained in the computer business, where it continues to innovate as it has done for decades. Remaking any one business is a career-defining achievement; four is unheard of."
The report surveyed Jobs' achievements since he returned to Apple in 1997, 12 years after being ousted from the company he founded.
It took him several years to get the company back in shape. Even as he introduced his long-term digital lifestyle strategy and the revolutionary iTunes software and music player in 2000, the company was facing bankruptcy.
It now has 34,000 employees and is valued at over $170 billion. During this period he also nurtured computer animation shop Pixar, which he sold to Disney in 2006 for $7.5 billion, making him the largest shareholder in the entertainment conglomerate.
So it's no surprise that Apple chief executive Steve Jobs was named CEO of the decade on Thursday by Fortune magazine, which said that Jobs' success in reordering four industries - computers, music, movies and mobile telephones - was "unheard of."
"It's often noted that he's a showman, a born salesman, a magician who creates a famed reality-distortion field, a tyrannical perfectionist," the report said. "It's totally accurate, of course, and the descriptions contribute to his legend."
Comparing Jobs favourably to Henry Ford, PanAm's Juan Trippe and Conrad Hilton, the report said: "In the past decade, Jobs and Apple have entered and changed the industries of music, movies and cell phones. The company has also remained in the computer business, where it continues to innovate as it has done for decades. Remaking any one business is a career-defining achievement; four is unheard of."
The report surveyed Jobs' achievements since he returned to Apple in 1997, 12 years after being ousted from the company he founded.
It took him several years to get the company back in shape. Even as he introduced his long-term digital lifestyle strategy and the revolutionary iTunes software and music player in 2000, the company was facing bankruptcy.
It now has 34,000 employees and is valued at over $170 billion. During this period he also nurtured computer animation shop Pixar, which he sold to Disney in 2006 for $7.5 billion, making him the largest shareholder in the entertainment conglomerate.
H1-B, IT market, NRIs
H-1B visa applications lowest since 2003
More than six months after the federal government began accepting petitions for work visas popular with Silicon Valley companies, thousands of spots remain open, a reflection of the nation's high unemployment and the political pressure to hire citizens, experts say.
As of last week, 46,700 H-1B visa applications had been submitted, thousands less than the 65,000 allocated for fiscal year 2010 and the lowest number since 2003. The cap for 20,000 additional H-1B visas reserved for foreign graduates of U.S. colleges with at least a master's degree was met, though applications are still being accepted.
Tech industry insiders say the recession is primarily responsible for the dearth of applications. "There is definitely a sense that there is a growing hostility toward some of the (visa) programs, but I don't think that is related to the downturn" in petitions, said Jenifer Verdery, Intel's director of work force policy. "You are not going to see big ramp-ups in hiring during the downturn."
But political pressure did affect hiring in other industries. The federal stimulus law includes provisions making it difficult for financial companies receiving money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to hire H-1B workers. The requirement forced companies
like Bank of America to rescind job offers to foreign professionals.
Julie Pearl, a San Francisco-based corporate immigration lawyer who works with valley companies, says her firm's caseload for visa work has been cut in half. "In the financial industry, H-1B (applications) are down almost 75 percent," she added.
Sen. Charles Grassley has criticized tech companies for not protecting jobs of U.S. citizens over those of foreigners as they lay off thousands of employees at a clip. The Iowa Republican and Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, in April reintroduced a bill that would require companies to do everything they can to hire Americans before seeking H-1B visas.
One technology corporate client of Pearl's declined to file petitions out of a sense of patriotism. "They felt, 'How do you hire a foreigner' " with 12 percent unemployment in California, she said.
Samta Kapoor, who will complete her master's degree in engineering management at Duke University in December, said she and other foreign-born classmates have been told by prospective employers that they are not hiring international students this year. "There are times when we are not even looked at. They say, 'We are not hiring international students this year. It's a companywide policy. Sorry,' " she said.
Silicon Valley companies, where immigrants have played prominent roles in creating startups and new technology inventions, view the H-1B visa program as a way to grab the best talent from around the world. "For most of our clients, their mantra is: Hire the best person you can," Pearl added.
Companies can spend thousands of dollars per applicant. "It's such a hard process," Verdery of Intel said. "It's a laborious, difficult, expensive endeavor to bring someone on board."
Despite the challenges, Intel has continued about the same level of H-1B hiring as in the past, she said.
In recent years, there has been some support from both parties in Congress for more H-1B visas and green cards for foreign professionals, a major goal of tech companies that has been caught up in the highly charged debate over immigration.
During the dot-com boom a decade ago, the H-1B visa cap was 195,000 a year, a reflection of the frenzied hiring of tech workers in Silicon Valley and elsewhere around the nation. That number dropped dramatically during the recession that followed.
Les French, president of WashTech, a Seattle-based union for tech professionals, which is critical of the visa program, predicts application levels will eventually rise again. "Once the economy picks up, you'll see a pickup in the applications," he said. "I think it will be lock-step with the economy."
Others, though, say the difficulties faced by foreign-born potential workers as well as the recession will deter some overseas professionals from pursuing careers here.
"The problem is, you lose the cream-of-the-crop," said Vivek Wadhwa, a researcher on immigration and labor issues at the University of California-Berkeley. "The cream of the crop can get jobs elsewhere. Before, they had to come here."
Nonetheless, students such as Kapoor say the United States is still their first choice.
"There are a lot of things happening back home," said Kapoor, who is from Mumbai, India. "There would be no lack of opportunity for me if I went back. But I've been educated here. I want to give back to the United States."
Courtesy: mercurynews.com
As of last week, 46,700 H-1B visa applications had been submitted, thousands less than the 65,000 allocated for fiscal year 2010 and the lowest number since 2003. The cap for 20,000 additional H-1B visas reserved for foreign graduates of U.S. colleges with at least a master's degree was met, though applications are still being accepted.
Tech industry insiders say the recession is primarily responsible for the dearth of applications. "There is definitely a sense that there is a growing hostility toward some of the (visa) programs, but I don't think that is related to the downturn" in petitions, said Jenifer Verdery, Intel's director of work force policy. "You are not going to see big ramp-ups in hiring during the downturn."
But political pressure did affect hiring in other industries. The federal stimulus law includes provisions making it difficult for financial companies receiving money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to hire H-1B workers. The requirement forced companies
like Bank of America to rescind job offers to foreign professionals.
Julie Pearl, a San Francisco-based corporate immigration lawyer who works with valley companies, says her firm's caseload for visa work has been cut in half. "In the financial industry, H-1B (applications) are down almost 75 percent," she added.
Sen. Charles Grassley has criticized tech companies for not protecting jobs of U.S. citizens over those of foreigners as they lay off thousands of employees at a clip. The Iowa Republican and Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, in April reintroduced a bill that would require companies to do everything they can to hire Americans before seeking H-1B visas.
One technology corporate client of Pearl's declined to file petitions out of a sense of patriotism. "They felt, 'How do you hire a foreigner' " with 12 percent unemployment in California, she said.
Samta Kapoor, who will complete her master's degree in engineering management at Duke University in December, said she and other foreign-born classmates have been told by prospective employers that they are not hiring international students this year. "There are times when we are not even looked at. They say, 'We are not hiring international students this year. It's a companywide policy. Sorry,' " she said.
Silicon Valley companies, where immigrants have played prominent roles in creating startups and new technology inventions, view the H-1B visa program as a way to grab the best talent from around the world. "For most of our clients, their mantra is: Hire the best person you can," Pearl added.
Companies can spend thousands of dollars per applicant. "It's such a hard process," Verdery of Intel said. "It's a laborious, difficult, expensive endeavor to bring someone on board."
Despite the challenges, Intel has continued about the same level of H-1B hiring as in the past, she said.
In recent years, there has been some support from both parties in Congress for more H-1B visas and green cards for foreign professionals, a major goal of tech companies that has been caught up in the highly charged debate over immigration.
During the dot-com boom a decade ago, the H-1B visa cap was 195,000 a year, a reflection of the frenzied hiring of tech workers in Silicon Valley and elsewhere around the nation. That number dropped dramatically during the recession that followed.
Les French, president of WashTech, a Seattle-based union for tech professionals, which is critical of the visa program, predicts application levels will eventually rise again. "Once the economy picks up, you'll see a pickup in the applications," he said. "I think it will be lock-step with the economy."
Others, though, say the difficulties faced by foreign-born potential workers as well as the recession will deter some overseas professionals from pursuing careers here.
"The problem is, you lose the cream-of-the-crop," said Vivek Wadhwa, a researcher on immigration and labor issues at the University of California-Berkeley. "The cream of the crop can get jobs elsewhere. Before, they had to come here."
Nonetheless, students such as Kapoor say the United States is still their first choice.
"There are a lot of things happening back home," said Kapoor, who is from Mumbai, India. "There would be no lack of opportunity for me if I went back. But I've been educated here. I want to give back to the United States."
Courtesy: mercurynews.com
TCS
TCS scales up US Delivery Centre
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced that it has scaled up its North America Domestic Delivery Center, TCS Seven Hills Park, to 300 associates.
TCS Seven Hills Park is also the location of TCS' new North American Training Center. Over the last several months, more than 225 associates have joined the company from top universities throughout the country and completed a six weeks training program at the center as part of TCS' Initial Learning Program (ILP).
Located in the Cincinnati suburb of Milford, Ohio, the center sits on 223 acres of wooded land and includes 196 thousand square feet of office space.
Seven Hills Park provides a wide range of IT solutions, consulting, business process outsourcing and engineering services across industries including BFSI, manufacturing, retail, life science and healthcare.
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland commented: "Fostering job creation is vital to a strong economic recovery for Ohio. Companies like Tata Consultancy Services are tapping into our highly talented workforce and world class educational institutions to grow their business while providing high skilled jobs for Ohioans. This is the type of investment and long term commitment that will ensure Ohio's place as an economic leader."
N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD of TCS, said: "The United States is by far our largest market and Seven Hills Park plays an integral role in our strategy of putting our customers first. As part of our Global Network Delivery Model(TM), Seven Hills Park helps TCS deliver on our promise of providing reliable, scalable, cost-effective delivery of IT services and solutions."
TCS Seven Hills Park is also the location of TCS' new North American Training Center. Over the last several months, more than 225 associates have joined the company from top universities throughout the country and completed a six weeks training program at the center as part of TCS' Initial Learning Program (ILP).
Located in the Cincinnati suburb of Milford, Ohio, the center sits on 223 acres of wooded land and includes 196 thousand square feet of office space.
Seven Hills Park provides a wide range of IT solutions, consulting, business process outsourcing and engineering services across industries including BFSI, manufacturing, retail, life science and healthcare.
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland commented: "Fostering job creation is vital to a strong economic recovery for Ohio. Companies like Tata Consultancy Services are tapping into our highly talented workforce and world class educational institutions to grow their business while providing high skilled jobs for Ohioans. This is the type of investment and long term commitment that will ensure Ohio's place as an economic leader."
N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD of TCS, said: "The United States is by far our largest market and Seven Hills Park plays an integral role in our strategy of putting our customers first. As part of our Global Network Delivery Model(TM), Seven Hills Park helps TCS deliver on our promise of providing reliable, scalable, cost-effective delivery of IT services and solutions."
IT market, Outsourcing
Take on folks in Beijing & Bangalore: Obama
President Barack Obama has hit the road to push a new $4.35 billion grant programme to encourage American schools to develop internationally competitive standards to let its students take on "folks in Beijing and Bangalore."
The "Race to the Top" fund is one of the largest federal investments in school reform in US history, Obama said on a trip to Wisconsin. It is being financed with money made available through the economic stimulus plan enacted in February.
"We're putting over $4 billion on the table ... but we're not just handing it out to states because they want it," Obama told an audience at a Wisconsin public charter school making it clear that the grants will go to only those "committed to real change in the way you educate your kids."
"So, a race to the top has begun in our schools, but the real competition will begin when states apply for the actual Race to the Top grants," he said outlining four key reform measures that will be used to help determine a state's eligibility for grant money.
"The first measure is whether a state is committed to setting higher standards and better assessments that prepare our children to succeed in the 21st century," Obama said noting that 48 US states are now working to develop internationally competitive standards.
"...Internationally competitive standards because these young people are going to be growing up in an international environment where they're competing not just against kids in Chicago or Los Angeles for jobs, but they're competing against folks in Beijing and Bangalore," he said.
Second, the state will need to demonstrate a commitment to policies designed to encourage the recruitment and retention of effective teachers and principals. Conversely, teachers that fail to adequately perform need to be removed, he said.
Third, it will need to design systems to measure student success. Finally, federal officials will examine whether a state is taking steps to overhaul its lowest-performing schools.
"We'll look at whether they're willing to remake a school from top to bottom, with new leaders and a new way of teaching," Obama said. The process of doing so may include replacing a school's staff or even closing a school and sending its students to a better one nearby, he noted.
The "Race to the Top" fund is one of the largest federal investments in school reform in US history, Obama said on a trip to Wisconsin. It is being financed with money made available through the economic stimulus plan enacted in February.
"We're putting over $4 billion on the table ... but we're not just handing it out to states because they want it," Obama told an audience at a Wisconsin public charter school making it clear that the grants will go to only those "committed to real change in the way you educate your kids."
"So, a race to the top has begun in our schools, but the real competition will begin when states apply for the actual Race to the Top grants," he said outlining four key reform measures that will be used to help determine a state's eligibility for grant money.
"The first measure is whether a state is committed to setting higher standards and better assessments that prepare our children to succeed in the 21st century," Obama said noting that 48 US states are now working to develop internationally competitive standards.
"...Internationally competitive standards because these young people are going to be growing up in an international environment where they're competing not just against kids in Chicago or Los Angeles for jobs, but they're competing against folks in Beijing and Bangalore," he said.
Second, the state will need to demonstrate a commitment to policies designed to encourage the recruitment and retention of effective teachers and principals. Conversely, teachers that fail to adequately perform need to be removed, he said.
Third, it will need to design systems to measure student success. Finally, federal officials will examine whether a state is taking steps to overhaul its lowest-performing schools.
"We'll look at whether they're willing to remake a school from top to bottom, with new leaders and a new way of teaching," Obama said. The process of doing so may include replacing a school's staff or even closing a school and sending its students to a better one nearby, he noted.
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