LENOVO
REJIGS INDIAN CONSUMER PC MARKET WITH 7 NEW PRODUCTS
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 30 :
LENOVO on Tuesday unveiled plan to lead the transformation
in the Indian consumer PC market by launching 7 new products in multiple segments.
The
ambitious product line-up caters to a broad segment of consumers from Lenovo
C300, the ultra-sleek, affordable, All-in-One PC, to the trendy, thin and light
Lenovo IdeaPad U350, Y450 and Y550 notebooks that are loaded with cutting-edge
features that defy size, to the aggressively priced Lenovo G Series notebooks
for value conscious consumers, and the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 netbook the
new range has it all!
Lenovos
new products for the consumer segment emphasize thoughtful designs and new form
factors. The products launched include Lenovo C300: Attractive, ultra-sleek, single-unit
desktop PC that does not have a separate CPU. It has a 20 slim monitor and
an in-built TV-tuner too! Small in space, BIG on features ; Lenovo IdeaPad U350:
Fashionable, ultra-thin and ultra-light 13 notebook with rich performance
and stunning entertainment features.
Small
in size, BIG on performance Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 and Y550: Multimedia-ready 14
and 15 notebooks with 16:9 glossy, widescreen panels and NVIDIA GFX graphics
for gaming and smooth HD video playback. Small in size, BIG on entertainment ;
Lenovo G430 and G550: Thinner, lighter and affordable entry-level 14 and
15 notebooks with DVD burner and optional HDMI ports. Small on the wallet,
BIG on value ; Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2: Feature-packed 10 netbook with larger
touchpad, and additional ports for better connectivity. Small in size, BIG on
connectivity.
"With
trendsetting design, exceptional engineering, cutting-edge capabilities and great
price range in our new product line-up, Lenovo takes a giant step in the Indian
consumer PC market today. Were proud to be the leaders in All-in-One PCs,
a brand new category we created with the launch of the Lenovo IdeaCentre A600
and consolidating that lead with todays launch of the Lenovo C300. Besides
the All-in-One, the new range has something for everyone combined with the trusted
and reliable Lenovo service and support tag, making it an irresistible buy,"
said Amar Babu, Managing Director, Lenovo India, during the launch.
On
Lenovos India focus, Amar Babu added, A significant part of our business
focus will be on growing consumers in critical markets such as India. Our priority
is to streamline operations to drive down cost, improve time-to-market, and offer
consumers innovative and affordable PCs across a full range portfolio from value
to mainstream and premium.
Rajan
Anandan, Managing Director, Microsoft India, said, Microsofts
Windows strategy focuses on enhancing the user experience through productivity,
ease and optimization. Lenovo, with its brand equity, partner community and product
range is a key partner in delivering this promise to the Indian customer. We are
delighted to partner with Lenovo to support the expansion of their product line
up. Now, a vast range of customers across segments will able to experience the
combined value of Lenovos brand promise with Microsofts software prowess.
According
to Prakash Bagri, Director Marketing, Intel South Asia, When we introduced
Intel Centrino six years ago, Intel changed the computing landscape with our mobile
innovations. Now, simply said, we have improved virtually all aspects of Intel-based
notebooks, making it the most popular and fastest growing computing market segment
in the world. The various new notebooks and desktops from Lenovo, based on Intel
platforms, span virtually every category of mobile computing, offering consumers
a greater choice than even before.
At
multi-product launch, the company also indicated collective strategic actions
it will implement to enable further growth in India. Backed by a new global structure
that focuses on both emerging markets and mature markets to serve its customers
better, the company's go-to-market strategy has also been streamlined to extend
its reach into tier-2, tier-3 and tier-4 cities, leverage its retail network more
effectively in major cities and empower its business partners. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
TRANSCEND
UNVEILS NEW DIGITAL PHOTO FRAME PF 730 IN INDIA
Thesynergyonline
Corporate Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 25 :
TRANSCEND Information, Inc. (Transcend), a global storage
and multimedia products major , recently introduced a stunning new 7-inch Digital
Photo Frame, the PF730. This elegant photo frame not only displays photos brilliantly,
but also contains a wealth of useful functions that add extra convenience to any
digital lifestyle.
Mr.
Austin Huang, Regional Head - Sales, SAARC & APAC, Transcend, said, "You
can add a personal touch of elegant fashion to your living room, bedroom, and
even your office and show off the pictures of your precious family, friends and
special moments with Transcend's new digital photo frame, PF730, which offers
exceptional quality, features and value."
The company's new 7-inch
PF730 Digital Photo Frame claims a gently contoured shape with a simple yet elegant
embossed pattern that makes it a perfect addition to any office, bedroom or living
room décor. Aside from its pleasing appearance, the PF730 is adept at displaying
photos and is able to read high-resolution JPG images taken with any digital camera
at virtually any resolution-no resizing or adjustment is necessary.
Users
can choose to view photos one at time, in customizable slideshows, or in a convenient
tiled thumbnail view. Additionally, the PF730 has a bright, high-resolution (800x600)
photo-friendly 4:3 screen, advanced NaturaTone user-selectable color modes, and
an Automatic Orientation Sensor (AOS), all of which enhances the viewing experience
and guarantees photos look their best.
With a full 2GB of internal flash memory, users can preload their entire photo
collection onto the PF730 for sharing precious moments with friends or family.
The PF730 supports most mainstream memory cards including SD, SDHC,
MMC, and MS, plus it also features a conveniently-located USB port for plugging-in
USB flash drives. Slideshows can be customized with variable image sorting, transition
effects, attractive frame borders and fun animation themes that capture the attention
of viewers and create a lasting impression.
The PF730 is much more than
just a standard picture frame. Designed from the ground up as a true multimedia
device, it functions as a full-featured MP3 player which allows users listen to
music while viewing photos at the same time, and can also be used as an alarm
clock. The PF730 is fully equipped to play back movies and video clips, and supports
full-motion 30fps video playback. For extra convenience, the photo frame includes
an attractive clock and calendar with options to mark important days-such as a
loved one's birthday-with helpful reminders.
With a simple and classic
exterior design, 7-inch ultra-bright screen, and a host of value-added functions,
Transcend's new PF730 Digital Photo Frame is an ideal device for showing-off photos
and videos. Not only it is a great way to add a bit of fun and contemporary fashion
to any room or office, but it also makes an elegant gift for friends or loved
ones. For further peace of mind, Transcend's digital photo frames are all backed
by a two-year warranty along with the comprehensive support of its industry-leading
global service network. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
BSNL
PARTNERS WITH MICROSOFT INDIA FOR MANAGED SAAS FORAY
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 23 :
BHARAT Sanchar Nigam , India's telecommunications major on
Tuesday entered into a long term partnership with global technology leader Microsoft
to launch BSNL Managed SaaS (Software as a Service) in India. This partnership
will enable BSNL to offer hosted solutions on core productivity, collaboration
and line of business applications to business customers. BSNL also launched 'BSNL
Managed Business Mail' - the first offer resulting from this partnership.
Based
on Microsoft Exchange platform, BSNL Managed Business Mail moves beyond conventional
email options to empower businesses with tools to increase productivity, mobility
and collaboration at an affordable monthly fee. This will provide a range of services
for businesses across enterprise, SMBs and public sector segments to enhance communication
coordination by enabling them to share email messages, contacts, calendars, task
lists and documents from any device (PC or mobile phone).
The
partnership and launch marks BSNL's foray into managed business solutions based
on the SaaS model. Since this service will be delivered via the internet - users
will save on upfront costs related to hardware, licenses and installation for
their IT infrastructure. Business owners will also be able to focus on their core
business tasks - without any disruptions and distractions pertaining to IT headaches
like security patches, software updates, monitoring and backups. In turn, this
will eliminate need for in-house IT management manpower.
According
to Mr. Kuldeep Goyal (Chairman & Managing Director, BSNL), "We are proud
to announce a long term partnership with Microsoft India to offer a wide range
of Managed services based on the SaaS model and are confident of the value that
this will deliver to our customers. We are equally proud to launch BSNL Managed
Business Mail as our first SaaS based managed service, and the first under this
partnership. Managed Business Mail is an innovative messaging and collaboration
service for Indian businesses that will provide enterprises and SMBs with rich
enterprise-class email applications that deliver 24X7 access and significant productivity
benefits - all at an affordable price". BSNL Managed Business Mail will be
available in four editions at affordable prices starting from Rs. 420/- per month.
The
unique feature of BSNL's Managed Business Mail will be its availability from the
mobile platform. This implies that the service will be accessible on smartphones
of any service provider. This unique facility will seamlessly extend the best
in class experience benefits of the service to end consumers on the move",
added Mr. Goyal.
Commenting
on the partnership, Mr. Rajan Anandan (Managing Director, Microsoft India) said,
"Customers find value in a combination of software plus services delivered
via the internet, thus making owning and managing IT more affordable and convenient.
We believe that BSNL's foray into the S+S model will provide ample value to businesses
looking to leverage technology to maximize productivity while ensuring lower spends
- especially in today's cost controlled environment. We are excited about our
partnership with BSNL for their managed services business and look forward to
further strengthening our association".
(editor@thesynergyonline.com)
KOBIAN
GEARS UP FOR H2 2009 , NEW PARTNER STRATEGY
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 22 :
AFTER launching an array of new products including IXA Bags
& Accessories , Mercury Mice , ViewCam and Espial Range of Surveillance products
in the H1 2009, the Singapore based IT manufacturer, Kobian, is geared up for
H2 2009 to bring out newer innovative products along with a new partner strategy
and stronger marketing activities.
Discussing the strategy for the H2 '09, Ms. Sushmita Das, Country Manager , Kobian,
said, "This is what we had promised our channel partners early this year
!. Our focus for H1, 2009 was launching the new product range for our channel
partners enabling them to have a better margin and ROI in their business. Mercury
has always focused on the profitability and growth of the channel partners and
thus the new product range opens a new market and customer base for our partners."
IXA Bags and Accessories cater to the Lifestyle and Mobile Essential business
segment. Mercury Mice and ViewCam are addition to the existing Mercury Peripherals
range which includes Motherboards, Casings, TFTs, Speakers, etc. Espial is the
range of Surveillance products, which are designed for security requirements of
SOHO & Corporate users.
"
The market depression in late 2008 had effected all businesses. We had conciously
decided not to push newer inventory into the channel as that only fuels the price
cutting and profitability of all channel partners" said Ms Das. "As
its said "The mind is best trained in adversity", the last few months
has been utilised by all companies to re-structure themselves internally and plan
a better business. We have improved our human resources and also our product offering.
We are very excited with the response on the new products and that gives us the
motivation to keep innovating and offering newer products and technology to the
users."
ommenting on the plans for H2 '09, she highlighted, " This quarter has witnessed
a positive growth in business and thus now we shall be increasing our shipments
to India making the product available consistently across country. We shall be
stressing on moving away from the age old practices of inventory dumping and month-end
price cutting. Our channel programmes are been designed to provide a long tem
gain for every Mercury partner .With our new Distribution Alliances we are confident
in reaching to a larger partner base and bring value to all Mercury users. Our
target is to grow all product categories and reach the deeper pockets in the channel."
After the success of H1 2009 in terms of launching new products in the market
and making the Kobian a ONE STOP SHOP for the channel partners, Kobian now looks
at increasing its sales and service strength to cater to the larger channel base
in the H2. Kobian plans to beef up its marketing activities with more POS, IN-SHOP
Promo, street shows and channel schemes, etc. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
MIDC
GOES THE ERP WAY ; SIGNS PACT WITH MICROSOFT INDIA
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
MUMBAI,
JUNE 20 :
MAHARASHTRA
Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the Government of Maharashtra, has
signed an agreement with Microsoft Corporation India . to computerize multiple
functions across the organization. MIDC will deploy Microsoft's ERP software to
streamline processes in the corporation. MIDC and Microsoft India signed the agreement
in the presence of Mr Narayan Rane, Minister, Industries, Government of Maharashtra.
A
front runner in adopting IT, MIDC has already computerized its water billing system,
land management system, accounting, building proposal automation system and file
tracking system. The adoption of the Microsoft ERP Package, at an estimate of
Rs 14 crore, is the next step in the corporations IT implementation strategy.
Microsoft Consulting Services will be directly implementing the ERP package in
the next 18 months; and will be responsible for maintaining it for five years
thereafter.
Dr
Kshatrapati Shivaji, CEO, MIDC, said, "We aim at maintaining Maharashtra's
leadership position in industrialisation in India . This can only be achieved
by adopting cutting edge technology to facilitate our customers and improve the
productivity of our employees. The adoption of Microsoft ERP should go a long
way in helping us achieve our goal, and I am confident that in partnership with
Microsoft we can transform the functioning of MIDC." The decision to computerise
the MIDC processes was taken during the first board meeting chaired by Mr Narayan
Rane , Minister, Industries, Government of Maharashtra, during which he reiterated
his support to IT adoption by the corporation.
Karan
Bajwa, General Manager, Public Sector, Microsoft India, added, "We believe
the role of IT is to help deliver a world-class experience, to help organizations
and individuals both achieve their potential. We are delighted to be a part of
the Maharashtra Industries Development Corporation's plans to computerize and
enhance their services. As part of the commitment to the state of Maharashtra,
Microsoft Consulting Services will be directly implementing the ERP package."
According
to the agreement, MIDC will use the Microsoft ERP package, to computerize the
multiple functions that the organization is responsible for. This will result
in delivering better and faster services to the investor community through a single
window system, a better customer complaint redressal system, faster decision making
and higher employee productivity. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
NORTEL
ROLLS OUT NEW SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS PROCESS
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 19 :
NORTEL continues to drive the integration of communications
and business processes with advanced services and software-based solutions that
expand the array of applications and capabilities available to enterprises, while
supporting more multi-vendor environments. The company is announcing enhancements
to its Agile Communication Environment and Media Processing Server, in addition
to the upcoming global availability of Contact Center 7.0.
The
announcements today reflect Nortel's continued dedication and drive to taking
customers to the next level of business performance," said Ravi Chauhan,
general manager of Communications Enabled Business Solutions, Nortel. "We
understand that in today's environment customers are seeking the highest possible
value in their investments to deliver tangible, financial returns on an in-year
basis. Nortel's solutions can deliver those financial benefits and lay the foundation
for a business' future success."
Nortel's
Agile Communication Environment (ACE) is a next-generation software platform aimed
at fueling business agility and productivity. With ACE, communications functionality
like instant messaging, voice, video, location, and presence can be quickly accessed
via open Web Service interfaces. These capabilities can then be easily blended
with business processes and tools such as customer relationship management, enterprise
resource planning, GPS or WiFi asset tracking, and video monitoring to create
powerful new applications.
Building
on ACE's leading capabilities, Nortel is rolling out Release 2.0, which includes
a Hot Desking application to provide single number access to employees on any
type of phone in any location. Employers can use Hot Desking to lower real estate
costs by as much as 25 percent, reduce telecommunications costs for mobile employees
by over 10 percent, improve customer care, increase worker productivity, and better
prepare for emergencies. This solution is ideal for enterprises with multi-vendor
telecom environments, as it integrates with a variety of third-party PBX systems.
A
simple web browser interface enables users to hot desk to any phone with a couple
of clicks and a phone call. There is no need to log into a secure, corporate VPN
first or to remember complex PBX remote call forwarding commands. Hot Desking
is also not reliant on a VoIP-quality network, making it a low-cost alternative
to a PC soft client. Employees also win as higher morale associated with flexible
working options is often cited in workplace surveys.
ACE
Release 2.0 also introduces a new global architecture to further enhance integration
with IBM Lotus Sametime 8.0.2, broadening the application coverage of previously
announced IBM Sametime integration for click-to-conference and enhanced presence
capabilities. Additionally, Release 2.0 delivers support for the Microsoft Windows
Server operating system and remote call control features for Microsoft Office
Communications Server 2007 (R2 Standard and Enterprise Editions).
ACE
continues to extend its purpose-built integration with third-party telephony vendors
such as Cisco and Tandberg and now includes support for Avaya. Support for Siemens
will be part of a future release. This latest release of ACE also brings a set
of desktop tools for Microsoft Outlook and Internet Explorer to increase worker
productivity. In the coming months, Nortel will roll out a variety of new applications,
telecom infrastructure adapters and platform features, including additional mobility
support and IBM Lotus Notes integration.
ACE
was recently named a TMC 2008 Communications Solutions Product of the Year** for
excellence in the advancement of voice, data, and video applications. Internet
Telephony also crowned the ACE with a 2008 Product of the Year award for outstanding
innovation.
As
part of today's announcement Nortel is also introducing Release v3.5 of its Media
Processing Server (MPS), a Web-centric, IVR self-service system engineered for
power and flexibility to meet the needs of diverse call center environments. This
release signals the ongoing commitment to the Nortel MPS self-service platform,
which is completely open, protected and scalable.
Release
v3.5 builds upon MPS' rich natural language capabilities with support of the latest
IBM and Nuance speech engines; VoiceXML, to provide an environment for accelerating
application development; and expanded third-party integration support into Avaya
AES. MPS supports TDM or IP networks without costly re-engineering of existing
data and telephony infrastructure. MPS v3.5 can be installed in current MPS 3.0
environments with a simple software upgrade.
In
addition to the ACE and MPS enhancements, Nortel is also announcing global availability
of Contact Center 7.0 on June 30.
Contact
Center 7.0 is a native SIP-based solution with tightly integrated unified communications
capabilities and hundreds of new features to help businesses drive efficiencies,
reduce operating expenses, and provide better customer service. It leverages a
Service Oriented Architecture and includes features such as open interfaces, predictive
outbound dialing, and a service creation environment drag-and-drop graphical user
interface for quickly orchestrating contact center workflows. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
IBM
TO INVEST US$100 MILLION IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION RESEARCH OVER 5 YEARS
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 17 :
IBM unveiled that it plans to shift US$100 million investment
over the next five years into a major research effort which aims to advance mobile
services and capabilities for businesses and consumers worldwide.
IBM
is investing to create technology in its labs that bring simple, easy-to-use services
to the millions of people who have bypassed using the personal computer as their
primary method of accessing the Internet, and instead use their mobile devices
for managing large forces of enterprise field workers, conducting financial transactions,
entertainment, shopping, and more.
Through
this effort, IBM is aiming to drive new intelligence into the underpinnings of
the mobile web to create new efficiencies in business operations and peoples
daily lives. The three focus areas for IBMs research investment are: emerging
market mobility, mobile enterprise enablement, and enterprise end-user mobile
experiences. Analytics, security, privacy and user interface, and navigation will
be concentrated on across the Research effort.
In
todays interconnected world, mobile device are gradually becoming ubiquitous
and helping us transcend many boundaries geographical, economic, and social,
among others," says Dr. Guruduth Banavar, director of IBM Research - India
and global leader of the IBM Research mobile communication initiative. "With
high penetration, simple user interface, and significant cost advantage for end
users, mobile telephony holds the future of communication and exchange of information
for the enterprise.
For
the 83 percent of the world that does not have easy access to the Web since via
PCs, IBM is helping mobile phone users become more productive. In these locations,
there is a dearth of skills, such as technological and language literacy; a lack
of infrastructure, such as reliable electrical power; as well as limited availability
of smartphones.
In
one such project, IBM Research India has established a pilot program that
allows people, including farmers, repairmen, small business owners, and consumers,
to post, retrieve or exchange timely information via voice on cellphones. Content
such as weather and ocean conditions, grain prices, advertisements, bus
schedules, news, class schedules, product catalogues, health information and available
services appointments is created and updated by entrepreneurs and municipalities.
Low
cost, high bandwidth, wireless access, and PC-like information processing power
are accelerating the promise of the mobile phone as a compelling platform for
accessing information services. Mobile phones now outnumber traditional telephones,
and the opportunities for growth in mobility are enormous. According to IBM's
Institute for Business Value, the number of mobile users will have grown by 191
percent from 2006 to 2011 to reach approximately one billion users.
A
glimpse of the possibilities of mobility can be found in a recent pilot performed
as part of IBMs first-of-a-kind (FOAK) program which used a technology titled
BlueStar to develop automated mobile devices and application management
services for insurance claims processing. The pilot enabled an insurance enterprise
to significantly reduce the amount of time required to process claims by leveraging
mobile technology to locate and dispatch the most appropriate and available claims
adjusters for each case. IBMs FOAK program pairs IBM's scientists with clients
to explore how emerging technologies can solve real world business problems.
Mobility
and the associated analytics will change virtually every enterprise business process,
said Paul Bloom, chief technology officer, IBM Telecom Research. It will
change the relationship between enterprises and their customers, their employees
and their partners.
One
example of how mobility will change the relationship between enterprises and the
end user can be found in a project at IBMs Haifa Research Laboratory with
Taiwan Mobile, the second largest telecommunication company in Taiwan. Here IBM
is analyzing customer information to get manageable business intelligence based
on evolving user preferences, users context and transaction history.
IBM
Research comprises approximately 3,000 scientists in eight major laboratories
around the globe. IBM also has more than 20,000 software developers in 75 development
labs in 18 countries. IBM has earned the most U.S. patents for 16 consecutive
years, and five of its researchers have been the recipients of the Nobel Prize.
(editor@thesynergyonline.com)
TRANSCEND
UNVEILS MP680 DIGITAL MUSIC PLAYER IN INDIA
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 17 :
TRANSCEND Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader
in storage and multimedia products, has unveiled its new MP860 digital music player
in the Indian market. Equipped with a high-contrast 2.4-inch full color screen
and a multitude of powerful features, the MP860 offers a brand new portable entertainment
experience.
Mr.
Austin Huang, Regional Head - Sales, SAARC & APAC, Transcend, said, "Indian
people have an insatiable appetite for music and they want it to be available
to them all the time. As such, Transcend, keeps improving upon its digital music
players range and we have launched our new MP860 player in the Indian market.
The new MP860 player features an elegant design with a carefully crafted shape
and a smooth finish making it look real stylish. It is comfortable to hold and
has a pleasant tactile feel. Currently available in two capacities, 4GB (Black)
and 8GB (White), Transcend's versatile MP860 is a definite must-have digital music
player and can fulfill the portable entertainment needs of consumers in all segments."
Transcend's
MP860 digital music player features superb sound quality, with support for newer
file formats such as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and OGG, as well as MP3,
WMA, WAV, and even WMA-DRM10 protected music files.
In
addition, the MP860's advanced equalizer effects, including SRS WOW HD and user-customizable
options, allow sound output to be tailored to match specific music tastes and
styles. Thanks to the player's large built-in speaker, users can listen to great
sounding music without headphones and easily share their favorite songs with relatives
and friends.
More
than just a music player, the MP860 is also designed for playing MPEG4 SP(XVID)
and FLV movies with excellent audio and video quality on its bright and colorful
2.4-inch high-resolution screen. For storing videos, music and photos, the MP860
comes with up to 8GB of built-in memory, and also features a convenient microSD/microSDHC
expansion slot for virtually unlimited digital entertainment- anytime, anywhere.
Aside
from its portable entertainment prowess, the versatile MP860 also offers an impressive
collection of value-added functions. For instance, the player's line-in feature
can be used to record music from an external source such as a CD player, and its
A-B repeat and variable track playback speeds are indispensable tools for language
learning.
The
player also includes an FM radio, a voice recorder, a page-by-page text file reader,
and karaoke-style synchronized lyrics display with support for 13 different languages.
All of the MP860's functions can easily be accessed via its specially designed
intuitive interface and navigation buttons.
(editor@thesynergyonline.com)
CONSUMER
ONLINE SPEND IN ASIA PACIFIC SET TO HOLD STEADY
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 12 :
UNFAZED by challenging economic conditions, online spending
as reported by consumers in Asia Pacific in the last quarter of 2008 held stt
year (ended December 2008). This figure is close to the reported aeady as compared
with the previous two quarters, according to the Visa e-Commerce Consumer Monitor.
According
to the survey, online shoppers from Singapore (US$4,018), Hong Kong (US$3,791)
and India (US$3,442) reported to have spent the most in the 12 months ended December
2008. Online spending in these countries and territories also saw the largest
quarter-on-quarter increases. Those from Hong Kong said they spent more than double
what they had spent in the previous survey period while spending in India and
Singapore rose by 42 percent and 34 percent respectively .
Uttam
Nayak, country manager, South Asia, Visa said: Our survey shows that online
shopping appears to be resilient in the uncertain economy. As consumers are expected
to keep a close eye on their finances, the ability to browse a wide range of retail
offerings to compare prices and seek cheaper buys on the internet seems to be
leading budget conscious consumers to shop online.
Among
the categories surveyed, the top three biggest online spend areas were all travel
related services. According to the survey, the highest areas of spending in the
past 12 months were airline/airline tickets (US$970), online travel agents (US$647)
and travel accommodation (US$527).
Uttam
Nayak said ,The internet has strong appeal to Asia Pacific consumers with
wanderlust. From securing cost-saving internet deals to making accommodation reservations,
armchair consumers are tuned to the convenience of shopping for travel services
online.
Cross-border
transactions over the internet were reported to have risen in all the countries
and territories surveyed. According to the average spend per transaction as reported
by respondents taking the survey, cross-border online spending rose by nearly
40 percent from US$263 in Q3 2008 to US$368 in Q4 2008.
On
average, respondents said they spent US$316 in the past 12 months on cross-border
transactions. Respondents from Japan (US$517) said they spent the most on cross-border
purchases, followed by Singapore (US$372) and India (US$350).
The
trend to shop online looks set to continue with 81 percent of respondents stating
they were likely to shop online again in the next 12 months with respondents from
Korea (96 percent), Japan (90 percent) and Australia (83 percent) the most likely
to make purchases online in the region.
Uttam
Nayak added, With four in five respondents (81 per cent) indicating that
they would shop online in the next 12 months, our Visa survey gives some guidance
to online retailers who would like to attract and retain customers. Whether it
is to showcase their best deals online or to instill confidence in their customers
by displaying signs of good website security, such tactics should be considered
by online retailers looking to increase their e-commerce volumes. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
COMMUNICATIONS,
IT MINISTRY TO SET UP TASK FORCE TO MAKE INDIA A HARDWARE HUB : RAJA
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 11 :
THE
Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr. A. Raja disclosed
here that his Ministry would shortly set up a task force with IT & Telecom
experts from ASSOCHAM & NASSCOM including Senior government officials to assess
cost effectiveness of telecom devices and services so that India emerges a lead
hardware and software manufacturing hub.
Addressing
a 20 members delegation of ASSOCHAM under leadership of Managing Director, Intel
, Mr. C. S. Rao, Mr. Raja disclosed that the task force will assist the Ministry
of Communication and IT in making future projections of India's IT and software
potential.
The
other responsibility of the task force would be to suggest to the government as
to how India could become self reliant in hardware and beat country China in hardware
manufacturing and establish India's supremacy in telecom and IT, hinted Mr. Raja.
The
other members of the ASSOCHAM delegation comprised its Secretary General Mr. D.
S. Rawat, Senior Executives of Reliance Communications, Huawei, Sistema, Tulip
Telecom, AUSPI etc.
The Minister also hinted that the further reduction in
the telephone tariffs both domestic and international are being looked at by the
new government.
"Local
mobile call prices may tumble to 10 paisa a minute (the current average tariff
is 60 paisa) and national long distance call prices to 25 paisa a minute (from
Re 1 now)" said Mr. Raja.
Mr.
Raja further said that the Ministry will now have a comprehensive look of both
the Communications and Information Technology Sectors in India including the cost
of the equipments, custom duties and other taxes.
The
ASSOCHAM Communications Convergence Committee urged the Ministry to relook the
tax structure on the services and the components. They also requested the Ministry
to consider the growth of the mobile phone sector as a basis and make such policies
to also broadbase the Broadband in India.
Earlier
in the day the ASSOCHAM Communications Convergence Committee met in the ASSOCHAM
house to discuss the modalities of organising their flagship program "5th
ASSOCHAM Global Telecom summit" in July this year.
More
then 20 companies including the telecom associations like COAI, AUSPI, ITU/APT
foundation, TEMA were represented. The members deliberated on various issues including
the slow growth of broadband, cost of terminals and other equipments, infrastructure,
performance, rural telephony etc. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
GLOBAL
IT MAJORS BAND TOGETHER ; UNVEIL ENERGY SAVING INITIATIVE
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 08 :
THE climate savers computing initiative, a global programme
driven by major IT companies including CSC, Dell, Google, HP, Intel, Lenovo, and
Microsoft, has launched its India chapter. Started in the United States in 2007,
CSCI is a non-profit group of eco-conscious consumers, businesses and conservation
organizations promoting adoption of smart technologies in everyday business and
personal computing which can improve the efficiency of a computer's power delivery
and reduce the energy consumed when the computer is in an inactive state.
It
is estimated that there are currently more than 1 billion desktop and notebook
computers in use globally. It is projected this number will increase to 2.25 billion
by 2015. In a typical desktop PC, more than half of the power is wasted as heat
and it never reaches the processor, memory, disks, or other components.
Even
servers, which are typically more efficient than desktops, still waste 30 to 40
percent of the power utilised. Most of today's desktop PCs are capable of automatically
transitioning to a sleep or hibernate mode when inactive for a sustained duration,
however, in about 90 percent of systems this functionality has been disabled.
This results in higher energy consumption and an increase in electricity usage.
According
to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker for 4Q08, there will be 4.1 million more
desktop PCs and 2.4 million more notebook PCs in use in India in 2009. By 2010,
the country's installed base of PCs will reach 47 million units. Today, IT users
generally lack awareness about the power-saving features already built into present-day
machines. All in all, this adds up to tremendous waste of energy every day.
The
launch of India's climate savers computing chapter is led by Intel, Dell, HP,
Google and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
"Ours
being a part of this industry movement in India will help abate climate change.
Computers have helped India transform into an efficient emerging economy, with
increased productivity from online transactions, reduced travel and more,"
said Rahul Bedi, Director of Corporate Affairs, Intel South Asia, one of
the prime movers behind the initiative's expansion. "With the right user
behaviour and latest energy-efficient technologies now easily available to us,
we can continue to drive power reduction with the usage of energy efficient computers."
India
is the sixth largest producer and consumer of energy in the world. It is projected
that with growing computer penetration, especially in the smaller markets, energy
usage will increase. The India chapter of Climate Savers Computing and its constituents
will encourage the development of more energy efficient computing devices by manufacturers
and at the same time educate organizations and individuals in smart practices
of power management.
"Apart
from power saving modes and features available on current PCs, not many users
realize that about 50 per cent of the machine's power consumption is heat loss
not contributing to the operation of the machines," said Lorie Wigle,
president of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative.
"So,
as we expand our efforts with a new team based in India, we are pleased to have
leading hardware manufacturers on board who can help drive a holistic combination
of energy efficient, ENERGY STAR compliant product deployment alongside driving
changes in user behaviour," he added.
Globally,
climate savers computing was started in the spirit of WWF's Climate Savers program
which has mobilized over a dozen companies since 1999 to cut carbon dioxide emissions,
demonstrating that reducing emissions is good business.
According
to the "PC Energy Report 2009" published by the Alliance to Save Energy
(a coalition of business, governmental, environment and consumer leaders who promote
the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide), US organizations waste $2.8
billion every year powering 108 million unused PCs. In 2009, these unused PCs
are expected to emit approximately 20 million tons of CO2 emissions which are
roughly equivalent to the impact of 4 million cars.
Beyond
simply doing something proactive and positive for the environment by reducing
CO2 emissions, Climate Savers Computing participating organizations have benefited
through substantial savings in reduced energy costs.
In
India, a power deficit country, the social cost of similar savings would in itself
be manifold as energy saved could be put to more productive use in manufacturing
or agriculture. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
MAPINFO
PROFESSIONAL v10.0 FOR COST SAVINGS AND OPERATIONAL E FFICIENCIES
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 08 :
PITNEY Bowes Business Insight, the global provider of
location and communication intelligence solutions, has unveiled MapInfo Professional®
v10.0, the latest version of the company's flagship application for business mapping
and analysis.
With more than 80 percent of corporate data including a location component, MapInfo
Professional provides organizations with the ability to visualize and analyze
information to secure valuable insights and tremendous advantages over their competitors,
which is critical in today's economic environment.
A
powerful and user-friendly mapping and location analysis application, MapInfo
Professional 10.0 now includes a redesigned intuitive user interface, access to
PostGIS, an open source database, and a built-in support for Layered PDF generation.
The
end result is a cost-effective solution that enables organizations to gain optimal
value from their data when making decisions about managing inventory, allocating
resources and communicating with customers.
"MapInfo
Professional is a powerful solution that enables multiple departments throughout
our organization to access and analyze data relating to a myriad of town services,"
said Mike Mull, applications manager, Technology Services, Cary, N.C.
"The
newest version provides greater ease of use, enabling users, regardless of their
IT skill level, to more quickly create desired maps for improved decision-making
and public consumption. The ability to customize the user interface also gives
our employees greater flexibility when creating maps."
"Location-based
information offers a springboard to a wealth of important geographic analytics
such as customer buying patterns, demographic and lifestyle information, routing
directions, traffic patterns and more," said Mark Smith, CEO & executive
vice president of research, Ventana Research.
"The
advancements in usability in MapInfo Professional 10.0 reduces the time it takes
to perform simple to complex location related tasks and projects. This significant
improvement benefits organizations when they are evaluating their competition,
examining potential customer opportunities, aligning resources across geographies
to maximize and predict market potential for improving operational and financial
performance."
Benefits
of MapInfo Professional 10.0 include:
" Greater Ease of Use - A more
intuitive user interface and data sharing via layered PDF enables organizations
to more easily and efficiently create and share customized maps, resulting in
greater efficiency and time savings.
" Cost Savings - MapInfo Professional
10.0 supports PostGIS, an open-source database, providing users with a cost-effective,
open source alternative.
" Enhanced Data Access - Organizations can tap
into even more data including Microsoft SQL Server® 2008, giving organizations
even greater flexibility and continuing access to multiple forms of data.
"As
we celebrate a major milestone with the release of MapInfo Professional 10.0,
Pitney Bowes Business Insight remains committed to helping organizations gain
the most value from their data when making business critical decisions. We solicited
direct input from hundreds of customers to ensure that MapInfo Professional 10.0
best meets our customers' needs," said Michael Hickey, president, Pitney
Bowes Business Insight.
"In
today's challenging economic conditions, it's vital that organizations have the
necessary tools when making decisions about allocating resources, managing inventory
or aligning strategies with their customers. MapInfo Professional 10.0 provides
a cost-effective, easy-to-use solution that can help organizations make forward-thinking
decisions and remain competitive in today's world. MapInfo
Professional v10.0 will commence shipping at the end of June 2009," he added.
(editor@thesynergyonline.com)
INTERNET
DOMAIN NAMES SURPASS 180 MILLION IN Q1 ' 09
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 06 :
THE Internet now encompasses more than 180 million domain
names, according to the first quarter 2009 Domain Name Industry Brief published
by VeriSign, Inc , the provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked
world.
The
first quarter of 2009 ended with a total base of nearly 183 million domain name
registrations across all of the Top Level Domain Names (TLDs). This represents
a three percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2008 and a 12 percent increase
over the same quarter from last year. Total
base of domain names in India was 1.4 million as of March 31, 2009, with approximately
800,000 .com and .net domain names.
Country
Code TLDs (ccTLDs) rose to 74.1 million domain names globally during the first
quarter, a four percent jump from the previous quarter and an 18 percent increase
year over year.. Gauged by total registrations, .com remains the most popular
TLD category, followed by .cn (China), .de (Germany) and .net. This composition
remains unchanged from Q4 2008.
The
first quarter is historically strong for registrations in the domain name industry,
and Q1 2009 was no exception, with an average of 2.4 million new .com and .net
registrations added each month. During the quarter, the overall base of .com and
.net domain names grew to 92.4 million domain names. That total represents a two
percent increase from Q4 2008, a jump of nine percent over the same quarter of
the previous year, and an increase of 34 percent over the first quarter of 2007.
During
the quarter, VeriSign continued its 11-year track record of providing 100 percent
uptime for DNS queries. VeriSign's daily DNS query load averaged 38 billion during
the first quarter of 2009, resulting in hundreds of millions of Internet users
accessing websites or sending email. This is an increase from the 35 billion queries
in fourth quarter 2008.
The
latest VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief also spotlights VeriSign's analysis
of DNS queries and DNS resolution. In addition to provisioning domain names, a
domain name registry operator enables users to actually reach those domain names
by resolving the domain names to an Internet address that serves the content users
seek.
VeriSign's
analysis reveals how the most queried .com domain names - sites like Google.com
and Yahoo.com - are not necessarily the only domain names Internet users rely
upon. Rather, there are infrastructure oriented domain names that support DNS
servers, hosting farms or even advertising platforms and the number of DNS queries
the infrastructure domain names receive can be in the same range as the many popular
end user-oriented domain names with more familiar and recognized domain names.
.
"As
the authoritative registry for .com and .net domain names, VeriSign has a unique
view into the pulse of the Internet," said Jill Corso McNabb, vice president,
Naming Services at VeriSign. "DNS resolution truly comprises the backbone
of what makes the Internet operate across the globe. DNS becomes even more critical
to the overall infrastructure of the Internet not only as Internet usage grows
but also as innovative products and services related to the DNS proliferate."
VeriSign
publishes the domain name industry brief to provide Internet users throughout
the world with significant statistical and analytical research and data on the
domain name industry and the Internet as a whole. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
PORTAL
FOR CHILDREN'S HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT UNVEILED
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI: JUNE 05 :
WITH a view to provide the platform for the healthy growth
of the children with a perfect blend of studies and recreation chuckkle.com, a
website aimed at childrens holistic development was launched here recently..
The website is a platform to free the kids from the shackles of psychological,
physical, moral and mental stress. The portal has been designed by RIT International
to help the kids in the age group of 10 to 15 years. It aims at not only helping
them with their studies, but will also try to hone their social skills, increase
their general knowledge and give them a place to express their creativity, be
it literary, artistic or musical.
For
the healthy development of a child, a perfect blend of study and recreation is
crucial. The target viewers are children aged 10 to 15 years since they are neither
too small to access the net nor have they really stepped into adulthood.
It
is this transition period that even psychologists find quite vulnerable age group.
Chuckkle.com, therefore, fills this vacuum since it will be an interactive website
where kids can open up as per their convenience.
Chuckkle.com
will not only hone the creative skills of the children, it is also providing a
platform for the teachers and parents to understand their ward, and how is he
doing and his psychological needs.
The
website will be closely watched and monitored by the educationists, child psychologists
and parenting experts who will constantly help the children and provide solution
to their woes. They will also suggest measures to improve the website with more
and more value additions on a regular basis. Schools will also be roped into this
venture to make chuckle.com more interactive and lead towards a holistic and inclusive
growth of the kids.
The
brainchild of educationist and counsellor, Chitra Awasthi, chuckle.com has earlier
conceptualized and designed two other custom-made website, themightypen.com and
mahavigyan.com. On the new venture, Chitra Awasthi, Managing Director, RIT
International says, For me this is not a business venture rather something
that is very close to my heart. Children are our future, and unless their development-
psychological, physical, moral and mental is stressed upon, our future would be
very bleak indeed. Children are the spine of any society. As a matter of fact,
all our previous websites too are borne out of my desire to give something back
to the society.
She
added that "this website will bring together various child rights organizations
and give them an opportunity to work together." The Home Page of the website
itself claims that children are easily bored with monotony and are always interested
in new things. It is important to provide them with education that suits their
delicate brains. Here one can get to play new games and participate in competitions
and shop.
The
website would be popularised among the target audience through posters in the
schools and SMS. Besides this, there will be off line activities to promote the
website and connect with the target audience where children will participate and
win prizes.
The
Brand Ambassador for chuckle.com is a child prodigy itself. Saloni, who shot into
limelight after she won the 2009 comedy reality show Chhote Miyan Bade Miyan on
Colors TV, as the youngest contestant, 7 years old, is the face of the website.
Speaking
at the website launch Chitra Awasthi said children want content that is entertaining,
funny, colorful, and uses multimedia effects. However, for homepage design and
navigation systems, the user interface should be unobtrusive and let kids get
to the content as simply as possible. Children enjoy exploration and games, but
it should not be a challenge to operate the website itself. The content should
be cool, but the design must offer high usability or kids will go elsewhere. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
EASTERN
SOFTWARE BAGS CONTRACT FROM AIMA
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 05 :
EASTERN Software System (ESS), a premier ERP company offering
cutting edge technology solutions and services to clients worldwide, has won and
currently executing a contract from All India Management Association (AIMA) for
upgradation of its eBizFrame ERP, which is being used by the organization for
managing its back-end operations for the past several years.
According
to Mr. Anil Bakht, Managing Director, Eastern Software Systems, Till recently,
the usage of eBizFrame at AIMA was primarily restricted to the Accounts module
and some limited functionality from other modules.
However, AIMA has now decided to upgrade to the latest version of eBizFrame ERP
which has more advanced features than the previous versions and will enable them
to manage their operations more effectively and efficiently.
Under
the upgrade contract AIMA will start using some of the other modules of eBizFrame
more intensively like the Inventory, Purchase and HR/Payroll modules. AIMA also
plans to use ebizframes Corporate Portal which will be deployed on AIMAs
intranet and help them automate internal workflow within the organization. The
Portal will cut down the operational inefficiencies by moving a lot of existing
paper based workflow to online workflow.
The latest version of ESS
eBizFrame ERP is built on the latest Oracle Database technologies. The entire
upgrade process along with the implementation of the other modules is expected
to be complete within 6 months. During the upgrade process, the existing operations
will not be disturbed.
The
company claims that has time and again outbid international majors for prestigious
ERP implementation and customized web applications development projects both in
terms of price and features. ESS also ranks amidst top 10 home-grown software
product brands from India.
The
company has also been able to make their presence felt overseas because of their
indigenously developed flagship product - eBizframe, India's leading ERP in the
mid-market space. It has implemented eBizframe for clients in more than 15 verticals
in 25 countries and 6 different languages.
The
company also claims to have formidable presence in the overseas markets including
Africa, Saudi Arabia and Mauritius. eBizframe has already been implemented in
several government and semi-government organizations across various parts of the
globe including Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Riyadh etc. Apart from this,
eBizframe has also been established as the leading Indian ERP for the private
sector in several developing economies across the globe.
The
company has recently won an ERP implementation contract from The Ghana Investment
Promotion Centre (GIPC), a Ghana Government Agency, an e-Governance contract from
the Road Fund Administration (RFA), a Government Agency from Namibia. It also
won a contract from Al Faisal University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to implement
its flagship ERP product, ebizframe, for comprehensive automation of the Universitys
organizational functions.
The
company also won a contract for implementation of back office systems across the
entire Ministry of Local Government [MLG] in Mauritius. In India, the company
won the ERP implementation contract from Haeir India and Indo-NISSIN, manufacturers
of Top Ramen instant noodles in 2008. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
STRONTIUM
TO RAMP UP SHARE IN INDIAN MEMORY MARKET
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 05 :
GIVEN the growing market opportunity in India, Strontium
Technology, the Singapore-based memory brand , has embarked upon a drive to grow
market share in India. The company is expecting to grow 15 per cent to 18 per
cent in the branded memory module segment.
The
core speciality of the company lies in DRAM and provides composite services on
DRAM inventory management to customers and channel partners. Mr. Anshuman Gupta,
Co-Founder & Director, Strontium Singapore, said "Profitability of our
business partners is our top priority and we are fully committed to help our partners
make smart decisions about inventory levels. If our consumers are happy and our
channel partners are profitable, Strontium would be successful"
Currently,
Strontium India is headed by Mr. Ajay Kogta. The company's in-depth understanding
of the memory market coupled with a wide reach of its distributors and dealers
provides competitive advantage in the marketplace. "Greatest strength of
the company is the product quality and reliability. Even if we have one malfunction
in ten thousand of products used by our consumers, but that one piece makes a
user's - (may be a university student's) PC down, our endeavour is not to happen
that also. The company's motto and philosophy is not to let its consumers down.
Therefore, we position ourselves as the vendor of product that 'Never Lets You
Down," Kogta added.
Speaking
on channel strategy, Kogta said, "Strontium is functioning on regional distribution
model to have better geographical coverage. We have opted for regional distribution
representation i.e. we have 2-3 RDs in every major IT hub of India depending on
marketplace, size and RDs strength in that province. We are regularly expanding
our reach to new segments and to new regions. Indian market is quite important
and very wide. Therefore channel expansion is an ongoing exercise."
On
the channel front, the company's focus is to become first choice of small IT retailers
and PC Assemblers in Indian market, who are the real demand generators.
He
added, "For 2009, the company wants to increase awareness of Strontium products,
Quality, After Sales Support amongst Tier 1, Tier 2 Resellers, Retail Partners,
and System Integrators in the form of Trainings, Seminars, Road Shows and various
benefits programs."
The
company is also sending a weekly bulletin to its channel partners to keep them
updated with newest market situations and to help them to manage inventory optimally
and profitably. On the channels' side the company is going to keep working with
our distribution partners to make the products available throughout the length
and breadth of the country. That
apart the company is also running various brand promotion campaigns in various
trade media across India.
Mr.
Anshuman Gupta added, "The Indian market is one of the most vibrant markets.
Every technology segment from the bleeding edge to the far trailing edge can be
seen in the Indian market. Market participants - the dealers and consumers - are
very knowledgeable. They understand quality and total cost of ownership and not
just go after the lowest priced product." Strontium memory solutions are
built using 100% tested and highest quality 'Major Brand' components on world
class highly automated production lines in Singapore." (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
ARUBA
ASIA PACIFIC SEMINARS ON NEW VIRTUAL BRANCH NETWORK SOLUTION FOR BRANCH OFFICES,
TELEWORKERS
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
BANGALORE,
India JUNE 04 :
ARUBA Networks, Inc. , a global player in wireless LANs and
secure mobility solutions, has unveiled a series of seminars throughout the Asia
Pacific region to introduce its new Virtual Branch Network (VBN) solution.
The VBN solution transparently and securely connects remote users with enterprise
applications and resources, greatly simplifying the management of branch offices,
clinics, home offices, and teleworkers while significantly lowering networking
costs.
The solution is also designed for rapidly-deploying business continuity services
associated with disaster and pandemic recovery. The seminar series will introduce
Aruba's new VBN software for data center-based Aruba Controllers, three new families
of wired and wireless Remote Access Points (RAPs) and Branch Office Controllers
, and four VBN deployment scenarios: instant branch office, virtual call center,
virtual workforce, and business continuity.
Traditional
remote networking solutions replicate routing, switching, firewall, and other
services at each remote location. The equipment required is expensive and the
services are complex to set-up and manage. Instead of replicating complexity at
each remote location, Aruba's VBN solution virtualizes complex tasks at data center
controllers and pushes them to inexpensive RAPs and BOCs for execution. A centrally
controlled, policy enforcement firewall in the data center controller governs
user access to the network and its resources by pushing policies to dissolvable
firewall agents in every RAP and BOC. These agents automatically enforce the policies
for every user and service.
Since
all of the complex tasks are centrally managed and automatically disseminated,
RAP and BOC set-up is quick and easy. Secure one-click installation allows a non-technical
person to provision a branch office in minutes, with no intervention or assistance
by IT. RAPs and BOCs are transport-independent, and work with virtually any wide-area
network - including 3G cellular - for instant connectivity. A RAP can literally
be mailed to a remote user, connected to power and the WAN, and be fully commissioned
following a single data entry.
The
three new families of RAPs and BOCs feature policy-based local and remote packet
forwarding, and Adaptive Radio Management (ARM) technology for optimized Wi-Fi
operation. A diagnostics feature displays status on a simple user interface, and
provides one-button debugging and one-button reset to factory defaults. Other
key features of the new product families include:
RAP-2 Family: No larger than a deck of playing cards and designed for use by 1
to 5 users, the RAP-2 is ideal for teleworkers, micro-branches, and SOHO applications.
An 802.11b/g Wi-Fi radio and two Ethernet ports for use with wired devices, such
as VoIP phones, are provided;
RAP-5 Family: The stylish, book-sized RAP-5 includes 5 high-speed Ethernet ports,
a USB port for a broadband 3G cellular modem, hardware accelerated encryption,
and, optionally, an 802.11n Wi-Fi radio with integrated antennas. The RAP-5 is
designed for micro-branches with up to 50 users;
600 Branch Office Controller Family: Designed to be a "branch-in-a-box"
for offices with up to 256 users, the 600 family offers a broad range of WAN connectivity,
network-attached storage, gigabit Ethernet, power-over-Ethernet (PoE), Express
Card, and USB options. An integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi radio option rounds out the
package. The 600 controllers were recently awarded a Best of Interop 2009 Award.
A
single Aruba 6000 Multi-Service Controller equipped with VBN software will support
up to 8,000 RAP or 600 series devices, and up to 32,000 users.
"VBN
is focused on reducing the cost and complexity of branch office networking, and
is one of three Aruba initiatives focused on lowering IT expenses," said
Albert Tay, ASEAN and India General Manager, Aruba Network, Inc. "Another
initiative, network rightsizing, targets overbuilt wired LANs by showing users
how to lower expenses by using wireless LANs everywhere possible and wired LANs
only where they're needed. The third initiative leverages Aruba's AirWave Management
Platform to extend the life of existing wireless LANs by providing detailed management,
diagnostics, compliance, and Help Desk support missing from proprietary management
tools. Our seminar series will discuss all three initiatives in detail."
(editor@thesynergyonline.com)
CRANES
SOFTWATRE EXCEEDS CLIENT'S EXPECTATIONS ON PSEPHOLOGY PROJECTIONS
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
BANGALORE
, JUNE 03 :
DR
Rajeeva Karandikar, Executive VP at Cranes and his team has been associated with
CNN-IBN for all election forecasts over the past three years.
Presenting
live on CNN-IBN, on May 16, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN Network said,"Someone
who must claim victory today is our resident psephologist or really a statistician,
Dr. Rajeeva Karandikar, EVP of Cranes Software, (who) kept saying the UPA would
be on the higher side, final figures on CNN-IBN were 210 to 225, they are likely
to end up in that range, maybe a little above that Rajeev. and I was the one who
was being conservative telling you keep it lower let us not go over the board."
Speaking
live post declaration of counting results on the same day, Sagarika Ghosh, Sr.
editor, IBN Network said,"Rajeeva Karandikar (EVP Cranes Software), Yogendra
Yadav (CSDS) they really are the men of the match and they have got the projections
spot on honestly."
Cranes
Software has been a strategic partner to CNN IBN in analyzing exit and opinion
poll data for the recently held Lok Sabha elections. The exercise is an example
of the company's strong capabilities in the field of predictive analysis. It has
also leveraged its deep domain expertise in statistics and graphics, and used
the analytically intelligent tools - SYSTAT and SigmaPlot, in providing back end
data analysis for the on screen graphics.
Dr.
Rajeeva Karandikar, a well regarded probabilist and statistician and Executive
VP at Cranes and his team has been associated with the news channel for all election
forecasts over the past three years.
Talking
about how he went about getting it right, Dr. Rajeeva Karandikar, explained,"The
opinion polls that predict the composition of Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha have attracted
a lot of attention over the past 20 years. While these polls provide fodder for
debate across media channels; one cannot ignore questions such as 'how can surveying
a small fraction of people give insight into how the country is going to vote?'
We
could try discussing the situation and process through a set of examples.
In
2009, the total electorate in India was 67crore and an estimated 32 crore voters
exercised their power to vote. Our sample of about 30,000 constituted a minuscule
fraction of this total. Is this small sample a fair representation of the total
number of voters, and can these people provide accurate insight into how the entire
nation is likely to vote?
The
answer to this is: a carefully chosen sample using stratification and randomization
is most of the time, representative of the population and thus can be used as
the basis for a broad judgment about the behavior of the entire country.
For
the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, a survey was conducted by Center for Studies in
developing societies (CSDS) as National Election Study (NES). CSDS has conducted
election surveys for several decades. CSDS provided state wise estimates of vote
shares for major parties along with other information to the television network
CNN-IBN.
However,
the interest of a common man is in seat projections and not in vote share projection.
How do we go from votes to seats? One option could be to borrow methods used in
the United Kingdom since their political system is close to one followed in India.
However, in UK the voting intention is fairly stable from one election to the
other (if we define ? to be the proportion of voters who voted for a different
party this time than they did vote for in the previous election, then in the assessment
of experts as well as empirical evidence based on surveys, ? is fairly small for
UK). On the other hand, in India voting intentions are volatile and are believed
to be fairly high. In a nationwide survey done in 1998 by CSDS, ? was estimated
to be around 30% over a period of four weeks."
In
the current engagement of Cranes Software with CNN-IBN, the role of Cranes and
in particular, the role of Rajeeva Karandikar was to project seats in the next
parliament, based on the state wise vote shares estimated by CSDS. Dr Karandikar
has been an advisor to CSDS on their survey work in the past, including the 1998
survey referenced above.
Continuing
his explanation, Dr. Rajeeva Karandikar said,"A simple mental exercise would
convince the reader that in a first past the poll system (where the candidate
getting the highest votes in a constituency wins the seat) practiced in India,
there is no simple rule to translate vote shares to seat shares.
Hypothetically,
if there are two parties 'ABC' and 'XYZ' in an assembly of 100 seats, with 'ABC'
getting 50.1per cent votes and 'XYZ' getting 49.9 per cent votes, it is possible
for 'ABC' to win all the seats- this would happen if in every constituency it
wins 50.1 per cent votes.
On the other hand even 'XYZ' with 49.9 per cent votes could win all but one seat-
in 99 seats it could have say 50.1per cent votes and in the 100th seat it could
have very few votes (0.3 per cent). This example depicts that to get from predicted
vote share to predicted seat share, one needs to know the distribution of votes
of each of the parties across the entire state or nation.
The
use of raw data is not sufficient, domain knowledge is important. Using the domain
knowledge, one needs to model the votes of each major party across each constituency
and then estimate the parameters used in the model keeping the objective in mind.
Here
the objective is to project seats of major parties in the house (Lok Sabha or
Vidhan Sabha). In this context, the following model has been found to be suitable:
within a state, the 'distribution' of votes for a major party does not change
much from one election to the next or to put it differently, the change of votes
(also called swing) from one election to the next for a given party is uniform
across a state. This model is fairly robust.
Using
this model, one can estimate the vote shares of major parties in each constituency
by using the history data along with measuring statewide vote share of each party.
It should be noted that even in election for Lok Sabha, the swing can be modeled
as uniform only across a state. Also, for a large state like Uttar Pradesh or
Maharashtra, we divide the state in geographical regions and model the swing to
be uniform across a region.
Now
we need to convert these vote estimate into seat estimates for major parties.
We have developed a model for this task. The model takes into account the political
realities on one hand and out expertise in mathematical modeling. This technique
is called Probabilistic count method and it gives good estimate of likely composition
of the parliament."
This
method of converting estimated vote share into seats has been proven to be fairly
good and seems to be the best among feasible approaches. The Cranes Software team
led by Dr Karandikar has been working with CNN-IBN for the last three years on
such psephology related projects. The projections made by the team with the algorithms,
etc developed using the IPs of Cranes, for various assembly elections and the
recent Lok Sabha elections have proved to be very accurate for most of the elections.
The
analytics team at Cranes Software is a pioneer in providing statistical modeling
and solutions proof of concept and delivery. The group focuses on target markets
of pharmaceuticals, environmental science, social science, telecom, and BFSI.
The Company has successfully accumulated a portfolio of proprietary products in
all elements of the analytics value creation process.
In
doing so, Cranes has built a library of reusable components be it statistical
graphing engines, computational algorithms, or data integration interfaces. These
reusable components help the group of consultants do quick prototypes of customized
solutions to clients and provide enterprise class decision support systems. Some
products within the portfolio of Analytics domain include SYSTAT, AISN Data Visualization
Software Suite, Sigma Products Suite, iCapella, InventXePM and the recently acquired
Cubeware and Dunn Solutions Group. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
TEDINDIA
SEEKS APPLICATIONS FROM INDIAN TRAILBLALZERS FOR TED FELLOWS PROGRAMME
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 02 :
'THE future beckons' is being held in India for the first
time ever from 4-7 November 2009, at the Infosys Campus in Mysore.
What makes
TEDIndia extra-special is that the TED Fellows program will include a group of
100 innovators from India and South Asia who have shown unusual accomplishment
and exceptional courage. These young world-changers will get the opportunity to
become a part of the TED community which will help amplify the impact of their
remarkable projects and activities.
Lakshmi
Pratury, Co-Host of TEDIndia 2009, considers the TED Fellows program to be an
intrinsic part of the spirit of TEDIndia. She states,"There is a tremendous
surge of innovation at the grassroots in India. People are redefining culture,
economy, society, technology and the intersection of these is creating new and
empowering models of growth. TEDIndia Fellows program seeks to support Indian
innovators who, in Gandhiji's words, arebeing the change they want to see in the
world."
The
TED Fellows program will draw insights from many disciplines that reflect the
diversity of TED's mission: technology, entertainment, design, the sciences, the
humanities, the arts, NGOs, business and more. The gamut of activities that a
TEDIndia Fellow could be involved in include, access to education via the internet
in rural areas: mobile rural healthcare networks;
low cost solar power; preservers
of Indian's living heritage - across art, language, wildlife and nature; empowering
underprivileged youth through education that helps them excel at competitive exams;
financial literacy and business training for underprivileged women, social enterprise
etc. Many more still remain to be explored!
The
TEDIndia Fellows program seeks next-gen innovators who have demonstrated remarkable
accomplishments and outstanding potential to positively be the change in the world.
The profiles of the next-gen innovators sought by TED Fellows include those who
are notably curious, passionate, open-minded and have done something fascinating
for their community. They're people who have
created an idea that can change
the lives of millions.
The
deadline for applications for TEDIndia Fellows is June 15, 2009. The application
form for TED Fellowship is available on the TED site ( <http://www.ted.com/fellows/apply
> http://www.ted.com/fellows/apply).
TEDIndia
Fellows program hopes to represent the diverse and exciting nature of innovation
from the frontlines of change in India. The TED Fellows program is made possible
by the support of Sherpalo Ventures. With such founding support, TEDFellows program
invites the future leaders to apply soon and be a part of the TEDsters attending
TEDIndia! (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
IBM
TO BUILD GREEN DATA CENTRES , TARGETS 20% ENERGY SAVINGS FOR SISTEMA
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, JUNE 2 :
IBM has entered into an IT services agreement with MTS India,
the mobile telephony services brand of Sistema Shyam TeleServices , a joint venture
company between Sistema of Russia and Shyam Group of India.
As
part of the agreement, IBM will design and build two green data centers - one
each in Chennai and Gurgaon. The move is integral to supporting SSTL's pan India
expansion plans for offering telephony services. The green data centers will help
SSTL achieve 20 per ccent energy savings.
Speaking
on the need to adopt energy-efficient IT infrastructure in an enterprise, Mr.
Vsevolod Rozanov, President and CEO, Sistema Shyam TeleServices said, "As
a global telecom player with ambitious expansion plans for the Indian market,
we are aware of the advantage of adopting energy-efficient operational measures
and in the process will work proactively to reduce global energy emissions. We
are glad to partner with a technology leader like IBM in making our IT infrastructure
- Green Friendly."
The
data centre solution being deployed by IBM provides the facility to scale power
and cooling automatically depending on the load. IBM will also build a Network
Operations Centre (NOC) to help the SSTL team monitor and manage applications
and network in a 24/7 environment.
SSTL
is currently in an expansion phase with plans to launch Pan-India telecom services
in the coming months. The scalability and dynamic nature of the solution being
provided by IBM will ensure that SSTL's expansion plan are well-supported by a
robust, resilient and Green IT infrastructure.
Shanker
Annaswamy, Managing Director of IBM India . said, "IBM's "association
with Sistema Shyam TeleServices is aimed at helping our client take advantage
of leading IT infrastructure solutions and assets that IBM has built especially
for telecom companies. Moreover, SSTL's adoption of green and energy-efficient
technologies can help them optimize their resources while serving their growing
customer base across India."
The
Chennai site will serve as the main data centre for SSTL, while the data centre
in Gurgaon will serve as the disaster recovery site. IBM has deployed cooling
solution at these data centers, which will result in substantial operational savings
for SSTL.
SSTL
is already providing telecom services in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and
has acquired licenses and spectrum to provide mobile telephony services in all
the 22 circles across the country under its MTS brand name, recognized as one
of the Top 100 Most Powerful Brands in the world. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
NOVATIUM
PLANS MEGA EXPANSION ; EXPECTS 200,000 USERS BY '10
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, MAY 23 :
NOVATIUM Solutions , a managed computing services provider,
has unveiled aggressive plans to expand in Indian market. For this the company
has partnered with BSNL, MTNL and Tata Teleservices. The company expects to close
the financial year with more than two lakh subscribers.
The
company has come a long way since they launched the $100
PC- the netPC- in
partnership with MTNL. Apart from various variants of the netPC, Novatium had
also launched world's first platform independent device, Nova Navigator, few months
back.
Novatium
provides always powerful, zero maintenance computing services at affordable value
for money prices starting from Rs 2999 for the netPC with monthly charges starting
from Rs. 175 across India. The services include comprehensive computing experience
with special emphasis on Internet, gaming, digital entertainment, online education,
telephony and business productivity.
Mr.
Alok Singh, CEO, Novatium Solutions aid, "India is on the verge of witnessing
a computing revolution and we hope to be its engine. Our products netPC and navigators
coupled with our unique business model has the potential to revolutionize the
entire computing market. We are getting encouraging responses from subscribers
and expect tremendous growth in the
current fiscal." (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
INTERNET
RETAILERS STAND TO BENEFIT FROM ENSURING CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN ONLINE PAYMENT
SECURITY
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, MAY 22 :
WITH 82 per cent of Asia Pacific Internet users likely to
make online purchases in the next six months, the uncertain economic climate has
not dampened the regions appetite for online shopping, according to the
Visa e-Commerce Consumer Monitor.
While
consumers in the region say they are still using their virtual shopping carts,
the survey also found that 61 percent of online shoppers in Asia Pacific are satisfied
with the present level of online payment security. The top three ways in which
consumers determine whether a website offers them confidence to make online transactions
are through the evidence of good security on a website (76 percent), the availability
of a merchant-sponsored return policy (74 percent) and proof of consumer protection
from online fraud (74 percent).
Uttam
Nayak, country manager, South Asia, Visa said: With online sales in
Asia Pacific expected to reach in excess of US$71 billion by 2012[2], the emphasis
on providing secure online payment for the increasing volumes of internet transactions
remains a priority for Visa. One of the ways Visa facilitates safe online transactions
is through Verified by Visa. This is an authentication platform that gives merchants
protection from fraudulent transactions. For consumers, the knowledge that Verified
by Visa protects their data gives them the confidence to spend with their payment
cards.
Despite
the stated confidence among respondents to shop online, merchants can do more
to assure online consumers that secure payment measures are in place to guard
against fraud. The top concerns among the surveyed consumers when making online
payment are - the misuse of payment card details by retailers and disclosure of
their personal information (49 percent each), disclosure of their payment card
number (47 percent) and unauthorized access/hacking of retailer databases (46
percent).
Uttam
Nayak added,It does not require complicated procedures or heavy investment
in security to help boost consumer confidence in online shopping. Our findings
from this survey show that simple measures like displaying the logo of the type
of secure payment platform online merchants offer, such as Verified by Visa, can
translate into greater confidence for consumers to spend on their website.
The
security of online payments will be discussed at the Visa Asia Pacific Security
Summit 2009 in Kuala Lumpur from 27 to 29 May 2009. The summit will bring together
leading industry experts in payment security to share trends and solutions in
securing e-commerce transactions.
The
Visa e-Commerce Consumer Monitor found that in the past 12 months, there was a
regional average online consumer spending of US$3,109 and the Visa Security Summit
will be an important industry platform to address ways to boost confidence in
e-commerce.
Asia
Pacific internet users say online payment security is a shared effort among merchants
and payment processing service providers. Nearly half (48 percent) of the surveyed
consumers feel that the best way to boost e-commerce consumer confidence is for
a bank to guarantee the online transaction, followed by the transaction being
guaranteed by the payment card company (45 percent) and for the website to state
that they have a secure payment method (43 percent).
Uttam
Nayak said ,Preventing cardholder data compromise is indeed a shared responsibility
between merchants and payment processing service providers.
As
part of secure payment strategy, Visa recommends merchants adopt a multi-layered
approach to online security which includes being compliant with the PCI Data Security
Standard, to help make consumers feel more confident in using their payment cards
online. Besides offering liability protection through Visas zero-liability
program, incorporating secure payment platforms such as Two Factor Authentication[3]
can further protect consumers by making it harder for criminals to conduct unauthorized
transactions.
In
2008, more online consumers in Asia Pacific (42 percent) said they had tried Verified
by Visa than any other payment verification system. More respondents have also
used Visa credit and debit cards (59 percent) for online payments during the same
period. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
TRANSCEND
NAMED NO 1 USB FLASH DRIVE , PORTAL MEDIA PLAYER BRAND IN TAIWAN
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, MAY 20 :
TRANSCEND Information, Inc. (Transcend), a global manufacturer
of flash memory products, has been named the number one USB flash drive and portal
media player brand in Taiwan, based on a recently released 2008 retail market
report by German research firm, GfK Group.
Mr. Austin Huang, Regional Head - Sales, SAARC and APAC, Transcend, said,We
are extremely proud to have received this recognition and would like to extend
our gratitude to our customers who have placed their trust in our brand and have
bought our products. We are confident that we can manage this remarkable feat
time and again as Transcend is continuously winning new customers because of our
consistent quality and value-for-money products range.
In
the Asia Pacific region, GfK's "No.1" awards were presented to each
participating country's top-selling brands in different product categories according
to GfK retail audit data. The awards are based on total unit sales from January
2008 to December 2008. To receive an award, the brand must be in general distribution
in the country to which the award is related, and also be number one in unit sales.
Transcend
has recently made great strides in the areas of channel management and brand development,
and now enjoys a worldwide leading position in the NAND Flash market. Already
a global leader in the manufacture of DRAM and flash memory products, Transcend
will continue to move forward, utilizing its ability to develop advanced technology
to provide comprehensive product and service solutions to its customers around
the world.
The
GfK Group is one of the largest market research companies in the world. Founded
in 1934, the group employs a staff of about 10,000 people working in 115 operating
companies to deliver knowledge on markets and sectors that cover more than 100
countries across the world. Its research activities are divided into five business
divisions: Custom Research, Retail and Technology, Consumer Tracking, Media and
HealthCare. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
MICROSOFT,
POLYCOM EXPAND RELATIONSHIP TO ENHANCE UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS, COLLABORATION SOLUTIONS
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, MAY 20 :
POLYCOM , Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are strengthening their
strategic relationship to deliver one of the broadest and most powerful sets of
voice and video solutions for unified communications and collaboration.
As
part of Microsofts vision to broaden the availability of Microsoft RoundTable,
Polycom has licensed the right to distribute RoundTable, effective immediately.
The product, renamed as Polycom® CX5000 Unified Conference Station, will be
available through Polycom and its extensive channel network.
Known
respectively for innovative collaboration solutions, Microsoft and Polycom are
working together to help customers enhance team communication and collaboration
with voice and video conferencing. As a leader in telepresence, video and voice
communications solutions, Polycom continues to expand the market for visual communication
with a range of new solutions that will put video conferencing and collaboration
capabilities into general purpose, point-to-point, and multipoint environments.
The
CX5000 adds to Polycoms broad portfolio and enables it to address the video
collaboration needs of organisations that rely on Microsoft Office Communications
Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Live Meeting service.
Originally
launched by Microsoft in October 2007, the CX5000 is a plug-and-play device that
connects to a PC through a USB connection and does not require any extra provisioning
or configuration the user can walk into a conference room, plug in a laptop,
and start a meeting.
The
CX5000 is designed for enterprises that use Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007
or Office Communications Server 2007 and want a simple way to add audio and visual
communication to an Office Live Meeting or Office Communications Server 2007 session.
When used with Office Live Meeting service, or as part of Office Communications
Server 2007, the CX5000 combines content, a panoramic 360-degree view of the entire
meeting room, and a separate view of the active speaker for a unique and engaging
voice and video experience.
Microsoft
and Polycom share a long-standing, strategic relationship in the unified communications
space, and we are confident in Polycoms depth of experience and customer
support in the conferencing market, said Sanjay Manchanda, Director, Microsoft
Business Division, Microsoft India . Our vision to make RoundTable available
to more people in more countries has been realised with the introduction of the
Polycom CX5000 Unified Conferencing Station, and shows further evidence of Microsofts
commitment to a software platform that enables device innovation.
Our
collaboration with Microsoft is a key component of Polycoms vision to provide
our customers with high quality unified communications endpoints that support
the way people work today, said Paul Newell, Director of Technical &
Strategic Sales, Asia Pacific Polycom and Country Manager, Polycom India."
With
our expertise in enterprise collaboration, and our broad distribution network,
it makes perfect sense for us to incorporate the CX5000 into our family of devices
optimised for Microsoft UC solutions. We look forward to our continued relationship
with Microsoft and the benefits this will bring our joint customers ," he
added.
IDCs
2009 Top 10 list for Enterprise Networking includes the prediction that 2009 will
become the year of the great enterprise video experiment which will help businesses
do more with less, said Nora Freedman, Senior Analyst, Unified Communications
Infrastructure, IDC. The ability for partners to cross-sell video and voice
solutions, as well as leverage their respective distribution channels, can help
to lower the barriers to entry in an enterprise, which is especially advantageous
in this economy.
Polycom
offers a full suite of devices that integrate with Office Communications Server
2007. Polycoms series of CX phones optimised for Office Communications Server
2007 includes the CX700 IP telephone, CX200 desktop USB phone and CX100 personal
speakerphone. These phones deliver crystal-clear, wideband audio and provide full,
convenient access to the advanced presence-enabled features of Office Communications
Server 2007.
For
versatile video communications, Polycoms HDX video endpoints register, authenticate
and share presence information with Office Communications Server 2007, making
it simple for users to launch video calls by clicking on presence-enabled contacts
to see the availability status of Polycom video and telepresence users.
Additionally,
Polycoms RMX 2000 real-time media conferencing platform works with
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R 2, allowing users to launch on-demand
voice, video and unified (voice and video) conferences with other standards-based
video and voice endpoints. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
INDIAN
SMBs LEAD INVESTMENT IN ENERGY EFFICIENT IT
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, MAY 19 :
ACCORDING to a global study jointly released by IBM and InfoTech
Research Group, even in a very difficult economic environment, Indian small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) are eager to actively invest in initiatives that reduce
the environmental impact of their information technology.
The
study is based on a survey of more than 1,000 information technology executives
at companies with between 100 and 1,000 employees across industries and in a dozen
countries including the India, United States,Canada, France, Germany and the United
Kingdom.
The
findings show that more than 55 percent of Indian companies are going to, or have
already commissioned third-party environmental audits, purchased emission credits,
or have made improvements in their supply chain efficiency to reduce energy consumption.
63 percent of Indian IT enterprises have completed a retrofit of existing server
rooms to increase energy efficiency, or have a pilot project underway.
Almost
two-thirds of all companies globally are currently, or are planning within the
next 12 months, to add virtualization technology to their servers, consolidate
storage systems, or retrofit their server rooms.
"Businesses
around the world have discovered that going green isn't just good for the planet;
it's good for their bottom line," said Ramesh Narasimhan, Director, General
Business, IBM India/South Asia. "Green IT strategies are leading to savings
in operational expenditure; lower space and power and higher ROI. The findings
in this report highlight how mid-size companies are realizing significant cost
savings when they adopt Green IT initiatives."
Significantly,
there are compelling business benefits associated with "going green"
and reducing the negative impact on the environment is a welcome addition. The
driving factor pushing companies to adopt Green IT to reduce their costs while
reducing the negative impact on the environment is an obvious additional benefit.
The
study found companies typically fall into one of four IT personalities; green
advocates, smart spenders, green observers and green seekers. Green advocates,
companies that integrate environmental considerations into all areas of their
business, makes up about 25 percent of the companies surveyed.
Smart
spenders make up 38 percent of the survey group and are defined as SMBs willing
to make upfront investments to achieve a long-term cost reduction. Green observers,
who make up 30 percent of the survey group, do not have specific environmental
goals and need management support for initiatives to improve energy efficiency.
Green seekers, at 7 percent, are interested in adopting energy efficient technology
but are unsure of where to start and how to quantify results.
Saving
electricity requires the measurement of IT electrical consumption, something many
companies cannot do. However, the survey finds that more than 50 percent of companies
have implemented some form of energy measurement for their information technology
infrastructure, and about one-quarter plan to do so in the year ahead.
About
60 per cent of the total respondents weigh the importance placed on business benefits
against environmental benefits, suggesting that IT initiatives to help improve
energy efficiency must yield financial returns in order to get the green light.
Countries
with some of the highest fuel prices in the world have not, up to this point,
turned to remote conferencing and telecommuting initiatives to reduce both cost
and energy consumption. The survey found while 50 to 60 percent of Indian, Brazilian,
North American and British businesses are up and running with telecommuting and
virtual conferencing Nordic countries have been slower to adopt these technologies.
Initiatives
intended to reduce travel are clearly receiving the most attention from geographically
"big" countries over the next 12 months. From Brazil to Canada, more
than 30 percent of businesses will aggressively pursue remote conferencing and
telecommuting strategies.
Virtualization
is also being perceived as a major step in help achieving energy efficient business
operation. The rate of server virtualization across most regions (with an average
implementation rate of 48 percent) is evidence that initiatives with a business
case comprised of clear cost savings and environmental benefits will win first.
For new initiatives to gain acceptance from stakeholders who may be skeptical,
a clear case for cost containment, savings or other business benefits must be
made first.
Data
indicates that IT equipment recycling has shown good progress. Overall, 56 percent
of the companies surveyed have either completed or are implementing outdated hardware
recycling programs. Approximately 23 percent of IT departments report plans to
adopt IT equipment recycling and energy measurement practices within the next
12 months. 65 percent of all implementations, the study found organizations' initial
goals for these projects are met or exceeded.
The
Indian marketplace boasts of more than 35 million small and medium businesses
and is now competing globally. They will need to gain a competitive edge to win
amidst global competition and technology provides them this edge. IBM offers services,
research, hardware and software specifically tailored for the SME market in India
that can help midsize companies to be both greener and leaner.(editor@thesynergyonline.com)
.
KASPERSKY
TO SUPPORT MICROSOFT FOREFRONT "STIRLING"
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, APRIL 27 :
KASPERSKY Lab, a developer of secure content management
solutions, has announced that its antivirus solutions will support Microsoft Forefront
codename "Stirling."
Currently
in public beta, Forefront 'Stirling'is an integrated security suite that delivers
comprehensive protection across end point, application servers and edge solutions
with a central management console for easy administration and enterprise-wide
multi product visibility.
It
enables software, hardware, and services vendors to share and use security event
information across the 'Stirling' environment and the broader partner ecosystem.
As a result, partners can enhance the effectiveness of their security technologies
and better protect customer IT environments.
The
company said that future versions of Kaspersky Antivirus for Lotus Domino will
detect anomalous behavior and provide security assessments based on settings established
by a system administrator in Microsoft Forefront codename "Stirling"
Beta 2. This usage scenario will enable the administrator to be proactively notified
of potentially dangerous threats, and flag corrective actions that should be taken
to eliminate the spread of potentially malicious code.
Key
areas of potential interaction between Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Lotus Notes/Domino
and Forefront "Stirling" were also taken into consideration by Microsoft.
The ability to tightly integrate previously disparate security systems will greatly
enhance the security posture of organizations deploying the combined solution.
"There's
a huge emphasis on the development of innovative technology at Kaspersky Lab.
Our cutting-edge technologies are currently used by over 80 IT vendors worldwide,
and we are particularly pleased to see such a respected name as Microsoft among
those companies. It goes without saying that we intend to continue our innovative
research and maintain our position as technological leader of the antivirus industry,"
says Petr Merkulov, vice president, ISV & IHV Alliances, Kaspersky Lab.
The
latest Kaspersky Lab technology, in particular, the new antivirus engine that
was first introduced in Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus
2009, is used in the server components of Microsoft Forefront products to provide
protection for corporate email and web traffic. Embedded technology ensures the
immediate detection and blocking of all types of malware, spam and unwanted content
in incoming email messages and traffic from other Internet channels.
"Microsoft
is working with Kaspersky to develop interoperability between Forefront 'Stirling'
and their solutions, in order to give our customers more comprehensive and responsive
security across the enterprise," said John Chirapurath, director in the identity
and security business group at Microsoft Corp. "Microsoft has geared up to
collaborate with top industry vendors and provide solutions that help organizations
more effectively achieve their business goals. We call this 'business-ready security.'"
The
company has announced their All-India Toll Free Number for Kaspersky Suppport
for the 1st time in India. This initiative by Kaspersky is an effort to reach
new heights in customer friendliness & care.
The TOLL FREE number is 1-800-425-0052.
This number will provide Kaspersky customers a 24/7 access to Kaspersky technical
support personnel, 365 days a year.
The
company said that Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 has received yet another VB100 award
from the authoritative British magazine Virus Bulletin.
In
a comparative test published in Virus Bulletin's April issue, Kaspersky Anti-Virus
2009 demonstrated one of the best results for malware detection. 39 popular antivirus
products participated in the test that was conducted on a Windows XP Service Pack
3 platform.
While
running in "on-demand scanning" and "real-time protection"
modes, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 neutralized 100 per cent of the viruses from
the Wildlist collection as well as from a collection of worms/bots and polymorphic
viruses. The Wildlist collection, created prior to 20 February 2009, included
several variants of the widespread Kido (Conficker) malicious program.
Kaspersky
Anti-Virus 2009 finished among the top three products following RAP (Reactive
and Proactive) testing, a new format introduced by Virus Bulletin to show how
products perform against the latest malware that has emerged around the world.
With a score of 92.2%, the Kaspersky Lab solution performed significantly better
than the vast majority of software being tested. The company's product also came
out on top in terms of proactive detection of unknown threats. Throughout testing,
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 did not produce a single false positive.
"Kaspersky's
latest product version has a number of added layers of security beyond the standard
anti-malware tested here," Virus Bulletin's article states. "The new
design is very usable as well as visually appealing, and provides plenty of options
for fine-tuning the protection levels to suit the individual user. Detection rates
were superb."
The
authors of the review also stressed the high performance levels of Kaspersky Lab's
solution while running in "on-demand scanning" and "real-time protection"
modes.
"
Virus Bulletin is actively developing its antivirus testing methods and introducing
new test formats. The RAP test, performed for the first time this year, is much
closer to the real-life conditions that antivirus solutions have to work in and
gives a clearer picture of a product's strong points, which wasn't always possible
with the standard VB100 test," said Alexander Gostev, the Head of Global
Research and Analysis Team at Kaspersky Lab.
"A
comparison of the products' reactive and proactive detection capabilities clearly
reflects the amount of attention vendors are paying to heuristic detection methods
and response time. I am glad to see that the results of the latest RAP test confirm
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009's leading role in these areas," Gostev concludes.
The
company has announced comprehensive protection against Internet threats for Windows
7 Beta users with Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows 7.Kaspersky Lab released its
technical antivirus prototype providing greater efficiency and complex antivirus
protection at the beginning of January 2009 together with launch of beta test
version of Microsoft Windows 7 operating system
"
Kaspersky Lab will provide Windows 7 users with a security option that is easy-to-manage,
and helps protect their valuable data without slowing them down," said Alexey
Kalgin, Director, Product Marketing, Corporate Business Division, Kaspersky Lab.
"Our technical prototype was installed by more than 300,000 people over two
and a half months. Thanks to collaboration with Microsoft, we have received an
exceptional amount of valuable feedback from testers that will enable us to ensure
that our products are fully compatible with Windows 7 upon final release."
"We
are working with with Kaspersky Lab as they develop and test their suite of offerings
for Windows 7," said Michael Angiulo, General Manager of Windows Planning
and PC Ecosystem at Microsoft Corp. "Our mutual end goal is to deliver to
customers increased productivity, manageability and mobility for highly secure,
reliable data access."
Based
on the recent beta evaluations, Kaspersky Lab has received positive feedback regarding
the speed, reliability and stability of Windows 7 protection. Kaspersky Lab's
suite of security offerings will be available to Windows 7 users immediately following
the launch of the new operating system. Through its collaboration with Microsoft,
Kaspersky Lab is committed to providing premium Internet threat protection to
users of Windows 7, the new generation of the world's most popular PC operating
system. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
SEAGATE
ZEROES IN ON BUILDING LIQUIDITY ; REPORTS $2.1 BILLION REVENUE
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, APRIL 27 :
SEAGATE Technology reported results for the quarter ended
April 3, 2009 of 38 million disk drive unit shipments, revenue of $2.1 billion,
a net loss of $273 million and net loss per share of $0.56. Net loss and net loss
per share for the quarter include $18 million of purchased intangibles amortization
and other charges associated with acquisitions, and restructuring and related
accelerated depreciation charges of $36 million.
The
aggregate impact of these items is a $54 million loss or approximately $0.11 per
share loss. Of the $36 million for restructuring and related accelerated depreciation
charges, $11 million was for accelerated depreciation charges recorded in product
development expense and $25 million was restructuring and substantially relates
to global headcount reductions.
For
the nine months ended April 3, 2009 the company reported results of disk drive
unit shipments of 123 million, revenue of $7.5 billion, a net loss of $3.0 billion,
and net loss per share of $6.17. Net loss and net loss per share include $56 million
of purchased intangibles amortization and other charges associated with acquisitions,
charges related to restructuring activities of $181 million, a charge of $271
million that reflects an unfavorable adjustment to the valuation allowance related
to the company's deferred tax assets and a $2.3 billion charge relating to the
write-off of goodwill and other long-lived assets.
The
aggregate impact of these items is a $2.8 billion reduction in earnings, or a
decrease of approximately $5.75 per share. Of the $181 million in restructuring
related charges, $55 million was for accelerated depreciation charges, with $30
million recorded in cost of revenue and $25 million in product development expense.
The majority of the remaining balance of the restructuring charges relate to global
headcount reductions.
"We
are improving our operational performance," said Steve Luczo, Seagate
chairman and chief executive officer. "As a result, assuming a relatively
stable business environment, we believe we can improve margins and reach profitability
within fiscal year 2010."
While
there are signs of improved visibility, the ongoing uncertainty in global economic
conditions makes it difficult to predict product demand and other related matters,
which makes it more likely that Seagate's actual results could differ materially
from current expectations.
For
the June quarter, in light of the company's view of the current market environment,
the company is planning for the overall demand for disk drives to be relatively
flat as compared to the March quarter. Consequently, the company expects revenue
to be approximately $1.9 - $2.2 billion and gross margin as a percent of revenue
to improve by 300-400 basis points as compared to the March quarter. Product development
and marketing/administrative costs are expected to decrease to approximately $340
million while other income and expense is expected to be an expense of approximately
$40 million. Net loss per share is expected to be between $0.37 - $0.47, which
includes approximately $41 million or $0.08 per share for restructuring, purchased
intangibles amortization and other charges associated with acquisitions.
The
fiscal fourth quarter 2009 outlook does not include the impact of any future mergers,
acquisitions, dispositions or other business combinations, financing or potential
new restructuring activities the company may undertake.
As
part of the company's ongoing cost structure alignment, additional restructuring
actions are currently being addressed. The company believes opportunities exist
to reduce operating costs in product development, marketing/administrative and
manufacturing areas to target a cost structure that generates positive cash flow
and earnings within its fiscal year 2010. Consequently, the company expects to
incur restructuring charges in the June quarter of an undetermined amount.
The
company remains focused on building liquidity and strengthening its balance sheet
over the long-term. To that end, Seagate has taken actions and obtained sources
of liquidity to support the business while the current negative economic condition
persists. The results of these decisions and actions include:
·
On April 3, 2009, Seagate entered into a Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement
the purpose of which is to increase the company's flexibility in meeting its obligations
under its existing credit agreement, executed on September 19, 2006.
·
On April 16, 2009, Seagate priced $430 million of 10% senior secured second-priority
notes due 2014. The net proceeds are expected to be used for general corporate
purposes, including the repayment or repurchase of all or some of the company's
$300 million aggregate principal amount of floating rate senior notes due October
1, 2009 and other indebtedness.
·
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments increased $172 million quarter-over-quarter,
to $1.5 billion.
·
Compared to the prior quarter, days sales outstanding (DSO) was down five days
to 37 days, days payable outstanding (DPO) decreased by one day to 63 days and
days of inventory outstanding (DIO) decreased by 11 days to 26. In aggregate,
our cash conversion cycle decreased by 15 days to zero. Improvement in DSO reflects
the linearity of shipments during the quarter, while the improvement in DIO is
a result of reducing inventory by roughly 28%.
·
Investment in capital equipment during the March quarter was $59 million and for
the first nine months of the company's fiscal year 2009 was approximately $553
million. The company currently expects fiscal 2009 investment in capital equipment
to be approximately $650 million. Based on the company's current macroeconomic
view it expects fiscal year 2010 capital investment to be approximately $450 million.
·
Management has recommended and the board has adopted a policy of not paying a
quarterly dividend. This action coupled with the reduction of the dividend in
January 2009 reduces cash obligations by about $230 million annually. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
SAP
EXPANDS GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM WITH SAP CO-INNOVATION LAB IN BANGALORE
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, APRIL 26 :
SAP AG has opened the third SAP Co-Innovation Lab, at SAP
Labs India in Bangalore, which joins existing labs in Palo Alto, California, and
Tokyo, Japan. In operation since October 2008, the SAP Co-Innovation Lab Bangalore
offers a hands-on environment for SAP, independent software vendors (ISVs), system
integrators (SIs) and technology partners to work together with customers on current
and future technologies to showcase how companies can increase competitive advantage
and improve efficiencies.
The
co-innovation lab network was established by SAP to provide a physical environment
for SAP, customers and partners to collaborate on solutions and offerings that
will help solve and address today's most pressing business challenges and opportunities.
Expansion of the lab network around the globe broadens the pool of talent working
on solutions and brings a wide array of expertise and knowledge to the
table.
Initially,
the SAP Co-Innovation Lab Bangalore will closely engage with the following partners:
Arteria Technologies, Cisco, Cognizant, F5 Networks, Hewlett-Packard Company,
Intel Corp., Intelligroup, KLG Systel ., Larson & Toubro Infotech , MindTree
, MobileOne I.P, NetApp and Wipro Technologies. Asian Paints, India's major paint
company with operations in 21 countries, is actively co-innovating with SAP and
partners in the lab as a marquee customer.
"At
SAP, we believe in the philosophy that collaborative innovation can make a bigger
impact to the industry," said Kush Desai, managing director, SAP Labs
India. "Working in synergy with our partners and customers and starting
early in the development cycle helps us in building future products that address
technology needs in a comprehensive manner. These products not only help our customers
empower their employees with decision-making tools that streamline their processes,
but they also enable companies to respond quickly to the ever-changing needs of
their customers. With the launch of the SAP Co-Innovation Lab in Bangalore, we
are delighted to broaden the reach of the network of SAP Co-Innovation Labs directly
to our Indian ecosystem."
With
its ever-growing base of engineers and developers, coupled with new generations
being raised with an increased focus on software and technology, India is a logical
choice to serve as host of a new SAP Co-Innovation Lab. Members of the lab in
Bangalore identify opportunities to address pressing business needs and actively
engage with experienced SAP partners and other customers to help drive adoption
of service-oriented architecture (SOA).
The
SAP Co-Innovation Lab hosts a simulated heterogeneous datacenter integrating hardware
and infrastructure software from SAP and participating sponsors. SAP Co-Innovation
Lab members have a hands-on environment where they can work on proof-of-concepts
and build and test new business processes and SOA solutions. The lab also promotes
new and innovative applications and technology solutions to SAP customers through
joint seminars, community discussions and events.
In
addition, the lab provides onsite and online demo theaters and landscapes to address
a broader variety of topics, best practices and solution maps.
Wipro
Technologies, an SAP global services partner and one of India's best-established
technology firms, was one of the first to benefit from the secure, creative environment
of the SAP Co-Innovation Lab. Wipro developed its Insurance Claims Analytics solution
by working on a platform specially developed in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab, combining
its experience in business intelligence (BI) and strong global insurance domain
expertise with SAP(r) BusinessObjects(tm) XI 3.1 solutions.
The
collaborating in the secure environment of the lab, Wipro and SAP were able to
create a solution that will have a tremendous impact on the industry's future
profitability, competitiveness and compliance levels, as it targets property and
casualty (P&C) insurance carriers.
"Insurance
Claims Analytics is a perfect illustration of the kind of breakthrough innovations
that will be developed at the SAP Co-Innovation Lab and introduced in the market,"
explained K. R. Sanjiv, vice president, Business Technologies Services, Wipro
Technologies. "The environment is ideal for exploration within the different
solution sets, and by being a member and partner of the global network of SAP
Co-Innovation Labs, we can continue to develop solutions that are
insightful
and proactive."
The
SAP Co-Innovation Lab equips partners with the ability to explore new ideas and
propositions that address customer needs, increasing the value to the customer
at a more rapid pace. Arteria Technologies, an SAP partner that specializes in
enterprise application services, has worked in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab on both
mobile- and Adobe-based solutions, with incredible results.
"In
collaborating with SAP in a co-innovation lab secure workspace, we have achieved
faster development cycles and ramped up the go-to-market strategy for our solutions,"
said Parag Jain, CTO, Arteria Technologies. "We will greatly benefit in terms
of accelerated sales with the solution built in the SAP Co-Innovation Lab and
offered via SAP EcoHub - the premier online marketplace for SAP customers."
Asian
Paints ., a longtime SAP customer, has been actively engaged with the SAP Co-Innovation
Lab, which has helped it to address several key business challenges. The management
of Asian Paints Ltd. was becoming increasingly concerned about incorporating mobility
into its systems as a key factor in conducting smart business.
To
address this,an innovation scenario piloted at the lab leveraged the mobile capabilities
in SAP NetWeaver with partner solutions built on the hand-held devices commonly
used by its sales force. The solution helps empower its business users to make
instant, critical decisions in the field. As an active customer in the SAP Co-Innovation
Lab, Asian Paints experienced the rapid build of innovative solutions by collaborating
with MobileOne and SAP to evaluate mobile client solutions and mobile technology
infrastructure, giving the company an invaluable way to manage business and information
on the go.
Another
business scenario linked Asian Paint's existing shop floor control systems with
SAP's flagship enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, SAP(r) ERP , to
enable better reporting and effective decision-making. Asian Paints worked with
SAP and KLG Systel to connect its batch control system with the production planning
and plant information functionality in the SAP landscape using the SAP(r) Manufacturing
Integration and Intelligence application (SAP MII). The pilot developments were
in the area of tank farm management, modeling shop floor execution rules and KPI
reporting, which helped the company develop the information architecture for its
manufacturing operations.
"The
SAP Co-Innovation Lab is a unique project-based innovation environment that enabled
active collaboration among SAP experts, SAP partners and Asian Paints to successfully
pilot solutions that addressed some of our critical pain-points," said Aashish
Kshetry, general manager, Systems, Asian Paints Ltd. " What has impressed
us most is the fact that we have been able to manage these projects remotely using
the lab's sophisticated landscape provisioning and its collaboration workspace
framework for private project-based collaboration."
"The
expansion of our co-innovation lab network serves to accelerate collaborative
innovation and create a thrust on market-oriented
technology solutions,"
said Satyajit Singh Mecker, senior vice president, Global Ecosystem and Partner
Group, SAP AG. "SAP partners will gain strategic insights into our technology
road map and our customers' needs. As a result, they will be able to align a competitive
go-to-market strategy for their offerings internationally."
More
than 10,000 customers, partners and industry experts are convening at SAPPHIRE(r)
2009 to discover how SAP and its thriving partner ecosystem are delivering IT
solutions that help today's best-run businesses achieve clarity in every area
of their operations. SAP's premier educational and networking event, SAPPHIRE
is the one occasion each year where senior executives, business managers and decision-makerscan
come together to explore how innovative business solutions foster long-term, profitable
growth. SAPPHIRE 2009 will be held in Orlando,Florida, May 11-14. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
NASSCOM
EYES $225 BILLION REVENUE BY 2020,
Thesynergyonline
Economic Bureau
NEW
DELHI, APRIL 22 :
By
2020, 80 per cent of the industry's incremental growth and 50 per cent of the
total opportunity will come from currently untapped verticals (public sector,
healthcare, media, and utilities), customer segments (small and medium businesses)
and geographies (BRIC, GCC, Japan ROW). India
can emerge as one of the top three global IT Innovation hubs driven by opportunities
arising in new areas of climate change, clinical research and mobile applications. The
industry needs to harness the potential of ICT in healthcare, education, public
and financial services to drive more inclusive growth, by uplifting 30 million
citizens each year. By
2020, the Indian Technology and Business Services has the potential to achieve
USD 225 billion in revenues, including exports and domestic, depending on the
extent of action taken by all stakeholders. The
industry, NASSCOM and the Government need to make a concerted effort to ensure
swift and sustained reforms in critical areas of education and infrastructure.
|
"
BY 2020, the Indian technology and business services has the potential to
achieve US$ 225 billion in revenues, including exports and domestic, depending
on the extent of action taken by all stakeholders ,"says a report by Nasscom
and cosulting major McKinsey & Co. NASSCOM has shared the key findings of
its report 'Perspective 2020: Transform Business, Transform India', that outlines
the roadmap for the Indian Technology and Business Services Industry. The report
is based on extensive research conducted over a year by McKinsey & Company.
The NASSCOM 'Perspective 2020' report factors in the current economic
environment and identifies the industry's long- term certainties and opportunities
arising from them. It also outlines specific measures that the industry, NASSCOM
and the Government will need to undertake over the next 12 years for the industry
to realize these opportunities.
"The Indian IT industry has grown
from US$ 2 billion in export revenues in 1998 to US$ 47 billion today, employing
over two million people. Its impact on the Indian economy and stakeholders, including
customers and employees, remains unparalleled.," said Pramod Bhasin, Chairman,
NASSCOM.
"
Today, the industry recognizes that the next decade will be fundamentally different
from the last one, owing to a radically restructured global economy; rapidly evolving
customer needs, services and business models; and rising stakeholder aspirations.
The NASSCOM 'Perspective 2020' defines the opportunities and the challenges for
the industry to drive sustained growth in the domestic and global markets,"
said Mr Bhasin.
Several
global megatrends in economic, demographic, business, social and environmental
will create new opportunities for the industry by 2020 in:
New
verticals: public sector, healthcare, media and utilities (which have adopted
global sourcing only to a limited extent).
New customer segments: small and
medium businesses (SMBs).
New geographies: greater outsourcing in BRIC, GCC,
Japan and Rest of the World (ROW).
These
new opportunities will result in export revenues of US$ 175 billion by 2020. On
the back of these megatrends, the Indian domestic industry too will experience
significant growth and record a four-fold increase in revenues from US$ 12 billion
in 2008 to US$ 50 billion by 2020.
The
evolved landscape of 2020 will present transformational opportunities for the
Indian technology and business services industry. India will emerge as a top three
global innovation hub with a focus on clinical research, mobile applications and
energy efficiency/climate change solutions.
Through innovative business models,
this sector will also redefine its customer value proposition and capture growth
from currently untapped markets. In addition, harnessing ICT based solutions will
help drive inclusive growth by uplifting 30 million citizens each year.
Commenting
on the opportunities for the industry, Som Mittal, president, NASSCOM said, "The
Indian IT industry is in the midst of unprecedented times because of the current
economic environment. We expect the next few quarters to be extremely challenging
with companies doing everything required to effectively overcome the challenges.
As we continue to address the present situation, we also need stay focused on
the opportunities being created by the megatrends underway. India's value proposition
remains strong for sustained long term growth.
"Eighty
per cent of the incremental revenue growth by 2020 will be driven by opportunities
outside of the current core markets, verticals and customer segments and the industry
needs to redefine its value proposition to capture these."
The
four major challenges which exist today include employability, infrastructure,
favourable policies and competition from other low cost countries. Low employability
of existing talent with only 10-15 per cent employable graduates in business services
and 26 per cent of employable engineers in technology services continues to be
a major bottleneck. Infrastructure development is largely constrained to the nine
cities, which contribute more than 95 per cent of India's exports and development
of tier 2/3 cities has not taken off in a planned manner. The lack of a supportive
fiscal environment with a long-term policy framework is also leading to competition
from other low-cost countries including China, Philippines and from Eastern Europe
with potential erosion of the India opportunity.
Outlining
the challenges ahead for the Indian IT industry, Noshir Kaka, Director, McKinsey
& Company said "While the industry has the potential to generate revenues
of US$ 225 billion in 2020, a portion of this opportunity is at risk if continuing
problems are not tackled soon. 40 per cent of previous priority initiatives, especially
structural changes e.g. tertiary education reform, have not been implemented yet
and employability remains low as a result. Other areas of public infrastructure
and business environment also need a concerted effort to ensure that India's long-term
opportunity isn't lost to other competing global destinations."
In
the next 12 years, industry stakeholders need to act together in an unprecedented
manner. 'Perspective 2020' details an action agenda for the industry, government
and NASSCOM to realize the industry's potential.
Ranjit
Tinaikar, Partner, McKinsey & Company said, "Success for the industry
requires an action plan anchored on a five-fold vision. It is imperative that
all the stakeholders work in close collaboration and drive swift and sustained
reforms in all critical areas."
In
conclusion, India's technology and business services industry has flourished in
the last decade. However, industry stakeholders will need to break out of the
traditional mould that resulted in past successes and step up to the aspirations
of 2020. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
IBM
SIGNS 10-YEAR OUTSOURCING PACT WITH NAINITAL- BASED KURMANCHAL BANK
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
BANGALORE,
APRIL 14 :
IBM has signed a 10-year information technology (IT) outsourcing
agreement with Kurmanchal Nagar Sahakari Bank Ltd, one of the leading urban co-operative
banks in the state of Uttarakhand in India. As part of the agreement, IBM will
remotely host and manage the IT infrastructure, manage the disaster recovery site
and provide entire networking infrastructure for the bank. This will help the
bank focus on its aggressive expansion plans while reducing its capital expenditure
on IT by as much as 60 per cent.
Signed
in 1Q 2009, this agreement is first-of-a-kind for IBM in Uttarakhand and follows
its success with other co-operative banks in
different parts of the country.
IBM is aggressively increasing its focus on the small and medium businesses in
India including those based in smaller cities and hill stations like Nainital,
where the bank is headquartered.
The
bank plans to expand its banking network from 17 existing branches to nearly 35
over next two years. As part of its expansion strategy it also acquired another
co-operative bank last year. The bank is now looking at rolling out core-banking
solution along with offerings like Internet banking, mobile banking and ATM facilities
to its customers. The end-to-end managed services provided by IBM will greatly
reduce the burden of upfront capital expenditure for the bank as the agreement
allows it to spend in an operational expenditure model over a 10-year period.
"Customer-friendly
approach, product innovation and rapid technology adoption have been some of the
core strengths of the bank," said Mr Manoj Sah, CEO, Kurmanchal Bank.
"We are delighted with our partnership with IBM, the world's leading IT services
company. We believe their technology expertise and focus on delivering cost-efficient
solutions would help us achieve our growth strategy and higher levels of customer
satisfaction."
Nipun
Mehrotra, Vice President and General Manager, Global Technology Services, IBM
India/South Asia remarked, "With businesses across the country sharpening
their focus on cost-efficiency in these challenging times, IBM has once again
proved its partnership value for small and mid-sized customers. We are excited
about our relationship with Kurmanchal Bank to offer managed services that will
help them reduce their upfront IT expenditure. The fact that the bank decided
to enter into a 10-year long agreement further reiterates the trust clients-big
or small-put in IBM's capabilities."
Through
this agreement, IBM will host and manage Kurmanchal Bank's entire IT infrastructure
from its own data center in Bangalore while ensuring performance checks as well
as providing backup and replication services to the bank's Disaster Recovery site
in Nainital. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
TECHNOLOGY
MIGHT BUY YOU LOVE , BUT SECURITY RISKS ARE HIGHER THAN YOU THINK
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, India , APRIL 04 :
TODAY'S Internet surfers are feeling lucky in
love with seven in 10 adults reporting that the Internet improves their relationships,
according to the second annual Norton Online Living Report. But it's not all happy
connections and relationships. Unfortunately, when it comes to the eternal worry-
do you know where your kids are? - the answer is: not always. Parents are in the
dark, with kids reporting spending nearly twice as much time online as their parents
think.
The
worldwide survey also found that a whopping 99 percent of adults worldwide say
they have taken steps to secure their personal
information, yet unsafe surfing,
dangerous habits and hacked computers are alarmingly common. Half of online adults
knowingly visit un-trusted Web sites, do not back up their data and use unsafe
passwords. One in three report having actually been hacked.
Can
Technology Buy You Love?
Seven in 10 adults say that the Internet has improved
their relationships. And it is no wonder: people have an average of 41 online
friends, 49 percent have a social networking page, and 25 percent even share
secrets online. In fact, the Internet has become such a central vehicle for communication
and connection that six in 10 adults say they
could not live without it.
One
of the clear benefits of technology is its ability to connect (or re-connect)
people far and wide. We are making more and more of our friends through the Internet,
and blurring the line between the virtual world and physical world. Males tend
to have more online friends than females do. Three in four have gone on to meet
someone in person whom they originally met online. In India 83 per cent of people
are most likely to make friends online, and 37 per cent of online adults are using
the Internet to rekindle a romantic relationship.
Do
You Know Where Your Kids Are...Online?
Last year's report found that one in
five kids admitted to looking at or doing things online that they knew their parents
wouldn't condone. This year they got caught, with one in five kids getting nabbed
by parents for unapproved online behavior.
The
good news is that 90 percent of parents recognize their responsibility to protect
kids online and are initiating more dialogue on the topic-20 percent more than
last year. Some kids are even opening the door and closing the online generation
gap: 25 percent are "friending" their parents online and 14 percent
are using technologies like IM and social networking to link to their grandparents.
1
in 3 online kids are more willing to communicate with their family about touchy
subjects online than on the phone or in person. This
percentage almost triples
in India (59 per cent). Ninetyone per cent of parents in India say it is their
responsibility to keep their kids safe online.
So
You Think You're Secure?
Despite the fact that 99 percent of adults feel they
take steps to be secure, this year's report found that many consumers are not
fully
protected as they flirt, share and make friends online. While the average
consumer is aware of the need for Internet security, some do not run virus scans
or have adequate protection today's threats. Even more troubling, two in 10 adults
worldwide do not use any security software at all. Adults in India rank the highest
when it comes to not having the basic security measures. 33% of adults in India
do not have security software. This is especially surprising given that nearly
half of online adults have experienced the pain of a hard drive crash and one-third
have lost valuable content such as music, photos, videos and financial documents.
Even so, an overwhelming nine in 10 adults and youth agree that the benefits of
the Internet outweigh the risks.
Quote:
"The Internet has become a regular part of our daily lives, creating
a myriad of opportunities for people to connect with each other. In India we have
witnessed a frenzy of online activity via social networking-from rediscovering
cousins across the world, to virtually "friending" friends and acquaintances
and even rekindling old flames," said Gaurav Kanwal, Country Sales Manager,
India- Consumer Products and Solutions. "While it's easy to get caught up
in the excitement, people need to be mindful of the dangers. Especially for parents,
it is not just about security precautions, it's also about staying in tune with
your kids-both online and offline."
The
Report also explores questions including:
- What do people around the world
say they can't live without - the Internet, their car, or their cell phone?
-
What is the impact of the Internet on children's education?
- Are parents
more comfortable discussing the birds and bees or bits and bytes with their kids?
- How do adults and kids maintain social graces in an online world?
-
What are the secrets of success of the "E-Family?" (editor@thesynergyonline.com)
KAIZEN
INFOSERVE TIES UP WITH MERCURY, CORSAIR, WIPRO AND AOC
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, MARCH 25 :
KAIZEN Infoserve ,a fully- grown technical support organization
with 23 branches and 36 upcountry support locations , has tied up with Mercury,
Corsair, Wipro and AOC as service partner in India and countries outside India.
In
today's world, speed is defining the future. The company's philosophy and focus
is on speed and deliverance of value added services making it competitive for
the enterprises. Speed enables all partners to position their product with extra
mile of advantage vis-à-vis the competition.
The
company has pan India presence with service centres in a number of cities including
Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Guwahati, Indore,
Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nasik, Patna, Pune, Secunderabad,
Surat, Vijayawada, and Visakpatanam, with expansion plan to operate in 12 more
location in the next 6 months.
Apart
from India Kaizen's arm stretches its presence in other countries like Bangladesh,
Srilanka, Dubai, Nigeria and South Africa. The USP of KAIZEN being that it doesn't
encourage a franchise model; all the engineers are on permanent role in the organization,
which is one of key to the success story.
"Kaizen's
outstanding nationwide service infrastructure has enabled Corsair to quickly establish
ourselves as the premier DRAM/USB/PSU brand in India" commented Shane
Dennison, Corsair Sales Manager Asia "Corsair RMA replacement turn-around
times nationwide are now averaging under 5 days" Consumers can dial the toll-free
BSNL number-1800-425-54-64.
"The
establishment of the nationwide service network sends a clear message to our sales
channel partners and consumers that Kaizen is taking a very strategic and long
term positioning in the India market for a sustainable business development. Kaizen
is an independent SBU and a profit making organisation and third party contracts
ensure that other than Mercury there are other major brands who are reply on KAIZEN
for efficient and cost effective service" says Sushmita Das (Country Manager),
Kobian.
"Commitment
to customers is the key to our success and tie up are fruits of our commitment
to the customers and the channel community. At Kaizen we continuously harness
our deliverables, and map the deliverables depending on the requirements of different
OEM customers. This actually put us in a new league of game where we have products
and service capability Globally, which is really unique" says Murali Krishnan,
Head of Kaizen. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)
JDA SOFTWARE OUTLINES KEYS TO SUCCESS
FOR MANAGING DEMAND IN INDIA'S EMERGING MARKET
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
SCOTTSDALE,
Arizona, US , MARCH 25 :
SIGNIFICANT overseas investment and a rapidly expanding
domestic market have skyrocketed India to become the 12th largest economy in the
world. Having experienced an estimated 6.8 per cent growth in 2008, India's GDP
surpassed the $1 trillion mark.
And,
though current predictions show a slowing to 5.5 percent in 2009, India continues
to face pressing issues, specifically in terms of effectively managing a rapid
spike in demand1. Many companies are taking advantage of this opportunity to adjust
their supply chain operations and implement strategies to balance costs and services
and keep pace with the country's growth rate.
"To
keep pace with India's growth rate, companies have been focused on building production
capabilities, distribution networks and retail outlets resulting in complex supply
chains with long lead times," said Stephen McNulty, regional vice president,
Asia Pacific, JDA Software . "As the market continues to mature, companies
must focus on optimizing operations to become more efficient. More frequent operational
reviews are now essential to meet increased demand, adapt to varying fuel prices
and account for fluctuating currency valuations."
To
effectively counter the challenges of India's rapid growth, JDA Software outlines
five key strategies to help companies establish an efficient, flexible supply
chain and successfully address the operational challenges facing the country's
expanding market.
Ensure
a clear understanding of local principles, customs and barriers. Doing business
in India requires a thorough understanding of the unique culture, legal regulations
and infrastructure of the country. Understanding tariff structures, road taxes,
patent legislation and labor laws is crucial to running a successful enterprise.
Knowing the limitations of India's transportation infrastructure is critical in
adjusting distribution strategies and having the flexibility to adapt to the varying
restrictions and needs that exist within India.
The
size of India and its insufficient communications infrastructure pose unique challenges
for companies doing business in this region of the world. This requires adapting
traditional means of information sharing to ensure that manufacturers, suppliers
and retailers are all on the same page.
Leveraging dedicated Web portals for exchanging information helps address communication
issues by enabling trading partners to share information from diverse sources
in a unified manner, reducing lead times and operational expenses. In fact, many
large manufacturing companies are allowing their partners, vendors and dealers
to have direct access to their internal supply chain management systems in order
to increase visibility with minimal investment.
Due to the rapid growth of India's economy, little time was spent establishing
the clearly defined processes and procedures needed to continue to scale efficiently
and effectively. Streamlining supply chain functions, as well as sales and marketing
operations, allows companies to implement and adopt standardized processes that
can be easily replicated as companies expand.
By
operating with a structured base for demand forecasting, companies can easily
gather and analyze distributor sales data for generating distributor-centric forecasting
and networks. The next step is to analyze the impact of various types of drivers
like pricing and promotions on overall customer demand which can significantly
improve forecast targets that result in overall lower supply chain costs. By synchronizing
the multiple dynamics of demand planning and production planning, companies will
have the ability to reduce over-stocks and stock-out situations.
Ensure the
quality of input information.
Information
flow and data quality is a primary concern for many Indian companies. Most merchandising
plans are developed today without any actual demand data, causing gaps between
customer purchasing information and supplier planning forecasts. As a result,
shelves are filled with too much of the wrong inventory or customers are not finding
what they need when they need it.
Investing
in Collaboration, Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) solutions and
Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) solutions provides a link between disparate
information by allowing companies to create plans based on actual demand data.
By enabling suppliers and retailers joint visibility into inventory management,
current and expectant inventory levels and requirements can be continually updated
and merchandising, inventory, logistics and transportation needs are synchronized.
Identify
and integrate the right professionals and insist on teamwork. The supply chain
is not only about material flow but also about interconnected people across organizations.
The scarcity of a skilled, knowledgeable and committed workforce is a challenge
facing Indian companies. With an increased number of mergers and acquisitions
and management takeovers, remote reporting is becoming a mainstream part of corporate
life.
Combining
logistics and procurement personnel into a "supply chain team" with
shared responsibilities enables companies to utilize individual strengths and
strategically map skill sets to help lower operational costs and bring in efficient
customer management and sustainability.
There
continues to be significant opportunity for Indian companies to leverage best-practice
procedures and processes from across the globe and across the supply chain function.
The most successful companies will continue to improve the design and utilization
of their global supply chain network and maintain the values and customs intrinsic
to the Indian culture to thrive in today's demand-driven world. (
editor@thesynergyonline.com)
MICROSOFT
PARTNERS WITH HCL TO MAKE AFFORDABLE ERP WIDELY AVAILABLE TO GROWING BUSINESSES
IN INDIA
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, MARCH 24 :
MICROSOFT India has entered a partnership with HCL Infosystems
to further augment the availability of Microsoft Dynamics NAV Business Essentials
(BE) - Microsoft's ERP solution for growing businesses, across India. HCL Infosystems,
a technology enabler and IT enterprise, has over 30 years of expertise in providing
IT solutions to growing enterprises .This partnership will expedite the process
of making Microsoft's affordable ERP, NAV BE more extensively available all over
India .
In
the current economic times Microsoft Dynamics NAV BE can become a vital tool for
businesses to optimize their costs and improve productivity . It would allow businesses
to access a basic set of ERP functionalities including financials, distribution
and sales management - without huge capital investments. NAV BE is packaged and
priced specially for the growing businesses in India and priced at sub Rs 4.99
lakh by HCL including license and implementation . Being a ready- to- use solution,
it can be deployed in about 2 -3 weeks timeframe.
The association between Microsoft and HCL will enable the growing businesses in
India with the critical software solutions for the success of their business.
Expressing
his delight at partnering with HCL, Mr. Rajeev Mittal, Group Director, Microsoft
India, said, "There is a growing demand to move from basic accounting package
and disparate software to a comprehensive ERP solution among growing businesses,
to gain end to end visibility and drive efficiencies in their business. NAV BE
is the right solution for SMEs in India and HCL with its strong Geo-footprint
and IT expertise will help catalyze the ERP adoption among SMEs"
"Given the recent
challenging economic times, growing businesses are keen to embrace IT solutions
which offer them a great ROI. Microsoft Dynamics NAV BE's easy usage, flexible
business logic, localized tax settings with fast implementation is just what the
growing businesses seek "added Mr. Mittal
HCL
brings with it not only three decades of extensive experience in software application
space but also 360 points of presence in the country making their reach within
the SMB community extremely extensive. Microsoft will leverage this presence to
communicate the criticality of adopting sensible technology in difficult times
to businesses as well as reiterate the value proposition of NAV BE to them.
Commenting
on their association with Microsoft Mr. George Paul, Executive Vice President,
HCL Infosystems said, "Microsoft Dynamics NAV BE is a unique proposition
for businesses which are looking for state of art ERP solutions at affordable
prices, and it also helps us in our endeavour to deliver unprecedented value to
growing businesses in India."
A
recent IDC study on ERP states that the future of ERP market consolidations will
revolve around the small to medium-sized business market segment and certain verticals
such as manufacturing, retail and wholesale and distribution that are more susceptible
to structural changes, including user willingness to replace legacy systems to
boost competitiveness in an age of globalization.
With
growing businesses clearly seeking tools to make themselves more productive the
need for cost effective ERP solutions can never be over emphasized. Microsoft
Dynamics NAV BE clearly will fill the lacuna that has existed between the demand
and supply for a while. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)
ALCATEL-
LUCENT HELPS SERVICE PROVIDERS EXPAND BROADBAND OFFERINGS FOR BUSINESS
CUSTOMERS OVER EXISTING COPPER ACCESS NETWORKS
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Buureau
NEW
DELHI, MARCH 21 :
ALCATEL-LUCENT on Friday unveield a new product that helps
service providers make better use of their installed copper access networks by
enabling them to offer new high-speed broadband services to business customers.
To achieve this, Alcatel-Lucent has expanded its Ethernet Business Access portfolio
with a new 'Ethernet in the First Mile' (EFM) platform that greatly increases
the capabilities of existing copper networks.
Around
the world, business customers of all sizes are demanding increased network coverage
and access to higher-speed services, and service providers are looking for ways
to meet this demand without significantly increasing costs. While fiber access
to every office would be an ideal solution, this is not yet a reality for many
business customers.
To
help service providers meet their customers' requirements, Alcatel-Lucent's Ethernet
Business Access portfolio has been expanded with the 1532 Copper Line Access Switch
(CLAS), which greatly increases data throughput on copper networks - offering
symmetrical bandwidths and services at rates up to 480 megabits per second (Mb/s)
over bonded copper pairs.
The
Copper Line Access Switch is a hybrid Packet/TDM platform that allows service
providers to deploy high-speed broadband services - such as virtual leased lines
(VLL), virtual private LANs (VPLS) as well as IP-virtual private networks (IP-VPNs)
- to an increased number of business customers. These capabilities will enable
service providers to pursue a market that will grow to around US$ 47 billion in
2011 - according to an Infonetics study1.
"Alcatel-Lucent's
Ethernet Business Access portfolio - and the 1532 CLAS in particular - enables
our customers to significantly extend the reach of their business access network,"
said Dave Geary, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Wireline Networks activities. "Although
the availability of fiber has increased dramatically, the vast majority of business
sites in the U.S. and Europe haven't yet made that transition. This Copper Line
Access Switch will enable service providers to address a promising new market."
Alcatel-Lucent's
1532 CLAS is part of the 15xx Business Access portfolio, a product family ever
offered for the professional market - already having been sold to more than 500
customers in more than 100 countries.( editor@thesynergyonline.com)
NEC
INDIA EYES MAJOR CHUNK OF MARKET SHARE , NAMES NEOTERIC INFORMATIQUE FOR PROJECTORS
BUSINESS
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEW
DELHI, MARCH 19 :
NEC India, a subsidiary of NEC Corporation and leading IT
and Enterprise business solutions provider, announced the appointment of Neoteric
Infomatique as their National Distributor - Channel Sales for their entire range
of business projectors. NEC India announced this appointment as part of its business
strategy to meet the rising sales of projectors in the Indian market.
Neoteric
Infomatique, India's leading IT value added distributor with its reach, solution
selling approach & vertical focus is well placed to take NEC to the next level.
It is the national distributor for vendors like Apple, BenQ, Iomega, Samsung,
HP, Lenovo and Logitech among others. It has pan India presence and penetration
into over 350+ cities & over 7500+ channel partners .
NEC
India offers a comprehensive range of projectors with embedded technologies that
allow advanced image correction and 3D reform across super-shot to long throw
variants. Its wide range of projector offer compelling value propositions to various
market segments including education. As per Future Research Consulting the Indian
projector market is undergoing a dramatic shift. Projectors are now the second
most preferred IT purchases after computers. Government's Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan,
in promoting use of IT in education along with continued investments by Private
schools and campus's seeks to address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1
million habitations . It has been instrumental in fueling demand for the projectors
in the education space. NEC India with its state of the art technology at cost
effective prices is geared up to fulfill the demand. NEC has also introduced over
16 new projector models in the past 12 months to be able to better address the
demands from the India market.
Mr.
Sanjay Dhuria, Head-MMPG Business, NEC India commenting on the tie-up/partnership/announcement
said "NEC India is pleased to announce this partnership (affiliation) with
Neoteric Infomatique as its National Channel Partner for its Multimedia Projector
range. With this partnership we shall enhance our geo spread and now be able to
reach out to a wider spread of partners across the country. We remain committed
to offer our world class state of the art technology products."
Mr.
Paras Shah, CEO, Neoteric Infomatique commenting on the tie-up said "We are
delighted to now be associated with NEC India. This partnership will add more
depth to our products range. With NEC's wide range of cost effective technologically
superior projectors we would now be able to address a wider spectrum of customers."
( editor@thesynergyonline.com)
PEROT
SYSTEMS EXPANDS INDIA OPERATIONS
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
CHENNAI,
MARCH 12 :
PEROT Systems Corporation has unveiled plan to expand its facilities
in India to serve the company's continuing IT services growth in world markets.
The company currently operates facilities in Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore and
Noida, which are the result of its continued growth in India in the past 12 years.
The opening of Perot Systems' new 23,617 square-foot facility in Chennai is scheduled
for the end of March.
Vardhman
Jain, managing director, Perot Systems insurance and business process solutions
group, made the announcement at the company's Business Process Solutions center
in Chennai. The new facility will handle expansion business from the company's
worldwide BPO operations in a new, single floor facility, which is part of the
DLF IT SEZ. The new location will accommodate approximately 353 seats across three
shifts at its opening, bringing the company's total India-based employees to more
than 7,000
"The
services provided from the new facility will include processing highly complex
and knowledge intensive, high-volume, high-value transactions for our healthcare
provider, healthcare payer, life insurance and F&A clients around the world,"
Vardhman Jain said.
Anurag
Jain, managing director for Perot Systems Asia Pacific, said, "Our new facility
will help us meet growing client demand worldwide for efficient delivery of high-quality
services that integrate our IT and BPO best practices. Perot Systems continues
to grow and gain the reputation as a leading, trusted provider of integrated technology
services in the industry. Our expansion in India is an important part of that
growth."
The
India business process outsourcing team at Perot Systems serves over 100 clients
worldwide. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)
CGS
SYSTEMS PARTNERS WITH INFOCROSSING , A WIPRO FIRM FOR MULTI- YEAR, MULTI- MILLION
DOLLAR CONTRACT
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
BANGALORE
, MARCH 12 :
INFOCROSSING , a Wipro company , has entered into a multi- year
contract to provide infrastructure services for CSG Systems International, Inc.
a leading provider of customer interaction management and billing solutions.
The
five-year agreement will enable this partnership to deliver high quality IT services
to CSG's business and leverage IT best practices with a layer of flexibility.
CSG will also be able to achieve quantifiable operational and financial improvements
and enhance the delivery of services to its customers.
Under
the terms of the agreement, Wipro Infocrossing will consolidate CSG's servers,
and manage their mainframe and information storage environments, which will be
migrated to Wipro Infocrossing's state-of-the-art data centers. Wipro Infocrossing
will provide the data center computing environment for the delivery of most of
CSG's customer care and billing services, allowing CSG to remain focused on being
the leading provider of customer interaction management solutions.
"We
selected Wipro Infocrossing because of its deep data center expertise, rigor and
proven process and methodologies," said Bret Griess, CIO and SVP Operations,
CSG Systems. "This agreement is aligned to our IT initiatives and supports
CSG's business goals of expanding our market and extending our reach into new
verticals. We are excited to work jointly with Wipro Infocrossing to modernize,
improve and expand the IT functionalities supporting the core business of CSG
Systems."
"We
are delighted to announce the signing of this agreement with CSG," said Sameer
Kishore, president and COO for Wipro Infocrossing. "IT infrastructure management
is our core competency and we will bring a well-proven data center transition
and managed services methodology to help CSG meet its goals."
Wipro
Infocrossing has been providing comprehensive IT management solutions for over
25 years to large and mid-market customers, and operates world-class data centers
throughout the U.S. for multiple computing environments and platforms.
The
combined strength of Wipro's established leadership in the Remote Infrastructure
Management space and Wipro Infocrossing's data center and mainframe expertise,
has allowed clients to benefit from synergies of an end to end service offering
from Wipro Technologies. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)
MICROSOFT
, SIFY PARTNER TOP OFFER IT LITERACY PROGRAMME
Thesynergyonline
Infotech Bureau
NEWDELHI,
FEB 25 :
MICROSOFT India , leader in software for personal and business computing,
and Sify Technologies, a leader in Consumer Internet and Enterprise Services in
India with global delivery capabilities, have entered into a partnership that
will enhance digital literacy skills across India . According to the partnership,
the close to 2000 Sify e-Port cyber cafes in the country will offer two specific
courses in an eLearning model: Digital Literacy and Windows & Office Essentials.
Sify e-Ports are India s largest network of Internet browsing centres across
200 cities in the country.
Of
the two courses, while Digital Literacy aims at educating users on baseline ICT
skills like computer basics, Internet usage, computer security and privacy; the
Windows & Office Essentials course will aim to enhance skills on the usage
of Windows XP/Vista & Office 2007, the knowledge of which is a core skill
requirement for any job in the market today.
On
successful completion of either of these courses, candidates will have to take
an Online Assessment Test and on its successful completion, will receive a Microsoft
Certificate of Completion.
Commenting
on the benefits of the programme, Anoop Gupta, Vice President, Microsoft Corp.
said, The Microsoft Unlimited Potential effort is centred on the belief
that, to benefit the people currently underserved by it, technology needs to be
accessible and relevant in addition to being affordable.
This
eLearning course imparts basic IT skills to enhance ones employability quotient,
making it extremely relevant to practically every worker; and will be offered
across the largest chain of cafes in India , making it accessible to the thousands
of people who can access cybercafés.
Mr
CVS Suri, Chief Operating Officer, Sify Technologies Limited, added, Sify
e-Ports have one of the most reliable and secure infrastructures across 200 cities,
using the latest technologies and genuine software to offer high-quality Internet
access and computing at a very affordable price."
"It has been our constant endeavor to make technology available to millions
of consumers who cannot afford to buy a computer. This partnership with Microsoft
India adds great value to our mission of providing the latest and best resources
to our customers ," he added.
The
Digital Literacy course typically takes about 20 hours to complete, while the
Windows & Office Essentials course takes about 60 hours. The two courses are
priced at a modest Rs 299 and Rs 599, plus taxes, respectively. Candidates can
opt for a combo course which is affordably priced at Rs 699 plus taxes.
The
courses are designed keeping in mind the IT skill shortage in Indian youth that
makes them less employable. According to the India Labour Report 2007 by TeamLease,
53% of employed youth in India suffer some degree of skill shortage that spans
across basic IT skills, soft skills and English skills. This course will address
some of the basic IT skills shortfall in the market.
The
project will be rolled out in a phased manner, with immediate trials in over 150
Sify e-port cyber cafes in Delhi and the NCR region. The outreach in residential
and market areas, as well as colleges under the 'Acquire Smart PC Skills' banner
has already commenced. With a positive initial response, the program is now ready
to be scaled to the remaining iCafes across the country over the next two to three
months. ( editor@thesynergyonline.com)
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