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Bangalore phobia to hurt west

IANS, Aug 27, 2010, 10.50am I

Tags:Wipro|TCS|Infosys|H-1B

The latest attack on the IT industry from US Democrat Senator Schumer from New York raised several eyebrows in India
NEW DELHI: The Indian information and communication technology (ICT) industry and Indian software professionals have
earned global kudos for exceptional technical prowess, meticulous software development skills and quality processes for over
two decades. However, the highly regarded industry with its three-million plus software professionals, comes under attack
every now and then from the very nations that save costs by outsourcing to India -- dubbing it as a nation producing 'cyber
coolies', to being 'Bangalored' (a term used when losing a job to an Indian outsourcing centre) and now to being referred to as
'chop shops'.

The West's fear of losing jobs to any Indian software development centre not necessarily in the city of Bangalore has given rise
to another word: Bangalore phobia. The latest attack on the industry from US Democrat Senator Schumer from New
York raised several eyebrows in India. To add insult to the injury, Indian software firms will have to bear an additional burden of
US$200-250 million in the form of H1B and L1 visa fee hike. By targeting Indian software firms and singling out an iconic firm
like Infosys, the US senator missed the ingenuity of the Indian mind. To dub the work being done by the Indian software
professionals as low-tech is not only unfair but unwarranted. And to term the Indian IT services companies as 'chop shops' is a
great disservice especially when they have contributed to the development of American and European economies.

A recent Nasscom-Evaluserve study estimates that in 2009 the US and European companies saved $25 to $30 billion by
outsourcing software development work to Indian companies. The $130 billion Indian ICT industry forms not only one-tenth of
India's GDP but has built substantial knowledge capital too. It has two big components -- the $78 billion IT industry and the $63
billion Telecom industry, as per recent studies by Dataquest and Voice & Data.

Of the $78 billion generated by the IT industry, two-thirds come from export of IT services and one-third is contributed by the
domestic IT sector. Within the IT services exports of $52.6 billion, exports to the US form nearly three-fifth and Europe adds up
to nearly one-fifth. Even those who started by offering body shopping services to the American and European clients in the
1980s today operate at the top end of the value chain - IT consulting and business transformation services. So it is software
development and maintenance services valued at $17 billion that is the biggest chunk of the software exports while new high-
end projects in the IT consulting and package implementation, software product development, telecom software and
engineering services value more than $3 billion each. India's strength lies in its extremely robust higher education system with a
strong focus on mathematical skills and English language, which is a result of a conscious investment made by the government
in setting up institutions like the IITs, IISc, RECs, ISRO and BARC to gain technical self-sufficiency.

"Alumni of Indian government-funded engineering schools like IITs have created intellectual property for the US and
strengthened their ability to offer a better standard for American citizens," said IDC India recently.
"The US lawmakers must recall that H1B-L1 visa regime was created as a legally sanctioned means to allow US firms to induct
scarce skills to benefit the US economy," it states further. Even if we were to empathise with the argument that the US
economy needs to banish unemployment, these countries cannot overcome skill shortage in the long run.

The drastic drop in the enrolment of American students in the science and engineering programs is an indicator that there is no
quick fix for growing the local talent pool in the software space. Both America and Europe must thank the Indian software
industry for coming to their rescue and increasing productivity of their major corporations. The Western world has to realize that
by adopting restrictive policies on free access to talent-based services, they can only hurt their own economy. Moreover, they
won't be able to top the list of countries vying for a limited pool of skilled professionals, and thus power their economies, in the
absence of a reliable IT partner like India.

As for Indian software companies the best advice comes from Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy: they must continue to
innovate and enhance their productivity so that the world looks up to the technical prowess of the Indian software sector.
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Reason: sharp increase in unemployment during recession period changes the thinking of US economist .But facts
are different because countries have save lot of money due to outsourcing and received huge TAX.

Software piracy decrease to boost Indian IT sector

By SiliconIndia

Thursday, 24 April 2003, 12:30 IST

Increased copyright protection for software could accelerate the growth of the Indian economy by creating new
jobs, business opportunities, and increase in tax revenues, according to a recent IDC study.

BANGALORE: The study, "Expanding Global Economies: The Benefits of Reducing Software Piracy," assesses
the impact that the information technology industry has in 57 countries around the world, including 14 in Asia.

According to the study, if the software piracy rate in India reduces from 70 percent to 60 percent by 2006, it
would create 50,000 new high tech high wage jobs for the workforce – more than two and a half times the
number now available in the domestically focused portion of India’s software Industry. It could also add $2.1
billion to India’s economy and increase local industry revenues by more than $1.6 billion. It could also generate
an additional $ 92 million in tax revenues.

"This report reveals not only how significant the software sector has been for economic growth in India, but how it
will continue to be the engine in powering the Indian economy forward. As the software industry is growing more
rapidly than traditional industries, it will become a prominent driver of economic growth," said Jeffrey Hardee,
Vice President and Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Business Software Alliance.

"Protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights encourages entrepreneurs to develop innovative
products that make businesses operate more efficiently and our lives run more smoothly. Entrepreneurs can
build their ideas into businesses and the growth of entrepreneurial business creates more jobs for the local
workforce. This in turn drives spending in the economy and maximizes its growth potential. Increased tax
revenues are generated, which are then used to fund important public works. In short, everyone benefits," Mr
Hardee, added.

India is projected to have the fastest growing IT sector in the Asia-Pacific region, moving it up from the region’s
sixth largest IT sector to its fifth largest by 2006. By further reducing its software piracy rate, India could
accelerate the potential even further – growing 167 per cent instead of 148 per cent between now and 2006.

"For the 57 countries studied, we found that the economic impact of even a slight reduction in the amount of
pirated software can be dramatic. Therefore, the benefits of lowering software piracy can be substantial to the
local economy," said Kapil Dev Singh, Country Manager, IDC India. "More importantly, local industry would gain
more than the multinational importers, mostly because so many of the benefits would accrue to local services
and channels firms, and because local software firms, which cannot spread their risk across geographies with
lower piracy rates, would have the wherewithal to reinvest in their businesses," he added further.

The study also showed that Asian Countries benefit most from piracy reductions. In Asia, nearly 54 percent of
software programs were pirated. Reducing the rate 10 points to 44 percent by 2006 could create 1.1 million new
jobs, increase economic growth by $US170 billion, and generate another $US15 billion in tax revenues. "Strong
intellectual; property protection is vital for innovation and economic growth in the information age," Hardee said.

In addition to detailing the solid economic benefits of reducing software piracy around the globe, the IDC report
lays out a framework for reducing piracy rates. Specifically, the report outlines steps and policy changes
governments can take to strengthen and better enforce intellectual property protection laws. It also encourages
governments to lead by example and to embrace programs to educate consumers about their responsibilities,
and the harm piracy causes innovators, copyright owners, and the economy.

Reason:
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Software sector hails tax holiday extension

Posted 2 yrs ago - by sulekha news | 65 Views | View Source: Indo Asian News Service

Bangalore, July 6 (IANS) India's software sector Monday welcomed the extension of tax holiday on export profits
to 2010-11 from this fiscal, rationalisation of multiplicity of taxes on packaged software and abolition of fringe
benefit tax (FBT).

According to National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the industry's lobby, the
budget had recognised the contribution of the IT-BPO (information technology and business process outsourcing)
industry to the country's economic progress and had provided measures to boost it.

'The finance minister's decision to extend fiscal benefits available to the industry under section 10A/10B for one
year will help the industry mitigate the impact of the current economic environment and help India retain its
competitiveness,' Nasscom president Som Mittal said in a statement.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had proposed to extend the sunset clauses for tax
holidays under sections 10A and 10B of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, by one more year to 2010-11 to tide over the
slowdown in exports.

Though the 10-year tax holiday expired by the end of fiscal 2008-09, previous finance minister P. Chidambaram
extended the benefit to this fiscal in his budget proposals for fiscal 2008-09.

Vinay Deshpande, who heads the IT committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Karnataka chapter,
said small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the IT industry would benefit by the tax holiday.

However, Infosys Technologies chief executive S. Gopalakrishnan said the extension of 10A/10B for the IT
industry was more emotional than of actual benefit, as most software technology parks, including export-oriented
firms, would have come out of the tax holidays anyway.

'At the same time, the government's focus on IT investment for enhanced governance is encouraging. The move
to increase investment in higher education, especially in the IITs and NITs, will greatly benefit the industry in the
medium and long term,' Gopalakrishnan said.

Nasscom chairman Pramod Bhasin said the IT-BPO industry would play a key role in many of the budget
initiatives aimed at promoting inclusive growth and creating substantial job opportunities.

'The industry will be keen to partner with the government in expanding e-governance initiatives, including
modernisation of employment exchanges, the unique identification card project and smart cards for healthcare
services so as to achieve enhanced governance,' Bhasin, who is also the chief executive of the leading BPO firm
Genpact, said.

'Increased capital outlays on the education and infrastructure sector will also address growth challenges that the
country has faced,' Bhasin noted.

Nasscom thanked the government for addressing some of the industry's concerns relating to multiplicity of taxes
on packaged software, creating a dispute resolution mechanism on transfer pricing, abolishing fringe benefit tax
(FBT) and issues on service tax refund.

'The combined effect of these proposals will facilitate the industry and its two-million workforce to compete
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effectively and sustain India's advantage,' Mittal said.

-- Indo-Asian News Service

Polaris Software to invest Rs.350 mn for expansion

posted 3 yrs ago - by sulekha news | 26 Views | View Source: Venkatachari Jagannathan

Chennai, Dec 21 (IANS) At a time when the domestic software sector is going slow on hiring of personnel and
expansion, the city-based Rs.11-billion Polaris Software Lab is taking a contrarian path.

The company has decided to construct a new 1,500-seat facility at Siruseri near here with an outlay of Rs.350
million. 'Construction activity will start next quarter. We have 10 acres there,' Polaris chairman and managing
director Arun Jain told IANS.

Explaining the rationale of expansion when the global financial sector is facing a meltdown, he said: 'The financial
sector problem is mainly concentrated in the US. There are over 175 countries in the world. It is time to build
capacity to take advantage of the uptime to come soon.'

According to him, the proposed centre will serve the company's retail banking and insurance clients.'We will go
for new hiring as well as redeploy some of our people at the proposed centre,' Jain said.

In Chennai and its surroundings, Polaris has its retail banking, insurance and testing centres.

Polaris, which last month acquired SEEC Inc, a US-based product and component services company for
insurance vertical, is likely to expand insurance operations here.

'It will take a software services company at least a decade to transform into a product company. Today, Polaris
has a comprehensive suite of banking software products,' Jain said.

Speaking on the US banking giant Citigroup's investment in Polaris, Jain said: 'Citigroup is a strategic and not a
financial investor in Polaris. Citigroup and I embarked on a joint journey and neither of us can disembark
midway.'

Citigroup holds 43 percent stake in Polaris through its group company Orbitech Ltd. Polaris had acquired another
Citigroup company OrbiTech Solutions in 2002.

According to him, the acquisition got Polaris intellectual property rights for a suite of products and the company
made further investments to build a robust range of solutions.
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Satyam, slowdowns make 2009 hard for software industry

NEW DELHI: The Satyam Computer accounting scam, slowdown and resultant hiring freeze by many made 2009
a forgettable year for the Indian Information Technology industry.

There was never a dull moment for bad news during the year, given the fact that Satyam's founder B Ramalinga
Raju came out of the closet with an accounting fraud on January 7. The scam tarnished the credibility of
India's IT story, requiring others to do a lot of convincing to retain clients.

As dramatic it was, the World Bank, within a week of the Satyam scam coming to light, announced it had banned,
besides Satyam, Wipro and Megasoft from working for it for allegedly "providing improper benefits to the
Bank staff" during the course of their projects with it. While the cases dated back to mid-2007, the timing of
the disclosures only helped compound the woes of the IT industry.

To give the government its due credit, it acted swiftly by superseding the Satyam Board, which brought in new
auditors to restate accounts, and ascertained employee count and within months found a new owner in
Tech Mahindra. Satyam has since been renamed Mahindra Satyam.

Multiple agencies probed the scam, whose size was initially estimated at Rs 7,800 crore, and Raju, once a
celebrated IT icon, is in custody awaiting trial.

2009 also saw the software exporting community trying hard to keep their margins as clients cut down on IT
spends. The huge forex losses due to fluctuation of rupee didn't help them either.

Bulk of IT companies' revenue comes from the US and Europe and they earn more when the dollar is stronger.

Although the dollar was stronger, many of them had hedged against a stronger rupee - which it was in 2007 -
thus losing out any which way.

The fallout of this was that top Indian IT companies, which used to hire up to 25,000 people annually, put
recruitment on hold. Many of them, including Infosys, postponed campus recruitments.
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18 Dec, 2009, 10.21AM IST, Mahima Puri,ET Bureau

NIIT defers QIP plan for current fiscal

NEW DELHI: Enterprise learning solutions company NIIT has deferred its plan to raise Rs 230 crore through
qualified institutional placement (QIP) in the current financial year.

The company had announced its plans to raise funds through QIP and had taken board approval in October this
year and expected to close the process in current fiscal ending March 2010. NIIT CEO Vijay Thadani said, “It is
unlikely this year” , adding that the money was to be used for expansion plans.

“We are yet to put our expansion plans in place. Once that is done, we will think about the funds.” He also said
the company had not started the QIP process as yet. On the issue whether, it has shelved its plan of raising
funds through QIP route, he said, “We still have the option to do it or not.”

He was speaking on the sidelines of Ideas India 2009, organised by Aspen Institute India. As per the October
board resolution, the company had plans to raise Rs 230 crore, including promoters’ infusion of Rs 30 crore
through preferential issue of convertible warrants and Rs 200 crore to institutional investors through QIP route.

Taking about growth in emerging markets, Mr Thadani said the company was doing well in China. “Our Chinese
business is growing at around 50% at present. We expect similar level of growth in the coming year as well,” he
added.

He further stated that the company is also looking forward to do good business in African countries such as
South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Botswana. In Asia, Mr Thadani said that the Vietnamese and Thai markets also
look promising in the near future. In domestic market, NIIT is eyeing to aggressively participate in the forthcoming
projects under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme. In the next couple of months, the union government is
going to start the process of awarding projects.

These projects involve imparting educational training to government teachers, providing infrastructure
management, course development , and child tracking systems, among others. NIIT had posted a net profit of Rs
26.2 crore in the quarter ending September 2009. The company’ shares closed at Rs 70.35 on the National Stock
Exchange on Thursday, up 0.4% from the previous day’s close.
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17 Dec, 2009, 08.04PM IST,PTI

Tata Comm to focus on BFSI, IT & ITeS with managed services

MUMBAI: Expecting managed services solutions to clock higher growth as corporates looking at better
technology for cost reduction, Tata Communications said on Thursday that it would focus on banking, financial
services and insurance, IT & ITeS and manufacturing sectors.

"We see managed services as the high growth, high value opportunities in India and globally. BFSI, IT & ITeS,
manufacturing and government sectors are our focus areas," Tata Communications' Managed Services Head
Alok Bardiya told.

Tata Communications, the leader in managed services space among the Indian telcos, would bring out more
solutions for BFSI and IT & ITeS sectors, he said, adding that it would like to grow in other industry verticals like,
manufacturing.

The total size of the Indian managed services market is currently pegged at around Rs 9,000 crore and likely to
go up to anywhere between Rs 28,000-37,000 crore by 2013.

"In India, managed services is catching up and there is a strong increased interest for this now, particularly after
the global economic meltdown," he said.

"While the global IT spending is growing by 5.1 per cent CAGR, managed services spending is growing by 25 per
cent CAGR. In India, we expect that kind of growth or more than that," Bardiya said.
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IT companies look beyond salary hike option to stem attrition

Firms are scouting for experienced employees to deliver quality work as demand for their services
increase. Much of this requirement is at the three- to seven-year experience level.

Thursday, July 29, 2010 10:20:10 AM

Desperate to rein in high attrition levels, India’s top information technology (IT) firms are offering mid-term hikes,
promotions and even restricted stock (shares that are locked in for a fixed period before they can be sold) to
keep employees from hopping on to rival companies.

Most IT firms had cut perks and frozen salary hikes during the downturn of 2008-09 as business from customers
had slowed.

But with the economy improving in the US—the largest market for Indian IT firms—customers are offshoring
more work to save costs and remain competitive.

To meet this spurt in demand, IT firms are scouting for experienced employees who can deliver quality codes to
their customers.
Much of this requirement is at the three- to seven-year experience level, the segment where most IT firms are
losing employees.

Some “85-90% of IT-ITeS (IT and IT-enabled service) companies now are looking at off-cycle compensation-
related interventions such as retention bonuses, off-cycle salary increases and equity-based incentives to control
this situation,” said Sandeep Chaudhary, performance rewards consulting practice, South and West Asia, for US
human resource consultancy Hewitt Associates.

Infosys Technologies Ltd, India’s second largest IT firm, has given two salary raises —8% and 13-17%—since
October. In June, it gave at least five shares to each employee to commemorate the beginning of its 30th year.

These measures, though, haven’t cured it of its troubles yet. In the June quarter, Infosys lost 15.8% of its
employees—its highest attrition since 2002.

Chief executive officer S. Gopalakrishnan isn’t daunted. “We expect attrition to subside in the next two to three
quarters” as the churn settles in the industry, he said.

Wipro Ltd, the third largest IT firm in the country, gave promotions to 20,000 employees earlier in July—more
than double its typical number in a year—and handed out restricted stocks (securities locked in for five years) to
8,000-9,000 middle and senior managers.

“Typically, promotions are given to 7-8% of the workforce,” says Saurabh Govil, senior vice-president, human
resources, at Wipro Technologies, the firm’s IT services arm that has some 112,925 employees.

“Steep hikes are not the only answer,” he said. Staff would also be given options to work onsite or in different
roles. Wipro’s attrition in the June quarter was 23%.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd’s (TCS) attrition at 13.1% was the lowest among the big three. India’s largest IT
firm gave promotions and average wage hikes of 10% in April, after a gap of one year. Its focus now is on non-
monetary components: rotating jobs more often, not just within projects but across technologies, verticals and
locations; and encouraging more first-time managers to take up people management courses.

“Retention is the focus today,” said Ajoy Mukherjee, vice-president and head of global human resources at TCS.

He ruled out a mid-term pay hike, but the variable pay component distributed every quarter, he said, would help
retain people.
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Chaudhary, too, does not favour excessive hikes. “While compensation may seem to be the most obvious cause
of the current attrition, excessive usage of compensation-related interventions is not recommended as this will
actually intensify the problem of wage inflation.”

The IT biggies, meanwhile, are adding to the churn in the industry.

Infosys has raised its hiring forecast for fiscal 2011 to 36,000 from the 30,000 it announced in April. TCS plans to
hire 40,000 people. And at least a third of these hires would be experienced professionals from rival fir

15 Aug, 2010, 03.11AM IST, Mahima Puri & Pramugdha Mamgain,ET Bureau

Indian tech cos loosen purse strings for staff

NEW DELHI: The customer may be king, but for the country’s talent-starved IT sector, employees are proving to
be emperors. India’s top software companies are doling out mid-term salary hikes and promotions or are
guaranteeing a larger share of variable pay to staff in the coming months in a mad scramble to retain talent.

A raft of firms led by big names such as TCS , Infosys and Wipro are planning some or all of these measures in a
bid to help employees battle rising inflation, and, in the process, manage their own attrition levels.

Many of these firms had already declared salary increments and promotions during the first few months of this
year, with average pay raises ranging from 8% to 12%. But with rising attrition and talent scarce, monetary and
other incentives have staged a comeback, although it helps that the sector is on the road to recovery after a
tumultuous period in 2008 and 2009.

Infosys, the country’s second-largest software exporter, plans to give promotions to its staff across levels in
October this year. Those elevated will also be given promotion-related pay hikes.

The company, which did not increase staff salaries in April last year due to the global economic slowdown, gave
out salary hikes last October and in April this year. It elevated about 5,400 employees in April and gave salary
increases to all employees, at a cost of $134 million. Junior to middle-level employees received salary increases
of between 13% and 17%, while increments for senior management was 10% on average.

“The intent is to retain employees and keep them engaged. They should feel adequately rewarded and valued.
We ensure this by keeping the compensation structure in line with the current market standards,” said Infosys
head of human resources Nandita Gurjar .

While Infosys goes down the promotion route, its bigger rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is looking to pay
a larger share of employees’ variable pay entitlements to retain its employees. For the quarter to end-June, it has
already paid employees 100% of their variable pay.

Wipro is adopting a strategy similar to TCS. The country’s No.3 IT firm has assured staff that they will get a
guaranteed variable pay of 100% for every quarter this year.The Bangalore-based company had given an
average salary hike of 9% in February this year and promoted 20,000 of its junior staff. Wipro could also roll out
another round of salary increases in the next couple of months, said a Delhi-based HR consultant, requesting
anonymity.

Saurabh Govil, senior vice-president for HR at Wipro, said there was “nothing on the table right now”, but the
company could consider salary increases depending on factors such as the ongoing inflationary situation and
attrition levels in the coming months.

Among other firms, HCL Technologies, Zensar Technologies and Tech Mahindra declared salary hikes for the
current year, effective July 1. All the three companies follow a July to June financial year.

Staff attrition or employees jumping ship for better job offers, long a scourge for India’s IT sector, had eased
during the economic downturn triggered by the global economic crisis, but has become worrisome since the
beginning of 2010. India’s IT sector battled attrition rates of up to 40% during the boom years of 2004-05.

Most IT companies have reported attrition rates of up to 20% in the first half of 2010, and in some cases, even
higher. HR consultants say the need to manage attrition is the main driver for giving mid-term salary increases
and out-of-turn promotions.

“The market dynamics have changed since last year. Almost every sector is hiring, which makes it difficult for IT
companies to retain talent, especially those who have some domain expertise,” said Vati Consulting CEO
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Amitabh Das.
“Things are likely to change by the second half of 2010, after such aggressive measures to provide incentives are
taken,” he added.

Aptech enters into tie-up with Microsoft for learning material

MUMBAI: Computer education firm, Aptech, on Tuesday entered into a tie-up with world's top IT firm Microsoft to
launch embedded courses and certification to its students.

Aptech, which has 360 learning centers across India and has presence in 35 countries, will be bearing the
additional costs that come as part of the tie-up and the fees for the courses offered stay unchanged, its Chief
Executive and Managing Director, Ninad Karpe, told reporters here.

As part of the tie-up, Microsoft's learning material will be embedded into long-term courses offered
by Aptech after which students can appear for a test to get a Microsoft global certification which increases his/her
chances of landing a job.

Aptech will introduce the Microsoft course material and certification across its centres in the country to start with
and gradually take it to select geographies beyond India, Karpe said.

It is targeting to enrol 1,50,000 students as a part of the scheme by 2015, he added

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Mahindra Satyam-Tech Mahindra merger put on hold

HYDERABAD: The process of Mahindra Satyam's merger with parent firm Tech Mahindra has been put on hold
in view of the ongoing investigations into Satyam fraud case by various agencies, said a senior official Monday.

Mahindra Satyam chief executive officer C.P. Gurnani told a news conference here that the merger required the
approval of some of the agencies involved in the investigations.

He, however, said there was no legal provision to put the process on hold.

Mahindra Satyam chairman Vineet Nayyar said the two companies stand by their decision to merge.

"After Tech Mahindra acquired Satyam, we announced our intention to merge. The intention remains, but when
we would trigger this has not yet been decided," he said.

Nayyar dismissed as reports that Mahindra Satyam was trying for an out of court settlement of class action suits
in the US.

The company faces the action suits for alleged violations of the US federal securities laws by Satyam Computer
Services , which Tech Mahindra acquired in April 2009, a few months after Satyam was rattled by India's biggest
corporate fraud.

He said the legal challenges the company faced were more or less resolved.

"We had some issues with US Securities and Exchange Commission and I think they are also more or less
resolved," Nayyar said.

"On most of the legal cases we have made progress and we also continue to make progress in compliance with
various regulators around the world. As a result, there are a few challenges in governance, finance, accounts and
legal areas and most of them have been brought in containable and manageable mode," he added.

Nayyar also clarified that Mahindra Satyam had no relationship with Maytas, an infrastructure firm owned by the
family members of Satyam's founder B. Ramalinga Raju.

"We have no relationship with Maytas other than the co-ownership between the founders of Maytas and Satyam,"
he said.
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Wipro, Continuous Computing tie up to offer 3G, LTE solutions

NEW DELHI: IT firm Wipro Technologies on Monday said it has partnered with US-based Continuous
Computing to provide solutions to 3G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) network equipment-makers.

The two companies are working together to provide Deep Packet Inspection ( DPI )) and Femtocell
products for network equipment providers supplying 3G and LTE network infrastructure, Wipro said
in a statement.

By using these solutions, mobile service providers can lower their operational costs, while end-
users benefit from improved coverage and performance, it added.

"Continuous Computing has developed (these solutions for) LTE and Femtocell that allow mobile
operators to make the most of their network resources and maximise the value of their spectrum
assets," Wipro Technologies General Manager, Global Media and Telecom, Devaraj Srinivasan said.

The companies will deliver these solutions to network equipment providers worldwide, it said.

"Wipro's end-to-end telecom product engineering and delivery skills coupled with a large stable of
telecom and wireless resources are the perfect complement and together we expect to make a
significant difference in solving some of the mobile industry's most pressing capacity challenges,"
Continuous Computing Vice President (Product Line Management) Manish Singh said
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ARS Software targets Indian ITS market

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Netherlands-based ARS Traffic and Transport Technology BV , is poised to
foray into the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) market in India, through its subsidiary, ARS Software
Engineering based at the Technopark here.

“The ITS sector in India is still at a nascent stage, but we see strong potential in the country. A significant growth
in road traffic in India and the need to keep costs low, present a good opportunity for the ITS business”, ARS
Traffic and Transport Technology managing director Jan Linssen said here.

ITS refers to inputting information and communications technology to transport infrastructure with application in
basic management systems such as vehicle navigation, traffic signal control systems, automatic number plate
recognition systems and speed cameras, and integration of data and feedback from multiple sources.

ARS Software Engineering operational director Sunil Kumar said the company had some big projects in the
pipeline and that the company’s Indian subsidiary which currently had a 100-strong team would increase the
headcount to 250 by end 2013.

ARS officials said the global market for ITS was expected to touch $18.5 billion by 2015 and that the Indian
market in the same year was estimated at $0.5 billion. They said the company was bullish on the ITS market in
India, in the backdrop of the fact that European economies were growing at an average 2-3%, while the emerging
countries were growing at a much faster 5-10% rate.

Linssen said Indian authorities were presently grappling with the decision of whether to adopt ITS implementation
through a cost-model, or through a share of tolling and enforcement. Company officials said different countries
were giving serious consideration for ITS adoption, based on findings that one million euros spent on ITS would
translate into the same level of benefits that would be achieved by spending 6 million euros on infrastructure.
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Wipro bets on BFSI, healthcare

MUMBAI: Having fallen behind its peers in revenue growth, Wipro Technologies now says it's “chasing hyper
growth” through select verticals . Spaces like banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), healthcare, retail,
manufacturing and utilities have been identified as high-growth verticals for the company.

The company's new CEO, T K Kurien, who is at Nasscom's Leadership Summit here, told TOI, `` We are looking
at growth from all quarters, but we expect hyper-growth in these select spaces. The healthcare and BFSI
verticals will be key focus areas. Compared to last year, market volumes have increased this year and there is
quite an uptick in the market.''

Healthcare and BFSI are verticals where close rival Cognizant also has a strong footprint. Talking about the
recent organizational restructuring , he said the objective was revenue and topline growth, not cost cutting. `` The
fruits of these exercises will be seen in the next three quarters . You may not see the benefits immediately,''
Kurien said.

Wipro Technologies last week realigned its organizational structure to a simplified industry domain led business
where client delivery, sales and profitability are aligned more closely with strategic business units. `` Going
forward, the focus will be on execution,'' Kurien said. He also said there would be a lot of focus on campus hiring
in the next couple of years.
15

TCS fast-tracks recruitment process

MUMBAI: In a move to fast-track recruitment, IT firm TCS today announced that fresh engineering graduates with
a good academic record can directly appear for interviews , skipping the entrance test that other applicants have
to take.

Engineering students that have consistently scored over 70 per cent throughout their academic career can
"leapfrog" directly to the interview stage, it said in a release here.

The system is being implemented from the current hiring season in which TCS plans to make offers to a total of
37,000 fresh graduates. It is being introduced as a pilot project and many pass-outs are already taking advantage
of it, a TCS spokesperson said.

Based on the performance of fresh graduates hired earlier, the company has graded engineering colleges in the
country and only students that fall in A, A+ and B category institutions can avail of the scheme, the release said.

"The written test is more to check your aptitude and we think the academic consistency takes care of it," the
spokesperson said.

The company has already made offers to 23,500 graduates from 171 colleges in the current hiring season. Many
of them that have a good academic record did not sit for the written test, the spokesperson added.
16

IT customers: It’s time for small and mid-size companies

In the decade gone by, Fortune 500 companies dominated the client list of India's IT-ITES sector. Large
companies like GE, American Express and British Airways started the trend of offshoring. They first set up
captive centres and followed this up by sourcing technology services from both local players and global ones.
India was on the IT map.

The 2008-09 economic slowdowns saw many companies, big and small, start using global suppliers for
technology services. "Post-recession, 30% of clients calling are those that never offshored work, says Partha
Iyengar, vice-president for research, Gartner. He cites the example of a large Italian telecom company that never
used offshore centres so far, but now wants to ship up to 40% of its technology maintenance services to India.

Even in countries where the labour arbitrage is not strong, like Brazil, there is keenness to outsource, says
Avinash Vashistha, MD and CEO, Tholons, a Bangalore-based advisory firm. “They want to become more
competitive,” he says, citing Ibev, Embraer and GM Brazil as companies that are offshoring to cut costs.

Besides new companies, small- and mid-sized businesses will form a key market this decade. Raman Roy, one
of the giants of the Indian BPO industry, says when he was running Spectramind (now Wipro BPO), he had
10,000 employees managing 30 clients. “Now, I have 3,000 employees and 10,000 customers,” says Roy, CMD
of Quatrro. “These are small and medium businesses.” Quatrro's smallest client yields less than $1,000 a year
and the largest about $1 million.

Even in large economies like Germany, 80% of the workforce is in small- and mid-sized companies. "Most of
them spend 2-5% of their revenues on technology hardware, software and services," says Som Mittal of
Nasscom . “They don't want to invest in a technology office. They will source such services from offshore
players.” For instance, research by the Boston-based Aberdeen group on e-commerce shows that 80% of
invoices are still on paper, with small- and mid-sized companies accounting for most of these. These will go
online, with cloud computing making it easy for such companies to make the shift.

Dealing with small- and mid-sized firms means higher costs and greater risk. "With large customers, you were
happy with a couple of big orders every quarter. When you chase small ones, you will need about 20-30 every
quarter, increasing costs,” says Roy. “Also, risks increase as small customers are more likely to go bankrupt in a
slowdown.”

To bag such business, IT sales teams will engage more with channel partners, who, in turn, work with a few
hundred to a few thousand customers. “Selling on the Internet will pick up because it reduces the cost of
customer acquisition,” says Pramod Bhasin, CEO of Genpact. “And delivery will be from a combination of big
cities and tier-II cities, even rural areas.” Genpact, for example, has a tie-up with Rural Shores, a rural BPO
company.
17

Reason: After recession Most of small and mid size companies from different part world are looking to
reduce the operating cost by outsourcing their IT operations.

Wipro rejigs IT business to simplify structure

BANGALORE: A fortnight after T K Kurien took charge as the new chief executive officer; Wipro on Monday
announced sweeping changes across its IT business that will now be driven by six new business units aimed at
quicker decision making and accountability.

This is the first round of restructuring at the $6-billion IT services major after its billionaire chairman Azim Premji
replaced joint CEOs last month that has created a new cadre of top leaders at the company including Sangita
Singh who will lead the newly-formed Pharmaceutical, Healthcare Life Sciences and Services unit as reported by
ET on Monday. The company is also creating a combined vertical for Manufacturing and Technology to be led by
N S Bala.

"Strategy and M&A functions are being combined under the leadership of Rishad Premji. He will functionally
report to Suresh Senapaty in addition to having a business line reporting to me," said Kurien in an email to
employees on Monday.

The company will now be divided into Energy and Utilites, Finance Solutions, Media and Telecom ,
Pharmaceutical, Healthcare and Life-Sciences, Manufacturing and Hi-Tech and Retail Consumer Goods,
Transportation and Government. The sales and delivery teams for each industry vertical will now be aligned with
the respective business units.

"The announcement reflects our intention to have a simplified, customer centric structure , where we can create
more opportunities for you all," said Kurien.

The new structure will be functional from April 1.

There will also be two distinct divisions Wipro Infotech headed by Anand Sankaran and Wipro EcoEnergy led by
G K Prasanna that Kurien has billed as "an exciting new business venture with great potential as a growth engine
of the future" in his email.

"Service lines have been our growth engines and we want to create a structure where we strengthen their ability
to build depth in technology competency," he added. The company has now marked out six service lines that will
align themselves with customer requirements.

The rejig also has left some roles untouched including the Finance Solutions that comprises Banking, Securities
and Insurance Verticals that will continue to be under the leadership of Soumitro Ghosh. , to deliver services in
finance and accounts.
18

Reason: After structure change by Infosys and TCS, Wipro is also going to change its structure. To
monitor better Management are looking to operate all operations in vertical structure.

Infosys plans rejig to compete better with TCS, Cognizant

After a gap of three years, software major Infosys is working on a massive re-organisation, a move that will make
the company more agile and help it service clients faster. The changes in the existing structure could be
announced when the company comes out with its annual results in April.

Infosys board member Mohandas Pai and group HR head Nandita Gurjar confirmed the development to ET
NOW on Tuesday.

“The re-organisation will empower the company and make us as agile as 1.3 lakh employee company can get,”
Mr Pai said.

At the same time, Ms Gurjar said, “The re-org discussion is currently on. It’s premature to comment on changes,
no decision has been taken yet. We will decide on a structure that will deliver high-speed to clients. The changes
may be announced with the annual results if we are able to finalise it by then.”

This news comes after Mindtree's Ashok Soota announced his resignation last Friday, and Premji did a top
management rejig a week earlier. But Infosys insists that its re-jig has nothing to do with the changes in the other
companies.

“This has nothing to do with that. It’s a planned exercise at Infosys and we have been discussing this for the last
several months,” Ms Gurjar said.

While Mr Pai and Ms Gurjar declined to provide specific details, a report by CLSA throws up crucial management
and organisational changes. The report says it could only be a matter of time before the CEO baton passes onto
COO S Shibulal from the incumbent CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan.

In terms of the overall structure, CLSA says it’s likely that Infosys will consolidate industry verticals and select
service lines. Geography-wise, sales force in Europe could get aligned based on countries rather than verticals.
There could also be consolidation of delivery manpower. CLSA adds that these changes could be painful and
might lead to some middle & senior management exits.

Mr Pai and Ms Gurjar maintained that the re-org plan has nothing to do with management changes and that they
19

are two separate exercises.

Reorganisations are nothing new to Infosys, its been happening at India’s No2 software company every two or
three years since 1998. But the latest comes at a time when the competition is heating up in the It space. And
industry observers say these changes could probably help Infosys compete better with the likes of TCS and
Cognizant.

Reasons: After sharp increase in head count Infosys need to change their structure again to compete
with competitor like TCS and CTS.

Infy, TCS say Euro debt crisis, rising inflation biggest threats
DAVOS: India's top two IT outsourcing firms Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys worry that Europe's debt
crisis and rising inflation at home could slow the growth that they have enjoyed in recent years.

In interviews with media at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the chief executives of both companies said
business remains good in 2011, but in the longer term, debt could hurt their profits.

Infosys Technologies, India's No. 2 software exporter, sees the debt crisis sweeping across Europe as its top
concern. It is hurting the company's clients and could have wide-reaching impact on its growth this year.

"The top concern is Europe," Chief Executive Kris Gopalakrishnan said. "Although we can't do much about it, we
can actually increase our footprint and get more customers."

The worries are set against a global backdrop of optimism in tech spending in 2011.

Technology executives attending the annual gathering of the world's power elite struck a confident tone owing to
a big push into cloud computing, which uses Internet technology to move computers and information away from
desktops and into remote data centers, and the rapid growth of mobile computing.

Still rising commodities costs such as food prices, have pushed inflation in the region higher. Companies have
worried about rising wages and production costs because of inflation. Some foreign and domestic companies
have passed the costs to customers.

India's high inflation prompted the central bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points this week, the seventh
time since March.

"Inflation is a worry," said TCS CEO N. Chandrasekaran. "If it continues to be bad, it will hurt the growth of
companies (such as) retail markets, which will translate to less spending. That will come back to bite us."

But, he said, "That is not something that will have an immediate impact on our business."

Several Indian tech exporters including Wipro reported a disappointing year-end quarter, raising concerns that a
shakeout loomed. This week, executives said it was too early to tell if it signaled further caution.
20

Margins, which range from 20 to 25 percent, have been pressured because of intense competition in the
fragmented business.

RECRUITING ARMS RACE

TCS and Infosys, along with smaller rival Wipro, are on a hiring spree and have lifted pay by 20 percent.

"We need people for growth," Gopalakrishnan said.

Infosys, which counts Goldman Sachs, BT and BP among its clients, plans to hire 25,000 new employees this
year to cater to new mobile and cloud computing services. It currently employs 127,000.

TCS, whose clients include Citigroup and General Electric said it could hire as many or slightly less than the
more than 50,000 it hired last year.

However, neither company expects to buy rivals to boost scale, citing high valuations. "Our portfolio is wide and
deep," Chandrasekaran said. "We will not be acquiring."

Chandrasekaran said the company could be interested in pursuing companies that provide new intellectual
property or a capability it does not possess.

Infosys shares were down 0.68 percent and TCS shares fell 1.38 percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Reason: Due to Europe debt crisis and Inflation in INDIA (domestic market) shares of all IT companies
are getting down, so it’s a threat for Indian IT companies.

Infosys seeks M&As, but selective

DAVOS: Infosys Technologies, India's No. 2 software exporter, is looking for the mergers and acquisitions,
but will be selective on opportunities, its chief executive said on Friday.

""We have a team looking at acquisition. We look for good companies, we look for right fit, right
price, we have certain strategies in place," Infosys Chief Executive Kris Gopalakrishnan told
Reuters Insider.

Earlier in January, Infosys reported net profit in the fiscal third-quarter ended December rose to 17.8
billion rupees ($396 million) from 15.6 billion a year ago. This compares with a Reuters poll of 18.2
billion rupees.

Reason: Expansion of company in different sector and cover more market to compete with other
competitor.
21
22

Emerging economies are fed up of West lecturing: Premji

DAVOS: In a harsh criticism of the US "restrictive" policies, Chairman of Wipro Azim Premji told the gathering of
global CEOs that the emerging economies are "more than fed up" of being lectured by the west to open their
economies without any reciprocity.

"I think they (emerging economies) are fed up of being needled for opening their economies," Premji said here at
the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

He particularly expressed his disappointment with the US seeking more market for its goods in the developing
economies, while putting restrictions on its import of services. The liberalisation of goods and services was being
treated differently.

When asked whether the Asian economies are "fed up by the lecturing" by the west, Chairman of India's third
largest software exporter said: "more than fed up".

"People don't seem to equate, liberalise both products and services. If you are talking about global trade--it is
products and services.

You cannot have one standards of opening up economy for emerging countries to products and contrary (for the
others) particularly the US, which has put all sorts of restrictions on services. This cannot be one way traffic,"
Premji said.

The Indian IT industry which gets USD 50 billion of its revenue from the global outsourcing, mainly from the US is
peeved at a string of restrictions by the American authorities for service imports.

These include hiking the visa fee for professionals. On the contrary, India has given deals worth USD 10 billion to
the US which will create jobs for 50,000 Americans. Services are of key interest to India, as they provide about
55 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product.

Reason: After recession US market changes their policies and started new theory which is suitable for
their market.So comments from chairman of Wipro is correct word by word.
23

India's IT majors shy of local buyouts

MUMBAI: When the $250-million iGate was bidding for Patni Computer Systems , its closest competitor
was not another Indian IT player but private equity firm Carlyle. Indian IT majors have not pursued
acquisitions of local peers vigorously, preferring instead to look overseas for large deals. And this
despite the fact that local buyouts offer some definite advantages.

But Patni, with $700 million in revenues and 15,000 employees, could have been a good acquisition
for many Indian IT firms, including some of the big names.

For Wipro, which acquired Spectramind several years ago, buying Patni would have helped narrow
the gap between itself and Cognizant. Patni and Wipro also share common clients such as GE and
have synergies in product engineering services.

Cognizant has been swiftly narrowing the gap with Wipro — in the June 2010 quarter the difference
between their revenues was barely $99 million which in the September 2010 quarter had dropped to
$56 million — and is set to take the crown of India’s third largest software exporter.

“For the $7-billion plus TCS, an additional 10% business would not have made much difference. I
also think high profitability fixated Infosys would not look at Patni more as a cultural and policy
issue. But combination of Patni with Wipro or HCL could throw up some interesting data points. And
interestingly, the integrated Mahindra group (Mahindra Satyam plus Tech Mahindra plus Patni)
actually could have given a tough fight to Wipro, which is already working hard to retain the coveted
third place,” says Sudin Apte, principal analyst and CEO of technology research firm, Offshore
Insights.

For both HCL Technologies and Mahindra Satyam-Tech Mahindra, Patni’s application development
and maintenance (ADM) business would have complemented existing service lines. Infrastructure
management services is HCL’s strongest service line while application development and
maintenance form only for 25% of revenues against the industry average of 50%.

Similarly, while Mahindra Satyam is strong in enterprise services and Tech Mahindra in telecom-
related IT solutions, both do not have a strong application maintenance business. “Patni’s $ 440-
million ADM revenue and $600 million North America revenue would have made Mahindra more
balanced compared to its current skew towards Europe,” says Apte.

Reason: Acquisition of PATNI with iGATE is big question because lot of good options was available in
Indian IT market. HCL and WIPRO missed this opportunities.
24

How bad decisions are wiping the sheen off MindTree

MUMBAI: In theory, it was the perfect setting for the making of a new software star. The ingredients were
all there: an A-class management team, an understanding of the business, the exposure and
experience. But almost 11 years after it was set up and three years after it went public, some
misadventures and tough luck are wiping the sheen off MindTree, India’s most promising mid-sized
IT firm, and eroding confidence in its blue-chip team. Founded by former Wipro leaders such as
Ashok Soota and Subroto Bagchi , the company was expected to perform better than most of its
peers and pose a challenge to some of the large IT firms.

But bad decisions and unforeseen external events have left investors unhappy, forcing the
management to go on the backfoot. Some of its strategies and bets, including its most recent one to
launch a 3G smartphone based on the Android platform, have flopped.

The mis-step, coming just after the recession and when some of its peers were on the road to the
recovery, meant another quarter of tempered expectations. More importantly, it questioned the
management’s credibility to take the right strategic decisions.

Despite MindTree’s reversal of its decision to pursue its telecom products business, questions will
linger on, perhaps for a long time. Why did the board not oppose the move earlier? Wasn’t proper
due diligence done before investing in this business?” said brokerage firm CLSA’s Analysts
Bhavtosh Vajpayee and Nimish Joshi, summing up the feeling of growing disenchantment among
investors.

“First it was the rupee appreciation in FY09, then it was the recession in FY10, and now it is the
Android. Who knows what it will be next? The management track record has been disappointing.
Overall, the expectation from a management of this calibre was they would perform better on all
these counts,” said another IT analyst, who said its FY09 acquisition Aztecsoft is also performing
below par. The company originally planned to launch the phone in the second half of FY11, but
instead reversed the decision in October 2010 and took a restructuring charge of around $3.7
million in the third quarter.

Reasons: Other than recession, bad decision and delay in some good decisions results the sheen off of
MindTree, India’s most promising mid-sized IT firm,
25

Macro environment concerns could impact IT growth: Infy's

Gopalakrishnan
BANGALORE: IT major Infosys today said next year could be normal for IT industry, but cautioned that "it is still
possible something bad could happen".

"Recovery is happening, the industry is benefitting, but it is still possible something bad could happen. We need
to be cautious. It has not impacted our business so far," Infosys CEO and MD S Gopalakrishnan said.

"If something bad happens it could have a domino effect, The consequences are unpredictable," he said.

Such an uncertainty could affect their client's business and in turn impacting the company, Gopalakrishnan
pointed out.

Infosys today posted 14.2 per cent growth in profit at Rs 1,780 crore for the third quarter and also raised outlook
for the January-March period and whole of current financial year based on expected demand on new services
and its revenue growth.

"Next year could be normal year of the IT service", he added "there is crisis in Europe, the volatility is high ... we
need worry about it. Repercussions could be global".

However, he was confident that Infosys and the IT industry could weather all odds. "We are confident that the
industry will do well in difficult times. The industry has gone through such downturn twice in ten years... Indian
industry has done better than those globally. We are confident it will be able to withstand such downturn".

"The crisis can also lead to greater currency volatility and capital inflows moving to developing markets like
Brazil, South Korea and Japan where yields are going up. The Rupee will be under pressure to depreciate than
appreciate as we have", said V Balakrishnan, CFO.

Reasons: Good quarter results by different IT companies in last 3 quarter.

26

Cognizant expands US delivery centre; to hire 500 people

NEW DELHI: IT firm Cognizant on Wednesday said it will expand its delivery center in Phoenix, US to
accommodate over 1,000 employees from the existing 500-seater capacity.

Cognizant had recently announced crossing the 100,000-employee mark and continues to hire aggressively
within North America as well as Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.

"Cognizant's new delivery center in Phoenix will accommodate over 1,000 employees, replacing its existing 500-
person facility," Cognizant said in a statement.

It will provide a full range of services from the new center, including consulting, application services, IT
infrastructure services, and business and knowledge process services, it added.

In addition to the Phoenix center, Cognizant has an enterprise analytics center in New Jersey, a global
Network Operations Center (NOC) in Massachusetts and other delivery centers in Arkansas and Illinois.

Reason: After recession all companies are increasing their head count and market. This is one step of
CTS.
27

Wipro, Continuous Computing tie up to offer 3G, LTE solutions

NEW DELHI: IT firm Wipro Technologies on Monday said it has partnered with US-based Continuous Computing
to provide solutions to 3G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) network equipment-makers.

The two companies are working together to provide Deep Packet Inspection ( DPI )) and Femtocell products for
network equipment providers supplying 3G and LTE network infrastructure, Wipro said in a statement.

By using these solutions, mobile service providers can lower their operational costs, while end-users benefit from
improved coverage and performance, it added.

"Continuous Computing has developed (these solutions for) LTE and Femtocell that allow mobile operators to
make the most of their network resources and maximise the value of their spectrum assets," Wipro Technologies
General Manager, Global Media and Telecom, Devaraj Srinivasan said.

The companies will deliver these solutions to network equipment providers worldwide, it said.

"Wipro's end-to-end telecom product engineering and delivery skills coupled with a large stable of telecom and
wireless resources are the perfect complement and together we expect to make a significant difference in solving
some of the mobile industry's most pressing capacity challenges," Continuous Computing Vice President
(Product Line Management) Manish Singh said.

Reason: After auction of 3G spectrum Wipro tie up US-based Continuous Computing to provide
solutions to 3G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) network equipment-makers.
28

Wipro bags Vodafone Essar order

Bangalore, Dec. 7

Wipro has bagged a three-year contract from Vodafone Essar to support the cellular service provider with its
fixed line telecom services for enterprise business customers. The deal is considered one of the three large
orders it has won in the telecom space. The other two being Uninor and Aircel. According to a press statement,
Wipro will provide a host of services including network design and build, integration with existing IT OSS/ BSS
applications and managed services of the set up over three years. Wipro will also build an Enterprise Network
Operation Centre (NOC) to manage the operations of Vodafone Essar's enterprise customers. “We expect our
partnership with Wipro to provide more value to our enterprise customers through increased operational
efficiency and cost optimisation. Through this partnership, we hope to bring an innovative approach to servicing
the enterprise telecoms market and also enhance our business revenues,” said Mr Naveen Chopra, Director –
Enterprise and Carrier Business, Vodafone Essar. “We will implement Wipro's best practices in the managed
services space to help Vodafone Essar deliver better service to enterprise customers in a fast growing market,”
said Mr Anil Jain, Senior Vice-President and Global Head, Global Communication Service provider Vertical,
Wipro. — Our Bureau

Reason: Vodafone Essar requires IT vendor for their IT solutions. So Vodafone selected Wipro for their
operations.
29

15 Feb, 2011, 07.00PM IST,PTI

Tech Mahindra strengthens ties with Microsoft for BI solutions

MUMBAI: IT major, Tech Mahindra, has entered into an alliance with Microsoft Corp to offer Business
Intelligence (BI) solutions for telecom service providers.

As part of the initiative, Tech Mahindra will deploy Mahindra Satyam's 'iDecisionsTM for telecom' onto a Microsoft
platform which will enable both companies to offer customisable BI solutions to their customers, a press release
issued here today stated.

The BI solutions cover all major aspects of the telecom industry decision-making spectrum and would be
available on a single platform consisting of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, SharePoint
2010 and Office 2010 with a defined road-map to move this to a cloud-based offering using Windows Azure later
this year, the release said.

"As a global player with a strong foothold in the telecommunication sector, Tech Mahindra is pleased to be
working with Microsoft to provide BI that supports the unique needs of this sector. Together, we will help
customers to respond quickly to market trends and tailor products and services to their needs. We are confident
that iDecisionsTM for Telecom using Microsoft technology will empower informed decision-making for our
customers" Tech Mahindra's Senior Vice-President and Europe Business Head, Vivek Agarwal, said.

"We are very pleased with Tech Mahindra's decision to extend their relationship with Microsoft and offer
Business Intelligence solutions that address the specific needs of our telco customers," Industry Managing
Director, Communications Sector at Microsoft Corp, Jim Dietrich, said.

Reason: To complete the requirements of different clients Tech Mahindra tie up with Microsoft to use
their product like (BI)
30

Vineet Nayar is HCL Tech V-C

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, October 20, 2010

Software billionaire Shiv Nadar elevated CEO Vineet Nayar of HCL Technologies as the company’s vice-
chairman on Wednesday as the group’s flagship reported a 3.1 per cent year-on-year rise in its net profit at Rs
331 crore for the July-September first quarter. “Vineet’s dedication to the success

Technologies has catapulted the company to a position of unparalleled market and thought leadership today.
He has an exceptional vision for the company moving forward and I am confident that in this new additional
role he will continue to take the company to new heights,” said Shiv Nadar, chairman and chief strategy officer.

Nayar, who takes charge from November 1, will continue to be the CEO and whole-time director in the
company.

Though not a founder, Nayar, described by many as Nadar’s “blue-eyed boy” has had a dream run since
joining the group as a management trainee in 1985. Nadar made way for him to be CEO in 2007.

However, Nayar denied that he was being groomed to ultimately step into the shoes of Shiv Nadar and in
future take over as chairman of the company.

“I don’t see that happening,” he told Hindustan Times, while describing Nadar as part of “a rare breed” of
founders who allowed professional managers to fill his shoes.

“Most of the promoters cannot get their fingers off their businesses. Shiv is still the best brain in IT business,
whom I consult on strategy. I think he is the chairman for life for he is the guy who has created it. It is just an
honour that the board has made me the vice-chairman and that’s the way I take it,” explained Nayar.

The company said there was growth in all its business verticals with retail, healthcare and financial services
posting double-digit growth but profits were eroded by a stronger rupee that cut into dollar earnings. During the
quarter HCL Technologies made a net addition of 5,661 employees taking its total headcount to 70,218.

The firm reported a 22 per cent jump in its revenues at Rs 3,708 crore for July-September. It also proposed a
dividend of R1.50 per equity share.
31

Infosys Leads India Software Stocks Lower After Earnings Miss

July 13, 2010, 4:00 AM EDT

July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Infosys Technologies Ltd. led Indian software exporters lower in Mumbai trading after the company
reported profit unexpectedly fell and forecast billing rates will extend declines.

India’s second-largest provider of technology services fell 3.5 percent to 2,795.50 rupees as of 1:14 p.m. in Mumbai trading,
leading the benchmark Sensitive Index lower. Industry leader Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. dropped 2.7 percent and
Bangalore-based Wipro Ltd. declined 2 percent.

Chief Financial Officer V. Balakrishnan said today the company is cautious about the outlook on Europe and that the drop in
billing rates will probably deepen to 2 percent this year. Infosys cut prices to retain and win business from European customers
after the euro’s 6.3 percent decline against the rupee dragged down the value of sales in the region, which accounts for about
20 percent of Infosys’s business.

“Europe is definitely a concern,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, chief strategist at SMC Capitals Ltd. in New Delhi. While
Infosys is among India’s best-run companies, “even they will come under pressure,” he said.

First-quarter net income fell 2.6 percent from a year earlier to 14.9 billion rupees ($318 million), Bangalore-based Infosys said
today. Profit missed the 15.6 billion rupees average of 25 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Profit probably missed
estimates because of higher-than-expected wage costs, said Nitin Padmanabhan, an analyst with Indiabulls Securities Ltd. in
Mumbai.

Euro Weakness

The weakness of the euro, which has lost about 12 percent against the dollar this year, and ripples from the Greek debt crisis
will result in a 12 to 15 percent loss in income for the Europe-based business of Indian information-technology vendors,
according to estimates from Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“If the euro trails at the same level -- or worse, drops even further -- then Indian companies may lose more than 20 percent on
each European deal,” Sudin Apte, a Pune, India-based analyst at Forrester, wrote in a July 1 note to clients. “In a market that
has shown success only in pockets, this economic challenge may make vendors lose their interest in the geography.”

Billing rates will likely fall 2 percent in the year ending March 2011 after they declined 1.6 percent in the first quarter, CFO
Balakrishnan said.

Uncertain Environment

Sales rose 13 percent to 62 billion rupees in the April-to- June quarter, from 54.7 billion rupees a year earlier, in line with the 62
billion rupees average of 28 analyst estimates. The software-services provider, which derived 66 percent of its revenue from
companies in North America and 23 percent from Europe last fiscal year, added 38 clients and a net 1,026 employees during
the quarter, for a total of 114,822 workers, it said in a statement.

“While the global economic environment remains uncertain, we continue to see greater demand for services,” Chief Executive
Officer S. Gopalakrishnan said in the statement. “The challenge for the industry is to enhance the investment to grow the
business, given the uncertainty in the environment.”
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Worldwide information technology spending, which includes computer equipment and software purchases, will grow 9.3 percent
this year from an estimated $1.4 trillion in 2009, according to Forrester. Spending in the U.S. will outpace gross domestic
product growth as companies make up for orders delayed during last year’s recession, the researcher said.

Higher Dollar Sales

Infosys, which designs and builds software programs, maintains computers and provides back-office support for clients
including Citigroup Inc. and BT Group Plc, raised its forecast for full-year sales. The company now says revenue will range from
$5.72 billion to $5.81 billion, compared with the $5.57 billion to $5.67 billion range it projected in April.

The company in April said it expected full-year earnings per American Depositary share to increase by as much as 8.6 percent
to $2.50. Infosys revised that today to earnings of as much as $2.52 per ADR.

While orders will continue to increase, “it’s only when they have the volumes in, and they have more than they can handle, that
they can start having a say on pricing again. But that’s still some time away,” Padmanabhan, who rates Infosys “outperform,”
said before the announcement. “You won’t see a reversal of price cuts for now.”

15 Feb, 2011, 07.00PM IST, PTI

Tech Mahindra strengthens ties with Microsoft for BI solutions

MUMBAI: IT major, Tech Mahindra, has entered into an alliance with Microsoft Corp to offer Business
Intelligence (BI) solutions for telecom service providers.

As part of the initiative, Tech Mahindra will deploy Mahindra Satyam's 'iDecisionsTM for telecom' onto a Microsoft
platform which will enable both companies to offer customisable BI solutions to their customers, a press release
issued here today stated.

The BI solutions cover all major aspects of the telecom industry decision-making spectrum and would be
available on a single platform consisting of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, SharePoint
2010 and Office 2010 with a defined road-map to move this to a cloud-based offering using Windows Azure later
this year, the release said.

"As a global player with a strong foothold in the telecommunication sector, Tech Mahindra is pleased to be
working with Microsoft to provide BI that supports the unique needs of this sector. Together, we will help
customers to respond quickly to market trends and tailor products and services to their needs. We are confident
that iDecisionsTM for Telecom using Microsoft technology will empower informed decision-making for our
customers" Tech Mahindra's Senior Vice-President and Europe Business Head, Vivek Agarwal, said.

"We are very pleased with Tech Mahindra's decision to extend their relationship with Microsoft and offer
Business Intelligence solutions that address the specific needs of our telco customers," Industry Managing
Director, Communications Sector at Microsoft Corp, Jim Dietrich, said.
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