Category: Technology News

Infosys BPO to buy US back-office company

Posted by admin – November 14, 2009

This is the second acquisition by Infosys BPO. In July 2007, the company had acquired the captive BPO operations of Dutch consumer giant Philips in Poland, India and Thailand.

Amitabh ChaudhryThe Atlanta-headquartered McCamish Systems, which provides BPO solutions to insurance and financial services companies, mostly in the US, had revenues of $38.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2008. McCamish has 39 active customers, including 10 of the top 20 insurers in the US.

Infosys BPO, which reported revenues of $280 million (about Rs 1,288 crore) in 2008-09, employs 16,500 people. During the first half of this financial year, it recorded revenue of Rs 643 crore. The acquisition of McCamish will provide the company onsite capability with a direct presence in the US for the first time.

“The deal will enable us to bring together a convergence of operations and technology. Infosys BPO has in-depth knowledge of the insurance and financial services sector, and this deal reinforces our position in providing business platform services,” Amitabh Chaudhry, CEO and MD of Infosys BPO told Business Standard.

Analysts say this is a good buy for Infosys, considering that US insurers are traditionally very conservative when it comes to offshoring, unlike British insurance companies. McCamish has an existing proprietary platform which is used by many insurance companies in the US. Infosys, opine analysts, would leverage its reach to move work offshore.

Sabyasachi Satpathy, Partner of offshore advisory company Tholons, said the acquisition of McCamish has provided Infosys an entry into platform-based BPO services. “I think it is a very important buy for Infosys. The most important thing is that Infosys was trying to get into platform BPO (non-linear growth or non headcount-related growth) for the last couple of years, which is what they have succeeded in doing with this acquisition.”

With this acquisition, Infosys can create a niche BPO in financial services.

Yahoo! sets eyes on India’s UID project

Posted by admin – November 12, 2009

Yahoo! recently initiated a $100 million global rebranding plan to restore its beaten image. India is an integral part of the Ogilvy campaign which reads: “The internet is under a new management — YOURS. It’s ‘Y!ou’. The campaign, which will run for a couple of years in different avatars, was launched with power jacket ads in many national dailies. Simultaneously, the “Y!ou” campaign’s 30- and 60-second television commercials are being aired along with the campaigns on the internet and mobile devices. The campaign includes out-of-home advertisements and is being extended to cybercafés. Even movie star Deepika Padukone, a Yahoo! fan, has been roped in to share her experiences with the media.

“You see, we are not just a search company (read Google). We are much more than that. Only half our revenues come from search, and hence comparisons are not fair,” says Bartz.

But will these exercises help Yahoo! recover lost ground and capture market share? For one, Bartz has a tough task on hand in the form of her major competitor (whom she terms a “search” player) Google. Nearly one out of every 10 minutes a person spends online around the world is spent on a Google site, according to Comscore (July) data.

And in India alone, Google sites accounted for 88.4 per cent of all searches conducted, and had a commanding share of time spent in social networking. It also commanded slightly less than half of the time spent in the blogs category.

Yahoo!, unlike Google and Microsoft, is also not present in the enterprise space where the margins are high. Bartz insists that the enterprise space does not fit in the Yahoo! scheme of things.

Apple Store coupon code 2009

Posted by admin – November 12, 2009

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Online Banking Is Very Favourable

Posted by admin – November 7, 2009

Online banking is very favorable to me and i got some uses by this process. Actually i am blogger am earning some amount of money, so i used online transfer in SBI. By online banking so many of my work came easier, Earlier i pay my phone bills , Electricity bills and insurance by going directly to office but now i am paying bills through online. It make my work so easier and also my precious time have been saved. In India almost all banks have Online banking process and we also transfer our funds through online. All banking sectors following this startegy.

Mobile Radio Technology

Posted by admin – November 4, 2009

In the olden days, the most serious restriction on the development of mobile communications was on the limited band of frequencies available over which mobile service can operate. The great advantage of cellular radio over other forms of HF(High Frequency), VHF(Very HF) or Fm radio communication is that a large number of users can share a limited number of frequencies within a relatively small areas called cells. Each cell has a base station which transmits to and receives from all mobile phones within area of the cell. The size of the cell depends on the number of users. In general, the more than the number of users, the smaller the cells. In densely populated urban areas, the cell may be as small as 1km in diameter; in less populated areas the cell could be larger as 40 Km.

Excise duty holds up software imports

Posted by admin – November 3, 2009

Retailers and software companies say the situation which caused the current impasse — disputes with the customs and excise departments over tax rules on imported packaged software — will not be resolved in a hurry.

Consider this. It’s over 10 days since the launch of Microsoft’s latest operating system (OS), Windows 7. Yet the packaged version of the software continues to elude the buyer. Besides, fresh consignments of Adobe’s image management and graphics design software suites are not available either, say retailers.

“The confusion on packaged software is yet to be resolved,” acknowledges Adobe India managing director Naresh Gupta. “The dual taxation issue which was supposed to be resolved still persists, as packaged software now attracts both countervailing duty (CVD) at the point of import, as well as service tax at the point of sale.”

“Excise duty is currently being demanded on the media (CD containing the software program), which has led to a shortage of genuine software. This will primarily affect single license users like individuals and small businesses. As far as Windows 7 goes, many XP users who were not in favour of Vista, were keen to upgrade to Windows 7. This is now delayed indefinitely,” said a systems engineer with a leading consumer goods retailer. He did not wish to be named.

A Microsoft spokeswoman said a clear date on availability of the packaged version remains unclear. Ackowledging that “the expected losses for retailers run into lakhs of rupees”, she said: “There is no clear signal from the government to go ahead with sales. The real losers in this case are the retailers. We hope to resolve this impasse as soon as possible.”

Ajit Joshi, chief executive officer of Tata Croma, the technology retail arm of Tata Sons, said both retailers and the government are being deprived of revenues as a result of the current impasse.

The issue may not affect Microsoft much, since an estimated 90 per cent of Windows software is traditionally sold in India by bundling it with a laptop or a computer. The preloaded or “bundled” version of Windows 7 in over 80 different personal computer and laptop models from 16 manufacturers is readily available in India. Retailers, however, add that small businesses and individuals prefer to upgrade to Windows 7 without buying expensive hardware; the unavailability of the OTC version of Windows 7 affects this customer base.

Microsoft has been working with lobby groups like Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) to get its shipments released at an early date.

The lack of clarity on tax issues on imported packaged software has led to genuine software becoming unavailable on retail shelves, and could encourage piracy, suggests BSA director Lizum Mishra.

In the Union Budget for 2009-10, the government had partially exempted imported packaged software from excise duty and countervailing duty (CVD). This was done to overcome dual taxation. As a result, packaged/OTC software is taxed in two parts. While excise duty will have to be paid on the media, the software licence would attract service tax.

“Some of our distributors tell us that their consignments are stuck at the Customs checkpoints,” adds Gupta, without citing exact figures. “Hence, clarity is required on the software license vis-a-vis the media at the earliest. When people are faced with unavailability of software, they simply go ahead and purchase the illegal version,” he says, agreeing with Mishra. Up to 95 per cent of Adobe software currently sold in India is pirated.

As Customs authorities are demanding physical proof of the software licence as under the earlier rules, Nasscom has recommended that more stress be laid on the right-to-use component of the licence. “The post-Budget notification for clearance of these goods is yet to be issued by the finance ministry. We had sought a clarification from them sometime back. But there is no clarity on their tax norms as of now. Talks with the ministry have been positive, but we don’t have a early date for the retail release of softwares from a host of companies,” says Nasscom vice-president Raju Bhatnagar.

Wipro accepts WB govt offer of land

Posted by admin – October 31, 2009

Wipro Technologies has accepted the West Bengal government’s offer of 45-50 acres at New Town in Rajarhat, but wants to pay less.

The state’s information technology minister, Debesh Das, said: “We showed Wipro officials in Kolkata on Friday the 50 acres identified for them. The land is owned by Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation and we are currently offering it at Rs 1.5 crore per acre. Wipro has asked a concessional rate from us.” New Town in on the north-eastern fringes of Kolkata.

“We have identified 45-50 acres for Infosys also in New Town, but the company has not communicated to us about their urgency,” Das added.

‘Spending on semicon equipment to rise in H2′

Posted by admin – October 26, 2009

The worldwide spending on semiconductor capital equipment will return to the growth path in the second half of 2009 with a 47.3 per cent rise in spending, according to analyst firm Gartner. However, owing to the steep declines in spending in the first half of this year, the market is expected to decline 47.9 per cent, it added.

The report also said that the semiconductor capital equipment spending will rebound in 2010, when revenue forecast is expected to increase 34.3 per cent to touch $30.7 billion. All segments of the market including wafer fab equipment, packaging and assembly equipment and automated test equipment at expected to grow at a healthy space in 2010, the report added.

“Equipment purchases for the remainder of 2009 and the first half of 2010 will be mostly technology buys, as memory companies get ready for copper implementation, and double patterning for critical geometries in the 5x nm and 4x nm generations,” said Dean Freeman, research vice president at Gartner.

According to the report, worldwide wafer fab equipment (WFE) spending is expected to decrease 48.8 per cent in 2009. For 2010, parallelling anticipated growth in capital spending, WFE spending is expected to increase 38.3 per cent. Similarly, the packaging and assembly equipment (PAE) spending which is expected to decline 43.1 per cent in 2009, will bounce back in 2010 with an increase of 40.5 per cent. The recovery for PAE began in the second quarter of this year as the market bounced off its sharp correction in the fourth quarter of 2008 through the first quarter of 2009, the report added.

“Capacity will begin to ramp in the second half of 2010 as businesses and consumers begin to open up their pocket books to purchase electronic goods, and more consistent semiconductor growth should be occurring worldwide,” added Freeman.

Microsoft Launches Windows 7

Posted by admin – October 23, 2009

Microsoft today launched its new operating system (OS), ‘Windows 7’, with a host of tools for multimedia applications for business and retail customers. The much-awaited Windows 7 promises significant improvement in productivity levels, enhanced security, reduced risk and manageability costs.

Windows 7 is available in six editions, targeted at specific user groups. The estimated retail price of Windows ‘home basic’ edition is Rs 5,899 while the ‘starter edition’ is available only through the OEM channel and not through retail. The Ultimate edition is priced at Rs 11,000. The two primary editions are: Windows 7 Home Premium for home consumers and Windows 7 Professional for small and medium sized businesses. Also available in the line-up are Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic (in Emerging Markets only), Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate.

“The pricing for Windows 7 has reduced in the range of 25-35 per cent over Windows Vista. More than 1,000 enterprises in India are currently deploying Windows 7. It is available at more than 45,000 retailers around the world and in India, all 16 personal computer (PC) manufacturers will bring in more than 100 different products within 30 days from today. A user can save about Rs 500-Rs 800 per desktop in terms of security features and power usage,” said Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman – Microsoft India, while addressing journalists here today.

“With features such as Aero Shake, Peek, Snap, Jump Lists and a redesigned Windows Taskbar, one can do more with photos, music, movies and videos. There are innovative new features like HomeGroup, Play To, Windows Live Movie Maker and Remote Media Streaming in Windows 7. Direct access and location aware printing are the other unique features as we have integrated Windows 7 with the Microsoft Cloud,” he added.

Personal Computer (PC) makers like Dell, HCL Infosystems, Acer and Hewlett Packard have started shipping Windows pre-loaded PCs and notebook computers from today. HP India will retail Windows 7-preloaded PCs at between Rs 27,990 and Rs 90,000, while Acer PCs with Windows 7 OS will be priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 35,000. “Acer notebooks with the new OS will be priced at Rs 21,000-70,000,” said Chief Sales Officer Harish Kohli.

India asks China to stop projects in PoK

Posted by admin – October 15, 2009

India and China continued to tangle for a second straight day with India warning China against engaging in projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which has been under illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1947.

Reminding China that interference in PoK might affect long-term relations with India, a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesman said China should cease “such activities” forthwith.

The MEA spokesman said Chinese official news agency Xinhua had filed a report quoting the Chinese president as stating that China would continue to engage in projects with Pakistan inside the PoK area. “Pakistan has been in illegal occupation of parts of the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir since 1947. The Chinese side is fully aware of India’s position and our concerns about Chinese activities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. We hope that the Chinese side will take a long-term view of the India-China relations, and cease such activities in areas illegally occupied by Pakistan,” the spokesman said.

This warning comes a day after China criticised the recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the grounds that he had no business campaigning for Indian elections in an area which is disputed. India is paying Beijing back in the same coin, making observations about its “all-weather friend” Pakistan.

Although Bhutan has no diplomatic relations with China, it is a matter of time before it offers its opinion on China’s territorial engagements. Bhutan is one of India’s closest allies in South Asia and has an ongoing border dispute with China. It is another country with whom China has had territorial conflict that is yet to be resolved. China has had 23 territorial conflicts with other states, but has used force in only a few, while in 17 of these conflicts it has compromised or offered concessions.

Meanwhile, Home Minister P Chidambaram made it clear to China from Srinagar that India would issue employment visas only to its highly skilled workers and that it has decided against giving business visas.

“Chinese workers can come to India only on employment visa, no more on business visas,” he told a press conference in Srinagar. “We are going to issue employment visas only to highly skilled workers and it does not apply only to Chinese workers, but to other countries as well. We are not going to issue any visas to unskilled and semi-skilled workers as we have plenty of them in India,” the home minister added.