ENP Newswire – 30 January 2012 Release date- 27012012 – Since its establishment in 2007 ABTO Software, a global provider of offshore IT outsourcing and high-end software development services, has developed dramatically.

It has grown from a small group of enthusiasts into a successful, fast-expanding software company, currently undergoing rapid growth on its core software development and outsourcing market.

ABTO Software boasts an excellent dedicated team, constantly replenished by young talented and ambitious developers. Currently, ABTO Software employs over 70 specialists possessing in-depth experience in a wide range of software development domains. In 2011 our team actually grew twice! Taking care of personnel qualification ABTO Software organized professional trainings and lectures for the employees on a regular basis.

Over last 6 months of 2011 ABTO Software successfully accomplished over 50 projects varying in scale and complexity for our customers in Europe and the USA. Currently, ABTO Software serves a comprehensive portfolio of 150+ projects. They were performed for various domains and vertical markets, including Healthcare, Military/Police, and Government, etc. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is now one of those popular technologies that ABTO Software also uses for delivering its solutions.

ABTO Software is proud to announce that a separate Product Department was set up in 2011. The main responsibility of the department is to support the full product cycle – starting from an idea and to delivery of the tailored product to the end-user. A set of new improved products, like SIP SDK for Windows Mobile, Android and iPhone, was also released last year.

In 2011 an improved, attractive and user-friendly website went live simultaneously with the adoption of the new company’s slogan: ‘Accelerate Business Today – Outsource to ABTO’. The newly-created website is filled with relevant content, boasts convenient structure and serves as a helpful instrument of communication with our visitors.

Source:http://www.techzone360.com/news/2012/01/30/6084723.htm

Monaghan Mushrooms has signed a two-year deal with a Belfast firm to provide off-shore software development support.
Equiniti ICS, an IT and business process outsourcing firm, will deliver services from centres in Northern Ireland and India. The deal is expected to play a key role in securing the Irish mushroom producer’s future growth.

Noel Lynch, business development manager at Equiniti ICS explained the company’s ability to deliver large scale projects was vital in securing the contract with Monaghan Mushrooms, which currently supplies fresh produce to retailers in Canada, the US and the UK and Ireland.

Mr Lynch said: “Outsourcing this software service delivers secure programming that increases company productivity and also reduces costs. We provide oversight and account management services for Monaghan Mushrooms here in Belfast while the technical elements are delivered by our team in India.”

Cherian George of Monaghan Mushrooms, praised the flexibility of Equiniti ICS.

He said: “We needed systems that could deal with the tight turnaround times required to ensure we produced and delivered only the highest quality mushrooms. Having explored other off-shore options, we found that Equiniti ICS offered the best value and service.”

Source:http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/business-news/firm-expects-growth-will-mushroom-with-it-deal-16108483.html

French company Capgemini is setting up a software centre at the Technopark IT hub in the Kerala capital, said a Technopark official.

M. Vasudevan, business development manager at Technopark, said the company has taken up space at the Leela Infotech campus.

“The office is being set up and in less than two months, they would open with strength of 200,” Vasudevan said.

Paris-based Capgemini is one of the world’s largest management consulting, outsourcing and professional services companies with a staff of 115,000 operating in 40 countries.

Currently there are 245 IT firms of varying shapes and sizes which employ more than 35,000 professionals in the Technopark campus.

“In two years time, Technopark IT campus is poised to become one of the country’s leading IT hub as giants like TCS have started to build their own 1.2 million sq.ft IT campus. Besides UST Global, the largest IT employer in the state, is also going to have their own campus.”

Vasudevan said the third phase of Technopark also would come up on a 90-acre plot at Technopark.

Source:http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-01-06/news/30597736_1_technopark-software-centre-capgemini

The TCS Nagpur Campus will be built in two phases with Phase 1 containing 8,200 seats for IT services and BPO services.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions firm, announced that it will expand its operations in the state of Maharashtra by building a new software development campus in Nagpur with an investment of Rs. 6bn in the first phase.

The TCS Nagpur Campus will be located on a 54-acre property in the Mihan SEZ on the city’s outskirts. The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shrl Prithviraj Chavan was present to preside over this occasion and laid the foundation stone for Phase 1 at a ceremony held at the site of the campus today. He was Joined by other dignitaries from the city.

Once the two phases are completed, the state-of-the-art TCS Campus will house 16,000 associates in the facility built with a strong environment-friendly design. Apart from world-class offices, the TCS Campus will have customer collaboration centers, cafeterias, gymnasiums and outdoor sports facilities to offer a holistic environment to knowledge professionals.

Mr. N. Chandrasekaran, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director said; “Nagpur has the potential to become the next big hub for knowledge-based industries like IT and engineering with Its strong eco-system of universities, talented people and infrastructure. After Mumbai and Pune where we employ over 40,000 people, we are delighted to be part the IT revolution in Nagpur. Our growing presence in Maharashtra continues to be of strategic importance for our overall business growth and we remain committed to working in close collaboration with the all stakeholders in the state to help development of local talent and provide our customers with the world-class IT solutions from this location.”

Mr Chandrasekaran added: “On behalf of TCS, I would like to thank the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra for making time for this auspicious function. We would not have been able to commence this project without the help of the Maharashtra government officials including MADC officials in Nagpur whose energy and commitment to this project has helped make it a reality.”

The TCS Nagpur Campus will be built in two phases with Phase 1 containing 8,200 seats for IT services and BPO services. Phase 2 will be of a similar size. Built with locally sourced materials and with an eye on sustainabillty, the campus will encompass water conservation and energy saving features and will be a zero-discharge facility.

Source:http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/TCS-to-set-up-large-software-development-campus-in-Nagpur/5315097326

The city of Yantai, located on the northern coast of the Shandong province, has made great progress in its animation and software outsourcing, owing to its geological proximity to Japan and the ROK, who are themselves software powerhouses.

Yantai now has more than 200 businesses in the software industry, about 60 of which provide outsourcing services in digital information technologies, cartoons and video games. They generated more than $60 million worth of offshore business last year, according to the city’s commerce bureau.

Yantai plans to spend at least 30 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) on a 1,110-hectare outsourcing park to pull in 80,000 skilled workers from animation and software sectors.

Yantai has spent 1 billion yuan on industrial parks for the software and animation development with a focus on outsourcing.

One of these parks, the Yantai Animation Park, is considered a national animation base by the General Administration of Press and Publication. The Shandong Provincial Culture Bureau has declared it a culture industry demonstration base. Six out of its 40 animation companies now provide overseas outsourcing services.

Source:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/shandong/e/2011-10/21/content_13943800.htm

Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Deputy Ruler, opened the 30th edition of the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex) in Dubai on Sunday.

GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 2011, one of the world’s top ICT events ended today and we at 01Synergy are happy to announce that we made a right decision to exhibit at Gitex.

01 Synergy is pleased with the platform GITEX has provided in sourcing new  partners to help them service the MENA region.

Middle East & North Africa is one of the most exciting and lucrative ICT markets and GITEX  was the right place for 01 Synergy to showcase its services, our stand traffic has been consistently high, enabling us to showcase our latest innovations and demonstrate how our services can help transform businesses in Middle East.

01 Synergy was appreciated for its stand design and showcasing:

• Mobile Software development services (Apps for iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android etc.)
• Social Media development & marketing (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin)
• Rich Internet Application development services (Flash / Silver light)
• E-Commerce  & CMS Solutions (Joomla, Magento, Mambo, Drupal, WordPress, Typo3, Oxid)
• Custom Software Development services (.Net, PHP, Java)
• IT Consultancy
• Legacy Application re-engineering
• QA & Testing services
• Offshore IT Staffing

GITEX 2011 featured more than 3500 companies from 57 countries and several global leaders were drawn to Dubai for the event.

GITEX exemplifies how the region has grown in terms of attracting many of the world’s biggest players in the technology sector. Business leaders recognise the benefits of face to face interaction with clients, and this is one of the many reasons GITEX continues to offer participants unsurpassed value including 01Synergy.

GITEX was a successful event for 01Synergy, as it provided the right platform to facilitate joint ventures, strategic alliances and expand our customer base in the MENA region. We look forward to be back at GITEX 2012.

The company is a professional and leading IT offshore outsourcing company, delivering services like effective web development, energetic web designing, enhanced software development, exhaustive mobile

HiddenBrains is a pioneer offshore service provider committed in providing reliable, effective and high quality Web Application development and Web Designing services to various clients located worldwide. Customization in the software development is very vital in the modern times. HiddenBrains is a robust IT outsourcing company that offers customized software development services to many offshore clients. It is an ISO 9001:2008 certified offshore Web Development Company with world class offshore development team in India.

We have proficient in Web Application Development in PHP, ASP, .Net & Java, Open Source technologies, Custom Software Development, Web Enabled Applications, Website designing, e-commerce Shopping Cart Development, Client Server Application Development, XML application development and thus has been aptly named as Web Development India and Web Designing India and also well known in today’s IT industry as Website Designer India. The company is serving especially offshore clients for the last many years and very proficient in understanding the technical and non technical needs that result in high quality offshore applications.

The company deems in using all the latest core concepts and methodologies prevailing in the web development India and is dedicated for providing the most enhanced Web application development. The software developers/programmers of the company power themselves with a variety of software tools and technologies that ultimately enables high quality software development. Company is a professional Web Development India that offers affordable offshore development services according to the business or social requirements of numerous offshore clients.

Its Outsourcing Offshore Development India & Web Development India team work in a wide array of industries bringing unique combination of technical expertise, functional knowledge base, result oriented management and extensive expertise in order to evolve solutions that are always highly scalable and designed to handle big volumes of database load efficiently. Expert Coders of HiddenBrains are well advanced in the best utilization of all their programming skills, as they are specially trained to work independently and handle all the complex offshore projects and thus ensure 25% reduction in development time unique only to HiddenBrains.

A Look at the Wide Range of Offshore Development Services Offered by HiddenBrains:

• Web Application Development
• Offshore Project Development
• PHP Web Application Development
• .Net Application Development
• E-commerce Application Development
• Customized Software Development

Source:http://www.addpr.com/articles/programming/91244.html

India seems to be an emerging hub of Custom application development of the world. Software development India is widely known for their best quality of service. With the development of the internet, many new areas in web application development have been opened in India to offer the best for clients at the best rates without compromising on quality.

Custom application development is simply a procedure that allows businesses to benefits from latest technology to make business process more efficient and functional. It allows you to have all the features you need and request for your business. There are various custom Software Development Companies in India that are committed to offer top quality Custom application product development solutions according to your needs and budget.

India has emerged as one of the top destinations for offshore software development due to various factors:-
1. Provides cost-effective & high quality business
2. Offers specialized technical skills & experienced expertise in various domains
3. Focus on its competencies & time

Outsourcing software Development India is popular destination of every company who outsource their works because of quality work and talent. India is a key player of such outsourcing product services in IT industry and most popular place because of their work commitment and quality work which they deliver in affordable and cheapest prices. Software development India gives us feasibility to develop software as per customer’s requirement, it’s as simple method as difficult to understand requirement, we first have to understand complete requirement of customers. Furthermore, customized applications are planned and executed by making use of the latest technology. They are exclusively developed according to current market needs without costing huge money.

Some important guidelines on choosing the right software development company India for best offshore services:-
1. It is necessary to know a company’s credentials and authenticity in the market. Check the testimonials and portfolio of a company along with its business goals, achievements and market reputation of the service provider before you enter into a business alliance.
2. Rich and wide experience in complete SDLC/SWDLC.
3. Questions related to communication, budget, support and timing can also be asked.
4. Identify Your Needs and fulfills your business requirements.

Source:http://stockmarketsreview.com/pressrelease/2011/10/03/choose-software-development-india-for-offshore-best-services/

Hanu Software Solutions, Inc. of Princeton, NJ has been honored with recognition from Inc. Magazine in its selection of “Top IT Services Companies on the Inc. 5000.” The company is ranked #164 in the IT Services industry and #1432 overall.

Hanu Software, one of the fastest growing IT services companies in the country, provides high-quality integrated outsourcing services to independent software vendors, enterprises and startups. Some of their key services include offshore software development, cloud application development, mobile application development, offshore software testing and business process outsourcing (BPO).

“We are absolutely thrilled to be recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies during a struggling economy,” said Anil Singh, founder and CEO of Hanu Software. “Our strong growth in a relatively short period of time speaks volumes not only about our talented workforce, but the faith our customers have in our ability to deliver high-quality integrated outsourcing services to them.”

Each year, Inc. Magazine releases the Inc. 500|5000 rankings with a comprehensive look at the fastest-growing, independent companies in the nation. The list represents an important segment of the economy, spotlighting entrepreneurial companies that spur innovation and drive the economy forward.

“Now, more than ever, we depend on Inc. 500/5000 companies to spur innovation, provide jobs, and drive the economy forward. Growth companies, not large corporations, are where the action is,” says Inc. magazine Editor Jane Berentson.

Source:http://your-story.org/hanu-software-selected-for-top-it-services-companies-on-the-inc-5000-270676/

With the commoditization of hardware, IT vendors are increasingly turning to software and services to generate revenues, say market observers, who also dish out advice on how to sustain the hardware business.

Hewlett-Packard last month announced plans to offload its PC business, despite being the leading global PC vendor, to focus on its enterprise software and services business. Even consumer electronics giant Samsung was reported to be looking to boost its software capabilities through acquisitions.

In an e-mail interview with ZDNet Asia, Tom Kucharvy, CEO of California-based Beyond IT, noted that the shift in focus from hardware to software and service had already been “well in place” with IBM leading the way in this transition when it sold its PC business in 2004. Similarly, Dell began focusing on its enterprise business, he added.

In an e-mail to ZDNet Asia, Ludmila Berkesova who is program manager at Technavio, noted that while HP only recently talked about exiting the hardware business, the “seeds were planted in 2008″ when it acquired EDS to gain a bigger share of the IT services market.

“While we can’t call that move spectacularly successful, it was good enough for HP to think of changing their business model with a higher focus on the services part of the business,” Berkesova added.

He noted that software and services were more lucrative businesses in both the short and long term when compared with hardware.

“If you look at any major corporations’ IT budget, you will find that spend on software and services is actually higher than pure hardware spend. It is also a significantly higher margin business,” he said.

“Low margins, higher labor costs, increasing local and global competition, and availability of low-cost hardware are all making this business difficult to run profitably,” he added.

Phil Hassey, founder of Australia-based CapioIT, noted that hardware also requires services to integrate. He added that it is simply a business that vendors prefer to keep as part of their revenue stream, rather than risk letting a third party benefit from it.

Beau Skonieczny, research analyst of computing practice at Technology Business Research (TBR), explained why software and services are margin accretive businesses. Software is build-once and sell-to-many, and services is able to capitalize on higher-end consulting services as well as lower-cost outsourcing and tech support services to expand margins, he said.

Kucharvy added that software and services were “more sticky” as customers would find it more difficult to switch between software or services vendors.

According to Skonieczny, the evolution of cloud will gradually dissipate the need for large-scale, in-house data storage and servers, and purchasing decisions will be less focused around hardware capabilities. Here, software and services will be key in supporting the added scalability of cloud implementations, he said.

Keeping hardware sustainable
With the commoditization of hardware, Hassey noted that it was increasingly difficult to keep this business segment sustainable. That said, he added that hardware products were still needed in the market.

Hence, IT vendors would need an “absolute razor-sharp focus” on cost as well as a commitment to innovation that delivered increased value for customers, instead of innovating just for the product’s sake, he said.

Technavio’s Berkesova concurred, adding that market players would need to carefully monitor and manage their internal supply chain.

“Sourcing of components to ensure quality while keeping costs down, will be paramount in keeping the business viable. In a volume business such as hardware, it is very easy to see sourcing costs spiral up in short order,” he said.

According to Beyond IT’s Kucharvy, the “easiest” way for vendors to have a sustainable hardware business was through delivering a proprietary hardware platform that provided unique capabilities, and a proprietary architecture that locked in customers through software or locked out competitors through brand loyalty.

While most proprietary systems have disappeared from the market, he pointed to IBM zSeries servers and the Apple Macintosh, iPhone and iPad as example of “most sustainable and profitable” proprietary product lines.

He added that while Cisco Systems had a similar lock, its position was being eroded by more aggressively priced competitors.

A more difficult route vendors, touting industry-standard platforms, can take is to have “such a large volume advantage and economies of scale” that they are always able to sell at lower pricepoints than their competitors, Kucharvy said.

However, selling hardware alone might not be enough.

According to Hassey, vendors will need to bundle products and services, and ensure they develop intellectual property (IP) that can be reapplied across different offerings and that can provide competitive advantage. He pointed to IBM’s achivements in the analytics space and HP’s success in the data center space, as examples.

TBR’s Skonieczny agreed: “Integrated solutions are the main ingredient to keeping hardware afloat. By owning the core IP behind software, services and hardware offerings, vendors are better positioned to establish more efficient and cost-effective ways to integrate the solutions with one another.”

“Developing a cohesive portfolio across software, services and hardware will help strengthen vendors’ offerings and promote pre-packaged solutions,” he added.

While interoperable systems might put pressure on a company’s hardware business as customers would find it easier to integrate products from different vendors, Skonieczny noted that packaged product pricing by large vendors such as HP and Cisco, that have larger scale and “end-to-end” products, could help promote hardware purchases and create a sustainable hardware business.

Enterprise lesson from Apple’s success
For IT vendors, Skonieczny noted that owning the entire software, services and hardware stack is an important piece of the enterprise IT puzzle.

Pointing to Apple’s lead in the consumer space as an example, he said Cupertino’s success was supported by its closely knit products, software and services, which each had clearly defined focus areas and the ability to execute well on that focus in a streamlined manner.

Such a strategy could translate over to the enterprise space with success, but the key differentiator would be organic versus inorganic growth, Skonieczny said. Apple’s innovations were built with minimal help from acquisitions which was one of the reasons why it had been able to maintain more product fluidity and closer integration of hardware, software and service, without needing to mix and match differing technologies, he said.

In comparison, other IT companies grew inorganically through acquisitions of disparate technologies and processes, he noted.

While it would be too late for many larger companies such as HP and Dell to build out an enterprise strategy similar to Apple’s in the consumer space, he suggested these market players looked at deploying effective inorganic growth strategies within the software and services realms to differentiate their offerings from the competition.

Pointing to HP’s acquisition of Autonomy, the TBR analyst noted that the purchase would “significantly bolster” the IT vendor’s software expertise in managing unstructured data sets.

“While this is an excellent opportunity for HP from a strategic standpoint, the execution of Autonomy integration is another story,” he said. “HP will need to find ways to integrate the data management capabilities into its existing enterprise portfolio, while building a more streamlined and cost-effective solution set for enterprise clients to utilize.”

Source:http://www.zdnetasia.com/it-vendors-should-integrate-software-hardware-to-grow-revenue-62302250.htm

CDI Corporation announced today that it has entered into a three-year service agreement with Parker Hannifin’s Parker Aerospace Group to provide managed staffing and project outsourcing services.

The CDI Engineering Solutions team will recruit and hire temporary personnel — and manage a network of suppliers who will perform these functions — for Parker Aerospace, a leading supplier of flight control, fuel & inerting, hydraulic, fluid conveyance, thermal management, and engine systems and technologies. Supporting positions ranging from engineering, information technology, manufacturing, finance and accounting to administrative and professional roles, CDI will provide managed staffing services to eight divisions in over 16 locations, supplying over 300 contingent employees. In addition, CDI will perform project-based engineering outsourcing services.

“We are confident CDI’s track record of providing customized solutions will allow them to help us achieve our quality and cost efficiency goals,” said Joan Clark, vice president of human resources for the Parker Aerospace Group.

“This is an unique opportunity where CDI can leverage both its staffing capabilities as well as its engineering expertise to provide a targeted program that is flexible enough to support Parker’s requirements,” said Robert Giorgio, president of CDI Engineering Solutions. “Because we clearly understand both their business and technical needs, we can supply Parker with a cost-effective, single-source of engineering services and professional staffing that will maximize their return on investment.”

Source:http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/14/3910441/cdi-to-provide-managed-staffing.html

Hanu Software Solutions, Inc. of Princeton, NJ has been honored with recognition from Inc. Magazine in its selection of “Top IT Services Companies on the Inc. 5000.” The company is ranked #164 in the IT Services industry and #1432 overall.

Hanu Software, one of the fastest growing IT services companies in the country, provides high-quality integrated outsourcing services to independent software vendors, enterprises and startups. Some of their key services include offshore software development, cloud application development, mobile application development, offshore software testing and business process outsourcing (BPO).

“We are absolutely thrilled to be recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies during a struggling economy,” said Anil Singh, founder and CEO of Hanu Software. “Our strong growth in a relatively short period of time speaks volumes not only about our talented workforce, but the faith our customers have in our ability to deliver high-quality integrated outsourcing services to them.”

Each year, Inc. Magazine releases the Inc. 500|5000 rankings with a comprehensive look at the fastest-growing, independent companies in the nation. The list represents an important segment of the economy, spotlighting entrepreneurial companies that spur innovation and drive the economy forward.

“Now, more than ever, we depend on Inc. 500/5000 companies to spur innovation, provide jobs, and drive the economy forward. Growth companies, not large corporations, are where the action is,” says Inc. magazine Editor Jane Berentson.

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hanu-software-selected-for-top-it-services-companies-on-the-inc-5000-2011-09-13

I recently wrote about research from Oxford University’s Said Business which described how major IT projects are much more likely to fail than other projects. Because many major projects are outsourced businesses need contracts which protect them in the event of projects running out of control

John Worthy, partner in the Technology and Outsourcing Law Group at Field Fisher Waterhouse describes how businesses should create contracts with suppliers to protect themselves when IT projects run out of control.

Safeguarding against failure in major IT projects: coping with “black swan events”

“Major IT projects are twenty times more likely to fail than other projects, according to the recent major study by Oxford University’s Said Business School, especially when they are affected by unpredictable “black swan” events. This research not only highlights the challenges of major IT projects, but also flags up the need to be prepared. This is important for companies when negotiating the project contract, so that it provides a robust legal framework for managing both the project and the relationship.

The uncertainty about “black swan events” should not undermine the value of being prepared to deal with them. Even though the precise nature of the “black swan” events cannot be easily predicted, companies are increasingly aware that having a contract in place which addresses how to manage contingencies will significantly help in achieving a successful result. So what does this entail?

As a starting point, the specifications for the project should be set out clearly and built in as part of the contract. Unfortunately many projects fall short of expectations because this foundation is missing.

In addition, the contract should spell out a clear procedure for managing any changes – evaluating and agreeing the effect on the specifications, timelines and budgets. The high frequency of cost overruns in bespoke software projects found by the Oxford University research suggests that those projects were not backed by effective change management procedures in the contract.

Well-crafted contracts will also contain mechanisms to provide practical solutions to possible contingencies, including “black swan events”. For some difficulties, such as a delay in the project, agreed liquidated damages may provide an effective remedy. However, finding a commercial solution to more deep seated problems may depend on whether the contract provides for a suitable range of practical options. These would focus on how the project can be brought back on track, if this is achievable, with the least possible disruption.

Aside from damages, contract solutions could include enhanced project management, step-in mechanisms (where a new contractor is appointed to complete the work), and termination procedures, at least as a last resort. Again, clarity here is vital. Where a contract does not specify how the termination process is worked out in practice, this makes it more difficult for both the supplier and the customer to resolve how to wind down a project smoothly, if this is the best approach.

And throughout the resolution process, companies often find that one of the most helpful features is to include an escalation procedure linked to mediation or alternative dispute resolution mechanism. This allows both parties to maximise the prospects of an effective solution without the need for litigation.

Adopting these precautions will not avoid a problem arising, but it will provide a solid framework for covering potential contingencies, including black swan events”.

Source:http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/inside-outsourcing/2011/09/how-to-write-a-contract-to-protect-you-against-out-of-control-it-projects.html

US computer giant IBM announced last week it is buying Algorithmics, a Toronto-based firm that makes risk analytics software, for $387 million.

The acquisition of Algorithmics by the Armonk, New York-based IBM comes one day after it bought i2, a British firm that makes software for crime and fraud prevention, for an undisclosed amount.

Algorithmics, which has around 900 employees, is a member of the Fitch Group, which is majority owned by Paris-based holding company Fimalac.

It makes software for banks, investment and insurance businesses to help them assess risk and address regulatory requirements.

Its clients include The Allianz Group, BlueCrest, HSBC, Nedbank, Nomura, Societe Generale, and Scotia Capital.

“With the combination of IBM and Algorithmics’ analytics technologies, companies can measure and assess operational risk associated with lending processes, market and credit risk exposures,” IBM said in a statement.

Rob Ashe, general manager of business analytics at IBM, said “today’s economic environment demands that financial institutions have more cash on hand, a better understanding of their financial standing and the ability to deliver more transparency to stakeholders.

“Combining Algorithmics’ expertise with IBM’s deep analytics portfolio will allow clients to take a more holistic approach to managing risk and responding to economic change across their enterprises

Source:http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/technology/business/ibm-buys-software-firm-for-a-cool-mint-1.1132071

The country’s top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today said its TCS BaNCS Insurance has secured an order from Westpac Life of New Zealand to upgrade and transform its software platform for an undisclosed amount.

The platform will provide Westpac with the ability to define, configure and launch new products quickly and efficiently, TCS said in a statement here.

“We are very pleased to be partnering with Westpac’s insurance division in New Zealand and see this as a strategic expansion of our growing relationship with Westpac, both in New Zealand and Australia,” TCS Australia and New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Deborah Hadwen said in the statement.

“We selected TCS BaNCS due to its flexibility, ease of configuration and strategic technical fit with our insurance related business requirements,” Westpac Head of Insurance Kevin Crowley said in the statement.

TCS Financial Solutions provides software solutions for the banking, insurance and capital markets industries with 240 institutions as clients and operations across 80 countries.

Westpac New Zealand is the banker of the New Zealand government and has over 1.2 million customers and around 200 branches and 500 ATMs nationwide, it said.

Source:http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-08-31/news/29949505_1_top-software-exporter-tcs-financial-solutions-tcs-australia

Dandong, a city in Northeast China, signed up a cooperative framework agreement with South Korean partners to establish an industrial coalition for animation and software outsourcing on August 17.

The project, Sino-South Korean (Dandong) Animation and Software Outsourcing Industrial Coalition, was witnessed by delegates from the Animation Artist Association, Children TV Station and professional animation production companies of South Korea. Animation artists from China’s service outsourcing cities, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Dalian, Shenyang and Changchun cities, as well as experts from Shanghai Art Film Studio and Shanghai University spoke highly of the partnership.

The coalition is co-sponsored by the South Korean Animation Artist Association, Dandong Chenghao Multimedia Production Co Ltd and the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Liaoning (Dandong) Instrument and Meter Industrial Base.

Dandong Chenghao Multimedia Production Co Ltd and FINE Co Ltd from South Korean also signed a cooperation agreement on the same day.

The Sino-South Korean (Dandong) Animation and Software Outsourcing Industrial Coalition will set up an animation and software outsourcing industrial base in Dandong. The two sides hope to establish more cooperation in animation products design, marketing, production to find a new industrial cluster in Dandong and to create an influential and competitive industrial base in Northeast Asia.

The coalition will send Dandong on a fast track to developing the city’s animation industry.

Source:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/liaoning/dandong/2011-08/30/content_13220611.htm

Pulse Structural Monitoring will release three new software modules for its DrillASSURE package at Offshore Europe in Aberdeen, UK, Sept. 6-8.

Developed in conjunction with 2H Offshore, the interfaces are designed to help operators and contractors optimize the usage of their drill joint inventory, identify optimum operating windows and drill within safe parameters by constantly analyzing conditions in real time.

DrillJOINT is a complete inventory detailing the location, availability, technical specification, previous usage and maintenance history of the owner’s drill joints. Using this software, an operator or contractor can source riser joints and assemble a robust drilling stack on screen prior to drilling, saving time and ensuring optimum safety and efficiency throughout the campaign.

DrillWINDOW offers pre-drilling analysis of static and dynamic operating windows and hang-off envelopes. The user inputs known environmental data, such as wave height, current velocity and mud density, then the software evaluates these against approved safety margins to calculate the fatigue life of the drill stack.

DrillADVISE calculates parameters such as vessel position, flex joint angles and environmental conditions, then presents easily interpretable data in real time to guide the user on proceeding safely and efficiently. Feedback is presented in a simple traffic-light format – green shows all parameters are within thresholds, amber indicates caution or corrective action are required, while red is an instruction to disconnect immediately.

Source:http://www.offshore-mag.com/index/article-display/7388688873/articles/offshore/oe2011/offshore-europe__pulse.html

In their efforts to keep malware off their networks, some IT and security pros restrict end users’ rights to install apps on company machines, and the majority restrict the individual applications that are allowed on the network, a survey says.

Companies are essentially split on whether to allow users to install applications — 51% yes, 49% no, according to a survey of 765 professionals by security vendor Bit9.

Seventy-four percent of the businesses polled allow only software from a list approved by the business, and 23% allow only software that is actually deployed by the business.

About half allow administrative rights to fewer than 20% of their users, and just 11% allow such rights to all users. Seven percent allow administrative rights to no users.

While restricting administrative rights is the most popular method of controlling or preventing unauthorized software, that’s not the only method. Written policy guidelines that they trust employees to honor are used by half the respondents, according to the survey.

Of those who responded, 45% said they’ve found digital music software on work machines, 44% have social media software and 43% have instant messaging. Spyware was found by 36% of respondents and 32% said they found viruses and other malware on corporate machines.

When presented with four choices of attacks and asked which ones they fear, 60% said those that exploit zero-day attacks that leads to stealing intellectual property. Fewer were concerned about employees stealing and publishing company data (28%), a vendor being hacked and compromising company email (26%) and customer data being stolen because a cloud security application has been hacked (25%).

About a third of respondents say they don’t let employees use their own mobile devices for work. 41% do allow them but only on isolated public networks. 27% allow these devices to connect to the corporate intranet, the survey says.

Just 19% say that network crashes have been traced to use of “unusual” software.

Source:http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/082911-bit9-survey-250188.html

ITShastra, a software development, testing and design company for worldwide business needs and offshore project delivery, today announced that it has been named a Best Software Solutions and Service Provider in Mumbai by BIG Brands Research.

BIG Brands Research is an organization dedicated to identifying top performers in various business categories and geographies, focusing on both brands and individuals. BIG Brands Research Excellence Awards recognizes companies that demonstrate a commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.

“It is an honor to receive this award, and we are grateful to our clients for their loyalty and support, which is what truly makes us one of the ‘Best Software and Solutions Providers in Mumbai’,” said Prasad Nagool, CEO of ITShastra. “This is an acknowledgement of our consistent efforts to deliver services beyond our clients’ expectations.”

ITShastra, a premier software service and design company, produces leading-edge solutions, products and designs for businesses worldwide. The company specializes in cost effective offshore product delivery, while enabling its clients to maintain ultimate control over their development resources.

Nagool continued, “The recognition by BIG Brands further validates and strengthens our commitment to ITShastra’s core values of honesty, integrity and customer focus, which we attribute to continued success in achieving our business objectives and garnering superior results for our clients.”

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/itshastra-recognized-as-best-software-solutions-and-services-provider-in-mumbai-by-big-brands-research-2011-08-29

Cisco this morning announced that it has acquired San Francisco startup Versly, a privately-held company that develops collaboration tools that integrate with Microsoft Office applications.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but all Versly employees will be integrated into Cisco’s Collaboration Software Group (CSG) upon the close of the acquisition.

Versly builds plug-ins that enable groups of people to collaborate around content in Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and emails.

From the looks of it, the service was still in private beta, so this is a quick exit for Versly.

Here’s how Murali Sitaram, VP and general manager, CSG, Cisco, pitches the acquisition:

“Collaboration is a top priority at Cisco. With this acquisition we’re enhancing our collaboration offerings and improving the user experience by integrating social technologies within the business applications individuals and teams use at work.”

Versly’s software will be integrated into offerings such as Cisco Quad, Jabber and WebEx.

According to its CrunchBase profile, Versly was backed by seed funding raised from Accel Partners, Baseline Ventures, 500 Startups and a couple of angel investors, including Scott Dietzen, Kenny Van Zant, Jonathan Katzman and Rasool Rayani.

Source:http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/29/cisco-acquires-collaboration-software-maker-versly/