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Posts Tagged ‘Tech’

Tech spending will grow significantly in 2010

January 13th, 2010

Government and business spending on information technology will grow 6.6 percent in 2010, a new report from Forrester Research says.

IT spending will grow “at more than twice the rate of gross domestic product this year,” company vice president and principal analyst Andrew Bartels noted. IT spending in the U.S. dropped 8.2 percent last year.

GDP is projected to grow about 3 percent this year, economists polled for the most recent Blue Chip Economic Indicators report say.

On a global basis, Forrester Research reports, IT spending is expected to rise 8.1 percent in 2010 after falling 8.9 percent in 2009. Hardware and software spending will increase the most – 8.2 and 9.7 percent, respectively – and expenditures on IT outsourcing are anticipated to grow 7.1 percent.

Businesses may spend more on smartphones and other connectivity devices in 2010. Smart mobile devices like iPhones and BlackBerry phones will see rapid uptake this year, Morgan Stanley suggested late in December: Smart mobile uptake is growing five times faster than desktop internet uptake did.

Source:http://job-news.odesk.com/technology-platform-news/tech-spending-will-grow-significantly-in-2010-report/

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Indian tech sector seen to have turned biz facilitator

December 11th, 2009

India’s IT sector has moved on from being a “low-cost IT service” to the world to being a “high-value business facilitator”and the country can no longer depend on cost advantage alone but look to deliver value, according to VK Mathews, convenor of the IT panel of CII’s Kerala state council.

Speaking at the CII-Kerala IT department organized India IT Summit here, Mr Mathews said the Indian IT sector had contributed more as an “exporting producer of software” during 2000-2009 rather than a consumer of IT, and that the industry had transitioned through body shopping to system development/maintenance to strategic IT outsourcing.

Tracing the transformation of the tech sector in the country, he said it was underlined by MNCs setting up massive offshore centers in India, emergence of big Indian IT companies, and hundreds of thousands of university students opting to graduate in IT-related subjects.

Mr Mathews said cost and scalability were key contributions of the tech sector and that technology and process competence were the key strengths.

Pointing to the changing trends in the sector, he said the role of IT was fast changing from that of supporting to transforming businesses, with customers wanting to relate IT with value. This, in turn, has put the onus on IT companies to explore how IT can help reduce cost of business and manage growth.

Kerala chief minister VS Achuthanandan said the state government planned to invest nearly Rs 2,000 crore during 2009-11 towards infrastructure development at its IT parks, and invited IT companies to participate “in the e-governance journey of the state and help make it a success”.

He said the state government had declared free and open source software as the medium for software application in the state, and welcomed companies working in the free and open source domain to make Kerala their base.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/ites/Indian-tech-sector-seen-to-have-turned-biz-facilitator/articleshow/5324306.cms

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Tags: Indian IT Outsourcing Software Tech

Tech Mahindra to execute contracts for MTN, Etisalat

December 10th, 2009

The Kolkata operation of Tech Mahindra (TechM), the telecom software arm of the Mahindra Group, is picking up steam. The company’s 1,000-member Kolkata team has just been asked to execute a string of mega telecom outsourcing contracts for South Africa’s MTN, UAE’s Etisalat and Saudi Telecom, a senior official familiar with the matter told ET.

Not only is TechM developing advanced business intelligence solutions for MTN’s Nigerian operation out of Kolkata, it is also doing a sizeable chunk of the systems integration work for Etisalat and Saudi Telecom’s greenfield rollouts in India and Bahrain, respectively.

“Since the rollout of any greenfield mobile network involves installation of diverse network equipment and business support systems procured from multiple vendors, systems integration is a critical exercise. That is what Tech Mahindra is doing for Etisalat and Saudi Telecom through its delivery centres like the one in Kolkata,” said a source close to developments.

Mum’s the word at Tech Mahindra on the Etisalat, Saudi Telecom and MTN outsourcing deals being implemented by the Kolkata team. In response to ET’s email query on the details of these contracts, a Tech Mahindra spokesman wrote back: “As a company policy, we do not comment on client information or market speculation.”

Be that as it may, the latest developments come at a time when Tech Mahindra is ramping up its Kolkata operation in a big way. Indications are that the company’s upcoming 12-acre campus in the Bantala IT SEZ in the city’s eastern fringes will house the operations of its IT/telecom software development delivery centre and its BPO unit. Close to 2,000 IT professionals will initially work at this campus that is slated to become operational by December 2010. Once fully ramped up, it will be equipped to hold close to 4000 professionals.

At present, Tech Mahindra’s IT services and BPO operations happen out of separate facilities in the city. What is, however, not known is whether its Bantala SEZ will also house the city operations of Mahindra Satyam. Tech Mahindra recently surrendered the 2.77-acre plot that was alloted by the West Bengal government to Satyam Computers for a software development facility at Salt Lake Sector V, which never happened.

“Tech Mahindra, which now owns Satyam Computer, has decided to surrender the 2.77-acre plot as it says it is setting up a brand new IT campus at the Bantala IT SEZ. We have no information at this stage whether the campus will also include the offices of Mahindra Satyam,” said a senior official in the state IT department.

Source : http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2714041/

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Tech Mahindra to execute contracts for MTN, Etisalat

December 9th, 2009

The Kolkata operation of Tech Mahindra (TechM), the telecom software arm of the Mahindra Group, is picking up steam. The company’s 1,000-member Kolkata team has just been asked to execute a string of mega telecom outsourcing contracts for South Africa’s MTN, UAE’s Etisalat and Saudi Telecom, a senior official familiar with the matter told ET.

Not only is TechM developing advanced business intelligence solutions for MTN’s Nigerian operation out of Kolkata, it is also doing a sizeable chunk of the systems integration work for Etisalat and Saudi Telecom’s greenfield rollouts in India and Bahrain, respectively.

“Since the rollout of any greenfield mobile network involves installation of diverse network equipment and business support systems procured from multiple vendors, systems integration is a critical exercise. That is what Tech Mahindra is doing for Etisalat and Saudi Telecom through its delivery centres like the one in Kolkata,” said a source close to developments.

Mum’s the word at Tech Mahindra on the Etisalat, Saudi Telecom and MTN outsourcing deals being implemented by the Kolkata team. In response to ET’s email query on the details of these contracts, a Tech Mahindra spokesman wrote back: “As a company policy, we do not comment on client information or market speculation.”

Be that as it may, the latest developments come at a time when Tech Mahindra is ramping up its Kolkata operation in a big way. Indications are that the company’s upcoming 12-acre campus in the Bantala IT SEZ in the city’s eastern fringes will house the operations of its IT/telecom software development delivery centre and its BPO unit. Close to 2,000 IT professionals will initially work at this campus that is slated to become operational by December 2010. Once fully ramped up, it will be equipped to hold close to 4000 professionals.

At present, Tech Mahindra’s IT services and BPO operations happen out of separate facilities in the city. What is, however, not known is whether its Bantala SEZ will also house the city operations of Mahindra Satyam. Tech Mahindra recently surrendered the 2.77-acre plot that was alloted by the West Bengal government to Satyam Computers for a software development facility at Salt Lake Sector V, which never happened.

“Tech Mahindra, which now owns Satyam Computer, has decided to surrender the 2.77-acre plot as it says it is setting up a brand new IT campus at the Bantala IT SEZ. We have no information at this stage whether the campus will also include the offices of Mahindra Satyam,” said a senior official in the state IT department.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/ites/Tech-Mahindra-to-execute-contracts-for-MTN-Etisalat/articleshow/5308975.cms

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Tags: IT Mahindra Outsourcimg Tech

Tech Mahindra to consider BPO unit in Philippines

December 3rd, 2009

Indian outsourcer Tech Mahindra is considering a new business process outsourcing operation in the Philippines, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed source.

An affiliate of utility vehicles maker Mahindra & Mahindra, the outsourcer already has offshore centres in Ireland and the UK. A Tech Mahindra spokesman did not respond to phone calls for comment.

Source : http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_tech-mahindra-to-consider-bpo-unit-in-philippines-report_1319103

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India’s Satyam defends position after allegations

December 2nd, 2009

India’s fraud-hit outsourcing giant Satyam defended itself against police allegations that the scale of its false accounting scandal was far larger than originally believed.

Last week, police said the fraud enmeshing Satyam totalled more than three billion dollars — double the amount suspected when the revelations broke in January.

“Allegations regarding the magnitude of investor harm or historical misstatements in the company’s accounting records do not necessarily shed light on the present financial position and liabilities,” Satyam said late Tuesday.

The statement marked the first detailed response by Mahindra Satyam — as the company is now called — on the deepening scandal.

Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju stunned India’s financial world 11 months ago by declaring he had overstated profits for years and inflated the company’s balance sheet.
The Hyderabad-based company, which is defending lawsuits in the US, also reiterated on Tuesday that it could not quantify its potential liability in those lawsuits.
Satyam was ranked as India’s fourth-largest information technology services group by revenues when the scandal broke. Its clients included some of the world’s biggest firms such as Nestle, General Electric and General Motors.

The trial of Raju and other defendants is expected to begin on December 9, according to a report last month in India’s Mint newspaper.
All suspects are in custody in Hyderabad on charges of conspiracy, cheating, forgery and falsification of accounts.

The suspects had allegedly used various methods to swindle money including forging board resolutions to illegally obtain loans, using fake invoices to get money and falsifying other accounts.

In April, Satyam was taken over by the mid-sized Indian computer outsourcer Tech Mahindra, part of leading Indian vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra, for nearly 600 million dollars.

Source : http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ip3MH8uqLzh5Y6BGoZvc6Gd3aW9w

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Tags: Mahindra Satyam Tech

SRP says it won’t outsource tech jobs

November 5th, 2009

Salt River Project officials said Tuesday they decided not to outsource about 50 technology jobs, which the utility has been considering for several months.

After requesting information from local and global outsourcing companies earlier this year, SRP asked for formal bids from an Irish and an Indian company.

SRP could save money by outsourcing the jobs, but the up-front costs are too much for the company to take on during the current recession, Assistant General Manager Barbara Hoffnagle said.

Outsourcing the jobs would cost money up front because the new contract workers would have to work side by side with SRP employees for about a year to learn their jobs, she said.

“I know there was initial euphoria among the employees,” she said of the decision. “But the heavy lifting has just begun.”

She said that after consulting with Accenture Ltd. of Ireland and Infosys Technologies Ltd. of India, she believes the information-technology department at SRP can make significant cuts to its $120 million annual budget.

The 40 to 50 jobs SRP was looking to outsource represent only a small fraction of that IT budget, Hoffnagle said.

“There were cost savings (with outsourcing), but not as high as anticipated,” she said of the bids from Accenture and Infosys. “They certainly could help us.”

Hoffnagle declined to answer how much money SRP could save after the first year by using one of the companies, or whether Accenture or Infosys presented a better offer.

She said outsourcing could be an option when the economy rebounds and the up-front costs are not such a critical issue.

“Never say never,” she said.

Like Arizona Public Service Co., the other Phoenix-area utility, SRP uses some workers from outsourcing companies for supplemental contract work in its IT department.

APS’ Chief Financial Officer James Hatfield got in a heated debate with a state regulator in September regarding his company’s outsourcing efforts.

APS asked all the companies bidding on contract labor for its IT department to provide rates for onshore and offshore labor, which Hatfield said was “the cheapest way to get the job done and keep the permanent payroll down.”

Source: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2009/11/03/20091103biz-srp1104.html