Accenture India close to half of global count

A key milestone in India’s IT revolution is set to be crossed in months if not weeks, as the country’s share in the global headcount of multinational Accenture’s outsourced services network is set to cross the 50 per cent mark – which means half of the world-wide work-force in the key unit will be based in New Delhi.

The Indian headcount of IBM Global Services is also fast heading for the half-way mark. Sapient, a relatively smaller company focused on IT consulting, crossed the half-way mark years ago. All these companies signify services globalisation, in which India is becoming akin to what China is in manufacturing.

As Accenture inaugurated a new delivery centre in Noida on Tuesday, its sixth in India since a modest start of the delivery centre work in 2003, the total headcount of the Global Delivery Network (GDN) – which is the part of Accenture that competes for outsourced work with companies like Infosys and Wipro – was about 77,000 across 53 countries. Company officials put the Indian part of it at well over 35,000 in six cities.

“We are just a couple of thousands away (from the half-way mark),” Pankaj Vaish, who heads the worldwide delivery centre network for Accenture, told Hindustan Times.

Accenture chairman Bill Green had said last April that the total headcount in India will cross 50,000 in about a year’s time.

Worldwide, Accenture has about 180,000 employees in 49 countries, but the bulk of the staff are consultants and computer systems integrators who work on client sites. The GDN has call centres and business process outsourcing (BPO) workers and in effect works like a company within the company.

(The Hindustan times dt 9 7 2008)

Apple iPhone 3G makes international debut

SAN FRANCISCO: The iPhone 3G makes its international debut Friday in an eagerly-awaited launch expected to boost Apple's fortunes along with its share of the booming "smart phone" market.

Apple stores will open early to cater to throngs of aspiring iPhone 3G owners in more than 20 countries and analysts say sales could pass the billion-dollar mark within days.

IPhone fanatics began camping outside Apple's flagship store in New York City on July 4, while in downtown Tokyo some 30 people had begun queuing on Wednesday.

"I am a huge Apple fan and I'm excited to buy the iPhone, which I find is far better than any other cellphone," said 25-year-old graduate student Hiroyuki Sano who was first in line in Tokyo.

If Sano's anticipation is any indication, Apple's latest device will be a smash hit.

Online orders for iPhone 3G handsets at British telecom carrier O2 reportedly topped 13,000 per second on Monday, overwhelming the website and causing it to crash.

Industry tracker iSuppli predicts Apple might sell as many as two million iPhone 3G devices at the launch.

Apple intends to gradually roll out the coveted mobile phones, which it is billing as twice as fast and half as expensive as the debut model, in 70 countries.

First-generation iPhones are sold in six countries but have been taken to many others and modified to work on local telecom networks.

"It is clear there is a demand for iPhones in many more countries," Apple founder Steve Jobs said while unveiling the new device last month.

It is designed for faster Internet downloads, longer talk times, and takes advantage of the high-speed third-generation (3G) networks to provide built-in GPS mapping.

Early iPhone 3G reviews have been favorable, saying the device delivers as promised but expressing mild disappointment with battery life. The higher performance of the 3G network saps power faster than its predecessor.

Apple will sell iPhone 3G models in the United States for 199 dollars and 299 dollars, depending on memory capacity. The original eight-gigabyte iPhone was priced at 600 dollars when it debuted in June last year.

IPhone 3G prices in some countries will be as low as a euro (1.57 dollars) provided customers purchase multi-year service plans that translate into lucrative long-term revenue streams for carriers.

Apple is continuing its strategy of locking iPhones exclusively to one telecom carrier per country.

IPhone service providers are AT&T in the United States, T-Mobile in Germany, O2 in Great Britain, and Orange in France, where iPhone 3G launches on July 17.

Belgium will evidently be home to the most expensive iPhone 3G devices, which will be priced at 826 dollars (525 euros) and 968 dollars (615 euros) because law there prevents subsidizing hardware costs with service plans.

Apple and numerous technology websites have posted online tips on how to navigate Friday's anticipated buying frenzy.

The second-generation iPhone will let business users send and receive Microsoft Exchange email, in a direct shot at rival BlackBerry made by Canada-based Research-In-Motion.

BlackBerry handsets have long let people "push" work email to the devices using the Microsoft email system.

IPhones are the third most popular "smart phones" in the world, with 5.3 per cent of the market.

BlackBerry claims 13.4 per cent of the market while Finnish handset colossus Nokia dominates with 45.2 per cent," according to research from Gartner.

The popularity of iPhones has led to copying by competitors such as Nokia and Samsung, which have released touch-screen mobile telephones with Internet capabilities. BlackBerry is also planning a touch-screen device.

Apple reported selling six million iPhones as of June. Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray predicts Apple will sell more than 12 million new iPhones this year and more than triple that number in 2009.

The Economic Times dt. 10 7 2008

India’s top outsourcing cos

The findings of Black Book of Outsourcing 2008 have not been too pleasing for the Indian IT industry. The 2008 list sees several Indian outsourcing companies failing to find their way in the Top 50 list. The list shows how Indian companies are losing their grip over the outsourcing market and also called for better delivery from Indian vendors to improve their act.

Leading Indian companies like Infosys, Hexaware, EXL Service and ICICI Firstsource failed to make the cut this year due to low client approval ratings.

Firstsource (formerly ICICI), a four-year top ranked performer fell the most of any outsourcing company to 1550 of 1690. Indian IT bellwether Infosys too fell out of the Top 50 circle to rank at 59 this year. According to the survey, most of these Indian outsourcers were deficient in their delivery levels.

However, with the losers, the Indian industry also had some winners. These companies with their consistent delivery levels and solid models continued to gratify clients across industry verticals. Here's meeting the top BPOs of India Inc.

Wipro

The first Indian company on the Black Book of Outsourcing list is Wipro. The IT major climbed a few positions to make its entry at no six.

In a year, when several Indian companies slipped ranks miserably, Wipro retained its position. According to the survey, Wipro's reverse outsourcing strategy in the US and UK has helped the company become a hot favorite among US buyers. Wipro's acquisitions are paying off and management is maximising synergies. Survey sees business transformation demands from clients propelling Wipro into a hugely successful 2009.

With over 19,000 employees, operating across nine different locations (India and Eastern Europe), Wipro BPO services include banking and capital markets, insurance, travel and hospitality, hi-tech manufacturing, telecom, healthcare sectors, finance and accounting, procurement, HR services, loyalty services and knowledge services.

Recently the tech major consolidated its entire consulting business under a single umbrella, Wipro Consulting Services. Facing tough times due to rising rupee vis-a-vis dollar and slowdown in its largest market US, Wipro reported its slowest quarterly earnings growth in the last five years as its clients cut back on technology spending.

The company is bidding for 12 contracts worth a total of $1.2 billion to help it meet its goal of becoming one of the ten largest IT companies in the world.

Satyam

Closely following its Indian rival Wipro in the list is Satyam. The fourth largest software services exporter Satyam is placed seventh in the list.

Satyam is the first company to be certified with e-sourcing capability model (eSCM) Level 5. The company recently reorganised its workforce to create almost 4,000 leadership positions, which is 8 per cent of its 50,000-strong workforce.

According to the survey, developing global archipelago of service centers makes this Indian ITO, BPO and engineering giant an annual favorite among customers.

Incidentally, Satyam is also placed at fourth position on the list of top 10 knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) vendors.

With US slowdown crimping outsourcing deals, the company reported an 18.5 per cent rise in the last quarter. The company stated that consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March rose to Rs 4.67 billion ($117 million) up from 3.94 billion a year ago.

However, the company is chasing 20 large deals in the $50 million-$100 million range to beat the slowdown tremors.

TCS

India's biggest software services exporter, Tata Consultancy Services ranks at 15th position in the Black Book Outsourcing list.

The survey states that TCS establishing a service center in Ohio helped it gratify major US clients. The over 100,000 employees and $4.3-bn strong company remains one of the few vendors to still able to sign super-sized contracts of the past, adds survey.

Like its rival Infosys, the company too has kicked off a succession plan to elevate younger executives into the top management cadre. Under the plan, the company has started a new leadership programme for executives in the age bracket of 35-43.

The Mumbai-based company has planned a capital expenditure of around Rs 4,500 crore for the current year. Of this, it will invest around Rs 1,467 crore in equipment and Rs 3,000 crore in land.

The company which derives 50 per cent of its revenues from North America is witnessing margin pressures due to sub-prime crisis and oil and commodity price escalation.

To address the risk, it has increased diversification across geographies, enlarged the basket of offerings and is focusing on enlarging global presence by strengthening global development centres.

Recently, it bagged a $11.5 million contract from the Uganda Revenue Authority to design and install a tax administration system. The project, funded by Belgium, Britain, the Netherlands and Uganda will bring in a new system that will cut costs and processing time while bringing fiscal transparency and financial accountability.

HCL
Noida-based HCL has bagged 21st position in Black Book outsourcing list. Founded in 1976, HCL is among the India's oldest IT startups, founded by Chairman and CEO, Shiv Nadar.

With $4.1 billion revenue, HCL has over 47,100 employees spread across out of 17 countries. The company's BPO unit has over 11,800 employees. It has offices in India, Ireland, UK and Malaysia.

It supports multi-lingual languages that include eight European languages and eight APAC languages. HCL BPO's focus verticals include telecom, retail, banking and financial Services insurance and hi-tech and manufacturing.

Recently, the European aerospace group EADS partnered with HCL Technologies (HCL) as a supplier for its product engineering and technical publication services. The services will be delivered through the company's design center at Bangalore.

In 2007, HCL was ranked at third position in Black Book of outsourcing list for Highest Satisfaction for Business Process Outsourcing. It has also been appraised at Maturity level 3 of People CMM.

NIIT

Founded in 1981, NIIT is the brainchild of two, young Indian entrepreneurs, placed at 36th position in the Black Book Outsourcing list.

NIIT is a first timer on the Black Book list with top scores from clients in banking, financial services and insurance, travel, retail and manufacturing sectors.

The BPO unit of NIIT, SmartServe (NSS) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NIIT Technologies. Its main operations are based out of Gurgaon with a disaster recovery site in New Delhi.

NSS has a wholly-owned subsidiary in UK which caters to its marketing and customer management requirements.

The company recently entered into a training joint venture with Genpact to nurture talent for outsourcing companies. The joint venture plans to set up training facilities in several Indian cities, including Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune in the first year of operation.

In phase 2, the JV also has plans to set up operations at other emerging outsourcing destinations like Dalian, Changchun, Shanghai and Xian in China, and Manila in the Philippines.

Patni

Ranked at 45th position in the Black Book Outsourcing list Patni Computer Systems is a provider of information technology services and business solutions.

The survey states that Patni remains steadfast to its offshore model of keeping long-term clientele happy by maintaining low costs while expanding Europe-centric strategies and staff.

With over 15,000 service clients across industries, the company has 22 sales offices across America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and 20 global delivery centers across the world.

* Indiatimes News Network dt.9 7 08

iGate subdued on outlook

MUMBAI: iGate Global Solutions, part of iGate Corp, has said 2008 will be subdued for information technology (IT) companies due to cutbacks and cancellations on projects.

Phaneesh Murthy, chief executive officer, told a news channel, the budget actual spent of IT firms in 2008 will be lower than budgeted in 2008 and will also be lower than that in 2007.

Some IT companies may end up meeting their guidance numbers and some will not because of what happens with their customer sets rather than the broader market, he said.

"Volume growth is more likely to get affected than pricing. We are not seeing as much of pricing getting affected in the market," the CEO added. Worries for mid-size companies will be because of their client concentration, he added

The Times of India dt. 9 7 08

UAE arrests 3,000 Indian workers for rioting

CHENNAI: Nearly 3,000 Indian workers have been detained at an undisclosed location on the outskirts of the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, on charges of rioting. ( Watch )

The workers - from Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala - of a large ceramics manufacturing unit in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah were rounded up by security agencies after they went on a rampage at their labour camp on Friday night to protest against the poor quality of food being served to them.

Indian ambassador to the UAE, Talmiz Ahmed, confirmed on phone that employees of RAK Ceramics indulged in arson by burning vehicles and destroying furniture and are now under arrest.

Although not all of the nearly 3,000 workers were involved in the fracas, the police took all of them to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in army vehicles.

While there have been strikes by Indian workers in the past in the UAE over poor working conditions and unpaid salaries, which have led to the Dubai riot squad being called in, this is the first time the UAE army has been pressed into service to arrest Indian workers for rioting.

Confirming the detention of the Indians, minister of overseas Indian affairs, Vayalar Ravi, told TOI that his department "is in touch with the UAE authorities". There were people of other nationalities, too, involved in the rioting, he said. "We are trying our best to get the Indians released. The labour officer attached to the Indian consulate is in constant touch with the UAE officials."

The workers have been questioned and their fingerprints taken. Those found to be involved in the violence will be deported after serving their prison terms, a source in the UAE told TOI. Ras Al Khaimah, where the violence occurred, and Abu Dhabi, are among the seven emirates that make up the UAE.

Talmiz Ahmed also said "the workers went on a rampage at their camp over poor quality of food served to them," and added that he wasn’t aware of the exact number of workers detained.

According to Rateesh, an eyewitness, the workers beat up the camp-in-charge, smashed windows and destroyed canteen furniture. Not content, they then came out and set at least two parked vehicles on fire. A few of them were even injured in the melee. During his visit to the UAE in May this year, foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee had urged the Gulf countries to promote social equality for the millions of Indian workers in the region.

(The Times of India dt. 9 7 08)

PM meets Bush, discusses nuclear deal

TOYAKO: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday met US President George W Bush on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Toyako in northern Japan. ( Watch )

The meeting, that began 7.40 am local time, was held at Hotel Windsor Toya. The prime minister drove two hours from Sapporo, through mist-laden mountains and a lush green country landscape, to meet the American leader.

"I am very pleased with the state of our relationship," Singh told reporters after the meeting. "Our relationship with the United States has never been in such good shape as it is today," he added. Singh also said that India and the US 'must stand shoulder to shoulder' on pressing issues.

Speaking after the meeting, US President Bush said that he and the prime minister talked about the nuclear deal and 'how important it is for our respective countries'. He added that the deal to sell India nuclear fuel and technology is good for both nations, even though it has drawn fire in both countries. He also congratulated the Singh for his leadership. The India-US nuclear deal has already caused a rupture in the ruling UPA figured high in the discussions.

The government is expected to go through several mandatory procedures with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) before the deal, in the making for three years, goes to Washington for a presidential determination and Congressional endorsement of the 123 bilateral enabling agreement.

PM Singh will return to New Delhi on Wednesday night.

(The times of India dt. 9.7.08)

Left withdraws support

Parting ways

PM’s announcement on Monday on approaching IAEA soon on inking India-specific safeguards agreement was the trigger

Left sees no purpose in attending July 10 meeting of Left-UPA Committee

Ending weeks of speculation, the Left parties on Tuesday announced withdrawal of support to the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government over the latter’s move to push ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal.

“We have asked the President (Ms Pratibha Patil) for an appointment tomorrow morning so we can go and formally withdraw support,” the General Secretary of the CPI (M), Mr Prakash Karat, told presspersons here.

He said that the decision was made following the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s announcement on Monday that the Government would “very soon” be approaching the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for inking an India-specific safeguards agreement, which is a precursor for operationalising the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The CPI (M) along with three other Left constituents and an independent have 60 Members of Parliament and provide crucial outside support to the Congress-led UPA Government in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The Left’s withdrawal would technically reduce the Government to a minority, unless it is able to obtain support from other parties and demonstrate this through a vote of confidence in the Lower House.

The Foreign Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said that the Government will seek a confidence vote before August 11 – the scheduled date of commencement of the monsoon session of Parliament. He further stated that the Government will not proceed to the IAEA till it wins the trust vote, for which a special session may be called “as soon as we receive formal communication from the President”.

The coming days are likely to see hectic political activity, with the ruling alliance trying to muster up the numbers to make up for the loss of its erstwhile Left allies. For now, the 39-member Samajwadi Party (SP), which till recently was at loggerheads with the Congress, has promised to save the Government in the event of a floor test.

Besides the SP, the UPA, which currently has a combined strength of around 225 MPs, is also looking to win over smaller parties to reach the magic 272-plus figure. They include the Janata Dal-Secular, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the National Conference, which have between two and three members each.

Earlier, Mr Karat charged the UPA Government with not making available the text of the safeguards agreement negotiated with the IAEA Secretariat to the UPA-Left Committee that had been constituted to iron out differences between the two sides over the nuclear deal. The Committee was slated to meet on July 10 to “finalise its findings”.

Since the Committee members have not seen the text and in the meanwhile the Prime Minister has already announced the Government’s intention to go to the IAEA, “no purpose will be served by having a meeting on July 10”, Mr Karat said. Mr Mukherjee, on his part, said that the full text of the draft agreement cannot be shared with “third parties” as it is a “privileged document held in confidence between the Government of India and the IAEA Secretariat”.

(The Business Line dt.9.7.08)