With Mobile Value Added Services (MVAS) touching Rs 7,510 crore in 2008 and expected to touch Rs 9,760 crore in 2009 and Rs 16,520 by 2010, mobile players are aggressively rolling out new services to increase the average revenue per user (ARPU).
Talking to CXOtoday at the Forum Nokia Developer Conference 2009, Deepak Halan, Group Business Director of IMRB International eTech said, “In the wake of changing industry markets, telecom operators are looking at MVAS as the next wave of growth, and a large chunk of revenues is expected to flow from VAS in the near future. Our report indicated that this market is growing at 70% annually.”
While the growing subscriber base has positively impacted industry revenues, operator margins have shrunk, pulling down ARPU. “As ARPU declines and voice gets commoditized, the challenge is to retain customers, develop alternative revenue streams, and create a basis for differentiation in high-churn markets that is why telecom operators are looking at MVAS as the next wave of growth,” said Halan.
Presently the mobile market has about 12-15 major players besides a number of new licences issued to Etisalat, Unitech and Reliance (GSM) that is likely to take MVAS to all time high.
Among MVAS, the most popular service was downloaded mobile music, although voice portals were swiftly taking over, said Halan. SMS-based infotainment services are largely divided among the big players. A TRAI reports indicates that out of the 375 million users, one out of every five users have a GPRS-enabled mobile across India but not many services are available making then passive users, which is a deterrent factor.
However, the new 3G initiative give a fresh pipe for data and video tracks that could be downloaded without interruptions and also mobile TV with a lot more services like video on demand will is possible, said Halan.
Srikanth Raju, Director, Head of Product Marketing Forum Nokia said, “MVAS has seen a huge market in India and now with 3G being rolled out, will further help video downloaded and a lot more development on MVAS.”
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Computer sales across Asia drop
Sales of computers in the Asia Pacific region outside Japan fell for the first time in a decade during the fourth quarter, as the global meltdown hit consumer spending, a study said on Monday.
Preliminary figures showed 17.2 million desktop computers and laptops were sold in the December quarter, down 14 per cent from the previous quarter and 5 per cent lower than a year ago, global market intelligence firm IDC said.
The figures marked the first year-on-year decline since the third quarter of 1998 when the region was grappling with the Asian financial crisis, it added.
"This quarter was quite a jaw-dropper" not just in China but also in India, said Bryan Ma, regional director for personal systems research with IDC.
"The clouds are darkening in 2009, although there might be some pockets of shelter in the region's public sector."
For 2008, struggling Chinese computer giant Lenovo was the region's number one vendor with market share of 18.3 percent, followed by US rival Hewlett Packard which had 14.1 per cent, and Dell at 9.1 per cent, IDC said.
Taiwanese computer firm Acer was fourth with market share of 7.5 per cent and China's Founder ranked fifth, with 4.0 per cent.
Agencies
Preliminary figures showed 17.2 million desktop computers and laptops were sold in the December quarter, down 14 per cent from the previous quarter and 5 per cent lower than a year ago, global market intelligence firm IDC said.
The figures marked the first year-on-year decline since the third quarter of 1998 when the region was grappling with the Asian financial crisis, it added.
"This quarter was quite a jaw-dropper" not just in China but also in India, said Bryan Ma, regional director for personal systems research with IDC.
"The clouds are darkening in 2009, although there might be some pockets of shelter in the region's public sector."
For 2008, struggling Chinese computer giant Lenovo was the region's number one vendor with market share of 18.3 percent, followed by US rival Hewlett Packard which had 14.1 per cent, and Dell at 9.1 per cent, IDC said.
Taiwanese computer firm Acer was fourth with market share of 7.5 per cent and China's Founder ranked fifth, with 4.0 per cent.
Agencies
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Will India-born executives bag Obama tech job?
Two prominent India-born executives are the frontrunners for the newly-created post of federal chief technology officer in the incoming Barack Obama Administration.
The two leading candidates are Padmasree Warrior, the chief technology officer (CTO) of Silicon Valley networking giant Cisco Systems and Vivek Kundra, who holds the same title in the government of Washington DC, US financial magazine BusinessWeek today quoted "sources with knowledge of the situation" as saying.
Warrior, who previously was the CTO at Motorola, represents hard-core technology expertise. Kundra, who was named to the DC post in 2007, has held similar government positions in the past and has a reputation for using technology to make government more open and inclusive, the report said.
Neither the Obama transition team nor the two executives would comment on their potential selection.
The President-elect is expected to announce his pick for CTO in a matter of days.
One of the sources told the magazine that the selection is being held up because it is not yet clear how the CTO will interact with the government's chief information officer and with the new cyber-security czar, another position that has not yet been filed.
Agencies
The two leading candidates are Padmasree Warrior, the chief technology officer (CTO) of Silicon Valley networking giant Cisco Systems and Vivek Kundra, who holds the same title in the government of Washington DC, US financial magazine BusinessWeek today quoted "sources with knowledge of the situation" as saying.
Warrior, who previously was the CTO at Motorola, represents hard-core technology expertise. Kundra, who was named to the DC post in 2007, has held similar government positions in the past and has a reputation for using technology to make government more open and inclusive, the report said.
Neither the Obama transition team nor the two executives would comment on their potential selection.
The President-elect is expected to announce his pick for CTO in a matter of days.
One of the sources told the magazine that the selection is being held up because it is not yet clear how the CTO will interact with the government's chief information officer and with the new cyber-security czar, another position that has not yet been filed.
Agencies
India to create 90 million jobs across sectors
The "India Shining" story may be under stress by the ongoing economic crisis, but some sectors and career options still hold promise for job seekers this year, according to human resource experts.
Leading advisory Boston Consulting Group says India will have a demand for 85-90 million people across various sectors, and the majority of the demand will come from high-growth industries like IT, outsourcing, banking, retail and healthcare.
Similarly, a survey by HR consultancy Manpower projects hiring to rise steadily by around 18 per cent from this quarter in many sectors, signifying that jobs in India may not be entirely affected by the financial turmoil in rich nations.
"India poses a far more positive outlook as compared to what has been happening across the world," said Cherian Kuruvila, director operations, Manpower India, adding that seven per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the country showed that the economy remained healthy.
"Employers in the mining and construction industries as also services sector are especially looking to scale up," Kuruvila said, but added that new jobs won't be distributed evenly through all regions and industries.
India has a work force of 484 million people, of which 273 million work in rural areas, 61 million in manufacturing and about 150 million in services, says the Boston Consulting Group that recently conducted a study on the country's services sector.
"Going forward, the Indian economy is likely to be overwhelmingly dependent on the growth of services. More than 70 per cent of India's incremental GDP and 60 per cent of new jobs over the next five years are expected to be generated by services."
A survey across the Asia-Pacific region by TNS, a market research and business analysis firm, with Gallup International, a global human resource consulting firm, also threw up interesting findings.
Sixty-two per cent of the Indians polled felt they would be able to hold on to their jobs in 2009 and the 57 per cent who expected unemployment to rise did not not consider they would be the ones affected.
"It seems, despite the slowdowns and reports of downsizing, there is an overall confidence among the employed in India that 'My job is secure! Difficulties, if any, are for others, not me'," said TNS India executive director Chhavi Bhargava.
Experts concede that the present financial meltdown has raised doubts over the performance of some industries and its impact on salaries and perks, but hope Indian businesses will come out of the slump earlier than their counterparts overseas.
"The impact on salary was felt in 2008 and it may continue till some time. The payouts were significantly lower than the 15-200 per cent bonus payouts in 2007," said Absolute HR Services chief executive Kunal Banerji.
"Gone are the days of experimentation with jobs. I would advise employees not to be adventurous checking different jobs. Stability is the mantra," said Confiar Consultants managing director Vivek Ahuja.
Apart from advising employees to keep their jobs this year, HR consultants also feel these are also the times when people will turn to age old values and ethics and play by the book.
"The old adages like no substitute for hard work and no short-cuts to success are back in vogue," Banerji said. "Stay hungry for work or stay hungry is the mantra for corporate India."
Agencies
Leading advisory Boston Consulting Group says India will have a demand for 85-90 million people across various sectors, and the majority of the demand will come from high-growth industries like IT, outsourcing, banking, retail and healthcare.
Similarly, a survey by HR consultancy Manpower projects hiring to rise steadily by around 18 per cent from this quarter in many sectors, signifying that jobs in India may not be entirely affected by the financial turmoil in rich nations.
"India poses a far more positive outlook as compared to what has been happening across the world," said Cherian Kuruvila, director operations, Manpower India, adding that seven per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the country showed that the economy remained healthy.
"Employers in the mining and construction industries as also services sector are especially looking to scale up," Kuruvila said, but added that new jobs won't be distributed evenly through all regions and industries.
India has a work force of 484 million people, of which 273 million work in rural areas, 61 million in manufacturing and about 150 million in services, says the Boston Consulting Group that recently conducted a study on the country's services sector.
"Going forward, the Indian economy is likely to be overwhelmingly dependent on the growth of services. More than 70 per cent of India's incremental GDP and 60 per cent of new jobs over the next five years are expected to be generated by services."
A survey across the Asia-Pacific region by TNS, a market research and business analysis firm, with Gallup International, a global human resource consulting firm, also threw up interesting findings.
Sixty-two per cent of the Indians polled felt they would be able to hold on to their jobs in 2009 and the 57 per cent who expected unemployment to rise did not not consider they would be the ones affected.
"It seems, despite the slowdowns and reports of downsizing, there is an overall confidence among the employed in India that 'My job is secure! Difficulties, if any, are for others, not me'," said TNS India executive director Chhavi Bhargava.
Experts concede that the present financial meltdown has raised doubts over the performance of some industries and its impact on salaries and perks, but hope Indian businesses will come out of the slump earlier than their counterparts overseas.
"The impact on salary was felt in 2008 and it may continue till some time. The payouts were significantly lower than the 15-200 per cent bonus payouts in 2007," said Absolute HR Services chief executive Kunal Banerji.
"Gone are the days of experimentation with jobs. I would advise employees not to be adventurous checking different jobs. Stability is the mantra," said Confiar Consultants managing director Vivek Ahuja.
Apart from advising employees to keep their jobs this year, HR consultants also feel these are also the times when people will turn to age old values and ethics and play by the book.
"The old adages like no substitute for hard work and no short-cuts to success are back in vogue," Banerji said. "Stay hungry for work or stay hungry is the mantra for corporate India."
Agencies
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Is Microsoft planning massive job cuts in 2009?
Microsoft Corp is considering significant layoffs across its various divisions, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the company's plans.
But plans for the cutbacks have not yet been firmed up and Microsoft could end up finding alternative methods to control costs, the Journal reported on its website.
A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on layoff rumours. The number of potential job cuts is likely to be far less than the 15,000 positions that have been rumoured in recent weeks, the Journal reported.
Microsoft might announce the job cuts when it reports quarterly earnings next week, the Journal said.
The software giant employs about 91,000 employees globally.
Agencies
But plans for the cutbacks have not yet been firmed up and Microsoft could end up finding alternative methods to control costs, the Journal reported on its website.
A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on layoff rumours. The number of potential job cuts is likely to be far less than the 15,000 positions that have been rumoured in recent weeks, the Journal reported.
Microsoft might announce the job cuts when it reports quarterly earnings next week, the Journal said.
The software giant employs about 91,000 employees globally.
Agencies
Google offers cloud software to businesses
Google is recruiting a sales force to offer the Internet firm's software to business customers worldwide who traditionally use Microsoft programmes.
Google will train people to pitch its Google Apps Premier Edition, an array of business software hosted online in what is referred to as "cloud services."
Cloud services such as spread sheets, word processing, and calendars are maintained and supported on Google computers and users access them when they wish by using the Internet.
Cloud services eliminate the need for packaged software to be installed and maintained on computers in homes or offices.
Google has been steadily increasing its host of cloud services, with a basic array offered for free and a Premier Edition available at a cost of 50 dollars annually.
"Google Apps has reached a level of maturity where it is useful and valuable for almost any business" said Google president of enterprise Dave Girouard.
"This programme gives IT solution providers an easy way to introduce cloud computing to their service offerings, while helping more businesses make the transition to this new era of technology."
Google said it will teach "resellers" how to integrate Apps into customers' business operations and give them a 20 per cent break on the price that they can pass on to customers if they chose to do so.
The programme has been tested with more than 50 pilot partners. "We believe strongly that all companies will adopt SaaS (Software as a Service) to one degree or another, and Google's reseller programme empowers us to be experts in the cloud," said Tony Safoian, president of SADA Systems, an IT consulting firm.
"Reselling Google Apps opens up new opportunities via new conversations we could not have had with prospective clients as little as two years a
go."
Safoian said Google Apps can be an easy sell, given that letting the California technology firm handle software updates, maintenance and disaster recovery can cost businesses 75 per cent less than doing it themselves.
Google Apps is seen as a direct challenge to a Microsoft empire founded on selling packaged software for installation on people's machines.
Until now, Google had relied on its own team to sell businesses subscriptions to its cloud services. Schools and charity groups are able to use the software services free.
Microsoft has responded with its own move "into the cloud" and says that the Windows 7 operating system it is preparing for release has been crafted with that in mind.
Agencies
Google will train people to pitch its Google Apps Premier Edition, an array of business software hosted online in what is referred to as "cloud services."
Cloud services such as spread sheets, word processing, and calendars are maintained and supported on Google computers and users access them when they wish by using the Internet.
Cloud services eliminate the need for packaged software to be installed and maintained on computers in homes or offices.
Google has been steadily increasing its host of cloud services, with a basic array offered for free and a Premier Edition available at a cost of 50 dollars annually.
"Google Apps has reached a level of maturity where it is useful and valuable for almost any business" said Google president of enterprise Dave Girouard.
"This programme gives IT solution providers an easy way to introduce cloud computing to their service offerings, while helping more businesses make the transition to this new era of technology."
Google said it will teach "resellers" how to integrate Apps into customers' business operations and give them a 20 per cent break on the price that they can pass on to customers if they chose to do so.
The programme has been tested with more than 50 pilot partners. "We believe strongly that all companies will adopt SaaS (Software as a Service) to one degree or another, and Google's reseller programme empowers us to be experts in the cloud," said Tony Safoian, president of SADA Systems, an IT consulting firm.
"Reselling Google Apps opens up new opportunities via new conversations we could not have had with prospective clients as little as two years a
go."
Safoian said Google Apps can be an easy sell, given that letting the California technology firm handle software updates, maintenance and disaster recovery can cost businesses 75 per cent less than doing it themselves.
Google Apps is seen as a direct challenge to a Microsoft empire founded on selling packaged software for installation on people's machines.
Until now, Google had relied on its own team to sell businesses subscriptions to its cloud services. Schools and charity groups are able to use the software services free.
Microsoft has responded with its own move "into the cloud" and says that the Windows 7 operating system it is preparing for release has been crafted with that in mind.
Agencies
Honda Motor likely to layoff employees
Japan's Honda Motor Co. said on Friday it was cutting 3,100 jobs in Japan and reducing domestic production because of a slump in demand due to the economic downturn.
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