The global recession is taking a toll on every industry and the construction industry is no exception. However, Aurigo Software Technologies, a provider of software and solutions for the construction and real estate, is offering companies its web-based products on a cloud computing model to save on huge IT expenditure.
Established in the US in 2003, Aurigo launched its solution BRIX for the Indian market in early 2008. Aurigo has three customers in India now - RDS Projects, IDEB and Navin Housing. All three companies have opted for the cloud computing model, thereby reducing their burden in managing the IT infrastructure, investing in the server hardware and software components and also on the power that is a huge expenditure.
Talking to CXOtoday, Balaji Sreenivasan, Founder and CEO of Aurigo Software, said, "Cloud computing is becoming a necessary requirement by customers seeking to deploy IT solutions even in the construction and real estate industries and is here to stay for the long haul."
Cloud computing helps companies and end-users access solutions without the hassle of having to invest in the computing power (hardware and software) required to run that solution internally. So if you are using gmail or hotmail to access your email, you are already a cloud computing proponent.
"As customers generally do not own the infrastructure, they merely access or rent, they can avoid capital expenditure and consume resources as a service, paying instead for what they use," said Sreenivasan. Many cloud computing offerings have adopted the utility computing model, which is analogous to how traditional utilities like electricity are consumed, while others are billed on a subscription basis.
Other benefits of time-sharing style approach are low barriers to entry, shared infrastructure and costs, low management overheads and immediate access to a broad range of applications.
In fact, IDEB's cloud computing model is expected to go live within the next six months, while RDS Projects, which has multiple projects spread across six locations in the country is expected to go live in the next 8 weeks. The remotely located and managed servers belong to various server farm providers that are highly secure, ISO 9001:200 certified and are located across India with overseas backup mirror locations with a committed 99.96% uptime.
Since these projects are yet to go live it would take a minimum of six months to one year to assess the actual ROI. However, BRIX is fairly well deployed across the US and at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), which is involved in a $3 billion bridge reconstruction, they have experienced a near 40% boost in productivity. This was measured by computing the reduced time to carry out inspections, transmit the data and increased information retrieval speed after deploying BRIX. The solution has been delivered on the cloud computing model with the entire solution being hosted on a central server and accessed by all the stakeholders at ODOT.
CXOtdoday
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Sanjay Sharma Joins ACME Tele Power As VP
Sanjay Sharma has joined ACME Tele Power Limited as vice president and SBU Head for IT Solutions. In addition, Sharma will also be responsible for the sales and marketing function for the company's IT Solutions business globally.
Prior to this appointment, Sharma was vice president of the IT division at Samsung India.
Talking about his new assignment, Sharma said, "The ACME business is going through an exciting growth phase, where the company is looking at significantly enhancing its presence in India and overseas through Innovative energy solutions. I am happy to be associating with ACME at this time and look forward to an exciting and rewarding experience at ACME."
ACME Tele Power Ltd. (ATPL) provides comprehensive passive infrastructure solutions to wireless telecom players both in India as well as overseas. The company focuses on innovation and R&D. ATPL has developed a range of innovative products that help provide cost-effective, energy-efficient, integrated, passive infrastructure solutions to telecom companies.
Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, managing director, ATPL, said Sharma's appointment will give a fresh impetus and a new direction to the company's IT Solutions business. The company will benefit from his rich experience in India and overseas.
Sharma brings with him over 18 years of experience in the IT industry, of which the last three years were with Samsung and the pervious nine years have been with IBM Global Services. Within IBM he worked on various assignments in the solutions sales and marketing field, for the Indian and Asia-Pacific markets. Prior to his assignment at IBM, he worked with Multi Tech Computers, handling the channel sales function there.
Sharma holds a Bachelor's degree in telecommunications (1989), master of business administration (1991) and is an active member of IEEE and other computer societies. He has undergone professional training at Harvard Business School on strategy, sales and marketing methodologies.
CXOtoday
Prior to this appointment, Sharma was vice president of the IT division at Samsung India.
Talking about his new assignment, Sharma said, "The ACME business is going through an exciting growth phase, where the company is looking at significantly enhancing its presence in India and overseas through Innovative energy solutions. I am happy to be associating with ACME at this time and look forward to an exciting and rewarding experience at ACME."
ACME Tele Power Ltd. (ATPL) provides comprehensive passive infrastructure solutions to wireless telecom players both in India as well as overseas. The company focuses on innovation and R&D. ATPL has developed a range of innovative products that help provide cost-effective, energy-efficient, integrated, passive infrastructure solutions to telecom companies.
Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, managing director, ATPL, said Sharma's appointment will give a fresh impetus and a new direction to the company's IT Solutions business. The company will benefit from his rich experience in India and overseas.
Sharma brings with him over 18 years of experience in the IT industry, of which the last three years were with Samsung and the pervious nine years have been with IBM Global Services. Within IBM he worked on various assignments in the solutions sales and marketing field, for the Indian and Asia-Pacific markets. Prior to his assignment at IBM, he worked with Multi Tech Computers, handling the channel sales function there.
Sharma holds a Bachelor's degree in telecommunications (1989), master of business administration (1991) and is an active member of IEEE and other computer societies. He has undergone professional training at Harvard Business School on strategy, sales and marketing methodologies.
CXOtoday
Is Apple developing a touchscreen PC?
Apple will take third-quarter delivery of newly developed 10-inch touchscreens from Taiwan, a source said on Wednesday, amid talk the US firm is developing a touchscreen PC.
Taiwan touchscreen specialist Wintek already makes small screens for Apple iPhones, and has received orders for the larger ones that are roughly the same size as those used in mini PCs, said the source close to the Taiwan firm. He asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
He added that he did not know what the final product would be, or who would make it.
Wintek spokesman James Chen confirmed Apple was a major client of his company, but declined to comment on any new product development.
Taiwan media reported this week that Apple, which has brought touchscreens to the forefront with the success of its iPhones, is currently developing a touchscreen PC, as lines begin to blur between sophisticated smartphones and traditional PCs.
Some of those reports have said that Taiwan's Quanta Computer, the world's top contract laptop PC maker, would manufacture the actual PCs for Apple.
Apple's Hong Kong spokeswoman, Jill Tan, said the company did not comment on market speculation, while a Quanta spokeswoman also declined to comment.
Agencies
Taiwan touchscreen specialist Wintek already makes small screens for Apple iPhones, and has received orders for the larger ones that are roughly the same size as those used in mini PCs, said the source close to the Taiwan firm. He asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
He added that he did not know what the final product would be, or who would make it.
Wintek spokesman James Chen confirmed Apple was a major client of his company, but declined to comment on any new product development.
Taiwan media reported this week that Apple, which has brought touchscreens to the forefront with the success of its iPhones, is currently developing a touchscreen PC, as lines begin to blur between sophisticated smartphones and traditional PCs.
Some of those reports have said that Taiwan's Quanta Computer, the world's top contract laptop PC maker, would manufacture the actual PCs for Apple.
Apple's Hong Kong spokeswoman, Jill Tan, said the company did not comment on market speculation, while a Quanta spokeswoman also declined to comment.
Agencies
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Smaller, 4-gigabyte Apple iPod shuffle launched
Apple Inc. unveiled a minuscule new iPod Shuffle on Wednesday that takes its "smaller is better" mantra to a whole new level.
The third-generation Shuffle, a slim aluminum rectangle less than 2 inches long, takes up about half as much space as the previous version even as it doubles music storage space to 4 gigabytes. To achieve such a tiny form, Apple had to remove most of the buttons from the body of the $79 device and build them into the headphone cord instead.
"Smaller has tended to work very well for us," said Greg Joswiak, a marketing vice president at Apple.
The trade-off for a sub-$100 Shuffle has always been the lack of a screen to visually navigate through the music stored on the device. The first generation Shuffle, which launched in 2005, could hold about 240 songs, arguably not enough to warrant a screen.
Now that the device can carry 1,000 songs, Apple has come up with a way for people to identify the music they're listening to or find songs they want. A new feature called VoiceOver can, at the push of a button, speak the song and artist name or rattle off the list of custom mixes — called playlists — that the owner has loaded onto the device.
Here's how it works: As you synchronize a new Shuffle using an updated version of iTunes, your PC or Mac looks at each track and playlist and creates a small file of a computerized voice speaking the title, artist or playlist name. If a song is in Spanish or Chinese, say, the software figures this out and speaks in the appropriate language. Apple says the device can handle 14 languages.
The new Shuffle, which comes in silver or black aluminum with a shiny stainless steel clip, is set to go on sale Thursday. Joswiak said Apple's own earphones will be the only option for early buyers, but that other companies plan to make compatible headphones as well as adapters for regular headphones.
Agencies
The third-generation Shuffle, a slim aluminum rectangle less than 2 inches long, takes up about half as much space as the previous version even as it doubles music storage space to 4 gigabytes. To achieve such a tiny form, Apple had to remove most of the buttons from the body of the $79 device and build them into the headphone cord instead.
"Smaller has tended to work very well for us," said Greg Joswiak, a marketing vice president at Apple.
The trade-off for a sub-$100 Shuffle has always been the lack of a screen to visually navigate through the music stored on the device. The first generation Shuffle, which launched in 2005, could hold about 240 songs, arguably not enough to warrant a screen.
Now that the device can carry 1,000 songs, Apple has come up with a way for people to identify the music they're listening to or find songs they want. A new feature called VoiceOver can, at the push of a button, speak the song and artist name or rattle off the list of custom mixes — called playlists — that the owner has loaded onto the device.
Here's how it works: As you synchronize a new Shuffle using an updated version of iTunes, your PC or Mac looks at each track and playlist and creates a small file of a computerized voice speaking the title, artist or playlist name. If a song is in Spanish or Chinese, say, the software figures this out and speaks in the appropriate language. Apple says the device can handle 14 languages.
The new Shuffle, which comes in silver or black aluminum with a shiny stainless steel clip, is set to go on sale Thursday. Joswiak said Apple's own earphones will be the only option for early buyers, but that other companies plan to make compatible headphones as well as adapters for regular headphones.
Agencies
What is hot in the memory chip sector?
Taiwan is setting up a new company to pull together six struggling computer memory chip makers and bring in technology from Japan's Elpida or US-based Micron in a sector suffering from its worst ever slump.
The government expects the move to fend off the industry's dominant players, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor of South Korea.
Following are answers to key questions about the market for DRAM or dynamic random access memory:
What does this mean for the global industry?
The consolidation led by Taiwan will leave the $25 billion sector with four major DRAM makers globally -- Samsung, Hynix, "Taiwan Memory Co" and one other company that would be left out of the Taiwan consolidation (either Micron or Elpida).
The reshaped landscape might help Taiwanese suppliers -- which make nearly a quarter of all the world's DRAM memory chips -- to get a stronger grip on output, especially after companies recklessly built up output in the last many years. Elpida may need funds before the Taiwan plan can be implemented.
What is the outlook for Taiwanese chipmakers?
There's likely to be no impact in the short term because it will take about six months to set up the new company, while chipmakers, including ProMOS and Powerchip are still strapped for funds.
The government did not give any specifics on how the new company can bring local DRAM makers together, but any de-listing of a company in such a consolidation could face opposition from shareholders.
In the long term, some analysts say this move might force some of the debt-ridden chipmakers to consolidate their capacity into the new company. Taiwan Memory Co could become a centralised foundry and DRAM makers would diversify into sales and marketing.
The six chipmakers to be involved in the plan are: Powerchip, Nanya Technology, ProMOS, Inotera Memories -- joint venture between Nanya and Micron -- and Rexchip, unlisted joint venture between Powerchip and Elpida.
Is this a chance or threat for Samsung, Hynix?
Benefiting from more advanced production technologies, Korean makers such as Samsung and Hynix could further tighten their grip on the industry, while Taiwan Memory struggles to slowly integrate several companies and technologies into one entity.
Taiwan Memory could end up becoming a formidable threat to No. 2 Hynix, which may have to seek more funding for technology investments. Still, analysts say whether Taiwan's government can inject more funds into Taiwan Memory remains a question.
What is the outlook for DRAM prices?
Even after the government's move, any significant recovery in memory chip prices is unlikely in the short term. So far this year, memory chip prices have been flat but slumped about 50 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year as a global economic slowdown hurt spending on personal computers and other gadgets that use memory chips to store data.
Analysts' forecasts for global PC shipments in 2009 vary, but many expect sales to fall. Research firm IDC expects PC shipments to drop 4.5 per cent this year.
Agencies
The government expects the move to fend off the industry's dominant players, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor of South Korea.
Following are answers to key questions about the market for DRAM or dynamic random access memory:
What does this mean for the global industry?
The consolidation led by Taiwan will leave the $25 billion sector with four major DRAM makers globally -- Samsung, Hynix, "Taiwan Memory Co" and one other company that would be left out of the Taiwan consolidation (either Micron or Elpida).
The reshaped landscape might help Taiwanese suppliers -- which make nearly a quarter of all the world's DRAM memory chips -- to get a stronger grip on output, especially after companies recklessly built up output in the last many years. Elpida may need funds before the Taiwan plan can be implemented.
What is the outlook for Taiwanese chipmakers?
There's likely to be no impact in the short term because it will take about six months to set up the new company, while chipmakers, including ProMOS and Powerchip are still strapped for funds.
The government did not give any specifics on how the new company can bring local DRAM makers together, but any de-listing of a company in such a consolidation could face opposition from shareholders.
In the long term, some analysts say this move might force some of the debt-ridden chipmakers to consolidate their capacity into the new company. Taiwan Memory Co could become a centralised foundry and DRAM makers would diversify into sales and marketing.
The six chipmakers to be involved in the plan are: Powerchip, Nanya Technology, ProMOS, Inotera Memories -- joint venture between Nanya and Micron -- and Rexchip, unlisted joint venture between Powerchip and Elpida.
Is this a chance or threat for Samsung, Hynix?
Benefiting from more advanced production technologies, Korean makers such as Samsung and Hynix could further tighten their grip on the industry, while Taiwan Memory struggles to slowly integrate several companies and technologies into one entity.
Taiwan Memory could end up becoming a formidable threat to No. 2 Hynix, which may have to seek more funding for technology investments. Still, analysts say whether Taiwan's government can inject more funds into Taiwan Memory remains a question.
What is the outlook for DRAM prices?
Even after the government's move, any significant recovery in memory chip prices is unlikely in the short term. So far this year, memory chip prices have been flat but slumped about 50 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year as a global economic slowdown hurt spending on personal computers and other gadgets that use memory chips to store data.
Analysts' forecasts for global PC shipments in 2009 vary, but many expect sales to fall. Research firm IDC expects PC shipments to drop 4.5 per cent this year.
Agencies
Has Wipro set up new consulting R&D arm?
Technology major Wipro is planning a deep plunge into the global consulting market with the idea of competing with true-blue global consulting brands and IT consulting firms.
In preparation for this move, the company has carried out an in-depth study on select consulting majors including Ernst & Young, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, McKinsey and Bain & Company to understand what made them stay different in the consulting world.
Anurag Srivastava, head of Wipro Consulting Services (WCS) said, "The objective of the study was to gather a holistic understanding of the consulting business. We want to create differentiation in the global markets through innovation-driven consulting. Consulting will be the front-end service for most of our large business deals.''
Wipro has also set up a dedicated research and development arm, Global Research Centre, to support its initiatives in the consulting space. The R&D facility will seek to enhance the business value to clients through innovation. The company believes that consulting will work as a powerful tool during times of recession to gain customer confidence.
Wipro employs over 1,200 consulting professionals and 7% of them will now be part of the R&D team. The team will track 12 industry verticals. The research activity starts with profiling the customer, moves on to analysing industrial trends, followed by providing a macro-economic snapshot and culminating in a viable business strategy.
The job of the R&D team is to lay seeds of innovation. It will play a key role in bridging the divide between ideators and front-end workers.
"The researchers will work in tandem with consulting professionals, so that customers are increasingly benefited,'' Srivastava said. "Consulting will have a significant impact on our IT/BPO revenues. It will transform us from an outsourcing player to a transformational partner."
Agencies
In preparation for this move, the company has carried out an in-depth study on select consulting majors including Ernst & Young, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, McKinsey and Bain & Company to understand what made them stay different in the consulting world.
Anurag Srivastava, head of Wipro Consulting Services (WCS) said, "The objective of the study was to gather a holistic understanding of the consulting business. We want to create differentiation in the global markets through innovation-driven consulting. Consulting will be the front-end service for most of our large business deals.''
Wipro has also set up a dedicated research and development arm, Global Research Centre, to support its initiatives in the consulting space. The R&D facility will seek to enhance the business value to clients through innovation. The company believes that consulting will work as a powerful tool during times of recession to gain customer confidence.
Wipro employs over 1,200 consulting professionals and 7% of them will now be part of the R&D team. The team will track 12 industry verticals. The research activity starts with profiling the customer, moves on to analysing industrial trends, followed by providing a macro-economic snapshot and culminating in a viable business strategy.
The job of the R&D team is to lay seeds of innovation. It will play a key role in bridging the divide between ideators and front-end workers.
"The researchers will work in tandem with consulting professionals, so that customers are increasingly benefited,'' Srivastava said. "Consulting will have a significant impact on our IT/BPO revenues. It will transform us from an outsourcing player to a transformational partner."
Agencies
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Has IBM resorted to scattered layoffs globally?
Technology giant IBM is resorting to "scattered layoffs" and the total could be nearly 4,600 employees in North America even though the company has reported surprisingly strong quarterly profits in January, a media report says.
"Big companies also routinely carry out scattered layoffs that are small enough to stay under the radar... and IBM is one such company," the New York Times said.
Interestingly, after reporting strong quarterly profits in January, its Chief Executive Samuel J Palmisano in an e-mail message to employees said that while other companies were reducing jobs, his company would not. "Most importantly, we will invest in our people," he wrote.
But the next day, the New York Times said "more than 1,400 employees in IBM's sales and distribution division in the United States and Canada were told their jobs would be eliminated in a month. More cuts followed, and overall, IBM has told about 4,600 North American employees in recent weeks that their jobs are vanishing."
Quoting J Randall MacDonald, IBM's senior vice-president for human resources, the newspaper said "it was routine for the company to lay off some employees while hiring elsewhere".
IBM says it remains the largest high-tech employer in the US, with 1,15,000 workers. But IBM's American employment has declined steadily, down to 29 per cent of its worldwide payroll of 3,98,445 at the end of 2008.
However, experts have a different take on this. According to them, these unannounced cuts raise issues of disclosure and the treatment of workers.
The report cited Harley Shaiken, a labour economist at the University of California, Berkeley, as saying that "the issue becomes all the more pressing in this downward economic spiral."
Meanwhile, as part of a government filing last week, IBM said its workforce in Brazil, Russia, India and China had climbed to 1,13,000. These are markets with faster growth than the United States, and less expensive skilled labour.
"At IBM, the layoffs are coming swiftly, if with less disclosure. The estimate of 4,600 job cuts comes from adding up the itemised headcounts in information packages given to employees in each of the businesses," the report said.
NYT further added, "In its financial statements, IBM does report the cost of severance payments and outplacement counselling for layoffs about USD 400 million annually in the last five years but not head counts."
Meanwhile, IBM workers whose jobs are being eliminated have said the undisclosed cuts, and the timing, seemed to contradict the company's public statements.
Agencies
"Big companies also routinely carry out scattered layoffs that are small enough to stay under the radar... and IBM is one such company," the New York Times said.
Interestingly, after reporting strong quarterly profits in January, its Chief Executive Samuel J Palmisano in an e-mail message to employees said that while other companies were reducing jobs, his company would not. "Most importantly, we will invest in our people," he wrote.
But the next day, the New York Times said "more than 1,400 employees in IBM's sales and distribution division in the United States and Canada were told their jobs would be eliminated in a month. More cuts followed, and overall, IBM has told about 4,600 North American employees in recent weeks that their jobs are vanishing."
Quoting J Randall MacDonald, IBM's senior vice-president for human resources, the newspaper said "it was routine for the company to lay off some employees while hiring elsewhere".
IBM says it remains the largest high-tech employer in the US, with 1,15,000 workers. But IBM's American employment has declined steadily, down to 29 per cent of its worldwide payroll of 3,98,445 at the end of 2008.
However, experts have a different take on this. According to them, these unannounced cuts raise issues of disclosure and the treatment of workers.
The report cited Harley Shaiken, a labour economist at the University of California, Berkeley, as saying that "the issue becomes all the more pressing in this downward economic spiral."
Meanwhile, as part of a government filing last week, IBM said its workforce in Brazil, Russia, India and China had climbed to 1,13,000. These are markets with faster growth than the United States, and less expensive skilled labour.
"At IBM, the layoffs are coming swiftly, if with less disclosure. The estimate of 4,600 job cuts comes from adding up the itemised headcounts in information packages given to employees in each of the businesses," the report said.
NYT further added, "In its financial statements, IBM does report the cost of severance payments and outplacement counselling for layoffs about USD 400 million annually in the last five years but not head counts."
Meanwhile, IBM workers whose jobs are being eliminated have said the undisclosed cuts, and the timing, seemed to contradict the company's public statements.
Agencies
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