A recently released report by ValueNotes estimates that the Indian publishing BPO industry is expected to grow to a value of $ 1.2 billion by 2012.
This growth is expected to come from rise in the number of publishing companies that will outsource - which include traditional segments such as STM/Academic, Educational & Legal Publishing, as well as new segments such as magazines, corporate and B2B publishing.
India continues to remain the favored publishing BPO hub - with 35,550 people in direct employment, and revenues worth $ 660 million as of end-2008. While revenues are expected to cross $ 1.2 billion by 2012, the total employee strength is estimated to cross 55,000 by 2012.
Publishing outsourcing includes a wide range of services. The four broad heads include content, design, technology and 'other' services.
Content continues to drive the industry and contributes to 72 per cent of the total industry revenues.
Over the last couple of years, services offshored have undergone a transition - from low value services such as tagging, editing existing designs, copy editing to high value services such as original designs, testing and assessment and e-learning tools.
There has been an influx of technology in the industry that has enhanced productivity, workflow management and most importantly reduced costs and turnaround time.
According to Arun Jethmalani, CEO, ValueNotes, "Most providers have access to similar technology, however the differentiator has really been the capabilities developed around workflow and innovation. Today's technology will become tomorrow's standard and constant innovation will differentiate the winners."
Aradhana Kolhatkar, lead analyst, Publishing Services, ValueNotes, said: "Indian players are shifting focus from the matured STM segment to the more lucrative segments in the publishing market. We believe that educational, magazines, corporate/B2B, trade and e-books will be attractive segments over the next 3-4 years. Indian service providers can extend their current capabilities to service these upcoming opportunities."
Based on exhaustive primary research and analysis of this sector, ValueNotes has identified and established that there are over 140 vendors in the publishing offshoring industry. Of these we have identified SPi, Aptara, Integra and Laserwords as frontrunners in the industry.
ValueNotes Database is a leading provider of business intelligence and research, with expertise across selected domains and types of customer needs. Working with clients across the globe, we have significant understanding of international markets.
Agencies
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Dell-Acer is attractive merger, feel analyst
The personal computer industry may be ripe for a wave of consolidation, with a marriage of Dell Inc and Acer Inc seen as a particularly smart deal, according to an influential Wall Street analyst.
"Among the 10 top PC vendors, we believe that a Dell/Acer combination makes the most sense," Sanford C. Bernstein & Co analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a client note on Friday.
If Dell were to buy Acer for a 20 percent premium, or about $5.7 billion, it would boost Dell's annual revenue growth sharply and add 12 cents a share to annual profit, he said.
The PC industry is commoditized and remains fragmented. Consolidating could help companies score better pricing from component vendors and contract manufacturers, as well as cost savings in areas such as human resources, he said.
"We view PC vendors as analogous to retailers, where our research suggests that the largest and operationally most efficient have garnered outsized profits relative to their peers," Sacconaghi wrote in his report.
Acer has a strong share of the portable computer market outside the United States, which would provide Dell with exposure to faster growth markets, he added.
Sacconaghi said buying Acer might also be beneficial to top PC maker Hewlett-Packard Co, but not as much as it would to Dell.
"While an HP-Acer combination might provide similar scale and synergy benefits, end market complementarity would not be as high," he said.
According to research firm Gartner, Dell and Acer were in a virtual tie for second place in the first quarter in market share in the United States.
Agencies
"Among the 10 top PC vendors, we believe that a Dell/Acer combination makes the most sense," Sanford C. Bernstein & Co analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a client note on Friday.
If Dell were to buy Acer for a 20 percent premium, or about $5.7 billion, it would boost Dell's annual revenue growth sharply and add 12 cents a share to annual profit, he said.
The PC industry is commoditized and remains fragmented. Consolidating could help companies score better pricing from component vendors and contract manufacturers, as well as cost savings in areas such as human resources, he said.
"We view PC vendors as analogous to retailers, where our research suggests that the largest and operationally most efficient have garnered outsized profits relative to their peers," Sacconaghi wrote in his report.
Acer has a strong share of the portable computer market outside the United States, which would provide Dell with exposure to faster growth markets, he added.
Sacconaghi said buying Acer might also be beneficial to top PC maker Hewlett-Packard Co, but not as much as it would to Dell.
"While an HP-Acer combination might provide similar scale and synergy benefits, end market complementarity would not be as high," he said.
According to research firm Gartner, Dell and Acer were in a virtual tie for second place in the first quarter in market share in the United States.
Agencies
Microsoft's Windows 7 free for 13 months
Microsoft Corp released a near-final version of the Windows 7 operating system to a large group of technology-savvy testers that adds a few new features, including a way to run Windows XP applications.
The Windows 7 `release candidate' will be available for anyone to download and try out on May 5. The release candidate is typically the version used by Microsoft's corporate customers to test how the new system will work for them. Software developers, hardware makers and other partners also base their next-generation products on this version because they trust that it's stable and close to finished.
Windows 7 RC, slated for download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers by the general public on May 5, doesn't expire until June 1, 2010, Microsoft confirmed.
The spokeswoman, however, refused to comment why the company is giving users such a long free pass for the software.
The 13-month life span of Windows 7 RC is longer than the time limit Microsoft put on Vista’s release candidates.
The software giant published the Vista release candidate about five months before the final version went on sale. If Windows 7 were to follow the same trajectory, it could be available by the start of October. Officially, Microsoft expects to start selling Windows 7 by the end of January 2010, but has said this week that it is possible it could launch in time for the holiday shopping season.
The software maker is counting on Windows 7 to win over businesses that put off upgrading to Vista, which got off to a rough start because it didn't work well with many existing programs and devices.
And Microsoft drew criticism from consumers when many computers advertised beforehand as ``Vista capable'' were actually too weak to run Vista's highly touted new interface and other features. People who wanted to upgrade Windows XP computers found their graphics cards and other components weren't up to the task.
The new system is already set up for a smoother debut because it shares much of Vista's underlying technology, which means hardware and software makers have had more than two years to catch up to a more demanding set of requirements. And Microsoft has pushed the notion that the high-end version of Windows 7 will run on many more computers than Vista, including tiny, low-powered laptops called netbooks. Today, Microsoft sells Windows XP, a much less profitable version of its operating system, to PC makers like Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard to install on Netbooks.
Microsoft revealed that the basic requirements for running a high-end version of Windows 7 aren't much different from those needed to run the bulkier versions of Vista. However, critics said the Vista requirements for memory and other components should have been set higher, and Microsoft says Windows 7 is better at managing memory and not bogging down less-powerful machines.
Microsoft unveiled a few new features in the release candidate that didn't exist in the January beta, including something called Windows XP Mode. The feature, available for the release candidate as a separate download, will let people run many XP-era programs from a Windows 7 computer.
The release candidate also adds a way for people to access music and other media files stored on their home PC over the Internet from other Windows 7 machines.
Agencies
The Windows 7 `release candidate' will be available for anyone to download and try out on May 5. The release candidate is typically the version used by Microsoft's corporate customers to test how the new system will work for them. Software developers, hardware makers and other partners also base their next-generation products on this version because they trust that it's stable and close to finished.
Windows 7 RC, slated for download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers by the general public on May 5, doesn't expire until June 1, 2010, Microsoft confirmed.
The spokeswoman, however, refused to comment why the company is giving users such a long free pass for the software.
The 13-month life span of Windows 7 RC is longer than the time limit Microsoft put on Vista’s release candidates.
The software giant published the Vista release candidate about five months before the final version went on sale. If Windows 7 were to follow the same trajectory, it could be available by the start of October. Officially, Microsoft expects to start selling Windows 7 by the end of January 2010, but has said this week that it is possible it could launch in time for the holiday shopping season.
The software maker is counting on Windows 7 to win over businesses that put off upgrading to Vista, which got off to a rough start because it didn't work well with many existing programs and devices.
And Microsoft drew criticism from consumers when many computers advertised beforehand as ``Vista capable'' were actually too weak to run Vista's highly touted new interface and other features. People who wanted to upgrade Windows XP computers found their graphics cards and other components weren't up to the task.
The new system is already set up for a smoother debut because it shares much of Vista's underlying technology, which means hardware and software makers have had more than two years to catch up to a more demanding set of requirements. And Microsoft has pushed the notion that the high-end version of Windows 7 will run on many more computers than Vista, including tiny, low-powered laptops called netbooks. Today, Microsoft sells Windows XP, a much less profitable version of its operating system, to PC makers like Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard to install on Netbooks.
Microsoft revealed that the basic requirements for running a high-end version of Windows 7 aren't much different from those needed to run the bulkier versions of Vista. However, critics said the Vista requirements for memory and other components should have been set higher, and Microsoft says Windows 7 is better at managing memory and not bogging down less-powerful machines.
Microsoft unveiled a few new features in the release candidate that didn't exist in the January beta, including something called Windows XP Mode. The feature, available for the release candidate as a separate download, will let people run many XP-era programs from a Windows 7 computer.
The release candidate also adds a way for people to access music and other media files stored on their home PC over the Internet from other Windows 7 machines.
Agencies
Will major clients continue to stay with Satyam?
In a news that could bring cheer to Satyam employees, three of their big clients Nestle, Nissan and CIBA who were on wait and watch mode have assured to continue business with the firm.
"Clients such as Nestle and Nissan has already expressed their confidence in the company and had assured us that they will continue with us," an official privy to the development said. Nestle have also given some additional business to the Satyam last month, the person added further.
One of the multi-million dollar SAP client of Satyam, Nestle, which was earlier keeping a tab on the developments. Analysts had feared that post the acquisition of the firm by Tech Mahindra clients of Satyam who were sitting on the fence would jump to other vendors.
However, post the acquisition some of the companies had expressed confidence in the entity and pledged to continue business with them. Auto major Nissan for whom Satyam provides application management had also said that they would continue business with the firm. The company has also got an endorsement from another SAP client CIBA.
Moreover, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany who have earlier imposed some strict norms on Satyam employees for getting Visa have eased them. Post Satyam crisis, employees of Satyam were asked to be present in person and appear for visa interviews.
However, now they have eased the norms and the employees need not be present for the interview in person. Satyam Computers plunged into crisis after its founder B Ramalinga Raju in January admitted to have cooked the books of the company for year.
In April, information technology firm Tech Mahindra announced to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the beleaguered firm for Rs 2,900 crore. Earlier, the government-appointed chairman of Satyam Kiran Karnik had said that though some clients have left the company but at the same time Satyam have got some new work as well.
Agencies
"Clients such as Nestle and Nissan has already expressed their confidence in the company and had assured us that they will continue with us," an official privy to the development said. Nestle have also given some additional business to the Satyam last month, the person added further.
One of the multi-million dollar SAP client of Satyam, Nestle, which was earlier keeping a tab on the developments. Analysts had feared that post the acquisition of the firm by Tech Mahindra clients of Satyam who were sitting on the fence would jump to other vendors.
However, post the acquisition some of the companies had expressed confidence in the entity and pledged to continue business with them. Auto major Nissan for whom Satyam provides application management had also said that they would continue business with the firm. The company has also got an endorsement from another SAP client CIBA.
Moreover, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany who have earlier imposed some strict norms on Satyam employees for getting Visa have eased them. Post Satyam crisis, employees of Satyam were asked to be present in person and appear for visa interviews.
However, now they have eased the norms and the employees need not be present for the interview in person. Satyam Computers plunged into crisis after its founder B Ramalinga Raju in January admitted to have cooked the books of the company for year.
In April, information technology firm Tech Mahindra announced to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the beleaguered firm for Rs 2,900 crore. Earlier, the government-appointed chairman of Satyam Kiran Karnik had said that though some clients have left the company but at the same time Satyam have got some new work as well.
Agencies
Friday, May 1, 2009
Despite the $10 laptop flops; India orders 2.5 lakh OLPC laptops
The Indian government has turned to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation to order 250,000 XO laptops, after the $10 laptop had turned a catastrophe, which was a direct challenge to the $100 laptop of the OLPC project. Satish Jha, President and CEO of OLPC India said, "The laptops are ordered for 1,500 schools and the deliveries will begin in June."
This will be the first order placed by India after the OLPC project failed to impress the then IT minister Arun Shourie in 2001. The OLPC project could not succeed in India, when it first entered the market by distributing 20 XO machines in a Maharastra village. The government shirked the project questioning its technology, the hidden costs and also cited it to be unhealthy if used for prolonged periods. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) also testified a new project, Sakshat, to provide a $10 laptop. The anticipated notebook equipped with Wi-Fi and 2GB RAM, however, turned out to be little more than a computing machine. It is just a 10 x 5-inch wide slab that stores and apparently prints distributed learning materials that can later be retrieved using a laptop.
After being rejected by the central government, the MIT's Nicholas Negroponte's OLPC project has been trying its luck with various state governments and the private sector in the hope that large corporations would donate these laptops to schools. The XO laptops are rugged, use open source computing, and are so energy efficient that they can be powered manually by a child. They have a built-in wireless, a unique dual-mode display that is readable under direct sunlight. OLPC says the software is designed for children to encourage exploration and creativity.
The OLPC has also planned to do away with the current AMD chips in the XO laptop and include the VIA C7-M, where the system memory would be enhanced to 1GB and internal storage to 4GB. However, the foundation did not reveal which version of the laptop the government has opted for.
Agencies
This will be the first order placed by India after the OLPC project failed to impress the then IT minister Arun Shourie in 2001. The OLPC project could not succeed in India, when it first entered the market by distributing 20 XO machines in a Maharastra village. The government shirked the project questioning its technology, the hidden costs and also cited it to be unhealthy if used for prolonged periods. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) also testified a new project, Sakshat, to provide a $10 laptop. The anticipated notebook equipped with Wi-Fi and 2GB RAM, however, turned out to be little more than a computing machine. It is just a 10 x 5-inch wide slab that stores and apparently prints distributed learning materials that can later be retrieved using a laptop.
After being rejected by the central government, the MIT's Nicholas Negroponte's OLPC project has been trying its luck with various state governments and the private sector in the hope that large corporations would donate these laptops to schools. The XO laptops are rugged, use open source computing, and are so energy efficient that they can be powered manually by a child. They have a built-in wireless, a unique dual-mode display that is readable under direct sunlight. OLPC says the software is designed for children to encourage exploration and creativity.
The OLPC has also planned to do away with the current AMD chips in the XO laptop and include the VIA C7-M, where the system memory would be enhanced to 1GB and internal storage to 4GB. However, the foundation did not reveal which version of the laptop the government has opted for.
Agencies
Indian founded companies may a beeline for TiE50
TiEcon 2009, the world's largest conference for entrepreneurs, has announced the finalists for the TiE50 Awards. Out of the total 150 companies vying to make it into the final 50, 32 are Indian founded. Selected from nearly 1,200 nominated companies, the finalists represent the hottest emerging startups in five focus segments: Consumer Web, Internet Infrastructure, Cleantech, Wireless and Software.
The selection process for TiE50 winners will be based on a combination of a public poll and private judges' vote. Voting is open to the public beginning Tuesday, April 28, 2009 and closes on Thursday, May 7, 2009. Polls can be accessed at http://www.tie50.net/polling. TiEcon has also established a partnership with social media site Vator.tv to help promote the finalists. Finalists are also encouraged to set up a profile at http://vator.tv/news/show/2009-04-27-tie50-vator-competition-launches.
In addition to the results of the public poll, the finalist companies will be judged on their product or service, market size and dynamics' leadership team, business model and progress since founding. The winning companies will be announced on May 9, 2009. The TiE50 winners will be honored at an award ceremony on Thursday, May 14 in Santa Clara.
"The TiE50 finalists represent some of the most exciting emerging companies that are driving growth and innovation in their specific industry - from cleantech to wireless," said Gary Gauba and Shaukat Shamim, both TiE Silicon Valley Board Members and Co-conveners for TiEcon 2009. "These companies provide a model for aspiring entrepreneurs and while they may not be household names yet, they have the promise to become tomorrow's stars."
TiE50 winners will also present their companies in a live showcase over the two days of TiEcon 2009, on May 15th and 16th in Santa Clara, CA. In addition to being featured at TiEcon 2009, the TiE50 will also receive ongoing support and increased visibility throughout the year. For more information on the TiE50 visit http://tiecon.org/home/tie.
The Indian founded companies in the list include: Signet Solar, Inc., Beceem Communications, Hellosoft, NIKSUN INC., Nokeena, Paloaltonetworks, Vembu, Vrismo Networks, Virident, Yume, Zscaler, Mportal, Mywaves, QIK inc, Reqall, Skyfire, Buzzintown (Wortal Inc), Intent, Jivox, Kosmix, Like.com, Lumosity, Offerpal Media, PlaySpan, Posterous, TheFind.com, Trackle, Zunavision, Adchemy, AlertEnterprise, Aster Data Systems, InMage Systems and xprotean.
Agencies
The selection process for TiE50 winners will be based on a combination of a public poll and private judges' vote. Voting is open to the public beginning Tuesday, April 28, 2009 and closes on Thursday, May 7, 2009. Polls can be accessed at http://www.tie50.net/polling. TiEcon has also established a partnership with social media site Vator.tv to help promote the finalists. Finalists are also encouraged to set up a profile at http://vator.tv/news/show/2009-04-27-tie50-vator-competition-launches.
In addition to the results of the public poll, the finalist companies will be judged on their product or service, market size and dynamics' leadership team, business model and progress since founding. The winning companies will be announced on May 9, 2009. The TiE50 winners will be honored at an award ceremony on Thursday, May 14 in Santa Clara.
"The TiE50 finalists represent some of the most exciting emerging companies that are driving growth and innovation in their specific industry - from cleantech to wireless," said Gary Gauba and Shaukat Shamim, both TiE Silicon Valley Board Members and Co-conveners for TiEcon 2009. "These companies provide a model for aspiring entrepreneurs and while they may not be household names yet, they have the promise to become tomorrow's stars."
TiE50 winners will also present their companies in a live showcase over the two days of TiEcon 2009, on May 15th and 16th in Santa Clara, CA. In addition to being featured at TiEcon 2009, the TiE50 will also receive ongoing support and increased visibility throughout the year. For more information on the TiE50 visit http://tiecon.org/home/tie.
The Indian founded companies in the list include: Signet Solar, Inc., Beceem Communications, Hellosoft, NIKSUN INC., Nokeena, Paloaltonetworks, Vembu, Vrismo Networks, Virident, Yume, Zscaler, Mportal, Mywaves, QIK inc, Reqall, Skyfire, Buzzintown (Wortal Inc), Intent, Jivox, Kosmix, Like.com, Lumosity, Offerpal Media, PlaySpan, Posterous, TheFind.com, Trackle, Zunavision, Adchemy, AlertEnterprise, Aster Data Systems, InMage Systems and xprotean.
Agencies
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Google emerges as the world's first 100 billion dollar brand
They changed the lexicon for the word, search. Now the phrase "I'll just Google it" has helped make the internet search giant become world's first $100 billion brand beating other household names like Microsoft, and Coca Cola to McDonald's.
The analysts of the Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands by consultants Millward Brown found that the company's value of $101.4 billion puts it 25 percent more valuable than computer software king Microsoft at $77.3 billion, reported Daily Mail Thursday.
Coca Cola ($68.5 billion) managed the third place in the list.
Technology companies make up the bulk of the top 10 with IBM (fourth at $67.5 billion), Apple (sixth at $63.9 billion) and China Mobile (seventh at $62.2 billion), along with consumables like cigarette brand Marlboro (10th at 50.1 billion) and burger chain McDonald's (fifth at $67.3 billion).
Energy major GE (eight at $59.9 billion) and telecom giant Vodafone (ninth at $50.2 billion) complete the top 10 valuable brands in the world.
Google, formed at Stanford University by students Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1997, went up 16 percent in brand value in the past year to just break the $100 billion mark.
Google marketing manager Lorraine Twohill said: "We know that without consumers you have nothing and there is a great element of trust in us.
"We think about the consumer first and expect everything else to fall into place after that. We don't feel big. We still work in little crappy teams and we feel very small."
Among industries to see their value grow over the past year, most are 'stay at home' brands, said the Millward Brown research. Coffee companies like Nescafe benefitted from cutbacks on drinking expensive lattes in Starbucks and other coffee shops, for instance.
Soft drinks, fast food and beer brands also grew as more people stayed at home to eat and drink while online sites like eBay and Amazon also grew.
Car companies, insurers, clothing brands and, not surprisingly, financial institutions were the ones to suffer the most, the research found.
Millward Brown chief executive Joanna Seddon said: "In the current environment, brand has become even more important because it can help to sustain companies in tough times.
"Those who continue to invest in their brand will be better positioned for business growth as the economic situation starts to improve than those who have cut spend. The recession does not always harm individual brands as much as it does faceless corporations," she added.
Agencies
The analysts of the Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands by consultants Millward Brown found that the company's value of $101.4 billion puts it 25 percent more valuable than computer software king Microsoft at $77.3 billion, reported Daily Mail Thursday.
Coca Cola ($68.5 billion) managed the third place in the list.
Technology companies make up the bulk of the top 10 with IBM (fourth at $67.5 billion), Apple (sixth at $63.9 billion) and China Mobile (seventh at $62.2 billion), along with consumables like cigarette brand Marlboro (10th at 50.1 billion) and burger chain McDonald's (fifth at $67.3 billion).
Energy major GE (eight at $59.9 billion) and telecom giant Vodafone (ninth at $50.2 billion) complete the top 10 valuable brands in the world.
Google, formed at Stanford University by students Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1997, went up 16 percent in brand value in the past year to just break the $100 billion mark.
Google marketing manager Lorraine Twohill said: "We know that without consumers you have nothing and there is a great element of trust in us.
"We think about the consumer first and expect everything else to fall into place after that. We don't feel big. We still work in little crappy teams and we feel very small."
Among industries to see their value grow over the past year, most are 'stay at home' brands, said the Millward Brown research. Coffee companies like Nescafe benefitted from cutbacks on drinking expensive lattes in Starbucks and other coffee shops, for instance.
Soft drinks, fast food and beer brands also grew as more people stayed at home to eat and drink while online sites like eBay and Amazon also grew.
Car companies, insurers, clothing brands and, not surprisingly, financial institutions were the ones to suffer the most, the research found.
Millward Brown chief executive Joanna Seddon said: "In the current environment, brand has become even more important because it can help to sustain companies in tough times.
"Those who continue to invest in their brand will be better positioned for business growth as the economic situation starts to improve than those who have cut spend. The recession does not always harm individual brands as much as it does faceless corporations," she added.
Agencies
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