Nortel has opened a new Global Network Operations Center (GNOC) in Bangalore, India, to help remotely manage and support communications networks for enterprise and carrier customers across Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The Bangalore GNOC provides round-the-clock network surveillance and performance monitoring for voice and data networks. This enables Nortel enterprise and carrier customers to focus their resources on their core business, instead of dedicating costly IT resources to maintain and manage their communications networks. This, in turn, helps these companies lower operational costs, maximize network efficiency and performance, and keep abreast with new, evolving technologies.
The GNOC monitors customer network to identify network problems before they can impact business functions or productivity, and seeks to resolve issues either remotely from the GNOC or by dispatching technicians to the customer's site. This is Nortel's fifth Network Operations Center.
Nortel's other NOCs are located in North America, Europe, China and India (Gurgaon). The latter supports the managed services requirements of Bharti Airtel and other local customers.
Agencies
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Has software piracy in India gone up to $2.7 billion?
Global software makers lost an estimated $2.76 billion to illegal software trade in India, a study.
According to a BSA-IDC Global Software Piracy Study, even as piracy in the country has seen a one point drop to 68 per cent in 2008, it has resulted in loss of billions of dollars for software majors like Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft globally.
"With the various initiatives taken by the government and the firms, piracy has gone down to 68 per cent and in the coming year also, we expect this to continue as people become more informed about licenced software," BSA Vice-President and Regional Director (Asia-Pacific) Jeffrey J Hardee told reporters afetr releasing the study.
The dollar-rupee fluctuation resulted in the increase in value terms.
Hardee also said the rapidly growing user base for assembled PC units and easy availability of pirated software on the Internet, is a major concern.
However "with software firms offering services to the SMBs and more portable PCs being shipped, piracy should come down," he added.
The study noted a rise in piracy levels globally. While it has gone up to 41 per cent globally from 38 per cent last year, piracy also remains high in the Central and Eastern Europe (66 per cent), Latin America (65 per cent) and Asia-Pacific (61 per cent).
Agencies
US companies, cut, jobs, layoffs, US, tightens, H-1B visa, rules, Indians,professionals, aspiring, Washington, stricter screening,misuse,IT companies, India,technology, TCS, Infosys, Wipro,
Agencies
According to a BSA-IDC Global Software Piracy Study, even as piracy in the country has seen a one point drop to 68 per cent in 2008, it has resulted in loss of billions of dollars for software majors like Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft globally.
"With the various initiatives taken by the government and the firms, piracy has gone down to 68 per cent and in the coming year also, we expect this to continue as people become more informed about licenced software," BSA Vice-President and Regional Director (Asia-Pacific) Jeffrey J Hardee told reporters afetr releasing the study.
The dollar-rupee fluctuation resulted in the increase in value terms.
Hardee also said the rapidly growing user base for assembled PC units and easy availability of pirated software on the Internet, is a major concern.
However "with software firms offering services to the SMBs and more portable PCs being shipped, piracy should come down," he added.
The study noted a rise in piracy levels globally. While it has gone up to 41 per cent globally from 38 per cent last year, piracy also remains high in the Central and Eastern Europe (66 per cent), Latin America (65 per cent) and Asia-Pacific (61 per cent).
Agencies
US companies, cut, jobs, layoffs, US, tightens, H-1B visa, rules, Indians,professionals, aspiring, Washington, stricter screening,misuse,IT companies, India,technology, TCS, Infosys, Wipro,
Agencies
IBM acquires data discovery software Exeros Technologies
Software giant IBM has acquired Piyush Gupta co-founded Exeros Technologies, a provider of data discovery software, intending to capture the Business Analytics Optimization Consulting market.
The acquisition is seen as the return of IBM's strategy of capturing the small scale software companies. However, the internal team of Exeros including the top management and the Research and Development wing will be retained. Exeros was founded in 2002.
Technology and Business Research (TBR) considers this acquisition as a big strategic move by the company in the field of the Business Analytics, especially as the market has seen a recent acquisition of SUN Microsystems by Oracle, in which IBM had failed.
TBR states the valuation of the Exeros Technologies to be around $50 Million, while the firm has not officially disclosed the amount of the sale of the assets. The deal is said to be a significant one as Exeros technology is helpful in making the IBM's Information on Demand more enhanced.
The deal might give IBM an added advantage to take on the rivals like Oracle, which has already succeeded in acquiring Sun, which will increase the competition in the market.
"All organizations today are faced with the daunting challenge of turning massive amounts of information into insights to guide their businesses, but many are held back by the complexity of corporate data sources," said Ambuj Goyal, general manager, IBM Information Management. "The combination of IBM and Exeros will enable companies to more intelligently manage their data across all formats and computing platforms, creating a smarter enterprise," Goyal added.
With this acquisition, IBM will look to develop smarter business systems. It will also help to adapt to the changing market and to deliver much efficiently. By this acquisition, the customers will be able to find and access the desired information stored in multiple databases. The companies' clients will be preserved and will enjoy broader set of capabilities without replacing the systems. Exeros was named in si100 listing of siliconindia magazine in 2007.
Agencies
The acquisition is seen as the return of IBM's strategy of capturing the small scale software companies. However, the internal team of Exeros including the top management and the Research and Development wing will be retained. Exeros was founded in 2002.
Technology and Business Research (TBR) considers this acquisition as a big strategic move by the company in the field of the Business Analytics, especially as the market has seen a recent acquisition of SUN Microsystems by Oracle, in which IBM had failed.
TBR states the valuation of the Exeros Technologies to be around $50 Million, while the firm has not officially disclosed the amount of the sale of the assets. The deal is said to be a significant one as Exeros technology is helpful in making the IBM's Information on Demand more enhanced.
The deal might give IBM an added advantage to take on the rivals like Oracle, which has already succeeded in acquiring Sun, which will increase the competition in the market.
"All organizations today are faced with the daunting challenge of turning massive amounts of information into insights to guide their businesses, but many are held back by the complexity of corporate data sources," said Ambuj Goyal, general manager, IBM Information Management. "The combination of IBM and Exeros will enable companies to more intelligently manage their data across all formats and computing platforms, creating a smarter enterprise," Goyal added.
With this acquisition, IBM will look to develop smarter business systems. It will also help to adapt to the changing market and to deliver much efficiently. By this acquisition, the customers will be able to find and access the desired information stored in multiple databases. The companies' clients will be preserved and will enjoy broader set of capabilities without replacing the systems. Exeros was named in si100 listing of siliconindia magazine in 2007.
Agencies
US firm sets up welding consumables facility in Chennai
The US-based welding consumables product company Lincoln Electric inaugurated its $20-million plant near Chennai Monday.
The 100,000 square feet plant in Mahindra World City, a special economic zone (SEZ), has an initial production capacity of 15,000 tonnes per annum.
"The Chennai plant is an important investment for Lincoln in the expanding market for welding products in India," Lincoln chairman and chief executive John M. Stropki told reporters while inaugurating the facility.
The new plant will manufacture solid welding wire used in industry segments like such as heavy equipment, metal buildings, pipeline and windmills.
Agencies
The 100,000 square feet plant in Mahindra World City, a special economic zone (SEZ), has an initial production capacity of 15,000 tonnes per annum.
"The Chennai plant is an important investment for Lincoln in the expanding market for welding products in India," Lincoln chairman and chief executive John M. Stropki told reporters while inaugurating the facility.
The new plant will manufacture solid welding wire used in industry segments like such as heavy equipment, metal buildings, pipeline and windmills.
Agencies
Monday, May 11, 2009
Do Indian IT firms vie for $11.4-billion domestic market?
With the IT clients in the U.S., Europe and Japan tightening their purse strings, Indian IT companies are scrambling to raise their share of the Indian software and IT services market, which industry body Nasscom values at around Rs 57,200 crore ($11.4 billion), reported Mint.
Mumbai-based TCS and Bangalore-based Infosys, India's largest and second largest IT service exporters, respectively, have set themselves the target of earning $1 billion, or around Rs.5,000 crore, in revenue from the domestic market in the next three to four years. Wipro wants to raise its India focus, as does mid-sized firm MindTree. In March, Employees' State Insurance Corporation, a government of India agency that provides health insurance to 10 million workers, had awarded a Rs.1,182 crore information-technology (IT) project to Wipro, which outbid other biggies like Infosys and Wipro to clinch this deal.
Adding allure to the domestic market is the plans by the sectors like government, energy and utilities, telecom, banking and finance to step up their IT spending. Customers in the US and Europe have traditionally made up as much as 80% of revenue earned by Indian exporters of software and related services.
A late 2008 report by research firm Gartner says that the Indian IT software and services segment, excluding business process outsourcing, is expected to grow at an annual pace of almost 20 percent to touch $13.2 billion by 2012.
TCS earns around $500 million (Rs2,500 crore), or nearly 8 percent of its total revenue, from Indian clients. "We have a base of key clients and solutions portfolio. We have made investments and have people, business and clients. We will accelerate all of this," a TCS spokesperson said.
However, the worry at TCS is that "India, like other emerging markets, is volatile and most business is project-based and not annuity based and hence there is a certain element of uncertainty," the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Infosys earns less than 2 percent of its revenue (or less than Rs400 crore) from the domestic market. "The market is very large, and has matured over a period of time," said Binod HR, head of the India business unit of Infosys. He said a "big challenge" is that Indian customers are very price-sensitive.
Wipro is one of the largest system integrators in India and, according to Springboard Research, has the second largest share of the domestic market after IBM.
P.K. Gopalkrishnan, Senior Vice-President and India business head IT services of Bangalore-based MindTree said the company earns up to 5 percent of its revenue from India and aims to double it by 2014.
Increasing the domestic market share would, however, not be easy. It entails competing with global technology firms such as IBM which, according to a late 2008 report by research firm IDC, commands a 10 percent share of the Indian market. IBM is the market leader and earns revenue of around Rs 5,700 crore from the Indian market.
Agencies
Mumbai-based TCS and Bangalore-based Infosys, India's largest and second largest IT service exporters, respectively, have set themselves the target of earning $1 billion, or around Rs.5,000 crore, in revenue from the domestic market in the next three to four years. Wipro wants to raise its India focus, as does mid-sized firm MindTree. In March, Employees' State Insurance Corporation, a government of India agency that provides health insurance to 10 million workers, had awarded a Rs.1,182 crore information-technology (IT) project to Wipro, which outbid other biggies like Infosys and Wipro to clinch this deal.
Adding allure to the domestic market is the plans by the sectors like government, energy and utilities, telecom, banking and finance to step up their IT spending. Customers in the US and Europe have traditionally made up as much as 80% of revenue earned by Indian exporters of software and related services.
A late 2008 report by research firm Gartner says that the Indian IT software and services segment, excluding business process outsourcing, is expected to grow at an annual pace of almost 20 percent to touch $13.2 billion by 2012.
TCS earns around $500 million (Rs2,500 crore), or nearly 8 percent of its total revenue, from Indian clients. "We have a base of key clients and solutions portfolio. We have made investments and have people, business and clients. We will accelerate all of this," a TCS spokesperson said.
However, the worry at TCS is that "India, like other emerging markets, is volatile and most business is project-based and not annuity based and hence there is a certain element of uncertainty," the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Infosys earns less than 2 percent of its revenue (or less than Rs400 crore) from the domestic market. "The market is very large, and has matured over a period of time," said Binod HR, head of the India business unit of Infosys. He said a "big challenge" is that Indian customers are very price-sensitive.
Wipro is one of the largest system integrators in India and, according to Springboard Research, has the second largest share of the domestic market after IBM.
P.K. Gopalkrishnan, Senior Vice-President and India business head IT services of Bangalore-based MindTree said the company earns up to 5 percent of its revenue from India and aims to double it by 2014.
Increasing the domestic market share would, however, not be easy. It entails competing with global technology firms such as IBM which, according to a late 2008 report by research firm IDC, commands a 10 percent share of the Indian market. IBM is the market leader and earns revenue of around Rs 5,700 crore from the Indian market.
Agencies
Check out ten most promising technology companies
siliconindia, the premier magazine for business and technology which is published from Fremont, California has announced in its May edition, 'Top 10 most promising technology companies' founded or managed by Indians in the U.S.
The 10 promising technology companies include: Connectiva Systems, Jivox, Niksun, Parascale, Stoke, Truviso, Wavesat, WiChorus, Zyrion and Zmanda.
A distinguished panel comprising accomplished CEO's, VC's and analysts including siliconindia editorial board decided on the top 10 companies. Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria including technology product the company was building or the differentiated service offering, management pedigree, innovation, global strategy, customers and customer retention and venture funding.
"In the backdrop of current economic conditions, we're seeing a lot of innovative new companies taking on the established players with disruptive technologies and innovative business plans," said Harvi Sachar, founder and Editor-in-Chief of siliconindia. "The siliconindia Top 10 Most Promising Technology companies are pushing and breaking the boundaries of the technology business and we are excited to report on their success stories. These companies have a lot of momentum and will rise above the rest."
Agencies
The 10 promising technology companies include: Connectiva Systems, Jivox, Niksun, Parascale, Stoke, Truviso, Wavesat, WiChorus, Zyrion and Zmanda.
A distinguished panel comprising accomplished CEO's, VC's and analysts including siliconindia editorial board decided on the top 10 companies. Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria including technology product the company was building or the differentiated service offering, management pedigree, innovation, global strategy, customers and customer retention and venture funding.
"In the backdrop of current economic conditions, we're seeing a lot of innovative new companies taking on the established players with disruptive technologies and innovative business plans," said Harvi Sachar, founder and Editor-in-Chief of siliconindia. "The siliconindia Top 10 Most Promising Technology companies are pushing and breaking the boundaries of the technology business and we are excited to report on their success stories. These companies have a lot of momentum and will rise above the rest."
Agencies
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Is US tightening of H-1B visa rules for Indians justified?
Indian professionals aspiring to go to the US to work may now find it more difficult to get H-1B visas with Washington deciding on stricter screening following complaints of misuse of the facility.
Acting on the complaints, the US has adopted “fraud prevention tactics” to prevent such misuse. “We’ve added fraud prevention tactics. We’ve begun looking at other more standard fraud investigatory techniques that weren’t being used in H-1B that we are now going to employ. It includes things like sites visits and worksites visits,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said.
Testifying before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Napolitano said over the last month, the Department has added some tools to rigorously enforce H-1B visa programme and prevent fraud.
Napolitano comment’s on H-1B visa programme came in response to a question from senator Richard Durbin, who along with senator Chuck Grassley, has introduced a legislation in the US Senate in this regard. Senator Durbin alleged that most of the H-1B visa fraud is being done by companies in India.
“The most outrageous abuses when it comes to H-1B visas include the fact that some major companies overseas, primarily in India, have successfully managed to marshal many of these H-1B visas and make a profit off them,” Durbin said.
“They charged the citizens of India coming to the US on H-1B visas and after three to six years, when they are to return to India, they charge to place them in companies which will then compete with the US,” he alleged.
Agencies
Acting on the complaints, the US has adopted “fraud prevention tactics” to prevent such misuse. “We’ve added fraud prevention tactics. We’ve begun looking at other more standard fraud investigatory techniques that weren’t being used in H-1B that we are now going to employ. It includes things like sites visits and worksites visits,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said.
Testifying before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Napolitano said over the last month, the Department has added some tools to rigorously enforce H-1B visa programme and prevent fraud.
Napolitano comment’s on H-1B visa programme came in response to a question from senator Richard Durbin, who along with senator Chuck Grassley, has introduced a legislation in the US Senate in this regard. Senator Durbin alleged that most of the H-1B visa fraud is being done by companies in India.
“The most outrageous abuses when it comes to H-1B visas include the fact that some major companies overseas, primarily in India, have successfully managed to marshal many of these H-1B visas and make a profit off them,” Durbin said.
“They charged the citizens of India coming to the US on H-1B visas and after three to six years, when they are to return to India, they charge to place them in companies which will then compete with the US,” he alleged.
Agencies
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