Two years after selling his software company to Hewlett-Packard, Marc Andreessen has joined the PC giant's board of directors.
HP announced the appointment, effective immediately, on Thursday. In a statement, HP's chairman and CEO Mark Hurd described Andreessen as "a software pioneer whose leadership has helped shape the Internet...Marc's entrepreneurial background and industry expertise will be a welcome addition to the HP board of directors."
Andreessen and HP's relationship goes back several years, culminating with HP's purchase of Opsware for $1.6 billion in 2007. Since then, Andreessen, best known as the co-founder of Netscape, has helmed social network creation service Ning, and a new venture capital firm Andreessen-Horowitz. He also sits on the boards of eBay and Facebook.
Agencies
Friday, September 18, 2009
Rs 700 crore govt business is Wipro's target
Wipro is eyeing about Rs.700 crore from government projects in the current fiscal. It intends to nearly triple this in three years. The move comes at a time when the Centre is clearing the decks for a slew of projects under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), reports a media.
"The targets for this year represent a 100-per cent growth over the previous fiscal," said Ranbir Singh, Head, Government, Wipro. The export-oriented Indian IT industry has been facing headwinds in its traditional strongholds such as the US and Europe, and though things seem to be looking up, Nasscom's annual projections have pegged software exports growth at 4-7 percent for FY10.
In contrast, the domestic market is expected to grow at 15-18 percent during the year. Projects such as MCA-21, e-passport and eBiz - which were handed out in the past, have whet the appetite of IT firms that are now looking to leverage opportunities closer home. The Unique Identification (UID) project has created quite a stir among vendors and every IT player; Indian and MNC are hoping to participate in the ambitious effort; the other large projects waiting to take off include eDistrict, eCourt, eOffice, Income-Tax and Central Excise.
"While the opportunity is large, it is also important to remember that the lead and the closing timelines tend to be longer for Government contracts. But, clearly, this is a space that every company wants to play in," an industry observer pointed out. Naturally, no one wants to be left behind in the race. Wipro's Joint CEO, Suresh Vaswani, told Business Line recently that the company was 'revisiting' its strategy and game-plan on government business. The company has already clinched a Rs.1,200 crore multiple-year contract floated by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).
The project relates to computerisation of the ESIC and to provide smart cards to around 1.5 crore industrial workers across the country. The contract brought its own share of controversies when rival firm TCS wrote to the Labour Ministry against the procedures adopted in awarding the contract.
Agencies
"The targets for this year represent a 100-per cent growth over the previous fiscal," said Ranbir Singh, Head, Government, Wipro. The export-oriented Indian IT industry has been facing headwinds in its traditional strongholds such as the US and Europe, and though things seem to be looking up, Nasscom's annual projections have pegged software exports growth at 4-7 percent for FY10.
In contrast, the domestic market is expected to grow at 15-18 percent during the year. Projects such as MCA-21, e-passport and eBiz - which were handed out in the past, have whet the appetite of IT firms that are now looking to leverage opportunities closer home. The Unique Identification (UID) project has created quite a stir among vendors and every IT player; Indian and MNC are hoping to participate in the ambitious effort; the other large projects waiting to take off include eDistrict, eCourt, eOffice, Income-Tax and Central Excise.
"While the opportunity is large, it is also important to remember that the lead and the closing timelines tend to be longer for Government contracts. But, clearly, this is a space that every company wants to play in," an industry observer pointed out. Naturally, no one wants to be left behind in the race. Wipro's Joint CEO, Suresh Vaswani, told Business Line recently that the company was 'revisiting' its strategy and game-plan on government business. The company has already clinched a Rs.1,200 crore multiple-year contract floated by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).
The project relates to computerisation of the ESIC and to provide smart cards to around 1.5 crore industrial workers across the country. The contract brought its own share of controversies when rival firm TCS wrote to the Labour Ministry against the procedures adopted in awarding the contract.
Agencies
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Can indigenous systems address IISc's security?
To improve the internal security, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore is set to tap indigenous technology and advanced surveillance systems. "We have about 15 proposals from people and organizations across the country," N. Balakrishnan, Associate Director, IISc, Bangalore told Mint.
Balakrishnan also said that the project would cover four broad areas: Materials detection, information security, video analytics and large-scale data mining. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) tasked the Indian Institute of Science to identify specific technologies and coordinating organizations for the security project. This security project would basically involve with collecting a wide range of data such as travel history, educational qualifications, biometrics from a large number of people and preparing risk profiles of them.
Although the Centre has earmarked Rs. 35 crore for the project, Balakrishnan emphasizes that funds will to be a problem. "This is a large project, where civil and defence agencies are closely going to work with each other. T. Ramasami (the incumbent DST Secretary) will even provide Rs. 3,500 crore if needed," he said.
According to Balakrishnan, this specific project would contribute to fundamental change in the next five years, in the way technology is harnessed to boost up the internal security. "After Mumbai, there's a much greater level of seriousness across the government that will pull this project a long distance," he said.
Mint
Balakrishnan also said that the project would cover four broad areas: Materials detection, information security, video analytics and large-scale data mining. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) tasked the Indian Institute of Science to identify specific technologies and coordinating organizations for the security project. This security project would basically involve with collecting a wide range of data such as travel history, educational qualifications, biometrics from a large number of people and preparing risk profiles of them.
Although the Centre has earmarked Rs. 35 crore for the project, Balakrishnan emphasizes that funds will to be a problem. "This is a large project, where civil and defence agencies are closely going to work with each other. T. Ramasami (the incumbent DST Secretary) will even provide Rs. 3,500 crore if needed," he said.
According to Balakrishnan, this specific project would contribute to fundamental change in the next five years, in the way technology is harnessed to boost up the internal security. "After Mumbai, there's a much greater level of seriousness across the government that will pull this project a long distance," he said.
Mint
New green computing centre from Microsoft
In an eco-friendly move, Microsoft has announced that its new center at its Redmond headquarters will cut the company's carbon footprint by 12,000 metric tons per year. The Redmond Ridge 1 centre will combine Microsoft's research laboratory servers from individual product groups with the corporate systems that process other data, reports BusinessGreen.com.
According to the software giant, the facility is due online in April 2010 and will provide major power efficiencies. "The opening of Redmond Ridge is a big milestone and represents a real transition point in the company's culture," said Rob Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist at Microsoft.
The building has been designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, using air heat exchangers to keep the temperature down. Air conditioning starts only if the temperature rises above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. "This facility is a great example of how technology can help improve the energy efficiency of a company's operations," said Bernard.
The move is causing something of a cultural shift at Microsoft, however. Engineers developing new code are physically removed from the servers testing it for the first time. Microsoft has not said how much of its computing it intends to centralize, but is aiming to cut its carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2012.
Agencies
According to the software giant, the facility is due online in April 2010 and will provide major power efficiencies. "The opening of Redmond Ridge is a big milestone and represents a real transition point in the company's culture," said Rob Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist at Microsoft.
The building has been designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, using air heat exchangers to keep the temperature down. Air conditioning starts only if the temperature rises above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. "This facility is a great example of how technology can help improve the energy efficiency of a company's operations," said Bernard.
The move is causing something of a cultural shift at Microsoft, however. Engineers developing new code are physically removed from the servers testing it for the first time. Microsoft has not said how much of its computing it intends to centralize, but is aiming to cut its carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2012.
Agencies
Will TCS reduce the salary of campus recruits?
IT services company TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) has announced that it would revise the compensation package of campus recruits. Under the changed structure, TCS trainees will no longer be paid the variable component of the compensation - which works out at Rs. 5,000 per month or 19-20 percent of the total annual pay packet of Rs. 3.1 lakh - offered to them during their in-campus recruitment.
Ajoy Mukherjee, Global Head, Human Resources, TCS said, "As part of a compensation restructuring exercise, freshers joining the company this quarter onwards will not be eligible for variable pay during the training period. Restructuring trainees' salaries is being done from the point of view of productivity so that they get accustomed to the fact that variable pay depends on performance."
Last year, the company had made campus offers to 24,885 students. Of this, the company is expecting around 19,000-20,000 students to join. Going by this number, the company is expected to save around Rs. 10 crore per month by altering the variable part of salary for trainees. For six months, the savings would be Rs. 60 crore. Mukherjee said, "The company would be able to take on board all campus recruits in the current fiscal itself."
However, other IT giants like Infosys and Wipro are not fiddling with the compensation package of trainees. Infosys decides on the variables based on a test conducted after 18 weeks of initial training. Mohandas Pai, HR head, Infosys said, "Those who score four out of five are entitled to variables." Wipro claims to pay the variable part to its employees from the beginning of the training period.
Now, it would be interesting to see, what steps these companies take for campus recruitment in next fiscal. TCS is yet to decide on how these campus offers would be made in the next fiscal.
Agencies
Ajoy Mukherjee, Global Head, Human Resources, TCS said, "As part of a compensation restructuring exercise, freshers joining the company this quarter onwards will not be eligible for variable pay during the training period. Restructuring trainees' salaries is being done from the point of view of productivity so that they get accustomed to the fact that variable pay depends on performance."
Last year, the company had made campus offers to 24,885 students. Of this, the company is expecting around 19,000-20,000 students to join. Going by this number, the company is expected to save around Rs. 10 crore per month by altering the variable part of salary for trainees. For six months, the savings would be Rs. 60 crore. Mukherjee said, "The company would be able to take on board all campus recruits in the current fiscal itself."
However, other IT giants like Infosys and Wipro are not fiddling with the compensation package of trainees. Infosys decides on the variables based on a test conducted after 18 weeks of initial training. Mohandas Pai, HR head, Infosys said, "Those who score four out of five are entitled to variables." Wipro claims to pay the variable part to its employees from the beginning of the training period.
Now, it would be interesting to see, what steps these companies take for campus recruitment in next fiscal. TCS is yet to decide on how these campus offers would be made in the next fiscal.
Agencies
Atlast! Facebook finally becomes profitable
Facebook is making enough money to cover its costs and now has 300 million users, the world’s largest social networking site, said on Tuesday, proving the Internet’s newest star industry can be a viable business.
Facebook is now generating enough cash to cover its operating expenses, as well as the capital spending needed to maintain its fast-growing service.
Analysts said this shows the financial viability of Facebook, which has faced questions about its underlying business model, despite its popularity, and was a good sign for a potential initial public offering.
“It’s certainly meaningful to show that this is absolutely the real deal,” said Broadpoint Amtech analyst Ben Schachter. “They are executing. People are spending money on the site.”
Since its creation in a Harvard dorm room five years ago, Facebook has emerged as one of the Internet’s most popular destinations and is increasingly challenging the Web’s established powerhouses like Yahoo and Google.
Facebook unveiled a revamped search engine last month and is currently testing an online payment system. Facebook users have tripled from about 100 million a year ago.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post on the company site on Tuesday that Facebook reached its goal of being free cash flow positive in its most recently ended quarter. The company had previously projected reaching the target sometime in 2010.
“This is important to us because it sets Facebook up to be a strong independent service for the long term,” said Zuckerberg in the blog post.
Facebook spokesperson Larry Yu said the free cash flow metric does not include any cash from private investment.
In May, Facebook announced a $200 million investment from Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies in a deal that valued the company’s preferred shares at $10 billion.
DST valued Facebook’s common shares at $6.5 billion in a subsequent deal to purchase shares from Facebook employees.
Facebook’s becoming cash flow positive ahead of schedule provides another nugget of data to back up the lofty valuations, and according to one analyst, makes Facebook a more attractive candidate for a potential public offering.
“They can command higher confidence from investors now,” said Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal, who noted that he believes Facebook could go public in the second half of 2010, or in 2011.
Zuckerberg said in May that any IPO is “a few years out.” Facebook did not provide any other financial details on Tuesday. The company has previously said its revenue was on track to grow 70 percent this year.
Facebook board member Mark Andreesen told Reuters earlier this year that the company will surpass $500 million n revenue this year.
Zuckerberg said in his post that the company is exploring ways to make the service perform faster and more efficiently as the number of Facebook users continues to grow.
Agencies
Facebook is now generating enough cash to cover its operating expenses, as well as the capital spending needed to maintain its fast-growing service.
Analysts said this shows the financial viability of Facebook, which has faced questions about its underlying business model, despite its popularity, and was a good sign for a potential initial public offering.
“It’s certainly meaningful to show that this is absolutely the real deal,” said Broadpoint Amtech analyst Ben Schachter. “They are executing. People are spending money on the site.”
Since its creation in a Harvard dorm room five years ago, Facebook has emerged as one of the Internet’s most popular destinations and is increasingly challenging the Web’s established powerhouses like Yahoo and Google.
Facebook unveiled a revamped search engine last month and is currently testing an online payment system. Facebook users have tripled from about 100 million a year ago.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post on the company site on Tuesday that Facebook reached its goal of being free cash flow positive in its most recently ended quarter. The company had previously projected reaching the target sometime in 2010.
“This is important to us because it sets Facebook up to be a strong independent service for the long term,” said Zuckerberg in the blog post.
Facebook spokesperson Larry Yu said the free cash flow metric does not include any cash from private investment.
In May, Facebook announced a $200 million investment from Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies in a deal that valued the company’s preferred shares at $10 billion.
DST valued Facebook’s common shares at $6.5 billion in a subsequent deal to purchase shares from Facebook employees.
Facebook’s becoming cash flow positive ahead of schedule provides another nugget of data to back up the lofty valuations, and according to one analyst, makes Facebook a more attractive candidate for a potential public offering.
“They can command higher confidence from investors now,” said Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal, who noted that he believes Facebook could go public in the second half of 2010, or in 2011.
Zuckerberg said in May that any IPO is “a few years out.” Facebook did not provide any other financial details on Tuesday. The company has previously said its revenue was on track to grow 70 percent this year.
Facebook board member Mark Andreesen told Reuters earlier this year that the company will surpass $500 million n revenue this year.
Zuckerberg said in his post that the company is exploring ways to make the service perform faster and more efficiently as the number of Facebook users continues to grow.
Agencies
TCS, Wipro and HCL emerge top IT leaders
A recent rating — for global R&D service providers across India, China and Eastern Europe — by Zinnov Management Consulting identifies Wipro, TCS and HCL as market leaders in the overall rating based on components like financial strength and business models, innovation & expertise, people strength and operations.
The rating has also highlighted the impact of recession on the R&D service providers community across all key levers — like contract re-negotiation, increase in sales cycle time, bankruptcy of clients and fears of business continuity risk — which did result in many of them having to reassess and redefine their strategies.
Result of this reassessment has seen core mid-market service providers like Tata Elxsi, Tech Mahindra, Aricent, MindTree, Symphony, Sonata, Global Logic, Polaris and Aditi, moving strongly towards the top-pack and establishing themselves as leaders in specific industry verticals, said the rating.
Pari Natarajan, CEO, Zinnov Management Consulting said, the global economy has witnessed a major reset and is currently observing green shoots of recovery, with Germany, India and China among others showing signs of improvement. “This tectonic shift in the economy has led to numerous changes in the current market dynamics, but one thing that can be safely assumed is the continued growth of interlinkages between global businesses and stronger relationships between service providers and MNCs would only continue to grow in times to come.’’
Vertical specific rankings were also under taken to understand the capabilities of the various service providers in providing turnkey product engineering services in verticals like aerospace & defense, automotive, consumer electronics, healthcare, semi conductors, telecom, & software.
The rating study also found that, R&D offshoring to India, China, Russia and Central & Eastern Europe is expected to grow at 6-7% with India and China continuing to constitute close 90% of the overall market. Though large firms have neither dramatically cut down nor increased their R&D spends. Hence, R&D offshoring to India, China, Russia and CEE is expected to remain flat.
Agencies
The rating has also highlighted the impact of recession on the R&D service providers community across all key levers — like contract re-negotiation, increase in sales cycle time, bankruptcy of clients and fears of business continuity risk — which did result in many of them having to reassess and redefine their strategies.
Result of this reassessment has seen core mid-market service providers like Tata Elxsi, Tech Mahindra, Aricent, MindTree, Symphony, Sonata, Global Logic, Polaris and Aditi, moving strongly towards the top-pack and establishing themselves as leaders in specific industry verticals, said the rating.
Pari Natarajan, CEO, Zinnov Management Consulting said, the global economy has witnessed a major reset and is currently observing green shoots of recovery, with Germany, India and China among others showing signs of improvement. “This tectonic shift in the economy has led to numerous changes in the current market dynamics, but one thing that can be safely assumed is the continued growth of interlinkages between global businesses and stronger relationships between service providers and MNCs would only continue to grow in times to come.’’
Vertical specific rankings were also under taken to understand the capabilities of the various service providers in providing turnkey product engineering services in verticals like aerospace & defense, automotive, consumer electronics, healthcare, semi conductors, telecom, & software.
The rating study also found that, R&D offshoring to India, China, Russia and Central & Eastern Europe is expected to grow at 6-7% with India and China continuing to constitute close 90% of the overall market. Though large firms have neither dramatically cut down nor increased their R&D spends. Hence, R&D offshoring to India, China, Russia and CEE is expected to remain flat.
Agencies
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