The railways have awarded a pilot project for an integrated coach management system (ICMS) to Infosys Technologies. The project is likely to cost about Rs 210 crore.
According to a Railway Board official, the success of the project will decide the time frame for the railways to take up this ambitious project from safety point of view.
Under the ICMS plan, the railways intend to automate the maintenance and repair of passenger coaches through improved method of new multiple technologies. The new system is likely to have three different modules including punctuality, stock and time tabling, he said.
Friday, July 31, 2009
IBM’s $1.2B acquisition of SPSS shows importance of software in IBM transformation
IBM scoops up software maker SPSS in $1.2B deal
SAN FRANCISCO — IBM Corp. is bulking up its most profitable division with a $1.2 billion acquisition of business software provider SPSS Inc., a deal that also reflects the power of wealthy technology companies to throw their money around despite the recession.
The all-cash deal announced Tuesday represents a 42 percent premium over Chicago-based SPSS's closing price of $35.09 on Monday.
SPSS's software helps tell companies "what's coming around the corner" and is "a really terrific acquisition" for IBM, said Charles King, analyst with the Pund-IT Inc. research firm.
"This is really a Cadillac-style technology … it's well established and well regarded," King said.
SPSS's technology is used to comb through stockpiles of data to predict things such as how a customer will respond to a particular sales pitch, or where hot spots for crime are and where police should be deployed. The company claims its customers include agencies in all U.S. state governments, top U.S. universities and consumer goods, pharmaceutical and market-research companies.
"With this acquisition, we are extending our capabilities around a new level of analytics that not only provides clients with greater insight — but true foresight," Ambuj Goyal, general manager of IBM's Information Management group, said in a statement.
The deal is expected to close later this year, and is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. SPSS has more than 1,200 employees in 60 countries. The company had $303 million in sales last year and $36 million in profit.
The acquisition fits with IBM's strategy of strengthening its software and services divisions as a critical part of a makeover over the past decade.
IBM has spent more than $20 billion since 2003 on more than 80 acquisitions. Fifty of those acquisitions have been software companies.
One result of the transformation is that IBM, a company known for its mainframes and other computers that have powered back offices for decades, is less reliant now on hardware. Having sold off its personal computer and printing businesses, IBM makes most of its money off services and software.
In the latest quarter — the three months ended June 30 — IBM's software division contributed 43 percent of IBM's overall pretax profit. Expanding its reliance on software is one reason the Armonk, N.Y.-based company is able to keep improving profits even as sales fall because of the economy. IBM recently raised its latest 2009 profit forecast to $9.70 per share, from $9.20 per share.
Separately, IBM also has acquired Ounce Labs Inc., a privately held software company in Waltham, Mass., for an undisclosed amount. IBM said the company makes software that helps businesses reduce the risk and costs associated with security and compliance concerns.
Beefing up the software division was a key reason IBM explored buying Sun Microsystems Inc., a superstar of the dot-com era that struggled with inconsistent financial results for nearly a decade.
The Java technology that Sun invented is a key ingredient of the Internet, and IBM's $7 billion offer for Sun was fueled in part by a desire to have more control over the software's development. The deal collapsed in a dispute over price and other terms.
Oracle Corp. ultimately agreed to buy Sun for $7.4 billion in cash in a surprise twist in the takeover saga. The bidding was one of the first signs that cash-rich tech companies were willing to open their wallets again despite the recession.
Another big tech deal recently was data-storage specialist EMC Corp.'s $2.1 billion pickup of a company called Data Domain Inc., whose technology helps companies cut the amount of information that gets stored multiple times. EMC had been in a fierce bidding contest with rival NetApp Inc. for control of Data Domain.
SAN FRANCISCO — IBM Corp. is bulking up its most profitable division with a $1.2 billion acquisition of business software provider SPSS Inc., a deal that also reflects the power of wealthy technology companies to throw their money around despite the recession.
The all-cash deal announced Tuesday represents a 42 percent premium over Chicago-based SPSS's closing price of $35.09 on Monday.
SPSS's software helps tell companies "what's coming around the corner" and is "a really terrific acquisition" for IBM, said Charles King, analyst with the Pund-IT Inc. research firm.
"This is really a Cadillac-style technology … it's well established and well regarded," King said.
SPSS's technology is used to comb through stockpiles of data to predict things such as how a customer will respond to a particular sales pitch, or where hot spots for crime are and where police should be deployed. The company claims its customers include agencies in all U.S. state governments, top U.S. universities and consumer goods, pharmaceutical and market-research companies.
"With this acquisition, we are extending our capabilities around a new level of analytics that not only provides clients with greater insight — but true foresight," Ambuj Goyal, general manager of IBM's Information Management group, said in a statement.
The deal is expected to close later this year, and is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. SPSS has more than 1,200 employees in 60 countries. The company had $303 million in sales last year and $36 million in profit.
The acquisition fits with IBM's strategy of strengthening its software and services divisions as a critical part of a makeover over the past decade.
IBM has spent more than $20 billion since 2003 on more than 80 acquisitions. Fifty of those acquisitions have been software companies.
One result of the transformation is that IBM, a company known for its mainframes and other computers that have powered back offices for decades, is less reliant now on hardware. Having sold off its personal computer and printing businesses, IBM makes most of its money off services and software.
In the latest quarter — the three months ended June 30 — IBM's software division contributed 43 percent of IBM's overall pretax profit. Expanding its reliance on software is one reason the Armonk, N.Y.-based company is able to keep improving profits even as sales fall because of the economy. IBM recently raised its latest 2009 profit forecast to $9.70 per share, from $9.20 per share.
Separately, IBM also has acquired Ounce Labs Inc., a privately held software company in Waltham, Mass., for an undisclosed amount. IBM said the company makes software that helps businesses reduce the risk and costs associated with security and compliance concerns.
Beefing up the software division was a key reason IBM explored buying Sun Microsystems Inc., a superstar of the dot-com era that struggled with inconsistent financial results for nearly a decade.
The Java technology that Sun invented is a key ingredient of the Internet, and IBM's $7 billion offer for Sun was fueled in part by a desire to have more control over the software's development. The deal collapsed in a dispute over price and other terms.
Oracle Corp. ultimately agreed to buy Sun for $7.4 billion in cash in a surprise twist in the takeover saga. The bidding was one of the first signs that cash-rich tech companies were willing to open their wallets again despite the recession.
Another big tech deal recently was data-storage specialist EMC Corp.'s $2.1 billion pickup of a company called Data Domain Inc., whose technology helps companies cut the amount of information that gets stored multiple times. EMC had been in a fierce bidding contest with rival NetApp Inc. for control of Data Domain.
IT firms speed up patent filing
Stepping up efforts to commercialise their intellectual property (IP), Indian IT services firms have accelerated their patent filing process. The top three firms — TCS, Infosys and Wipro — filed together over 150 patent applications in fiscal 2009.
Such a move is an important part of their non-linear growth strategy, where the companies are trying to de-link their revenue growth from the number of people added. This is expected to improve their profitability in a changing business environment.
Patent figures
While Infosys led rivals TCS and Wipro in terms of filing the highest number of patents in fiscal 2009, TCS was granted the most during the year. TCS filed for 58 patents in fiscal 2009 and was granted five — three in India and two in the US. Infosys filed for some 80 patent applications in the US and India and was granted two by the US Patents and Trademark Office. Wipro filed for 13 patents and granted one during the year.
“We have defined an IP strategy with a view to building an effective portfolio and plan to monetise going forward,” said Mr Ananth Krishnan, Chief Technology Officer, TCS. Despite setting up its first software R&D centre way back in 1981, TCS filed for its first set of IPs only in the early part of this decade.
However, with an IP strategy in place, TCS has stepped up its efforts. “We filed for more than 30 patents in the June quarter and currently have some 200 patent applications pending in various jurisdictions,” Mr Krishnan said. TCS managed to save $26 million (Rs 125 crore) through its R&D efforts in fiscal 2009.
Infosys has an aggregate of 200 patent applications pending in India and the US. “As part of our new engagement model, the focus has changed to commercialising the IP from merely developing it,” Infosys COO, Mr S. D. Shibulal, told Business Line recently.
The changed economic conditions, where customers have slashed their technology spending drastically, have forced even the smaller IT services firms such as KPIT Cummins to look at patenting their IPs.
“For the first time, we filed for eight patent applications in fiscal 2009,” said Mr Girish Wardadkar, President and ED, KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd. The company is looking to commercialise its IPs and leverage its knowledge assets, Mr Wardadkar said.
Value-addition tool
The start-ups and services companies are looking to use their IP as value addition and attract new customers, not necessarily by converting them into patents.
“We haven’t seen too many cases from the smaller firms, but there’s definitely a growing intention” said Mr Kalyan C. Kankanala, Chief Knowledge Officer and Co-founder of Brain League, an IP services company. Zensar Technologies, which has developed IPs in verticals such as retail, insurance and across SAP and Oracle implementations, earns about 30-35 per cent of its revenues from non-linear initiatives.
“We hope to have 50 per cent of revenue from non-linear initiatives including IP and re-usable components. We have not yet looked at filing for patents. We might look at service patents in the future,” said Mr Ganesh Natarajan, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Zensar.
Such a move is an important part of their non-linear growth strategy, where the companies are trying to de-link their revenue growth from the number of people added. This is expected to improve their profitability in a changing business environment.
Patent figures
While Infosys led rivals TCS and Wipro in terms of filing the highest number of patents in fiscal 2009, TCS was granted the most during the year. TCS filed for 58 patents in fiscal 2009 and was granted five — three in India and two in the US. Infosys filed for some 80 patent applications in the US and India and was granted two by the US Patents and Trademark Office. Wipro filed for 13 patents and granted one during the year.
“We have defined an IP strategy with a view to building an effective portfolio and plan to monetise going forward,” said Mr Ananth Krishnan, Chief Technology Officer, TCS. Despite setting up its first software R&D centre way back in 1981, TCS filed for its first set of IPs only in the early part of this decade.
However, with an IP strategy in place, TCS has stepped up its efforts. “We filed for more than 30 patents in the June quarter and currently have some 200 patent applications pending in various jurisdictions,” Mr Krishnan said. TCS managed to save $26 million (Rs 125 crore) through its R&D efforts in fiscal 2009.
Infosys has an aggregate of 200 patent applications pending in India and the US. “As part of our new engagement model, the focus has changed to commercialising the IP from merely developing it,” Infosys COO, Mr S. D. Shibulal, told Business Line recently.
The changed economic conditions, where customers have slashed their technology spending drastically, have forced even the smaller IT services firms such as KPIT Cummins to look at patenting their IPs.
“For the first time, we filed for eight patent applications in fiscal 2009,” said Mr Girish Wardadkar, President and ED, KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd. The company is looking to commercialise its IPs and leverage its knowledge assets, Mr Wardadkar said.
Value-addition tool
The start-ups and services companies are looking to use their IP as value addition and attract new customers, not necessarily by converting them into patents.
“We haven’t seen too many cases from the smaller firms, but there’s definitely a growing intention” said Mr Kalyan C. Kankanala, Chief Knowledge Officer and Co-founder of Brain League, an IP services company. Zensar Technologies, which has developed IPs in verticals such as retail, insurance and across SAP and Oracle implementations, earns about 30-35 per cent of its revenues from non-linear initiatives.
“We hope to have 50 per cent of revenue from non-linear initiatives including IP and re-usable components. We have not yet looked at filing for patents. We might look at service patents in the future,” said Mr Ganesh Natarajan, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Zensar.
CISF cover for Infosys and RIL refinery from Friday
In order to protect major India Inc companies from terrorists attack, government has decided to provide CISF security cover to IT major Infosys campus in Bangalore and Reliance Industries Ltd refinery in Jamnagar in Gujarat. CISF cover could also be provided to other major IT firms like Wipro, TCS and others.
Sources say that for CISF cover for Infosys would start from Friday. Around 100 specially-trained CISF personnel would guard the Infosys campus.
It is learnt that centre may provide such kind of cover to some other major companies also. It could not be ascertained that when CISF cover would start for Jamnagar Refinery. The Centre has expanded the role of CISF from guarding government establishment to providing security to private installations in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
Sources say that the need for security cover to vital private installations was felt following intelligence reports that Pakistan-based terrorists might try to target them by launching a surprise attack similar to the one in Mumbai last year.
Sources say that for CISF cover for Infosys would start from Friday. Around 100 specially-trained CISF personnel would guard the Infosys campus.
It is learnt that centre may provide such kind of cover to some other major companies also. It could not be ascertained that when CISF cover would start for Jamnagar Refinery. The Centre has expanded the role of CISF from guarding government establishment to providing security to private installations in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
Sources say that the need for security cover to vital private installations was felt following intelligence reports that Pakistan-based terrorists might try to target them by launching a surprise attack similar to the one in Mumbai last year.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
IT firms spend more on R&D to offer new services
Top-tier IT firms are increasing their research and development spends as they gear up to offer newer services such as cloud computing and platform-based offering as part of their non-linear growth strategy.
Infy leads
Infosys Technologies has stayed ahead of its rivals Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro in investing in R&D. Infosys’ R&D expenditure grew ahead of its revenue growth in fiscal 2009 at 33 per cent to Rs 267 crore, followed by Wipro at 21.4 per cent to Rs 49.2 crore and TCS at 13.25 per cent to Rs 43.92 crore.
For the past four years, Infosys has sustained its R&D spend at over a per cent of its total annual revenues, while TCS and Wipro have maintained it at 0.20 per cent of their total earnings.
Revenues from Solutions
“We are focussed much more on non-linearity of revenue. That includes creating solutions and leveraging them to get better revenue productivity,” said Mr V. Balakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer at Infosys.
The company is working on creating solutions for different verticals such as retail, financial services and others. However, it would take some time for revenues from such solutions to kick in, Mr Balakrishnan said. The company’s R&D spend would increase going forward, he added without giving specific details.
Besides continuing to invest in its banking solution Finacle, Infosys has stepped up its focus on new engagement models such as the solutions based offering, platform-based Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and software-as-a-solution (SaaS) platform. I
n fiscal 2009, Infosys launched its Digital Convergence Platform that currently powers Airtel Digital TV and ShoppingTrip360, a platform that enables a suite of managed information services to create a 360-degree view of real-time in-store shopper and shelf activity.
plan forward
Infosys plans to collaborate with national and international universities, product vendors and technology start-up companies with increasing focus in areas of software engineering, network and design convergence, mobility, grid computing, cloud computing, knowledge engineering, information management, security and privacy.
Wipro’s Excellence centres
Wipro’s R&D focus is to strengthen its portfolio of Centres of Excellence (CoE), Solution Accelerators and Software Engineering Tools and Methodologies. Through CoE, Wipro incubates new business practices by creating competencies in technologies such as SaaS, Unified Communication and Green IT, the company said in its annual report.
In fiscal 2009, Wipro incubated an Applied Research Group in fiscal 2009 to investigate and analyse the impact of technology in earlier stage of adoption lifecycle and has chosen Enterprise Information Management as current focus area.
TCS’ focus on verticals
TCS, which established its first software R&D centre in Pune in 1981, now has 20 R&D innovation labs with specific focus on technologies and verticals. TCS has also set up 46 CoEs to ensure that all its offerings incorporate the latest products and services capabilities from the company and its alliance partners.
TCS will continue to invest in technologies that enhance productivity and operational efficiency to create savings for its customers.
“Cloud and ubiquity computing will gain focus, while energy, life-sciences and security domains will be of prime importance,” the company’s latest annual report said. Though the R&D investments by the top three firms have seen a year-on-year increase over the past four years, the R&D spends as a proportion of their total revenues have remained flat.
Infy leads
Infosys Technologies has stayed ahead of its rivals Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro in investing in R&D. Infosys’ R&D expenditure grew ahead of its revenue growth in fiscal 2009 at 33 per cent to Rs 267 crore, followed by Wipro at 21.4 per cent to Rs 49.2 crore and TCS at 13.25 per cent to Rs 43.92 crore.
For the past four years, Infosys has sustained its R&D spend at over a per cent of its total annual revenues, while TCS and Wipro have maintained it at 0.20 per cent of their total earnings.
Revenues from Solutions
“We are focussed much more on non-linearity of revenue. That includes creating solutions and leveraging them to get better revenue productivity,” said Mr V. Balakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer at Infosys.
The company is working on creating solutions for different verticals such as retail, financial services and others. However, it would take some time for revenues from such solutions to kick in, Mr Balakrishnan said. The company’s R&D spend would increase going forward, he added without giving specific details.
Besides continuing to invest in its banking solution Finacle, Infosys has stepped up its focus on new engagement models such as the solutions based offering, platform-based Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and software-as-a-solution (SaaS) platform. I
n fiscal 2009, Infosys launched its Digital Convergence Platform that currently powers Airtel Digital TV and ShoppingTrip360, a platform that enables a suite of managed information services to create a 360-degree view of real-time in-store shopper and shelf activity.
plan forward
Infosys plans to collaborate with national and international universities, product vendors and technology start-up companies with increasing focus in areas of software engineering, network and design convergence, mobility, grid computing, cloud computing, knowledge engineering, information management, security and privacy.
Wipro’s Excellence centres
Wipro’s R&D focus is to strengthen its portfolio of Centres of Excellence (CoE), Solution Accelerators and Software Engineering Tools and Methodologies. Through CoE, Wipro incubates new business practices by creating competencies in technologies such as SaaS, Unified Communication and Green IT, the company said in its annual report.
In fiscal 2009, Wipro incubated an Applied Research Group in fiscal 2009 to investigate and analyse the impact of technology in earlier stage of adoption lifecycle and has chosen Enterprise Information Management as current focus area.
TCS’ focus on verticals
TCS, which established its first software R&D centre in Pune in 1981, now has 20 R&D innovation labs with specific focus on technologies and verticals. TCS has also set up 46 CoEs to ensure that all its offerings incorporate the latest products and services capabilities from the company and its alliance partners.
TCS will continue to invest in technologies that enhance productivity and operational efficiency to create savings for its customers.
“Cloud and ubiquity computing will gain focus, while energy, life-sciences and security domains will be of prime importance,” the company’s latest annual report said. Though the R&D investments by the top three firms have seen a year-on-year increase over the past four years, the R&D spends as a proportion of their total revenues have remained flat.
Infosys Finacle bags two major deals for direct banking sol
Infosys' product division, which markets Finacle banking solutions, has launched a direct banking software product and has bagged two
Infosys
Rise of multinational IT in India
Top Indian outsourcing companies
Cities that are IT hubs
major clients, including one in Europe.
"We signed up two major deals -- one in Europe and other one in North America," Infosys Technologies (Finacle) Head Haragopal M said.
In this kind of market condition a solution like direct banking is compelling proposition for the advanced market, he said.
Giving a sense of the new product developed by the IT- bellwether, Haragopal said, direct banking is a comprehensive solution for banks to directly acquire, track and service customers, through the Internet, mobile or call center channels, in the complete absence of a brick and mortar infrastructure.
Built on new-generation technology, he said, it provides an platform that supports the full-fledged delivery of a comprehensive range of assets and liabilities solutions, facilitated through direct access to the customer 365 days a year.
The solution opens up an exciting new channel for banks to convert prospects to profitable customers, without the support of a branch, he added.
Haragopal said, there is a great opportunity in the segment and going forward there seems to a good traction in the segment.
Besides adding to the bottomline, the product suite would help banks to provide banking services in a cost-effective manner, he said.
About the June quarter performance of Finacle, Haragopal said the revenues of the company remained flat at USD 45 million.
During the quarter, Finacle added five customers and completed the implementation of six projects.
Infosys
Rise of multinational IT in India
Top Indian outsourcing companies
Cities that are IT hubs
major clients, including one in Europe.
"We signed up two major deals -- one in Europe and other one in North America," Infosys Technologies (Finacle) Head Haragopal M said.
In this kind of market condition a solution like direct banking is compelling proposition for the advanced market, he said.
Giving a sense of the new product developed by the IT- bellwether, Haragopal said, direct banking is a comprehensive solution for banks to directly acquire, track and service customers, through the Internet, mobile or call center channels, in the complete absence of a brick and mortar infrastructure.
Built on new-generation technology, he said, it provides an platform that supports the full-fledged delivery of a comprehensive range of assets and liabilities solutions, facilitated through direct access to the customer 365 days a year.
The solution opens up an exciting new channel for banks to convert prospects to profitable customers, without the support of a branch, he added.
Haragopal said, there is a great opportunity in the segment and going forward there seems to a good traction in the segment.
Besides adding to the bottomline, the product suite would help banks to provide banking services in a cost-effective manner, he said.
About the June quarter performance of Finacle, Haragopal said the revenues of the company remained flat at USD 45 million.
During the quarter, Finacle added five customers and completed the implementation of six projects.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Indian software exporter Infosys gains 27 clients in Q1
MUMBAI, Jul 13, 2009 (Asia In Focus via COMTEX) -- India's second largest software exporter INFOSYS (BSE:500209) on Friday said it has added 27 new clients during the first quarter ended June 30, taking the total number of clients to 569. "Twenty seven clients were added during the quarter by Infosys and its subsidiaries," Infosys said in a statement.However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis the total number of clients have declined to 569 at the end of Q1, from 579 at the end of January-March quarter of the previous fiscal.
* The number of 'million dollar clients' increased sequentially to 789 at the end of June quarter from 778 in the previous quarter.
* The number of 'million dollar clients' increased sequentially to 789 at the end of June quarter from 778 in the previous quarter.
Infosys Technologies nets $10-mn Intel pilot project
Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, has awarded a pilot outsourcing contract to Infosys Technologies worth $10 million currently,
IT deals
Top Indian outsourcing cos
Nine trends for IT in 2009
Cities that are IT hubs
which could evolve into a $100-million engagement for India’s second biggest software
exporter that is seeking to grow its revenues from customers such as BP (British Petroleum ), Intel and Telstra.
“Infosys has been working on this account for more than a year, while it is a small deal now — it surely can evolve into a much bigger engagement,” said a New York-based person familiar with the contract. He requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media about this transaction.
Intel is not alone in pursuing outsourcing contracts with Indian offshore companies. In April this year, world’s biggest software firm Microsoft announced a five-year, $170-million outsourcing contract with HCL Technologies for supporting its online services business
. Large technology companies including Intel and Cisco are under tremendous pressure to reduce operational costs, and outsourcing of non-core activities can result up to 20-30 % savings.
IT deals
Top Indian outsourcing cos
Nine trends for IT in 2009
Cities that are IT hubs
which could evolve into a $100-million engagement for India’s second biggest software
exporter that is seeking to grow its revenues from customers such as BP (British Petroleum ), Intel and Telstra.
“Infosys has been working on this account for more than a year, while it is a small deal now — it surely can evolve into a much bigger engagement,” said a New York-based person familiar with the contract. He requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media about this transaction.
Intel is not alone in pursuing outsourcing contracts with Indian offshore companies. In April this year, world’s biggest software firm Microsoft announced a five-year, $170-million outsourcing contract with HCL Technologies for supporting its online services business
. Large technology companies including Intel and Cisco are under tremendous pressure to reduce operational costs, and outsourcing of non-core activities can result up to 20-30 % savings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)