communications technology companies

Department of Communications : Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind BlackBerry, has responded to the Department of Communications call for the decryption of BlackBerry Messenger, saying it will continue to work cooperatively with the local authorities. Deputy communications minister Mr.ObedBapela said yesterday that following the implementation of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA), criminals have turned to Black Berry due to its Black Berry Messenger service. “The devil minds have begun to abuse this communication for planning their crimes. So the time has come to visit Black Berry Messenger.” Research In Motion says: “Like other companies in the technology and tele-communications industry in South Africa, Research In Motion BlackBerry complies with privacy laws as well as RICA. We will continue to work cooperatively with all the appropriate authorities in South Africa.”

Lawyer and social media specialist, Mr.PaulJacobson, says the proposed decryption of BBM by the Department of Communications is the same sort of issue as a proposed clampdown on social media mooted recently in the UnitedKingdom following the riots. “The Department of Communications says there are high levels of criminal use of the service but this is conjecture unless the Department of Communications has actually cracked BlackBerry's encryption,” says Jacobson. “The Department of Communications seems to be riding the wave of fear and hype after the London riots in an effort to gain access to users' data. “On the one hand, the RICA legislation gives the state the ability to intercept communications but there are procedures to be followed to get authority for this. “The Department of Communications faces a practical challenge here if it can't get through BlackBerry encryption so the access it seeks may be necessary to give effect to the Act. On the other hand, if this is a fishing expedition, the Department of Communications may face some serious privacy concerns.”

Worrying times : According to Mr.ObedBapela, care will be taken to ensure user privacy, and decryption of BBM would only be demanded in cases where police investigations indicate Black Berry Messenger was used for criminal activity. These records will only be accessed via court orders. “It will just be these isolated cases and the privacy of other users is guaranteed. So it's not a blanket opening of spying on people.” While the department is yet to start negotiations with Research In Motion, Mr.ObedBapela says it will begin this as soon as the cyber security policy goes to Cabinet. “In SA, while the threat of terrorism is low, crime is a major issue,” said Mr.ObedBapela. “We don't want to get into a situation where we would have to block BlackBerry Messenger.”

Global standard : According to Research In Motion, BlackBerry company has four core principles in its approach to providing carriers the capabilities to address lawful access requirements in their respective countries. These capabilities are limited to the context of lawful access and national security requirements, as governed by the country's judicial oversight and rules of law. Research In Motion also says: “The carriers' capabilities must be technology- and vendor-neutral, allowing no greater access to BlackBerry consumer services than the carriers and regulators already impose on Research In Motion competitors and other similar communications technology companies.” The third principle also states that contrary to any rumours, RIM BlackBerry cannot make changes to the security architecture for BlackBerry Enterprise Server customers. “The security architecture is the same around the world and RIM truly has no ability to provide its customers' encryption keys. “Also driving Research In Motion position is the fact that strong encryption is a fundamental commercial requirement for any country to attract and maintain international business anyway, and similarly strong encryption is currently used pervasively in traditional VPNs on both wired and wireless networks in order to protect corporate and government communications.” RIM BlackBerry adds that it maintains a global standard for lawful access requirements, and will not make special deals for specific countries.

information technology companies

After getting the nod for information technology and IT-enabled companies at the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Gujarat Financial Tech-City is all set to ready its first building in three months. The GIFT Company Ltd (GIFTCL) and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), official partners in the Gujarat Financial Tech-City project, will be constructing 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh sq feet space at the cost of Rs 30 crore. This is likely to generate over 1,500 jobs in four months of it becoming functional, Gujarat Financial Tech-City sources said. GIFT has identified an area of 886 acres, of which 673 acres has already been acquired. Gujarat Financial Tech-City SEZ will be spread over 261 acres. The estimated cost of entire Gujarat Financial Tech-City project is Rs 70,000 crore. GIFT will initially target information technology and IT-enabled companies along with Business Process Outsourcing and Knowledge Process Outsourcing units in Gujarat and Mumbai, as most of these companies’ contract with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), a government of India initiative to help IT companies get tax waiver, is over.

Companies who are into export of products or services have an advantage shifting to GIFT’s SEZ, the sources said. There are 30,000 companies in Mumbai and about 3,000 in Gujarat that had registered under STPI. Gujarat Financial Tech-City Director Mr.RamakantJha said, “Many companies have approached us to know the SEZ’s status. One of the major reasons is STPI not extending the tax benefits. We thought of offering temporary facility on Gujarat Financial Tech-City - SEZ campus to these companies who can begin work immediately.” Mr.RamakantJha said the companies will be given ready facility and when the regular building comes up in two years they will be shifted there. Under the proposed Direct Tax Code, the SEZ benefits will be available only to those units who begins operations before March 31, 2014, he said. Mr.PranitBanthia, CEO of Hi-Tech Outsourcing, told Mirror, “For big companies who are into export, Gujarat Financial Tech-City - SEZ is surely a blessing. However, for small companies distance may prove to be problem.” Mr.PranitBanthia said that unless facilities like Metro or BRTS are extended till Gujarat Financial Tech-City premises, small information technology and Business process outsourcing companies will find it difficult to operate.

Information technology outsourcing Industry

Information technology outsourcing Industry Growth is back on the agenda for Information technology outsourcing providers, according to a survey by I T research and advisory firm Gartner survey, Inc. Sixty-two per cent of respondents identified growth as the top strategic goal this year, with aggressive marketing plans and investments in cloud, utility and ‘as a service’ offerings, it said in a statement. “It is clear that providers are optimistic despite considerable uncertainty in the global economies,” said RolfJester, v.p. and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “However, we predict the I T outsourcing services market will reach USD 313.2 billion in 2011, a growth of 6.9 % from 2010, and will reach 4.6 % compound annual growth rate through 2015.” Gartner conducted an online survey in the first quarter of 2011 among 47 I T outsourcing providers, accounting for 62 per cent of the total I T outsourcing market. The respondents represented the full range of providers, all major geographies and all types of ITO services including infrastructure (data centre, network, desktop, and storage), applications and cloud computing services. “Many Information technology outsourcing providers are intending to commit serious marketing funds and target new accounts to outgrow the market, He said Mr.BryanBritz, research director at Gartner survey. The survey found at least 50 per cent of outsourcing providers said they would spend two to five per cent revenue on marketing in year of 2011, which is higher than the historical norm for marketing expenditure as a per cent of revenue (which has tended to be one per cent to three per cent for Information technology services providers in india). At the same time, Information technology outsourcing providers continue to invest significantly more in sales than marketing as demonstrated by 2/3 of providers indicating sales expenses are greater than six (6) per cent of revenue”,.

information technology outsourcing

India information technology outsourcing industry For advertising executive MR.GovindNair, working in India's information technology outsourcing industry for a California telecoms firm means burning the candle at both ends for his customers. "They try to be considerate. They know there's a 12-and-a-half-hour time difference between India and San Francisco but we still end up getting up early and going to bed late," MR.GovindNair, 30, says. Such hours are becoming increasingly routine for many young Indian professionals as they liaise with counterparts in the United States, Europe and other Western countries on high-end "smart work" projects. India, known as the world's largest back office with its cheaper, educated English-speaking workforce, is expanding its "knowledge processing information technology outsourcing", offering market research, statistical analysis, legal, health and a host of other services. The sector familiarly known as KPO "is the next wave of global sourcing for India", MR. SomMittal, head of the National Association of Software and Services Companies told an industry conference last week. Performing "value-added tasks" such as writing equity reports and legal work can mean 40 to 50 %higher billing rates than for lower-value jobs in call centers fielding inquiries about bank accounts, industry officials say. KPO revenues have been growing at 26 percent annually according to research house Crisil, outpacing the overall expansion of the flagship information technology outsourcing industry that has helped make India an emerging market powerhouse. The country now has 70 %, or $2 billion, of the $2.9 billion global KPO industry, Crisil says. North America provides 65 % of the sector's revenues, Britain 20 % and continental Europe 10 %.

National Association of Software and Services Companies believes the fresh economic troubles in Europe and the United States may accelerate KPO sector growth as Western firms seek to harness the technical and financial expertise of India's supply of university graduates, lawyers, accountants and MBAs. "India has a tremendous advantage in its technical, analytic and managerial skills," Matthew Vallance, chief executive of one of India's biggest back office companies, Firstsource Solutions, told AFP. The $2 billion is still a fraction of India's overall outsourcing revenues, expected to total $68 to $70 billion this year. But Crisil forecasts in a new report that revenues from outsourcing knowledge-intensive skills will nearly triple to $5.5 billion by the end of 2015. "India is moving up the value chain," said Crisil chief executive RoopaKudva, noting Indian lawyers now research case law and put together arguments to be presented in court in the United States, Britain and elsewhere. Bankers prepare papers for acquisitions, while nurses monitor the condition of housebound patients in the West. Doing value-added work has become increasingly important for India as it seeks to preserve its overall global outsourcing dominance, especially after ceding its crown as the world's leading call centre hub to the Philippines. Last December, the Philippines, which also has a trained, English-speaking workforce with a strong service culture, edged past India to become the largest call centre operator in the world, logging $5.5 billion in annual revenues compared with India's $5.3 billion. "India is still ahead (in total offshoring), although other offshore sites like the Philippines and Indonesia are emerging," said Mr.Tervinder jitSingh, a research director at global consultancy Gartner. "But these countries are still not mature enough in high-level professional work which India can provide," Mr.Tervinder jitSingh said.

Information technology companies

Information technology companies may be putting up a brave front but the slowdown has alarmed them enough to make them cut variable pay of staff. Tata Consultancy Services , which recently evicted Infosys Technologies as the industry bellwether, is said to have made the first move in this regard. Mr. YogeshAggarwal and Mr.VivekGedda, analysts with HSBC, said the largest software services company paid only 25-50% of the total quarterly bonus to employees above the ‘associate consultant’ level in the June quarter. “Companies have already started paying lower percentage of discretionary bonuses,” they wrote in a note on Tuesday. By snipping the variable component of the salary, Tata Consultancy Services is protecting its margins — a common norm in times of slowdown when revenues slip on account of dwindling budgets of tech customers. Mr. YogeshAggarwal and Mr.VivekGedda believe the lower percentage of discretionary bonuses could offer close to 5% ‘margin cushion’ for large local tech services vendors likes Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys, which pay 30-40% of the salaries as discretionary bonuses. Nandita Gurjar, group Human resource head and senior vice-president, Infosys Technologies, said since variable pay is linked to performance, it would naturally constitute a lower percentage of the salary during slowdowns. “Yeah, it (variable pay) comes down when the revenue growth slows down,” she said. Gurjar, however, did not say whether techies at the second largest IT firm would be paid lower variable pay this year.

Infosys is said to have variable pay of near 30% of the total offshore wage bill. This, according to Mr. YogeshAggarwal and Mr.VivekGedda, translated into around 5% of margin cushion. “We ascertain that about 2.6% of margin protection is easier to achieve by cutting variable pay and avoiding significant damage to employee morale and productivity,” they said in their report. RostowRavanan, CFO, Mind-Tree Ltd, said the mid-sized tech company had trimmed variable salaries in 2008 to soften the blow from the last slowdown. He said from this fiscal year the company had introduced a new scheme where variable pay for junior employees was delinked to company’s revenue and tied to their own performance. “However, it (variable pay) will continue to be linked to profits,” said RostowRavanan. Typically, variable pay is lower at junior level constituting of less than three years experience and is split into three parts comprising company performance linked incentive (CPI), variable company performance incentive (VCPI) and individual performance incentive (IPI). Generally, companies avoid tinkering with the CPI component as it is paid on a monthly basis and could dent employee morale and productivity. It is usually the VCPI and IPI that get cut first. “Both VCPI and IPI account for about 50% of the total variable pay and are paid quarterly and provide a margin cushion of around 2.6%,” the HSBC duo said. Tweaks in variable pay have helped companies safeguard margins during rough patches in the past too. But E Balaji, managing director and CEO of MaFoiRandstad, a human resource consultant, said companies touch variable pay only as a last resort. “We get a feeling that companies have become cost conscious and are tightening belt by bringing down expenditures on travel, office parties and others. The natural progression would be to focus on incentives and variable pay,” he said. Mr. SunilGoel, director of executive search firm GlobalHunt, said the snip in the variable pay was a correction in the exorbitant hike that was introduced in it post 2008 downturn.

1st phase of TCS' Guj SEZ by Apr '12

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of India's biggest Information technology companies, has targeted completion of first phase of its Gujarat Special Economic Zone (SEZ) - Garima Park by April 2012. The under-construction IT Park is located behind Infocity, Gandhinagar and is spread over 10.319 hectares. TCS has invested `129 crore in land and building for this project. Garima Park was granted formal approval for setting up IT SEZ on 17-December in 2007 and it got notified on 30 September 2008. Further, TCS was granted first extension of formal approval till December16, 2011 and now, it is seeking a second extension. In its request sent to Board of Approval (BoA) for extension of formal approval, TCS mentioned that "first phase is likely to be completed by March / April. An investment of `128.71 crore has been made in land and building for this project." When contacted, no one was available for comment from Tata Consultancy Services. Earlier, Tata Consultancy Services was sanctioned 10 acres in Infocity but due to a road splitting the plot in two parts, company decided to shift location to other side. Currently, the SEZ is located near National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Gandhinagar. Foundation stone for Garima Park was laid on February 1, 2006 by then CEO and MD of TCS, S Ramadorai. At that time, Tata Consultancy Services planned to develop the park in one and half years. However, development at the park has begun only now, after five years of inauguration. According to department of commerce, in 2010-11, Tata Consultancy Services exports from their Tamil Nadu SEZ were valued at Rs 4,145 crore.