Infosys Technologies News

Pune to turn Infy's largest manpower base

2007-09-24T13:17:00.001+00:00

PUNE: The Queen of the Deccan, Pune, which saw the birth of the Indian infotech giant Infosys in a small flat in 1981, is all set to witness some exciting developments relating to the much-admired company.

Rejecting the all-round pessimism about Pune’s future on the infrastructure front, Infosys has expressed confidence on its expansion plans for Pune and is marching on to create a seating capacity for 20,000-plus employees here by 2008.

This will make the Pune operations the largest manpower base for Infosys, the company’s new CEO and MD S Gopalakrishnan said.

The $3 billion-plus company which has 14,000 employees at its Pune Development Centre (PDC) has so far invested Rs 723 crore here. As of June 2007, Infosys had a total headcount of 75,971 employees, of which, 18,490 were based in Bangalore where it is headquartered.

Gopalkrishnan said while Pune was likely to emerge as the largest Infosys centre in terms of people, the Mysore campus would be the largest in terms of size with about 375 acres. The PDC was established in 1996 and occupies two sprawling campuses spread over 138 acres.

With nine software development blocks, a customer care and support services block and other facilities, the development centre offers key services in areas such as domain consulting, technical consulting, infrastructure management, system integration and enterprise application integration among others. The Pune DC services customers in sectors such as banking, insurance, financial services, logistics, manufacturing and healthcare.

Speaking amidst massive infrastructure development at its phase-II campus in the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park at Hinjawadi, Pune, Infosys CEO said he was not overly worried about the infrastructural woes of Pune, which were common to most cities in the country.

While the government certainly needs to make investments to provide better air-connectivity, public transport and roads, Pune has many positives that have enabled sustained growth for Infosys, he said. “The environment and the work culture is very positive here. The government created this IT park; when we outgrew, they created phase-II. So, support from the government is very important,” he said.

Emphasising on ensuring sustainable growth for Pune, he said, “If employees don’t feel this is a good city to live in, they will move out and business will follow. People are becoming highly conscious of the quality of life and cities are now competing in attracting employees.”

Both, Gopalkrishnan and Priti Rao, head of Infosys’ PDC, said the availability of a large talent pool from Pune and Mumbai, good educational and residential facilities, land availability for expansion and manageable attrition rates were factors that went in Pune’s favour.

Original Story

Infosys pays $1m to six employees

2007-09-24T13:16:00.001+00:00

BANGALORE: Million-dollar pay cheques no longer raise eyebrows in the Indian IT industry. Given the huge demand for high-quality professionals, some top-notch companies are willing to pay the big bucks.

Six employees of Infosys Technologies posted overseas earn $1 million annually, perhaps making the company the highest paymaster in the Indian IT industry.

According to sources, these six employees are neither part of the founding team and nor are they board members. In fact, they are business heads of the company’s different verticals. The list does not end here.

There are around five professionals who earn a package of $800,000 and about 25 professionals in the $500,000 bracket. In the case of Infosys, the differentiating factor is that they (employees) are professionals and are no way linked to the founder members.

Original Story

Infosys is among leading global adopters of Microsoft Vista

2007-09-24T10:31:00.001+00:00

The Bangalore-based IT major will have around 20,000 Vista-enabled computers by June ’08 from the current 4,500

Indian software services vendor Infosys Technologies Ltd has emerged as one of the largest users worldwide of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Vista operating system, even as deployment of the latest offering from the Redmond, Seattle-headed software giant has had a slower pickup

Bigger bytes: Different versions of Windows Vista software on display. A spokesperson for Microsoft’s India unit said TCS and Satyam are expected to top 10,000 Vista deployments by June next year.

compared to previous software versions among business customers.

Infosys is set to take up the number of Vista-enabled computers to 20,000 by June 2008 from the current 4,500.

The Bangalore-based company declined to comment because it is in its “quiet period” ahead of reporting its July-September quarterly financial results, scheduled for the second week of October.

India is the world’s fastest growing market for technology products, including software. Business customers such as Infosys, account for two-thirds of software and hardware purchases in India.

While Microsoft wouldn’t disclose names of other global firms that are leading Vista adopters, reports in trade publications, such as CNet News, have said Citigroup, Continental Airlines and Charter Communications in the US plan to have 10,000 Vista computers through June, which is Microsoft’s fiscal year-end.

According to a February case study prepared by Microsoft, Infosys has around 65,000 computers, 80% of which are desktops and the rest portable computers. Close to 90% of the desktop units run on Windows XP, the older version of Microsoft’s line of operating system.

A spokesperson for Microsoft’s India unit did say that Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, the country’s biggest software services firm, and Satyam Computer Services Ltd are also expected to top 10,000 Vista deployments by June next year.

Windows Vista was launched for business customers in November and, since then, has sold more than 600,000 licences in India. It was not immediately clear whether these included upgrades from Windows XP or not.

“Businesses and consumers are adopting it at a good pace. In India, we have seen great momentum for Vista with our key customers here being Infosys, TCS, Satyam and L&T Infotech," wrote Rishi Srivastava, director, Windows client business group, at Microsoft India, in an email.

On 4 May, Mint ran a report based on a series of interviews with chief information officers at Indian companies on the slow roll-out of Vista among business customers in the country.

An analyst said that although adoption of Vista by large business customers has picked up, it is not as fast as expected.

“Real enterprise adoption of the Windows Vista will happen from the first quarter of 2008, when the small and medium businesses will have passed the wait-and-watch and the experiment stage,” said Diptarup Chakraborti, principal analyst at research firm Gartner Inc.’s Mumbai offices. “Currently, it is mostly the large enterprises who are switching to Vista because they cannot afford to lag in terms of being up to date with their technologies.”

Chakraborti predicted a faster adoption of Vista in India since users here do not have old, legacy systems as in more developed markets. In countries such as the US, “because penetration levels are high, new PC sales are lower compared to replacement PCs. In India, more new machines are sold than replacement PCs and so the deployment of new technologies such as Vista will be faster than the developed world,” he said.

Gartner estimates that around 8.7 million PCs will be sold in India by the end of this calendar year, of which 5.6 million will be new PCs and 3.1 million replacements. Microsoft said around 60% of the new PCs sold in India are loaded with Vista.

India @ 60 hots up in NY, Infosys adds final touches

2007-09-23T16:23:00.001+00:00

Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani is camping in New York, overseeing final touches to India @ 60, the week-long celebration of India that's coming up in the city.

At venues including The Pierre, the Tata Group-managed luxury hotel and Bryant Park, New Yorkers will be treated to everything Indian, from food and fashion to economic facts.

“Well, you know it's overall part of the India brand building that we have been doing at Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for the last three years. We began with Davos 2006, which was a big success in terms of projecting India,” said Nilekani.

The message is already out at Times Square, the block that likes to call itself the crossroads of the world. By holding the festival at a time when the United Nations General Assembly will be in session, India hopes to catch the attention of the whole world from the Big Apple.

CII and the Indian government are spending over $10 million on bringing the taste and feel of India to New York. This investment in India @ 60 could pay off for many years to come.

Original Story

Infosys Interested in buying the UK IT major Sage Group for about 4.6 bln eur?

2007-09-23T16:22:00.001+00:00

BANGALORE, Sep. 19, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Infosys Technologies (NASDAQ:INFY) Ltd is rumoured to be interested in buying the UK IT major Sage Group PLC for about 4.6 bln eur, bidding along with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) , Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Intuit Inc (NASDAQ:INTU) , according to media reports.

'We do not comment on market rumours,' Infosys spokesperson told Thomson Financial News when asked about the acquisition.

Earlier in July, there were rumours that Infosys was eyeing Capgemini, and also Siemens (NYSE:SI) ' consulting services in the high-end engineering area.

India's second-biggest software-maker, which has a cash reserve of 1.6 bln usd, recently bought the captive division of Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG) NV's finance and accounting business process outsourcing unit for 28 mln usd.

Original Story

Infosys, Microsoft In Race To Buy UK's Sage

2007-09-19T14:22:00.001+00:00

India’s second largest IT services exporter Infosys and Microsoft are in race to buy British software company Sage Group. Besides these two companies, French IT company Capgemini, Intuit, and Goldman Sachs too are in race to buy the company for a rumoured € 4.6 billion.

There are also rumours doing round with a falling dollar and rising rupee, the Bangalore headquartered Infosys might look at buying French IT company Atos Origin which is strong in the IT services market in Europe. BG Srinivas, head of Infosys operations in EMEA has quoted, “We are looking for opportunities that will transform our business in Europe.... That could be in the UK, France or Germany.”

Infosys and a spate of other Indian IT services companies such as TCS, Wipro and Satyam are looking at buying European companies to become strong Europe and offset dependence on the US. Most Indian IT companies get their revenues from the US, however with a falling dollar, US no longer exciting. In contrast Euro has been getting stronger by day.

Original Story

"Fuel deal" delays Infosys campus in Thiruvananthapuram

2007-09-19T14:20:00.001+00:00

The state-of- the-art campus of the Indian IT major Infosys near Technopark here has hit another road block as the Technopark authorities have failed to relocate a petrol pump that function in the land allocated to the Infosys.

According to sources, the Technopark authorities had at first tried to acquire the land in which the pump functions. However the idea to take over the 16 odd cents of land by giving compensation to the pump owner did not materialise as the pump owner was unwilling to accept the proposal.

When the Technopark authorities had acquired all other pieces of land for the proposed facility centre of the Infosys, the petrol pump owner took issue to the court, demanding a fair deal. After months of arguments and counter arguments, the court directed the Technopark authorities to provide another piece of compensatory land in the nearby area to the pump owner.

Moreover, the government should set up the infrastructure facilities required for the pump and hand over the same to the pump owner.

At this point of time the Bharat Petroleum authorities and the pump owner insisted that the work on the infrastructure facility should be entrusted with one of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation- empanelled contractors.

The park authorities who were in a haste to get rid of the imbroglio, accepted their proposal. A contractor suggested by the Bharat Petroleum Corporation was given work to the tune of Rs 60 lakh. However, the contractor stopped the work in the midway citing shortage of funds.

Earlier, the pump owner and the BPC was not happy with the shape of the land allotted to them. Following the complaints, the Cabinet approved the change.

The contractor has now asked for a meeting with the authorities as he needed more funds to complete the work. According to sources, the Infosys authorities are not happy with the delay in relocating the petrol pump from the land earmarked for them.

IT's top-four see exodus of about 10,000 employees in Q1

2007-09-17T14:47:00.003+00:00

Indian IT companies, grappling with an appreciating rupee eating into their profits, are also finding it hard to retain employees with the top-four firms TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Satyam witnessing an exodus of about 10,000 people in the first quarter.

Although, all the four firms collectively hired more than 25,000 employees in the April-June period, the net addition was just about 16,300 -- taking their total headcount to 2,85,357 employees.

Except for Satyam Computers, attrition rate went higher at Infosys, Tata Consultancy Service and Wipro from both the previous quarter as well as the year-ago period.

All the four companies reported an adverse impact of rupee rise on their profitability and margins, and are looking at various hedging measures, which include improving employee utilisation rates.

However, analysts believe the high attrition rates, mostly triggered by employees seeking higher salaries, could adversely impact the companies' plans to improve utilisation rates.

TCS, the biggest in terms of revenue as well as headcount, saw an exodus of about 2,500 employees, while just over 2,000 people quit the country's second largest software exporter, Infosys.

The employee loss is estimated to be much higher at about 3,500 at Wipro, the country's third-biggest IT firm, while Satyam, the smallest of the four, saw the lowest number about 1,600 people leaving.

Original Story

Infosys Technologies Joins Shared Assessments Program

2007-09-17T14:47:00.001+00:00

Company is the First International IT Services Provider to Advocate Security Standards and "Financial Institution Shared Assessments Program" Adoption

BANGALORE, India--Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ:INFY), today announced that it has joined the Financial Institution Shared Assessments Program, the financial services industry's leading standards body that provides tools for evaluating the security practices of information technology (IT) services providers.

The Shared Assessments Program was created by BITS, the technology division of the Financial Services Roundtable, to combine the expertise of financial institutions, IT service providers, and accounting firms in creating global security standards. Companies that use the program gain significant efficiencies in the security assessment process through a standardized questionnaire and assessment report. Both can be shared with an unlimited number of clients.

Infosys is the first company based outside of North America to join the organization's working group.

In addition to indicating Infosys' commitment to regulatory accountability, participation in the Shared Assessments Program enables Infosys clients to verify Infosys' adherence to more than 45 security controls. The Program's standards are aligned with ISO 27002, PCI DSS v1.1, and other financial services regulations, and reduce redundancies in the entire security assessment process. Because it reduces overlap among various financial institution information requests, the Program can eliminate the burden for clients of sending teams to conduct on-site security audits.

"We are pleased to welcome Infosys, our first international service provider member, into the Shared Assessments Program.," said Leigh Williams, president of BITS. "By participating in the Shared Assessments Program, Infosys has demonstrated that it is a forward-thinking organization committed to providing a secure outsourcing environment for clients."

The Shared Assessments Program was launched by BITS in 2006. Leading financial institutions, service providers, and the Big 4 accounting firms (serving as technical advisers) created the program to help standardize on security controls and reduce inefficiencies for the financial services industry.

Participating in the Shared Assessments Program Working Group creates a unique opportunity for Infosys to contribute its expertise within the data security and financial services space to the evolution of the program's rigorous standards. Participation in the Working Group provides an open forum for both service providers and key financial services leaders to discuss IT security issues affecting the industry today as well as develop standards that help mitigate future risks.

"By becoming a Shared Assessments Program member, Infosys continues its commitment to meeting each of its clients' security standards and regulations in the most efficient, cost-effective manner possible," said Ashok Vemuri, Infosys' senior vice president for Banking and Capital Markets. "It's vital to consumers, financial institutions and their IT partners that data security practices must be consistently reviewed and improved. Reducing fraud and managing risk requires a formalized, standardized approach, to ensure that adequate protection is in place."
Original Story

Infy’s bards

2007-09-16T08:54:00.001+00:00

The music room at Infosys Technologies has brought together diverse musicians from different cultural backgrounds. A team of dedicated Infysians who shared a passion for music formed a band which they christened Chameleon. Their music is very electic. The songs range from English to Hindi and adapted to the rhythms of Deep Purple, KK, Altaf Amin and Yanni.
The band comprises Malli, Jithesh, Nikhil, Pratik, Soumo, Lloyd and Sanjesh and it was formed in May 2005.

As one of the members put it “Working in Infosys, the seven of us came to know one another through common friends or just happened to run into each other in the Infosys music room.” They formed the band to play for a Bangalore corporate competition — Touchbass — which was well-appreciated. The success of its first show was motivation enough for them to stick together and achieve more.

The name Chameleon for the band also has its genesis from the diverse musical tastes and influences each member contributed. For example, Lloyd has passed the Grade 7 in piano and being a devout Christian, is fond of Gospel music. Jithesh had played the tabla with a Kerala film music troupe before he started playing drums for his college band.

Most of them have had the experience of playing at college bands and other musical forums giving them the much-needed experience to form a band. According to a band member, “Now, after more than two years, having performed at a good number of concerts and having developed a good sense of team-spirit while playing with each other, we have found our groove.” But for Chamelon, experimentation is the name of the game.

For the past few months, they have been working on original scores and trying out many different styles and genres. As one of them put it, “We have recorded one Hindi and two English numbers so far; it’s a small step towards our first album!”

Original Story

Indian Infosys Technologies Invited to Invest in Bulgaria

2007-09-16T08:39:00.001+00:00

Bulgarian Prime minister Sergei Stanishev invited the second biggest IT company in India – Infosys Technologies to invest in Bulgaria.

The Infosys director Srinath Batani showed interest in the development of the telecommunications market in Bulgaria and in the percent of IT specialists who can speak English.

Infosys is the the second biggest company in the information technologies sector in India and has branches in 14 European states. Exactly from there are 26 % of the company's revenues.

The Executive director of the Bulgarian investment agency Stoyan Stalev presented the conditions for investing in Bulgaria and the economic indicators of the country.

Later today Sergei Stanishev and the business delegation, which accompanies the prime minister, will visit a wind-energy producing company in the south Indian town of Chennai.
Original Story

Indian employees more flexible: Infosys chief

2007-09-16T08:38:00.001+00:00

LONDON: India's second-largest software exporter Infosys, which recently hired 25 graduates from the UK, finds Indians to be relatively more flexible when it comes to work, according to the company's CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan.

"Indians tend to be a little more flexible," Infosys CEO told in an interview to a newspaper here when asked how he found the British graduates to deal with.

The company recently recruited 25 graduates from the UK universities. These candidates are currently in India undergoing training and would return to London to handle clients in Europe from offices in Canary Wharf, the daily said in a report published on Friday.

Infosys, - the inspiration for the book 'The World is Flat' by author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman - eemploys a rapidly growing army of relatively cheap software engineers churned out by Indian colleges with a workforce numbering 77,000, the paper said.

The company plans to hire another 26,000 this year. Gopalakrishnan is among the five founders still working at the company and took over as its CEO in July this year. Infosys as well as a number of other Indian IT companies have recently started expanding their overseas workforce in order to cater to their global clients in a more efficient manner.

Talking about the impact of globalisation, Infosys CEO said, "Competition is today global even at an individual level."

According to the report, amid growing challenge of attrition and rising wages, in order to retain talent, Infosys pampers its workers from a campus with a putting green, swimming pool, food courts and cinemas.

"Today if you are a factory worker or a software programmer or even a financial analyst or a banker, you have to worry about competing with somebody else in another part of the world, just as you know the farmer who is growing oranges in India is worrying about the oranges coming from California or apples coming from Australia, because that is what is coming to India now," Gopalakrishnan told the paper.

Even with the 450,000 engineers produced in India each year, big skill shortages are forecast by 2010, it said.

Original Story

Infosys, Tech Mahindra likely to bag contract from BT

2007-09-14T11:58:00.001+00:00

Tech major Infosys & Tech Mahindra are likely to bag a large outsourcing contract from telecom major.
Sources say Infosys & Tech Mahindra lead the race for new BT contract, which is valued worth USD 500-600 million for each. Infosys and Tech Mahindra management refused to comments on market speculation.

BTGS had earlier indicated that they significantly going to increase the off shoring business to India, Brazil & China to 40% in 2-3 yrs. It also expects nearly 10,000-15,000 manpower additions

Original Story

Narayana Murthy, Bill Gates bag Indian & American Achiever Awards

2007-09-14T11:56:00.001+00:00

WASHINGTON: Infosys chairperson NR Narayana Murthy, Microsoft chief Bill Gates, music composer AR Rahman, Hollywood actor Richard Gere and the late Dhirubhai Ambani have won the Indian & American Achiever Awards.

While Murthy and Gates won the award for innovation, science & technology, Rahman and Gere were honoured in the arts, entertainment and media category. The Gandhi lifetime achievement awards went to Ambani and Gates. Data Group of India and New York Life Assurance were given the award for multinational companies.

The inaugural CineMaya Media Group Indian & American Achiever Awards celebrating the 60th anniversary of India's independence were presented at the John F Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts here Thursday.

Composer Rahman, who was the only winner to receive the award in person, presented India's national anthem at the function. Messages from Indian President Pratibha Patil and US President George Bush were read out.

The Indian Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen described it as a "celebration of the achievements of Indians and Americans who excelled in their respective fields, while contributing significantly to India-US relations".

The award function featured performances by noted artistes like Balamurali Krishna and Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty (classical music), Pandit Birju Maharaj (kathak), Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor) and Yogesh Samsi (tabla).

Indian actor Kunal Khemu of "Kalyug" fame hosted the function with the Penn Masala group singing the US and Indian national anthems.

Original Story

IT/BPO wages not likely to come down: Infy official

2007-09-13T13:18:00.001+00:00

Wage hikes in both information technology and the BPO sector are not likely to see any moderation from next year but would continue to grow at the current rate of 12-15 per cent annually, a senior Infosys Technologies official said.

"We feel that it will still remain at 12-15 per cent. The reason is nothing has changed so far," Infosys' head (HRD & Education & Research) T V Mohandas Pai told PTI in Bangalore.

Arguing that wage inflation would remain at the same levels, he said the Indian economy continues to grow at nine per cent which means that many people have more options than before.

"External environment for IT remains the same. We have not seen the impact of subprime (mortgage crisis in the US). Nothing has changed", Pai said.

He also brushed aside suggestions that talent supply is improving. "In two years, you can't turn the tap on and say more people will come to the market. We feel that the wage increase will remain at 12-15 per cent for next year".

NASSCOM Chairman Lakshmi Narayanan and Tata Consultancy Services Chief Operating Officer N Chandrasekaran said last week, they expect wage hikes in the IT and BPO industries to moderate beginning next year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Vice-Chairman Lakshmi Narayanan had said manpower supply was improving, thanks to various initiatives taken on talent and workforce development by NASSCOM, companies themselves and various engineering colleges.

Original Story

OnMobile acquires France-based Voxmobili

2007-09-12T10:24:00.001+00:00

Bangalore-based OnMobile, a telecom value-added services (VAS) provider, has acquired France-based Voxmobili -- a software solutions provider -- for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, OnMobile is expected to strengthen its VAS data products offerings.

The acquisition adds a number of international customers to OnMobile’s customer portfolio like Orange, Cingular-AT&T, France Telecom, T-Mobile, Wanadoo, Turkcell, etc. In addition, the acquisition will augment OnMobile’s current domain and technology competence due to the depth and breadth of Voxmobili’s IP and cutting-edge proven data products.

Voxmobili has around 45 employees and has operations in Europe, North America, Middle East, Australia, and Eastern Europe. Voxmobili’s core products centre around synchronised address book and advanced phone backup wherein cell phone users can backup all their personal data including calendar and contacts onto a secure network-based server, and mobile paparazzi wherein cellphone users can publish information, photographs and videos directly from their phones to website and mobile sites. It has over 21 platforms deployed worldwide, and has issued over 20 million licenses for their products globally.

Arvind Rao, CEO & co-founder, OnMobile, said: "We are excited about this transaction, and joining hands with Voxmobili to deliver a powerful suite of complementary VAS products to the global telecom & Internet industry."

Incorporated in 2000 and incubated at Infosys, OnMobile offers end-to-end, turnkey VAS solutions including platforms, software applications, content and professional services to deploy and operate high-margin, high revenue telecom value added services. It has offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Jakarta and Sydney. OnMobile has a team strength of over 800, and is expanding rapidly both in India and overseas.

VAS contributes close to 5-10% of revenue for telecom companies in India. According to Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the mobile VAS industry in India is estimated at Rs 2,850 crore at the end of 2006, and is estimated to grow 60% to Rs 4,560 crore at the end of 2007.
Original Story

Indian software salaries rise 19%

2007-09-12T10:23:00.001+00:00

A typical Indian software professional got an average salary increase of 18.7% in 2007, an improvement over 18.3% increase recorded in the previous year.

This is revealed by a nation-wide survey carried out by IDC India for CyberMedia group’s flagship publication Dataquest, covering 2,806 IT professionals.

The results, to be published in the forthcoming issue of Dataquest magazine, reveal that foreign multi national corporations (MNCs) pay higher salaries. And among MNCs, those engaged in R&D pay the highest. Not surprisingly, the Top 3 paymasters in the industry--Cadence, Sun Microsystems, Honeywell Technologies--were all engaged in R&D. Seven out of the Top 10 in the list included MNCs like IBM, Capgemini and CSC.

The industry average salary grew by 11% in 2007 to touch Rs. 6.2 lakh per annum. This growth is encouraging compared to a drop of 3% in the industry average salary in 2006. This average salary increase is considered significant considering that the software talent pool of the top 50 companies has grown sharply-- at nearly 30-40% annually, in the last three years. It is generally expected that with the on-campus recruitment of thousands of freshers, the average salaries should go down.

Though Dataquest’s base of 31 companies surveyed comprised IT services players, R&D centres of software vendors, MNCs, hardware players and even systems integrators and resellers, no big disparities in salary levels were noticed.

While Cadence and Sun are the top paymasters for all employees with up to 10 years of experience, industry bellwether Infosys is more generous with the salaries of its senior and experienced employees. Infosys is one of the best paymasters for professionals between 10-15 years and more than 15 years of experience.

Going by the salary levels, the study says that for fresh engineers it makes sense to embark on a career in a Software R&D firms. For the more experienced professionals, it adds that, the salary levels at Infosys match with the best.

Contd on page 2....

The survey points out that there is virtually no correlation between ‘salary levels’ and ‘satisfaction with salary’. While TCS employees rank their company at No. 4 in terms of ‘satisfaction with salary’ it is ranked at No. 13 in terms of salary. Infosys is ranked at No 12 in terms of salary but is ranked No. 28 in terms of ‘satisfaction with salary’.

Commenting on the survey results, Dataquest Chief Editor Prasanto Kumar Roy says, “We knew that high salary didn’t always mean high satisfaction, but the sheer extent of disconnect is amazing. There was less than 8% correlation between salary and satisfaction with salary!”

Mr. Roy adds, “What it means is that companies who have their act together on employee satisfaction can manage a lower wage bill—and still have satisfied employees. For instance, HCL Infosystems was way down at #23 in salary rank, but it topped the charts on employee satisfaction with salary!”

The report points out that the Indian tech companies must find a way out of this ever increasing wage rise as rupee appreciation squeezes their margins even further. The not-so-simple answer is, of course, to improve employee satisfaction. But some companies are also trying out a six-day week, selectively, to offset the impact of rupee appreciation on their margins by increasing billable hours.

Many more companies, including some of the MNC captives, may also do away with a five-day week that is a strong part of their culture, to bring in competitiveness on the HR front.

Young Workforce

Professionals with less than 5 years work experience today form 70% of the 1.6 million strong Indian software work force. Just 1 out of 5 professionals has between 5 to 10 years of experience and less than 1 in 10 professionals has over 10 years of experience.

Forty per cent of the professionals polled for this survey had obtained their qualifying degree from the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Pondicherry. Those with qualifications from western Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa made up about 20% cent of the professionals. Educational institutes from India’s capital, New Delhi contribute 6.5% of the professionals.

Engineering graduates, post graduates and masters in computer applications constitute about 70%, and MBAs make up for about 6%. Post graduates and graduates in humanities, commerce and sciences and those with diploma and certificate programs in computers make for the remaining 24%.

Even though the average age of the professionals has increased marginally to 28.1 years (from 27.5 years), lack of experience poses challenges at the middle management level, the Dataquest-IDC study adds.

The average age has been derived based on data from over a dozen companies that participated in the magazine’s Best Employer Survey for three consecutive years. These include TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra,Patni, CSC, Aricent, Hexaware, Zensar, HCL Infosystems, GlobalLogic, RMSI and Cadence.

Original Story

Wipro Opens Facility in Mexico

2007-09-12T10:21:00.001+00:00

Indian outsourcer Wipro follows Infosys, opens a facility in Mexico to better serve clients in North America and Latin America.

Indian outsourcer Wipro Ltd. has opened a software development facility in Monterrey, Mexico, to offer services to clients in North America and Latin America in the same time zone and geographical proximity.

Wipro made the announcement Tuesday when Mexico's President Felipe Caldersn Hinojosa visited its Bangalore campus. He is in India to promote business collaboration, particularly in IT, between the two countries.

Mexico's broad language skills and proximity to Canada and the U.S. helped Wipro decide to establish a presence there. Latin America is also a strong emerging market where many of Wipro's clients operate.

Wipro's Monterrey facility will employ 100 people. Some of the center's Mexican staff are already training in Bangalore.

Infosys Technologies Ltd., another Indian outsourcer, announced last month that it is setting up an IT services and BPO (business process outsourcing facility) in Monterrey. Indian outsourcers like Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., of Mumbai, have also invested in services delivery centers in Latin America with an eye to offering near-shore services to clients in North America and to service the Latin American market.

Wipro announced last month that it is setting up a software development center in Atlanta and plans to hire staff for the center from local universities. The center, which will have 500 employees by the third year of operation, will help Wipro in hiring highly skilled workers and domain experts who will be critical to Wipro's business growth plans in the U.S., the company said.

Original Story

India's TCS, Infosys, Satyam in race for 125 mln usd ING deal - report

2007-09-12T10:20:00.001+00:00

BANGALORE (Thomson Financial) - Top IT services companies are in the race to win a 125 mln usd IT outsourcing contract from Dutch insurance and banking company ING Group, reported the Economic Times.

India's Infosys Technologies Ltd (nasdaq: INFY - news - people ) has already put in a bid for the three-year contract while Tata Counsultancy Services and Satyam Computer Services Ltd (nyse: SAY - news - people ) are also reported to be pitching for it, the paper said.

Even European players like Capgemini, LogicaCMG and Atos Origin are looking at the contract, the paper reported, citing industry sources.

If an Indian company gets the deal, it would be one of the largest IT deals from a European BFSI (banking, financial services, insurance) sector after the over 2 bln usd ABN Amro (nyse: ABN - news - people ) deal, which was spread among International Business Machine Corp, TCS, Infosys and Patni Computer System Ltd.

Original Story

Transcript of LIVE Chat with N R Narayana Murthy

2007-09-11T02:41:00.001+00:00

N R Narayana Murthy
Transcript of LIVE Chat with Chief Mentor of Infosys, N R Narayana Murthy on 10 September 2007 from New Delhi.

“Every other Indian company can challenge Infosys”

NR Narayana Murthy
Chief Mentor of Infosys

NR Narayana Murthy > It’s a great pleasure to participate in this chat with the ET/ TOI/ Maharashtra Times and Nav Bharat Times, online users. I am amazed at the power of this online network and the value it brings to the country.

Abhishek Goel > Don't you think we are taking China and other emerging nations too lightly as far as IT sector is concerned? Should we need to take steps that will continue to lure foreign companies to India?
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe we should take every one of our competitors and potential competitors seriously. This we can do by enhancing our infrastructure including the education infrastructure and creating an environment of warmth for our customers and prospects.

Ritesh Verma > I've always wanted to know if one has to have business sense first to start a venture or does one acquire it over time? Did you always want to start up something like Infosys and prepared for it the way you did or did you do it instinctively?
NR Narayana Murthy > Most momentous decisions in life are taken on the spur of the moment. Like your education, the girl that you want to marry or the job that you want to take up. However, the choices are created by your preparedness and the environment. In my case, my experience in Europe taught me that the best way to solve the problem of poverty in India is by entrepreneurship and creation of jobs. That is why I took it up.

Biswajit > Why is Infosys centered only in West and South India (apart from one centre in Chandigarh)? North and East India had been bases of big companies for quite sometime. Does this figure in Infosys' plan sometime down the line? No, we have operations in Chandigarh, Jaipur and Noida in North India.
NR Narayana Murthy > We have operations in Bhubaneshwar in Eastern india. We'd be happy to start operations in more and more North and East Indian cities.

S Ghosh > Dear Mr. Murthy, How does one cope if one feels down and out in the IT profession?
NR Narayana Murthy > Lets all remember that compared to the poor people of India, we are the blessed ones. Our problems are nothing compared to them. So I always think of how kind God has been to me whenever I am down.

Pradeep Kumar > Dear Sir, India's recent economic development has been commendable thanks to government economic liberalisation. Though as an Indian I feel proud of the recent economic success, however, what hurts most is red tape, bureaucracy. How do you suggest ways to fight that?
NR Narayana Murthy > We have to create a system of meritocracy and incentives in our bureaucracy. Then I am sure they'd perform as well as anybody in the private sector.

Geo > Respected Mr Murthy, during the end of the 90's how did you market your software and services abroad? I assume during that time neither India nor Infosys was popular in the West as a reliable IT resource. What was the strategy that you adopted?
NR Narayana Murthy > Our initial strategy was excellence in execution. We leveraged the fact that the quality of our software and the On Time completion of our effort was of the highest order.

Vincent > Mr Murthy, I would like to know the scope for a commerce background person in software field, what are the opportunities available?
NR Narayana Murthy > In fact, majority of opportunities in the application area in software is for people with commercial background with an algorithmic bent of mind. So, as long as you are comfortable in logic, you have tremendous opportunity.

vks_urdisciple > Respected Sir, you are a role model to thousands of people but who is your role-model
NR Narayana Murthy > It’s clearly Mahatma Gandhi since he walked the talk and led by example.

Deep_01 > According to you, what can be the factors which can propel Infosys in the league of international big players?
NR Narayana Murthy > First, becoming more multi-cultural. Second, providing better and better business value. And third, creating better brand equity.

Ramesh > Sir, I agree that, as a Software Service Provider like Infosys, you have compulsion with the clients you are working with for not to develop products competing with the clients. But, how long one can run a service company? Is it not a good idea to have a product which can be proudly labeled as “Made in India” or “Made by Infosys”;. What is holding back you or any software services industry?
NR Narayana Murthy > We already have Finacle - the No 1 banking product in India. This has been installed in 35 Plus countries. As we move forward, based on our preparedness, we will definitely look at your suggestions for products in other areas.

K V Ramadoss > suppose you became the Prime Minister of India, what would be your priorities? How will you handle the reservation policy?
NR Narayana Murthy > That is very hypothetical question. However, let me answer it. I would focus all the governmental efforts on address efficiently the issues of education, healthcare, nutrition and shelter for the poor, while providing an absolutely free space for entrepreneurs to create more jobs to enhance exports and to create greater wealth.

Aamir > Hi, Do you see in future whether the Software industry be able to provide service sector to the field agriculture in countries like India.
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe currently there is no technology to suffice that. There are several applications that can enhance the productivity of the agricultural sector. However, we have to ensure that there is a financial mechanism for our farmers to leverage the power of these applications.

jyan > what do u attribute secrets of your professional success?
NR Narayana Murthy > I am not sure I can say we at Infosys have achieved any great success. However, we believe that hard work, smart work, a good value system, long term orientation and focus on innovation and finally openness to new ideas and meritocracy are the key ingredients for becoming better and better.

Abhay > What is your message for young entrepreneurs?
NR Narayana Murthy > We are at a historical juncture in the history of this country. For the first time in 300 years, India has received respect, attention and admiration. This is the time to consolidate on the small success we have had by working hard, by following discipline and by putting the interest of the country first in everything we do.

Rathin Vora > Do you think Indian software professionals are better than American tech professionals? If so, then in which areas do they score? Where do they lag? Is there any company in India which can challenge Infosys?
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe that there are good professionals in every country. However, since the US is at the leading edge of technology, the software professionals there have more and more opportunities to use advance technology first compared to us. Being a highly developed country, the software professionals in the US generally do not see the need for hard work as much as our Indian software professional’s see. I believe that every other Indian company can challenge Infosys as long as they are more innovative, and they are better customer focused than us.

Krishna Prasad > Sir, as you know investment in equities gives best returns in the long term. I want to know your investment portfolio, and your favourite sectors apart from software? Do you invest through mutual funds or directly?
NR Narayana Murthy > I must say that my main investments are in Infosys which happened when we founded the company. I am not an expert in stock market, hence am not the right person to answer this.

Padmanapan > Hello Mr Narayan .I am Padmanapan studying in Pune. My question is related to political system of India. It seems impossible to curb the dirty minds entering in politics. So under such circumstances what should be the role of youth, since they get discouraged by sub standard political system?
NR Narayana Murthy > The youth must stand up for their beliefs by vocally supporting good politicians and by voting them to power. Second, they must conduct themselves as good citize4ns of this country.

Hello > Hello Mr.Murthy, How long do you feel this boom in IT industry in India continue??
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe that we are still in the early stages of the IT revolution in the world. Hence this will continue for quite some time.

rahulverma1980 > respected sir my question is that if someone is having enough knowledge of sales and marketing is it necessary having an MBA degree for having a job in a reputed form like Infosys..?
NR Narayana Murthy > Not necessary. In fact, out of the 70,000 or so employees at Infosys, not more than 7,000 would be MBAs

venkat > Dear Murthy Sir, So far the IT industry has done extremely well, however the talent crunch and the reducing quality in the people is creating a big concern to clients. Is the entire industry acknowledging this? Any tips to work out this issue?
NR Narayana Murthy > We have reaped the benefits of the extraordinary vision of Jawaharlal Nehru. This is the time for our Prime Minister to enhance the quality and the quantity of higher education system in the country. Else, we may regret it 20 years from now

Deepak > sir what do u think about FBT provision on ESOp.dont u think it is very harsh on Companies Since
NR Narayana Murthy > > I don't have full data on that; I am not in a position to comment on it.

Vinod Vasanth > what are the basic tips for handling customers
NR Narayana Murthy > Openness to understand customers' problems, a mindset to enhance business value to the customer and behaviour that creates trust in customers' minds.

123 > One interview you have mentioned that, you have still has to pay some amount for your wife which you have bought from her at your difficult time.. can you explain more about that.
NR Narayana Murthy > My part of the equity in Infosys was borrowed from Sudha and she paid for most of our expenses in the initial years

shimo > Do you think our education system is capable of producing leaders? If not what changes should be brought in ?
NR Narayana Murthy > We have produced extraordinary leaders like Nehru, Patel, Shastri, Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram, Montek Singh and many others. I believe that it is capable of producing good leaders.

drquery > By recruiting talent who are not necessarily from IT background by attracting them with good salary packages, don’t you think the IT sector is weaning rest of the industry sectors from much required resource supply?
NR Narayana Murthy > Yes, I agree with you. However, the solution is to produce more and more engineers in every sector of the economy so that there will be enough talent not just for IT, but all other branches of engineering.

Laurel > You took 26 years to built a company like Infosys what it now. What should i do to build a company like this in 8 to 10 years time?
NR Narayana Murthy > Work harder, smarter and have solutions that have better business value to the customer than we did.

Chethan > Mr. Murthy, by the end of the year 2010 do you think India will free from poverty?
NR Narayana Murthy > I don't think so. I would very much like India to be free from poverty but that will happen only if we have good political leaders, efficient bureaucrats and well-meaning corporate leaders.

Laurel > You took 26 years to built a company like Infosys what it now. What should i do to build a company like this in 8 to 10 years time.
NR Narayana Murthy > I have always regarded respect as the most precious item for me. I know that it is along journey to deserve respect from the society. I am still in the initial stages of this journey.

vks_urdisciple > What do you think was your best business decision?
NR Narayana Murthy > Clearly, requesting 6 younger colleagues of mine to join me as co-founders. If I have to do this exercise again, I would go with the same 6 plus a few other extraordinary leaders at Infosys.

raghunandan > Hello Sir, Software majorsn like Infosys are recruiting thousands of people every year . Don’t you feel, with such a large workforce, there is a fear of stagnation as far as career of an individual is concerned. Also due to the number of people leaving the company every year , which is not ideal
NR Narayana Murthy > We recruit people based on the market needs and our ability to sustain productive employment for these people for a certain number of years. While attrition is clearly an issue, I accept the dream and aspiration of every young man and woman to better their prospects wherever they want. every person that has been an Infoscion even for a short period will always remain our friend and is most welcome to come back or visit us for a lunch or a coffee.

prasanti > hello sir...i m student of textile engineering and want to switch 2 software...what d u advise me 2 do?
NR Narayana Murthy > As long as you have algorithmic thinking and are strong in logic, you can always become a good software engineer.

shimo > Which is your favorite author ? Any book you consider crucial in your success?
NR Narayana Murthy > I read popular physics and popular mathematics for my recreational purposes. Clearly, feynman lectures trilogy is my favorite book. I frankly can’t think of any book that i can point to as my business experience.

PANKAJ > among new entrepreneurs who have impresses you
NR Narayana Murthy > Certainly I think Sunil Mittal, then Kishore Biyani, the founders of On mobile, have all impressed me.

shreyasanjeev > respected sir, please define the vision of india for coming five years on economic front
NR Narayana Murthy > Our challenge will have to be to provide basic education, healthcare, nutrition and shelter to every Indian child.

bhaskarswapnil > Dear Sir, I am a 4th year student at IIT Kanpur in the Computer Science Department. Many here believe Indian Industry requires only technicians and not IITians. DO you think Indian industry requires IITians?
NR Narayana Murthy > Where and as who? In Infosys we believe that software engineering is extremely crucial to our success. Hence, IITians are very important for the success of this industry.

Muhamad > Hi, I am the owner of a small technology firms, what’s the best way to grow on in business when you have limited resources and maximum opportunities and how one can balance all of this to build a sustainable growth part.
NR Narayana Murthy > Focus on an idea that is simple in business value to the customer, create a team of complementary strengths and common value system and make sure that you work hard and smart.

Bhalchandra > Dear Sir, What measure do you suggest to improve the quality of Software engineers (fresher’s)?
NR Narayana Murthy > Since quite a few times it is said that the fresher’s are not up to the mark Focus on algorithmic thinking, generic learn-ability, discipline and hard work.

Jimil > What do you think about multinationals coming to India like walmart and Tesco, they have affected small retailers in UK and USA (They have nearly finished them), don't you think same will happen in Indian vast small retail industry?
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe that economy of scale, technology and innovation add value to the large number of consumers in the country. While it is true that it may displace a section of the mom and pop stores, in the interest of the large no of consumers, i would welcome such large stores as long as we can provide decent employment to the small shop owners.

Mohan > What is your suggestion to manage our time (personal, professional life). How do you manage your time between these two?
NR Narayana Murthy > Right from my childhood, my fatehr insisted on me having a time table, allocating time based on priority. I believe this is the best solution.

91985 > Murthy Sir I like 2 develop own software company like as Infosys
NR Narayana Murthy > Best wishers for you. May you succeed since India needs more and more people like you.

VijayMehta > Dear Mr Murthy, A lot has been written and said about the success of Infosys. I am sure there would have been incidents and obstacles, Infosys as a company and you as one of the founder members would have faced. Can you please share one such incident?
NR Narayana Murthy > It took us more than a year to get a telephone connection in 1982 and we lost a huge project because of that.

Dileep > Do you think, by any means, that the corruption in India can be lowered down in near future?
NR Narayana Murthy > Only if we have enhance transparency and if we our leaders lead by example.

lalit > Mr Murthy, can you please write an article informing people how to raise kids?
NR Narayana Murthy > I want my daughter to be good in what ever she does but then your experience will be very valuable to raise her. Probably, my wife should write it since she has been responsible for raising both the kids with a good value system.

Aditya > India is officially, centrally known as IT center of world. Why doesn’t India invest in creative fields like MEMS, semiconductor which need good brains (which we already have) and which will add thousands of opportunities to upcoming talent in India.
NR Narayana Murthy > I have discussed this issue with Dr Murli Manohar Joshi as well as with Dr Manmohan Singh. Is is our PM who has to take this decision.

rahul > Dear Sir. I am very happy to see you in the forum. You are the role module of young people. My question is & quot; what are the steps do u taken to bring rural educated people to come main stream. They have all the quality except English. so what ur step to comedown this problem.
NR Narayana Murthy > Thanking you I am very happy that karnataka government has started a finishing school for qualified candidates who are weak in English. Similarly, Infosys has conducted special camps for rural youngsters to help them with English. We have to scale this up.

Swamy > Dear NRN, How do you see Infosys growing from where it is currently with the change in leadership?
NR Narayana Murthy > With a management structure in place along with business units across key vertical and IBUs, what do you see would be the role of the CEO, COO, CFO, CHRO As we move forward, there will be more and more decentralization of power and each IBU should be run as an independent unit with its own balance sheet

sakthi > what will be the next big revolution just as IT?
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe it will be clearly Bio-technology, nano-technology and embedded systems as applied to appliance computing.

tejas > In Infosys, What do you do when you have to make a hard decision?
NR Narayana Murthy > We sit, discuss and debate for a fixed amount of time and then the leader takes the decision after considering all points of view.

sudhirtaori: > whats your opinion on e governance?
NR Narayana Murthy > E governance is extremely important for a poor country like India since it enhances transparency, reduced corruption, improves efficiency of governmental services.

visky > When compared to other industries why are It people paid more?
NR Narayana Murthy > In the free market philosophy, whenever demand exceed supply, prices go up. That is the reason.

Manu > can you please answer my question on how you started Infosys?
NR Narayana Murthy > I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur ever since I spent some time in Europe. So, in December 1980, I decided to take a plunge and that is when one of my colleagues wanted to join me and I invited 5 other youngsters. That is how Infosys was born.

Sunnyvale > Will opening offices in China by some Indian IT companies, affect the progress of India?
NR Narayana Murthy > Not really, because, at this point of time, the market opportunity is enough to leverage the talent of both India and China.

Nishchaymhatre > Respected Sir, in your opinion what was Infosys's greatest moment till date?
NR Narayana Murthy > There are many, like getting listed on NASDAQ as the first Indian company, our first customer, our first campus, initiating our stock option plan, etc.

maheshgupt > How can senior IT professionals , opting for VRS , contribute for upliftment of IT in India?
NR Narayana Murthy > By participating in enhancing IT literacy in their own cities or towns, particularly for children from the poorer sections of society.

amitkumar_india > Many of highly talented Indian engineers are going abroad for better jobs. What can be done to retain them in India?
NR Narayana Murthy > First of all, I believe that a certain percentage of our youngsters must go abroad, contribute to those societies and conduct themselves as model citizens of those societies. This will enhance the image of India. On the issue of attracting them back, we have to create an environment where it is easy for them to commute to their offices. It is easy for them to send their children to good schools and it is easy for them to lead a decent quality of life.

Sonia > Was there any time in life when you felt that you will not be able to achieve your goal?
NR Narayana Murthy > There have been many times. For example, when we were refused loan to import a computer, when it would take us 12 to 14 days to get permission to travcel abroad, when we could not get telephone lines even after a year and lost a huge project, etc.

javeed > Mr.Narayan Murthy when you along with a handful of your colleagues started work in one small house in Koramangla did you have any idea or confidence that one day you would attain and achieve what you have achieved today for yourself and the county.
NR Narayana Murthy > Not really. However, right from day one, we focused on receiving more and more respect from every one of the stake holders. I believe that we are moving along reasonably well on that target.

avkrishna > do you think that the demand for IT still remain for at least 20 years?
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe that the world is still in its early stage in leveraging the power of IT, particularly when you consider two thirds the population of this world (in the developing world) has not at all leveraged the power of IT.

Sharad > How would you explain the wide divide(in basic facilities available, like roads/education/electricity etc) that exists between urban and rural areas or even between states in India when if you see countries like US, even the smallest of village at least has basic amenities?
NR Narayana Murthy > It is just that in a developing country like India, our resources are limited and we have used outdated ideas and sibboleths. The day our leaders realize the importance of entrepreneurship and creation of jobs, and the power of entrepreneurship in creating infrastructure, I believe we will sort this problem.

Ashwani > what is your opinion on the sustainability of the GDP growth in india and what is the perceived contribution from IT Sector
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe that we can continue to grow at 9 to 10 per cent for at least 20 years since China has done it for the last 20 years. At this point of time, the IT sector contributes about 4 to 5 per cent of the GDP. I believe that we can take it to about 10 per cent if we work hard.

Anand > Currently we have seen there huge number of recruitment happening across companies, what do you think out quality vs quantity?
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe that the quality of the intake is slowly deteriorating. it is not the fault of the youth but that of the system. That is why we, at Infosys, have started many initiatives to enhance the quality of our training.

DarwinLloyd > You took 26 years to built a company like Infosys what it now. What should i do to build a company like this in 8 to 10 years time.
NR Narayana Murthy > To make this possible i need more input (tips) from you sir. Openness to new ideas, meritocracy, speed, imagination and excellence in execution will help you progress faster than Infosys.

sudhirtaori > Do you hate people who make spelling mistakes?
NR Narayana Murthy > I do, however, I am not used to typing so fast.

kukuananda > Driven by values is your slogan. What are these values????
NR Narayana Murthy > Focus on the customer, leadership by example, integrity and transparency, fairness and excellence in execution.

role_model > am a fresher......should i get experience to become an entrepreneur
NR Narayana Murthy > If you have a clear idea which adds business value to the market, then you dont need an experience because entrepreneurship is all about a powerful idea, a team with complementary strengths, an enduring value system, passion, commitment and sacrifice and finally a great dream.

samyukta > Sir, who thought of the name Infosys... and Why Infosys?
NR Narayana Murthy > I must confess that I thought of the name Infosys. Infosys is the acronym for Information Systems, which is our business.

Sen > Dear Sir, Your opinion on software professionals who are changing companies very often for better position/Increment in their salary/Higher role etc?
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe that it is the right of every individual to choose the organization that he or she wants to work for.

Kunalks > Sir - Do you see any mergers/consolidations happening between the various Indian IT services and Solution companies in near future?
NR Narayana Murthy > I do not have a crystal ball. However, it is difficult to imagine the big 3 coming together.

nusrath > Sir, what did you mean when you recently said that we need to boost productivity to cut the losses that IT companies are incurring because of the appreciating rupee?
NR Narayana Murthy > What I meant was we have to enhance our work productivity, which means we have to increase our revenues with the same number of staff by doing more work in the same time period.

shital > Resp sir. Do u think that we are better than china?? or is it just because we are better in the language English ?
NR Narayana Murthy > China is clearly demonstrated their success in growing their GDP faster than India, in enhancing their export better than India and in creating a much larger no of jobs than India. I believe we have many lessons to learn from China.

Sophia > What is your advise to women entrepreneurs in the IT industry?
NR Narayana Murthy > I believe that we in India have to encourage women entrepreneurs much more than we have done. This requires policies that are beneficial to women and that help women become entrepreneurs while discharging important duties as mothers

Pratham > How much of a threat is rupee appreciation vis-à-vis dollar in the long term for IT industry in India?
NR Narayana Murthy > I do not believe in the Dollar Rupee exchange rate as a threat because this is a macro economic factor and no individual company can control it. Why worry about an issue over which we have no control, while we have hundreds of issues that we have to solve and over which we have control.

NR Narayana Murthy > This is an issue on which only the US government and the citizens of US can comment. We, the Indian companies have to grow our businesses successfully while operating under whatever constraints exist in our market place

Sign off Message > Folks, it has been wonderful participating in this chat. I am extremely grateful to all of you and to my friend Mr Rajesh Kalra for this extraordinary opportunity. I will sign off now. Thank you.

Original Story

Income Tax dept moves SC against Infosys

2007-09-11T02:39:00.001+00:00

NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court order holding that IT major Infosys Technologies was not liable to deduct tax at source on employees stock option plan.

A bench of Justice S H Kapadia tagged the matter with another similar petition pending before it.

According to the department, the high court, which upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's order, was wrong in holding that Infosys was not liable to deduct TDS on the stock option plan extended to its employees.

It has sought the apex court's directions as to whether a stock option scheme, which had been exempted since 2000 onward can be treated as having exempted even in earlier assessment year of 1999-2000.

According to petition, stock option provided a benefit as the shares were allotted at a reduced rate to the employees. "It is nothing but a concession or benefit granted to an employee and would certainly amount to perquisite to an employee...", it added.

The ITAT had rejected the department's contention that Section 17(2)(iiia) of the Income Tax Act was classificatory in nature and not applicable to the assessment years.

It further held Infosys cannot be treated as a defaulter not deducting TDS under Section 192 of the Act in regard to issue of shares to its employees at a concessional rate as the same could not be treated as perquisite (salary).

Infosys had formulated Employees Stock Option Plan in 1999 under which shares were transferred to a trust which would in turn transfer shares to respective employees.

The company had challenged department's show cause notice proposing to treat it as defaulter for failing to deduct TDS in shares issued to its employees.

Original Story

Infosys looking to make first UK acquisition

2007-09-10T17:10:00.001+00:00

Indian IT services firm Infosys Technologies is considering making its first acquisition in Britain, as part of a strategy designed to deepen its global footprint.

Dalian WEF is winning a place on world map

BG Srinivas, who heads Infosys's operations in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), said the company was on the lookout for deals in its key European markets.

"We are looking for opportunities that will transform our business in Europe," he said. "That could be in the UK, France or Germany." He declined to comment on whether any talks had been held with potential targets.

Mr Srinivas was speaking during a visit to the coastal city of Dalian in north-eastern China to coincide with the World Economic Forum summit.

Last week, Infosys, India's second-biggest computer services firm, announced the launch of the UK element of its graduate employment scheme, which will involve 25 graduates spending four months in the city of Mysore in India, before returning as 'Infoscions' to work in the company's UK operations.

The IT services industry is the most sought-after employment sector among Indian graduates, with fierce competition for jobs with Infosys and its competitors, which include Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro Technologies. Last year, Infosys, which has been grappling with the impact of the strong rupee on its earnings outlook, had 1.3m applications for its annual recruitment programme.

Infosys has been engaging in efforts to improve the image of the company, and the outsourcing industry, in the UK, where there has been a fierce debate on customer service levels, and the implications for British jobs.

Mr Srinivas said the company was involved in initiatives to improve UK computer literacy, as well as projects to lower the skills deficit affecting people entering the workforce.

Original Story

Nagawara Ramarao Narayana Murthy

2007-09-10T17:09:00.001+00:00

Nagawara Ramarao Narayana Murthy is N R Narayana Murthy

Original Story

"Infosys was christened at Shivaji Park"

2007-09-10T17:01:00.001+00:00

MUMBAI: Shivaji Park, the sprawling ground in central Mumbai, associated with political rallies and cricket matches, has an IT connection as well -- software giant Infosys was christened here.

This was disclosed by Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosys founder Narayan Murthy, at a function here last night.

"We decided to name our new company as Infosys while sitting at a corner of Shivaji Park," she told the audience at a function after the couple were presented the Yashwantrao Chavan Award for 2006.

Recalling the time spent in Mumbai, she said, "We have nice memories of our stay in both Mumbai and Pune."

"In Pune, we frequented the cinema halls so much that even the doormen there began to recognise us," she said, drawing peals of laughter from the audience and a shy grin from Narayan Murthy.

"Although I hail from Karnataka, I feel I also belong here," she said citing the example of Lord Krishna, "who belonged to both Devki and Yashod".

She took a dig at Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who presented the award, saying, "I thank you for presenting us separate shawls. Had this function been in Pune, I am sure we would have got a common shawl," apparently referring to the "calculative" trait associated with that city.

Responding in a lighter vein, Pawar said, "We are from Pune rural," implying the trait that she referred to was mainly an urban one. Murthy said she was indebted to readers in Maharashtra for their interest in translated copies of her books.

"In fact, my publisher tells me that the Marathi translations have sold more copies than the original version."

Sudha Murthy said she and her husband were "proud of our middle class origins". "Even now, we retain the same values. Money and values are different things," she added.

Recalling that Rs 10,000 contribution from her had helped launch Infosys, she said, "I am a good investor. See, what my Rs 10,000 has become today."

Pawar said if Murthy was known world over for leading India's IT revolution, it was Sudha Murthy, who had conquered the audience with her speech.

"While listening to her, I felt as if M S Dhoni was batting and hitting strokes everywhere," the BCCI president said.

Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil and Justice Y V Chandrachud, chairman of the award selection jury, were also present at the function

Original Story

Ukraine-based Nadra Bank Implements Finacle Universal Banking Solution

2007-09-10T17:00:00.001+00:00

MUMBAI: IT major Infosys Technologies on Monday said Ukraine-based Nadra Bank has selected its flagship product 'Finacle Universal Banking Solution' to power its transformation initiative.

Finacle encompasses core banking, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), treasury, e-banking and would replace the bank's current in-house decentralised system, Infosys said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"This win is of strategic importance to us. With an already established and fast growing client base for Finacle in Russia and CIS, the region is strategic to our growth plans," Infosys Technologies VP and Head (Worldwide Sales- Finacle) Sanat Rao said.

The implementation would leverage global practices and would play a pivotal role in helping the Ukrainian bank streamline operational efficiencies, the company said.

Finacle customer base spans across 55 countries and was recently recognised by top analysts including Gartner, Forrester and Celent.

Shares of Infosys closed at Rs 1,871.50, down 1.96 per cent, on the BSE in late afternoon trade.

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