|
Pak IT cos unhappy with MNCs on being clubbed along European operations
February 19, 2010
Source: ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: Pakistan and India might not be batting on the same turf in sports, but our neighbour wants to play on the same South Asian pitch with India when it comes to IT business. Pakistani IT companies are apparently unhappy that they are usually clubbed along with European operations, rather than with the South Asian or Saarc operations, by most transnational technology majors.
Companies like Microsoft, Oracle, EMC, Cisco, Unisys, Intel have a presence in Pakistan. But most companies have clubbed the country under Europe or Singapore operations rather than under South Asia or Saarc.
The IT Association of Pakistan, called P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association), feels that clubbing with the Saarc or South Asian operations will help IT industry on both sides of the border prosper.
“It’s a funny thing why they (MNC IT companies) don’t consider us a part of South Asia or Saarc, which we actually are. We have tried to put across this point to them often,” says P@sha president Jehan Ara, who was visiting India this month to participate in the Nasscom Summit 2010.
“Both countries have similar opportunities and challenges in terms of people and infrastructure. We would like MNC IT companies to consider us as part of South Asia,” she adds. The Saarc region of MNC IT companies is governed out of India, which companies like Microsoft have made into a region in itself. Tech firms, however, say they would like to do it only if ties between the two countries are
normalised.
|
 |
|
Sify technologies in tie-up with Hitachi Data Systems
February 19, 2010
Source: PTI
MUMBAI: Sify Technologies limited, on Thursday announced the launch of on-demand storage service in partnership with Hitachi Data System, to manage the complete life-cycle of enterprise information, from its inception to its final disposal.
The fully-managed, utility based, on-demand, scalable storage platform is powered by Hitachi Data Systems.
"We offer On-Demand 'Cloud Infrastructure' for companies seeking dynamic scalability, business agility, high-availability and enterprise security across compute, storage, security and network platforms while reducing costs," Sify's executive president, Pardip J Nath, told reporters in Mumbai.
The launch of our On-Demand Storage platform is a significant step towards Sify's journey towards building India's best Cloud Infrastructure, he said.
Sify's On-Demand storage service reduces the complexities of deploying and managing multiple storage tiers, and lowers operational costs by automating management with flexible need based pricing, he added.
|
|
|
EXL Services scouts for buyouts in US
February 19, 2010
Source: ET Bureau
MUMBAI: India-based back office services firm EXL Services, which competes with bigger rivals like Genpact and WNS Global Services, plans to establish a delivery footprint in its top export market of the US through an acquisition. The firm is currently evaluating several deals, said the company’s president and CEO Rohit Kapoor.
“We are pursuing acquisitions for geographic location and capability. For geographic location, we are primarily interested in onshore. There are several deals in the pipeline — some in the initial stages, some in the due diligence stage and others, where we are vetting the term sheet,” Mr Kapoor told ET.
EXL’s recent acquisitions, include American Express’ travel services captive in India and Schneider Logistics’ back-office operations in the Czech Republic. The strategy to acquire assets onshore is a significant departure from past strategies of expanding in cost-efficient locations such as India, Eastern Europe and the Philippines.
“Some of our clients would want transition gradually, especially in today’s environment,” pointed out Mr Kapoor, who is based in the US.
BPO revenues are driven by functions such as accounting, payroll and procurement, which are mostly done by departments within the client organisation itself before they get outsourced to third-party providers, and therefore have a greater degree of sensitivity associated with them. Anti-offshoring rhetoric has risen visibly in the recent past in the US, partly due to high unemployment rates.
Additionally, Mr Kapoor said an onshore facility would also help the company perform tasks of a higher order of a complexity and requiring a higher level of regulatory compliance, as well as tasks such as conversion of paper documents to electronic formats, which require a physical presence.
Unlike IT providers, which historically started with an onsite-offshore services model, BPO providers started with an almost entirely offshore services model. Over the past few years, they have expanded into other locations such as the Philippines for voice-based services and Eastern Europe for nearshore capability.
Some of EXL’s peers, WNS Global Services and Firstsource Solutions, have gained onshore facilities through acquisitions made for capability in servicing certain sectors. WNS has two centres in the UK, while Firstsource has four in the US. IT providers have announced large delivery centres in the US, and are recruiting local staff at these facilities. Tata Consultancy Services has announced a 1,000-people centre in Cincinnati in the US, while Wipro has announced one in
Altanta.
|
|
|
|
|
|
