Wednesday, March 29, 2006



NDTV and Genpact Align to Provide Media Outsourcing Services

NDTV, an Indian television content provider, has entered into an agreement with Genpact, an Indian IT and BPO services company and a former GE subsidiary, to offer media outsourcing services. The agreement is one of the first between television content provider and a BPO company to tap the potential of outsourcing in the filed back-end media services.

By leveraging this partnership, the two companies will focus on providing media-related services, such as editing, digitization and closed captioning. They will target media and entertainment customers worldwide.


The entire Global Media & Entertainment Industry was estimated at $1,340 bn at the end of 2005 and is expected to grow to $1,777 bn by end of 2009. In addition, there are a number of drivers that are changing the dynamics for the industry, such as the increasing prevalence of HDTV, digital content and on-demand programming. The changing dynamics have created a need for media companies to ensure that their content is digitized and available for customers to access and use.

There is also pressure on media companies globally to cut costs and outsourcing is one of the established means to achieve this


The venture between NDTV and Genpact will be the first to offer tailored outsourcing solutions to the media industry, allowing companies to respond to these changes quicker, faster and cheaper than would otherwise be possible.



Read the Press Release Here

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

HCL to Support MSC’s Rollout of One-Oracle Applications

HCL America, the US subsidiary of the Indian software and applications management services provider, has signed a multimillion dollar contract with MSC Software, a global provider of simulation solutions, to support the latter’s rollout of ‘One-Oracle’.

According to the terms of the contract, HCL will upgrade Oracle 11i to 11.5.10 and also transfer 11.0.3 to Global 11.5.10. In addition, it will design and develop new RICE components and port existing RICE components with minor modifications.

for more visit www.MSCSoftware.com

Sunday, March 26, 2006


Information Security Risk a Top Concern Among Outsourcing Executives

According to a recent survey by Booz Allen Hamilton, information security has become a top concern among companies evaluating current and potential outsourcing relationships. Also, most of the companies considering outsourcing, perceive a higher security risk in engaging offshore providers vis-à-vis the US-based providers. This results from the lack of transparency in the legal and regulatory frameworks installed at the offshore locations.

Read the full story here

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

General Atlantic LLC has agreed to invest $67.6 million in India-based IT & BPO services provider, Hexaware Technologies.
Under the terms of the proposed investments by GA in Hexaware the $ 67.6 mn investment would be through preferential allotment of 14.99% equity stake post conversion. The deal values Hexaware at a capitalization of $ 450 million.

for more info follow this link

Monday, March 20, 2006

"Indian Dude, you're gettin' a Dell! well 10000 More "

Computer maker Dell expects to double the company's headcount in India to 20,000 over the next three years, its Founder and Chairman Michael S Dell said on Monday. He told a news conference here that the company, with its headquarters at Round Rock in Texas, was aiming at continuing growing at the rate of 40 per cent in India. The $56 billion company was in talks with several state governments to set up its manufacturing unit in India, he added.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

TPI-EquaTerra Honeymoon Over

TPI and EquaTerra, two of the industry’s leading providers of advice on the service delivery strategies for large enterprises, have announced that their merger agreement, signed in February 2006, has been terminated by mutual consent of the parties. The parties have agreed to go their separate ways as providers of expert advice related to the information technology and business process operations of their clients.
Salary of BPO Employees is More in India, Says Report

According to the Nasscom-Hewitt report, more than 80% of the organizations across the IT and ITeS sectors have reported a prevalence of short-term incentive plans and about 40% have reported prevalence of long-term incentive plans with stock options being the most favored.
IT professionals got an average salary increase of 16%, BPO professionals received an 18% hike in 2005. In terms of wage bills, IT companies spent more on Total Cost-to-Company (TCC) in contrast to BPO companies in 2005, according to the Nasscom-Hewitt Total Rewards Study.

The IT sector witnessed a 10% movement in compensation across levels on TCC. BPO companies witnessed less increase in wage bills at seven percent in terms of TCC. Both IT and BPO sectors are seeing a movement toward a higher cash-to-benefit ratio. The IT firms in 2005 revealed a 78: 22 cash orientation, as compared to the BPO firms at 76: 24.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Outsourcing has become a key instrument for developers in the gaming industry for maintaining profitability in the wake of the rising costs of games development.

The size of the games outsourcing market is expected to reach USD 1.1 billion by the end of 2006 and further increase to USD 2.5 billion level by 2010. As a result, outsourcing will command 40 percent of the total games development spend. The projected growth will be realized due to the arrival of new games consoles, which demand higher resolution and better art, produced by major players, such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo.

Consequently, the productions costs rise. The rise in production costs can be checked by adopting the outsourcing to as low as 20 percent from a projected figure of 50 percent. Already, it is estimated that 60 percent of the major games studios make use of it in their development strategies. However, the report reveals that the downside of outsourcing can be seen in the quality of output and communication gaps between the clients and the vendors.

The report's author, Rick Gibson, says:
Every transition to a new generation of consoles is painful, but this one is
proving much more difficult and more expensive than before. Outsourcing is one
of the few effective strategies in use today by the world's largest games
studios to keep costs, particularly resource costs, under control.


Key findings:
1. The global market for games outsourcing will reach $1.1bn by the end of 2006 and is set to grow to $2.5bn by 2010 – representing 40% of total games development spend
2. Outsourcing is already common – it is estimated that 60% of games studios outsource today, with this figure projected to rise to 90% by 2008
3. If left unchecked, production for games developed for the new generation of games consoles will increase by 50%
4. Demand for quality art and animation will soon outstrip supply by experienced outsourcing providers
5. Undersupply of skills will result in rising prices and the continued suppression of the number of new titles in development.


TOP Indian vendors: Dhruva Interactive, Applied Gravity, Satellier India, Toonz Animation and many many more

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

The ' R ' Factor

While the attractiveness of an offshore location is usually measured by the availability of manpower, skills, business environment and cost, political and economic risks are often not taken into account while choosing an offshore location. Risk management firm Aon’s political and economic risk map for 2006, gives an interesting insight into the risk profile of a location.



Interestingly, most of the tier 1offshore locations – India, China, Russia, and Mexico – are labeled medium risk locations.

And some Low Risk Locations : Czech Republic, Slovakia, Chile

Download AT Kearney Location Attractiveness Study

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Thursday, March 02, 2006


Perot Systems Acquires eServ LLC

The acquisition launches Perot Systems’ expansion into outsourced engineering services, broadening the company’s suite of BPO services for the automotive, manufacturing and industrial-services segments .

Perot Systems Corporation (NYSE: PER) today announced that it has acquired eServ, LLC, a leading provider of high-end product engineering outsourcing services, for $21 million in cash, plus up to $7 million more if certain performance targets are met. The acquisition launches Perot Systems' expansion into outsourced engineering services, broadening the company's suite of BPO services for the automotive, manufacturing and industrial services segments.

"eServ is an excellent strategic fit for Perot Systems because of the company's depth of industry expertise, customer base, and the strong cultural fit,"
said Dave Sanders, Perot Systems vice president and Commercial Solutions group leader.
"We will now be able to provide high quality, cost-effective outsourced engineering services in addition to our range of applications, consulting, infrastructure and business process solutions."

eServ, located in Peoria, Illinois, provides product engineering services to leading industrial and manufacturing companies. The company reported 2005 revenue of $24.7 million, an increase of 58 percent over the previous year. In addition to its Peoria headquarters, eServ has offices in Rock Island, Illinois and Chicago, Illinois.

"eServ is very proud of its achievements, which includes an average annual revenue growth rate in excess of 50 percent since our inception in 1999," said James Richmond, chief executive officer of eServ.
"By joining the Perot Systems family, we can bring our customers end-to-end business solutions, and add a global dimension to our capabilities to achieve faster time-to-market, reduced costs and increased revenue for our existing and future customers."

By acquiring eServ, Perot Systems enhances its cornerstone outsourcing capabilities to the automotive, manufacturing and industrial customers. The company can now help customers gain a competitive edge by providing highly- skilled, fully-trained engineers delivering complete product engineering services at a faster rate and at a lower cost.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Satyam to Set-Up Center in Eastern India, Expand China Operations

Satyam, an Indian IT outsourcing service provider, has announced plans to establish a new development center in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. The facility will be spread across 2.77 acres and built in two phases.

The facility will house around 2000 employees. Large local talent pool and good infrastructure facilities are the factors for locating the new center in Kolkata.

Satyam has also decided to set up operations in Guangzhou in China. The move is a part of establishing a full-fledged development center in China. Recently, another Indian IT major, TCS, had announced expansion of its operations in China. TCS already has large direct presence as well as indirect presence through its partnership with Microsoft in China.

for more check satyam.com