Last week Paramount Airways took its wings from Coimbatore.
What is striking is its focus on secondary cities, move away from low cost, and offer “business-class only” seats at affordable fares.
It is likely to be a big hit according to me.
The quality of life in many of the secondary cities like Mysore, Coimbatore, Indore, Ranchi or Pune is much better than metros; but senior executives and scions of business families cling to metros for better air connectivity. With telecom improving dramatically, education institutions moving to hinterland, and availability of good quality hospitals in secondary cities, it is only time that the growth will move to secondary cities. With people with larger disposable income moving to secondary cities, entertainment and retail will move too; that would start the real growth in non-metros in India.
Hopefully, the municipal functions will improve; so are law and order, infrastructure like power; if that indeed happens India will be a better place to live.
I am also happy that the airlines chose Embraer Aircraft from Brazil; aircraft that suit travel between “secondary cities to metros” (too short for Airbus and Boeing, too long for ATR), far more comfortable and economic. If only the Government had not stifled the public sector with their archaic processes and the never-ending CVC, CAG and Parliamentary Committees (that are used by successive governments to settle the score among them, with the public servants being used as ping pong balls), HAL & NAL would have built such aircraft in 90’s that would have added another growth engine (in addition to IT and BT) to the Indian economy in this decade. Embraer also shows that niche companies from “not so advanced” countries can compete with the gorillas (Boeing & Airbus) too!
The knowledge industry (IT, Biotech, R & D, Design and Pharma) should be the first to grow into such secondary towns.
I hope people will also remember the fact that the CEO of Paramount Thiagarajan is an innovative thinker; under his able guidance “Bank of Madura” had pioneered many innovations; way back in 1995 the bank had “outsourced” IT to HCL / HP. They were the first to introduce “any where banking”. They re-engineered the Bank premises to be customer-centric than bank employee centric. I wrote a case study on “IT in Bank of Madura” way back in 1995. Ultimately Bank of Madura merged with ICICI Bank.
I am sure the same person will introduce many more innovations in airlines too.
What this country needs is such innovations in every walk of life – Arvind in eye care, Devi Shetty in Cardiac suregery, Mashelkar in CSIR… That alone will do justice to India’s Talent
Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Listening to the Nob
Listening to the Nobel Laureate Douglas Osheroff
September 30th, 2005
Bangaloreans are fortunate to get a chance to listen to Professor Osheroff of Stanford University (Physics Nobel Prize winner, 1996) at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on September 27, 2005. The learned professor talked on “Nature of discovery in Physics”.
Professor Osheroff obtained his Nobel prize for deep studies on super fluidity of helium isotope helium 3 at temperatures very close to absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius). Interestingly, the Nobel-cited work was done as part of his PhD research at Cornell University (he shared the prize with his supervisor David Lee)
What was particularly interesting about the talk was the humility of the researcher, who gave credit to a whole range of people (many of them were Novel prize winners too). He talked of the influence of the legendary Physics teacher Feynman during his Caltech days (he did his Undergraduate studies at Caltech).
He talked of a strategy that lays emphasis on using the best instrument and instrumentation (not have complete blind faith in the instrument though), explore unexplored areas, look at failure as invitation for some deep insight and be sensitive to unexplained behavior and not dismissing it easily.
He also talked of the need to invest in basic research without looking for immediate economic and social benefits (that will come any way over a period of time). He illustrated his ideas with many Nobel prize winning works; he also illustrated an actual case (NMR), where even the very inventors could not predict the long-term impact of some award winning works. There was a personal touch including his family portrait and his meeting with his fiancé and the later marriage (his wife was accompanying him also). He talked of the “great days” of Bell Laboratories where he continued his research during 1972-1987.
It was interesting to note the positive influence Venki Narayanamurti (currently Dean of Science at Harvard University) and other Indian scientists had on him; Venki Narayanamurti had graduated from Cornell University; he was instrumental in Professor Osheroff’s moving into Bell Laboratories.
Professor Osheroff also answered many questions from students including the need of working for many hours productively during PhD days and course-work and its relevance to graduate studies; he mentioned candidly his unhappiness about diverting of funds away from basic research by NASA but was equally realistic to admit that he was NOT the President of the country!
He did lament the lack of emphasis on experimental work in India.
In all it was an enjoyable evening.
Embedded Systems has a great future in India
September 23rd, 2005
Embedded Systems bridges several divide’s; hardware-software divide; EE CS departmental divide; divide between fun and rigor in learning; divide between theory and practice, industry and academia and in the Indian context, even the divide between Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (the Goddess of learning); one can do hardware and still make money (it is no longer true that only Indian software companies are successful)
With IC design capability, EDA software skills, testing, simulation, verification, and libraries taking the concept all the way to “tape out”, the design eco-system is in place; we need to get the Fab ecosystem in place; under Fab-City, initiative, SIA (Semiconductor Industry Association) in India has made a presentation to the Union Finance Minister and we expect that also to be in place over the next two years.
The demand side is in place; BEL, ECIL for Defense Electronics, BPL for Telecom, Videocon (after Thompson Picture Tubes plant acquisition, Videocon is the world’s No 3 TV tube manufacturer) for consumer electronics, VXL for thin clients (No 3 globally, as per Gartner) are examples of Indian corporations; Motorola, Philips, Siemens, GE, Nokia, Samsung, Elcoteq, Flextronics are present and increasing their stake in India; that should take care of demand; of course the global demand is there too
On the market side, with 2 million mobile consumers a month, mobile market is growing; TV, DVD, MP3, music, ring tones are growing everyday (Indians download million a day of paid ring tones @ Rs 6 (minimum)); with Narayana Hrudayalaya and others creating Healthcare Destination for the world (5,000 beds for heart surgery and shooting for 10% of global heart surgeries at Narayana Hrudayalaya alone), healthcare industry and imaging equipment is bound to grow; GE Wipro are working on a global product (Ultra sound, Laptop form factor, $ 1,000 price point device that would make ultra sound as common place as stethoscope for EVERY doctor). So there is a huge market
Academia, Industry and Government are coming together; I see a great potential for embedded systems in India; let us hope that before the next Freescale Tech Forum in 2006 there will be products whose ideas are generated by the people sitting right in this room (700+ professionals). That alone will make me happy to attend Freescale Tech Forum 2006!
(Valedictory Address at Freescale Tech Forum, Bangalore (Sep 21-22, 2005) at 530pm Leela Hotel on Sep 22, 2005)
Partner and Deliver
September 21st, 2005
If Indian rural masses are to be served there is no option but to partner – between IT companies (Intel, Microsoft, HP, Cisco, IBM, Oracle, SAP, TCS, Wipro, NIIT..) and with firms across the industries (HLL, ITC, ACC, L & T, Banks, ILFS..); it is also time that we start delivering beyond “prototypes and pilots”
It is also important to understand India and Indians; the market research info we have on India is quite sketchy; for example, we do NOT know where the million PCs sold in 2Q05 have gone in India; Indians buy “best & cheap” (in that order); they are willing to pay (if the million paid (@Rs 6) downloads of ring tones per day is any indicator), but not for obsolete things (Intel 286 or MS DOS)
(Keynote address given at Intel ISV Forum, Bangalore, September 21, 2005)
Teachers’ Day
September 5th, 2005
Fifth of September is celebrated as Teachers’ Day in India. It is a tribute to one of the celebrated teachers of modern India, former President Dr S Radhakrishnan who was a rare blend of a philosopher, writer, statesman and of course a great teacher.
India has a tradition of giving a special status to teacher. The word “guru” is itself is so exalted; the place of a teacher is sometimes even ahead of God – “Guru Brahma” and “Guru Vishnu”. The teacher is only next only to mother & father (“mathru devo bhava”, “pithru devo bhava”, “acharya devo bhava”). Guru Poornima is celebrated across the country.
Even today many of the “economically poor” village school teachers are still respected; that is the bedrock of the Nation. Let us re-dedicate ourselves to preserve and nurture this tradition. After all, the seeds of Knowledge Society are thrown by the Teachers.
It is interesting to find another “teacher par excellence” as our President in Dr Kalam. Inspiration from people like him is the only ray of hope for an otherwise dark educational scene in India today.
Hurricane Caterina causes enormous loss in the United States
September 4th, 2005
In the worst natural disaster in the history of USA, there was a “wreck” created by hurricane Caterina last week; it is felt that the city of New Orleans in Louisiana State is damaged irreparably.
Yes, Science and Technology are advanced, yet before the Nature’s fury, human being is so tiny.
A rich country too has its own problems when it comes to meeting calamities of this kind. All countries rich and poor, big and small, friends or foes of USA must come together to express their solidarity at this grave moment.
USA has been helping every country in moments of crises; other countries should reciprocate the same gesture towards USA.
Loss of billions of dollars of physical infrastructure will be made up; but human suffering is irreparable; sympathy and prayer are the only things that can touch humans.
Let us join our fellow citizens (sisters and brothers of America, in the words of Swami Vivekananda) emotionally.
ABN Amro Bank signs $ 400 Million deal with Indian IT vendors InfoSys and TCS and offers additional business to InfoSys, Patni & TCS
September 3rd, 2005
One of the large outsourcing contracts was finalized on Sep 1, 2005.
ABN Amro, Netherlands-based banking major, announced its decision to outsource the entire IT Infrastructure management to IBM (estimated $ 1.8 Billion), Application Support to InfoSys and TCS ($ 260 Million to TCS and $ 140 Million to InfoSys) and retained Accenture, IBM, InfoSys, Patni & TCS for Application Development.
This is the largest-ever outsourcing contract for Indian IT vendors. It is also the largest contract for both TCS and InfoSys. In addition, it is likely to generate another $ 100 – 400 Million Application Development work to InfoSys, Patni & TCS.
It is a sign of maturity and global acceptance of Indian IT vendors’ capability to deliver. Coming at a time when GM and ING Vysya are likely to finalize outsourcing contracts around $ 2 Billion, one hopes that those deals should also have sizeable portion for Indian firms.
It is just a question of time when InfoSys, TCS and Wipro would join the league of IBM and EDS and bag billion-dollar contracts.
Vivekanand Institute Mumbai wins 2005 IEEE Student Branch Web Site Award
August 31st, 2005
Vivekand Institute in Mumbai (http://www.ieee-vesit.org/) wins the First Prize for IEEE student branch web site.
It is a proud moment for India. I am particularly happy that the less-endowed Institution like Vivekananda Institute managed to win the prize. It only shows that access to resources is not a limitation for excellence.
The site has excellent, but aesthetically done graphics, complies to W3C standards, WAP-enabled, and, has versions in multiple languages; they even help blind with a special version of the site!
It should serve as a clarion call to the established Institutions that they can not “relax”; and, a reminder to the small, upcoming and less endowed Institutions, that they too can compete and win, if they have the grit!
The award winners are as follows
First Place VESIT Bombay, IndiaSecond Place Auburn University Auburn, AlabamaThird Place University of British Columbia British Columbia, Canada
Runner Up Places
Instituto Tecnologico de Veracruz, MexicoRyerson University, CanadaMiddle East Technical University, TurkeyKatholieke University Leuven, BelgiumUniversity of Michigan-DearbornPolitehnica University of Bucharest, RomaniaUniversidad Nacional de Ingenieria Lima, PeruNew York Institute of Technology, ManhattanCalifornia Polytechnic University, San Luis ObispoUniversity of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, IllinoisUniversiti Tecknologi MalaysiaUniversity of Missouri-Kansas CityThadomal Shahani Engineering College, India
September 30th, 2005
Bangaloreans are fortunate to get a chance to listen to Professor Osheroff of Stanford University (Physics Nobel Prize winner, 1996) at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on September 27, 2005. The learned professor talked on “Nature of discovery in Physics”.
Professor Osheroff obtained his Nobel prize for deep studies on super fluidity of helium isotope helium 3 at temperatures very close to absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius). Interestingly, the Nobel-cited work was done as part of his PhD research at Cornell University (he shared the prize with his supervisor David Lee)
What was particularly interesting about the talk was the humility of the researcher, who gave credit to a whole range of people (many of them were Novel prize winners too). He talked of the influence of the legendary Physics teacher Feynman during his Caltech days (he did his Undergraduate studies at Caltech).
He talked of a strategy that lays emphasis on using the best instrument and instrumentation (not have complete blind faith in the instrument though), explore unexplored areas, look at failure as invitation for some deep insight and be sensitive to unexplained behavior and not dismissing it easily.
He also talked of the need to invest in basic research without looking for immediate economic and social benefits (that will come any way over a period of time). He illustrated his ideas with many Nobel prize winning works; he also illustrated an actual case (NMR), where even the very inventors could not predict the long-term impact of some award winning works. There was a personal touch including his family portrait and his meeting with his fiancé and the later marriage (his wife was accompanying him also). He talked of the “great days” of Bell Laboratories where he continued his research during 1972-1987.
It was interesting to note the positive influence Venki Narayanamurti (currently Dean of Science at Harvard University) and other Indian scientists had on him; Venki Narayanamurti had graduated from Cornell University; he was instrumental in Professor Osheroff’s moving into Bell Laboratories.
Professor Osheroff also answered many questions from students including the need of working for many hours productively during PhD days and course-work and its relevance to graduate studies; he mentioned candidly his unhappiness about diverting of funds away from basic research by NASA but was equally realistic to admit that he was NOT the President of the country!
He did lament the lack of emphasis on experimental work in India.
In all it was an enjoyable evening.
Embedded Systems has a great future in India
September 23rd, 2005
Embedded Systems bridges several divide’s; hardware-software divide; EE CS departmental divide; divide between fun and rigor in learning; divide between theory and practice, industry and academia and in the Indian context, even the divide between Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (the Goddess of learning); one can do hardware and still make money (it is no longer true that only Indian software companies are successful)
With IC design capability, EDA software skills, testing, simulation, verification, and libraries taking the concept all the way to “tape out”, the design eco-system is in place; we need to get the Fab ecosystem in place; under Fab-City, initiative, SIA (Semiconductor Industry Association) in India has made a presentation to the Union Finance Minister and we expect that also to be in place over the next two years.
The demand side is in place; BEL, ECIL for Defense Electronics, BPL for Telecom, Videocon (after Thompson Picture Tubes plant acquisition, Videocon is the world’s No 3 TV tube manufacturer) for consumer electronics, VXL for thin clients (No 3 globally, as per Gartner) are examples of Indian corporations; Motorola, Philips, Siemens, GE, Nokia, Samsung, Elcoteq, Flextronics are present and increasing their stake in India; that should take care of demand; of course the global demand is there too
On the market side, with 2 million mobile consumers a month, mobile market is growing; TV, DVD, MP3, music, ring tones are growing everyday (Indians download million a day of paid ring tones @ Rs 6 (minimum)); with Narayana Hrudayalaya and others creating Healthcare Destination for the world (5,000 beds for heart surgery and shooting for 10% of global heart surgeries at Narayana Hrudayalaya alone), healthcare industry and imaging equipment is bound to grow; GE Wipro are working on a global product (Ultra sound, Laptop form factor, $ 1,000 price point device that would make ultra sound as common place as stethoscope for EVERY doctor). So there is a huge market
Academia, Industry and Government are coming together; I see a great potential for embedded systems in India; let us hope that before the next Freescale Tech Forum in 2006 there will be products whose ideas are generated by the people sitting right in this room (700+ professionals). That alone will make me happy to attend Freescale Tech Forum 2006!
(Valedictory Address at Freescale Tech Forum, Bangalore (Sep 21-22, 2005) at 530pm Leela Hotel on Sep 22, 2005)
Partner and Deliver
September 21st, 2005
If Indian rural masses are to be served there is no option but to partner – between IT companies (Intel, Microsoft, HP, Cisco, IBM, Oracle, SAP, TCS, Wipro, NIIT..) and with firms across the industries (HLL, ITC, ACC, L & T, Banks, ILFS..); it is also time that we start delivering beyond “prototypes and pilots”
It is also important to understand India and Indians; the market research info we have on India is quite sketchy; for example, we do NOT know where the million PCs sold in 2Q05 have gone in India; Indians buy “best & cheap” (in that order); they are willing to pay (if the million paid (@Rs 6) downloads of ring tones per day is any indicator), but not for obsolete things (Intel 286 or MS DOS)
(Keynote address given at Intel ISV Forum, Bangalore, September 21, 2005)
Teachers’ Day
September 5th, 2005
Fifth of September is celebrated as Teachers’ Day in India. It is a tribute to one of the celebrated teachers of modern India, former President Dr S Radhakrishnan who was a rare blend of a philosopher, writer, statesman and of course a great teacher.
India has a tradition of giving a special status to teacher. The word “guru” is itself is so exalted; the place of a teacher is sometimes even ahead of God – “Guru Brahma” and “Guru Vishnu”. The teacher is only next only to mother & father (“mathru devo bhava”, “pithru devo bhava”, “acharya devo bhava”). Guru Poornima is celebrated across the country.
Even today many of the “economically poor” village school teachers are still respected; that is the bedrock of the Nation. Let us re-dedicate ourselves to preserve and nurture this tradition. After all, the seeds of Knowledge Society are thrown by the Teachers.
It is interesting to find another “teacher par excellence” as our President in Dr Kalam. Inspiration from people like him is the only ray of hope for an otherwise dark educational scene in India today.
Hurricane Caterina causes enormous loss in the United States
September 4th, 2005
In the worst natural disaster in the history of USA, there was a “wreck” created by hurricane Caterina last week; it is felt that the city of New Orleans in Louisiana State is damaged irreparably.
Yes, Science and Technology are advanced, yet before the Nature’s fury, human being is so tiny.
A rich country too has its own problems when it comes to meeting calamities of this kind. All countries rich and poor, big and small, friends or foes of USA must come together to express their solidarity at this grave moment.
USA has been helping every country in moments of crises; other countries should reciprocate the same gesture towards USA.
Loss of billions of dollars of physical infrastructure will be made up; but human suffering is irreparable; sympathy and prayer are the only things that can touch humans.
Let us join our fellow citizens (sisters and brothers of America, in the words of Swami Vivekananda) emotionally.
ABN Amro Bank signs $ 400 Million deal with Indian IT vendors InfoSys and TCS and offers additional business to InfoSys, Patni & TCS
September 3rd, 2005
One of the large outsourcing contracts was finalized on Sep 1, 2005.
ABN Amro, Netherlands-based banking major, announced its decision to outsource the entire IT Infrastructure management to IBM (estimated $ 1.8 Billion), Application Support to InfoSys and TCS ($ 260 Million to TCS and $ 140 Million to InfoSys) and retained Accenture, IBM, InfoSys, Patni & TCS for Application Development.
This is the largest-ever outsourcing contract for Indian IT vendors. It is also the largest contract for both TCS and InfoSys. In addition, it is likely to generate another $ 100 – 400 Million Application Development work to InfoSys, Patni & TCS.
It is a sign of maturity and global acceptance of Indian IT vendors’ capability to deliver. Coming at a time when GM and ING Vysya are likely to finalize outsourcing contracts around $ 2 Billion, one hopes that those deals should also have sizeable portion for Indian firms.
It is just a question of time when InfoSys, TCS and Wipro would join the league of IBM and EDS and bag billion-dollar contracts.
Vivekanand Institute Mumbai wins 2005 IEEE Student Branch Web Site Award
August 31st, 2005
Vivekand Institute in Mumbai (http://www.ieee-vesit.org/) wins the First Prize for IEEE student branch web site.
It is a proud moment for India. I am particularly happy that the less-endowed Institution like Vivekananda Institute managed to win the prize. It only shows that access to resources is not a limitation for excellence.
The site has excellent, but aesthetically done graphics, complies to W3C standards, WAP-enabled, and, has versions in multiple languages; they even help blind with a special version of the site!
It should serve as a clarion call to the established Institutions that they can not “relax”; and, a reminder to the small, upcoming and less endowed Institutions, that they too can compete and win, if they have the grit!
The award winners are as follows
First Place VESIT Bombay, IndiaSecond Place Auburn University Auburn, AlabamaThird Place University of British Columbia British Columbia, Canada
Runner Up Places
Instituto Tecnologico de Veracruz, MexicoRyerson University, CanadaMiddle East Technical University, TurkeyKatholieke University Leuven, BelgiumUniversity of Michigan-DearbornPolitehnica University of Bucharest, RomaniaUniversidad Nacional de Ingenieria Lima, PeruNew York Institute of Technology, ManhattanCalifornia Polytechnic University, San Luis ObispoUniversity of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, IllinoisUniversiti Tecknologi MalaysiaUniversity of Missouri-Kansas CityThadomal Shahani Engineering College, India
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Embedded Systems has a great future in India
Embedded Systems bridges several divide’s; hardware-software divide; EE CS departmental divide; divide between fun and rigor in learning; divide between theory and practice, industry and academia and in the Indian context, even the divide between Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (the Goddess of learning); one can do hardware and still make money (it is no longer true that only Indian software companies are successful)
With IC design capability, EDA software skills, testing, simulation, verification, and libraries taking the concept all the way to “tape out”, the design eco-system is in place; we need to get the Fab ecosystem in place; under Fab-City, initiative, SIA (Semiconductor Industry Association) in India has made a presentation to the Union Finance Minister and we expect that also to be in place over the next two years.
The demand side is in place; BEL, ECIL for Defense Electronics, BPL for Telecom, Videocon (after Thompson Picture Tubes plant acquisition, Videocon is the world’s No 3 TV tube manufacturer) for consumer electronics, VXL for thin clients (No 3 globally, as per Gartner) are examples of Indian corporations; Motorola, Philips, Siemens, GE, Nokia, Samsung, Elcoteq, Flextronics are present and increasing their stake in India; that should take care of demand; of course the global demand is there too
On the market side, with 2 million mobile consumers a month, mobile market is growing; TV, DVD, MP3, music, ring tones are growing everyday (Indians download million a day of paid ring tones @ Rs 6 (minimum)); with Narayana Hrudayalaya and others creating Healthcare Destination for the world (5,000 beds for heart surgery and shooting for 10% of global heart surgeries at Narayana Hrudayalaya alone), healthcare industry and imaging equipment is bound to grow; GE Wipro are working on a global product (Ultra sound, Laptop form factor, $ 1,000 price point device that would make ultra sound as common place as stethoscope for EVERY doctor). So there is a huge market
Academia, Industry and Government are coming together; I see a great potential for embedded systems in India; let us hope that before the next Freescale Tech Forum in 2006 there will be products whose ideas are generated by the people sitting right in this room (700+ professionals). That alone will make me happy to attend Freescale Tech Forum 2006!
(Valedictory Address at Freescale Tech Forum, Bangalore (Sep 21-22, 2005) at 530pm Leela Hotel on Sep 22, 2005)
With IC design capability, EDA software skills, testing, simulation, verification, and libraries taking the concept all the way to “tape out”, the design eco-system is in place; we need to get the Fab ecosystem in place; under Fab-City, initiative, SIA (Semiconductor Industry Association) in India has made a presentation to the Union Finance Minister and we expect that also to be in place over the next two years.
The demand side is in place; BEL, ECIL for Defense Electronics, BPL for Telecom, Videocon (after Thompson Picture Tubes plant acquisition, Videocon is the world’s No 3 TV tube manufacturer) for consumer electronics, VXL for thin clients (No 3 globally, as per Gartner) are examples of Indian corporations; Motorola, Philips, Siemens, GE, Nokia, Samsung, Elcoteq, Flextronics are present and increasing their stake in India; that should take care of demand; of course the global demand is there too
On the market side, with 2 million mobile consumers a month, mobile market is growing; TV, DVD, MP3, music, ring tones are growing everyday (Indians download million a day of paid ring tones @ Rs 6 (minimum)); with Narayana Hrudayalaya and others creating Healthcare Destination for the world (5,000 beds for heart surgery and shooting for 10% of global heart surgeries at Narayana Hrudayalaya alone), healthcare industry and imaging equipment is bound to grow; GE Wipro are working on a global product (Ultra sound, Laptop form factor, $ 1,000 price point device that would make ultra sound as common place as stethoscope for EVERY doctor). So there is a huge market
Academia, Industry and Government are coming together; I see a great potential for embedded systems in India; let us hope that before the next Freescale Tech Forum in 2006 there will be products whose ideas are generated by the people sitting right in this room (700+ professionals). That alone will make me happy to attend Freescale Tech Forum 2006!
(Valedictory Address at Freescale Tech Forum, Bangalore (Sep 21-22, 2005) at 530pm Leela Hotel on Sep 22, 2005)
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Partner and Deliver
If Indian rural masses are to be served there is no option but to partner – between IT companies (Intel, Microsoft, HP, Cisco, IBM, Oracle, SAP, TCS, Wipro, NIIT..) and with firms across the industries (HLL, ITC, ACC, L & T, Banks, ILFS..); it is also time that we start delivering beyond “prototypes and pilots”
It is also important to understand India and Indians; the market research info we have on India is quite sketchy; for example, we do NOT know where the million PCs sold in 2Q05 have gone in India; Indians buy “best & cheap” (in that order); they are willing to pay (if the million paid (@Rs 6) downloads of ring tones per day is any indicator), but not for obsolete things (Intel 286 or MS DOS)
(Keynote address given at Intel ISV Forum, Bangalore, September 21, 2005)
It is also important to understand India and Indians; the market research info we have on India is quite sketchy; for example, we do NOT know where the million PCs sold in 2Q05 have gone in India; Indians buy “best & cheap” (in that order); they are willing to pay (if the million paid (@Rs 6) downloads of ring tones per day is any indicator), but not for obsolete things (Intel 286 or MS DOS)
(Keynote address given at Intel ISV Forum, Bangalore, September 21, 2005)
Friday, September 02, 2005
ABN Amro Bank signs $ 400 Million deal with Indian IT vendors InfoSys and TCS and offers additional business to InfoSys, Patni & TCS
One of the large outsourcing contracts was finalized on Sep 1, 2005.
ABN Amro, Netherlands-based banking major, announced its decision to outsource the entire IT Infrastructure management to IBM (estimated $ 1.8 Billion), Application Support to InfoSys and TCS ($ 260 Million to TCS and $ 140 Million to InfoSys) and retained Accenture, IBM, InfoSys, Patni & TCS for Application Development.
This is the largest-ever outsourcing contract for Indian IT vendors. It is also the largest contract for both TCS and InfoSys. In addition, it is likely to generate another $ 100 – 400 Million Application Development work to InfoSys, Patni & TCS.
It is a sign of maturity and global acceptance of Indian IT vendors’ capability to deliver. Coming at a time when GM and ING Vysya are likely to finalize outsourcing contracts around $ 2 Billion, one hopes that those deals should also have sizeable portion for Indian firms.
It is just a question of time when InfoSys, TCS and Wipro would join the league of IBM and EDS and bag billion-dollar contracts.
ABN Amro, Netherlands-based banking major, announced its decision to outsource the entire IT Infrastructure management to IBM (estimated $ 1.8 Billion), Application Support to InfoSys and TCS ($ 260 Million to TCS and $ 140 Million to InfoSys) and retained Accenture, IBM, InfoSys, Patni & TCS for Application Development.
This is the largest-ever outsourcing contract for Indian IT vendors. It is also the largest contract for both TCS and InfoSys. In addition, it is likely to generate another $ 100 – 400 Million Application Development work to InfoSys, Patni & TCS.
It is a sign of maturity and global acceptance of Indian IT vendors’ capability to deliver. Coming at a time when GM and ING Vysya are likely to finalize outsourcing contracts around $ 2 Billion, one hopes that those deals should also have sizeable portion for Indian firms.
It is just a question of time when InfoSys, TCS and Wipro would join the league of IBM and EDS and bag billion-dollar contracts.
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