Microsoft outsource IT to Infosys

We have learned recently that Infosys gets a major contract, which spans over three years, from Microsoft. In this contract Infosys will manage services like IT helps desk, infrastructure application support, desk-side services etc. for Microsoft. These services will be provided at 450 locations in 104 different countries. This includes the services for the home grown Windows 7 operating systems at Microsoft.

As part of the contract, Infosys will implement various IT processes and services for Microsoft in its various locations.

As per the latest statement released by Infosys, the company is looking forward to grab the opportunity in both hands. It will help Microsoft to ISO 20000 and ITSM Processes with its dedicated and world class services. So far as the benefits for Infosys are concerned, it will gain knowledge on implementation processes and Technology management tactics from the global IT leader.

I cannot wait to see Orcale outsourcing its internal DB support or SUN outsourcing the JAVA / solaris support to Indian companies. Cisco may also plan to outsource its internal networking support to some of the Indian companies…

Do you think these companies are outsourcing the services to Indian companies due to lower costs or to take advantage of the technological advances of India?

Related articles

• Microsoft offshores its own IT (go.theregister.com)
• Microsoft outsources internal IT to Infosys (news.cnet.com)
• Infosys is Microsoft’s Tech Helper (bits.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Microsoft Outsources Its Tech (blogs.wsj.com)

2010 IT Skills and Salary Report

The 2010 IT Skills and Salary Report from Global Knowledge and TechRepublic is a compilation of crucial data from over 19,500 IT and business professionals. It contains detailed salary information on 80 popular certifications, salary breakdowns by state and region, comparison data from 2010 vs. 2009, and much more.

You can read this report here or here

Wipro, HSBC, Google, Mahindra Satyam alert staff members

Three days of communal riots in several parts of Hyderabad and the subsequent curfew in parts of the old city have brought back nightmares for the information technology and BPO (business process outsourcing) industry. The IT industry, whose confidence was shattered after violent incidents during the Telangana agitation, has just begun to recover.

Wipro, Mahindra Satyam, HSBC, Google India and several other companies have sent emails to their staff, alerting them about the situation in the city and measures to be taken to protect themselves. While Wipro gave its employees a toll-free number to make emergency calls, Google offered to sort out transportation problems and allowed its staff to work from home if need be.

“All associates, as advised in the call, who live in the troubled areas be released early and reach well within daylight hours,” Mahindra Satyam told its leaders who head 24×7 services.

Those working on financial services projects are more worried as the disturbance is occurring towards the end of the financial year. The companies that provide transport are working on a change in routes to avoid the trouble spots.

The IT-BPO industry, which does business of about Rs 100 crore a day in the State, pegged a low growth rate of 5-7 per cent in 2009-10. As it enters the new financial year, industry feels that the return of violence would slow down progress. “A good number of companies asked their employees to go home early on Tuesday to avoid attacks,” a senior functionary of ITsAP (the IT industry association of Andhra Pradesh), told Business Line.

Source :  business line

CISF cover for Infosys campus at Mysore

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel were Friday deployed in Infosys Technologies’ Mysore campus to guard the IT company’s largest facility outside Bangalore.

Home minister V.S. Acharya and CISF inspector general R.K. Mishra and Infosys chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy were present on the occasion, the company said in a statement.

‘Our experience at the Infosys Bangalore campus has been positive and we look forward to strengthening our relationship with the organisation by extending the security cover to its Mysore campus,’ Mishra said on the occasion.

The elite security force has been providing security cover to the Bangalore campus of the global software major in the electronics city since August 2009.

Murthy thanked the central home ministry for the CISF deployment and said: ‘We are confident that the protection by the CISF will enhance security in the campus’.

For security reasons, the company did not disclose how many CISF personnel are deployed at its campuses in Mysore and Bangalore.

The 300-acre Mysore campus has the world’s largest corporate training facility for IT professionals, built at a cost of Rs.260 crore. The campus is also host to the Infosys’ leadership institute.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the facility in February 2005 and Congress president Sonia Gandhi unveiled the global education centre there in September 2009.

Increased need for testing professionals

In the recent days, India Inc is facing a urgent need of testing professionals, which is once considered as less glamorous job compared to the software development roles. Presently there is a shortfall of around 15000 to 20000 testing professionals and is likely to increase. According to a Gartner research, Indian companies will perform around 70% of the software testing in the coming years.

The IT landscape is getting more challenging and the need for quality control has increased. Today’s software applications support millions of users at any point, making the process of testing a lot more critical than ever before.

The recent, and the not yet over, recession will shift more jobs to software service countries and India remains to be the preferred one for organizations abroad. These opportunities make these organizations to intensify the hiring of testing professionals and jobs exist at all levels in the organization.

To satisfy the immediate needs, organizations might end up in recruiting fresh/raw candidates and will develop the testing skills by means of training. (more…)

iPhone 3GS in India

Image via Wikipedia

Bharti Airtel to Bring iPhone 3GS to India on March 26. iPhone 3GS is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including improved speed and performance – up to twice as fast as iPhone 3G – with longer battery life, a high-quality 3 megapixel autofocus camera, easy to use video recording and hands free voice control. The groundbreaking App Store provides access to more than 150,000 applications from games to social networking to financial planning and health management, generating more than 3 billion downloads to date. iPhone is now available in over 80 countries around the world.

“We are delighted with the opportunity to bring the eagerly-awaited iPhone 3GS to India. Combining the strength of the Airtel brand and network with the great user interface of iPhone 3GS, we are happy to bring to our customers an experience that will take mobile communications to a whole new level,” said Atul Bindal, President-Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel.

iPhone 3GS will be available from Rs. 35,500* for the 16GB model and Rs 41,500* for the 32GB model. Airtel iPhone 3GS customers will enjoy 500 MB of free data every month for a year from the date of their iPhone 3GS activation. To take advantage of this offer, customers should call 121. Additionally, iPhone 3G continues to be available in the 8GB version for Rs 29,500.

Bharti Airtel iPhone 3GS Pricing:

*The prices may vary in some States due to differential VAT.
** For a year from activation of iPhone 3GS connection.

Kochi Smartcity- Board meeting on 29th

A crucial Board meeting of the SmartCity Kochi project will be held on March 29, 2010 in Kochi. The meeting of the SmartCity Board will have representatives from Tecom, the promoters of the SmartCity Kochi project and the Kerala Government.

Fareed Abdulrahman, CEO of SmartCity, is also expected to attend the Board Meeting. The meeting is being held in Kochi at the instance of Tecom though the Government wanted to have it in Trivandrum.

This Board meeting comes in the backdrop of the Kerala Government having informed Tecom, its decision to decline their demand for 12% freehold rights for part of the land acquired for the project. The Government had recently made its position clear in a letter to Tecom and had also said that it cannot wait indefinitely for the project to begin. The grant of 12 % freehold rights to SmartCity has been the contentious issue between the State Government and Tecom. The last Board meeting on December 23, 2009 in Kochi had turned out to be inconclusive with differences of opinion continuing between the two partners.

Meanwhile in another development, Fareed Abdulrahman, CEO, SmartCity has announced that their SmartCity Malta will open in the third quarter of 2010. SmartCity Malta is a similar project being developed by SmartCity in partnership with the Government of Malta with a minimum investment outlay of US $ 300 million. SmartCity is a joint venture between TECOM Investments and Sama Dubai.

Black Book of Outsourcing Names UST Global #1 Legacy Migration IT Services Vendor for 2009

The Black Book of Outsourcing ranked UST Global  as the number one IT provider in the 2009 Top Legacy Migration ITO Vendors Report. UST won top honors among 48 vendors researched and received the highest number of #1 scores (from customers) on individual criteria.

The Black Book of Outsourcing, published by respected research firm Data Monitor, reported the results of its investigation into the customer experience of 371 decision makers and influencers from service users across the globe, including C-suite officers of the Fortune 2000 and Inc. 500. The Black Book notes that legacy migration is about “the challenge of knowing when doing business in the current environment is more painful than the task of migrating [moving data and content] into a new environment.” UST led the list of the Top Ten ITO Legacy Migration Vendors for 2009 beating out industry stalwarts such as IBM, Capgemini and HP. (more…)

MapMyIndia launches Road Pilot at 7990

MapmyIndia, India’s leader in maps and GPS navigation solutions, is making GPS navigation technology even more accessible and affordable. The company has launched Road Pilot, a sophisticated GPS navigator pre-loaded with maps of 620 Indian cities; 576,000 towns and villages; 30,000 tourist locations; 2 million unique destinations. The navigator is priced at just Rs. 7,990.

Unique Features The Road Pilot has a 3.5” wide touch screen and gives turn-by-turn voice assistance to guide you to your destination. It also has a unique snooze feature to help save power. When not in use, the Road Pilot can be put to ‘Sleep Mode’ so that it boots up immediately when it is used next. Also, there are no monthly or recurring charges and there’s no SIM card or GPRS connection required.

As the device does not depend on mobile network coverage, it offers an ‘always on’ GPS navigation experience, even in places where a mobile phone GPS navigation (which relies on GPRS) would have failed because of patchy or even non-existent network coverage.

Says Rakesh Verma, MD, MapmyIndia: “MapmyIndia is committed to making GPS technology more accessible and useful. With the launch of Road Pilot, MapmyIndia has entered a new market for GPS navigators. The new navigator offers all the features of a sophisticated GPS navigator along with India’s best and most accurate maps. Road Pilot has covered another milestone in MapmyIndia’s pursuit for excellence and innovation.”

7YVUAZBXFWWG

Buy Gigabyte Motherboards, Win Goodies!

GIGABYTE, on celebration of their winning the award, has announced promotions for its customers in India. Customers could win prizes such as GIGABYTE gold coins, iPod, digital cameras and much more through a lucky draw!

The purchased motherboards’ boxes will have scratch stickers on it which will contain a code. The customer will have to register online. First 2,000 registered can get GIGABYTE mouse.

Promotion Period: 15th February to 30th April 2010
Models: GA-X58 / GA-P55 / GA-G41 & GA-MA790 series
Prizes: GIGABYTE gold coins, iPod, digital cameras and much more! First 2,000 registered can get GIGABYTE mouse
Qualification: End customers only, not for GIGABYTE channel partners

For more details regarding the promotion, visit: http://event.gigabyte.com.tw/india2010.