technology navigator

Telecom spending among Asian SMBs to cross $50 bn

2007-09-25T08:29:00.002-07:00

SINGAPORE: Small and medium businesses (SMBs, or companies with up to 999 employees) across the Asia-Pacific region outside of Japan (APeJ) are on track to invest US$50 billion on telecommunications equipment and services this year. This is up some 5 percent over 2006, according to the latest study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners.

“SMBs look toward telecom operators and service providers to offer telecom services to enable profitable business growth,” says Prasannavadan Gaitonde, Singapore-based analyst at AMI-Partners. “SMBs have to work harder for earning their dollar. They have tighter budgets and need high quality, low-priced telecom solutions and services.”

AMI’s findings reveal that developed markets such as Australia and South Korea, and fast-growing markets like India and China will account for more than 70% of the APeJ telecom spending this year. “The market is witnessing a transition from traditional PBX to IP-based PBX, with most new replacements going the IP way,” Gaitonde says. “While the base switch is going IP, the end points are moving to IP more slowly. This is due to the higher price of IP end points over digital end points.”

In 2006, only 8 percent of desk phones of medium businesses (MBs or companies with 100 to 999 employees) in a mature market like Australia had IP phones. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) will reduce the price, making such solutions even more affordable. As for Unified Messaging—which can be considered a precursor to the more advanced Unified Communications—only 16 percent of Australia’s MBs are utilizing this service.

“SMBs are as interested in advanced solutions like Unified Communications as large businesses,” Mr Gaitonde says. “The difference is that SMBs have smaller budgets and need higher justification for spending their budgets on such services.”

As services mature and can be provided on a hosted model, SMBs can deploy enterprise class solutions. Once these enterprise class solutions are offered as a service—similar to SaaS (software as a service)—SMBs can adopt them at the right price points. Hosted communication services or managed telephony services can be provided by telecom operators and service providers in partnership with equipment vendors to provide low-cost solutions to SMBs.

Hosted communications or managed telephony services are set to grow more than three times the growth rate of premises-based equipment among SMBs over the next 3-4 years. Equipment vendors, telecom operators, and service providers need to work together to provide such hosted solutions to SMBs across the Asia-Pacific region.

MBs are expanding their horizons and need more connectivity between offices. Thus, spending on wide area network (WAN) services is expected to go up by a huge 24 percent in 2007 over 2006 among MBs. More than one in four MBs in this region is currently connected using WAN. In Australia, more than 75 percent of its MBs are connected by WANs.

“SMBs in the Asia-Pacific will continue embracing new technologies to remain competitive,” Gaitonde says. “Telecom equipment vendors, operators and service providers need to offer products and services using the right model and price points to tap this growing market.”

SMEs must invest in IT in advance of business growth

2007-09-25T08:29:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: The National conference on 'Emerging Technology Trends for SMEs' organized by Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) was truly a learning experience for IT managers and representatives of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The day-long conference focused on how to maximize the contribution of IT to the core competency of SMEs and drive enterprises to higher performance levels for increased ROI.

SMEs, which are the backbone of Indian economy, need to remain competitive by adopting appropriate and robust technology. It is estimated that SMEs in India are set to spend over $8 billion IN 2007-08 to ramp up their IT infrastructure.

Delivering a keynote on 'Efficiency improvisation for SMEs through IT', Samir Inamdar MD and CEO of Forum Synergies (India) said that SMEs would drive the Indian economy going forward. "The manufacturing SMEs have to grow at a rate which is well into double digit."

Sharing the technology lessons he has learnt over the years as a CEO, Inamdar said that it is important to adopt IT to be globally competitive. He also advised SMEs to invest in IT in advance of business growth.

He also stressed that it is essential for the top management to take ownership of the projects. While regular CEO reviews are a must to sustain focus on the project, planning and system design was critical, he added.

Inamdar also called upon the SMEs to exploit new methods in IT like the hosted models and shared services and urged them to be flexible to in adopting to changes in IT designs.

Deliberating on the topic 'Industry perspective', Ashok Pamidi, director for commercial accounts, SMB and enterprise partners, Technology Solutions Group, HP India Sales Pvt. Ltd. said, "There is a big ecosystem supporting the SMBs today. IT no longer supports the business, it powers the business, more so with the SMBs."

SMEs are growing beyond 24 percent per annum for next three years but the penetration of IT among SMBs is only 17 percent. Adapting to change is the biggest challenge for SMBs, he added.

The event, which provided a common platform for both the SMEs and technology providers in the country, discussed strategies for driving business growth with right IT adoption.

ST chips to be used in Machblue media platform

2007-09-25T08:28:00.001-07:00

MONTREAL: Bluestreak Technology, Inc., the developer of the MachBlue platform for mobile phones and digital television, has announced that the MachBlue platform will be using its STi710X family of decoder chips from STMicroelectronics. The MachBlue rich media platform enables enhanced UI and access to Web services including Flash video found on the Internet directly from the STB.

MachBlue also enables the creation in Flash of all these rich media services and takes advantage of the STi710x's computation power and graphic capabilities. This will bring a new level of interactivity and enhanced visual appeal to TV viewers. Bluestreak CEO Paul Forostowsky commented, "STMicroelectronics will demonstrate to operators, OEM's and developers the full capabilities of our platform, paving the way to a better TV viewing experience.''

According to Stefano Groppetti, director of Cable and IP Business Unit, Home Video Division, STMicroelectronics, "The integration of MachBlue into our industry-leading STi710X single-chip HDTV decoder will demonstrate the possibilities to leading consumer manufacturers of offering viewers increased levels of web content via Set Top Boxes, and a richer TV experience through the use of enhanced user interfaces.'' MachBlue offers a large subset of the Flash functionalities augmented with TV centric extensions.

Motorola selects Infineon to develop 3G RF chip

2007-09-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

NEUBIBERG, GERMANY: Infineon Technologies AG today announced that it has signed an agreement with Motorola to develop a new multi-mode, single-chip 3G radio frequency (RF) transceiver based on Infineon’s SMARTi UE chip.

The RF transceiver is a core component in a mobile phone or other mobile cellular device; its primary function is to send and receive digital data over the air. As consumers continue to demand more multimedia functionality from their mobile devices, the RF plays a key role in delivering the data speed and signalling needed to support mobile content and services.

Motorola selected Infineon to develop the new RF chip which will address this growing market for 3G services by offering maximum HSDPA and HSUPA performance, efficient power consumption and slim design.

"We are pleased to enter into this strategic relationship with Motorola to create an advanced 3G RF solution based on our leading SMARTi UE chip. The new chip will effectively reduce size and footprint for next generation 3G devices and offer best in class radio performance at market leading system cost," commented Stefan Wolff, Vice President and General Manager of Infineon’s RF Engine Business Unit.

“Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)-based technologies will be domi-nant for the early forecast period, accounting for just under 70 per cent of all produc-tion in 2006. However, the market is rapidly switching over to 3G-based technologies of various types”, explained Alan Brown, Research Director at Gartner. “The main 3G variant is WCDMA (including HSPA and LTE), and this will be produced in high vol-umes worldwide in 2010, representing 56 per cent of total production.”

Terms of the development agreement were not disclosed.

Technology blesses religion

2007-09-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

BANGALORE: Technology has seeped into every aspect of our life and religion, which is important to many, is not spared – or do technological advances bless religion?

Very few miss the Sunday church service. But, one Sunday morning, due to unavoidable circumstances, Stacy Anne Homewood, a Michigan resident, missed the morning service.

Nevertheless, she was glad that she did not miss the sermon.

All she had to do was to log on to Second Life or virtual world, and put on her headphones and attend the service conducted in the ALM CyberChurch by Rev Benjamin Pastor.

Virtual world or Second Life is a 3-D virtual world, developed by Linden Lab, and is entirely built and owned by its users or residents.

In Second Life, users can create their avatars and can explore, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another.

Religion has not failed to be identified in the virtual world. Residents or believers have built churches, temples, synagogue and mosque in the virtual world.

“This is a not a complete substitute for real life church. But it serves the purpose for those who cannot go out due to various reasons. They can just log into Second Life. I consider this as a real church, just in a pixel form,” says Homewood.

Homewood is an ALM church staff. She is responsible to maintain decorum in the church. If anyone misbehaves she can ‘eject’ them from the church.

“I attend the real church and also attend the service in ALM CyberChurch. By the time service starts in CyberChurch, I would have finished my service in real life. Due to time difference I get to attend both,” says HomeWood.

The residents or users can light candle, kneel and offer prayers to the Lord. Rev Benjamin Pastor conducts morning sermon every Sunday and they sing hymns.

“ALM CyberChurch is the best Church in the virtual world. Sermons are conducted every Sunday morning and also conducts Women’s bible study every Tuesday,” says Mariposa Psaltery, pastor of the Church.

Kalmeri, a regular in ALM, says, “Sunday is a busy day for me and I attend real life morning mass as well as morning sermon in the ALM CyberChurch in Second Life.”

ALM CyberChurch is the frequently visited Church by many residents in Second Life and has over 100 members.

Morning sermon is also conducted in the “Jesus House” another church in Second Life. It is conducted only on Sundays.

Little Enzian, another pious soul says, “Although we have prayer groups during the week. The “live” nature of our sermon, is difficult to do more often, although we’d like to”

Second Life has Krishna temple, Mosque as well as Buddhist temple. The residents or users have built a virtual temple of Lord Krishna. The temple is decorated with flowers, incense sticks and lamps. The resident can sit and meditate listening to the slokas at the background or the resident can listen to Prabhupada talks or bhajans.

So is the case in a mosque or a Buddha Vihara.

Second Life, since its opening in 2003, has grown and today is inhabited by a total of 9,430,051 pious members from around the globe.

Religion, faith that forms a core essence of every individual, finds its way out to be expressed in every other form. Many believers log on to the virtual world to evangelize religion.

The authenticity of the virtual religious ‘places’ is questionable. There are many fake churches and synagogues, aimed at making a quick buck.

This correspondent even came across a Shiva temple built in Second Life, belting out popular Bollywood numbers.

However, a question remains to be answered: Will virtual Gods – irrespective of religion -- bless real men and women?

Bhutan releases Dzongkha Debian Linux

2007-09-25T08:25:00.002-07:00

THIMPHU, BHUTAN: The Bhutan government has launched their own version of linux which has been named Dzongkha Debian Linux.

As seen from the name, it is based on Debian and it has been designed around the national language of the country Dzongkha.

It has been designed to co-exist with existing operating system on a computer machine. Users can also use it as a Live CD!

It has been under development over a period of 13 months and the government has spent around US$80,000 on it.

They are now working on addition newer functionalities on it like Text to Speech, Speech Recognition, and Optical Character Recognition.

Interested users could get their CDs for free from the Department of Information and Technology.

It's sad to know that Indian government has shown little interest in Linux except for some rare deployments.

Source: techwhack.com

Microsoft unveils office for Mac 2008

2007-09-25T08:25:00.001-07:00

PARIS, FRANCE: The Macintosh Business Unit (Mac BU) at Microsoft Corp. has announced at the Apple Expo in Paris its product lineup for the upcoming Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac release.

The product, Office 2008 for Mac, is the core suite that includes Microsoft Office Word 2008, Microsoft Office Excel 2008, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2008 and Microsoft Office Entourage 2008 for exceptional productivity on the Mac.

A new combination for Mac users is Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition, which features the Office 2008 applications together with the Microsoft Expression Media digital asset management system.

According to release, all versions of Office 2008 for Mac support the new Open XML file format and are Universal applications that will perform natively on Power PC- and Intel-based Macs.

“We built Office 2008 with the unifying goal of making it easier for Mac users to access the tools they need to get the job done — whether it’s creating a brochure for their business, managing their family schedule and finances, or finalizing a presentation to share between Macs and PCs,” said Craig Eisler, general manager of the Mac BU at Microsoft.

He added, “And, of course, Office 2008 for Mac will provide the document fidelity with the 2007 Microsoft Office system that our users need to stay connected with their friends and co-workers on PCs.”

Office 2008 for Mac features a leading suite of applications that Mac customers rely on to get their work completed with office applications and Microsoft Messenger for Mac.

“We’ve worked closely with Microsoft since it launched the first version of Office for Mac more than 20 years ago,” said Ron Okamoto, vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations at Apple. “Office delivers tremendous compatibility across platforms for Mac and PC customers, and we look forward to another great user experience with Office 2008 for Mac.”

Asia, Europe top outsourcing destinations

2007-09-25T08:24:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK, US: Asia and East Europe have emerged as the favored destinations for IT and BPO outsourcing, with 19 Asian and 12 East and Central European nations dominating the list of the Top 50 emerging outsourcing cities globally, according to the study revealed by Global Services, a magazine for global sourcing of IT and BPO services and Tholons, an investment advisory firm.

"Global Services sees the Top 50 emerging cities grabbing a much bigger chunk of the global IT and BPO services pie in the next three years," said Juhi Bhambal, editor of Global Services.

The study lists Bangalore, New Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), Manila NCR, Mumbai and Dublin as the top five cities that have established themselves as prime outsourcing cities by servicing the global corporate world for over a decade.

Five cities from India, three cities from China and two cities from Vietnam dominate the top 15 emerging destinations list. The top three emerging outsourcing cities world-wide from India are Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. Kolkata at number five and Chandigarh at number nine are the other two Indian cities in the list, the report revealed.

The three hot cities for outsourcing from China are Shanghai at eight, Beijing at No. 10 and Shenzhen at No. 13. Vietnam's capital Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi at six and No. 12 respectively are the other emerging cities to feature in the list of top 15 cities.

Cebu City ( Philippines) at number four, Colombo at seven, Cairo at No. 11, Buenos Aires at No.14 and Sao Paulo (Brazil) at No.15 are the other hot destinations.

The study reveals that the outsourcers consider process maturity, availability of relevant skills and costs in the individual city as the top reasons before deciding on the location for IT and BPO services outsourcing.

Avinash Vashistha, chairman and CEO, Tholons, said, "With the demand-supply gap widening, newer tier II cities will play a critical role in re-engineered globalization models. Destinations will need to provide greater level of cost effectiveness and operational efficiency."

The research ranked the top 50 and profiled the top 15 emerging global cities for outsourcing. These are the ones that may not be top of mind for most companies; but nevertheless are well suited for specific IT and BPO functions. As there are some global outsourcing cities that stand as the clear winners, the study also ranks the top five obvious choices that need no introduction.

Six cities of the Top 50 emerging cities is from India, followed by five cities from China. Brazil, Philippines, USA with three cities, followed by Czechoslovakia, Mexico, Poland, Russia, UK and Vietnam housing two cities each. The top 11 countries offer 32 destinations among the Top 50 outsourcing.

Govt sets deadline for telecom license application

2007-09-25T08:23:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: With the surge in application of new telecom licenses, the Ministry of Telecommunications on Monday issued a statement not to accept new applications after October 1.

This comes in wake of 160 license applications pending at the office of the Department of Telecom (DoT), most of the applications from non-telecom companies.

Non-telecom companies like Unitech Ltd, Parsvanath developers and a number of other players applied for the licenses after the telecom regulatory submitted it recommendations on no cap on the number of operators in each circle.

"India will not accept any new telecom license application after October 1," the ministry statement said.

However, DoT is in a fix with large number of application pending from the existing telecom operators due to scarcity of spectrum.

Speaking to the media, A Raja, Minister for Communications and IT said that the government would come up with a report on the license application in the next 10 days. "The government will be scrutinizing the license applications from the companies seeking for operating licenses. We are looking at formulating new screening guidelines where we need to be selective," Raja said.

However, the Ministry is in talks with the defence forces on the release of spectrum to be allotted for commercial use to ease the current congestion in the network. The minister had earlier informed that the license applications would be cleared once the government has received the appropriate amount of spectrum from the defence.

Nabard aid for new IT complex at Kochi

2007-09-25T08:14:00.002-07:00

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA: A new IT complex, which will spread across a total area of 4.27 lakh sq ft will get financial assistance to the tune of Rs 50 crore.

The project, being implemented by the Department of IT, Kerala, will take shape at the Inforpark campus at Kakkanad in Kochi. According to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) officials, the assistance is part of its Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) loan. It is expected that there will be minimum contribution of Rs 60 crore to the nation exchequer when the project is ready for operations.

As any as 50 large, medium and small information technology companies are expected to set up shop at the facility. It is also expected that about 5000 IT professionals will get employment. A major chunk of employment generated would benefit the qualified youth in Information and Technology Sector from rural and semi urban centres all over the state. Besides, about 300 local people are likely to be employed for service related work in and around the project. Nabard had included IT as an eligible activity under the RIDF.

The proposed IT complex is part of the 144 projects being undertaken by the Kerala government. Nabard has sanctioned an amount of Rs 82.25 crore from its RIDF.

Novatium to roll-out Net PC and TV in 3 metros

2007-09-25T08:14:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: After the launch of the Net PC and TV in the national capital, Novatium Technologies is planning to launch it in three more cities within this year.

Speaking to CyberMedia News, Alok Singh, CEO, Novatium said that the company is strongly focusing on expanding to other cities by the year-end. “We are planning to launch in two to three cities. We will be launching in the major cities now,” Singh said.

Launching the Net PC and TV with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, the company is planning to launch its services in Mumbai soon. “We will prefer to launch in Mumbai next, as MTNL has its network present there,” he added. The estimated capacity to offer subscription in Delhi is around 20,000 users. He said that they have initially rolled out with 20,000 capacity, which will be increased in regard to the market response.

“We are targeting 25 per cent of the customers who own a home PC. We will also be targeting the current MTNL broadband customers in the capital,” Singh added.

It may be mentioned here that CyberMedia News has first reported about the company roll out plans in Delhi.

When asked about the tie-up, RSP Sinha, CMD MTNL said that the PSU is only offering the network connectivity to Novatium to offer the service. He said that it was a non-exclusive tie-up and Novatium can offer its services with other service providers.

Company insiders informed that Novatium is in talks with telecom major, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to roll out this service in other major cities across the country. The company is planning to launch its services in Mumbai and Bangalore within a couple of months.

IP networks do the trick for video conferencing

2007-09-22T00:48:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Video conferencing is certainly not a new application to enterprise communications users. Room to room video conferencing has grown from its introduction at the World’s Fair in 1964 to a widely deployed enterprise application around the globe. Video conferencing as a general business application however, while promising to become mainstream during the last 50 years, has remained a special purpose application and a niche market.

Video conferencing’ inherent benefits, such as facilitating in-depth interaction levels and reducing travel expenses have often been offset by a number of technology and operational issues. Expanded bandwidth and special networking requirements have limited its integration with the enterprise’s overall communication network and made it an overlay application that required special attention and administration.

Today, a number of changes have occurred that are stimulating an increased interest in video conferencing as a mainstream business application. The first change has been the growing deployment within businesses of IP Telephony based upon converging voice and data networks into a single integrated and robust network with enough bandwidth to accommodate video applications.

By creating a networking layer that can easily incorporate video streams into its transport mechanisms, the move to IP networks has broken down one of the technical barriers to broader deployment of video conferencing.

A second change enabled by IP Telephony is the ability to set up sessions that can carry multiple media streams while using telephony and windows based interfaces to achieve click-to-dial video conferencing setups between parties on the conference. Multi-party conferences can also be set up using video bridge technologies in a similar fashion.

A final factor that is facilitating a leap in the ease of use for video conferencing is the incorporation of SIP enabled presence within soft phone applications. This technology allows users at their desktops trying to set up a video conference to know if the person they are connecting to has the ability to enable a video call from their end.

Video conferencing can be easily added to a voice call by simply activating the video application on each end of the existing call.

The migration to IP Telephony along with the incorporation of standards based interfaces to other applications promises to open the door to a rapid expansion of video conferencing. Ironically, video conferencing is being discovered as a “new” IP enabled productivity application.

In addition, the extension of business telephony features to video endpoint devices makes video calling as natural as voice calling, while providing enterprise class call handling capabilities and scalability. For example, users now can have the ability to setup a call coverage path for a video call in the same way and with the same capabilities as a voice call.

If somebody calls on a video endpoint and the called party is not at their desk, a coverage path would direct the call to voicemail or a coverage assistant. The system can recognize whether the receiving endpoint (i.e. voicemail system or coverage assistant) has video capabilities and if not, the call would fall back to a voice only call. Easy call set up and coverage features had not been available for video until now.

The ability to expand video conferencing to any IP Telephony connection has the potential to deliver substantial business and employee productivity value to enterprises. Extending video interaction to employee conferences can make sessions more focused, productive and potentially shorter as clarity and real time decision making are facilitated.

Customer Requirements for a Video Telephony Solution

While the convergence of technology trends has enabled the arrival of mainstream video conferencing application, to achieve mass acceptance and deployment, communications applications providers will need to address requirements at three levels.

The next generation of video conferencing will have to address overall business drivers, cost and manageability requirements of an enterprise’s IT group and finally the usability requirements of employees.

No matter how impressive new technology capabilities might be, they need to justify their acquisition of serving enterprise business objectives.

Mainstream deployment of enterprise video conferencing must be built upon business case justification that includes facilitating global business growth, decreasing or offsetting existing business costs, improving employee productivity and enabling virtual business models with highly mobile workforce groups.

The next threshold that must be addressed is the specific requirements of IT decision makers in adopting widespread application deployment. IT Managers require applications that are easy to install, operate and manage.

New applications must also integrate easily with their existing network and leverage that infrastructure, thereby increase its value and payback. Open standards are often a critical requirement for new applications because it facilitates integration and prevents vendor ‘Lock-in”.

Finally, IT managers are concerned about the economic payback for new application deployment that dovetails with enterprise business objectives.

The third set of requirements would be to meet the needs of the employee user community. New technology acceptance and adoption can sometimes be pushed from power user communities who are driving for greater personal productivity tools.

Besides, being simple, easy and convenient to use, the application must also markedly improve personal productivity, enhance working relationships, and lead to faster and more efficient decision making within the enterprise.

Video Conferencing tightly integrated into telephony has the potential to meet the business, IT, and user requirements that will open it up to an impressive adoption rate over the next few years. Thus, moving the application from a specialty to a mainstream productivity tool.

The author is the country manager, India & SAARC, Polycom. Polycom is the provider of unified collaborative communications solutions (UCC) for enterprises.

"Today's attacks are moving beyond phishing and ID theft"

2007-09-22T00:41:00.002-07:00

Against the backdrop of increasing attacks on the IT infrastructure, Richard Stiennon of Fortinet feels there is dearth of inhibitors to counter the escalating threats. With attackers becoming more innovative in development of lucrative business models, it is time that organizations beef up their security infrastructure

Given that cyber crimes are on an increase, how have attackers changed their modus operandi? Is cyber crime turning into a lucrative business? If yes, how?
Cyber criminals are expanding their horizons. On the technology front, they are researching and discovering zero-day vulnerabilities in Windows (iFrames, WMF) and deploying them for profit. Cyber crime is truly very lucrative. From the extortion attacks that garner tens of thousands of dollars to credit card thefts which can earn the thief $12 to $100 per stolen credit card, it is huge money.

Cyber criminals are changing their modus operandi to become much more entrepreneurial.

Richard Stiennon
CMO, Fortinet

In the contemporary scenario, who are more vulnerable to attacks? Are smaller organizations also targeted? What about home users, government and other sectors?
Medium enterprises with important web assets such as an e-commerce site that contributes more than 20 percent of their revenue are the most vulnerable. However, the scope of attacks is escalating and even large enterprises should take a fresh look at their risk profiles. In summary therefore, small as well as larger organizations are vulnerable to attacks although the degree of vulnerability could vary.

What is the nature of attacks today? Which part of an organization is more vulnerable? Is it the entire IT infrastructure or network specific?
The entire IT infrastructure is vulnerable. The network only enables the hacker by providing the avenue of attack. Web applications are vulnerable to business process hacking. Credit agencies, export-import and financial transaction sites have all been hit by attackers who purchase limited access and then abuse the underlying business logic to steal more information than they paid for. Employees are vulnerable to social engineering attacks and bribery that could lead to stolen IP and personal data.

Cyber criminals are changing their modus operandi to become much more entrepreneurial.

Richard Stiennon
CMO, Fortinet

Organisations face serious threat from within

2007-09-22T00:41:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Hugh Penri-Williams is a veteran in IT security domain with close to 30 years experience in information security, with particular interest in financial, operational and information systems audits and special investigations including fraud.

Currently working as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Alcatel, Hugh is a prolific presenter and trainer, mainly in India, on IT security issues. His current responsibilities include establishing effective information security policies, procedures and practices to safeguard Alcatel's information and computing assets. He also contributes to the prevention, detection and investigation of fraud and promotes all aspects of business continuity.

Hugh was appointed Information Security Forum (ISF),Chairman in March 2006 and is a Director on the Board of ISF Ltd. The ISF is an international Member-owned body that harnesses the knowledge and experience of its Members to fund, drive and develop practical research on information security

In an exclusive interview with Idhries Ahmad of CIOL, Hugh gives insights about the ISF, the security threats confronting enterprises and the role of CISO.

Please give me little brief about Information Security Forum. How does ISF help in mitigating the security concerns of enterprises?
The Information Security Forum is an independent, not-for-profit organisation, established in 1989. The Information Security Forum, ISF, is recognised as the world's leading Information Security organisation and independent industry authority. Through its members, the ISF brings together and harnesses the knowledge and experience of over 270 major international businesses and government agencies – including 50% of the Fortune 100. The ISF has invested more than US$75 million in providing authoritative, best practice research and guidance for its members. The results of this work represent the most comprehensive and integrated set of reports anywhere in the world on information security and risk management. .

Current ISF projects focus on a wide range of issues including security and legislation, identity management, phishing, patch management, information risk, VoIP and the disappearance of the network boundary.

Another key activity of the ISF is its comprehensive bi-annual Information Security Status Survey delivering an ‘real world' analysis and understanding of information risk and the causes and impact of security incidents. Born out of this work and other research input over 17 years, the ISF has released the latest version of its Standard of Good Practice for Information Security. This includes coverage of topics such as intrusion detection, e-mail security, broadband and wireless communications, PDAs and computer forensics as well as building on other standards such as ISO 17799 and COBIT.

You are a strong proponent of industry wise security standards. Why so? What is the importance of security standards and best practices in maintaining enterprise security?
Security standards always work fine when they are industry wide rather than used in isolated islands. Without standards, and the associated discipline required to implement them, organisations would be in extremely difficult situation when trying to protect themselves from harm. Standards are the fabric that binds together our approach on how best to safeguard an organisation's assets.

It is really difficult as every one comes out with their own security standards. There are close to 20 different security certifications, which is making it extremely difficult for the IT community to decide which one to choose from and why. We at ISF are prompting interaction among members and other like minded bodies to reach to some level of harmonization in IT security standards in the industry.

What are the most critical security threats that enterprises face and they need to be prepared for?
Contrary to common belief, insiders rather than external hackers pose the most serious threats to an organisation's assets. This is because insiders have extensive knowledge about their environment, ample opportunity and probably access to resources, and often motivation stemming from impending layoffs or, in their eyes, lack of recognition and reward. Why, they even get paid by their employer whilst they are possibly engaged in creating harm!. And the absence of IT security policies within the enterprise amplifies the risk manifold that results in many threats creeping into the enterprises resulting in loss of productivity.

Also remote access to enterprise network also expose the enterprise networks to security threats. CISO need to continually do risk assessment so as to check on the threats and attacks that confront the enterprise networks. Security is not at time investment. It is continual process and you should be always look out for any attacks and be prepared for any eventuality.

There are many instances when security issues crop up because of vulnerabilities in the software. How do you look at this? Don't you think software owners should own up to these security breaches if any enterprise encounters?
It really is amazing that the software industry has somehow managed to escape the quality & safety rigors applied to practically every other kind of product ranging from cars to cottage cheese. But the situation is what it is so we have to cope as best we can to find ways of identifying the flaws and then limiting the potential damage stemming there from. This is where the ISF plays a major role by promoting tried & tested solutions distilled from amongst its diverse membership.

You are quite pessimistic about the current state of information security. Your quote “ I don't think we're in any better shape now than we were 20 years ago. In fact, we're in worse shape", exemplifies that. Why is that so?
The number and nature of threats is increasing at a faster pace than our ability to parry them. This is primarily driven by the endemic imperfections in software cited above, the continuous emergence of devices with ever more technical wizardry and their increasing affordability. All of these factors are just what the doctor ordered for certain people itching to exploit those flaws. Take for example latest c ommunications technologies like Bluetooth, WiFi or Wimax. Though they have got the advantage of accessing information remotely, it also has its share of danger with hackers waiting to intercept the data and use it for their own nefarious designs. We have always ready with security plans with regards to emerging technologies and that is very demanding.

You talked about how to continually invest in updating your security shields against emerging threats. But that costs money and it is very difficult for CISO or CIO to convince the management to outline a recurring budget for security of an enterprise. How can a CIO convince the management to give money for a threat which exists but hasn't striked them in the past.
Ans. Let me tell you. It is really a very difficult situation for any CIO or CISO to ask for money from management to prepare shield against security threats. But it is not that difficult as it was some years ago. CEO are now more aware about the security threats confronting enterprises and are more than willing to lend ear to CISO about the emerging threats. The recent news of attacks by on enterprises by hackers has actually made the task on CIO's much easier to convince the management for investment.

However I feel that CIO's have to convince the management the benefits of implementing a security set-up in an enterprise. How it can save the company's , information and intellectual property which are more valuable to companies today than in the past, and therefore need a higher level of protection. R ather than scaring them about what will happen and what not if they are not doing what he wants them to do. Continually communicate with management and keep them updated as to what is happening in the industry and how they need to plan to them. Don't sound a geek. Communicate in a simple clear language.

The approach has to be positive one rather than a negative.

You come to India often, how do you find the security preparedness in Indian enterprises. Do they comply with latest security industry prevalent in Industry.
Ans. It is not a question of will they comply with international security standards or not. They have to. The threat to information systems is universal. Data is as vulnerable in India as it is in other countries. They have no choice because they are working in globalized set-up and are expected to conform to international security standards. And in my interaction with Indian enterprises, I have found that Indian enterprises are quite conscious of security standards and are implementing them continually. The security preparedness of the enterprises is as good if not better if compared to global counterparts. The budget allocated to IT security clearly elucidates this pint. However small enterprises need to work more on security in their networks.

One of the biggest problems for enterprise is how to foresee a threat and come up with a solution? How can an enterprise be able to do that consistently?
I wish the ISF, or anybody for that matter, was able to invent an early warning system for hitherto unknown threats so that we could be better prepared to meet them head-on with confidence and impunity. Nevertheless, we do make best efforts in this respect, for example, experts from some 40 member organisations, including my own, contributed to ISF's Securing VoIP Future Watch Report.

Emerging technologies such as mobiles, VoIP etc come with new set of security issue like SPIT. How can enterprise save from such type of threats?
With VoIP now poised to hit the business market in a big way, ISF believes that failure to address these serious risks may bring voice communications to a grinding halt and result in identify theft and loss of sensitive information. An often-used paraphrase for early adopters of newest technologies is that they are at the ‘bleeding edge'. Well, the ISF is there for its members with antiseptic, Band-Aids and ointment ( not ‘snake oil', I hasten to clarify) to reduce that pain and suffering as best we can. ISF's secure Member Exchange (MX2) website enables them to rapidly seek remedies from fellow members by posting issues of urgent concern, which is of growing importance for their ability to react in a timely and effective manner.

What are the qualities that make a successful CSO/CISO?
Every CSO/CISO should be honest, have integrity, possess good communication skills, gravitas, passion for the job, be a good team players, have good sense of humour, Good team player, have good sense of humour, be thick skinned and have the bounce back ability

Although it might be expected that there would be a strong emphasis on setting strategy, planning and goal-orientation the personal qualities that emerge from an analysis of input from CISOs are characteristic of highly interactive, socially skilled individuals. Honesty, integrity, team working, passion and gravitas are all highly valued personal qualities in general business management and, crucially, all considered necessary for effective communication and leadership.

Sense of humour, being thick skinned and being able to bounce back from adversity are all laudable personal qualities that are considered necessary to survive in the rough-and-tumble of a more competitive general management role – where other competitive and ambitious ‘C' level grade staff are the natural peer and comparison group.”

What sort of awareness campaign is there in Alcatel whereby they are consistently made aware about the security concerns confronting the company?
Every year Alcatel celebrates Information Security Day on its Intranet across all its locations by making available interviews with senior management about why information security is important; creating a quiz with prizes; showing videos explaining threats like, for example, social engineering and how to counter them; providing a free, on-line awareness training course in several languages; best practice guidance leaflets; and pointers to the various policies and standards that apply to particular topics

Hindering threats in the wireless world

2007-09-22T00:40:00.002-07:00

The purpose of malware has changed since its inception. It was originally created for bragging rights among what were more or less hobbyists. Crashing computers with pranks was done for fun and glory. Then came the Internet with eCommerce and today it's quite different.

Today malware is created with a new goal in mind – cold hard cash. Malware authoring is now a lucrative criminal enterprise. No longer is it created by some guy in a basement at 3 in the morning, it's more like a 9 to 5 professional operation.

Changing landscape

Yesterday's malware splashed crank messages across the user's desktop. Today's malware targets vulnerable computers and secretly infects them, converting them into "Zombies" in well-organized BotNets.

These Bot networks of zombie machines are used to push ever-increasing amounts of spam. They are used to attack Web servers in extortion protection rackets. They can also just sit and monitor all of the financial data, usernames, and passwords that come their way – and to send that information to the highest bidder.

So what can be done about it? The obvious answer is to educate everyone and make them mindful of the risks. But this idea stops short unless we can educate all the members of the online community including those joining it for the first time. A second alternative might be a more secure Operating System. Again, this would help but how can an OS protect a user from willingly giving away his credit card details? Antivirus, antispyware software and firewalls are a must of course and will help a great deal but even they can’t protect the online community against all the evils of the Internet.

So, what’s the answer? How about this – catching the bad guys?

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Unfortunately that’s not the case at all. Just imagine this. A trojan is being developed in Europe. That trojan is being distributed on a website in the US using a vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The same trojan, once installed on a PC somewhere in the world, will connect to a web server in Brazil to download additional components to install, among other things, a keylogger.

That keylogger will send online bank login credentials found on the system to a mailbox in India. The information gathered from the infected PCs is later sold to a person in Spain. Sounds complicated? It is and just imagine the trouble a law enforcement agency has to go through to make an arrest. And if they do, by which countries laws should they prosecute? The above example is a real case and there are hundreds of these cases every week.

Need of law enforcement

So how can the law enforcement agencies around the world become better at what they’re doing, what can we change to make their lives easier? Two words: Training and advice.

The industry needs to further develop the ties it has to law enforcement. The police are the users that need the skills to recognize computer crime and learn how to obtain important information to build a case. Only then will they be able to find and break the weak link in the chain.

We should also create forums and non-profit organizations where private and public sectors can come together and share information with each other. The United State's FBI has a forum like this based in Philadelphia and apparently it works great but we need to do this outside of the US as well. We need to put a stop to the bad guys now, before it gets further out of hand.

About the author

Patrik Runald is a senior security specialist at the F-Secure Security Labs. He has been in the IT security industry since 1995 and joined F-Secure in 1999. Patrik invites any law enforcement agency to contact him for a visit to F-Secure’s Security Lab in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for training and advice on how to better spot criminal activities based on malware.

Unified defense is the answer

2007-09-22T00:40:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: It is not a simple matter to combat security breaches. In the past, enterprise IT teams used a mix of tools to fight a variety of security problems. However, this approach became costly and unscalable, primarily because it was difficult to maintain the various non-integrated tools. Thus, IT teams began to consider high performance and highly reliable integrated security solutions.

While this has sparked the trend of a growing number of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) embracing Unified Threat Management (UTM) and related solutions, at high volume locations such as the data centers and demilitarized zones (DMZs) of large organizations, the voluminous traffic demands dedicated, single function threat management devices to meet high speed requirements.

At present, the best approach for distributed enterprises is to combine UTM solutions at branch locations with dedicated high-performance threat management devices at core central sites.

Understanding UTM

While point products can be used when superior performance is of utmost priority, deploying and managing an array of dedicated devices can be very costly. Aside from the initial capital expense to purchase the various units, IT teams may also have to contend with multiple user interfaces and administration tools. Therefore, in most instances when a balance can be struck between performance, cost and manageability, a UTM solution is the preferred choice. However, it is not as simple as merely going out and buying any UTM product. They vary greatly between vendors and a company is strongly advised to carefully consider the different features and technical specifications before risking the company’s infrastructure on a particular security solution.

Uniform quality of functionalities

A UTM device might not have a uniformly high quality set of features. Vendors may simply package together various antivirus, firewall, and Web filtering functions from a range of sources and third-party suppliers. Because of low-cost, or simply bad product design, a UTM device might contain poorly produced technology, ultimately resulting in an end-product with inconsistent quality and unreliable performance.

Because of the crucial role UTM devices play in protecting the enterprise, IT managers are strongly advised to seek the best-of-breed UTM products which offer functions sourced from market leaders to ensure effective defense against breaches.

Comprehensiveness

Having the right UTM product means enjoying a comprehensive range of functionalities, including reactive mechanisms complemented by proactive ones and network-layer mechanisms by visibility and control at the network layer.

A true UTM device should meet the above requirements, as well as have the following specific features: VPN, multi-layered firewall, multi-method intrusion detection and prevention, multi-protocol antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, anti-spam, and Web filtering.

Virtualization Technologies

An important feature of a robust UTM device is the ability to virtualize. Virtualization technologies incorporated in UTM devices enable administrators to assign different “virtual” UTM devices to different network segments or user groups. The entire system can then be managed through a single interface. This important feature helps administrators cope with different types of access requirements, compartmentalizing user groups and traffic types with their own security policies, in a safe and simple manner. Virtualization essentially simulates having multiple devices on the network, without the overhead and complexity of physically doing so.

Some of the virtualization technologies include:

-- Security Zones. They represent logical sections of the network, segmented into logical areas. Security zones can be assigned to a physical interface, or the entire appliance can be assigned to a virtual system. In this latter arrangement, multiple zones share a single physical interface to lower ownership costs by effectively increasing interface densities.

-- Virtual Systems. This is an additional level of partitioning that creates multiple independent virtual environments. Each of the virtual environments has its own set of users, firewalls, VPNs, security policies, and management interfaces. By allowing administrators to quickly segment networks into multiple secure environments managed through a single appliance, virtual systems enable network operators to build multi-customer solution with fewer physical firewalls and reduced administrative efforts. This reduces both capital and operational expenses.

-- Virtual Routers. This feature enables administrators to partition a single device, which will then function as multiple physical routers. Each virtual router can support its own domains, ensuring that no routing information (and risk of traffic confusion) is exchanged with domains established on other virtual routers.

-- Virtual LANs. They are a logical, rather than physical, division of a subnetwork that enables administrators to identify and segment traffic at a granular level. Security policies can specify how traffic is routed from each VLAN to a security zone, virtual system or physical interface. This makes it easy for administrators to identify and organize traffic from multiple departments and define what resources each can access.

Choices in Web Filtering Approach

Most of the UTM devices available today come with a Web filtering function. But IT managers must make sure which Web filtering approach best suits their organizations’ needs.

Some UTM tools are equipped with external Web filtering which redirects traffic from the device to a dedicated Web filtering server for policy enforcement. Other UTM devices come with integrated Web filtering that enables enterprises to build their own Web access policies by selectively blocking sites listed on a continuously updated database.

No matter which approach one prefers, the UTM device must allow an organization to rapidly deploy the chosen approach. In addition, it must enable IT managers to customize Web filtering profiles by using black lists, white lists, and a number of pre-defined and user-defined categories.

Dedicated Threat Management

Many large enterprises or companies with huge data centers need to deploy additional threat management tools such as firewalls, antivirus gateways and intrusion prevention systems to meet requirements for high capacity and high performance.

Some businesses might also need application- or system-specific threat management products to handle mission-critical applications, specialized security functions or division of ownership and responsibility within a large organization. Examples include email security gateways, Web application security gateways and remote access security gateways.

The author is managing director of Juniper Networks for the Indian region, comprised of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal

Security 2.0

2007-09-22T00:39:00.003-07:00

As Symantec Chairman and CEO John Thompson sees it, the battleground for security has shifted. No longer is it just about the computer or even the corporate network.

Instead, the new challenge is about protecting users' most important assets: their information and their interactions. Providing that protection is at the heart of what Thompson has dubbed “Security 2.0.”

Evolving challenges

Security 2.0 has evolved in response to a dramatically shifting threat landscape. Previous editions of the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report have documented that attack activity has evolved from being motivated by status for technical prowess to being motivated by financial gain. Many of today’s threats are designed to gather information that has financial value to the attacker.

This can include personal information that can be used for the purpose of identity theft (the act of stealing the information) or fraud (using the information to commit fraud).

As the most recent Threat Report observed:

The current threat landscape is populated by lower profile, more targeted attacks, attacks that propagate at a slower rate in order to avoid detection and thereby increase the likelihood of successful compromise.

Instead of exploiting vulnerabilities in servers, as traditional attacks often did, these threats tend to exploit vulnerabilities in client-side applications that require a degree of user interaction, such as word processing and spreadsheet programs. A number of these have been zero-day vulnerabilities.

These types of threats also attempt to escape detection in order to remain on host systems for longer periods so that they can steal information or provide remote access.”

People are the new perimeter

Of course, the threat landscape isn’t all that is evolving. So too is the network perimeter. Traditionally, an enterprise’s computer network has been a well-defined entity, with clear perimeters and fixed endpoints throughout. But that was yesterday. Today’s IT network landscape has changed almost beyond recognition:

· Instead of one corporate platform and operating system, companies now routinely mix PCs and Macs with Windows, Unix, Linux, and more.

· At the same time, network usage has expanded to include multiple endpoints beyond the traditional desktop and servers. From laptops to PDAs to smartphones to guest computers, network boundaries have morphed to embrace a new business paradigm.

· Today the physical network perimeter is no longer defined by network devices. Instead, the people using the system — employees, customers, guest users, partners — comprise the new boundaries.

· Technology innovations, driven by pervasive computing, are fueling new business capabilities and business models. Customers, connecting directly to corporate networks, now accomplish transactions that were once completed by corporate employees.

That’s the reality of the online world today. Moreover, customers expect faster access to their information, and enterprises must keep up with growing customer expectations and look for ways to leverage new technologies.

Making it all work

So what makes this new world work? The answer shouldn’t come as a surprise. What makes it all work is confidence. Confidence is the essential component if enterprises expect to realize the full potential that these new technologies bring. And confidence comes only when all those in the connected world believe that their information is protected, their interactions are secure, and the risk of harm is minimal.

According to Symantec’s Thompson, building this confidence demands a new approach, as embodied in Security 2.0:

“At its heart is a realization that the battleground for security is no longer just the device — as it used to be in Security 1.0 — but rather it’s shifted to the information and interactions,” Thompson said recently.

Protecting this information and securing these interactions takes more than bolted-on security. It takes integrated products and services that provide a holistic view into an organization’s security posture. It also takes solutions that identify risks early — so that steps can be taken to mitigate them and prevent an attack. And it entails enabling customers to manage their security events — no matter what products they may already have installed.

As a result, Symantec is building an ecosystem of products, services, and partnerships that will help build a safe and secure connected world that enterprises can have confidence in:

· Symantec Global Services provides expertise and insight to help enterprises balance IT risk against the pursuit of increased business returns.

· Symantec has partnered with Accenture to launch a joint global services initiative, the Accenture and Symantec Security Transformation Services. It combines Accenture’s service capabilities, industry expertise, and business process skills with Symantec’s technology, global security intelligence, and security risk management expertise.

· Symantec’s Threat and Vulnerability Management Program is a framework for processing and prioritizing security intelligence.

· Symantec Managed Security Services provide remote, 24x7 monitoring of firewalls, security devices, and intrusion detection systems.

· Early Warning Services use custom alerts, detailed analysis, and mitigation strategies to produce a comprehensive view of network threats.

· The Symantec Enterprise Security Framework helps protect endpoint systems and corporate information from malicious attack, theft, and leakage.

Conclusion

External threats like phishing, pharming, and identity theft are evolving at an accelerating pace. Criminals and malicious users are no longer focused on PCs or networks; instead, they now reach into the depths of the world’s data banks.

These disturbing trends are introducing new risks to our most valuable asset — information — as well as our interactions that today span dozens of platforms and hundreds of devices. Clearly, a new approach to protecting information and interactions is required.

Security 2.0, which integrates software, services, and partnerships, represents Symantec’s vision for building confidence in today’s connected world. Its goal: the comprehensive protection of business interactions, critical information, and IT infrastructure.

The underdog of security implementation

2007-09-22T00:39:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Information Security Risk Assessment (IS-RA) is identified as the first step for effective security implementation - be it the Information Security Management Systems as per ISO 27001 or NIST SP 800-30 or the OECD Guidelines on Network Security or implementation of advanced security models like Security Process Maturity Model (SPMM).

IS-RA can be defined as a structured approach for identifying, measuring and analyzing security risks – an essential approach to implement any information security management framework in organizations.

“Identifying” includes the process of identifying the critical assets and their threats while measuring includes the process of prioritizing the risks based on the impact of possible outcome and probability of that event (generally into High/Medium/Low) and analyzing risks includes the strategy for prioritizing risks so that resources are optimally used.

Impact = Threat X Vulnerability
Risk= Impact of outcome X Probability of event of occurrence

Some challenges during conducting a Risk Assessment:

Identification of Critical Assets.

Most security implementers would agree that the biggest challenge of risk assessment is identification of assets in a conclusive manner. The danger of identifying too many assets is that it would consume too much of resources in mitigating with no return on investment. The worst is not identifying a critical asset itself which would, in the end be left unprotected.

The other challenge in identification of critical asset is the process that you would employ for identification itself. This process would involve identification of the right people, who should be involved in the identification, the standard approach for the basis of their identification and the people inside the organization who should able to finalize on the same. It should not end up that each department head gives the list of assets ranging from their mouse to their keyboard as an asset and the CISO consolidates these assets and finally makes a list of assets running into thousands of assets. This would end up making the asset list lengthy with not only impossible to maintain but also making it non-purposeful.

Identification of all threats

The other challenge is, there are so many sources and outcomes of threats. Ensuring that all threats are understood threadbare and are identified is a challenging task.

Measurement of Risks

The common problem faced by organizations is how they ensure that there is uniform and scientific measurement of risks in terms of high/medium or low.

Who decides what is low or high. A risk which is high can be considered medium or low by another person. So how do you ensure the uniformity of assessments? So that it doesn’t have people questioning the entire fundamentals of your results.

If you are a security implementer, you could also be complaining of the length of time that you are taking as the project has got into a loop which is quite common and hence making its results obsolete with changing business environment.

You could also be complaining how to keep technology vulnerabilities in the context of enterprise security risk assessments. The list of challenges just goes on.

In my experience, I have seen organizations follow the approach of assets being identified by department managers who have not been given any idea of how assets should be identified. These lists are finally consolidated in an excel sheet running into multiple sheets with number of assets running into thousands.

Such risk assessments is what I term as ‘adhoc security’. This ends up identifying unimportant assets and making the task of maintaining your assets daunting to your security representative. So the solution lies in following a structured risk assessment approach like OCTAVE (Operationally Critical Threat Asset Vulnerability Approach) or NIST SP 800-30 or any other equivalent methodology.

OCTAVE approach is by Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University and is one of the most scientific and easily implementable approaches.

Some organizations also implement tools like SMART (Security Management and Risk Assessment Tool) for their security implementation. SMART follows the OCTAVE Criteria and is a multi compliance tool enabling compliance to ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, GLBA, HIPAA, FIDS, etc.

The structured risk assessment methodology helps organizations in avoiding the learning curve and having the implementations faster and effective. Tools such as SMART help in your implementation being quicker and efficient. Effective because methodology ensures that you follow the right process and efficient because it saves your precious time in documentation and management of all artifacts during risk assessment. Both SMART and CRAMM help organizations implement ISO 27001. However SMART goes a step ahead by being a multi-compliance tool enabling organizations manage all security compliance standards.

To conclude risk assessments should not only be a document giving deep insight into you risks but it should determine the level of controls required for mitigating the same. Hence it should be purposeful and not merely a document created for certification purposes.

The author is Chief Consultant in global security audit firm SISA Information Security holding CISA, CISSP, OCTAVE Trainer/Advisor, CEH certifications. He can be reached on dbs@sisa.co.in

Security: Beyond anti-spam tools

2007-09-22T00:38:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Email was the killer app of the Internet, but now it seems to be killing the bandwidth, thanks to spam. While its impossible to completely get rid of spam, you can reduce it by following various measures.

One is rules based blocking, which is not sufficient because spammers will always find new ids, subjects, and body text to send you spam. The next level is using anti-spam software at the client as well as servers level. These tools use sophisticated algorithms to filter spam, and also keep updating their filters with fresh rules.

You can also subscribe to DNS blacklists, such as mail-abuse.org and spamhaus. org, which keep a list of known spamming domains. Even these measures are not enough. To fight spam effectively, its also important to know how it is generated and spreads. Plus, you also need proper anti-spam policies.

How Spam is Generated

It all starts when spammers manage to get hold of your email address. The most common way is when you register with a website, perhaps to download software or purchase a product. The website could belong to a spammer, or it might be in the business of selling its mailing databases. Either way you figure in the spammers list and start receiving unsolicited mail. Subscribing to newsletters is another common cause of spam.

You could do it unknowingly or worse someone else subscribes you to mailing lists. In such a case, you could either ignore the deluge of mail or check out the websites (if they have one) of each newsletter for legitimacy. This is important because most spammers provide an unsubscribe link in their email. If you try to unsubscribe from the link, then the spammer gets a confirmation of your existence, and starts sending you even more spam. So as a rule of thumb, dont fall for the "unsubscribe" bit in spam mail.

Its also important to know about Web bugs. These are clear or transparent graphic images, merely 1x1 pixel in size that can be placed in email or Web pages. These are used to monitor the usage patterns of websites or email.

While the Web bug points to the website from where the image has to be downloaded, it also sends information about the users machine to the website. This information can be the IP address and the Web browser used of the machine. Spammers can use Web bugs to confirm the presence of an email address so they can continue spamming. Web bugs use cookies for sending back information, so blocking cookies can stop Web bugs from sending your personal information.

Some Useful Anti-spam Tools

yMail :
yMail is a stand-alone, portable email client with integrated spam-tackling capabilities good enough to make it one of the contenders in our shootout. The portable bit means that you can carry it around on a USB drive as it can be configured to store mail, contact information and the likes in the same folder as the program files. You can download this from www.spacejock.com/yMail.html

SpamAware:
This tool is very similar to SPAMfighter in terms of look, feel and functionalityinfact we had to closely re-examine the two to really appreciate the differences. For example, its default behavior is to mark junk mail by adding a prefix SPAM to the subject, while SPAMfighter moves it to a folder it creates. Of course, you can then create a filter in your e-mail client to move all mail with a prefix SPAM to trash else you desire. You can download it from www.jam-software.com

SPAMfighter
SPAMfighter sits inside Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, and monitors incoming mail on all accounts.It compares the mail against locally configured blacklists and whitelists as well as rules that are periodically downloaded from a central server. Mails that are identified as spam are moved to a separate folder within Outlook/OE, which you can browse later, if necessary, to ensure that no useful mail was junked and/or clean the folder. You can get it from www.spamfighter.com

Mailwasher Free/ Pro
Mailwasher is like an e-mail popper with advanced spam filtering capabilities. You set up an e-mail account just like in an e-mail client and it downloads the mail headers for you to preview, while marking the spam it can identify. The free version identifies spam using built-in filters and, of course, allows you to manually mark spam. it is available freely at www.mailwasher.net

Letterman Spam Control Pro
This is perhaps the most feature rich tool amongst the ones we gave a run during the shootout. It can operate in multiple modesas a standalone popper to filter out your mail before download which you can use, say, at the start of the day when youre checking mail for the first time.

And for the rest of the day, you can use it as a proxy server, an intermediary between your email client and server that not only filters out spam but also blocks hostile links in other email. You can get it from www.whatlink.com

Fighting Back
Spammers use clever techniques to avoid getting caught, such as IP spoofing, using drop boxes and free email websites, finding open relay servers, and using spamming tools.

So you may not be able to find out who is spamming you, but you can always find out enough to do something about it. Spam mail headers come to the rescue as they can reveal useful information about the spammer. You can reach the mail header by choosing the e-mails properties.

The mail header usually tells you the route that the mail has followed to reach you. In this, look for the IP addresses or domain names in the "Received" lines. There are two to three such lines that show which ISPs have relayed the message. The first line will say "Received from by yourISP.com.

Ignore the second address as thats your own ISPs domain. The first will be the ISP who relayed this message to you. Next look at the second "Received" line. This will most likely be the ISP where the spam originated.

Once you know the ISPs who relayed spam to you, the next step is to lodge a complaint with them about the spammer. You need to find out the ISPs contact information like email ids and phone numbers. The most effective way of doing so is by using tracing tools. These track the entire path used by an email to get to your mailbox.

They can also give complete information about all ISPs found in this path. This information can include the ISPs complete name, whos it registered to, phone and fax numbers and the contact email id. There are also some free websites that can give you this information. Many ISPs provide a separate email id that you can use to send them headers of all the spam mail youve received through their servers.

While the process is simple, it may not be easy to execute, simply because theres too much spam. Therefore, this process is better suited for companies who can use dedicated staff for the job, rather than individuals wasting time on it.

Also take measures to avoid getting unwanted subscribers. They can send an email to new subscribers to check if they have actually subscribed or not. This mail should mention that only after the subscriber responds to the mail would they continue sending newsletters in the future. Those who dont respond would be removed from the list.

Gelsinger of Intel speaks on high-tech industry's rapid design cadence

2007-09-22T00:37:00.001-07:00

INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, San Francisco, USA: Intel Corp. executive Patrick Gelsinger gave a variety of updates on Intel's work with the industry on the company's processors, surrounding technologies and "tick-tock" design cadence, including new details on Intel's upcoming 45nm products. He also discussed the industry's recent moves in energy efficient computing, virtualization, broad range of software enabling, as well as recent system architecture initiatives spanning the popular USB interconnect to upcoming lead-free products for the company's Intel® vPro desktop PCs.

"Intel's development model and cadence is a predictive, efficient and effective way to deliver products and provide the industry with an exciting computing roadmap in our relentless pursuit of Moore's Law," said Patrick Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. "In addition to our processors, we're focused on delivering energy efficiency via design of better, Hafnium-based High-k transistors as well as enhancements in overall system level architecture to minimize the computer's energy usage."

During his speech, Gelsinger showed the first-ever Intel 45nm High-k metal gate next-generation microarchitecture (Nehalem) dual processor server that uses the element Hafnium instead of silicon in portions of the 700 million-plus transistors inside the processor die, which is about the size of a postage stamp. Nehalem is the codename of a new processor microarchitecture arriving in 2008 that will provide up to three times the peak memory bandwidth of current competing processors. He also showed broad industry support for the Intel QuickPath Architecture. The QuickPath Interconnect provides high-speed data paths to Nehalem's processor cores.

In addition to compute performance and memory bandwidth, Intel continues to provide leadership in I/O when Gelsinger announced the formation of the USB 3.0 Promoter Group. This revolutionary architecture will use a single connector and cable delivering over 10 times the performance of USB 2.0 while preserving backwards compatibility to more than 2 billion existing USB devices.

Along with Intel, the promoter group has been formed with HP, NEC, NXP, Microsoft, and TI. USB 3.0 will be the first I/O interface to include support for both optical and copper interconnects, scalable protocol, and energy efficiency optimizations for use in the PC, consumer electronics, and mobile segments.

Gelsinger reviewed Intel's QuickAssist Technology and its escalation of industry product development. QuickAssist Technology, first disclosed at the IDF in Beijing in April, is Intel's suite of hardware and software technologies addressing the unique requirements of accelerators in enterprise platforms. He reviewed the first Intel device to include the Intel® QuickAssist Integrated Accelerator for cryptography, codenamed Tolapai.

With availability targeted for 2008, Tolapai – a system on a chip – will deliver significant improvements in power-efficient performance and form factor with up to eight times the IP Security throughput, up to 20 percent reduction in power, and up to a 45 percent smaller footprint over previous multi-component security solutions in embedded and communications market segments.

On the heels of the latest-generation roll-out of Intel vPro processor technology, Gelsinger revealed plans to further evolve security and PC management benefits through the 2008 product codenamed McCreary. McCreary will include new halogen and lead-free 45nm dual and quad-core processors, a new chipset codenamed Eaglelake, an integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and a more secure, manageable data encryption solution codenamed Danbury.

Danbury technology builds data encryption and decryption directly into the hardware providing greater protection of encryption keys and allows much simpler system management and key recovery. Intel Active Management technology also enables these operations to occur in "out-of-band" environments, meaning even if the OS is down or inoperable.

Bob Heard, founder and chief executive officer of CREDANT Technologies, discussed how their software security solutions can be improved in the future by leveraging Danbury and vPro technology. Mark B. Templeton, chief executive officer of Citrix Systems, showed how data protection and centralized data management can be balanced with an end user's desire for mobility and a responsive PC experience.

John Fowler, executive vice-president of Sun Microsystems, appeared with Gelsinger and pointed to the virtualization "wave" that Intel and other technology leaders are driving through the industry. Parallels demonstrated how they are taking advantage of innovations such as Intel Virtualization Technology and Intel Trusted Execution Technology to provide protection for virtual environments in future workstations and desktop PCs.

Gelsinger pointed to a wall of computer systems that Intel will deliver to suit most users' computing and cost needs. He showed how customers, such as Paradigm, will use Intel Xeon-based workstations with a new 1600MHz front side bus and Intel software tools to solve scientific problems, such as oil and gas exploration. Mark Barrenechea, president and chief executive officer of Rackable Systems, discussed Rackable's ICE Cube Modular Data Center on Wheels, which has 1400 quad core Intel Xeon servers in a single 40-foot truck container.

Gelsinger also discussed the improvements that solid state disk technology can bring to enterprise server and storage technology for IA platforms. He announced that products delivering substantial improvements in read performance and power savings from Intel utilizing non-volatile memory technology will be available next year.

Gelsinger shared his vision for I/O consolidation on Ethernet and steps to get to a converged network that supports both Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and local area networks. In support of this vision, he announced availability of Intel® 82598 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller now with full support for FCoE solution stack coming in 2008.

Dr.Schumacher takes over as CEO, president of Grace Semiconductor

2007-09-22T00:36:00.001-07:00

SHANGHAI,CHINA: The Board of Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation has named Dr. Ulrich Schumacher as the new president and CEO of the Company, effective September 15th, 2007. Dr. Schumacher will also be a director of the Board of the company.

Dong Yeshun, Chairman of Grace Semiconductor, said: "We are delighted and honoured that Dr. Ulrich Schumacher has decided to take on this role as President and CEO of Grace Semiconductor. Dr. Schumacher enjoys an unrivalled reputation worldwide as one of the best minds and leaders in the semiconductor industry. With someone of Dr. Schumacher's calibre and international stature heading our management team, we are confident that we can further accelerate the process of bringing the Company to the next level."

Dr. Schumacher joined the Semiconductor Group of Siemens AG in Munich, Germany, in 1986, where he held several management positions in manufacturing, engineering and marketing. In 1988, he became Assistant to the CEO and drove Strategic Planning and Alliances. In 1991, he became General Manager of Memory, Chipcard IC and Multimedia Products. In 1996, he was appointed President and CEO of Siemens Semiconductor Group, and in 1998, he became a member of the Board of Siemens AG.

In 1999, Dr. Schumacher led the spin-off of the Siemens Semiconductor Group and successfully brought it public in 2000 as Infineon Technologies. Under his leadership, Infineon Technologies grew significantly, from being the 19th to the 4th biggest semiconductor company in the world, and for several years, it was the fastest growing company among the world's top 20 semiconductor companies. Dr. Schumacher resigned in 2004 and joined Francisco Partners, a private equity firm in

San Francisco, USA, which specializes in high technology investments, as Operating Partner. Dr. Ulrich Schumacher said: "I very much look forward to joining the Grace team as its President and CEO. It is an opportunity I could not resist. The potential of the foundry market remains enormous, and Grace is in an excellent position to become one of the leading PRC companies in this space. I am glad to work in such a competitive environment, and in such a vibrant and dynamic country." Dr. Schumacher has resigned from Francisco Partners but will continue to support it as a special advisor.

Dr. Schumacher is assuming the role of President and CEO from Dong, who will remain as Chairman of the Board. Grace Semiconductor is a specialized semiconductor foundry with a strong focus on high quality services and advanced technologies, including embedded nonvolatile memory, high voltage, and low leakage processes. The Company started operations in 2003 and has been one of the fastest growing companies in the industry. The Company is located in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Pudong, Shanghai, and has more than 1,400 employees. Shanghai Alliance Investment is a leading shareholder of Grace Semiconductor.

SoftLayer receives Microsoft Gold Partner Certification

2007-09-22T00:35:00.002-07:00

DALLAS: SoftLayer has announced that it has attained the highly regarded status of Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, with certified expertise and service in Networking Infrastructure Solutions, Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Hosting Solutions Specialization and Storage Solutions Specialization.

The Microsoft Partner Certification program identifies companies who meet exceptional performance levels when delivering solutions built on Microsoft technology. Gold certification is the program’s highest designation.

“This certification verifies that SoftLayer is committed to excellence,” said Steve Kinman, SoftLayer Customer Service Manager. “It’s exciting for us that Microsoft recognizes we have the talent, drive and dedication for providing the expertise that customers deserve and require.”

To receive certification, partner companies must undergo a comprehensive review by Microsoft to ensure that they meet the software giant’s exacting standards. Microsoft reviews many facets of a partner companies’ performance, including customer references and in-house capabilities, requiring multiple Microsoft Certified Professionals to be on staff. “We’re proud SoftLayer not only meets Microsoft’s Gold partner requirements, but exceeds them,” said Mr Kinman.

“This certification does more than recognize what we have done well in the past. It advances what we can do for customers from here forward,” said Sam Fleitman, SoftLayer Chief Operations Officer. As a Gold Certified partner, SoftLayer will be among select companies that have the closest working relationship with Microsoft, giving it top-level access to Microsoft resources and support including a Technical Services Coordinator, Microsoft’s exclusive Partner Knowledge Base and more. SoftLayer will also have advanced access to the beta and pilot programs for Microsoft’s newest technologies. “We will be able to raise our service levels even higher, and let our customers try new technologies before some people have even heard of them,” said Mr. Fleitman. “That’s a competitive advantage that we can directly pass along.”

Canon U.S.A. multifunction devices voted most reliable by SMBs

2007-09-22T00:35:00.001-07:00

LAKE SUCCESS, NEW YORK: Canon U.S.A., a leading provider of digital imaging solutions, has announced its imageRUNNER and imageCLASS digital, black-and-white, multifunction peripheral (MFP) series have been named the overall “most reliable” MFPs on the market in a customer study conducted by Industry Analysts. Through an extensive survey of more than 200 enterprise and small- and medium-size businesses (SMB) in multiple industries, Industry Analysts, rated Canon’s devices number one according to feedback on the features users stated they depend on most each day.

Respondents were asked to rate their MFP on a scale of 1-10 with "10" being the best. Averaging scores of nine, Canon has consistently received high ratings in Industry Analysts’ Office Product surveys over the years. With product and solutions offerings for both the corporate and small office / home office (SOHO) settings, Canon’s MFP series have shown great adoption within financial services, legal, retail and healthcare industries, among others.

“Canon U.S.A. has been a leader in the MFP market for years,” said Andy Slawetsky, president, Industry Analysts, Inc. “Based on feedback from customers, anyone in the market for a reliable MFP should strongly consider a Canon device.”

As a central hub for document management in today’s busy offices, Canon's imageRUNNER and imageCLASS MFP series are designed to provide speed, functionality and dependability. With state-of-the-art technology leveraging Canon’s innovative Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform (MEAP) software, the MFP enables customized solutions to meet today’s evolving business challenges including security.

“This distinction confirms Canon’s commitment to providing its customers with reliable, user-friendly and affordable products to help run their businesses,” said Tod Pike, senior vice president, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “We are pleased that our customers have recognized our ability to meet their needs and we look forward to continuing to partner with them to deliver customized solutions for their business.”

This achievement is included in the 2007 Office Product Analyst (OPA) study, published by Industry Analysts and is focused exclusively on the office automation industry. It shows Canon rated consistently above other MFP manufacturers including Xerox, HP, Konica Minolta, Ricoh, Sharp, Toshiba, and Brother.

Wings Infonet launches Wings e-Biz

2007-09-22T00:34:00.001-07:00

HYDERABAD: Wings Infonet Limited, a leading software products company has announced the launch of Wings e-Biz, a suite of business software products.

Wings e-Biz works on current generation technology and offers wide scope, great design, outstanding features and a rich user experience. It is designed for mid-sized businesses which desire to automate systems beyond mere book-keeping and want the computerised systems to help them manage their businesses better.

“With Wings e-Biz, we have brought about a unique suite for businesses, the like of which is not available today. It is neither a traditional ERP system with huge pains and costs of implementation nor a traditional book-keeping software with limited scope. It is a modern suite which helps businesses computerise many functions beyond accounting in an integrated environment, using modern technology. It is designed to help businesses manage their businesses better,” said Ajay Gandhi, Director of Wings Infonet.

The suite offers several products usable by businesses of all kinds. These products are for accounting and inventory, payroll, fixed assets, etc. The suite also offers special products for different industry verticals or special uses – like retail, restaurants, automobile dealerships, Distributor Management, etc.

All products work by themselves, and also seamlessly integrate with each other – thereby giving users the choice of computerising one or more areas of their business, when they desire to.

“The products bring to the users the benefits of current generation technology. The software is completely web-based, allowing users to setup fully online or offline systems across multiple locations. Working on robust databases and on the .Net platform, and with many security features built in, users can now scale up their operations to any level without problems”, he added.

Wings e-Biz offers many unheard of tools and features – the ability to work in any major World Language; a powerful Report Designer; flexible Forms Designer; and advanced features like Transaction Authorisation, MS Office integration, Mobile Devices enablement, etc.

Most importantly, Wings e-Biz products can be deployed within a few days or weeks without having to go through the pain of traditional ERP systems.

The major highlights of Wings e-Biz suite are:

a. Web-based online or offline systems

b. Enterprise-wide product range – with the ability to computerise one or more areas of business

c. Comprehensive functionality – each product is complete for what it does

d. Total Security

e. World Languages

f. Advanced Features on the desktop

The suite includes the following products:

· Wings e-Accounting

· Wings e-Payroll

· Wings e-Asset

· Wings e-Central

· Wings e-Retail

· Wings e-Auto

· Wings e-F&B

· Wings e-Trade

· Wings e-S&D

Magma, UMC deliver physical verification and DFM solution for 65nm

2007-09-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

SAN JOSE, CALIF.: Magma Design Automation Inc. and UMC, announced a broad physical verification and design for manufacturability (DFM) solution for 65-nanometer (nm) designs. The two companies completed joint qualification of Magma's Quartz DRC, Quartz LVS and Quartz DFM for UMC's advanced processes and development of foundry-validated runsets and models that support the flow, which is tuned to detect design problems so they are corrected quickly.

With the software, runsets and models, designers can accelerate time to market and improve manufacturability of chips targeted for UMC's advanced 65-nm process technology.

Quartz DRC and Quartz LVS are the industry's first fully scalable design rule checking (DRC) and layout-vs.-schematic (LVS) products. Leveraging a unique architecture and advanced modeling capabilities, this revolutionary physical verification solution allows affordable, massively distributed processing.

With this technology and the right number of processors, virtually any design can be physically verified in less than two hours. Quartz DFM allows designers to analyze and characterize the timing and power impact due to sources of manufacturing variability, such as lithography and CMP.

With this, designers can reduce the guard-banding required by traditional design flows, allowing significant gains in timing and power performance. "UMC continually works to provide its customers with design and manufacturing solutions that help ensure silicon success. We believe Magma's physical verification software provides significant turnaround time advantages to our mutual customers," said Ken Liou, director of the IP and Design Support division at UMC.

"The qualification of Quartz DRC, Quartz LVS and Quartz DFM for our 65-nm process and our ongoing collaboration with Magma demonstrates our commitment to helping our customers address complex system-on-chip design challenges and shorten their time to market."

"IC designers need fast, reliable physical verification to help minimize the cost of developing advanced chips," said John Lee, general manager of Magma's Physical Verification Business Unit. "We pleased to be partnering with UMC to make it easier for more customers to leverage advanced process technologies to meet their most challenging design and schedule requirements."

Intel launches LessWatts.org

2007-09-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Intel Corporation has announced the launch of an open source community project designed to meet the growing demands for increased energy efficiency across the computing spectrum spanning servers in data centers to personal mobile devices.

Unveiled at the Intel Developer Forum by Renee James, corporate vice president and general manager of Intel's Software and Solutions Group, the LessWatts.org initiative brings together the community of Linux developers, OSVs and end users to facilitate technology development, deployment and tuning and sharing of information around Linux power management.

For large data centers, server power consumption imposes limits on a center's growth and has significant financial and environmental costs. In addition to the large data center customers, mobile users are also constrained by power consumption limits as battery space is continually squeezed with the overall reduction in size of mobile devices. In both the server and the mobile markets, Linux operating systems continue to grow in relevance and market segment share.

"We created LessWatts.org to accelerate technology development and simplify information sharing for effective power management across a broad spectrum of devices and industry segments that are utilizing Linux," said James. "A focused initiative that aggregates the disparate efforts into a holistic system and builds on our existing efforts with the industry in the Climate Savers Computing Initiative will serve as a strong catalyst to get energy-efficient solutions into the market segment faster, thereby benefiting the customers who purchase Intel-based products."

The LessWatts.org initiative encompasses several key projects including Linux kernel enhancements (such as the "tickless idle" feature that takes better advantage of power saving hardware technologies), the PowerTOP tool that helps tune Linux applications to be power aware and the Linux Battery Life Toolkit to measure and instrument the impact of Linux code changes on power savings. Additionally, LessWatts.org provides Linux support for hardware power saving features being implemented in current and upcoming Intel platforms.

"Community contributions are a fundamental part of Oracle's long-standing commitment to Linux and our collaboration with Intel in projects such as LessWatts.org is another proof point," said Wim Coekaerts, vice president, Linux Engineering, Oracle. "LessWatts.org can help customers reduce data center power consumption and make use of the latest hardware technologies, while further advancing the development, adoption and deployment of enterprise Linux solutions."

"In response to customer demand for power savings across their entire IT environment, we've implemented significant features in Red Hat* Enterprise Linux 5 that allow our customers to minimize their carbon footprint," said Paul Cormier, executive vice president of Engineering at Red Hat. "These include virtualization that enables server consolidation and highly efficient resource allocation, and support for the power management capabilities provided by the latest Intel processors. Red Hat continues to work closely with Intel to provide customers with ecologically sensitive solutions, and we look forward to actively contributing to the LessWatts.org project."

"Novell is working hard to be eco-friendly and customer-friendly at the same time by providing better power management technologies as part of SuSE Linux Enterprise," said Jeff Jaffe, Novell executive vice president and chief technology officer. "We are committed to helping drive the technology forward as part of LessWatts.org and providing value to our customers by incorporating that technology into upcoming SuSE Linux Enterprise releases."

Indyarocks.com introduces 'Social Money'

2007-09-22T00:31:00.001-07:00

HYDERABAD, INDIA: Mobile and online social networking portal Indyarocks.com has launched 'Social Money' program.

'Social Money' is a form of revenue share with the users. Users of Indyarocks will earn money when they use the free SMS feature and also when they upload or watch videos. The program is aimed to increase the mobile usage and also to encourage user generated content on the site. This program will be supported through text ads that will appear in the SMS and Videos, Indyarocks said in a press release.

"Our Social Money program is unique and non-intrusive", says Kalyan Manyam, Head of India operations. He adds, in order to earn money, Indyarocks users are not required to do anything new or force themselves into getting unwanted messages. The users will continue to do what they have been doing all this while - interact and share with their friends and family in a safe and secure environment.”

With advanced privacy settings that allows users to have complete control over their profile and media, Indyarocks is fast becoming one of the most desirable and secure online social environment for Indians across the globe.

Indyarocks.com is a completely user driven portal which enables user interaction and media sharing through both mobile and online medium.

Bill Gates America's richest for 14th year in a row

2007-09-22T00:30:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK, US: Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the richest person in America for the 14th year in a row, followed by investor Warren Buffett, according to Forbes magazine's latest list of the wealthiest Americans.

The pair's fortunes each grew by $6 billion in the past year, Forbes said on Thursday, with Gates' fortune $59 billion and Buffett $52 billion.

Buffett has pledged 85 percent of his net worth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and family charities.

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson ($28 billion), head of Las Vegas Sands Corp, and software tycoon Larry Ellison ($26 billion), chief executive of Oracle Corp, remain at No. 3 and No. 4 on the 25th annual ranking of 400 rich Americans, which now requires a minimum net worth of $1.3 billion for inclusion.

"The collective net worth of those listed on the 400 this year rose $290 billion to $1.54 trillion," Forbes said. "Despite market jitters, nearly half of the 45 new members come from hedge fund and private equity investments."

For the first time since 1989 there are no members of the Walton family, descendants of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton, in the top 10. Four members -- Jim, Christy, Robson and Alice -- slipped to 12th and 15th place.

The Waltons were displaced by Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who came in at No. 5 with fortunes of $18.5 billion, and brothers Charles and David Koch, who run Koch Industries, the world's second largest private company, and are each valued at $17 billion, earning them 9th place.

Investor Kirk Kerkorian was the biggest gainer on the list, his fortune rising by more than $9 billion in the past year to $18 billion. He debuted in the top 10 at No. 7 -- up from No. 26 last year.

Michael Dell, chief executive of Dell Inc, the world's second-largest PC maker, was No. 8 on the list with a fortune of $17.2 billion.

Of the top 400 richest Americans, Forbes said 270 were entirely self-made, 74 inherited their wealth and 39 are women. There were 82 American billionaires who did not make the list.

The youngest member, and new to the list, is 33-year-old hedge fund manager John Arnold, who came in at No. 317 with a $1.5 billion wealth, while the oldest is 98-year-old John Simplot, valued at $3.6 billion and No. 214 on the list.

Indiagames intros cricket 20:20 mobile game

2007-09-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Indiagames Ltd has launched Cricket 20:20 for mobile phones.

Vishal Gondal, CEO, Indiagames, said, “After the phenomenal success of our earlier game Championship Cricket, we had to develop something truly path-breaking. Cricket 20:20 offers a totally different, realistic, original and never like before cricket gaming experience on the mobile phone.”

This game unleashes realistic cricketing experience with day and night conditions, options to customize field settings and batting / bowling line-ups, simulated replays, an in-game mascot and live match statistics and graphs while playing. One can choose the multi-player option and play against a friend or the advanced A.I. (Artificial Intelligence), Indiagames said in a statement.

The Cricket 20:20 mobile game will be available with all mobile operators across India.

QualSoft to set up Offshore Development Center

2007-09-14T22:01:00.001-07:00

PUNE, INDIA: Qualsoft Services, an offshore insurance software development company from India, will set up an Offshore Development Center
( ODC ) deriving optimal benefit of its technical and business capabilities to keep Client’s overheads to the minimum. The diversified service requirements included application development, implementation and customization, maintenance, re-engineering legacy applications, database administration, system administration and 24x7 support. The project is a part of a five-year contract as Offshore Software Service Partner awarded to it by a USA based insurance company. The client is the tenth largest life insurance provider in the US.

The client and its subsidiaries protect individuals, businesses and their employees with life, disability, health and dental insurance products, and offer
401( k ), mutual fund and annuity investment products, and trust services. Qualsoft will help Client to design the critical business solutions, implement and support them during the contract period. Training and maintenance will also be a part of the contract.

Qualsoft will provide the software applications development in various areas of insurance operations. It includes:

Agency Management
Claims Processing
Policy Administration
Underwriting
Customer Relationship Management

Qualsoft will also take the responsibility to develop and implement various software like Sales Force Automation for Insurance, Customer Relationship Management for Insurance, Claim Management Application, Insurance Intranet Portal, Insurance Policy Management System, Insurance Billing Management system and Document Management System for Insurance.

The contract is aimed at helping the client to reduce its efforts on Internal Software Development and will allow it to focus more on core business. The process of contract involves rigorous credential testing of various software development firms all across the world. Qualsoft has proven itself on various criteria like project management practices, ability to support for a long term, process management and technical competency.

Qualsoft plans to venture into insurance software development segment more aggressively and deliver business solutions, says the release.

Send and receive SOAP messages with SAAJ

2007-09-14T22:00:00.003-07:00

This tip shows you how to use the SOAP with Attachments API for Java (SAAJ) to simplify the process of creating and sending SOAP messages.

Click here to know more...!

Automatically hyperlink URLs in ASP.NET Pages

2007-09-14T22:00:00.001-07:00

By using regular expressions, you can automatically detect hyperlink-sensitive text and automatically wrap them into element pointing to the same URL. The idea is preprocessing any displayable text using ad hoc regular expressions to identify portions of text that are email addresses or Web site URLs.

Click here to know more...!

How to use AWT CardLayout?

2007-09-14T21:59:00.002-07:00

A CardLayout object is a layout manager for a container. It treats each component in the container as a card. Only one card is visible at a time, and the container acts as a stack of cards. The first component added to a CardLayout object is the visible component when the container is first displayed.

The ordering of cards is determined by the container's own internal ordering of its component objects. CardLayout defines a set of methods that allow an application to flip through these cards sequentially, or to show a specified card. The addLayoutComponent(java.awt.Component, java.lang.Object) method can be used to associate a string identifier with a given card for fast random access.

Click here for more...!

Wi-Fi Alliance designates Wipro as authorized test lab

2007-09-14T21:59:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE: The Wi-Fi Alliance today announced that Wipro Technologies would serve as a Wi-Fi Alliance authorized test laboratory.

For members located in India and other areas in Asia, utilizing the Wipro facility in Bangalore will streamline certification and provide faster time-to-market for Wi-Fi certified products, Wi-Fi Alliance said in a statement.

“The Wi-Fi market in India has enormous potential and establishing Wipro as a Wi-Fi Alliance authorized test laboratory will be key to supporting that growth,” said Karen Hanley, senior director, Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wipro is ideally suited both in location and in capability. Having access to testing services in the India region can reduce time to market and cost of development, as these testing facilities will be closer to many of our members’ product development activities.”

The number of Wi-Fi devices shipped globally and in India continues to grow as more consumer products incorporate Wi-Fi technology, such as mobile phones and digital cameras. According to a recent white paper authored by Tonse Telecom and the Wi-Fi Alliance, the Wi-Fi market in India is expected to exceed $744 million by 2012.

Wipro’s lab was previously authorized for the Wi-Fi Alliance pre-certification program, which prepared products for Wi-Fi certified testing. Extending these capabilities, Wipro will now provide members with interoperability testing on core 802.11 radio standards, as well as Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA2) for security, and Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) and WMM Power Save for quality of service.

The Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 3,500 products since the introduction of the Wi-Fi certified program in March 2000. There are now 12 Wi-Fi Alliance authorized test laboratories around the globe.

Sun ranked top in non-x86/unix server market

2007-09-14T21:58:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI: Sun Microsystems India has announced that is has been ranked as number one player in the Non-x86/UNIX server market in India for second quarter 2007, according to IDC’s Asia/Pacific Quarterly Enterprise Server Tracker, second quarter 2007 release.

Sun has 60.1 per cent market share in unit terms and 46.6 per cent market share in revenue terms during second quarter 2007, Sun said in a statement.

Sun was also named the number one vendor across segments in the non-x86/Unix, high-end, midrange and volume server segments in India, both in unit shipment terms as well as in revenue terms in second quarter 2007. Additionally, Sun continued to maintain its number three position in the India overall server market in second quarter 2007 in terms of revenues.

“We have maintained our position as the leading vendor in the India non-x86/UNIX server market for seven years now since 1999 in terms of units shipments. We have also grown our market share in this segment in revenue terms on a year-on-year basis (2Q 2007 over 2Q 2006). Our growth can also be attributed to increased market acceptance of our products and solutions as well as more customer acquisitions particularly in the mid-tier segment in the last one year,” said Bhaskar Pramanik, president, India GEM, Sun Microsystems India.

“The adoption of Solaris 10 continues to be a driving force of our leadership in the India server market,” Pramanik added.

Using PC to talk to home appliances

2007-09-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

GENEVA, USA: IEC Technical Committee 100, audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment company, is introducing new standards to link the two different communications networks established for the household appliances and audio visual equipment.

This new ability will network traditional household appliances with personal computers and audio-visual equipment, which will offer such possibilities as your television screen displaying the fact that the washing machine has finished washing your clothes or turning on an air conditioner from your personal computer.

This specification, Home Network Communication Protocol over IP for Multimedia Household Appliances (IEC 62457), has several key advantages: It can be used with existing home networking standards; Both Home Network nodes with and without TCP/IP Layer can co-exist under the same Home Network Middleware; Household appliances can communicate with audiovisual equipment, PCs and PC-related equipment, and vice-versa, without requiring any gateway; Household appliances can handle text and audiovisual data; Audiovisual equipment, PCs and PC-related equipment can handle household appliances data.

The standard is developed by IEC Technical Committee 100, Audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment, a group responsible for the standardization of emerging technologies and consumer products, from plasma technology and mobile communications to smart homes.

The new standard is due to be published in October 2007 and some products applying its specifications are now in the market in Japan.

PM: A step towards innovation

2007-09-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

The current global scenario calls for enterprises to be ever dynamic and innovative. In simple terms to win the business race enterprises need to build winning products. A winning product is characterized by customer satisfaction, cost reduction, global competitiveness, time to market, growth and profitability.

Enterprises are striving to achieve this in every possible way, and IT has come handy. Technology has enabled them to manage production process, efficiently, to meet every market requirement. And it has helped them to collaborate product planning and product marketing, two major professional disciplines As a result, big and small businesses are counting rich dividend.

Technology requirements
"Turning market information into products is the key to successful business", says Swamy Narayanaswamy, Founder chairman & Managing Director, CSM software, one of the PLM solutions providers. However he sees a challenge here. As inputs from market are seldom uni- dimensional, they can be extremely complex and demanding. These inputs need to be assessed from various points of view, the most important being costs and manufacturability, he says. He enumerates some useful tools available that help translate market requirements into real products. In R&D these products can be classified as products that help in

Concept Design (Styling, Aspects of Industrial Design)
CAD Tools (Computer Aided Design) for 2D and 3D modeling
CAE Tools (Computer Aided Engineering) for simulation and testing

Additionally, in the Manufacturing area, there are

CAM tools (Computer Aided Manufacturing) that aid in NC Programming,
Tool Path Generation,
Robotic Simulation,
Factory Layout Simulation,
Cycle Time Optimization and so on.

Together, these tools are sometimes referred to as the CAD/CAM/CAE segment of mechanical design.

Role of technology
All these technologies together collaborate on a Product Data Management (PDM) backbone that constantly allows all departments to collaborate in real time to capture changing designs in the development cycle.

The use of these technologies greatly helps in simulating product behavior in real markets and, before the actual manufacturing is undertaken, the product can be virtually tested for compliance to market needs. "Virtual Product Development" therefore is a key technology element in ensuring that market needs are met in a cost effective and an efficient manner.

The benefits of technology to today's product design, planning, manufacture and marketing lie in the successes achieved in Simulation or Virtual Product Development. This provides huge saving to the automotive and aerospace industries and all products in general by the reduction in product development time and cost by the near-total elimination of prototyping. The growth in manufacturing witnessed by Indian companies and India during the past few years, and the expected growth for the next many years, augurs well for the future for technology, engineering services, product planning, product marketing and product management.

In the front-end, the market information for the new product was captured by extensive collection of customer requirements, customer preferences and price-point, among other things, at the back-end it is the role of technology to utilize the information that has gone into product planning in creating the product marketing presentations. In other words, technology can help customers visualize product features that they had originally sought. While the product is being developed, visual 3D representations of products can be showcased to end customers to further refine product planning, greatly enhancing the success of the released product. Technology also plays a vital role in configuring complex product configurations. For example, a customer buying a plane may be able to decide on cabin configurations, seating layout, color schemes etc. by looking at simulations of the product before the product is actually manufactured. Similar uses can be found in various other fields also. Technological collaboration between the various stages of the product's life cycle (from the concept design stage to design, development, manufacture, marketing, servicing and finally retiring of the product in favor of a re-invented and re-designed new product) is critical for the success of the product.

Ramana Venkata, President & CEO, Stratify Software says: " Technology has made a marked shift in the way marketing information is collected. It has moved away from customer sampling based techniques to data mining techniques by increasing the vastness and preciseness of customer data captured. Technology trends like Web 2.0 enable self-adaptable marketing techniques by enhanced feedback mechanisms and focused interactions. And this works both ways as in disbursing product marketing info too."

Challenges
According to Keshav Prakash, Country Manager, Serena Software, Product management as a discipline is about what the product should be. Product managers are advocates for the customer's needs and desires. A large product might have numerous product managers working towards its success at a variety of levels, all the way from the junior product manager writing specifications about single feature sets to a product strategy director who has overall responsibility to executive management for the product direction.

People not familiar with the discipline of product management frequently get a product manager confused with other players. So it very important to have the Product Manager with required skillets and expertise and otherwise it could act as deterrents for this role. So you cannot have a developer, or a software manager, a project manager or a Marketer performing the product management job, he says.

With trends like Lean product development, Digital manufacturing etc, product management has taken giant leap to drive metamorphosis of product manufacturing and marketing.

Advantage Kerala when it comes to IT: Karnik

2007-09-14T21:55:00.001-07:00

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA: The Kerala government has been urged by IT software and services body Nasscom to consider means to attract IT majors from across the world to the State, while also providing a leg up to home grown technology majors.

Speaking at a one-day meet, which initiated interactions between the academia, and IT & ITeS professionals, which got underway at the Thiruvananthapuram Technopark on Thursday, Kiran Karnik, president Nasscom, said that Kerala has a variety of advantages in the form of excellent bandwidth and highly-talented professionals.

Besides, the government has ensured that computers are used across the board and they are the common mans’ tools these days in the state, he said.

Pointing out that the State’s three international airports can play a big role in the growth of IT in the state, he urged the government to initiate states to ensure that more flights are operated to various destinations in Europe too. This focus on flights to the Middle East can continue, he added.

The event also marked the formal launch of Nasscom’s industry standard assessment and certification programme, christened Nasscom Assessment of Competence (NAC), in Kerala, in association with the State government. The NAC has been launched to ensure the transformation of a trainable workforce into an employable workforce and thereby create a robust and continuous pipeline of talent.

Pointing out that venture funding for young entrepreneurs would be a welcome step, Karnik went on to add that money inflow to help entrepreneurial ventures need be ensured. Calling upon the academia and the IT industry to boost a two-way flow between them, he also stressed on the introduction of the finishing school concept to mould skilled professionals.

The meet was inaugurated by Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan, who said that the State government was keen on setting up finishing schools in the State as has been outlined in the IT policy of the State government.

Google says world could use Asian privacy approach

2007-09-14T21:54:00.001-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO, US: Google Inc, the world's largest Internet company, will propose at a meeting of European policymakers in France today that national regulators agree on a basic set of global privacy protections.

Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel, will use a regional UNESCO conference in Strasbourg as a forum to call on countries to adopt as a global standard a set of privacy principles agreed to by a variety of Asia-Pacific countries.

Speaking to reporters by phone on Thursday from France, Fleischer said the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Privacy Framework principles governing the use of personal data in commercial contexts represented the baseline privacy rules.

The APEC guidelines have been accepted by countries ranging from Australia, with its stringent European-influenced privacy polices, all the way to the Communist government of Vietnam, where privacy demands have grown as free markets take root.

"If privacy principles can be agreed in such divergent countries, then we think that is a model for the rest of the world," Fleischer told reporters. Generally, he added, "what we see is a lack of privacy standards" around the globe.

Fleischer said it was vital for the health of the Internet, the global economy and Google's own business agenda to move beyond the current patchwork of conflicting privacy rules.

He described a typical online shopping scenario involving a French consumer using a U.S. company's online service. The U.S. firm might have data centers in multiple countries, perhaps Belgium and Ireland in the case of a French consumer. Customer service for the transaction might be handled out of India.

"Every time a person uses a credit card their information may cross six or seven national boundaries," Fleischer said.

Europe operates under a harmonized set of strict privacy regulations, but these rules were set forth in 1995, largely before the rise of the commercial Internet, he said.

By contrast, the United States has no all-encompassing federal privacy law but rather a scattershot approach to privacy, state by state and industry by industry. Meanwhile, Canada offers a hybrid approach between the two camps.

Google has recently stepped up a push for policy changes and industry self-regulation to fend off criticism over the unprecedented access to personal information the Web provides.

Because its stated mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible, Google has come under fire for the threat its services pose to privacy.

A recent move to acquire online advertising tools supplier DoubleClick Inc has put Google under increased scrutiny by U.S. regulators concerned by its growing power in online advertising and the mounds of data on surfing habits that Google stores.

APEC's framework aims to harmonize the privacy perspectives of economic powers like the United States and China with Asian and European traditions reflected in the policies of Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Fleischer will argue.

The framework's nine principles focus on preventing harm to the privacy of individuals, safeguards on data collection, notification of users, access and correction of inaccurate data and the commercial uses of private information.

Google will present its ideas to national privacy commissioners meeting in Montreal later in September.

Also at that meeting, Google plans to sit down with rivals Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Yahoo Inc to discuss further self-regulation steps the Internet industry can take such as curtailing how long it stores user data, he said.

Asked why the Silicon Valley company is pressing a privacy policy agenda abroad rather than in Washington, Fleischer professed resignation about simplifying U.S. privacy policies.

"I just don't believe it will happen in this Congress," he said. "World debate will help foster U.S. debate."

Mumbai realty major to build Cybercity in Kochi

2007-09-14T21:53:00.001-07:00

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA: The Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), the Mumbai-based realty major, will invest as much as Rs 2000 crore in a new IT park near Kochi in Kerala.

The project, to be called HDIL Cybercity will come up at Kalamassery on 70 acres of land.

HDIL top executives have made presentations to the Kerala government on the proposed project and are awaiting clearance. Company officials said that they expect to kick off work on the Cybercity in a month’s time.

According to Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan, chairman, HDIL the park will have a total built up area of 7.9 million sq. ft. and the company will make its investment for the project through its subsidiary company Blue Star Realtors Pvt Ltd.

Wadhawan added that of the total 70 acres of land, as much as 5.4 million sq ft will be earmarked for big IT ventures. The remaining area would house hotels, service apartments, shopping malls, clubhouses, schools and residential apartments.

The entire project is expected to take as many as nine million man-days for completion, it is learnt.

HDIL Cybercity will generate as many as generate 65,000 new jobs, with the IT companies to provide at least 60,000 employment opportunities. The malls, schools and hotels will account for the rest,” according to the HDIL chief.

The Mumbai-based realty major, a part of the Wadhawan group, is a known name in construction and development of IT parks. Among its projects include the ongoing mega projects at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Hyderabad, Pune.

The HDIL Cybercity is expected to add another feather to the IT-savvy city of Kochi which is already seeing boom time ahead with the Infopark and the proposed Smart City set to rewrite its infotech fortunes.

On-demand digital content publishing tool for SMEs

2007-09-14T21:51:00.003-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Small businesses, start-up companies and budding entrepreneurs can now compete with their larger rivals for an online presence, thanks to a free, on-demand, digital content publishing tool from YUDU Media.

YUDU Publishing Freedom allows users to convert printed documents in seconds, transforming them in to professional digital content, which can then be published online and shared with existing and prospective customers around the globe. The content takes the form of a digital edition, allowing readers to consume the information in an easy-to-read format.

Traditionally, small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) have lacked the funding and in-house resources to self-publish digital content. YUDU Publishing Freedom makes getting content on to the Internet extremely simple and fast; and because the tool is completely free, it is accessible to all companies and individuals.

Richard Stephenson, chairman, YUDU Media, comments: "Traditionally, large-scale publishing has been beyond the budgets of SMEs and individuals. YUDU Publishing Freedom finally puts an end to this stranglehold and redresses the balance."

"Smaller organizations can use YUDU Publishing Freedom to ensure they occupy a significant online space, empowering them to produce digital content to a standard that has until now been unattainable because of prohibitive costs."

"The possibilities for YUDU Publishing Freedom are endless - any business or entrepreneur that uses printed material, or produces written or creative design material, can convert it easily in to vibrant, digital content that can be shared globally with the online community quickly and effortlessly," he adds.

Oki launches IP telephony products in Spain

2007-09-14T21:51:00.001-07:00

TOKYO, JAPAN: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. today launched the IP and mobile key telephone system, "IPstage SX" in the Spanish market. The product will be sold and supported through Oki Data Corp.'s subsidiary in Spain, Oki Systems (Iberica), S.A.U. The company will offer IP telephony products to the enterprise market, in particular the small and medium size businesses (SMB).

"We are delighted to introduce our IPstage to the Spanish market. While maintaining the functions and cost effectiveness which former key telephone systems had, we can now offer advanced IP telephony systems to SMBs, leveraging our strong track record in IP-PBX," said Masashi Tsuboi, president of IP Systems Company at Oki Electric Industry. "Because sales and support will be done locally, we believe SMBs in Spain can now enjoy high-level voice communications that meet their needs."

The IPstage SX can link applications and conduct video conferencing for up to four people, functions that were previously only offered in systems for large-scale companies. It connects to fixed phones such as the "Multi key telephone IP30DKW," the IP multifunctional phone and the "Multi key telephone Ri," a multifunctional phone. It also connects to Com@WILL, OKI's software phone used on PCs.

OKI introduced the IPstage SX and IPstage MX to the Japanese market in October 2006, and in China in November. In April 2007, based on a strategic alliance with Avaya GlobalConnect Ltd., OKI has been offering IPstage EX100 to the Indian market. In addition, OKI provides the IPstage SX to Thailand and Singapore. With the launch in Spain, OKI continues to expand its global offerings.

Mistral enables India's first next-gen VPX-based solution

2007-09-14T21:48:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE: Mistral Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a leading provider of technology solutions and professional services in the embedded space, announced that it has enabled the implementation of the first VPX-based solution in the Indian market.

DRDO, a research organization of the Indian Ministry of Defence, will be the first to acquire Curtiss Wright’s CHAMP AV-6 quad signal processor VPX engine and the VPX6-185 single board computer from Mistral. This marks the advent of the VPX technology in India and represents an important milestone in the Indian defense arena.

The military/aerospace sector has always been constrained with the need for systems with increased bandwidth and improved power provisioning. The development of the next-generation high-performance backplane architecture: VPX (VITA 46) addresses these requirements. Boards and systems based on the VPX standards redefine the limits of performance and ruggedization with unprecedented backplane I/O connectivity.

The new VPX standard breaks out from the traditional connector scheme of VMEbus to merge the latest in connector and packaging technology with the latest in bus and serial fabric technology. It uses an innovative connector system to deliver significantly greater signal density and electrical performance than is available with the VME64x architecture. VPX combines best-in-class technologies to assure a very long technology cycle similar to that of the original VMEbus solutions and is specifically designed to meet demanding military/aerospace applications.

“Mistral has been working closely with the Defense fraternity in helping them leverage the benefits of the innovative VPX technology.” stated Ramanan J. V., AGM - Systems Engineering, Mistral Solutions. “We initiated numerous technical discussions with key decision makers highlighting the need for adopting the latest VPX technology to overhaul their system performance and to achieve maximized systems longevity.
The Defense industry’s response to the VPX technology has been extremely positive. Organisations are constantly engaging Mistral, not only as a COTS VPX supplier, but also as a consultant to use this technology successfully.”

IBM unveils semicon technology for future mobile devices

2007-09-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

SANTA CLARA, CA: At the annual FSA Suppliers Expo and Conference, IBM announced the introduction of a new semiconductor technology designed for mobile handset and wireless technology markets. This new offering will enable chipset providers for mobile devices to further reduce the complexity of their components -- representing a significant savings in manufacturing costs for the next generation of mobile phones, laptops and other portable communication devices.

This new semiconductor technology -- named CMOS 7RF SOI -- is designed to enable single-chip Radio Frequency (RF) solutions by integrating the multiple RF/analog functions of today's handsets -- such as multi-mode/multi-band RF switches, complex switch biasing networks, and power controllers -- into single-chip solutions for mobile devices.

Single-chip solutions address the need for fully integrated multimedia functionality on low-cost handsets, providing entry-level users in emerging markets such as China, India and Latin America with affordable, power-efficient and high-performance mobile devices.

As this technology evolves, it could create additional integration opportunities that include filter, power amplifier, power management and receiver/transmitter functions -- the types of integration possibilities that are cost-prohibitive or technically unfeasible with semiconductor technology used in mobile devices today. Supporting this integration pathway is an array of IBM engineering and go-to-marketing services that will help clients solve challenges related tocomponent design and manufacturing.

"CMOS 7RF SOI is yet another example of how we deliver advanced, cost-effective features for integration and performance that are new to both our clients and the industry," said Steve Longoria, vice president for Semiconductor Solutions, IBM Global Engineering Solutions. "Our clients can turn to IBM for lower cost solutions, with the assurance of a stable technology base founded on our years of experience in manufacturing CMOS, RF CMOS and silicon germanium technologies."

The 180-nm CMOS 7RF SOI is tailored for RF switch applications that provide a low-cost alternative to solutions based on gallium arsenide (GaAs). The breakthrough technology in SOI can minimize insertion loss and maximize isolation to help avoid issues such as loss of signal or dropped calls, potentially enabling significant cost advantages to mobile handsets.

Initial hardware evaluations have been completed; general availability for design kits is planned for the first half of 2008.

IBM researchers bring printing to the nanoscale

2007-09-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: IBM researchers in collaboration with scientists from the ETH Zurich have demonstrated a new, efficient and precise technique to print at the nanoscale. The method could advance the development of nanoscale biosensors, of lenses that can bend light inside future optical chips, and the fabrication of nanowires that might be the basis of tomorrow's computer chips.

The achievement, published in the September issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, offers a promising and powerful new tool for use in a wide range of fields and industries such as biomedicine, electronics and IT that seek ways to exploit the often unique properties of so-called nanoparticles, i.e. particles that are smaller than 100 nanometers.

Until now, standard top-down microfabrication techniques produce such tiny particles by in effect carving them out of a bigger piece of material. Printing, in contrast, adds ready-made nanoparticles onto a surface in a very efficient way and thus facilitates the combination of different materials such as metals, polymers, semiconductors, and oxides.

For the first time, IBM researchers have printed particles as tiny as 60 nanometers—roughly 100 times smaller than a human red blood cell—with single-particle resolution to create nanopatterns ranging from simple lines to complex arrangements. Translating their resolution into "dots per inch" (dpi), a standard measure that defines how many individual spots of ink can be printed on a certain area, the nanoprinting method yields 100,000 dots per inch, whereas common offset printing today operates with 1,500 dpi.

To demonstrate the efficiency and the versatility of their method, IBM researchers chose to print Robert Fludd's famous 17th-century drawing of the sun, which was alchemists' symbol for gold. Quite fittingly, it is printed out of roughly 20,000 gold particles, each of them 60 nanometers in diameter. The printing method precisely placed one particle per dot, thus creating the smallest piece of artwork ever printed from single pigment particles.
Nanoprinting applications

"This method opens up new ways to precisely and efficiently position various kinds of nanoparticles on different surfaces, a prerequisite for exploiting the unique properties of such nanoparticles and for making their use economically feasible," explains Heiko Wolf, researcher in nanopatterning at IBM's Zurich Research Lab.

In biomedicine this printing process could, for example, be applied to the printing of large arrays of biofunctional beads that can detect and identify certain cells or markers in the body. One example could be rapid screening for cancer cells or heart attack markers. As part of new point-of-care diagnostic devices, regular arrays of functional beads could enable a fast and automated read-out that only needs the tiniest amounts of samples.

Nanoparticles can also interact with light. With the new method, optical materials with new properties could be printed, for example, for use in optoelectronic devices. So-called "metamaterials" could be created in which the printed structures are as small as the wavelength of the light and therefore act as if they were a single lens with unusual properties.

Moreover, the method holds promise for semiconductors. In one experiment, IBM researchers achieved the controlled placement of catalytic seed particles for growing semiconducting nanowires. Such nanowires are promising candidates for future transistors in microchips.
Printing on the nanoscale

"In traditional gravure printing, ink is scraped into the recessed features of a printing plate, in which pigment particles are randomly dispersed," explains Tobias Kraus of the nanopatterning team in Zurich. "In our high-resolution printing, a directed self-assembly process controls the arrangement of nanoparticles on the printing plate or template. The entire assembly is then printed onto a target surface, whereby the particle positions are precisely retained at a resolution that is three orders of magnitude higher than in conventional printing."

The printing template geometries explored include lines to produce closely-packed nanoparticle wires, which could be used in molecular electronics; regularly spaced arrays of gold particles as seeds for nanowire growth; and arbitrary arrangements, such as the printed replica of the sun. The long-range accuracy, which measures the deviation from the desired arrangement on a large area, is similar to that of microcontact printing methods. The next steps will be to refine the method to achieve even higher accuracies, as would be required for large-scale integration in microelectronics, as well as to extend the method to print even smaller particles.

IBM, pioneering nanotechnology
The breakthrough also comes just two weeks after IBM unveiled two major scientific achievements at the atomic scale: one of them a major step in understanding the ability for single atoms to maintain a specific magnetic direction, making them suitable for future data storage applications and the other a novel, very robust and stable single-molecule switch that can be used as a modular building block for molecular computers.

The scientific paper entitled "Nanoprinting printing with single-particle resolution" has been published in Nature Nanotechnology, Vol 2, No 9, pp. 570 - 576. The authors of the report are Tobias Kraus, IBM Zurich Research Laboratory and ETH Zurich, Laurent Malaquin, Heinz Schmid, Walter Riess, and Heiko Wolf of IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory in Switzerland, and Nicholas Spencer of the ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Intel has not approached the Centre to set up fab: IT dept

2007-09-14T21:45:00.002-07:00

NEW DELHI: The Department of Information Technology today refuted Intel chairman Craig Barrett’s charge that the government’s delay in announcing a semiconductor policy has forced the global chipmaker to shift its fab to China and Vietnam from India.

Jainder Singh, secretary, Department of Information Technology, said Intel has not approached the government of India to set up a fab in the country. Instead, it approached the government with a proposal for an Assembly Test Mark and Pack (ATMP) unit. “They (Intel officials) have approached us for the ATMP plant, and not for a fab. They were never in discussion with us on setting up a fab in India. It has nothing to do with the government’s semiconductor policy, which they claim,” Singh told CyberMedia News. Barrett, while inaugurating a tele healthcare project at Tindivanam in Tamil Nadu last week, had told reporters that Intel has committed to set up a fab elsewhere.

“When we need more capacity we will consider a fab here. The Indian programme for semiconductor manufacturing was not as timely and we had already made prior commitments elsewhere,” the Intel chairman said during his ninth visit to the country. Intel had already started working on its $2.5 billion chip plant – Fab 68 – in northeast China. India announced its semiconductor policy in February this year.

Meet on semicon guidelines

Meanwhile, the Union Minister of Communications and IT A Raja has convened a meeting this afternoon to discuss the semiconductor guidelines. Raja, who was speaking on the sidelines of the Interpol’s 7th Conference on Cyber Crime, refused to divulge further details. With the government likely to announce the semiconductor guidance, hordes of companies are in the foray to set up chip manufacturing units in the country.

According to official records a number of companies have evinced interest in setting up units. SemIndia Inc has shown interest in setting up a $3 billion wafer fab. Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (HSMC) in collaboration with Infineon Technologies has proposed to invest $4 billion in the fabrication unit. Moser Baer has announced to establish a thin film solar fab in Noida with an investment of $250 million. For manufacturing solar photovoltaic modules in India, Signet Solar is planning to invest $2 billion. Reports said Reliance Industries is also planning to enter the chip- manufacturing arena.

Sybase launches PowerBuilder 11 for .NET and PowerDesigner 12.5 in India

2007-09-14T21:45:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Sybase India, a leading provider of enterprise infrastructure and mobility solutions has announced the launch of two major solutions for the regional enterprise sector, the new PowerBuilder 11 for .NET and PowerDesigner 12.5. The new version of PowerBuilder for .Net will enable fast and easy deployment of data-driven applications and the PowerDesigner 12.5 will help enterprises build or re-engineer business applications quickly, cost-effectively and consistently.

Talking to CIOL, Dave Fish, Technical Evanelist Development Tools at Sybase said, ``Sybase has launched our new solutions - PowerBuilder 11 for .NET and PowerDesigner 12.5 for the Indian market. PowerBuilder is Sybase's biggest products and we have an aggressive growth strategy for these products in India. With this, we will increase our customer base in India as well.’’

Sources indicate that presently Sybase has a customer base of 350 enterprise customers in India and is growing at about 180 percent annually to touch 500 by 2010.

Sybase, over the years, has transformed PowerBuilder remarkably. While PowerBuilder 8 was notable for adding web application development, PowerBuilder 9 added an EJB client, support for Java Server Pages (JSP), the PowerBuilder native interface (PBNI) and initial XML and web services support. PowerBuilder 10.0, on the other hand, added an array of important infrastructural additions including Unicode, object modeling, an XML DataWindow, UDDI support, as well as mobile client support.

Now, Sybase PowerBuilder 11 goes one step further in transforming itself into a premier 4GL rapid application development (RAD) tool. Building on its strength of quickly developing data-driven applications necessary to critical business functions, PowerBuilder 11 provides developers with the simplest, easiest and most cost-effective way to deploy applications on the .NET platform.

“PowerBuilder 11 continues to support integration with J2EE environments and Win32 applications. Integration with the leading development platforms provides a more open, flexible environment for developers with heterogeneous platform requirements,” adds Fish. “PowerBuilder also offers increased productivity as it enables less complex coding and shorter development cycles than applications built with 3GL level tools.''

Fish says that after the leaders Microsoft's Virtual Studio and Eclipse, Sybase's PowerBuilder now occupies the third position along with Delphi from Borland in this space. Sybase’s PowerDesigner 12.5, an all-in-one modeling and design solution. The solution is meant for enterprises that need to build or re-engineer business applications quickly, cost-effectively and consistently.

Supporting more than 60 databases and leading development environments including Sybase Workspace, Sybase PowerBuilder, Java, the Eclipse open source development environment, and Microsoft Visual Studio, Sybase PowerDesigner combines business process modeling with unified modeling language (UML) and data modeling to make possible open, cross-platform information architectures that securely deliver information anytime, anywhere.

Regarding Sybase setting up a development centre for PowerBuilder in India, John Strano, Senior System Consultant Solutions & OEM Engineering at Sybase said, ``Sybase has a R&D facility in Pune with about 250 engineers into servers and ASE, but have no plans to set up a development center for PowerBuilder in India. Presently, the development is done at Singapore, Beijing and Concord in Massachusetts.

Fingerprint security in desktop PCs

2007-09-13T08:51:00.001-07:00

LG Electronics India has introduced desktop PCs with fingerprint reader technology that ensures enhanced security features like file protection, complete security of data, secure and easy web transaction which makes it one of its kind in the market. With this technically advanced desktops PCs, one need not remember the password of the computer every time they login.

This biometric security feature allows login access only to the pre-identified users through their fingerprint. While, there are many models in fingerprint security desktop PCs with varying configurations, the standard model comes with a Intel Pentium dual core processor 3.0, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, multimedia keyboard, optical mouse and 17-inch CRT monitor with Microsoft XP Home. LG also offers built to order configurations for enterprise and corporate segments with this security feature.

Source DQ Channels

HP launches infrastructure soln 'in-a- box'

2007-09-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Hewlett Packard (HP) today launched an infrastructure solution "Shorty," designed specifically to enable mid-size and growing companies - accelerate growth and reduce operating costs.

Shorty is a compact c3000 enclosure for smaller technology sites, branch offices and remote locations. Implementation of the c3000 requires no special power, cooling or staff, easing midsize customers' ability to gain the benefits of a fully bladed environment.

New HP research indicates that two-thirds of mid-size businesses want technology offerings that meet their needs and are created just for them.

"HP's new suite of solutions caters specifically to the unique needs of mid-size and growing businesses in India," said Hemant Tiwari, director, Enterprise Server and Storage, Technology Solutions Group, HP India. "Mid-size customers have big expectations for customization which are often tempered by restrictions of time, budget, power and staff. With these solutions, HP enables these businesses to take advantage of the benefits that a bladed infrastructure delivers."

The new products, backed by a set of HP Care Pack services, expand HP's Adaptive Infrastructure portfolio, which helps customers of all sizes reap the benefits of an infrastructure tailored to meet their business requirements.

"Continuing its growth and leadership in the industry standard server space, HP is proud to announce the latest addition to its solution portfolio," said Rajesh Dhar, country manager, Industry Standard Servers, HP India. "The c3000 is truly a 'deploy anywhere, do anything' infrastructure that is easy to manage and architected for growth."

Simple, all-in-one design adds savings to the bottom line

The HP BladeSystem c3000 reduces the time and cost it takes to deploy new business applications, enabling lean IT teams to deliver big business outcomes. Savings can then be redirected to other initiatives to fund future growth. Customers realize:

· Power and cooling savings of up to 30 percent

· Storage-area networking (SAN) connection costs reduced up to 60 percent

· Cabling reduced by up to 94 percent, which lowers costs and complexity

· Breakeven costs at three to five server blades

For the first time, customers with space and IT staffing constraints can take advantage of the business benefits that a bladed infrastructure delivers.

The rack-based c3000 features a compact 10.5-inch-high design that fits up to eight blades, plugs into a standard 110- or 220-volt wall outlet and provides easy-to-connect networking. The tower version of the c3000, expected to be available in November, is outfitted with the same features and will require only two square feet of floor space.

The c3000 has full compatibility with the existing line of HP BladeSystem c-Class servers and network connectivity options. It also supports the HP ProLiant, Integrity and StorageWorks server and storage blades

FLAG bags CERN Ethernet contract

2007-09-13T08:46:00.001-07:00

MUMBAI, INDIA: FLAG Telecom Group Limited (FLAG), a subsidiary of Reliance Communications Limited, has signed a contract with CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire), the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

FLAG would provide Gigabit Ethernet connectivity between CERN’s research center in Geneva, Switzerland and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, India, FLAG said in a release on Wednesday.

CERN’s requires a solution that delivers uninterrupted, best-in-class, flexible high bandwidth capacity allowing its Indian data center partner, TIFR, access to the enormous data volumes generated by CERN’s particle experiments program in Geneva, Switzerland.

Punit Garg, president of FLAG, said, “We have long since been developing our Ethernet service across our global network and firmly believe it to be the cornerstone of next generation networks. The global Ethernet market is predicted to swell to $25 billion by 2010 and we are intensifying our focus on addressing it.”

David Foster, head of Networking and Communications Systems at CERN, said, “This is an important milestone showing how large-scale scientific projects like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), being built at CERN, unify communities worldwide. The substantially increased connectivity provided by FLAG will enable the TIFR to fully collaborate as part of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). This grid involves over 150 institutes around the globe in the storage and analysis of petabytes of scientific data.”

HID expands multiCLASS product line

2007-09-13T08:45:00.002-07:00

BANGALORE: HID Global, secure identity solutions provider, has launched new additions to its multiCLASS product line.

The enhancements combine 125 kHz proximity and 13.56 MHz contactless smart card and reader technologies into a single reader, providing additional support for users upgrading from the proximity cards to the contactless smart cards, HID said in a statement on Tuesday.

The RP15, a new reader designed to simplify MiniProx retrofit replacement, providing a simple installation solution for customers upgrading from the widely used MiniProx readers to high performance contactless smart cards capabilities; and RPK40, a multi-technology keypad reader that combines contactless card presentation with a personal identification number (PIN) to support dual-factor identity authentication.

"With further product line enhancements, the multiCLASS reader line is the ultimate migration tool. With our unique card technology read selection feature, customers have endless card management flexibility, with security and simplicity," said Damon Dageenakis, HID's product manager, Reader Products.

With multiCLASS, the customer has the ability to transition to contactless smart cards over time while incorporating the use of multiple card technologies within a single building or across multiple facilities. Additionally, customers can transition from disparate proximity technologies to a unified contactless smart card solution from HID.

HID statement added that the readers are capable of reading some of the most 13.56 MHz contactless access control technologies including: iCLASS, ISO 14443B, ISO 14443A CSN (MIFARE, DESFire), ISO 15693 CSN and US Government PIV II credentials.

The readers are scheduled for shipment in early Q4 2007.

Rediff iLand goes local

2007-09-13T08:45:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Rediff.com has announced the addition of eight new languages to its blogging and social networking platform Rediff iLand.

The initiative will enable Indian users to express their opinion and views in the language of their choice by doing away with the language barrier, Rediff said in a release.

Rediff iLand will now support eight new languages like Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telgu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Gujarati, allowing users to express themselves in the language they are most comfortable with.

Users will be able to use the normal keyboard to type in english alphabets using the QWERTY keyboard to input words in other languages easily on the basis of phonetics to create language blogs on Rediff iLand.

Manish Agarwal, vice president Marketing Rediff.com, said, “Indians reading blogs frequently are increasing at fast pace and removal of language barrier will further hasten the growth of blogging in India and on Rediff iLand.”

Wipro launches supercomputers

2007-09-13T08:44:00.002-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Wipro Infotech, in partnership with California-based Z RESEARCH Inc has launched Supernova - a range of supercomputers and superstorage in India.

Speaking at the launch, Ashutosh Vaidya, vice president, Wipro Personal Computing, said, “Till now India was known for low-cost and services, but today, we have the talent and people, and companies are looking at India to set up R&D and design centers.”

“The trend of leveraging India’s skills in engineering and industrial design work is gaining momentum. For this, customers need sustainable supercomputing infrastructure,” he added.

According to the partnership, Z RESEARCH specialized in commoditizing supercomputers and superstorage, would provide domain expertise and software and Wipro extends support capability, hardware, internal R&D expertise and market reach. “Wipro gets Gluster HPC – supercomputer and Gluster FS- Superstorage software stack from the Z RESEARCH. Wipro engages in entire clustering, system integration, service sustenance and support,” said Vaidya.

He further added that Supernova is made affordable to reach the huge segment of India. It is easily manageable and deployable. It is targeted to meet the data crunching and storage needs of the engineering institutes, R&D centers and other high end design space.

Supercomputer is based on Open Source, standard based product and not proprietary, seamlessly scalable from one Teraflop to 100s of Petaflops. Superstorage can scale to several Petabytes and is fully POSIX compliant. It also provides for self-healing, continue data protection and de-duplication.

“The entry level one-Teraflop supercomputer with one-Terabyte storage would cost Rs 25 lakhs,” Vaidya informed.

Anand Babu, co-founder of Z RESEARCH, said, “India is a vital market for us and we are excited to bring supercomputing and massive distributed clustered storage technology and solutions to India by partnering with Wipro."

“There is huge demand for storage in media, Internet space and other segments. Currently, high end computing market globally is estimated at $35 billion,” Babu added.

Speaking about the addressable market, Vaidya added that initially Wipro plans to tap the Indian market and later would look at the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

IBM ventures into Jaipur

2007-09-13T08:44:00.001-07:00

JAIPUR, INDIA: IBM India has announced the launch of the SME operations in Jaipur, as part of its expansion plans to enter 14 new cities in the country.

This would enable IBM to cater to specific requirements to enable customized services to SMB clients in Jaipur and neighboring markets.

“Opening the latest centre in Jaipur clearly demonstrates our ongoing commitment to help SMB clients succeed in an already competitive marketplace. By empowering SMBs clients in the Textiles, Travel and Tourism, Government, Gems and Cement industries with technology we offer them the opportunity to be an integral part of India’s growth story,” said Ramesh Narasimhan, director – GSMB, IBM India/ South Asia.

IDEA joins AMI alliance

2007-09-13T08:41:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI: IDEA Cellular Limited, a mobile services provider, has joined ‘Asia Mobility Initiative’ (AMI) - Asia’s premier regional international roaming alliance.

This alliance, will give IDEA customers an assured and seamless roaming experience along with great value in terms of support for best practices in the global telecom industry and access to products and services across all the represented countries.

Pradeep Shrivastava, chief marketing officer, IDEA Cellular Limited, said, “Through this alliance, IDEA Cellular has not only consolidated its leadership position in the international telecom industry but has also proved that it can do so by keeping the customer’s preferences right at the top by enabling them to enjoy effortless, affordable and best quality roaming services with an international experience.”

Steven Chan, executive director, AMI, said, “AMI Alliance provides a platform for its members to foster preferential relationships and collaborate to create new cross border services that generate new revenue streams. This is done through constant member feedback, communication and cooperation in developing and launching enhanced services and promotions across the region.”

The six members of the AMI alliance are: IDEA Cellular (India), Celcom (Malaysia), MobileOne (Singapore), Excelcomindo (Indonesia), Telstra (Australia) and DTAC (Thailand). AMI members have a combined subscriber base of over 58 million which means IDEA will now host a huge customer base of users who may want to travel to India.

Aricent to acquire DataLinx

2007-09-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Aricent, full-spectrum communications software company, has announced that it has entered into a strategic agreement with DataLinx, the US communications software and solutions firm.

Aricent also announced the launch of 3G and 4G development and testing center in Mexico, and it has won Ukrtelecom as a new client, to address the high growth Eastern European and Central Asian telecom markets from its Ukraine development center.

“Our continued expansion in the Americas, Europe and Asia allows us to be near our customers and work very closely with them in the same time zone,” said Ash Bhardwaj, CEO, Aricent. “Aricent’s growing footprint also allows us to hire outstanding communications software talent on a worldwide basis.”

As part of its strategic expansion, in the last year Aricent has launched new development centers in China and the United Kingdom while expanding its existing centers in India and Ukraine.

ST intros secure MCUs based on 0.13-micron technology

2007-09-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

GENEVA: STMicroelectronics announced a new family of secure microcontrollers based on a 0.13-micron state-of-the-art process technology, which are intended for banking, loyalty card and other financial applications. This advanced family is based on the new ST23 secure platform, which takes advantage of the most recent improvements in security technology and offers optimized computing power for advanced secure applications.

The ST23YS02 and ST23YS08 integrate 2 and 8 Kbytes of EEPROM, respectively. Competitive pricing, aided by their 0.13-micron manufacturing process, makes them ideal for a range of finance applications, but particularly for EMV migration from magnetic stripe to SDA (Static Data Authentication) Chip and PIN cards. A simplified architecture makes them easy to use to further reduce costs for code developers.

Both MCUs embed an eDES (enhanced DES) accelerator and support AES (Advanced Encryption Services) cryptography, and are certified to meet current EMVCo requirements. They provide ISO and IART interfaces, with planned additions to the family including crypto-processor and contactless products.

“ST’s new 0.13-micron family builds on more than 20 years experience in the design and manufacture of secure products for the banking industry, and is supported by our expertise in advanced non-volatile memories,” said Marie-France Florentin, ST’s Smartcard ICs Business Director. “Incorporating the security improvements developed over the last two years, the first small-memory devices in the family offer highly cost effective solutions for SDA migration and loyalty cards.”

Nasscom to recognise 'disruptive' innovators

2007-09-13T08:37:00.002-07:00

In an exclusive interview, Rajdeep Sahrawat, vice president of Nasscom told R Jai Krishna of CyberMedia News that the awards this time, will aim to highlight different facets of IT innovation in India. Excerpts:

How different would be the forthcoming edition of Nasscom Innovation Awards?

The Nasscom Innovation Awards have grown into a prestigious platform, which recognizes the best of the best innovators in the Indian IT-BPO industry. The awards, which are into the third year now, have been re-looked at in terms of categories.

We have rejigged the whole model and done away with traditional model of selecting the awardees by classifying into innovations in terms of products, customer-focussed and also internal processes, which we see as a potential trend. Another significant aspect of the forthcoming awards is the introduction of ‘Young Innovators’ award, which will again recognise companies that are less than three years in the industry.

Overall, we will be recognising ‘disruptive’ innovation, which has not been the Indian prowess, though we had innovations in products, process and business models.

Could you elaborate on the various categories for the third edition of Innovation Awards?

The Nasscom Innovation Awards 2007 aim to highlight different facets of IT innovation in India –market facing innovation, process, and input innovation.

Market facing innovation, are innovations in areas that impact a firm’s markets. These could be new products or services, new customer segments, business models and the like. Innovations in this area have typically a direct correlation with the revenue of a firm.

Process innovations are innovations related to how different processes are managed within a company to increase the firms’ competitiveness in the IT market. Especially, in the BPO sector lots of these innovations happen, but are left unrecognised.

Input innovations, will be related to inputs, which are brought into a firm. Examples of typical inputs into a firm would include talent, capital and technology. For these, the companies will be typically small and medium-sized but have the innovation, which will again form the competitive advantage.

What do the winning companies gain apart from the award and recognition?

The Nasscom Innovation Awards encourages, supports and rewards innovative approaches and breakthrough solutions and recognize the people and the organizations behind these innovations. Winning the Nasscom Innovation Award can open a world of opportunities.

The awardees will receive support from Nasscom, through suggested partners, providing maximum value to these companies. Industry leaders will offer mentoring or someone nominated from the larger players who can spend time with the finalists. These companies get an opportunity to be in trade delegations where they can showcase their strengths.

The finalists will gain visibility among peer associations in other countries and we will also nominate them to the APICTA and Red Herring Awards, apart from spotlighting them at the Nasscom India Leadership Summit.

The companies will also be profiled in a unique book, 100 IT Innovators brought out by Nasscom. The book will contain profiles and innovations of successful participants. The companies get visibility on Nasscom’s website, which will showcase and promote the. And finally the awards will form a platform for mentoring, investors access through SDforum.

Overview

The term “Innovation” refers to changes to products, services, processes or business models. In the organizational context, innovation may be linked to performance and growth through improvements in efficiency, productivity, quality, competitive positioning, market share, etc. Future winners will be decided based on their capability to innovate and translate their innovations into financial results.

After its remarkable growth in the past two decades, the Indian IT-BPO industry is now a credible player on the world stage, and many Indian firms are acknowledged as potent challengers to global incumbents. The primary engine of the Indian industry’s growth has been India’s low-cost talent pool. The industry has taken the initiative in leveraging this cost advantage to fuel growth. To continue their growth and to attain newer heights, Indian firms need to recognize the importance of “Innovation” for maintaining their competitive edge and fuelling further growth.

The industry therefore is at an inflection point and needs to differentiate itself by creating new sources of competitive advantage through sustained innovation. Clearly, the innovation revolution has to be nurtured and catalyzed by the Indian IT-BPO industry. We’d like you to be a part of this great new voyage, which will take the sector as well as India towards a new tomorrow.

Wikipedia publishes 2-millionth article in English

2007-09-13T08:37:00.001-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO, US: Wikipedia published its 2-millionth article in the English language version of the anyone-can-edit encyclopedia, a symbolic milestone for the world's largest user-generated Web publishing site.

Wikipedia, the sixth most visited network of Web sites worldwide behind commercial operators Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Time Warner and eBay, is available in 250 languages. Combined, Wikipedia has published more than eight million articles.

On Sept. 10, an article on "El Hormiguero," a popular Spanish TV show, was created by Wikipedia contributor Zzxc to become the 2 millionth article in the English Wikipedia. The article is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Hormiguero/

Since the reference project started in 2001, more than 100,000 registered users have made at least 10 edits each to Wikipedia articles, according to the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit charitable organization that operates Wikipedia.

The English version of Wikipedia alone has signed up 3.4 million volunteer contributors. The German and French editions of the Wikipedia, the next two largest sites, each have more than half a million articles.

Nine other language sites each have more than 100,000 articles. It has also offers versions in less common languages ranging from South Africa's Xhosa language to the hybrid Esperanto.

Wikipedia articles can be constantly improved upon because they are based on group-editing "wiki" software. A study this year by the Hewlett Packard Information Dynamics Laboratory found that the best articles on Wikipedia are those that have been edited most frequently, by the largest number of people.

Andhra bids adieu to GITEX India

2007-09-13T08:36:00.002-07:00

HYDERABAD, INDIA: The Andhra Pradesh government will replace the annual Global Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX India) with Hyderabad IT Summit, slated for March 2008.

The government decided to replace GITEX India after the annual event failed to attract global companies. This event was organised jointly with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

The Andhra Pradesh government is currently in the look out for a partner for the proposed Hyderabad IT Summit.

R. Damodar Reddy, State IT minister, who led a high-level delegation to Dubai to attend GITEX Dubai, told media persons here that he expected an investment of Rs 60 billion in IT, ITeS and Telecommunications sectors in Andhra Pradesh. He added that the Ras Al-Khaima Free Trade Zone Authority of Dubai alone was keen on investing Rs 40 billion in the State.

The delegation had held discussions with DWTC officials and various companies during its four-day long visit to the Gulf. Reddy said the State had initiated talks with Dubai Holdings, Etisalat, Dubai Internet City, Media City and other companies regarding investment in the State.

"The discussion with these companies are at a preliminary stage," he said.

Andhra Pradesh started the GITEX India in 2002.

Sahara launches new PCs and Laptops

2007-09-13T08:36:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Sahara Computers & Electronics Ltd has launched new range of Sahara Laptop and desktop computers.

The new range includes Core Duo and Core 2 Duo Laptop and desktops computers and Intel's new business Platform Santa Rosa based Laptop.

George Van Der Merwe, COO, Sahara Computers & Electronics Ltd, said, "With the launch of our range, we would be further strengthening our product portfolio and would be able to tap the niche customers looking for a best technology packed with great looks".

Sahara's new 15.4'' Wide screen Laptop is powered with Intel Core Duo Processor. Available with Windows XP, Vista and Linux as OS this laptop has 1GB DDR2-SDRAM and 120 GB HDD. The other features include a built-in High Definition Audio, Inbuilt Wireless card and Super Multi DVD -RW. It has 8 - Cell Battery a life of four hours, Wireless, LAN , HDD Access, Quick start buttons and Power button. The launch price for this Business Class Laptop has been set at Rs 35,999 excluding Taxes.

The Windows XP, Vista and Linux based Sahara Core 2 Duo Desktop Range. Starting with Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 2.0GHz 800MHz 2MB processor, 512 MB RAM, 160 GB HD and DVD-RW, and this is one of the high end PCs launched by Sahara Computers on the Intel platform. This Desktop comes with a 17" TFT monitor, multimedia keyboard and optical mouse. The introductory price of the Desktop is Rs 25,999.

The new Intel's new business Platform Santa Rosa based Laptop features Intel Core 2 DUO processor and has Intel GM 965 / GL 960 chipset. Comes with 120GB HDD with 1 GB RAM; this stylish laptop has 12.1 inches LCD Screen. It is priced at Rs 45,000.

SWsoft unveils beta of Virtuozzo 4.0

2007-09-11T18:58:00.001-07:00

HERNDON, USA: Provider of virtualization and automation software, SWsoft has unveiled the beta version of Virtuozzo 4.0 - SWsoft’s industry-leading operating system (OS) virtualization software for data centers.

Server Virtualization Software adds 50+ Features and Enhancements, Including Clustering, Real-time Backups, and a Redesigned Interface for Improved Usability, Manageability and Flexibility

SWsoft Virtuozzo is different from traditional hardware virtualization solutions in that it dynamically partitions a single Windows or Linux operating system instance into highly efficient and scalable virtual environments or "containers".

Virtuozzo 4.0’s improved OS virtualization technology solves many of the common performance, density, usability and infrastructure compatibility issues that plague traditional hardware virtualization solutions via a number of improvements and new features, including:

Enhanced Usability
A redesigned interface that offers access to centralized resources, such as easy-to-use application templates and sample containers, plus streamlined installation;

High Availability
Virtuozzo 4.0 includes several new options to drive uptime, such as Windows Server 2003 and Red Hat clustering services, as well as real-time backups across Windows and Linux platforms;

Complete Management Flexibility
Arrange and manage virtual containers and Virtuozzo servers according to either the actual hardware infrastructure, or logically group them according to user preference.

"Virtuozzo 4.0 is a major step forward in our mission to provide customers with a solution that addresses multiple key barriers to IT productivity - namely hardware and OS sprawl, manageability and uptime," said Serguei Beloussov, CEO, SWsoft.

He added, "With new enterprise-class capabilities such as clustering and real-time backups along with a host of new management and automation features, Virtuozzo is now the most effective path to a streamlined, automated datacenter."

Virtuozzo 4.0 will be available for public beta testing by the end of September, with general availability expected later this year.

Click here to get free, fully functional trial of Virtuozzo for Windows and Linux.

Huge uptake in IT services spending among India SMBs: AMI

2007-09-11T18:57:00.001-07:00

KOLKATA, INDIA: Small and medium businesses (SMBs, or companies with up to 999 employees) in India are on track to top US$900 million in IT services spending, including both product support and professional services. This is up more than 19 percent from last year, which is a similarly high growth rate from the year before.

This comes from the latest report by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners. Overall, the report found, long-term managed services are gaining strength even as traditional sectors like applications development and integration are losing traction. In India, managed IT services consist of end-to-end outsourcing, and discrete managed services. The latter dominates the managed IT services expenditure of SMBs currently.

“Managed IT services constitute a good chunk of the overall IT services package, which is growing faster than average market growth,” says Nirupam Chaudhuri, Research Manager with AMI Partners. “Managed services contracts, such as application and network management, desktop and server management and managed hosting services, are becoming mainstays for SMBs in India now.”

“In most cases, the primary point of contact for SMBs is the IT channel partner where a system/network integrator doubles up as the managed services vendor,” Chaudhuri says. “A good working relationship needs to be established first. The CIO or head of an SMB ideally wants to have a single point of contact while dealing with various issues related to IT infrastructure and facilities. Till now AMC (annual maintenance contracts) for hardware and software applications have constituted the bulk of SMB managed IT services spend in India. Gradually even annual maintenance contracts will mature into full-fledged discrete outsourcing deals, where the deal would entail risk sharing, 24/7 support and facilities management services.”

SMBs expect clear SLAs from services providers, including network uptime, adherence to SLA clauses, and fault-free integration with existing business and IT processes and applications. “Cost reduction, ROI and openness to out-tasking are becoming important driving factors for such engagements,” Chaudhuri says. “Routine desktop management services options have high traction and users are becoming selective while choosing the service provider. SMBs are also looking at speed of delivery, a standards-based approach, optimization of existing resources, performance measurement and proactive management before deciding infrastructure services contracts.

In India, the competition among vendors in desktop management and routine network management services is huge. The number of deals in applications management engagements – which entails SLA driven reactive/proactive application maintenance, applications optimization, upgrades automation services – is growing. There is also traction for FCAPS (fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security)-based network management from service providers. The upper tier of MBs (companies with 100 to 999 staff) has begun availing NOC (network operation centers)-based remote infrastructure management facilities as well.

IndianOil-Citibusiness card for SBPs

2007-09-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: India's leading energy brand IndianOil and Citibank, pioneers of the co-brand card product in the petroleum business, today marked a decade of successful partnership with the launch of a new co-brand card exclusively targeted at the burgeoning Small Businesses and Professionals (SBP) community.

Speaking at the launch of the new card, A.M.K. Sinha, executive director (retail sales), IndianOil said: "For IndianOil, leadership means forever innovating. As the largest energy brand in the country, we have been constantly introducing new products that will provide customers enhanced value as well as give them an opportunity to be a part of the exciting IndianOil Retail experience", he said. "The introduction of the IndianOil Citibusiness Gold Card is the latest in the bouquet of offerings from the decade-old IndianOil and Citibank partnership," he added.

T.R. Ramachandran, business manager (Cards & Unsecured Loans), Citibank N.A. said: "As pioneers of the Card industry in the country, we have always focused our products and programmes on delivering a well thought-out proposition to address customer needs. Fuel is undoubtedly amongst the top expenses for small businesses and professionals and we are delighted to expand our partnership with IndianOil to create a valuable savings advantage for the small businesses and professionals community in this area."

"As key contributors to India's continuing economic vitality, SBPs are a priority customer group for Citibank, and enrolment through the Card on the CitiBusiness platform will provide customers a truly differentiated, holistic and timely response to their need for community and advisory," he added.

The IndianOil-Citibusiness card delivers a comprehensive bouquet of benefits to the SBP highlighted by enhanced credit and cash limits and access to CitiBusiness PowerAccess, a first-of-its-kind one-stop treasure chest containing a complete assortment of value-added services and exclusive deals and discounts on business-related requirements from 11 renowned and reliable service providers.

This card also has the richest rewards program in the country and delivers up to 5 percent savings on fuel purchase on the Card at IndianOil petrol stations including a 2.5 percent surcharge waiver. As part of the IOC-CitiBusiness Turbo Rewards Program, customers will receive 4 Turbo Points per Rs. 150 spent on fuel purchases at IndianOil outlets and 1 point per Rs. 150 on all other spends. Reward points will be redeemable against fuel purchases at IOC outlets.

Dell's storage system helps SMBs handle data deluge

2007-09-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Exponential data growth affects businesses of all sizes, but Dell CEO Michael Dell believes the IT industry has under-served small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers in meeting their storage needs.

Speaking at an SMB customer town hall recently, Dell said: "Growing businesses are quickly reaching a breaking point in their ability to store and manage all this data being created. Historically, the industry has presented SMBs with two options for storage: either buy a rudimentary storage solution that lacks capacity and basic software or buy a 'de-featured' product originally designed for large businesses. So it either doesn't do enough, or it costs too much. We will change that."

Dell introduced the company's newest storage area network (SAN) array, the MD3000i, a simplified storage consolidation solution designed specifically for SMB customers.

"We are committed to simplifying IT for our customers and changing the economics of storage," he explained. "The MD3000i is a perfect example of how we drive out costs, drive up functionality, and drive industry adoption of technologies and standards to meet customer needs."

According to Steve Duplessie, senior analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group: "The storage industry always reacts to new 'lower-end' market opportunities by taking their high-cost products and dumbing them down so they can reach a lower price point. They do this to protect their high-end customer who pays a premium for high-end function, but the end result is always disappointing to the new market."

SMB customer pain points

Data growth continues unabated, yet research shows less than 20 percent of small businesses and less than one-third of medium-sized businesses use advanced storage technologies such as SANs. While 41 percent of small businesses say expanding storage capacity is a top priority for the next 12 months, Fibre Channel SANs are seen as too costly, too complex, and require special skills that many SMBs do not have.

Delivering simplicity and performance to SMB Storage

The Dell MD3000i is an easy-to-use, expandable iSCSI SAN array leveraging the modularity and availability of the Dell Modular Disk series. It provides a simplified solution - from installation to ongoing maintenance and management to powerful performance and the ability to grow as the business grows.

"iSCSI is a breakthrough technology revolutionizing storage for SMBs," said Darren Thomas, vice president and general manager, Dell Storage. "The MD3000i delivers features that a few years ago would have only been found on systems costing five to 10 times more. Complexity is the bane of the SMB customer's existence, and iSCSI cuts right through it."

"At Dell, our goal is to provide the SMB customer with a complete iSCSI-based infrastructure. This includes our PowerEdge servers, our PowerConnect network switches and PowerVault storage options that are all designed specifically for iSCSI. This solution makes it easier for our customers to get and grow the capacity they need," said Thomas.

Indian software salaries rise 19 percent

2007-09-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: A typical Indian software professional got an average salary increase of 18.7 per cent in 2007, an improvement over 18.3 per cent 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 the 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 per cent in 2007 to touch Rs. 6.2 lakh per annum. This growth is encouraging compared to a drop of 3 per cent 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 per cent 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.

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’.

IBM joins OpenOffice.org project

2007-09-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: The OpenOffice.org community has announced that IBM will be joining the community to collaborate on the development of OpenOffice.org software.

IBM will be making initial code contributions that it has been developing as part of its Lotus Notes product, including accessibility enhancements, and will be making ongoing contributions to the feature richness and code quality of OpenOffice.org.

"In the seven years since Sun founded the project, OpenOffice.org has fueled and filled the need for document data and productivity tools that are open and free. Open source software and ODF are having a profound impact around the world, with numerous communities and organizations coming together to support these initiatives and governments, and corporations and schools standardizing on the software. We look forward to working with IBM and the other members of OpenOffice.org to ensure that this momentum continues. We invite others to join us in the community and participate in building the future as OpenOffice.org and ODF continue to gain popularity across the planet,” said Rich Green, executive vice president, software at Sun Microsystems, Inc.

"IBM is very pleased to be joining the OpenOffice.org community. We are very optimistic that IBM's contribution of technology and engineering resources will provide tangible benefits to the community membership and to users of OpenOffice.org technology around the world,” said Mike Rhodin, general manager of IBM's Lotus division.

He added, "We're particularly pleased to be teaming with the community to accelerate the rate of innovation in the office productivity marketplace. We believe that this relationship will improve our ability to deliver innovative value to users of IBM products and services. We also believe that the collaboration will lead to an even broader range of ODF-supporting applications (ISO 26300) and solutions that draw from the OpenOffice.org technology."

“This is great news for the tens of millions of users of OpenOffice.org and the thousands of individual members of the project”, said John McCreesh, OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Lead.

Others involved in the project or distributing the code were equally enthusiastic about IBM's step.

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu, the Linux distribution, said, "We are excited about IBM joining Sun and other contributors to the OpenOffice.org community in pushing development of OpenOffice.org and the OpenDocument Format."

OpenOffice.org is the leading open-source productivity suite. It includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database, and other modules; it uses the ODF as its native file format as well as fully supporting other common file formats (including Microsoft Office).

The software runs on all major platforms, including Windows, Vista, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, and is available in over 100 languages.

Microsoft backs cricket to woo Indian employees

2007-09-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

SEATTLE, US: On a cloudless summer day, Manish Prabhu stares out at a converted soccer field thousands of miles from his native India and watches a cricket ball skip past some fielders dressed in white.

It is an unlikely place for a game of cricket, but Prabhu has spent hundreds of afternoons playing with the Microsoft Cricket Club on this bumpy turf near the company's campus in Redmond, Washington.

"The chance to play so much cricket surprised me," said Prabhu, a senior program manager at Microsoft Corp.'s automotive business. "There is someone in almost every business team at Microsoft that I've played cricket with."

Microsoft's cricket program -- comprising four teams that compete against other local teams -- is not just a corporate softball team for the globalization era. It is a valuable tool in keeping the company's largest minority group happy.

Competing against fast-growing technology companies in India offering jobs with handsome pay raises and quick promotions, Microsoft has to work harder these days to attract and retain the best and brightest Indian engineering talent.

Furthermore, Microsoft like many technology companies is being squeezed by U.S. immigration quotas limiting the number of work visas issued to foreign nationals.

Over the last decade, as Microsoft has nearly quadrupled its workforce, it has hired scores of computer science graduate students from India who have stay on to work in the United States after finishing graduate school here.

Employees of Indian descent estimate they make up about 15 percent of Microsoft's 35,000 workers in the greater Seattle area. The company does not keep track of such figures, but said it has made adjustments for changes in its workforce demographics.

"Our programs and policies have changed given the diversity that has come into the company," said Mylene Padolina, a senior diversity consultant at Microsoft.

Veteran "Microsofties" have noticed the changes.

Hired by Microsoft in India in 1995, Sukhvinder Singh Gulati recalls visiting the Redmond campus early in his career and finding only a handful of Indians.

"If you saw an Indian on campus, you would be jumping for joy," said Gulati, who is a senior lead program manager in Microsoft's unified communication division. "Today there are thousands and thousands of Indians working at Microsoft."

"Now people can feel at home at work," he said. "The friendships you've made at work also transfer to friendships outside the work hours. That helps a lot."

Microsoft celebrated major Indian holidays this year like Republic Day in January and Independence Day in August with on-campus events that included art displays, musical acts and special food.

Last year, Microsoft opened two Indian food stalls that operate inside the company's cafeterias. It also increased vegetarian options to suit Indian dietary needs.

Particularly noticeable to Microsoft veterans has been the increase of female Indian employees working in Redmond.

Ava Gupta, who joined the company two months ago, said she was surprised to see Indian women regularly come to work wearing a sari, traditional clothing worn in India.

"Outside of the World Bank or the United Nations, how often do you see people in America show up for work in their traditional clothing?" said Gupta, who works as a market researcher. "Here, I feel encouraged to be Indian."

Cricket World Cup

During the Cricket World Cup in March and April, Microsoft broadcast tournament matches from the Caribbean via closed circuit. Staff could watch the games from any television on campus.

Over 500 employees gathered to watch India's matches, but most of those fans went home disappointed. The team lost in the first round, dropping matches to Bangladesh and eventual runner-up Sri Lanka.

"I can tell you Microsoft saved a lot of work hours because India got knocked out early," said Prabhu.

Cricket may be a male-dominated sport in India, but Microsoft's female Indian employees are leading the way to spark the sport's growth in the greater Seattle area.

A local women's cricket league has more than 100 members and around three-quarters of those players are from Microsoft.

It's giving people like Sangita Jayaraman, a program manager at Microsoft, a chance to cash in on years of being a "couch cricketer."

"Most of us never really had the opportunity to play cricket back home," said Jayaraman. "There are probably more women playing cricket here than in all of India."

Wipro opens global center in Mexico

2007-09-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

BANGALORE: Wipro Technologies today announced the opening of its first development center in Monterrey, Mexico.

The Monterrey facility provides Wipro with the dedicated resources to service clients in North America, Latin America and Europe with bi-lingual talent in a convenient time zone and close proximity. During the first phase of operation, Wipro will have 100 seats, Wipro said in a statement.

It further strengthens the company’s global delivery model capabilities and joins such new facilities already on the network such as development centers in Brazil, Europe, China, US and Canada.

"This facility will help establish our capabilities in the Central time zone which allows us to better serve our North American clients and their operations in Latin America. In addition, this centre will also strengthen our market presence in the region,” said Dr AL Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Wipro Ltd.

Wipro made this announcement coinciding with the visit of Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, president of the United States of Mexico. As part of the visit, the Mexican President also met the Mexican employees who are currently in India for their induction and training.

IT services exports: A trillion Rupees!

2007-09-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

Is the world really flattening? A question like that may seem terribly out of place as the opening sentence of an analysis of Indian IT services exportsthe very phenomenon that gave the idea of flat world to Tom Friedman. Yet, "something" somewhere says probably the flattening forces are quite content with leveling the developing and developed worlds; they have not yet touched the Indian IT services industry. That sounds ironic, but then as they say, there is your side of the story; there is my side of the story; and then, there are facts.

And here are the factssome pointers to that "something" which forces us to play the Doubting Thomas. In FY 07, the IT services exports from India grew 37.2% to reach Rs 103647 crorethat is more than a trillion rupees! In dollar terms, this is a little more than $23 bn. Excellent by all standards.

But the big seem to be getting far bigger than the rest. The Top 20 exporters grew 44.2%much faster than the industry average. In other words, the gap between top players and the next tier is widening.

Call it the Offshore Divide if you like, this trend is noticeable within the Top 20 list itself. While the Big Three are growing at close to 40%, other offshore companies like Satyam, Patni, Syntel, Hexaware, MphasiS and SISL are all growing at less than 35%; of course, not counting IBM, HP, Capgemini, Perot and the like, whose India exports may not tell their entire story.

This is not an entirely new observation. The tier 2 offshore companies are experiencing the heat for the last three to four years, struggling to keep pace in revenue growth and more importantly in margins. Incidentally, this has been a period in which the top threeTCS, Infosys and Wiprohave clearly moved into the big league in global IT services market, competing more as equals with the traditional leaders in North America, and of late, in Europe.

While the top three companies have now started competing on their specific strengths, not to mention their proven ability to scale up; low-cost (often euphemized as the India advantage) is still the major selling point for most of the tier 2/3 companies. The me-too strategy, which works fairly well during the hype phase, is difficult to sustain in the long run. And offshoring is no more hype; it is the mainstream outsourcing strategy for corporations globally.

While there has been a lot of concern and a fair bit of analysismost of these companies are listedon the slowing down of the next tier IT services firms, this years Top 20 analysis does throw a heartening new trend-Differentiation, at least of one kindfocused playis actually paying off for companies which are pursuing it in an undiluted fashion. Take all the three IT services companies in the DQ Top 200 list that have had a three digit growth, namely, Tech Mahindra, Tata Technologies, and GlobalLogic. They have very little commonality, be it in size, growth strategies, or the kind of things that they do. But one thing puts them in one category: they are completely focused on what they do. For Tech Mahindra, it is a vertical: telecom; for Tata Technologies, it is a service line: engineering services; and for GlobalLogic: it is both: product engineering for the ISVs.

Others who have grown impressively (anywhere between 50-90%) are Geometric Software, Infotech Enterprises, Sasken, Subex, and Helios & Mathesonall share the same philosophy: undiluted focus. Yes, many of them have grown by inorganic means, but that option was available to others too, and many others have exercised that as well, but have not been able to match these focused companies in terms of growth, even with the acquisitions.

Top 20 Exporters
Rank FY 07	Rank FY 06	Company	Exports (Rs crore)		Growth (%)
Rank FY 07	Rank FY 06	Company	FY 06	FY 07	Growth (%)
1	1	TCS	11,694	16,267	39.1
2	2	Infosys	8,959	13,025	45.4
3	3	Wipro	7,462	10,354	38.8
4	4	Satyam	4,515	5,789	28.2
5	5	IBM	2,919	4,880	67.2
6	6	HCL Technologies	3,264	4,598	40.9
7	7	Cognizant	2,503	4,583	83.1
8	13	Oracle India	2,369	3,663	54.6
9	12	Tech Mahindra	1,231	2,890	134.8
10	8	Patni	2,095	2,573	22.8
11	9	HP	1,734	2,254	30.0
12	15	L&T Infotech	775	1,244	60.5
13	New	Capgemini	700	1,160	65.7
14	16	Aricent	829	1,072	29.3
15	14	Perot Systems	821	975	18.8
16	New	Syntel	735	932	26.8
17	17	Polaris	742	904	21.8
18	18	Hexaware	683	885	29.6
19	20	MphasiS	642	836	30.2
20	New	SISL	588	778	32.3
		Top 20	55,260	79,662	44.2
Source: DQ estimates CyberMedia Research
The Top 20 continue to grow faster than the industry. Oracles strong showing in exports is driven by its i-flex acquisition

It is difficult to say if focus alone will sustain the growth momentum for these companies in the long run. But for the time being, it surely is paying off. The IT services exports landscape in India is far from flat. In fact, these few companies with impressive performance, distributed throughout the list suggest that the Indian IT services exports landscape is actually spiky!

PM: A step towards innovation

2007-09-09T21:43:00.001-07:00

Concept Design (Styling, Aspects of Industrial Design)
CAD Tools (Computer Aided Design) for 2D and 3D modeling
CAE Tools (Computer Aided Engineering) for simulation and testing

Additionally, in the Manufacturing area, there are

CAM tools (Computer Aided Manufacturing) that aid in NC Programming,
Tool Path Generation,
Robotic Simulation,
Factory Layout Simulation,
Cycle Time Optimization and so on.

Together, these tools are sometimes referred to as the CAD/CAM/CAE segment of mechanical design.

With trends like Lean product development, Digital manufacturing etc, product management has taken giant leap to drive metamorphosis of product manufacturing and marketing.

HCL, Wipro join hands with Greenpeace

2007-09-09T21:42:00.002-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: A relatively new, but deadly waste stream is exploding in our midst -- electronic scrap or e-waste. India has produced about 150,000 tonnes of e-waste till date, which is annually growing at 300 percent and likely to reach 9 million tonnes by 2012, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). In order to check the growth, Greenpeace, the global environmental organization, is tackling the e-waste problem by raising this issue with computer manufacturers and the government, before it becomes an environmental and health emergency.

The CPCB report claims that India's production of high-tech waste is far higher than anticipated earlier and has generated around 146,000 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) till 2006, including computers, TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines.

India dumping ground for e-waste

Speaking to CIOL, Ramapati Kumar, team leader, Toxics of Greenpeace said: “India is a dumping ground for e-waste. Despite being an alarming issue, no legislation or regulation exists in India so far to check this. Except for a few who have shifted to manufacturing of green computers, all of the others are from the grey markets of China and Taiwan.”

In fact, Greenpeace stepped in over the use of hazardous chemicals in the manufacture of consumer goods, including the rapidly growing sector of electrical and electronic equipment. A computer, for example, contains toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and beryllium, and hazardous chemicals, such as brominated flame retardants and PVC. All of these can impact neurological, reproductive and endocrine systems, affect the kidneys and lungs, and some are even known carcinogens.

The worst culprit is the commercial and financial capital of Mumbai, although much of its WEEE is then shipped to Delhi which has become India's main recycling base, says Kumar, adding that Toxic Link's research showed Mumbai was discarding much more electronic waste than had been estimated.

He said that since India had no organised alternative for recycling, most of the country's WEEE finds its way into the "informal sector". This posed serious pollution and health risks as it involves crude methods for dismantling and storage, minimal capital input, and zero health and environmental safeguards.

Greenpeace considers that the only way to deal with the growing problem of electronic waste is for companies to design clean electronics with longer life spans, that are safe and easy to recycle and will not expose workers and the environment to hazardous chemicals.

Wipro, HCL go RoHS compliant

Earlier this year, HCL and Wipro, India’s leading computer manufacturers, have both rolled out a range of RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) complaint computers in the market. During March, HCL Infosystems Ltd introduced a complete lineup of eco-efficient consumer and business notebooks that are RoHS compliant. As a result of this compliance, these notebooks are completely safe for users and environment in general.

George Paul, executive vice president, HCL Infosystems said: "E-waste has been a subject of concern globally and nationally. HCL, as a socially responsible corporate company, has a comprehensive program to ensure the protection of environment, health and safety of all its stakeholders, which also recognizes the need to minimize the hazardous impact of e-wastes of its products on the environment. Today, we are happy to announce full RoHS-compliance of the new range of HCL laptops being manufactured in our plants."

Similarly, Wipro Infotech introduced its range of Green Ware, eco-friendly range of desktops and laptops that are RoHS compliant this July, thereby reducing substantial e-waste to the environment.

Ashutosh Vaidya, vice president, Wipro Personal Computing Division, said: “We will ensure that our products comply with eco-friendly norms being adopted worldwide and have made a substantial investment of resources. Our major milestone was achieved last September when Wipro offered free e-Waste recycling to our customers. They can come and dump their old computers at 16 centers spread across the country and we will handle the disposal.”

Greenpeace’s sustained campaign bears fruit

Besides, Greenpeace’s sustained campaign has already resulted in international market leaders like HP, Dell, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony, Sony Ericsson and Nokia committing to eliminate some of the most hazardous chemicals from their products.

By going green or RoHS compliant, HCL and Wipro have taken the first step forward in addressing the issue of e-waste, even in the absence of any legislation to this effect in India. However, the problem still persists from smaller players and the huge grey market in India, adds Kumar.

HP opens centre in Chennai

2007-09-09T21:42:00.001-07:00

CHENNAI, INDIA: Hewlett-Packard India opened a business solutions centre in Chennai in partnership with Precision Infomatic, which will offer customers a chance to experience all HP products under one roof.

According to Ashok Pamidi, Director-Commercial Accounts, SMB & Enterprise Partners, Hewlett-Packard India, “Manned by HP-trained personnel, the centre would also offer consultancy services to clients on IT deployment required for their organisations. The centre will showcase HP’s latest product portfolio including servers, desktops, notebooks, workstations, printers and accessories.

“It’s a new concept from the HP stable to cater to mid-market businesses, as mid-sized and growing business are key focus segments for HP in India,” said Ashok Pamidi.

This is the company’s first such centre and it plans to open similar centres with strong partnerships in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune in the next few months. “We propose to open around 20 such centres in the next nine months in Tier-I and Tier-II cities across the country,” he said.

Dell eyes PCs with both Linux and Windows

2007-09-09T21:39:00.002-07:00

BOSTON, US: Dell Inc. is developing consumer PCs that can run multiple versions of Microsoft Corp's Windows and Linux software at the same time, the personal computer maker's chief technology officer, Kevin Kettler, told Reuters.

Users of the new Dell PCs would be able to simultaneously run multiple, software-generated computers on one machine, using an increasingly popular technology known as virtualization.

Such PCs could go on sale as early as next year, Kettler said in an interview by telephone while attending the LinuxWorld conference in San Francisco.

He declined to say whether the machines will be able to run Apple Inc's OS X software designed for its Macintosh computers, whose sales are growing faster than the overall PC market.

"I can't speculate on that," Kettler said. "Virtualization is very powerful. It's an environment that would allow many different operating systems to co-exist. You can interpret that however you would like."

Mac computers are able to run Windows software using virtualization programs including SWsoft's Parallels and VMware's Fusion.

Dell is developing the machines with help from several partners, including EMC Corp's VMware unit, which is expected to go public through an initial public offering next week, and privately held SWsoft, he said.

Intel unveils e-health project

2007-09-09T21:39:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Intel in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has announced the launch of e-health projects in Tamil Nadu, to transform healthcare in rural India.

The health projects, starting in Tamil Nadu, is an extension of the Intel World Ahead Program, a global initiative to provide people in developing countries with the benefits of faster access to information and communications technology (ICT), Intel said in a statement.

Intel had deployed its first remote health programs in a digital village pilot in Baramati, a small town about 120 kilometers from Pune. The e-health projects would be deployed across Tamil Nadu and the country. It includes a tele-health program for community hospitals and a school health-monitoring system, Intel statement added.

“Applying technology in pioneering ways can help increase access to healthcare and improve quality of care for people everywhere,” said Craig Barrett, chairman, Intel who also chairs the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development.

“We’ve seen how technology has enhanced people’s lives in Baramati, and look forward to seeing this replicated on a larger scale across Tamil Nadu and the rest of the country,” he added.

“Digital health solutions are the most appropriate tools for achieving our objective of providing health care to the poorest citizens living in the remote areas of our country,” said Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, India.

“We are confident that these solutions that we’re implementing here can be a model for developing communities worldwide, and will also help us to reduce disease burden on our healthy citizens – poor or rich,” Ramadoss added.

During his visit to Tindivanam, a town in Tamil Nadu, Barrett participated in the inauguration of a tele-health pilot project at Tindivanam Taluk Hospital, a 100-plus bed facility serving a taluk of more than 210,000 people. The pilot is being driven by Bangalore’s Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital and Chennai’ Sankara Nethralaya hospital, as well as Indian-based companies Microsense, S.N. Informatics and Tata Consultancy Services.

The web-based Health Referral System aims to provide improved and cost-effective access to high-quality healthcare and is hosted on TCS’ WebHealthCentral portal.

Monster gets proactive on phishing

2007-09-09T21:38:00.002-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: After the recent hacking of its database, Monster has got proactive on phishing, by issuing an advisory note to its consumers about the incident. The website has also enlisted the ways of identifying fraudulent mails for the benefit of users.

In an email communiqué to all of its consumers, Sal Iannuzzi, chairman and CEO of Monster Worldwide said that protecting the job seekers who use the website is a top priority.

“We value the trust you place in Monster. Regrettably, opportunistic criminals are increasingly using the Internet for illegitimate purposes. As is the case with many companies that maintain large databases of information, Monster is from time to time subject to attempts to illegally extract information from its database,” he said.

“As you may be aware, the Monster resume database was recently the target of malicious activity that involved the illegal downloading of information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses for some of our job seekers with resumes posted on Monster sites. Monster responded to this specific incident by conducting a comprehensive review of internal processes and procedures, notified those job seekers that their contact records had been downloaded illegally, and shut down a rogue server that was hosting these records,” said Iannuzzi.

The Monster CEO accepted the fact that the recent incident is not the first time Monster's database has been the target of criminal activity.

“Due to the significant amount of uncertainty in determining which individual job seekers may have been impacted, Monster felt that it was in your best interest to take the precautionary steps of reaching out to you and all Monster job seekers regarding this issue. Monster believes illegally downloaded contact information may be used to lure job seekers into opening a "phishing" email that attempts to acquire financial information or lure job seekers into fraudulent financial transactions. This has been the case in similar attacks on other websites,” he added.

“We want to inform you about preventive measures you can take to protect yourself from online fraud. While, no company can completely prevent unauthorized access to data, we believe that by reaching out to job seekers like you, the Company can help users better defend themselves against those who have attacked Monster as well as other databases,” Iannuzzi reiterated in the email advisory note.

“We are committed to maintaining an ongoing dialogue with all of our job seekers about Internet security and the steps Monster is taking to protect its job seekers. The Company has placed a security alert on Monster sites offering information to educate you about online fraud. This information can be found at http://help.monster.com/besafe. We have also included information on Internet safety and examples of fraudulent "phishing" emails at the bottom of this letter,” he said.

Iannuzzi enlisted the series of initiatives that Monster has taken, to enhance and to protect the information you have entrusted to us. “Some of these steps are being immediately implemented, while others will be put into place as appropriate,” he said.

“We believe these actions are the responsible steps to protect the trust you place in Monster. We are also working with Monster's hundreds of thousands of employer customers to ensure a safe and effective online job search. We will continue to share information with you about the enhancements we are making as we serve as your online career resource partner. We invite you to keep reading to learn more about how to use the Internet safely,” Iannuzzi added

The job portal had also sent across five major ‘phishing mail’ samples along with the advisory note, which guides the consumers on identifying such fraudulent emails.

Chennai to host CONNECT 2007

2007-09-09T21:38:00.001-07:00

CHENNAI, INDIA: The Government of Tamil Nadu plans to open seven SEZs outside Chennai city shortly.

It also has plans to develop the tier-two and -three cities, where IT parks would be expected soon. “The announcements for the same would be made shortly,” said C. Chandramouli, IT secretary of Tamil Nadu, while announcing the seventh edition of the State’s ICT event, CONNECT 2007, scheduled here from 14 to 17 of this month.

The IT secretary also said that the State has several plans to create a quality talent pool. “The number of professional graduates increases year by year, but still we have not met with the quality. The MNC’s are going for only tier-one colleges, which would be just a handful. But the rest are left out. The only reason behind this is quality of education and we have planned to revise the syllabus and improve the standard of education provided to the students, by providing more quality materials and other stuffs.”

Technical sessions and seminars will be held as part of CONNECT 2007, jointly promoted by the Confederation of India Industry (CII) and the Government of Tamil Nadu.

CEOs from the ITeS industries will speak on the development and measures taken to develop the industry in the State.

The event will bring together delegates from the ICT industry – from both international and domestic -- academia, industry, government, bio-network facilitators and patrons in one single platform.

“CONNECT is entering into the seventh year after successfully completing 6 years through which Tamil Nadu has emerged as the destination of choice for knowledge-based industries and has projected it as the leading electronics manufacturing hub of Asia. Fifteen per cent of the total revenue in software comes from Chennai and it has constituted almost five billion in revenues till date and is said to grow more ”, said Gopal Srinivasan, chairman, CII.

The theme for the seventh edition of CONNECT is 'Innovation Through Integration-Building an Inclusive Ecosystem.'

M. Karunanidhi, chief minister of Tamil Nadu will inaugurate the event in the presence of A Raja, union minister of communication and IT.

“As for as the investments concerned we have got more investments from abroad and MNCs after the CONNECT programme. The development that Tamil Nadu has attained is enormous. More and more IT concerns are looking for investment. Apart from software, the hardware industry is also looking good and more entrepreneurs are getting into the business,” said S. Mahalingam, chairman, CONNECT 2007.

He added that many IT firms are targeting tier-two cities. “We are also focused on developing tier-two and -three cities.” Mahalingal hoped that the coming CONNECT programme would be instrumental for developing two- and three-tier cities.

Nasscom president Kiran Karnik, TCS CEO S Ramadorai, Satyam Computer Services managing director B Rama Raju, IIT-Chennai director M S Anand and McKinsey and Company partner Noshir Kaka are some of the key speakers scheduled to address the conference.

Business Continuity: preventing disruption

2007-09-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

MUMBAI, INDIA: Recent physical and man-made disasters have crystallized the need for reliable businnes continuity and disaster recovery plans. Organizations that were caught unprepared suffered significant losses. It's no wonder then, that recent technology surveys identified IT infrastructure and its uninterrupted operation as key concerns for CIOs.

In addition, a rebounding economy signals business growth, which is often accompanied by geographical distribution of offices and IT systems. A recent study by the research firm, Gartner, highlighted that organizations with multiple locations are more likely to suffer downtime because of the difficulty involved in managing the IT environment.

The importance of preventing or minimizing any potential communications disruption is key to ensuring customer service and avoiding revenue loss. According to the Gartner report, "Business Continuity Moves From Management to Access," the primary goal of business continuity planning - and its related discipline of disaster recovery - is to increase the likelihood of a business, government office, or other entity dependent on IT survives a disaster.

Having contingency plans in place help companies meet the expectations of the global marketplace by being resilient to local disturbances. Customers overseas may not know or care that your headquarters has been hit by a disaster. What they do know is that there is likely another business selling a similar product or service that is answering their calls.

With the growing importance of immunizing networks, organizations have begun to seek help from business continuity experts to help plan, design, architect and implement communication policies and solutions that ensure reliable uninterrupted performance. With the help of a reliable services partner, firms can evaluate, implement, manage and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity solutions without having to add extra staff, offer more training, or rip out and replace existing equipment and investment. Using a third party with the resource and experience in handling a disparate system decreases the amount of operator error or application failure.

Software and services will live together: Microsoft

2007-09-09T19:31:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: IT bellwether Microsoft has come out with Office Business Applications (OBA), which makes 'Office' user's life easy by enabling seamless collaboration of enterprise applications and business applications, as it claims. Javed Sikander, Director Industry Architecture, Microsoft Corporation, speaks about the product, in an interaction with B.V. Shiva Shankar, Associate Editor, CIOL. Excerpts:

CIOL: What is the significance of Office Business Applications, and what is its need in enterprises currently?
Javed Sikander: What we at Microsoft see is that when it comes to personal activities, people are using technology and using it in new ways and seeing great amount of productivity on the personal side. However, when you look at the business productivity, people are still using clunky old interfaces -- backend ERP applications. These are 'one size fit all' applications that were designed for client-server model, and are really not using any of the later technologies and benefits.

There is a divide between personal productivity and business productivity. We call this divide as the 'Results Gap'. Office Business Applications (OBA) is an emerging class of business application that bridges the existing line-of-business systems with the people that use them through the familiar user interface of Microsoft Office. OBA enables businesses to unlock the value of their current set of backend systems by extending the Microsoft Office client and/or Web parts into business processes in line-of-business applications such as ERP, CRM and SCM.

CIOL: What is the roadmap for OBA?
JS: Office business applications allow you to capture unstructured practices that happen on business process and bridge the gap between activities. The first example of OBA is something called "Duet." It is a joint initiative between SAP and Microsoft that we embarked upon few years ago. The idea was for providing Office clients as the interface for SAP users for some of the processes. We are adding new processes, new workflows, within SAP into Office, that's the roadmap. Within Microsoft, we have a division called Microsoft Dynamics, which is essentially an enterprise sort of ERP system for small and medium business companies and other smaller companies. So, Dynamics is also adopting the concept of OBA.

CIOL: What has been the momentum on OBA globally and in India in terms of adoption?
JS: There has been some momentum within India. A lot of services companies based in India are global in nature. The likes of Infosys, Wipro, TCS have spread their wings across the world apart from serving customers within India. By adopting concepts like OBA, they are making a huge impact globally because they have lots of customers in the US, the UK and around the world. We already have three million plus Office installed base here. We have more than 50 SharePoint customers here. We have localized versions of Office 2007, and have some 58+ solutions that are already developed on the Office 2007 and Vista. Recently, McKinsey did a study for us and found that there is some $33 million market opportunity for the ISVs and SIs in India around Office business applications.

E-governance: The Chandigarh model

2007-09-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

S.K. Sandhu, Finance and IT secretary, Chandigarh administration, in conversation with Bhaskar Hazarika from CyberMedia News shares the government plans to boost the IT initiatives in the State.

The UT administration is planning to set up 70 new e-Sampark centers in the territory in the next six months, says Sandhu. Excerpts:

CMN: What are the e-governance initiatives in Chandigarh?

S K Sandhu: Chandigarh administration has been taking active interest to roll out e-governance initiatives in the State. Under the e-governance plan we have rolled out nine e-Sampark centers. Project e-Sampark is a multi-service single window system, which connects various public dealing departments with electronic centers. This project has been awarded the Gloden Icon Award for e-governance by the Government of India. In this center, we are offering 20 services including payment of taxes, utility bills, passport application, disbursement of old-age pension and other utility services.

E-Jan Sampark is another project to disseminate useful information services to citizens. Every center supports multi-service delivery, which includes non-transactional services. We are planning to set up 70 such kiosks on public-private partnership. It will be built on the reverse model of built operate and transfer (BOT). We will be setting up these centers in the next six months.

We have also set up 17 e-Gram Sampark centers in 17 villages of Union Territory of Chandigarh. It is combination of e-Sampark and e-Jan Sampark, targeting the rural population. Through these centers, the citizens will be able to use 15 G2C and 3 B2C services.

CMN: Could you share some figures in terms of revenues generated from these centers? Are you planning to increase the number of centers?

SK: In the last three years of establishment of these centers, the administration has transacted more than Rs 700 crore. In 2006, we earned revenues of Rs 350 crore, which is expected to increase every year. We are transacting more than Rs 1.25 lakh per month from these centers.

We have recorded selling 1,000 stamp papers on a daily basis. We are planning to set up 70 e-Jan Sampark centers in the next six months.

CMN: What are the major IT initiatives of the administration aimed at attracting major IT companies? What are the incentives that the government would be offering to these companies?

SK: Under the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCTP) project, the government has been taking special initiative to attract IT companies to the UT. This initiative has been divided in to three phases. In the first phase, 123 acres of land has been allotted to two companies to set up centers in the site. Infosys has set up its center here and around 2,000 people are being employed. DLF Info city has also built up a center which houses a number of IT companies such as IBM Daksh, Net Solutions, eSys and SAP solutions.

Under the second phase, 250 acres of land has been allotted of which 125 acres has been allotted to IT and ITeS companies. Wipro is the anchor company with Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and eSys as the co-anchors. Development of the third phase of the park on 270 acres has already begun. We have identified the land and are in the final stages of acquisition. It would be partly under SEZ and partly under STPI. Once the project is completed, it will bring in an investment of more than $600 million apart from employing 25,000 IT professionals.

The IT policy of Chandigarh was declared on April 2000 to promote the application of Information Technology for the benefit of the society, by implementing e-governance and by promoting investment in the field of technology. The IT-enabled service policy was declared in January 2003, to promote the ITeS and the BPO sector, which is witnessing a huge growth. Chandigarh is also a part of the growth and would contribute to the growth of this industry.

CMN: Is there any plan to offer special professional courses to turn students into professionals for the emerging IT hub of the country?

SK: The Society for Promotion of Information Technology in Chandigarh (SPIC) has taken the initiative to start C-TOSS (Chandigarh Training on Soft Skills) programme to develop skilled professionals for the ITeS and BPO sector. We have signed a MoU with Dell, Wipro and some other companies in this regard. This is a special programme to tune students to industry standards. This course is being designed in co-operation with IT and HRD companies. The training would be carried out by training agencies at the college premises.

Nasscom has now tied-up with SPIC for conducting its National Level Nasscom Assessment of Competence Test (NAC) for students undergoing C-TOSS training. The first test for NAC is scheduled to be held this month.

CMN: Can you throw some light on the Chandigarh Cyber Security and Research center?

SK: The state-of-the-art Entrepreneurs Development Center is coming up on a 1.5 acre plot at a cost of Rs 16 crore. It will have plug and play facilities for upcoming entrepreneurs. This center will include the Regional Cyber Security Research center. This center is being set-up in collaboration with Nasscom and the Punjab engineering College. The center has been in operational from March 2007.

With the growth of the Internet literacy, there are a lot of challenges being faced by the administration in tackling crimes. However, the research center will look in to it to provide safe and secure data access to the people of the region. The administration has invested around Rs 1 crore in the research center.

CMN: What is the administration’s take on the SEZ policy?

SK: We are setting up a single window committee for each SEZ in order to facilitate permission and processing of applications. This facility would be available to the developers of the SEZs. The single window committee would be headed by the Development Commissioner of the SEZ authority and include representatives of all key government departments.

SEZs and units within the SEZs and also the developers of these SEZs will be excepted from sales tax, VAT, property tax, purchase tax, stamp tax and electricity duty.

HP expands its server portfolio

2007-09-09T04:29:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: HP has launched its lineup of servers based on Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor 7300 series to improve performance and cut costs.

The rack-based HP ProLiant DL580 G5 server and BL680c G5, HP’s first four-processor quad-core server blade, offers increased performance with double the number of processor cores. In addition, the DL580 G5 has double the memory capacity of its predecessor.

These energy-efficient servers are designed for customers running data-intensive business applications such as databases, business intelligence, enterprise resource planning and large mail and messaging platforms in virtualized environments, HP said in a statement.

“Using Intel Xeon 7300 series quad-core processors, HP ProLiant servers are delivering unprecedented performance and energy efficiency,” said Tom Kilroy, vice president and general manager, Digital Enterprise Group, Intel Corporation.

“The new four socket, quad-core Xeon processor systems will provide 16 cores that enable HP to provide customers with superior levels of scalability, virtualization performance and improve their ability to run mission-critical applications.”

The HP ProLiant DL580 G5 is a 4P-based server ideal for virtualization and mission-critical data center deployments. The processor performance and large memory capacity of the DL580 G5 can help improve staff productivity through fewer, yet more powerful, servers to manage with better performing applications.

The HP ProLiant BL680c G5 has a large memory capacity for data-intensive applications. It is part of the HP BladeSystem portfolio, which was specifically designed for virtualization, energy-efficiency and ease of deployment and management.

HP also announced a joint commitment with Microsoft to define a data warehouse reference platform with the upcoming Microsoft SQL Server 2008 based on the ProLiant DL580 G5 with HP StorageWorks 50 Modular Smart Arrays.

The platform is designed to help businesses mitigate risk and deploy their SQL Server 2008 data warehousing solutions with confidence and predictable results.

Ericsson bags major deal from BSNL

2007-09-09T04:28:00.002-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Ericsson has announced that it has won a contract valued at $1.3 billion to supply GSM and WCDMA/HSPA equipment and related telecom services to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

According to the agreement Ericsson would supply a GSM and WCDMA/HSPA radio access network, transmission equipment and a complete GSM/WCDMA common core network - including the Ericsson Mobile Softswitch Solution, service-aware Packet Core, IMS and a multiservice IP Packet Backbone Network.

Ericsson would also deliver telecom-related services, such as network design, deployment and systems integration.

This upgrade marks an important step in BSNL's network evolution and sets the stage for end-customer access to a range of innovative telecommunications, Ericsson said in a statement.

Kuldeep Goyal, chairman and managing director of BSNL, said, "Upgrading our network will pave the way for a premium communications experience for our customers, and enable us to address new customer segments cost-efficiently."

Deliveries will start in October 2007, with the first phase of the project to be completed in 12 months.

Ericsson has supplied 49 out of 96 operational GSM mobile networks in India and it has a market share of about 40 percent in terms of connected subscribers.

Praveen Vishakantaiah to head Intel India

2007-09-09T04:28:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Intel India has named Praveen Vishakantaiah as president to take over from Frank Jones, with effect from mid October this year.

Frank Jones, Intel India's current president, will return to the US for a new assignment as he approaches the end of his term, an Intel statement said.

Praveen Vishakantaiah is currently the director of the Digital Enterprise Group in India. In his current position he is responsible for functional management of the server microprocessor design, server chipset design and processor system validation groups in India, as well as overall operations and leadership development.

His responsibilities also include site management of other DEG India groups, and he has been actively involved in development of the broader Intel India site.

Before relocating to India in 2003, Vishakantaiah was part of the microprocessor design team contributing to the development of Pentium II, Pentium III and Pentium 4 microprocessors.

FirstPartner brings Mobile TV map

2007-09-09T04:27:00.001-07:00

AMSTERDAM: FirstPartner, marketing and research agency, has announced the launch of its innovative single page market map for the Mobile TV Universe.

The map gives a summary of the emerging Mobile TV market and the entire value chain on a single poster sized sheet, highlighting key trends and categorising leading industry players.

This map has been developed to support the Digital Lifestyles Stream of the IBC 2007 Conference.

The Mobile TV Universe highlights the multiple alternative delivery channels competing for viewer share and illustrates some of the innovative display technologies promising to

revolutionise viewer interaction with TV while on the move.

FirstPartner has developed refined its market mapping thought over the past five years. They represent a unique single page snapshot of entire industries, showing both the technology and content delivery value chains.

FirstPartner also has over a dozen other industry market maps, covering sectors such as Mobile Marketing, Web Gadgets, the Skype Ecosystem and Wi-Fi.

Megasoft completes acquisition of BCGI

2007-09-09T04:26:00.004-07:00

HYDERABAD, INDIA: Megasoft Limited, intellectual property-driven, product-based technology company, has completed its acquisition of Boston Communications Group.

The merger follows the successful completion of the tender offer by Megasoft for all of the shares of BCGI. As a result of the merger BCGI has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Megasoft; BCGI shares will be de-listed from the NASDAQ Global Market, Megasoft said in a release on Friday.

This acquisition would change the profile of Megasoft, making it a dominant player in the telecom OSS and billing products and applications space, Megasoft said in a statement

TCS adds senior executives on board

2007-09-09T04:26:00.003-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Tata Consultancy Services has announced that it had inducted four new whole-time, executive directors on to its board of directors.

N Chandrasekaran, S Mahalingam, S Padmanabhan and P A Vandrevala executive vice presidents of TCS joined TCS board of directors, TCS said in a release on Thursday.

With this expansion, the TCS board of directors will have 12 members, including six independent directors.

The TCS board of directors also appointed N Chandrasekaran as the chief operating officer of the company while S Mahalingam continues as the chief financial officer.

S Ramadorai, chief executive officer and managing director, said, “Given the size of the company’s business, the directors have decided to induct four senior executives on to the board of directors. The newly appointed executive directors have a wealth of experience and have contributed significantly to the growth and success of TCS and will continue play an important role in the company’s future strategy.”

TCS also has six independent directors - Ron Sommer, former chairman of Deutsche Telecom, Harvard professor Clayton Christensen; former HSBC chief, Aman Mehta; former Indian cabinet secretary, Naresh Chandra; head of Glaxo Smithkline, Asia, V Thyagarajan and Laura Cha, a member of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Ezwim intros new telecom management soln

2007-09-09T04:26:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: Ezwim, the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider for Telecom Expense Management services, today announced the launch of Total Telecom Management 8.3 (TTM 8.3).

The enhanced service enables telecom managers to get visibility into the rising telecom expenditures. TTM 8.3 reflects the evolving requirements of the Telecom Manager as enterprises continue to face increased telecom spending levels of over 8 per cent per year because roaming, mobile data, and private usage is on the rise, Ezwim said in a statement.

TTM 8.3 introduces three key enhancements that provide enhanced business intelligence, subscription advice and VOIP business cases on demand. The service automatically generates VOIP business cases based on actual telecom usage. It offers subscription advice to ensure organizations are using the right operator price plan so telecom spend remains optimized throughout the contract period.

"TTM 8.3 enables our customers to reduce their telecom costs and helping them make better decisions to optimize their telecom resources," said Ron van Valkengoed, CEO of Ezwim.

BenQ launches EF51 mobile phone

2007-09-09T04:25:00.002-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: BenQ has launched its new EF51 mobile phone.

BenQ-Siemens EF51 supports all mainstream audio formats (WMA/ MP3/ AAC/ AAC+). Windows Media Player songs can be transferred from PC to phone directly and also can download music from online music stores all over the world.

It features 20 pre-set FM channel function that lets you store all your favorite FM stations. EF51 allows to 'record' songs playing on the radio!

Ish Bawa, marcom head, BenQ India, "Even though mobile phones are fast transforming into music devices, the sound quality still leaves a lot to be desired. The music player in the EF51 has the functionality and sound quality equivalent to that of any stand-alone music device."

It has a 20 MB built-in memory and a MiniSD TM card slot for memory expandability. The unique 'Speech-to-Music' feature recognizes your voice and plays the requested track, so you just have to say the song title and the EF51 will play it automatically. A2DP Bluetooth stereo headset, is available as a complimentary accessory with the EF51.

Apart from a 1.3 Megapixel camera, it features color adjustments, digital zoom, multi-shot, self-portrait and more.

LG brings Shine to mobile phone market

2007-09-09T04:25:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: LG Electronics has announced the India launch of LG Shine, the latest handset in its premium Black Label series of mobile phones developed on total style.

Shine is India’s first and only full metal bodied phone with a Multi Function Scroll Key, LG said in a statement. Bo H. (Bo-Hwan) Choi, LG Mobile Communications’ vice president of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa and LG India’s managing director Moon B Shin, unveiled the phone here.

The new phone will be available both in a slider phone and bar phone version .

“The Indian market is one of our key markets, as it has the potential to grow at double digit rates annually,” said Choi. “We are confident that this year we will have an even stronger presence in the market with our premium fashionable and advanced handsets and clear focus on stylish handsets, such as LG Shine.”

Shine a full-metal bodied super-slim handset is designed with a sophisticated, yet highly trendy ‘Styled in Metal’ concept and has a look and feel totally dissimilar to any previous handset, offering mobile users the best of both worlds with amazing looks and a high technical specification

The slim phone includes a two mega-pixel auto focus camera by Schneider Kreuznach and expandable memory (Micro SD card) Access to Shine’s menu system is by an easy-to-use multi-function scroll key.

Shine is also equipped with a comprehensive media player with multi-codec support (MP3, WAV and ACC++) and real spectrum display. Shine supports GPRS and EDGE network compatibility, Bluetooth and USB connectivity and the most unique thing is it is all controlled by a Multi Function Scroll Key.

Already available in Korea, Shine has sold over three millions units globally since its launch. LG expects the same level of excitement and sales in India following a high profile launch campaign.

LG Shine slider phone is available for Rs 15999 and bar phone is available for Rs 8999.

BPO: The competition war will get tougher

2007-09-09T04:24:00.003-07:00

Indian BPO players are now playing the big league against the global MNCs. With Infosys winning a $250 million deal from Royal Philips recently, the Indian industry has a lot to cheer about.

However, with MNCs getting quick to beef up on their offshore capabilities to beat the Indians in their own game, local companies need to differentiate in terms of offering value added services and increasing automation.

Benjamin Pring, vice president (Research) Gartner, who was a delegate at the recent Nasscom ITES-BPO Strategy summit in Bangalore, spoke to Priya Padmanabhan about the trends in the IT and BPO industry.

Why is that global customers prefer end-to-end services from a single vendor for business process outsourcing while they want to have multiple providers for IT outsourcing?

It is all about the relative maturity of these segments. In the IT outsourcing space, the market has expanded from being a niche to segmentation among service providers according to specialization. BPO on the other hand, is less mature compared to the IT outsourcing segment. But this too will follow the natural progression and mature.

What are your thoughts on the $250 million Royal Philips FAO deal that Infosys recently won?

Obviously, it is a huge move since it is a staff transfer deal-something that Indian companies have not done before. It is also significant since this deal is a major European win from a non-UK customer-Netherlands. Around 85 per cent of India's BPO engagements in Europe are with the UK. Indian companies typically have a higher comfort level with UK based companies. Many other companies especially those in France and Germany are insular compared to the UK. But this too is changing. The CapGemini CEO said this May that the company would not hire in France and would have 40 per cent of its workforce in India. Its still early days in France and Germany but it is the beginning to change.

Mobile a lifestyle product for Indians

2007-09-09T04:24:00.001-07:00

The design team at Bangalore monitors the consumer preference and taste on mobile handsets. Handset manufacturer Motorola sees consumers in India seeking mobile phones as a lifestyle product. After the slim metal series of phones from Motorola, the company is studying the tastes of the Indian consumers on designs.

At the launch of the Razr2 V8, Bhaskar Hazarika from CyberMedia News caught up with Ignacio Germade, director design, (Europe, Singapore and India) Mobile Devices, Motorola, on the philosophy behind the design of Moto phones. Excerpts:

CMN: The slim metal-bodied mobile phone was an innovation from Motorola. What were the challenges you faced while designing the small device?

Ignacio Germade: Yes, we came up with the first slim metal-bodied phones. While the others were on plastic we started using metal. We were looking at a device, which could be sturdy, rugged, but also a sleek colourful one.

Our concern was to come up with phones that suite as a lifestyle product without losing its essence of a communication device. The biggest challenge was the use of metal, as metals affect RF performance. We had to test every element before using it on the phone, to keep the performance of the phone intact.

CMN: What made you come up with the Razr2 V8, after three years of successful market achieved by Motorola from Razr V3?

IG: Moto Razr V3 is an innovation of slim phones. The enthusiastic response from the market worldwide proves the acceptance of the consumers. We have shipped 100 million Razr V3 phones till date, which is definitely a success for us.

It is not a competing product to V3, rather it is better and a powerful device designed to make the consumer experience better. While designing Razr2 V8 our biggest concern was to keep the essence of V3 intact. V8 is much more slimmer, with added features and new look of the device.

CMN: How do you rate your phones compared to the other slim phones by other manufacturers?

IG: Many brands have definitely come up with slim phones and some phones even slimmer than we have, but what concerns the customer is the overall performance and look of the product. The consumer wants the experience, look and the performance packed in a single device. In the Razr2, we have used steel frame to give it more strength and the outer display has many layers of glass, which has been chemically toughened. For instance, we use vaccuumised metal where the RF chip is located. This material is not metallic but gives the look and finish of metal.

CMN: You have a design team at Bangalore, which develops products for the India market. Does the design studio carry out studies on user experience and the taste of Indian consumers?

IG: Our design team has been working hard to meet the demand of the Indian market with innovative products. Unlike other markets the Indian consumer seek for more features on their mobile phones rather than just a voice centric device. They demand for better design and features on the phone.

Yes, our design team is closely eyeing the consumer market in India on the user tastes. It has been noticed that the Indian consumers are somewhat conservative, as they do not accept anything radical.

CMN: Will you be coming up with more devices based on touch screen?

IG: We already have a couple of mobile phones, which are touch screen. Currently we are closely working with the engineering teams for touch screen phones. We are working on it and will come which such phones as on when there is a demand from the consumers.

Infosys to expand its service portfolio

2007-09-09T04:19:00.002-07:00

S Gopalakrishnan -- Kris for his colleagues -- is one of the founders of Infosys Technologies Limited. He has played a key role at Infosys in defining the company’s strategy and using technology and innovation continuously to maintain leadership position in the industry.

Gopalakrishnan obtained MSc in Physics in 1977 and MTech in Computer Science in 1979, both from IIT Madras. He started his career with Patni Computer Systems Mumbai as a software engineer in 1979 and quickly rose to assistant project manager position in 1981.

In 1981, Gopalakrishnan along with N.R. Narayana Murthy and five others founded Infosys Technologies Limited. In 2007, he was appointed as CEO and managing director of Infosys.

In an interaction with CyberMedia News, Gopalakrishnan shared his views on Infosys and the IT industry in India. Excerpts:

CMN: What is the opportunity in the domestic market for Infosys excluding banking business?

S Gopalakrishnan: More and more opportunities in the domestic market are looking very interesting especially as sector by sector the companies are looking at increasing their spend on IT as well as there is much more maturity in the way in which services are being purchased.

Traditionally, the companies purchased hardware, software and sometime the services are bundled within those contracts. Now the services contracts are actually separated out and companies are buying services separately. That I think is part of maturity of the market and that is playing to our advantage.

CMN: How is the company’s geographical spread of revenues shaping out and going forward?

SG: Currently, 62 per cent comes from North America and about 27 per cent from Europe and rest of the world. Proactively, we are investing in non-US geographies, especially Europe. Europe has gone up from nine per cent of revenue in 1999 to 27 per cent right now. You should see a continued shift from the US to other parts of the world. We are investing in China, Australia and Europe. We are looking at India. More and more this shift will be towards the rest of the world.

CMN: How much is it from India and how do you see the future?

SG: Currently we derive about 3-4 per cent of our revenues from India and most of that from Finacle and related services. I do not want to come up with some predictions at this moment.

CMN: What are the some of the initiatives Infosys is planning to step up growth at this juncture?

SG: We have multiple initiatives towards growth. First and foremost, our consulting services are looking for more value-added services starting very early on the project life cycle with consulting. The second set of initiative are in terms of looking at our service portfolio. We see opportunities in remote infrastructure management, BPO, of late with Web becoming an important channel for company’s important validation and testing is seeing lot of traction. Increased penetration in these services will change the revenue profile.

Thirdly, from geography perspective, we have opened a center in Mexico and the Philippines. As part of the outsourcing contract we have signed with Philips, we now have center in Poland. As we broaden our geographical footprint, our ability to support clients in these market increases and I see our geographical footprint changing overtime.

CMN: Does Infosys change its top management every five years? How does grooming happen in Infosys?

SG: Change at leadership positions happens based on certain strategy based on what the board looks at and decides how the company should be structured and run. So currently the board looked at what has worked in the past and what we need to do and decided that we need to have an executive chairman and CEO. Because Narayan Murthy retired from executive chairman position and became an non executive chairman and the board decided that it is better to have executive chairman and that is why the transition. There is no period associated with this. It all depends on current situation.

From a grooming perspective, we have a formal process of grooming leaders, the leadership initiative at Infosys. We have selected about 50 leaders across the company and we are grooming them so that they can take on more and more responsibilities, they can take on leadership positions and at some point take on the CXO responsibilities.

Intex launches new range of notebooks

2007-09-09T04:19:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Intex Technologies (India) Ltd has unveiled its four new notebooks - Challenger 012 DW, Performer 032 DW, Achiever 026 DW and Achiever 026 CW.

This launch aims to add more feature-rich, compact and technologically advanced models in Intex's already existing notebook portfolio, Intex said in a statement.

Challenger 012 DW is Wi-Fi enabled notebook, designed to cater to the needs of the working professionals, boasting irresistible sleekness and style. It is equipped with Intel's Core Duo processor 1.86 GHZ, DVD dual drive, 667 FSB and 2 MB L2 cache, 1 GB DDR-2 memory, 100 GB hard drive, inbuilt web camera, embedded 4 in 1 card reader.

Other features include 12.1'' wide LCD screen, 1x External CRT monitor output, Bluetooth for fast data transfer and longer battery life. It is priced at Rs 39,900.

Performer 032 DW designed for travelers and senior managers is loaded with Intel's Centrino Core Duo processor, Wi-Fi enabled with Intel wireless LAN. It comes with the 14.1" wide screen, 100 GB hard disk, DVD Dual Drive and card reader. The product is also embedded with features like Bluetooth, 1.3 MP camera, 512 MB memory card. It is available at a street price of Rs 36,900.

Achiever 026 DW and 026 CW is an exclusive range designed for the students, SOHO and SME segment. Both the models come with the Celeron model and Intel's 1.86 GHz processor. With the capability of Wi-Fi and express card, Achiever 026DW and 026CW, possesses the 512 MB memory space and a hard drive of 100 GB and 60 GB respectively, which helps the students to store large amount of valuable information on their systems. Achiever 026DW and 026CW is priced at Rs 26,900 and Rs 24,900 respectively.

F-Secure unveils new security soln

2007-09-09T04:18:00.002-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: F-Secure Corporation has launched its new Internet Security 2008 solution.

The new solution keeps the PC healthy and free from malicious applications with the help of a number of well-integrated and intelligent security features. The solution is specifically designed to require minimal user interaction, and removes the need to separately maintain and update several separate security programs.

It enables consumers and small businesses to enjoy the benefits of global networks without fear and nagging worries, F-Secure said in a release on Thursday.

The solution includes a 12-month subscription to a fully automated and continuous update service from the F-Secure Security Labs. The product includes a proactive protection technology, F-Secure DeepGuard, which provides an effective additional line of defense during those crucial first hours when no signature identification is yet available to protect against new unknown threats.

The new solution also uses less computer resources than before, thus improving the overall performance of the system. The anti-phishing feature has been improved, including better detection of emails that pretend to be from financial or other trustworthy institutions.

“Security is no longer defined in terms of fear, but the new measure is enablement and opportunity. Our task is to enable our customers to soar with the possibilities of the Net, leaving their security worries to be handled by our professional service,” said Ari Alakiuttu, vice president of Products and Services at F-Secure Corporation.

The solution also helps users to protect - the smartphone - by including a free trial version of the F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus solution for Symbian and Windows Mobile smartphones.

Sony to launch advanced digicam

2007-09-09T04:18:00.001-07:00

TOKYO: Sony Corp said it would launch a new digital single lens reflex camera for advanced users in November, broadening its product lineup in a move to take on industry leaders Canon Inc and Nikon Corp.

Single lens reflex (SLR) cameras, the fastest-growing segment of the digital camera market, are high-end models with interchangeable lenses, as opposed to point-and-shoot compact cameras.

The new model, called "DSLR-A700", which comes with 12.24 megapixel resolution and is expected to sell for about 180,000 yen ($1,560), is Sony's second digital SLR camera after an entry model launched in July 2006.

The Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment conglomerate is the world's second-largest digital camera maker behind Canon but lags also behind Nikon in the digital SLR camera market.

Digital cameras, along with camcorders, are Sony's cash cow products as its vertically integrated business model, where key products such as image sensor chips are manufactured in-house, allows high profit margins.

Sony aims to raise its market share in the digital SLR camera market to 10 percent with the help of the new model from about 7 percent now, said Keiichi Ishizuka, deputy senior general manager at Sony's digital imaging business group.

"Well-established SLR camera makers are formidable rivals," Ishizuka told a news conference.

"What we need to do first is keep expanding our product offerings. Only by doing that steadily can we compete with them in a true sense. Today, we took that one step forward," he said.

Sony plans to make 30,000 units of the new SLR camera in September, the first month of production, and 20,000 in each of the following months, Ishizuka said.

Besides the entry model and the mid-range model just unveiled, Sony plans to offer a top-end, flagship model as early as the business year starting next April, covering the full digital SLR camera market.

Sony held a 6.2 percent share in the global digital SLR camera market in 2006, following Canon with 46.7 percent and Nikon on 33 percent, according to research firm IDC.

Both Canon and Nikon last month unveiled their latest digital SLR camera models for the year-end shopping season, in a pre-emptive move against new entrants such as Sony.

TANDBERG to acquire Codian

2007-09-09T04:14:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, INDIA: TANDBERG, visual communications company, has announced the acquisition of Codian, developer of high-definition videoconferencing infrastructure products, for $270 million.

The acquisition, subject to conventional closing conditions, is expected to close in Q3 2007.

Codian's experienced R&D and sales teams give TANDBERG access to additional resources for accelerating technology innovation and capturing current opportunities within core markets — videoconferencing and telepresence — as well as targeting new opportunities in the broader IP communications marketplace, TANDBERG said in a statement.

"Customers are increasingly making video the natural, first choice for communication, which in turn is driving the demand for highly reliable and scalable solutions," said Fredrik Halvorsen, chief executive officer of TANDBERG.

"Adding Codian's talented R&D and sales teams, as well as best-in-class infrastructure products to our total solution, will position TANDBERG to capture current market momentum and pursue a leadership role in the larger IP communications marketplace," he added.

TANDBERG will continue to develop and support the Codian and TANDBERG product lines, including both the Codian Multipoint Control Units platforms and the TANDBERG MPS line of MCUs.

"Our employees will be joining forces with the technology leader in the visual communication space, and this acquisition will provide Codian customers with access to a complete solution for visual communication,” said David Holloway, chief executive officer, Codian.

We are exploring compliance as a market: Symantec

2007-09-09T04:12:00.002-07:00

While it's the much-bandied about cliché in the IT industry and the world of Gurus, for some it's a new window to generate, sustain and capitalize on business and market opportunities.

Symantec seems to be one such company avidly chasing the gravy train of innovation with a constantly rehashed portfolio, a packed NPD pipeline, and gargantuan R&D investments. Its centers of Innovation in Pune and Chennai that house more than 2,100 employees are reportedly working on high-end product development in the security, storage, availability and compliance domains.

But how does the word innovation and the initiatives under this umbrella translate on the ground for Symantec?

Pratima Harigunani of CyberMedia News speaks to Anil Chakravarthy, vice president, India Technical Operations, Symantec Corporation, to know more. Excerpts:

What is the relevance of innovation and how is applicable in the IT industry?

Innovation in the software industry is a philosophy and a tool that has applications across all tiers, be it the broader strategic layer or specific technologies or market segments. I classify innovation at five such levels – business model, delivery model, core technologies, standards and applications.

How can business models be constantly innovated?

Business model means how the software is sold. It has to be regularly diagnosed and checked for changes. This is where critical decisions of strategy are made and the same trickles down to other strata of business. Norton 360 for example, was typically sold as a licensed software. We changed it on three important aspects to innovate the model. First, not to sell the software on a CD but as SaaS (Software as a Service). Secondly, we experimented with the user base. Traditionally, software was aimed at power users i.e. people who want to fiddle with it but the market was huge than that segment. We wanted to go and touch the everyday user who may not essentially know the guts of a software. Thirdly, instead of focusing on security alone, we asked why do people invest in security products. We found that they are not so much worried about the latest security upgrade. What, they at the end of the day desire is a machine that keeps running. And that opened the door for complete PC Health. Online back-up and all-round security thus became new additions. You will see the same reflected in the next version of Norton 360.

Has the experiment worked?

SaaS was introduced six months back. Norton crossed the one million user mark in the first quarter itself and a lot of this can be attributed to SaaS.

How does innovation reflect on the side of delivery model?

Security as an industry is not static and threats keep changing all the while. In Live up data, we have separated the engine from the intelligence. The engine goes as part of the software, which will go back to Symantec server. The intelligence is then constantly updated and is downloadable in the form of a program. For over 200 million users, we have hence changed delivery. We won't have to ship the product to them again and again with every new threat upgrade.

Can you give more examples of how you are innovating on fronts like applications, standards and core technologies?

On the applications side we are exploring compliance as a market that is suddenly opening up. This was not the case four to five years back. Our product System Administrator, for instance as been adapted as a control compliance suite. Earlier, its target audience was the system administrator, now it's the CIO. We did something similar with 'Enterprise Vault' that was initially just for email archiving, but has now increased its scope to all kind of document search and analysis. It's now been rechristened as 'Discovery'.

We are working on identity management on the fronts of standards. As far as core technologies go, we already have a line-up of work in storage and security. Cluster file system was one such technology developed out of India. We are also working with Intel on chip-level security.

Does innovation also apply in scripting and wielding new competitive strategies?

That is a cumulative of all the strategies discussed above. But we keep customer in mind first. Having a one-up at the competition might not serve him. One extra feature is not a differentiator strong enough. It's not easy though. When one reads news from competition, the natural instinct of delivering a one-up is there, but one has to keep the focus clear.

Is innovation as glamorous as it sounds?

Innovation is not that easy. What we have learnt so far is that it does not come out some ivory tower where you pack a bunch of people or experts and ask them to brainstorm and deliver a 'Eureka' idea. A lot of innovation is incremental and on mundane areas like reliability, workability and usability. Not every innovation is a candidate for Nobel Prize but they make a huge difference to products.

What is the role of Symantec’s India operations in innovations?

Innovation essentially comes from people, their problems, opportunities that they deal with. It's all about sharing knowledge. In India, we have recently initiated two programs 'Anchors' & 'TechWiz'. 'Anchors' has been founded on an Appreciative Enquiry Framework model, which revolves around employees who have been at Symantec for five years or more. 'TechWiz' has been rolled out by the India CTO office to recognize contributions to technical activities in Symantec beyond the boundaries of normal or routine work. The basic idea is to award tech points to individuals for various technical activities, which can later be redeemed. These points also accumulate over time and serve as a measure for the total extra-curricular technical contribution of a person. Together both these initiatives have received a very positive response from the employees and have contributed significantly toward creating the environment of positive competitiveness among the techies at Symantec. India is contributing significantly to R&D worldwide.

Broadcom intros 65 nm solution for cable, satellite and IP STBs

2007-09-09T04:12:00.001-07:00

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS: Broadcom Corporation announced the industry's most advanced system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution for next generation cable, satellite and IP set-top boxes (STBs).

The new SoC builds upon the family of Broadcom advanced high definition (HD) video compression solutions by utilizing 65 nanometer process technology to significantly reduce bill of materials (BOM) costs and enable higher levels of integration and system performance versus currently available solutions. As a result, equipment manufacturers can build next generation HD digital broadcast and IP set-top boxes supporting the latest interactive features, a wide range of video compression standards and networked personal video recorder (PVR) functionality.

Announced is the BCM7405 digital set-top box on a chip This powerful solution leverages Broadcom's proven track record and market leadership in both IP and set-top box technologies to deliver unprecedented levels of processor performance, memory bandwidth, graphics speed, system security and peripheral integration.

"Our new 65 nanometer SoC provides our customers with the industry's most advanced, highest performing and most integrated solution for set-top boxes today," said Dan Marotta, senior vice president and general manager for Broadcom's Broadband Communications Group. "With the BCM7405, Broadcom will enable a new generation of IP, cable and satellite set-top boxes with a wider array of features and applications that will change the way consumers experience and share television."

"With over 14 million PVR-enabled set-top boxes shipped in 2006, the market for PVRs in the IP, digital cable and digital satellite markets is expected to grow by 63 percent by 2010," said Michelle Abraham, Principal Analyst for In-Stat. "With its new 65 nanometer BCM7405 solution, Broadcom is enabling equipment manufacturers to address the growing demand for feature- rich, networked PVR set-top boxes with advanced user interfaces while easily transitioning to double data rate 2 (DDR2) technology."

Indian Gem & Jewelry industry gets exclusive ERP solution, Crown24K

2007-09-09T04:03:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE: Nimbus Systems, India’s leading IT solution provider to the Gem & Jewelry industry, has launched Crown24K, an end-to-end Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution designed exclusively for the Gem & Jewelry industry. The solution has been created using Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, an ERP software for midsize and larger companies. India’s leading Gems & Jewelry retail chains – Minawala Gems and Jewels, Anjali Jewelers and Sree Ganesh Jewelry House – will be the first few to implement Crown24K to meet their growing ERP needs.

The Indian Gems & Jewelry industry has many critical areas that stand to benefit from Crown24K. These include jewelry manufacturing; precious metal /stone / diamond management; jewelry inventory management; jewelry POS; financial accounting / CRM / promotions management; bar-coding / RFID support and image linking; human resource management; business reports and MIS.Crown24 has been built with the specific objective of addressing real-time issues and providing need-based solutions.

“With the growth in exports and domestic demand, instant access to information such as procurement to production, lead to cash and concepts to products, has become critical for growth. Customers are also demanding higher quality and better service. Crown24K understands and addresses such issues, and is the result of a decade of learning & engagement with over 100 Customers,” says Amitava Dutta, President, Nimbus Systems.

Crown24K combines features of planning, production, finance, sales and marketing into a single package, and helps Gems & Jewelry companies take care of –
· High-value inventories and high-risk trading
· Scheduling and control of precision manufacturing
· Details and routine of daily financial management, and
· Challenges of competing in the dynamic atmosphere of today’s Indian consumer space

Crown24K will also help companies reduce cost of finished goods inventory by 25%, WIP inventories by 35%, order lead time by 35%, planning cycle time by 80%, IT maintenance and support by 40%.

“The centuries-old Indian Gems & Jewelry industry has unique needs and challenges that require tailor-made IT solutions. Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 looks and works similar to Microsoft Outlook, making it easier for people to learn and adapt to. Our business management solution can be customized to meet the growing needs of companies, and our partner, Nimbus Systems, has the expertise for end-to-end implementation of the solution – from prototyping to post go-live support,” says Sushant Dwivedy, Business Group Lead, Microsoft Dynamics.

KDE 4.0 Beta 2 released

2007-09-09T04:02:00.001-07:00

BANGALORE, INDIA: The KDE (K Desktop Environment) Community has announced the second beta release for KDE 4.0. This release marks the beginning of the feature freeze and the stabilization of the current codebase. Simultaneously, the KOffice developers have released their third Alpha release, marking significant improvements in this innovative office suite. Both KDE and KOffice have benefited from the Google Summer of Code, as most resulting code has now been merged.

Since the libraries were frozen with the first Beta, KDE developers have been adding features and functionality to their applications. Now it is time to start polishing these features; writing and translating documentation, improving the usability and completing the artwork. As KDE 4.0 is feature-frozen now, going into bugfixing mode, major ideas and changes will be held off until 4.1. However, some KDE components, such as Plasma, are exempt from this freeze and will still see significant improvements, says a release.

Many parts of KDE have seen improvements over the last month, thanks to the inclusion of the results of the Google Summer of Code, adds the release. In the following sections, some of the most visible changes and improvements have been highlighted.

Architectural:

Work is in progress on Blitz, a graphics library designed to fill the gap in the KDE libraries while, the work on Quasar is in the pipeline. Efforts are also on to enable support for several different backends for the KDE configuration, including a SQL database.

Meanwhile, several developers are busy in providing better support for BSD and OpenSolaris in KDE. And Strigi now has XESAM support. XESAM is an effort initiated by the strigi developers, and now continued on freedesktop.org with the purpose of creating a cross-desktop interface for searching and metadata-usage in applications and tools.

Avogadro graphical goodies Marcus continued to work on the Avogadro 3D molecule visualization library and its integration in Kalzium. Chemical data is in good hands on the KDE desktop these days, seeing how also Strigi also received support for chemical files.

Experts are spending time on Kate, KDE's advanced text editor (or lightweight Development Environment). The way search works in Kate has been improved, both making it more powerful and easier to use, says the release. Now the component used in Kate to edit text is used throughout KDE for almost every text input widget, thus applications like Kwrite but also Konqueror will benefit from these advancements.

Another area where Kate inspired some improvements with broad effect is the plugin dialog and then integrated in other applications like Kopete.

Applications:

The applications have received a lot of attention from their developers, says the release. For example, Kolourpaint saw many features merged. And not only has it seen usability work and new effects, but the application has become a lot more robust. Better handling of text, improved scanning support and session management are just a few things that have been improved in this easy-to-use image editor. Features have also been upgraded in KGPG. And Okular has received further usability work. Amarok saw integration with plasma, where plasma will provide the infrastructure for the now much more central Context View. The items can be dragged and dropped from the context view on the desktop or to and from the panels on the side of the screen.