Siemens Information Systems, a business unit of Siemens India, part of German technology giant Siemens is understood to have laid off around 500 people over the last five days.
It stands for technology that helps an organisation to place its applications and data on the Internet.
The gap between operation and inspiration created by the premature exit of Infosys Technologies' key founder, Nandan Mohan Nilekani, is being filled by his colleagues.
IT majors like IBM, Sun Microsystems and Red Hat have shot letters to industry bodies -- Nasscom (for software) and MAIT (for hardware) -- and the department of information technology, protesting over the inclusion of clauses which allow for 'multiple standards' and 'royalty on software' versus a 'single' standard and 'free' software.
The Mangalore Special Economic Zone Limited (MSEZL) is facing stiff opposition from the landholders who are resisting acquisition of their lands.
Tech Mahindra considered a couple of options -- keep the Satyam name or replace it entirely. But research said Satyam still reflected critical strengths that were recognised and valued by customers. "By combining it with the well-known and highly-regarded Mahindra name, we are able to convey a stronger message more credibly: that Mahindra Satyam has the resources, talent and resolve to ensure a steady performance," says T Hari, its the marketing and communications head.
The Web is becoming an increasingly important resource to many aspects of life like education, employment, government, commerce, health care and recreation. It is used for receiving and providing information and interacting with society. Hence, it is essential that it be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities. An accessible Web also benefits others, including people with changing abilities due to aging.
The Tata Group has decided to defer its plan of setting up a rural business process outsourcing unit near the proposed steel plant at Kalinganagar in Orissa by two years.
Infosys has officially announced offering its clients new engagement models including outcome based pricing and transaction based pricing. According to a senior company executive, the clients accepting these models as they ask for 'no immediate pay-out of cash' and 'pay money per transaction basis.' These models can also be helpful for the clients to deal with the demand fluctuations and effectively manage their budgets.
Even as the strong anti-outsourcing lobby in the US is forcing US lawmakers to take a relook at their H1-B visa strategy amid huge job losses, Infosys Technologies which holds the largest number of H1-B visas among all the Indian IT services companies has started reducing the number as a part of the company's policy to reduce its 'overseas bench' strength.
The IT Amendment Act, 2008, if notified, will give the government blanket power to block news portals and other sites for 'offensive' content.
The Airtel Net PC is a plug-and-play online computer, inclusive of a 15-inch LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse and Nivio companion (which enables the PC to connect to a backend Linux-run server for storage and applications) and priced at Rs 7,999 exclusively for Airtel broadband customers.
The contract, which involves upgrade of LIC's front-end IT application programmes to make these accessible through the web, is said to be worth about Rs 200 crore, and will be done over five years. It is understood that most large Indian IT outsourcing companies, including TCS, Infosys and L&T Infotech, had competed for the contract. It was considered prestigious, not because of its size but because it involved a prestigious public sector organisation like LIC.
It is not clear which groups of the Indian operations have been affected by the cuts which are learnt to have been carried out across diverse functions. However, a company source said that a sizeable number of Microsoft's sales and support personnel in Hyderabad and a few in Bangalore were among those affected. The Response Windows team has also been dismantled completely, the source claimed.
India's third largest software company Wipro on Thursday said they are hopeful of some signs of recovery in the second half for the IT outsourcing services sector.
"Till the second quarter of last fiscal, the industry was on track to achieve the $50 billion export target by 2008-09. The aspiration to reach $60 billion by fiscal 2010 is at risk since an unprecedented slowdown is expected in key markets overseas, especially the US and Europe, which account for about 80 percent of Indian software exports," Nasscom president Som Mittal said. Nasscom has now extended the target year for achieving $60 billion export revenue to 2011.
Most large American companies earn more than 50 per cent of their revenue from markets outside the US and will be affected by the proposed tax reforms. Business groups in the US had assailed the proposal, arguing it would subject them to far higher taxes than their foreign competitors must pay and ultimately endanger US jobs. Global companies that earn profits in India are subject to a tax rate of 33.9 per cent and the impact of the proposed reforms on them would be marginal.
For housing loans up to Rs 30 lakh, the floating interest rates for various tenures range from 8.75 per cent to 10.25 per cent. For Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, the floating interest rates range from 9.50 per cent to 10.75 per cent and for Rs 50 lakh and above, the floating rates range from 10 per cent to 11 per cent. The revised fixed interest rates are 11 per cent and 11.50 per cent depending upon the loan amount.
The recent multi-million dollar deals by the likes of TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies buttress the fact. If the economy does not lose more steam, these companies say the IT sector may see a semblance of normalcy by year-end.