Shivani Shinde &Amp; Ayushman Baruah

Stories by Shivani Shinde &Amp; Ayushman Baruah

ESG metrics of IT cos turn crucial in winning deals

ESG metrics of IT cos turn crucial in winning deals

Rediff.com   26 Jun 2023

For IT services companies, ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) metrics are becoming a crucial component in winning deals as clients are considering sustainability a top priority and are keen to work with partners who are on the same page. "Sustainability is becoming an important part of the client's evaluation. "There is a tremendous focus across the world on sustainability, and it is becoming one of the top five business priorities.

Why TCS' mega deal with Transamerica came to an end

Why TCS' mega deal with Transamerica came to an end

Rediff.com   24 Jun 2023

India's largest IT services player Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) saw its $2 billion, 10-year deal with Transamerica Life Insurance Company come to an end even before the period was over. Transamerica is the subsidiary of American arm of Dutch insurer Aegon NV. This is not the first time such a long-term deal has been called off. Earlier this year, UK's National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), ended a $1.8-billion deal with French IT services player Atos.

Consequences of 'CEO exits' at Indian IT companies

Consequences of 'CEO exits' at Indian IT companies

Rediff.com   22 Jun 2023

Indian IT services companies have seen several CEO changes that have, over the past few months, led to some crucial exits at the mid-senior level in a trend that is likely to continue. According to a recent Motilal Oswal report, "Movement of mid-to-senior leadership at IT services firms is a reality, partially on account of multiple CEO-level changes.

Byju's sacks 1,000 more; count jumps to 3,500

Byju's sacks 1,000 more; count jumps to 3,500

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2023

India's largest edtech firm Byju's will fire 1,000 employees in a fresh round of layoffs across departments. With the latest round, total job cuts at the company have mounted to around 3,500. According to sources, fresh job cuts are an attempt by the company to improve its finances and work towards a path to profitability.

Margins remain a pain point for organised FMCG supply-chain companies

Margins remain a pain point for organised FMCG supply-chain companies

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2023

Jiomart B2B is the latest among organised supply-chain companies to bite the bullet, shutting down its warehouses, and asking its employees to leave. Why are companies finding it difficult to sustain the supply-chain business? Experts point out that gross margins in supplying fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) are very low.

Edtech giant Byju's likely to lay off 1,000 more employees

Edtech giant Byju's likely to lay off 1,000 more employees

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2023

With debt woes and a legal case in the US courts, educational technology (edtech) giant Byju's is expected to be laying off more employees, according to media reports. According to The Morning Context report, Byju's intends to lay off 1,000 employees. This number, however, could not be confirmed by Business Standard independently. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the reports.

Infosys grows footprint in the Nordics with new proximity centre in Norway

Infosys grows footprint in the Nordics with new proximity centre in Norway

Rediff.com   8 Jun 2023

Bengaluru-based IT major Infosys is growing its footprint in the Nordics by establishing a new proximity centre in Oslo, Norway, as part of its continued expansion plans in the region. The new centre is expected to enable Infosys to attract, re-skill, and upskill local talent to work on global opportunities through next-gen technologies like cloud, AI, IoT, 5G, and software engineering. The Nordic region consists of five sovereign states - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden - besides the three autonomous territories connected to these states: the Faroe Islands and Greenland (Denmark), and land (Finland).

India Has Highest Number Of Suspicious E-mails Per Day

India Has Highest Number Of Suspicious E-mails Per Day

Rediff.com   8 Jun 2023

Spear-phishing e-mails typically try to steal sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial information, which is then used to commit fraud, identity theft, and other crimes.

India employees ready to delegate more work to AI: Microsoft report

India employees ready to delegate more work to AI: Microsoft report

Rediff.com   2 Jun 2023

As artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to replace jobs, a new report from Microsoft has suggested that Indian employees are caught between a fear of losing jobs and an opportunity to reduce workload by delegating tasks to technology. Microsoft's Work Trend Index 2023 found that while 74 per cent of Indian employees are worried about AI replacing their jobs, 83 per cent would delegate as much work to it as possible, to help lessen their workloads. More than three in four Indian workers would be comfortable using AI not just for administrative tasks (86 per cent), but also for analytical work (88 per cent), and for the creative aspects of their role (87 per cent).

Rajesh Gopinathan bows out as TCS CEO, keeps mum on future plans

Rajesh Gopinathan bows out as TCS CEO, keeps mum on future plans

Rediff.com   31 May 2023

'I am confident that TCS's best years are ahead,' outgoing CEO tells staff in farewell email.

Third round of layoffs: Meta's senior India executives get pink slips

Third round of layoffs: Meta's senior India executives get pink slips

Rediff.com   27 May 2023

With the third and final round of layoffs implemented by Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms, Inc. in process globally, India, too, has seen its impact, with some senior executives being asked to leave. Some of the executives to have been impacted are Avinash Pant, India's director of marketing; Saket Jha Sourabh, director and head of media partnerships; and Amrita Mukherjee, one of the directors on the legal team. An email sent to the company did not elicit any comment on the development until the time of going to press.

Wipro chairman Rishad Premji's compensation down 50% as profits fall

Wipro chairman Rishad Premji's compensation down 50% as profits fall

Rediff.com   27 May 2023

Rishad Premji, chairman of IT services major Wipro, saw his compensation for FY23 decline by almost 50 per cent year-on-year, due to a fall in the firm's profit. According to the Form 20-F, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission by Wipro, Premji's compensation for FY23 was $951,353, down 50 per cent from $1,819,022 in FY22. "Rishad A Premji is entitled to a commission at the rate of 0.35 per cent on incremental consolidated net profits of Wipro Limited over the previous fiscal year. However, in light of the fact that the incremental consolidated net profits for fiscal year 2023 was negative, the Company determined that no commission was payable for fiscal year 2023 to Mr Rishad A. Premji," said the company in the filing.

Indian IT firms to see revenue decelerate by 5%: S&P Global Ratings

Indian IT firms to see revenue decelerate by 5%: S&P Global Ratings

Rediff.com   25 May 2023

Macroeconomic (macro) concerns, along with a cautious approach towards discretionary information technology (IT) spending, will see the revenue for Indian IT firms decelerate by 5 per cent through 2024-25 (FY25), from the highs of 12-18 per cent in 2022-23, said analysts from S&P Global Ratings. "The reason behind this slow growth is a macro slowdown. "Customers are cutting their discretionary IT spending, especially on projects that take longer to deliver quantifiable outcomes. "We also acknowledge that there are still strong economic headwinds for the next few years," said Spencer Ng, associate director, corporate ratings, S&P Global Ratings, over a call in a media briefing.

IT Campus Hires May Be At 70% of Pre-Covid Levels

IT Campus Hires May Be At 70% of Pre-Covid Levels

Rediff.com   5 May 2023

The hiring scenario is for the batch that passes out in 2024. These are graduates who will be impacted, given 2022 graduates are not fully absorbed and 2023 onboarding still incomplete.

How a Kanpur-born Indian-origin CEO is a chip off the old block

How a Kanpur-born Indian-origin CEO is a chip off the old block

Rediff.com   3 May 2023

In the technology (tech) world, especially storage, Sanjay Mehrotra is a well-known name. Co-founder of SanDisk, a flash memory storage company in 1988, it was eventually acquired by Western Digital in 2016 for a whopping $19 billion. For a boy from Kanpur, who went on to pursue higher studies in the US, becoming the chief executive officer of Micron Technology, Inc - one of America's largest memory chip makers - and now setting up the company's first plant in India, it has been quite a ride.

Made-In-India Relationship Apps Woo You

Made-In-India Relationship Apps Woo You

Rediff.com   2 May 2023

Made-in-India apps -- the likes of QuackQuack, TrulyMadly, and Aisle -- are wooing Internet users in smaller towns. Indian consumers spent close to $10 million in 2022 on dating and friendship apps.

'I don't want to think of challenges, but tasks before us'

'I don't want to think of challenges, but tasks before us'

Rediff.com   2 May 2023

'Every time a new tech comes in, there are a set of people who will predict that this will be the end of Indian IT and every time the Indian IT industry and overall technology providers have proven to be resilient.'

'Once we make an offer to a person, we honour it'

'Once we make an offer to a person, we honour it'

Rediff.com   24 Apr 2023

'Even during the pandemic we did it.' 'We think it's our responsibility to make sure that we manage the uncertainty.'

Wipro to consider buyback proposal

Wipro to consider buyback proposal

Rediff.com   24 Apr 2023

IT services major Wipro is reconsidering a proposal of buy back of equity shares, said the company in a regulatory filing. A final decision on this will be taken during the board meeting to be held on April 26-27. The outcome of the board meeting will be communicated to the stock exchanges soon after conclusion on April 27.

Wipro asks freshers to take new test or get terminated

Wipro asks freshers to take new test or get terminated

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2023

Wipro is in the news, again. The information technology (IT) services company has mandated freshers, who had opted for a lower salary package of Rs 3.5 lakh per annum, instead of Rs 6.5 lakh per annum, clear a new training module titled Project Readiness Program (PRP) and score at least 60 per cent or stand terminated. Wipro is not the only company to have implemented such a programme.