Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Microsoft Sees Higher Windows Mobile Unit Sales
TAIPEI: Microsoft said on Tuesday it expects global unit sales of its Windows Mobile software for cellphones to grow at least 50 per cent per year in fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
US Slowdown Worries Satyam
MUMBAI: Satyam Computers services today said it is worried about the impending slowdown in the US, however it has factored it in when issued the guidance last month for this year. So, there is no change in guidance based on the impending slowdown.
"The US market is worrisome. Any slowdown there would impact us directly. The banking and financial services industry have been impacted and it is in deterioration mode," Satyam Chief Financial Officer V Srinivas told reporters. "We are adopting a wait and watch approach towards the US market," he said. The banking and financial services industry contribute 24 per cent to the total Satyam revenues.
"The US market is worrisome. Any slowdown there would impact us directly. The banking and financial services industry have been impacted and it is in deterioration mode," Satyam Chief Financial Officer V Srinivas told reporters. "We are adopting a wait and watch approach towards the US market," he said. The banking and financial services industry contribute 24 per cent to the total Satyam revenues.
TCS Among Top Companies Selected For Corporate Responsibility
LONDON: India's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services was today named as one of the top 100 companies chosen for helping people globally through its corporate responsibility programme.
TCS has been chosen by The Sunday Times in its list of "Companies that Count in 2008' for extending support to people globally through outreach programmes, community education and health initiatives.
The TCS is the world's leading information technology consulting, services, business process outsourcing and engineering services organisation, the report said.
The company that heads the list is Accenture, an accountants and consultants giant. BAA, the British Airport Authority has bagged the second position.
TCS has been chosen by The Sunday Times in its list of "Companies that Count in 2008' for extending support to people globally through outreach programmes, community education and health initiatives.
The TCS is the world's leading information technology consulting, services, business process outsourcing and engineering services organisation, the report said.
The company that heads the list is Accenture, an accountants and consultants giant. BAA, the British Airport Authority has bagged the second position.
Infosys Employees to Undergo Certification for Promotion
In what will be the first such comprehensive exercise in the IT industry, all the 91,000-odd employees of India's second-largest IT services provider, Infosys Technologies, will now have to pass certification programmes to get promoted.
The certification programme, conducted every March, is now being extended across the board and will test the employees' domain expertise, and grade them accordingly to be eligible for promotion.
Nandita Gurjar, V-P and group head (HRD), Infosys, said: "We took a re-look at our performance structure, and decided that this year onwards, we will have various training certifications for our employees. Those who qualify for these certification benchmarks will be considered for higher and complex jobs."
The Bangalore-based IT firm also has a bottom performance plan, according to which the poor performers are given a chance to improve their skills. But if we see no improvement, despite all measures, we will let go of the employees, Said Gurjar.
She confirmed that some employees were asked to leave on these grounds, but declined to put a figure to it. Incidentally, this calendar year, there were reports of IBM laying off 500 to 600 freshers, and working on ways to certify the skill levels of its employees.
Besides, 500 people were asked to resign from India's largest IT services provider, TCS . Yahoo! India, too, reportedly told 45 full-time employees across all levels to quit on these grounds.
The certification programme, conducted every March, is now being extended across the board and will test the employees' domain expertise, and grade them accordingly to be eligible for promotion.
Nandita Gurjar, V-P and group head (HRD), Infosys, said: "We took a re-look at our performance structure, and decided that this year onwards, we will have various training certifications for our employees. Those who qualify for these certification benchmarks will be considered for higher and complex jobs."
The Bangalore-based IT firm also has a bottom performance plan, according to which the poor performers are given a chance to improve their skills. But if we see no improvement, despite all measures, we will let go of the employees, Said Gurjar.
She confirmed that some employees were asked to leave on these grounds, but declined to put a figure to it. Incidentally, this calendar year, there were reports of IBM laying off 500 to 600 freshers, and working on ways to certify the skill levels of its employees.
Besides, 500 people were asked to resign from India's largest IT services provider, TCS . Yahoo! India, too, reportedly told 45 full-time employees across all levels to quit on these grounds.
Infosys Sees Higher Wages to Keep Staff
MUMBAI: Infosys Technologies Ltd, India's No 2 software services exporter, is seeing greater competition for talent, and expects higher salaries to help prevent attrition, a top company official said on Wednesday.
Infosys, which plans to add 25,000 employees in 2008/09, has made 18,000 offers to students at engineering colleges, and will also hire about 330 business school graduates, Nandita Gurjar, group head of human resources, told reporters.
"At business schools, we are competing with financial services firms -- they are the 'in thing' now," she said. "But at engineering colleges, where we compete with other software firms, we get in at Day Zero or Day One."
The Bangalore-based firm, which trails leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has said wage increases of 11-13 per cent will impact margins by 2.3 per cent in the June quarter.
But higher wages were essential to retain talent in an industry where attrition levels are at 14-16 per cent, she said. "Our attrition rate is 13.4 percent, and we'd like to get it back to single digits -- the level we were at in 2004.
Infosys, which plans to add 25,000 employees in 2008/09, has made 18,000 offers to students at engineering colleges, and will also hire about 330 business school graduates, Nandita Gurjar, group head of human resources, told reporters.
"At business schools, we are competing with financial services firms -- they are the 'in thing' now," she said. "But at engineering colleges, where we compete with other software firms, we get in at Day Zero or Day One."
The Bangalore-based firm, which trails leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has said wage increases of 11-13 per cent will impact margins by 2.3 per cent in the June quarter.
But higher wages were essential to retain talent in an industry where attrition levels are at 14-16 per cent, she said. "Our attrition rate is 13.4 percent, and we'd like to get it back to single digits -- the level we were at in 2004.
Infosys Brand Value Reports Slowest Growth in FY08
BANGALORE: Infosys Technologies saw its brand value report the slowest growth in absolute numbers during FY08. Infosys brand value, according to the latest annual report, stood at Rs 31,863 crore compared to Rs 31,617 crore in the preceding year, showing a paltry 0.77% jump. This is in stark contrast with the 37.97% vault in FY07 and a whopping 61% rise in FY06. Infosys brand value was pegged at Rs 14,153 crore in FY05, reflecting the robust growth it reported running into FY08.
India's Top IT Companies Hire Less
CHENNAI: Last year something unprecedented happened in the top Indian software companies. As a bunch, they hired less number of people in 2007-08 than they did the previous year.
For years, the burden on the recruiters in India's top six IT companies - TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, Satyam and HCL Tech - has been going only up and up. If they hired 100 people one year, they could safely assume that they will have to hire anywhere between 125 to 150 people the next.
But, last year they had to hire only 97. These six companies made addition of 89,868 people in 2007-08, about 2500 less than 92,412 people they hired dur-ing the previous year.
Going by early indications, this year could be as bad. In the earnings call, none of the companies have been very enthusiastic on the hiring front. Engineering colleges, traditionally the recruitment bastion for IT companies, are feeling the pinch already and they expect the campus intake to come down by at least 15-20% this year.
There is no single reason, industry players say. A combination of drivers including temporary hiccups such as thinner margins, long term trends such as movement towards fixed bid pricing, desired goals such as higher productivity has made top companies relatively less greedy for its most important resource.
For years, the burden on the recruiters in India's top six IT companies - TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, Satyam and HCL Tech - has been going only up and up. If they hired 100 people one year, they could safely assume that they will have to hire anywhere between 125 to 150 people the next.
But, last year they had to hire only 97. These six companies made addition of 89,868 people in 2007-08, about 2500 less than 92,412 people they hired dur-ing the previous year.
Going by early indications, this year could be as bad. In the earnings call, none of the companies have been very enthusiastic on the hiring front. Engineering colleges, traditionally the recruitment bastion for IT companies, are feeling the pinch already and they expect the campus intake to come down by at least 15-20% this year.
There is no single reason, industry players say. A combination of drivers including temporary hiccups such as thinner margins, long term trends such as movement towards fixed bid pricing, desired goals such as higher productivity has made top companies relatively less greedy for its most important resource.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
