India’s first and largest People Search Portal launched

JantaKhoj InfoServices Pvt. Ltd. today launched India’s first and largest people search portal ‘JantaKhoj.com’. The interactive and user friendly website, powered by a vast database covering more than three hundred million Indians, will provide online and offline services to both individuals and businesses in India in the field of people search and background verifications.


The beta version of the website which goes online today will provide contact details, relatives and neighbours listings, and will also facilitate informed decision making for its consumers by offering comprehensive background checks.

According to Mr. Tarun Bangari, Founder & CEO, JantaKhoj, “JantaKhoj.com combines the best of online and offline approaches to cover these areas which have traditionally been either under-served or have been available only to the large companies. We have a vision to democratize the background verification process and bring it within easy reach of every individual and to promote greater transparency in society by enabling deeper insights into the background of various individuals.”

As per Mr. Ajit Gupta, the serial entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, Founder & Chairman, JantaKhoj, “The sheer size of Indian population combined with the difficulty in accessing and searching the public records for reference and background information, means that a big opportunity exists in the sphere of people search and background verification checks. JantaKhoj aims to be a pioneer in this industry and has set up the technology platform which will scale in future to include other public and web-based sources including social media.”





The premium services for individual customers cover background verification of matrimonial candidates, domestic help, drivers and tenants. The services allow the customer to select different applicable checks (address, criminal, education, work experience, driving license, reference) as required.


JantaKhoj also offers employee background verification services to businesses. These too can be customized based on the requirements of a company. The firm has AAyuja, Aryaka, ByteRidge, EduMetry, Evolv, InvestmentYogi and PocketMoneyJobs as some of it’s business customers.

HP Delivers Industry's First Mission-critical Converged Infrastructure in One Platform

HP today announced new HP Integrity solutions that significantly improve customers’ service-level agreement performance, provide up to 100 percent application availability(1) and simplify mission-critical computing for the most demanding application workloads.


The company also introduced AllianceONE, an alliance partner program that optimizes solutions across servers, storage, networking and professional services that support a mission-critical Converged Infrastructure.

Built on a new HP Blade Scale Architecture that spans servers, storage and networking, the Integrity solutions deliver the industry’s first mission-critical Converged Infrastructure. This represents the first major architectural upgrade for Integrity Superdome in a decade.

The architecture allows clients to deploy, automate and manage a complete range of applications side by side, within the same enclosure, and using the same components, tools and processes. With a single management environment, clients can maintain consistent control of the entire IT infrastructure.

HP is the only vendor delivering a unified BladeSystem platform that spans x86 to HP Superdome 2. As a result, HP clients can create data centers that allow them to spend less time on operations, and instead focus their resources on driving innovation to address business needs.

Enhanced mission-critical Converged Infrastructure portfolio

The new Integrity portfolio includes servers, software and services that provide clients:

— Up to 450 percent improvement in infrastructure reliability over previous generations with the new HP Integrity Superdome 2. Built on the unified Blade Scale Architecture, Integrity Superdome 2 delivers more than 100 new mission-critical innovations to provide breakthrough availability.(2) Its unique Crossbar Fabric increases system resiliency by intelligently routing data between blades and input/output ports with complete redundancy.



— Improved performance and lower total cost of ownership with new HP Integrity server blades, which expand from two sockets to the industry’s first eight-socket UNIX scale-up server blade. HP Blade Link technology easily scales and reconfigures systems by combining multiple blades to create two-, four- and eight-socket systems. This delivers up to nine times the performance in half the footprint.(3) Clients also can mix and match HP Integrity, HP ProLiant and HP StorageWorks blades in the same enclosure for maximum flexibility.



— Investment protection with the new HP Integrity rx2800 i2 rack-mount server, which enables clients to use their existing rack-mount environments. With a familiar infrastructure design, the server is ideal for smaller or remote installations such as branch office applications.



— Greater availability and user productivity with the HP-UX 11i v3 operating system, which delivers up to 50 percent improvement in application deployment time and the fastest failover in the market.(4) HP-UX offers automated workload management that allows clients to shrink and grow virtual servers with the needs of their businesses. Available in a pay-per-use model, HP-UX also delivers instant capacity on demand and built-in software enhancements to improve management and security.



— Faster time to market and improved management with HP BladeSystem Matrix with HP-UX, the company’s Converged Infrastructure platform for shared services. The solution enables clients to provision entire application infrastructures – including software, servers, storage and networking – in minutes instead of weeks or months to automate the delivery of shared services for the data center.



— Easy migration of legacy applications with support from HP Converged Infrastructure Consulting Services and Application Modernization Services. Clients also have access to the resources they need to design, test and implement highly scalable applications and infrastructures.



— Ensure higher levels of availability with HP Mission Critical Services that identify all possible sources of downtime. The services are offered on a variety of levels, including Pr oactive Select, Critical Service and full Mission Critical Partnership. Clients have access to the industry’s most extensive pool of consultants specializing in Converged Infrastructure transformations.

Converging the alliance partner ecosystem

AllianceONE, HP’s new solutions-based alliance partner program across servers, storage and networking, provides software vendors, hardware vendors and systems integrators greater simplicity and faster return on IT investments. Through AllianceONE, alliance partners access a single program that offers the broadest choice of industry solutions designed for an HP Converged Infrastructure.



HP Converged Infrastructure is built on a standards-based architecture across Microsoft Windows®, Linux, HP-UX, OpenVMS and HP NonStop platforms. This enables clients and partners to build leading solutions that are flexible and adaptable to meet changing business demands.



More information about the new HP Integrity server portfolio is available at www.hp.com/go/integrity.

Symphony Services Announces Strategic Investment Plans In Asia

Symphony Service Corp., a global company specializing in software product engineering outsourcing services, today announced the addition of two new facilities to accommodate growing demand and increased specialization. A new facility in Bangalore, India has been established to support new business to be acquired during the year, with an emphasis on delivering value to its clients across core areas including commercial software solutions, embedded software and engineering design services.

As part of its growth plans, the company also announced plans to expand its footprint in China, with the opening of a global delivery center in Shanghai by mid 2010. The center will facilitate Symphony’s client growth strategy and provide clients the advantage of an offshore environment in the region.

“The facilities additions in Asia are an integral part of our growth strategy. The new delivery centers will provide Symphony Services the platform to meet accelerated client requirements and new businesses acquired across our focus areas”, said Dr. Pallab Chatterjee, Chairman and CEO, Symphony Services Corp. “We will continue to focus our energies on outcome based engagements and continue to make significant investments in analytical services, em­bedded software and engineering design services which will be the next growth domains in the industry,” he added.
“In India we span across 3 major cities- Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune. The additional Bangalore center reiterates our commitment to India and the major contribution of our teams to the global strategy”, said Dr. Chatterjee.

CSS Corp Announces Immediate Availability of Cloud Enablement Tools and Services

CSS Corp, a leader in IT operations optimization, today announced a suite of tools and services to help enterprises, independent software vendors (ISV) and services providers seamlessly leverage public, public and hybrid cloud infrastructure.


The CSS suite of Cloud management tools include:



CSS CloudSmart: CloudSmart is an ANT-based automated deployment tool to automate complex enterprise application deployment process on the cloud. ANT tasks and run book automation for deployment on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Eclastic Compute Cloud EC2 are part of the feature set.


CSS CloudBuddy Enterprise: CloudBuddy Enterprise is a scalable and robust tool that helps organizations take advantage of the capabilities of AWS Simple Storage Service (S3) storage. It features an Enterprise Administrator console that manages access privileges/storage limits at the group and user levels. CloudBuddy Enterprise has multi-mode access such as Web, WebDAV, Web Services and Native Client for Windows to the AWS S3 storage. It also has an integrated indexing engine, to index all the files that get stored on the AWS S3.

CSS CloudBuddy Analytics: CloudBuddy Analytics is an Open Source web based tool to generate exhaustive statistical reports about your S3 Bucket access. It has an intuitive interface for a rich user experience. CloudBuddy Analytics takes care of enabling logging, fetching logs and generating reports and can be configured for Multiple S3 Accounts, and could be made available on the network as a multi-user tool.

CSS is also announcing availability of its cloud enablement services, which include:



· Cloud Design, Orchestration, Automation and Testing Services



· Cloud Monitoring and Management Services



· Cloud Support Services

“As a leader in IT operations optimization, CSS continues to roll out services and tools that help global companies align IT costs with business demands,” said Nick Sharma, CEO of CSS Corp. “Our cloud computing suite of tools and services are helping our customers truly benefit from the private, public and hybrid infrastructure.”

CSS will be exhibiting its tools and services at Booth 338 at the 5th International Cloud Expo being held at Javits Convention Center in New York City from April 19-21, 2010.

TECHNICOLOR DIVES INTO ORIGINAL CONTENT BIZ

Addressing the demand for children’s animated content, and the rapid growth and success of its Bangalore, India-based animation studio, Technicolor (Euronext Paris 18453; NYSE: TCH) today announced the formation of a new team to develop and produce animated broadcast content. Tim Sarnoff, president of Technicolor’s Digital Productions division, also announced the hiring of animation industry veterans Jean MacCurdy and Fonda Snyder who will team with Technicolor’s vice president of Digital Productions, Steven Wendland, to lead the development and production efforts.


The company’s first acquisition is the literary property, “Pete & Pickles,” the story of an unlikely friendship between deeply mismatched individuals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Berkeley Breathed. This marks Technicolor’s first foray into producing its own original content.
“We are honored,” stated Sarnoff, “that Technicolor’s initial entry into content development is “Pete & Pickles,” and we are thrilled and humbled by Berkeley Breathed’s trust in partnering with Technicolor to produce a series that will be true to his creation.”



"I told the folks at Technicolor,” recounts Breathed, “that the only way I could get lured to the world of small screen pixels is if a company were to declare their intent to make the coolest, most unique animated show for children's television -- one that shakes up the art-form like my son shakes the grocery bag full of eggs just because its fun. The sneaky schemers agreed."

“We are equally thrilled to welcome Jean and Fonda to Technicolor,” said Sarnoff. “They are both recognized stars in the world of children’s animated content and they share our vision for developing world-class programming and fully utilizing our talented team at Paprikaas.”



Ms. MacCurdy was the former president of Warner Bros. Animation, and Ms. Snyder was the co-founder and former president of Storyopolis Productions and former vice president of original movies with Disney Channel. Steven Wendland joined Technicolor in 2008 as the vice president of animation after working in animation at Mainframe Entertainment for 10 years.
"The opportunity to once again play in the animation world with both familiar and new talents, and to engage with a company whose name is synonymous with quality, was simply too good to pass up,” stated Ms. MacCurdy. “Tim has assembled an amazing team and I am honored to be part of it."



“To be able to bring in some of my favorite authors and illustrators, and to invest in new talent to create compelling CG animated TV series with Technicolor, is a thrilling opportunity,” offered Ms. Snyder. “I am so excited to have been hired to work with Tim, Jean and the entire Technicolor team whose rich history is inspiring.”



“It’s thrilling to watch Technicolor make its own history in the world of creative content development,” stated Wendland, “and I feel very fortunate to be a part of it.”

HARSH MANGLIK APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF NASSCOM FOR 2010-2011

Information Technology industry body, the National Association of Software and Services Companies, NASSCOM today announced Mr. Harsh Manglik as the new Chairman of its Executive Council for the year 2010-2011.Mr Harsh Manglik who succeeds Mr. Pramod Bhasin, Chairman for the year 2009-10, will take on his new role with effect from April 20, 2010. Previously Mr Harsh Manglik has been a member of NASSCOM’s Executive Council and is currently the Chairman and Geography Managing Director for Accenture in India. NASSCOM also announced the appointment of Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar as the Vice Chairman of the Executive Council. Mr. Rajendra Pawar is the Chairman & Managing Director of NIIT Technologies.








As Chairman of the Executive Council, Mr. Harsh Manglik will lead and assist NASSCOM in catalysing the growth of the Indian software industry and enabling the fulfilment of its future goals and aspirations.



“I am extremely honoured to be elected the Chairman of NASSCOM at a time when the industry is designing a new trajectory for its next level of growth over the next 10-years. The majority of this new growth will come from new areas such as public services/e-Governance, R&D, engineering, healthcare and by creating new opportunities/markets driven by innovation and IT based growth engines with strong contributions from start-ups and SMEs.” said Mr. Harsh Manglik, Chairman, NASSCOM and Chairman & Geography Managing Director, Accenture India. He further added, “To set the stage for this growth, NASSCOM will continue to drive greater engagement with the government and its members to address the industry issues of inclusion, education, infrastructure security and corporate governance.”



“It was an honour to be associated with NASSCOM. This industry has performed very well during very tough times demonstrating its resilience, flexibility and value delivered to customers. The future looks very promising now as we all globalize, build out new products and new markets and use it as an opportunity to emphasise what we stand for. I look forward to NASSCOM guiding the industry and taking the Indian IT-BPO industry to greater heights. I congratulate Harsh and wish him all the best for his new role as Chairman” said Mr. Pramod Bhasin, former Chairman, NASSCOM



“We are honoured to welcome Harsh as the chairman, NASSCOM. Harsh brings with him over 30-years of global business and consulting experience, gained in several leading global organizations, spanning many domains including aerospace, automotive, electronics, telecom and IT services. His experience in global business will be a valuable asset to NASSCOM.” said Mr. Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM.







The new Chairman Mr. Manglik along with NASSCOM President, Mr. Som Mittal and Vice-Chairman Mr. Rajendra Pawar will be responsible for leading the association into carrying out its diverse array of priorities including:



•Build initiatives and programs that will enable the industry to realize the Perspective 2020 vision of `Transforming Business, Transforming India’.

•Work closely with the government in India and overseas to create a conducive policy framework for industry growth and globalised workforces.

•Scale initiatives on talent development and security

•Facilitate mutually beneficial alliances between domestic and foreign industry players to create long lasting relationships based on profitability, innovation and growth for all. •Work closely with foreign governments to minimize hurdles in obtaining work permits and visas to ensure free movement of work force to and from India

Corel® launches the new edition of award-winning graphics suite for graphics professionals in India

C or el C or p or ation today introduced C or elDRAW® Graphics Suite X5, the newest edition of the company’s award-winning package of professional graphics applications in the Indian market. With m or e than fifty new and enhanced features, C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5 includes maj or enhancements to asset management, col or management, web graphics, a wide variety of learning resources and m or e content than ever bef or e. The trial and electronic download versions are available today and the product will start shipping bef or e the end of March in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian P or tuguese and Dutch.
F or m or e than 20 years, C or elDRAW® has helped PC users w or ldwide create graphics with impact. Known f or its versatility and power, C or elDRAW Graphics Suite has won hundreds of international industry awards by consistently addressing the most pressing needs of its loyal community of users. The new version of the suite continues in this tradition by focusing on innovations that matter the most to users in a wide variety of industries including sign making, graphic design, fashion/apparel design, wide f or mat printing, marketing, print production and small business.


“Throughout the development cycle f or C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5, our team w or ked hand-in-hand with our user community to ensure we were delivering the new features and enhancements that would make a meaningful difference to them. We wanted to truly understand what they loved about the product and what they needed to make their experience that much better,” said Gérard Métrailler , Seni or Direct or of Product Management, Graphics, f or C or el at the India launch. “We believe we’ve delivered a product that enables our current users to discover new possibilities with the suite while allowing new users to get up and running quickly and create projects with confidence.”

C or el C or p or ation is not only focusing on product development, but is also taking initiatives to educate and prepare qualified professionals f or careers in industries such as like Printing, Publishing, Advertising, Desktop Publishing, Multimedia, Design, Animation and Web design. They have already launched this program in India and along with their distribut or s Aditya Infotech Ltd., have tied up with leading training institutes in the country to setup C or el Auth or ised Training Centers. “Our endeav or to develop trained professionals f or various industries has been successful in filling up skill gaps in the market. It has received a huge response in India and is expanding at a considerable rate.” added Gérard Métrailler .



New Suite Provides Users with M or e Flexibility, M or e Versatility

In developing the newest version of C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5, the C or el team focused on five areas that were ranked as key pri or ities by our users:

C or el® CONNECT Simplifies W or kflow; Gives Quick Access to Even M or e Content



C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5 makes it easy f or users to connect to their content. The new C or el CONNECT is a brand new application that synchronizes with both C or elDRAW and C or el® PHOTO-PAINT™ to provide quick access to content on a computer, netw or k, or disc. In addition, industry-leading supp or t f or m or e than 100 commonly used file f or mats ensures users can easily collab or ate and exchange files with clients and colleagues. C or elDRAW Graphics Suite also continues its tradition of providing one of the broadest selections of fonts, clip-art, and other collateral available, including:

· 10,000 clipart



· 1,000 high-resolution, royalty-free photos



· 1,000 fonts



· 2,000 vehicle templates



· 350 design templates

New & Enhanced Tools Enable Even M or e Precision and Experimentation

With C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5, the introduction of significant new and enhanced features help users create with confidence. These features include a B-Spline tool, updated artistic media, scalable arrowheads, enhanced Connect or and Dimension tools, and the new Segment Dimension tool. The Mesh Fill tool has also been significantly improved to help users design multi-col or ed filled objects with m or e fluid col or transitions. New web graphics tools enable users to w or k in bitmap mode directly within C or elDRAW viewing detailed pixels and the ability to preview their w or k bef or e publishing online.




Reinvented Col or Management System Ensures Accuracy and Accelerates Project Completion



C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5 represents a complete change in approach to col or management, assuring users accurate col or representation. The new Document (C or elDRAW) and Image (C or el PHOTO-PAINT) dockers allow users to save project-specific col or s and to reuse col or s from a previous project. In addition, eyedroppers have been added to several col or dialog boxes, col or palettes, and col or pickers, providing m or e convenient col or sampling opp or tunities.



Easy Output to Multiple F or mats



With industry-leading file f or mat compatibility, C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5 offers the flexibility today’s designers need f or outputting their w or k. The same design may be needed f or Web banners, printed ads or brochures, and t-shirts, billboards or digital signs. In addition, the inclusion of SwiSH miniMax helps users create Web animations f or Web production m or e easily than ever bef or e.



Full-Col or Guidebook and Video Tut or ials Provide Insights and Inspiration to Jump Start Projects It’s easier than ever to get started with C or elDRAW Graphics Suite, regardless of your experience level. The new full col or , hard-cover guidebook provides techniques and tips f or users of all skill levels and offers a unique opp or tunity to learn from professional designers who use the suite in industries including fashion and jewelry design, book illustration, vehicle wrapping, and product packaging. The suite also comes with m or e than two hours of video tut or ials.

“C or elDRAW Graphics Suite is a vital part of my day-to-day w or kflow. With the numerous enhancements introduced in C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5, I now have an even m or e powerful tool to help me complete projects accurately and efficiently,” said Michal Polák , owner of FRANCISDRAKE design studio. “It’s clear that the C or el development team really listened to its users and w or ked with them to create the best C or elDRAW Graphics Suite yet.”


What is Included in C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5



C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5 includes C or elDRAW, an intuitive vect or -illustration and page-layout application; C or el PHOTO-PAINT, a professional image-editing application; C or el® PowerTRACE®, a utility to quickly and accurately convert bitmaps into editable vect or graphics, and C or el® CAPTURE™, a one-click screen capture utility.



New to the suite is C or el CONNECT, a full-screen browser that lets users search the suite’s digital content and/ or their computer or local netw or k to quickly find the perfect complement f or a design. C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5 also includes many supp or ting applications, a wide variety of content, and in-depth training resources.

F or m or e inf or mation about C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5 and to see a detailed list of new and enhanced features, please visit www.corel.com/coreldraw. To learn m or e about how C or elDRAW Graphics Suite is used w or ldwide, please visit the product’s community site at http://coreldraw.com.

Pricing and Availability

C or elDRAW Graphics Suite X5 is immediately available as an electronic download through www.corel.com. The boxed version of the suite is available through C or el distribut or in India : Aditya Infotech (http://www.adityagroup.com/) at INR 25,800 (excluding taxes) f or the Indian market

Arista Networks Redefines Data Center Switching

Arista Networks today introduced the Arista 7500, a revolutionary switching platform for maximizing data center performance, efficiency, and overall network reliability. The Arista 7500 is the highest performance and most power efficient 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) switching platform available. It was specifically designed to address the most demanding customer requirements for cloud computing, virtualization, and mission-critical data centers.




The Arista 7500 has 10 terabits per second of switching capacity and 384 wirespeed L2/L3 10GbE ports in only eleven rack-units. It is five times faster, one-tenth the power draw per wirespeed port and one-half the footprint compared to other modular data center switches. The Arista 7500 was designed with the most demanding requirements in mind, delivering a new class of Cloud Network spine and aggregation layer within the Arista portfolio.

"Cloud Networking requires a new class of scale, price/performance, and resilience previously not addressed with existing modular switches,” emphasized Jayshree Ullal, president and chief executive officer of Arista Networks. “The introduction of the Arista 7500 is significant and transformational to customers and the 10GbE market – this platform ushers in the next phase of the data center industry.”


Arista’s First and Flagship Modular Switch


The Arista 7500 supports an unprecedented L2/L3 throughput of 5.76 billion packets per second in a single chassis – the platform will also deliver 40 and 100Gbps Ethernet interfaces in the future. A low-latency, non-blocking fabric enables traffic to be carried without loss and manages congestion under the most demanding workloads, for any type of network traffic. These capabilities enable large-scale data center consolidation and improve server efficiency, significantly reducing operating costs of the entire IT infrastructure.



“When deploying a cloud infrastructure in the data center, network performance, power efficiency, low latency and scalability are all key considerations,” said Forrest Norrod, vice president and general manager of Dell’s Server Platform Division. “The architecture of the Arista 7500 is ideally suited for cloud computing and a great match for Dell’s PowerEdge server and EqualLogic iSCSI storage solutions where an uncompromised cloud network is critical for delivering the optimal customer experience.”



The Arista 7500 runs EOS, Arista’s Extensible Operating System. Built with a modular software design with a unique multi-process, state sharing architecture, EOS offers open access to Linux tools, extensible network services, and allows easy integration with third-party applications. A first in the networking industry, EOS provides a single binary image across all Arista networking platforms and delivers mission-critical data center features such as Stateful Fault Repair and In-Service Software Upgrades.

State of the Art Design for Modern Data Centers



The modern data center demands radically simpler network designs for large-scale server, storage, and cloud deployments. A simple two-tier design of Arista 7500 spine switches and Arista leaf switches can support over 8,000 servers with over 100,000 cores. This enables predictable performance per server and low end-to-end latency.



"The Arista 7500 is a fundamental advance in the state-of-the-art of data center Ethernet switching," said Andy Bechtolsheim, Arista's chairman and chief development officer. "This platform was designed and engineered with the performance and capability to continue to scale and address the most challenging and demanding data center requirements, including future 40Gb and 100Gb Ethernet."







Several industry analysts have provided comments on Arista 7500 and its impact on the modular Ethernet market.



Pricing and Availability



The Arista 7500 Series starts at $140,000 and a fully configured system is at the breakthrough price of less than $1,200 per wirespeed port. The Arista 7500 is available now and is in production in mission-critical facilities today.



Additional Information and Resources



Additional information and resources on today's announcement can be found in the Arista online press kit. More information and resources on the Arista 7500 Series can be found on the 7500 Series product page. Arista Networks is hosting a webcast outlining key features and capabilities of Arista 7500 on 19 April 2010, at 10:00am PDT.

VIRGIN MOBILE ADDS SPICE TO IPL3: LAUNCHES INDIAN PANGA LEAGUE

Elevating Indian cricket frenzy to greater levels of action packed drama and to encash on this IPL fever, Virgin Mobile India has launched Indian Panga League (www.indianpangaleague.in), a unique online campaign. It is the first of its kind initiative in the digital arena which presents the right eclectic mix of entertainment and fun to the 20-20 cricket series. Indian Panga League in the true Virgin Mobile style will enthrall and engage the youth with new pangas and hatke takes on the game. Keeping this in mind, over 100 unique films of 15 seconds each have specially been shot and created, taking the cricket fever to a whole new level by Virgin Mobile!




We at Virgin mobile understand that youth is passionate about cricket and they often get into friendly banters with their friends supporting opposing team during the IPL season. We have this STD proposition of 20p/min and given the fact that it’s so low friends across different cities can talk to each other endlessly and continue taking pangas with each other.

Commenting on this announcement, Prasad Narasimhan, Chief Marketing Officer, Virgin Mobile India said, “The Indian Panga League is our initiative to connect to the youth of India and provide them an exciting opportunity to join the cricket frenzy. With the launch of indianpangaleague.in, our digital initiatives take another leap in engaging with youth giving them an opportunity to support their favorite teams and take friendly banters with fans of other teams. It was quite a task for us to create over 100 ad films in a true hatke style to promote our STD value propositions of 20p/min. However, we managed and created this first-of-its kind campaign on digital space in such a large scale. With this campaign, we expect lots of visitors to watch, share and take their own pangas. We are confident that this campaign will create a new benchmark in digital marketing space.”



To highlight our value proposition of STD @ 20p/min, we came up with this unique digital campaign which will showcase hatke creative’s on cricket. Taking digs at each other’s team or taking 'panga' will be demonstrated through various kinds of sporting banters between friends across different cities. While they take pangas, they also hold a chance to win cool Samsung Corby handsets and lots of other goodies.




This campaign will have links across social media sites like Facebook, Orkut, Twitter and YouTube which will allow youth to share comments, reply to threads and forward their own pangas to become a part of this one-of-a-kind platform – the great INDIAN PANGA LEAGUE!





This digital initiative by Virgin Mobile urges cricket aficionados to talk and share all the cricket updates of the day. As India’s only national youth focused brand, Virgin Mobile aims to extend its objective of helping youth leverage and use the power of their network of friends with this new micro site. Virgin Mobile consumers across India are offered a differentiated tariff proposition of 20p/min for STD and local calls to any Virgin Mobile number without any pack. Virgin Mobile customers calling any other network will be charged at 40p/min for local and 50p/min for STD calls again without any packs.

Sonata Software Result

Leading Indian software solutions company, Sonata Software Ltd. today reported its audited financial results for the quarter and the financial year ended 31st March, 2010.




Highlights:



Sonata Software Ltd. - Consolidated

o Revenue for the year at Rs. 1380.44 Cr ( Rs. 1591.17 Cr )

o EBIDTA for the year at Rs. 171.09 Cr ( Rs. 162.79 Cr ) up 5% YoY

o Net profit for the year at Rs. 79.87 Cr ( Rs. 76.57 Cr ) up 4% YoY

o Earnings per share for the year at Rs. 7.60 ( Rs. 7.28 ) up 4% YoY

o RONW & ROCE for the year at 26% ( RONW 30% & ROCE 31%)

o Consolidated Cash Reserves : Rs. 107.54 Cr ( Rs. 85.24 Cr )



Sonata Software Ltd. - Stand Alone

o Revenue for the year at Rs. 236.09 Cr ( Rs. 243.58 Cr )

o EBIDTA for the year at Rs. 69.48 Cr ( Rs. 65.06 Cr ) up 7% YoY

o Net profit for the year at Rs. 60.20 Cr ( Rs. 53.36 ) up 13% YoY

o Earnings per share for the year at Rs. 5.72 ( Rs. 5.07 ) up 13% YoY

o RONW and ROCE for the year at 23% ( 25% )

o Cash from operations for the year Rs. 42.81 Cr ( Rs. 56.33 Cr )

o A final dividend of Re.0.80 per share (80% on face value of Re.1/-) has been recommended at the Board Meeting, subject to the approval of the shareholders. This along with the interim dividend of Re.0.90 per share raises the total dividend for the year to Rs.1.70 per share (Total dividend Rs. 1.50 per share ).

* Previous year's figures are shown in brackets



Management Comments:



Commenting on the results, Mr. B. Ramaswamy, President and Managing Director, Sonata Software Limited said,

"Our results reflect our relentless focus on adding value to our customers through innovation. This, along with our continuous endeavour in enhancing our solutions through technology and domain skills, has helped us in sustaining growth in a difficult year."





Significant Projects:



Sonata is helping a large car rental company in the Middle East revamp their existing Car Rental Management System, to achieve better fleet optimization and operational efficiency. Sonata is re-designing the Car Rental Management System on a web platform using Microsoft technology. This web based solution will help the company meet their current business needs of engaging customers and tour operators effectively.



For a premier real estate and project management company, Sonata has successfully implemented SonnetCONSTRUCT, its solution framework for the construction and real estate industry. Built on Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, SonnetCONSTRUCT has enabled the successful implementation of ERP at the organisation, helping it to streamline its business processes. The implementation has also helped in the integration of the organization's core activities; improving productivity and enhancing inter departmental communication and synchronization.



For a multinational IT enabled and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company specializing in integrated BPO solutions across Customer Lifecycle and Back-office Lifecycle Management services, Sonata is providing end-to-end testing services for their software products and applications. These products help the customer in enhancing their service delivery efficiency and serve as a value-add to their clients. The engagement involves deploying test consultants, best practices and IP's to ensure that the products are rigorously tested and have faster time to market.



For a large global pharmaceutical major, Sonata is setting up independent centralized testing services to provide functional, security and performance testing for all their applications to improve quality of deliverables, reduce production outages and reduce cost of quality. These services covers gamut of web and business applications cutting across business entities.



Sonata is assisting a leading provider of asset finance origination, specializing in portfolio management software and solutions in the US to enhance the functionalities of one of their prime applications. The product enhancements will enable the customer to address the business requirements of the asset financing organizations quickly and stay abreast of the market requirements.

MSI launches AMD 890GXM-G65 - Redefines full-functional mainboards

Apart from enhancing perf or mance and saving energy, releasing full CPU potential by unlocking additional c or es has become the hot topic of all power users nowadays. The 890GXM-G65 mainboard with integrated ATI Radeon HD 4290 graphics c or e, recently announced by internationally renowned mainboard and graphics card maker MSI, redefines the first-choice of full-functional mainboard. This feature rich board includes supp or t f or DirectX 10.1, ATI CrossFire X f or installing two high-perf or mance ATI Radeon HD graphics cards, USB3.0 and native SATA 6Gb/s and the MSI-exclusive OC Genie. Combining the MSI-exclusive OC Genie and MSI Unlock CPU C or e technologies, consumers can easily unlock the hidden CPU c or es from the BIOS option to enhance the overall CPU perf or mance and C/P value, as well as boost the CPU perf or mance by 148%.



Unlock CPU C or e & OC GenieUnlock CPU C or e & OC Genie




Unlock CPU C or e technology, exclusive from MSI, can unlock the hidden c or es in the CPU by making a few selections from the BIOS. By unlocking a dual c or e CPU into a quad c or e CPU, users can boost the CPU perf or mance over 104%. When w or king with the OC Genie automatic overclocking technology from MSI, the OC Genie can smartly adjust the CPU clock to boost the CPU perf or mance up to 148%. The combination of Unlock CPU C or e and OC Genie doubles its perf or mance. The 890GXM-G65 supp or ts the fastest 140W AMD CPUs allowing consumers to enjoy the perf or mance of multi-c or e CPUs with the budget of dual-c or e CPUs.
Hybrid CrossFire & SideP or t Mem or y

MSI’s 890GXM-G65 supp or ts ATI CrossFireX f or operating two ATI graphic cards in parallel at the same time f or ultimate, scalable perf or mance. Hybrid Crossfire supp or t means that users may also add an additional ATI Radeon HD2400/3400 graphics card to w or k with the integrated graphics c or e to handle the computing demand of m or e applications and games with this double graphics solution. The 890GXM-G65 is also equipped with 1 gigabit (128MB) DDR3 1333MHz SideP or t mem or y to accelerate the 3D display perf or mance of the integrated graphics c or e and reduce system mem or y consumption with this independent IGP mem or y f or handling other programs – meaning there is no need f or an extra budget to enjoy stunning perf or mance.


All AMD800 series mainboards from MSI supp or ts the Unlock CPU technology and the new-generation AMD Phenom II X6 CPUs through BIOS updates f or consumers to enjoy the ultimate computing perf or mance of AMD 6-c or e CPUs at their fingertips.

UST Global and Virgin Racing Charge Head First Into the 2010 Formula One Season

It’s a season of high-octane action, and two next-generation challengers have just rolled onto the Formula One track for the first time. California-based IT services major UST Global and the new, cutting-edge Virgin Racing have commenced a collaborative IT services partnership for the 2010 Formula One season. Over the next three years, UST Global will provide technology services to support and enhance Virgin Racing’s performance on the track. UST’s initial contribution to the team effort is a real-time Race Management System, built from the ground up for the VR-01. The new system will be officially launched at Silverstone, UK.


In addition to the Race Management System, there are two other projects planned for 2010. UST’s work for all three programs is detailed below:

1. Race Management System

In its primary assignment, UST Global has built an integrated control panel display that assimilates wireless data from the cars on the track, GPS feeds, trackside camera feeds, external weather information, and FIA Atlas Server data feeds. The assimilated, technical analysis of the race is delivered in real time to the trackside support team. This optimized information delivery allows the team engineers to monitor vital data points, identify calibration of car parts and raise alerts in case of critical faults.

2. VR-01 Simulator Integration

UST Global will integrate set-up data for the VR-01 racing car with the Wirth Research simulator, ensuring a constant, two-way correlation between the two. The synergy between the simulator and the actual car will offer an efficient test-point for technical experimentation. Discrepancies between actual race conditions and the simulated environment are due to weather, wind conditions, and physical variables like ride height, tire, suspension, gearbox, and engine settings. Assembling and integrating the actual data with the simulator settings will facilitate near-perfect replication.

3. Automotive Parts Life Management Database

The components of a high-performance F1 race car are significantly different from those of an average commercial automobile in terms of both quantity and quality. The life expectancy of these components is affected by the high amount of wear and tear incurred in the lifecycle of the race car and the erratic nature of the events in every run. UST Global is creating a database application to track the details of each component of the VR-01, including the changes and replacements it undergoes throughout its lifecycle. The application will generate automatic notifications to the race team engineers as a component nears the end of its predicted lifecycle.

The Virgin brand is all about quality, customer service, innovation, value, challenging convention, and having fun. UST Global completely aligns with these traits and also stands for solid relationships, ground-breaking perfection and a commitment to clients beyond the contract.

Jim Wright, Marketing Director for Virgin, stated, “The best Formula One partnerships are based upon commercial and technical commitments and in UST Global, Virgin Racing has found an ideal partner who shares the same values, vision, our exacting demand for accuracy, innovation and time lines, and who has a similar work ethic. Already, the relationship between the two organisations is showing positive signs and the integration between the UST Global and Virgin Racing project teams has been nothing short of remarkable. As a partnership, the Virgin Racing/UST Global alliance has the hallmarks of everything that is necessary to compete at the highest level and as such the partnership has a strong future.”

Joe Nalkara, President of UST Global, said, “The Virgin Formula One Team, determined to challenge the established teams, has broken with traditional convention and designed its cars on CFD, entirely using technology rather than expensive wind tunnels. UST continues to help its clients gain competitive advantages through technology and process innovation, making us the ideal partner for Virgin Racing in Formula One.”

Technicolor’s Paprikaas Animation awarded Nickelodeon’s Kung Fu Panda series

Technicolor(Euronext Paris 18453; NYSE: TCH) has announced that Nickelodeon, part of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: KDE), has awarded Technicolor’s Bangalore-based animation studio, Paprikaas, the Kung Fu Panda TV series, which will be produced as an animated series for the worldwide broadcast market, initially comprising 26 episodes.




Nickelodeon and Technicolor have developed a strong production relationship based on Paprikaas’ work on the CGI production of Penguins of Madagascar. According to TV by the Numbers Penguins of Madagascar was the No. 1 kids show on cable TV in the United States in 2009.



“We have built an excellent relationship with the team at Technicolor during our collaboration on Penguins of Madagascar,” stated Mark Taylor, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Nickelodeon Animation Studios. “They have developed a world-class CGI production studio and animation team with an established competence that dovetails nicely and efficiently into our production pipeline.”



“We are delighted to be awarded such a prestigious franchise to work on at our studio,” stated Tim Sarnoff, President, Technicolor Digital Productions. “We believe Kung Fu Panda both strengthens and enhances our production relationship with Nickelodeon. With this show, we’re looking to continue the growth of our team and infrastructure.”



The production has already commenced and season one is scheduled begin airing in fall of 2010. Kung Fu Panda had already achieved iconic status as a blockbuster movie for DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. The broadcast series will extend and leverage its brand equity and global fan base.



Technicolor India has an 800+ member team across different disciplines and has worked-on top-rated animation TV shows in the United States and abroad, as well as short films including 3D stereoscopic projects and video game art.

IIT Bombay and Applied Materials to Collaborate on Renewable Energy

IIT Bombay, India’s highest rated university and a leader in education and research, and Applied Materials, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of equipment to the semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic industries, announced today they will broaden the scope of their ongoing research collaboration to develop new energy-related initiatives.




As part of this collaboration, Applied Materials will donate three process chambers to IIT Bombay for depositing thin films on solar cells using physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technologies. Applied Materials will also work with IIT Bombay research teams to set up a wet chemistry laboratory for developing new materials. These materials will be used for a variety of renewable energy-focused applications, including the fabrication of next-generation solar cells.



As a symbolic representation of its commitment to clean technology and a sustainable future, Applied Materials will also donate a solar panel system to IIT Bombay. The panels will be connected to energy-efficient LEDs that will light the University’s main avenue.



Professor Devang Khakhar, Director, IIT Bombay said, “Research in sustainable energy solutions represents the future. This initiative to develop state-of-the-art solar cells is a small, yet important, step forward towards the vision of building a solar India. Interactions with global Industry leaders like Applied Materials have been extremely fruitful for the students and faculty and it is heartening to see the collaboration between IIT Bombay and Applied Materials expanded even further. These new donations to the Institute will enhance our existing research to important and socially relevant high-technology areas.”



IIT Bombay was specifically mentioned in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission as a location for the National Centre for Photovoltaic Research & Education. This honor recognizes IIT Bombay’s contributions over the years in establishing collaborative relationships and initiatives with industry. This new alliance with Applied Materials extends the Institute’s mission of setting up this National Centre.



Elaborating on this occasion, Dr. Randhir Thakur, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Applied’s Silicon Systems Business Group, said, “Applied Materials is dedicated to working with leading universities and institutions such as IIT Bombay to develop the innovations that will improve people’s lives. We are excited to expand our work with IIT Bombay to the area of solar energy and to serve as a catalyst in advancing India’s renewable energy capabilities.”



The Applied Materials Nanomanufacturing Laboratory was created at IIT Bombay in 2007 with Applied’s donation of several semiconductor processing systems. The success of this research collaboration led Applied Materials to broaden the scope of its engagement with IIT Bombay with a new investment focusing on renewable energy.



Solar cells are used to convert sunlight directly into electricity. Arrays of these cells hold significant promise for a country like India, which is blessed with many sunny days. India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) launched by the Prime Minister in January 2010 emphasizes the need for renewable solar energy for India, and targets a 20,000MW of solar power generation by the year 2022.

Aircel Selects HP Software & Solutions to Enhance Service Delivery

HP today announced that Aircel, a leading Indian telecom operator has selected HP IT Operations Management solutions to enhance service delivery and enable the IT organization to support business growth.




Aircel is one of India ’s fastest growing telecom companies. Aircel’s current subscriber base stands at 35 million customers across 18 telecom circles. By June 2010, the company will be present across all 23 circles of the country.This rapid expansion creates significant challenges for IT to support business development while ensuring efficient and well managed delivery of services to customers.



The HP IT Operations Management solutions have been selected to address these needs and ensure business critical applications, including CRM, billing, databases and fault management systems, are available 24x7. This is achieved through automated IT management and the ability to proactively monitor and address problems before they occur.







“Aircel’s rapid expansion plan across geographies requires a robust IT infrastructure that can scale up quickly and enable our business goal of becoming a dominant telecom provider,” said Ravinder Jain, CIO, Aircel Ltd. India . “The comprehensive HP Service Management solution is an ideal fit for efficient management and automation of the complex and rapidly growing IT infrastructure at Aircel.”







Delivered under HP’s Business Technology Optimization (BTO) portfolio, these solutions for Aircel include HP Business Service Management (BSM), HP Business Service Automation (BSA) and HP IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions. HP BSM will allow Aircel to monitor end user IT experience and manage service levels proactively. With HP BSA, Aircel will be able to automate tasks and sanction change management across the entire technology environment. HP ITSM’s self-service catalog and knowledge management capabilities will provide coordinated services across the enterprise.







“High growth organizations often run the risk of service downtime due to the inability to track changes and additions to their IT systems. Using HP’s BTO solution, Aircel is able to support growth while enhancing service delivery, by automating routine IT management and gaining greater control of their IT environment,” Said Kamal Dutta, Director, HP Software & Solutions, HP India. “Aircel will be able to improve overall IT service delivery and operational excellence that will lead to better customer experiences.“



More information about HP Business Technology Solution is available at www.hp.com/go/bto.

DAR Motion Pictures and Mahesh Manjrekar’s ‘City of Gold ’ cast kickstart South India promotional tour

DAR Motion Picture (DAR), the filmed entertainment division of DAR Media Private Limited along with director, Mahesh Manjrekar today kick started their South-India promotional tour by showcasing the film in Bangalore. Also present on the occasion were Producer and Chairman - DAR Capital Group, Arun Rangachari and Karan Patel on of the central members of the cast of City of Gold . DAR’s maiden film project ‘City of Gold ’ is the first of a three-movie deal that DAR has signed with Maverick film director Mahesh Manjrekar, and also marks the return of the director to Hindi cinema after a gap of four years. The second film is a Bengali-language venture, with Mithun Chakraborthy in the lead, which is expected to start filming at the end of the month. DAR’s third project is a yet to be titled A-list starrer, currently in pre-production, with principal photography scheduled to commence in second half of 2010.


Symbolizing the tale of any developing city, ‘City of Gold’ is the story of the forgotten masses, of that city on whose sweat and blood the modern day swanky malls and glittering multiplexes are built. Starring Satish Kaushik, Seema Biswas, Vineet Kumar Singh, Karan Patel, Sameer Dharmadhikari, Siddharth Jadhav, Ankush Chaudhari, Sachin Khedekar, Vinay Apte, Shashank Shende, Veena Jhamkar, Kashmera Shah, and Anusha Dandekar, ‘City of Gold’ explores the struggle, trials and tribulations faced post the great Mumbai mill strike by the mill-workers’ and their families. The film that portrays the story of those long-forgotten masses, not only explores the misery of these mill workers narrated through the story of one family, the politico-socio environment existing during the early eighties but also realistically depicts the birth of the true underbelly of organized crime in Mumbai. It is a crisp, stylized and hard hitting film based on the mill strike of 1982.



Arun Rangachari said, “DAR Motion Pictures aims to indigenously conceive and develop bench-mark creative concepts, utilize the best available technical and artistic expertise, deploy comprehensive marketing best-practices and utilize a host of innovative and focused content delivery channels, to reach out to audiences not only in India but globally. This is well reflected in our choice of really good content-driven subjects such as ‘City of Gold’ our association with highly competent and well-respected directors such as Mahesh.’’



Commenting on the movie Mahesh Manjrekar said, “Having grown up in Wadala, with many millworkers as my close friends even till this day, City of Gold has been a very difficult movie for me. I have had to live with it for a long time now. It’s been over four years since Jayant Pawar, a former millworker, a journalist and the writer of this film, and me first discussed the possibility of making this film which is based on a very successful play on the mill strike titled Adhantar, also written by Jayant. The subject is very serious and the treatment could most definitely not be frivolous and hence it was amply evident to both of us right from the beginning that we would need to partner with someone who was as passionate about the subject as us. I am very happy that the DAR team has been as dedicated and involved in this project as us and that together we have been able to make what I consider a really good film. I am humbled by the response that this film has received thus far and I sincerely do hope that it transcends boundaries, entertains, as well as meaningfully engages audiences around the country.”



Other credits in the movie include screenplay Jayant Pawar & Mahesh Manjrekar, Director of Photography by Ajit Reddy, Edited by Sarvesh Parab and Music direction by Ajit Parab.

In addition to this film DAR has also developed a production slate of at least 10 other film projects, several of them in multiple languages through 2012. Furthermore DAR also plans to launch a film fund in the second half of 2010 that will focus on both Hindi and regional cinema.

Burn Unleashes the Magic of DJ Caroline Banx to heat up Bangalore

Raising the temperature in Bangalore city, Burn, The Coca-Cola Company’s globally successful, premium energy drink brought down international DJ Caroline Banx. The world renowned DJ electrified the nightlife at Clun Zero G on Saturday.
The club has been specially done up to reflect the Burn imagery and iconogtaphy.DJ Caroline Banx enthralled the audience by playing some of her biggest hits in the electronic genre. To further add to the mood of the night, samples of Burn energy drink was given to all the attending clubbers.
More about Burn
Burn is The Coca-Cola Company’s globally successful, premium energy drink with a potent energy formula that ignites and intensifies experiences. The potency of Burn is further accentuated by its unique flame iconography; best explained by its tagline, Can you take the heat? It has a strong presence in countries like Russia, Ukraine, France, Italy, Great Britain, Austria, Poland, US, Australia, South Africa etc. Burn was first introduced in Europe in the 90’s. Over the years its presence has expanded to over 76 countries.
Since its launch in India in December, 2009, Burn has endeavored to leverage experiential sampling and community based marketing approach. To further extend the brand experience, Burn has associated with unique platforms in the field of fashion and music. Its launch in India is a testament of the evolution of the ready to drink packaged beverage industry in the country. Burn has been made available in a premium 250 ml slim can priced at Rs.75. As part of a phased roll-out, Burn is currently available in select premium channels and outlets in Mumbai, Delhi & NCR and Bangalore.
Past innovations
Burn Vehicle
Burn is also the inspiration for ace automobile designer Dilip Chabbria who designed a vehicle in sync with the brand attributes of Burn i.e. masculinity, potency, energy and primal characteristics. The styling of the Burn vehicle confirms the brand imagery and association that is targeted at socially active and adventurous young adults who are always at an all-time high in their life.
Burn Curate

Burn launched ‘Burn Curate’ unique initiative to nurture creativity from its nascence. The initiative served as a platform for Mumbai and Delhi’s young, fresh and exciting fashion talent who were invited to create a limited edition design inspired by the Burn Can. To establish itself as a dynamic brand within the fashion community, Burn Curate was rolled out in the most sought after design colleges of Mumbai and Delhi to promote emerging talent in the fashion industry.

Starting February, 2010, the participating teams from each college were invited to create and submit paper design entries that are Burn-Can inspired creations. The winning designs by NIFT Mumbai and NIFT Delhi were displayed at the Lakme India Fashion Week and Wills India Lifestyle Fashion week respectively. The winning teams were also awarded cash prize worth Rs.50,000/- An eminent jury consisting of ace automobile designer Dilip Chhabria, Fashion designer Abhishek Gupta, and Avinash Pant- Director Coca-Cola India adjudged the winning designs

SAP GATHERS INDIAN SME LEADERS TO DISCUSS IMPORTANCE OF SCALABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

Small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) wanting to grow their business and increase market share and profitability must first achieve scalability and transparency – this was the theme of SAP Talk Show - SME Legend 2010 hosted in Bangalore, at the Taj Westend Hotel, today.

SAP brought together some of its most innovative Indian SME customers to showcase how SAP solutions are being used to achieve demonstrable business benefits. The talk show, hosted by Debdeep Sengupta, vice president SME and Channels, SAP India, included discussions on why an end-to-end view of operations is critical to enabling greater transparency and accountability, and creating lean and customer-centric organizations. The panel includes Luis Murguia, senior vice president of SME, SAP EMEA & India, along with esteemed SAP customers - Manipal Universal Learning, Greaves Cotton Limited and Prognosys eServices Pvt. Ltd.

“SMEs have several advantages over their larger counterparts, including the ability to react faster and with greater focus to market trends and customer needs,” said Luis Murguia, senior vice president of SME, SAP EMEA & India. “Because of this, many have the opportunity to outpace the competition and seize market share. However, this presents its own challenges, as sustained growth requires a technology infrastructure that can scale, manage increasing data complexity while maintaining operational excellence and efficiency.”

SAP has more than 70,500 SME clients worldwide, representing over 77% of its global customer base, and operating in more than 25 industries. This percentage continues to grow as the company attracts around 35 new SME customers per working day and has tripled the SME customer base over the past three years. In India, SAP serves over 3,300 SME customers. The business software leader drives greater value to SMEs by providing pre-configured, easy to deploy solutions built on industry best practices to deliver instant and long-term results.



Manipal Education and Greaves Cotton Limited participated in the talk show to share their views on the importance of using IT solutions which are scalable and flexible enough to keep pace with developments in the business and deliver rapid time to value.



Manipal Education's vision is to be a global leader and achieve excellence in higher education. They have implemented SAP ERP ECC 6.0 to drive operational excellence and build a robust, student-centric organisation with a multi-country footprint.



Anand Sudarshan, CEO, Manipal Universal Learning said, “As Manipal prepares itself to provide high-quality higher education, and service over 500,000 students by 2013, technology will play a pivotal role in designing and implementing learning strategies that cover the complete education value chain. To build a strong foundation for growth working with like-minded partners is an absolute must; and will be a great enabler to reaching & exceeding milestones in this process. The culture of continuous collaborative learning is what differentiates our partnership with SAP. We look forward to measurable returns that will optimize the value of our IT investment.”



Greaves Cotton Limited has worked with SAP for over two years; running SAP across various areas of their business including Finance, HR, Sales, Marketing and Order Management, Materials Management and Manufacturing, Maintenance, Quality Management and Business Intelligence. This has resulted in significant benefits in optimized inventory, employee and payroll management and financial closure time cycle.



Anup Guha, CFO, Greaves Cotton Limited commented, “As an organisation we constantly seek opportunities to reinvent ourselves. A collaborative approach to innovation builds a spectrum of skills, fresh ideas and new products. As we realize our expansion plans, Greaves Cotton requires an integrated set of applications with built-in best practices that surpass functional depth to track budgets and ensure effective utilization of resources. SAP understands our unique requirements and facilitates enhanced business network collaboration, enabling us to be more competitive while accelerating our business outcomes.”



The customer panel was also attended by Prognosys eServices Pvt. Ltd, the first SAP Business ByDesign charter client in India. Having accumulated detailed intelligence on nearly 500,000 Indian firms, Prognosys needed a system that could track and analyze the profitability of each project, product mix, client engagement and division engagement. The implementation of SAP Business ByDesign enabled Prognosys to systematically analyze whitespace among this client’s divisions as well as provide more clarity and improve productivity.



Commenting at the event, Mr. Sandeep Ranjan, Founder and CEO of Prognosys e-Service Pvt Ltd. said, “SAP Business ByDesign is a flexible, exciting, next generation business system. The simple deployment and ease of use could revolutionize the delivery of ERP software. We are confident it will provide a scalable, adaptable platform to support Prognosys’s strategy for rapid growth.”



“As businesses grow it can be more difficult to maintain agility and responsiveness, which is why SMEs who want to become globally competitive need solutions which provide end-to-end transparency and allow them to turn insight into meaningful action, “ added Deb Deep Sengupta, Vice President SME and Channels, SAP India. “Having real-time visibility into every operational area and being able to respond instantaneously is crucial to identifying and capturing business opportunities.”

MphasiS to acquire Fortify Infrastructure Services

MphasiS today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Fortify Infrastructure Services, a global provider of offshore based Remote IT Operations and Management (ROM) Services.

Fortify Infrastructure Services is a privately held company with presence in India and the US. The acquisition will give MphasiS access to marquee customers, an experienced management team, a talent pool of highly specialized professionals and a proven platform to provide ROM services. This will be part of a new business unit which focuses on ROM services.

MphasiS is now positioned to take lead in the rapidly emerging market for offshore ROM services. Through this acquisition, MphasiS will be able to provide outcome based services which go beyond technical SLAs. This disruptive approach will be a game changer amongst providers of offshore ROM services.

“This acquisition will catapult us ahead as a provider of offshore based ROM services. Mid Market customers are looking for partners to solve the challenges of operating and managing their IT. We see this as our sweet spot to provide cost effective and outcome based ROM services.” said Ganesh Ayyar, CEO MphasiS.

“Our proven industry track record in providing outcome-based ROM services, coupled with MphasiS’ rich expertise and leading offshore capability will provide Mid Market customers a flexible, high-value operations management platform that is focused on achieving their business objectives,” said Rajkumar Velagapudi, CEO of Fortify.

MphasiS will be acquiring a 100% equity stake in Fortify Infrastructure Services in an all-cash transaction. MphasiS was advised by Avendus Capital in this transaction.

HP launches Breakthrough Storage Solutions

The new HP StorageWorks P4000 G2 SAN Solutions deliver high data availability, in both virtualized and physical environments, through its unique Network RAID functionality. Together with a new energy-efficient architecture, the P4000 G2 SAN reduces customer’s risk of downtime and data loss with a better total cost of ownership.
Each minute of downtime can cost a business thousands of dollars. To protect against downtime, the P4000 G2 SAN offers redundant components and hardware RAID to guard against disk drive failures. In addition to these features, the P4000 G2 SAN includes an innovative Network RAID functionality that goes one level above hardware RAID by delivering data protection at the network level against major power outage, complete system or site failure. With the P4000 G2 SAN, storage is never the single point of failure for a company’s IT infrastructure.
The P4000 G2 SAN is a key part of implementing a Converged Infrastructure to ensure an easy-to-manage, agile IT environment. The solution helps deliver Virtual Resource Pools, which are virtualized collections of shared server, storage and networking capacity that can be utilized on the fly and repurposed to meet any business demand.
Achieve efficient application availability
The P4000 G2 SAN is built on a scalable architecture that provides the highest levels of data availability. Together with the new SAN/iQ software, the P4000 G2 SAN delivers the following benefits:
— Improved capacity utilization by up to 50 percent over existing P4000 SAN solutions with Network RAID that reduces the amount of storage space consumed.(1)
— Increased storage performance with the new Best Practice Analyzer. The Analyzer constantly monitors and compares the SAN environment with lab-tested best practices. If the SAN environment needs fine tuning, it sends an alert regarding potential adjustments that can be made to drive optimal performance.
— Simplified data management through new application integrated snapshot, remote copy, and clone capabilities that ensure reliable capture and recovery of data. In addition, customers can automate these functions, further reducing administrative time.
Gain better flexibility and value with P4000 G2 solutions
The P4000 G2 SAN lowers the price per gigabyte by up to 43 percent over previous versions while ensuring higher disk drive reliability.(2) Other benefits include:
— Improved, easier-to-manage scalability with a pay-as-you-grow P4500 Capacity SAN that starts with 60 terabytes (TB) of available storage space at less than $1.50/GB. The P4500 allows customers to scale in 12 TB increments as opposed to competing solutions which require 48 TBs. This significantly enhances capacity utilization and allows customers to grow their storage at more reasonable rates. The solution also offers data protection through thin provisioning, snapshots and clones.
— Increased reliability and access speed with 7.2K revolutions per minute (RPM) SAS disk drives to data at the same cost and capacity as SATA.
— Enhanced flexibility with the new P4000 Unified NAS Gateway that allows customers to store and manage both files and database or “block” data.
— Simplified management of converged server and storage environments with HP’s Integrated Lights-Out 2 (iLO2) remote management software for all P4000 G2 SANs and HP ProLiant servers. Customers can lower energy costs up to 10 percent with the latest server power management technology.(3)

SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD UNVEILS A NEW ERA OF ITS BRAND MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Prompted by the changing landscape of the dynamic Indian traveller’s needs and consumption trends, Singapore Tourism Board ( STB ) today announced the evolution of Singapore’s destination brand from the hugely successful ‘Uniquely Singapore’ to ‘YourSingapore’. The new brand underpins Singapore ’s strengths as a premium destination, an experience which can be easily personalized thanks to the concentration of sights, sounds, tastes, culture and attractions coupled with unparalleled user-centricity.

YourSingapore reflects the essence of Singapore as fresh, contemporary, vibrant, dynamic, sophisticated, multi-faceted and mirrors the progression of Singapore as being future facing. It articulates Singapore ’s uniqueness and captures what travellers seek – a personal travel experience that allows you to do what you love, at the pace you want to do it. Such a personalised travel experience offers an emotional reward of empowerment and liberation that allows visitors to travel on their own terms, according to their individual needs, preference and interests.

The brand campaign also introduces www.yoursingapore.com, an innovative, interactive platform that offers more than destination information. It allows one to conceptualize and plan their personalized Singapore travel itineraries in a user-friendly manner by browsing attractions, festivals, activities and other pertinent travel information; sharing of experiences, virtual tours, user-friendly maps, YourSingapore guides, share tools, RSS feeds and up-to-date multimedia content about new launches and exciting events in Singapore. It delivers on Singapore ’s promise to provide a concentration of multifaceted and user-centric travel experiences as well as positions the destination as future-facing and inspiring; where visitors are invited to make their virtual experience of Singapore a reality.


Mr. Ken Low, Assistant Chief Executive of Singapore Tourism Board’s Marketing Group says, “The strategy in developing YourSingapore was three-pronged: to leverage the equity of the Uniquely Singapore brand by single-mindedly qualifying Singapore’s uniqueness and attributes as a destination; build upon the emotional connection that visitors experience in Singapore and at the same time connect with potential visitors in the digital media space. YourSingapore taps into the motivational factors which drive their decision-making while differentiating Singapore in the destination brand marketplace.”

Mr. Randal Tan, Regional Director - South Asia, Middle East & Africa , Singapore Tourism Board says, “In the past few years, the way people plan and book travel has fundamentally shifted from passive content consumption to active engagement, primarily due to the dominance of digital and social media. Video on demand, online news, blogs and websites that enable social interaction have changed the way that travellers seek and obtain information. In response to this growing trend, YourSingapore places a holistic digital approach at the heart of its communications strategy, including a brand new website with significant investment into search engine marketing, blogger engagement, mobile, social media and travel ecommerce. The YourSingapore banner advertisements will appear on a combination of business, leisure and lifestyle websites, linking visitors back to www.yoursingapore.com. This reflects the ultimate goal of the campaign - to send users online to learn about Singapore in depth.”

He further added, “As Indian travellers mature and display greater need for personalization in the way their travel is planned, we hope to promote Singapore as more than just a touch and feel destination but as an enriching, touch, feel and do experience that moves one’s heart and wins the minds of consumers. To this end, we will work closely with our travel partners to enhance product development in a manner that adds value to consumers’ with enriching holiday itineraries and experiences.”

In line with the global brand communication strategy, the brand re-launch in India consists of a 360 degree marketing campaign with a thrust on digital media, a fresh colourful logo, television commercial, an interactive user-friendly consumer website and a renewed approach to marketing partnerships and promotions.

The new YourSingapore logo captures the spirit of personalization and the ability to make Singapore your own – whether it is the buzz of nightlife or a tranquil nature walk. Packed within an island outline, the logo reflects the imagery of Singapore ’s attractions. The logo never stops moving, but is always looking to what is next: across a myriad of themes, icons, designs, moods and emotions. It is in a constant state of transformation, and is relentless and dynamic.

Singapore Tourism Board will use a ‘high energy’ television commercial with themed dynamic logos, encapsulating the essence of Singapore , to communicate the evolved brand in late March 2010. Targeted at families, youngsters, honeymooners and business visitors, the TVC will be rolled out in a combination of English entertainment and news channels. Marketing and promotions will take on a fresh perspective and approach, with greater emphasis on developing products that address consumers’ need for aspirational, engaging and personalized experiences. Singapore Tourism Board will work closely with travel partners such as Kuoni, Mercury Travels and SOTC, to develope products that encourage interactive, team building and family bonding enriching experiences in an effort to drive better quality and value for consumer holidays.

About the YourSingapore TVC

Reflecting the cosmopolitan flair, high energy and vibrancy of Singapore , the brand new Your Singapore television commercial opens with the protagonist experiencing rapid metamorphosis from the moment he steps out of the Singapore airport. Everything in Singapore is designed around him. When his cab quickly transforms him into an F1 racer, excitement races through as he navigates the dazzling city streets to discover an effervescent Singapore , depicted through an upbeat background score and fast imagery. “Fast cars, fashion, I can get it all in a flash” plays on the protagonist’s mind as he undergoes a makeover at a high-end fashion boutique, just in time to check out Singapore’s greatest hobby – food, over a sumptuous meal in the company of friends at a popular hawker joint before checking out the nightlife. As if his thoughts could be heard, the protagonist finds himself immersed in a hi-tempo party at one of Singapore ’s hottest nightclubs surrounded by a sea of people, seemingly enjoying themselves! The night is still young, so the protagonist discovers when he moves onto a stylish, chic rooftop lounge bar overlooking the spectacular night skyline of city. Singapore ’s high concentration of sights, sounds, attractions, culture and tastes ensures there is something exclusive for everyone, with a high degree of personalization for each experience in “Your Singapore”. The campaign’s central thought is captured in the closing message “This is my Singapore . Come, make Singapore your own at yoursingapore.com”, tempting the viewer to explore a whole new world of possibilities and design his very own personalized holiday!

Key Tourism Facts

•Tourism receipts for India for 2009 reached SGD$891million
•India visitor arrivals into Singapore have grown dramatically from 471,000 in 2004 to 778,000 arrivals in 2008.•Championing tough economic conditions and unprecedented factors like the H1N1 outbreak in 2009, India emerged as one of the top five visitor generating markets for Singapore for the year ending December 2009 with 726,000 arrivals.
•The AC Nielsen Outbound Travel Monitor 2008 quoted Singapore as the most popular destination for leisure and business travel.

Intel drives Transformation in Education through 21st century learning

Intel today unveiled the Intel-powered convertible classmate PC design, joining the existing clamshell design to meet the variety of school students' needs. Apart from this, Intel also announced a host of other initiatives to extend its efforts in providing the technology education needed to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Addressing press here in Bangalore, John Davies, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group and General Manager, Intel World Ahead Program, said, “Education is one of the best ways to improve the future for individuals, villages, or nations. There are 1.3 billion school-age children around the world and of those only 7 percent have access to a PC or the Internet. The IT industry has a huge opportunity to contribute to how technology can improve students' learning and students' lives. Intel continues its long-standing commitment to advancing education through technology to transform lives around the world."

New Intel-powered convertible classmate PC
The new flexible reference design by Intel converts instantly from a clamshell to a tablet mode with a touch screen to allow for a more intuitive classroom experience. The 180-degree swivel design, rotational camera and touch screen of the new design encourage flexible classroom interaction and natural collaboration. Both the convertible and the clamshell classmate PC designs are based on ethnographic studies and feedback from pilot programs conducted in both mature and emerging markets.

Built on Intel® architecture and powered by the Intel® Atom™ processor, these purpose-built netbooks provide an affordable and functional PC to support a wide variety of classroom applications and activities. Designed with students in mind, the classmate PC is small and light enough for a child to easily carry. Equipped with a water-resistant keyboard, the classmate PC is also "backpack friendly" – able to withstand bumping in a backpack and accidental drops by students. In tablet mode, the convertible classmate PC screen has a "palm rejection" feature that is designed to allow the child to write more naturally by resting their palm on the touch screen. It also includes education-oriented software and applications from software and content vendors from the Intel Learning Series.

The classmate PCs are part of the Intel® Learning Series, a cost-effective, end-to-end solution developed and deployed in collaboration with local suppliers to ensure cultural relevance and sustainability. Intel supports an extensive ecosystem to provide a complete education offering, including access, connectivity, hardware and software, localized content and professional development for teachers. More than 300 vendors, including hardware vendors, operating system vendors, software vendors and enterprise solutions providers are developing applications, peripherals and services optimized for Intel-powered classmate PCs. Wipro is the OEM partner for Classmate PCs in India

Teacher PC Purchase Offer

Davies also announced the Teacher Purchase PC offer, an offer on PCs with broadband for school teachers at special prices.

“We recognize that for teachers to effectively integrate technology with education, they must first be completely comfortable using technology themselves. This program aims to allow teachers to harness technology effectively”, said Davies.

Under the Teacher Purchase PC program, Connoisseur Electronics will provide a range of Intel® Core™2 Duo based teacher PCs with the complete school curriculum software from Edurite to school teachers at special prices. Connoisseur Electronics is the hardware partner for Teacher PCs.

skoool™ Learning and Teaching Technology
In related educational efforts in India, Intel has helped deploy the Intel® skoool™ Learning and Teaching Technology, an interactive Web-based resource for learning Mathematics and Science. Intel together with IT@School Project of the General Education Department, Government of Kerala announced the launch of the Malayalam version of the skoool™ Learning and Teaching Technology earlier this year and efforts are underway to scale this model by replicating it in other states.

All these initiatives are being undertaken under the banner of the Intel World Ahead Program which aims to enhance lives by accelerating access to uncompromised technology for everyone, anywhere in the world. Focused on people in the world’s developing communities, it integrates and extends Intel’s efforts to advance progress in three areas: accessibility, connectivity, and education