Dax Networks eyes SMB sector  
June 18, 2008
Source:  L. N. Revathy 

Coimbatore, June 13 Networking major Dax Networks is eyeing the small and medium business sector for growth. Its Chief Operating Officer, Ms Sudha Jagadish, and Chief Technology Manager, Ms Subashini Prabhakar, said the company’s focus over the last 18 months was on the SMB sector. 

Dax has signed over 200 channel partners across the country for better reach. It now intends to strengthen its relationship with these partners before adding to the list.

Asked about the partner retention strategy and their (channel partner) loyalty, Ms Jagadish said. “It is difficult. However, we are trying to differentiate ourselves by providing innovative solutions to help the partner grow his business. We educate our partners and incentivise them on the sale of every Dax product. We also work with them on projects,” she told Business Line. 

Ms Prabhakar said, “The SMB market is witnessing a boom, but it is also a tough market. Competition is rife in this space. Established players get a premium for the brand.”

The company registered a 15 per cent growth in revenues last year and is hoping to achieve the same level this year.

Dax recently executed a nationwide connectivity project for CAMS (Computer Age Management Services), a provider of transaction processing and customer care services for the mutual funds industry. 

“We deployed Dax Routing solutions in over 140 investor service centres of CAMS, and these were connected to the back office in Chennai.” CAMS has recently upgraded its data recovery and network data centre, Ms Jagadish said and added that CAMS was in the process of massive expansion. “They plan to have 100 additional investor service centres soon.”

Wipro sees revival in outsourcing biz     
June 18 , 2008 
SOURCE: REUTERS


BANGALORE: Wipro Ltd, India's No. 3 software services exporter, is seeing a revival in flow of outsourcing deals as the turmoil in the global financial industry eases a bit, joint chief executives of its IT business said. 

Still, Wipro is cautious about its prospects in the next two quarters and expects business to accelerate towards the end of the fiscal year ending in March, Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani said. 

"Relative to how it was in the first quarter of this (calendar) year, there was a feeling that things are almost frozen, I think things are beginning to come back to normal," Paranjpe said. 

"The good news is that there have been no casualties after Bear Sterns. Whatever management changes had to happen has taken place in many of the big companies." 

India's export-driven software services companies get the bulk of their revenue from banks and financial firms, sectors which have been battered by the turmoil in global financial markets. 

In April, Wipro, which offers IT solutions such as system integration, software application development and back-office services, reported its slowest quarterly earnings growth in about five years as its clients cut back on technology spending.

TCS betting big on e-governance     
June 18, 2008 
SOURCE: TNN

NEW DELHI: Betting big on e-governance, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is not only bullish on participating in such projects in India but is also looking at countries in the Middle East, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa. E-governance is pegged to be a $35-40 billion market worldwide. 

E-governance refers to use of electronic means for government’s interaction with citizens as well as businesses and for internal government operations. 

“India is one of the toughest markets to crack. Seeing our work here, a lot of countries are asking if we could do something similar for them. We are seeing traction in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. We have received a significant order from the department of education in Austria and are also looking at south-east Asia,” said TCS vice-president and head of government solutions industry unit Tanmoy Chakrabarty. 

The Commonwealth countries, which have the same systems and practices inherited from the British, make for very attractive markets, he added. 

TCS had earlier implemented egovernance projects like the MCA 21 project with the corporate affairs ministry for digitisation and 100 per cent electronic filing system and the APOnline project for the Andhra Pradesh government that provides multiple services through kiosks. It also set up a data centre in Guwahati for administration of value-added tax (VAT) in five north eastern states. 

“The good news is that so little has been done,” Chakrabarty said. He points out the Indian Railways as an example. While online ticketing has seen a great response, there are still queues at the railway counters. “Not everyone has access to the Internet. In London, train tickets are sold at newspaper stalls. Why can’t we buy railway tickets at the nearest grocery store or bus stops?” he asks. 

TCS has held discussions with the railway ministry to provide solutions that could enable just that. It is also talking to municipal corporations and telecom operators for bill payment solutions to be installed at one’s residents’ welfare associations. 
The firm has suggested that users pay a small fee for the services rendered under such projects.