Software Giant Satyam Computer Services has reportedly been banned from doing any off-shore work with the World Bank. According to a Fox News report, forensic experts and bank investigators discovered that the sensitive data from their computers were logged to unknown destination over internet. As per reports, key logger software was found on workstations inside the bank’s Washington headquarters, allegedly by one or more contractors from Satyam Computer Services.
Update: Satyam speaks up - Satyam denies report on offshore ban with World Bank. Satyam further added that reports are riddled with error and are out of context. More Details awaited!
Investigators say that the software, which operates through a method known as keystroke logging, enabled every character typed on a keyboard to be transmitted to a still-unknown location via the Internet. Upon its discovery, bank officials shut off the data link between Washington and Chennai, where Satyam has long operated the bank’s sole offshore computer center responsible for all of the bank’s financial and human resources information.
“I want them off the premises now,” World Bank President Robert Zoellick reportedly told his deputies.
Satyam is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange and boasts having two billion dollars in sales and more than 150 Fortune 500 companies as clients.
In 2003, Satyam won a lucrative five-year “sole source” contract to design, write and maintain all of the World Bank’s information systems. The contract, which began at $10 million, had grown to over $100 million by 2007. This year, the contract was not renewed. Satyam has declined to comment.
It is still not known how much information was stolen. But sources inside the bank confirm that servers in the institution’s highly restricted treasury unit were deeply penetrated with spy software last April. Invaders also had full access to the rest of the bank’s network for nearly a month in June and July.
One World Bank director told FOX News that as many as 40 servers have been penetrated, including one that held contract-procurement data. It took ten days for bank officials to detect that they’d been invaded. Once they did, they shut down all external servers, except for e-mail, which it turns out the invaders were already using as their entrance point.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Panasonic to buy Sanyo in $9 billion deal
TOKYO (AP) — Panasonic has begun a 800 billion yen ($9 billion) takeover of Japanese rival Sanyo, hoping that transforming into one of the world's biggest electronics companies will help it weather the toughest business conditions in a century.Top shareholders, including Goldman Sachs, had been haggling over the price with Panasonic Corp. since it expressed interest in Sanyo last month, but Friday revealed they'd settled on a tender offer price of 131 yen ($1.47) a share.
The deal would also allow Panasonic, which makes Viera TVs and Diga Blu-ray disc players, to take advantage of struggling Sanyo's green businesses in solar panels and rechargeable batteries.
Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo said that taking over Sanyo will provide an opportunity for his company to become more competitive to ride out the worsening global downturn.
"The alliance with Sanyo will provide an engine for growth for us," he said at a news conference in Osaka, central Japan, shown via satellite in Tokyo.
Sanyo President Seiichiro Sano told reporters that the deal "is opening a way to fight these tough times that come only once in a 100 years."
Daiwa spokesman Kenichi Kanda said the company viewed the bid favorably, welcoming the Panasonic-Sanyo alliance "as boosting the companies' value and being positive for the Japanese economy."
Sumitomo Mitsui also said it was moving toward accepting it, evaluating the planned alliance as a good one.
Sanyo shares dipped 3.6 percent to 136 yen ($1.50) while Panasonic shares gained 2.9 percent 1,051 yen ($11.8). The companies announced the tender plans shortly after trading ended in Tokyo.
Associated Press writers Shino Yuasa and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Microsoft Improves IE8 for Disabled Users & GOOGLE CHROME exists BETA officially
Microsoft will add features to the next version of Internet Explorer to make it more accessible to disabled users of the Web, the company said Thursday.A post on the IEBlog by Accessibility Program Manager JP Gonzalez-Castellan highlights several user-interface features that should improve the accessibility of IE8, among them Caret Browsing, Adaptive Zoom and High DPI (Dots Per Inch).The features will improve the browser's usability for everyone, not just disabled people, he wrote. He drew a parallel with the ramps added to public places for people in wheelchairs who can't get up stairs, something required by the Americans with Disabilities Act."Airports soon noticed that mothers with baby strollers and passengers with rolling suitcases were using the ramps too, since it was easier than picking up a stroller or a suitcase over the ledge," he wrote. "In much the same way, when you make software more accessible, everybody wins."Caret Browsing will benefit both low-mobility Web users and those who are visually impaired, according to Gonzalez-Castellan. These people may prefer to use a keyboard or a device that interacts with a keyboard rather than a mouse to navigate Web pages.Caret Browsing allows users to navigate a Web page using a moveable cursor on the screen and the keyboard. They'll be able to select and copy text, tables or images using only the keyboard.Adaptive Zoom is also aimed at low-mobility and visually impaired users. It scales elements of a Web page before the page is laid out in the screen, which is different from the zoom function in IE7. IE7 magnifies Web pages, scaling elements post-layout and then redrawing them on the screen. But that means users often have to scroll horizontally as well as vertically to view the full enlarged page.By scaling elements pre-layout, IE8 will redraw the page and adjust the content to avoid displaying horizontal scroll bars, Gonzalez-Castellan wrote. This makes it easier to browse zoomed pages because a user only has to scroll up and down, and not left and right. An example of what this looks like is available on another IEBlog post.High DPI is also a revision of an existing IE7 feature. DPI, or dots per inch, is a measure of how dense are the individual droplets of ink -- or pixels on a computer display -- that make up an image.In IE7, the ability to zoom content on a Web page did not match the DPI Scaling settings in Windows, which allow for images to be viewed at a larger setting than do the browser zoom settings. IE8 will automatically match the DPI Scaling settings, resulting in improved image scaling on Web pages.Microsoft expects to ship the final version of IE8 early next year. It recently sent an update of the current test build to select beta testers and expects to release one more public test version of IE8 before its final release.
Google has officially announced that its Chrome browser is no longer a beta version and made a full version of the product available for download.An update completed Thursday -- the program's 15th since its inception in early September -- is now available without a beta label attached. The news follows speculation started by an interview with a company executive just one day ago."We have removed the beta label as our goals for stability and performance have been met, but our work is far from done," an announcement by Product Management VP Sundar Pichai and Engineering Director Linus Upson states.The update will be automatically installed within the next few days for current Chrome users.
Ref : PC world, Dec-2008.
Google has officially announced that its Chrome browser is no longer a beta version and made a full version of the product available for download.An update completed Thursday -- the program's 15th since its inception in early September -- is now available without a beta label attached. The news follows speculation started by an interview with a company executive just one day ago."We have removed the beta label as our goals for stability and performance have been met, but our work is far from done," an announcement by Product Management VP Sundar Pichai and Engineering Director Linus Upson states.The update will be automatically installed within the next few days for current Chrome users.
Ref : PC world, Dec-2008.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Mumbai terrorist attacks don't deter technology companies
Terrorist attacks late Wednesday in Mumbai are unlikely to make multinational technology companies change their strategies for India.
The attack in Mumbai is the latest in a string of terrorist attacks across the country, including a number of attacks earlier in Mumbai.
The attacks late Wednesday by terrorists using guns and grenades in Mumbai did however appear different than previous ones, because it targeted top five-star hotels in Mumbai's business district. About 100 are feared dead in the shootouts, which still continue as police battle the armed terrorists. Some foreign residents at the hotel are being held hostage by the terrorists.
"It is sad that this has happened, but we are confident that India will bounce back to normalcy," said Vidya Natampally, director of strategy at Microsoft Research India.
The terrorist attacks will not change Microsoft Research's plans in India. " We are committed to staying on in India," Natampally added.
Dell has issued a travel advisory to its staff, advising caution and due diligence when traveling to India, said a spokeswoman for the company. "That is the only measure we have taken," she added.
A large number of technology companies including Oracle, Microsoft, and Dell run large software development and call center operations in India. But ever since the threat of terrorism increased since last year, these companies have tightened on security at their facilities.
"For a long time now, we have tightened on security at all our facilities," the Dell spokeswoman said.
Indian outsourcing companies and Indian operations of multinational technology companies were not affected by the attacks, though the disruption of train service in Mumbai on Thursday could affect the movement of staff.
The Bombay Stock Exchange in south Mumbai has shut down on Thursday. The state government has ordered schools and colleges closed Thursday.
Ref : PC World , november - 2008.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Re-inventing Indian IT
In mid-September this year, several employees at India’s largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), were laid off and many more were given months to shape up or be shown the door. With the financial services sector in a tailspin and the slowdown in the US market spreading to Europe, India’s booming IT industry found itself directly in the firing line.
For the last five years, the IT industry has blossomed as companies looked to leverage India’s low-cost, high-quality base for IT services. Over the last five years, the Indian market has grown from $21.6 billion (Rs 1.04 lakh crore) to $64 billion (Rs 3.07 lakh crore), employing 800,000 people. In this time, Indian IT companies have leaned heavily on financial services and the US market (the biggest industry and geography for IT services) and now they’re feeling the heat as a slowdown in financial services begins to spread to other sectors such as real estate and manufacturing. What’s worse, a 60 per cent reliance on the US market has singed the industry, causing Indian vendors to review their plans.
There have been other fundamental shifts in the global IT industry that have further complicated the market uncertainties. When the dotcom slowdown happened in the early part of this decade, large MNCs were small players in the Indian market and two large players, IBM and Accenture, had just 3,000 people here. Since then, these two companies have ramped up to over 150,000 people each in the country and are rapidly building on this base. The existing business model of Indian vendors has also heightened the impact, say industry watchers. “A large part of the work is project-based and not long-term annuity contracts. The former gives higher margins and makes sense to chase, but the reason it gives higher margins is because the revenue streams are unpredictable and can be cut off at any point,” says Siddarth Pai, Managing Director and Partner for TPI India, an offshore advisory firm.
Annuity contracts require onshore delivery capability from the vendor and the willingness to take on the client’s people. “Indian vendors have been slow to do both and, hence, have a revenue mix that is skewed towards project work. This project work is—by definition—more risky,” says Pai. While MNCs have rapidly expanded their India numbers over the last couple of years, Indian vendors have only begun to become global operators. “Satyam has development centres around the globe—more than 30 in all. In fact, our three most recent acquisitions were in Europe and the US. Satyam is already a global company—we just happen to be headquartered in India,” says Hari T., Head, Global Marketing & Communications, Satyam Computer Services.
Already, there are visible signs of a slowdown in the Indian companies. For one, there has been a significant reduction in volume growth for key players (Infosys, for example, recorded one of its lowest volume growths of 0.5 per cent on stable pricing resulting in dollar growth on about 0.7 per cent quarter on quarter, according to an IndiaInfoline report) and other metrics such as hiring and campus offers, too, are in decline or have been frozen. “We will certainly review our current business model where we have a 30 per cent bench in a muted market. We will increase utilisation, but we’ll hire conservatively too,” Kris Gopalakrishnan, Infosys CEO, told BT recently. The company declined to comment on this story, citing the silent period for its second quarter results. Given the weak conditions, techies will have to get used to smaller hikes, with Wipro, for example, expected to dole out increments of 8-13 per cent region, compared to 15 per cent and more previously.
Suresh Vaswani/
Experts say Indian IT needs to broad-base its revenue and geographical bases, expand its global delivery capability and move aggressively towards a non-linear business model, where the direct link between revenue and headcount growth is broken. HCL’s Enterprise Transformation Services promises cost savings by reducing business cycle and process times for clients. The service will be priced on a revenue share or outcome-based model. The service has been piloted with four clients, resulting in a cumulative savings of $580 million (Rs 2,784 crore) for users. In terms of global delivery, several companies have taken their first steps. TCS has entered Uruguay and Satyam is in Cairo, Egypt.
Hari T.
Just as they prepare to put in place these measures to survive the slowdown, some market watchers say that companies such as Infosys, which have a very small domestic business, may actually take it slow over the next few months. While the rupee was pegged at 39/dollar and threatened to fall to 35, the reverse has happened. The rupee has, instead, depreciated against the US dollar, reaching about Rs 48 against the greenback. "This move could give hard-pressed IT companies a 7-8 point cushion and help them focus on the export market," says one analyst.
Rahul Sachitanand October 16, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Braving the odds in IT
Despite the present economic slowdown, the IT industry is open to those who constantly sharpen their skills and update themselves with emerging technologies, say experts.
Testing times: Innovative IT solutions at low cost is the need of the hour.
Testing times: Innovative IT solutions at low cost is the need of the hour.
With global stock markets groaning under the financial crisis, these are uncertain times. Newspapers blaze with headlines of retrenchment and recession. The campus recruitment figures in the IT industry paint a gloomy picture. What does this scenario mean to a student aspiring for a career in the IT industry? Education Plus spoke to those involved with the industry to find out.
“In the long-term perspective, the outlook for the IT industry is very much positive. We as an industry are very much matured,” assures Viswanathan Venkatasubramanian, Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition from Wipro Technologies. “It is a temporary phenomenon,” he says.
But the slowdown will change things in the industry. Customers of the IT industry will expect more, which means, employees will need to perform better. “Those who can make a difference, those who come out with more innovative solutions developed at low cost will provide the customer more value. So, we need to be more productive and provide more value,” he says.
Srinivas Kandula, Global Head-HR, iGATE, concurs. “Given the current slowdown scenario, organisations will take bold steps to weed out inefficient people. However, there is no need to worry or panic. There is an assured long-term career in the IT industry as long as they [students] are sharpening their skills and are in touch with emerging technologies,” he says.
What this implies is that the industry will focus sharply on quality, instead of quantity. So, good software engineers are assured of a seat in the industry. But what makes a good software engineer?
“The real problem in the industry is the general apathy or inability of the people to upgrade their skills,” says Mr. Kandula. “A large percentage of the people in the IT industry do not take proactive interest in their own learning and growth. Given that the software tools get revised and change every year, it is important for them to focus on improving their skills, on an ongoing basis,” he says.
This translates to a lifelong commitment to learning.
Mr. Kandula says, “Employees should plan their work and career not just for the present but also for the future and that they should have a long-term career perspective. It is important for them to understand the kind of skills they need to acquire and the ways in which they can acquire those relevant skills in their area of expertise.”
Go that extra mile
One mantra that always works during tough times is hard work. Karthikeyan Vijayakumar, a young entrepreneur who started his own firm, Excedos Market Services, says that companies will definitely work with someone who is willing to go that extra mile. He adds, “Not getting a job in a big company is definitely not the end of the road. You can join a smaller firm. But, make sure that the company has enough revenue to sustain the downturn.”
He says, “In a small firm, you get a lot of freedom. If you put in a lot of time and effort, then at the end of two years, you would have built the skills to negotiate a higher salary. And, working in a smaller firm means you get to interact with people at the top closely, who have more experience. So, you learn more. But, you need to be passionate about what you do.”
So, a deep-seated interest in what you do will hold you in good stead, which makes it important to ensure that your choice of career coincides with the area of your interest.
“There is always a mass phenomenon,” says Mr. Viswanathan. “Everyone takes up engineering, so others take up engineering. You should understand whether you have the attitude and the aptitude. So, what it means is you should have interest, instead of just following everyone else. This is because, only those who have the attitude and the aptitude will survive.”
Ref : THE HINDU,Monday, Oct 20, 2008Don’t lose grip
With India slipping further in the global IT industry competitiveness index this year despite its offshore IT prowess, Forrester has said that stepping up human capital investment, technology usage in rural areas, and addressing the existing talent crunch will be critical in raising the global competitiveness of India’s tech economy.
India dropped from 46th to 48th position in “The Economist’s global IT industry competitiveness index 2008”, which measures the environment for IT producers to thrive. “India’s worrying demotion is due to its dismal IT infrastructure, acute talent shortage, and unproductive R&D environment,” Forrester Research said in its recent report titled ‘How can India boost its tech economy’s global competitiveness.’
The just-released IT industry competitiveness index compares 66 countries on how well they support the competitiveness of IT firms. India, at 48th position, ranks way below East Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, but marginally better than China, which has ended 50th in the pecking order.
‘Strengthen the demand side’Forrester says Government and captains of IT industry will immediately need to focus on strengthening the demand side.
“The reason why countries such as the US, South Korea, and Japan top the index is not because their tech firms crank-out dozens of patents per day but because they boast a very tech-savvy customer base….What makes a region’s IT industry competitive is smart customers, not smart engineers,” it says.
India — which is still attempting to drive corporate and societal innovation by wielding policy instruments such as R&D investments and science parks — should instead strengthen institutional capacity to drive customer-focused and market-driven innovation. “Government must spur adoption across India. It must recognise that in today’s knowledge economy, IT infrastructure such as Internet access is more critical than physical infrastructure such as roads and ports. With good connectivity in place, the Indian government can then partner with tech providers such as Cisco Systems, Microsoft, and TCS to bring IT applications such as tele-education and telemedicine to Indian villages, where 70 per cent of the population lives,” Forrester says.
Ruing that Indian public agencies have been slow in digitising public-service delivery to citizens, Forrester says it is imperative for Government to work with state-level politicians to appoint CIOs at the federal and regional level who can collaboratively drive an IT-enabled innovation agenda. Besides this, there is a need to revamp science and engineering education curriculum — with the help of the National Knowledge Commission — to produce multidisciplinary engineers capable of brokering connections between Indian technology inventions and global business opportunities.
Forrester says Indian tech CEOs too need to overcome their export orientation and focus on India as the next big IT market, particularly now that the domestic spending is slated to rise by 18 per cent this year, the second-fastest-growing tech market after China.
“Tech suppliers such as Infosys, Satyam, TCS, and Wipro must beef up their corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments — by contributing more to teacher training programmes and new learning models.
Such a programme will allow their most experienced employees to teach part time or even full time in their local communities,” it adds.
Ref : THE HINDU, Monday, Oct 20, 2008
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