Cincom Systems Adopts Channel Route for SMBs

By Yogesh Gupta

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 12:00:00 AM IST

Cincom, which delivers software and services to simplify complex business processes, is fixed on adopting the channel route. The global software provider has signed ASM Technologies as its first channel partner in India to resell Cincom's Quote-to-Order(QTO) offerings. “We are open to aligning with more channel partners to tap the widespread SMB market. We wish to encompass around four or five partners each in western, southern and northern India within a year. We will later explore the eastern Indian market,” said Pantulu Avasarala, Director, Cincom Development Center, Cincom Systems India. To address the huge geographical expanse of the SMB market, the company has decided to adopt the channel route instead of its popular direct model. “Our partner ASM will strengthen its product portfolio and help offer richer breadth of offerings to its ever-increasing list of customers propelling our QTO offerings for complex manufacturing verticals. The other offering, the ‘Call Center Solution’, that targets brokerage, healthcare and insurance for enterprises, will be offered to SMBs through partners,” he said. Pursuing a ‘direct-to-user’ model, Cincom has empowered many clients worldwide to outperform the competition by providing ways to increase revenue, control cost, minimize risk, and achieve rapid ROI. India is one of the first countries where Cincom has decided to leverage the technical expertise of  the channels, he said. Detailing the channel strategy, Avasarala revealed, “We are looking to appoint service providers as our partners, who have excellent knowledge to showcase the value of our products to the customers. Operating in niche software offerings space, we will initially appoint partners vertical-wise for effective market penetration and channel profitability.” To lure the SMBs, Cincom, apart from license model, will also pursue revenues-based, subscription- based and hosting-based options through partners. “Our SMB offerings are scaled-down versions of enterprise offerings that enable SMBs to scale up as their organizational activities increase in the future,” he added. Cincom's QTO Product consists of knowledge-based applications covering product configuration, sales configuration, estimating & bidding, quote management,  knowledge-based application studio and enterprise integration with existing back- end ERPs,” said Avasarala. Cincom will continue to sell directly to large enterpises. Revealing the next product line for Indian markets, he said, “We are launching ‘Business Intelligence ‘solutions by next month for SMB verticals like manufacturing, insurance, healthcare and finance. The documentation management is a growing market. We plan to offer first-of-its-kind ‘Document Generation’ solution in the second half of the next year, which would lead to mass generation of customized documents depending on the needs of an enterprise.”At present, almost 80 percent of India revenues emerge from enterprises for Cincom. “With a sizeable number of potential partners within the next few months, we intend to change the landscape. We expect the ratio balancing at 50:50 for enterprises to SMBs within the next couple of years,” said Avasarala. This article is originally published at:  http://channelworld.in/news/index.jsp/artId=5636427

 

GOVERNMENT NORMS LIKELY TO COMPULSORILY SECURE WIFI LINKS

Joji Thomas Philip & Harsimran Singh, New Delhi, September 15, 2008
The Economic Times | The Hindu Business Line | 

 

In the wake of the terror emails being sent from unsecured wireless fidelity (WiFi) networks, the government is examining the possibility of issuing new norms that will make it illegal to leave such Internet connections open. The new norms may also put the onus on telcos and Internet service providers (ISPs) who sell WiFi connections to educate their customers of keeping them secure.

The department of telecom will work with the home ministry and intelligence agencies to put in place steps to secure WiFi Internet connections, which are increasingly being used in homes and offices across the country. WiFi networking companies may also be asked to limit WiFi signal right down to a defined radius by installing access points around the signal.

However, Internet service providers (ISPs) say that it is customer who is to blame. “Internet service providers are taking steps on their own to secure WiFi connections. All ISPs are installing AAA servers and firewalls. But, if you look at the terror mails, they were sent from hacked or open WiFi accounts – there is nothing we can do about this.

When people take a broadband connection, then take routers and make their homes and offices WiFi enabled, and then leave it open, there is nothing ISPs can do about it,” explained the president of the Internet Service Providers Association of India’s president Rajesh Chharia.

Industry experts say that regulations will not help much since most home and corporate users use minimal security to lock their WiFi networks making them an easy target to hack into.

Security experts suggest that WiFi users should never broadcast their SSIDs (service set identifiers) and change their access passwords. “Most routers which come in the market have a password 1234 and login id – as admin. One should immediately change it after installing. Also one should block the router’s SSIDs from broadcasting the WiFI networks and allow only particular machines to access it,” says Aujas Network Founder and COO Sameer Shelke.

Generally a WiFi router is configured to advertise its SSID to all neighbouring WiFi devices. One can block the SSID from advertising so that only by typing the name, the particular WiFi network appears.
The Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) connection of a Mumbai based power company was hacked into by suspects in Chembur, who sent the e-mail to news organisations while the serial blast continued in the capital which killed about 25 people and left about 100 injured on Saturday.

Experts say that digital forensics still holds the key to catch suspects who have even challenged security agencies to catch them.
Accessing the WiFi router or the wireless access point’s log files (present in Mumbai’s Kamran Power Company in this case), one can find out the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the WiFi card which accessed the WiFi point of that company.

Each WiFi adaptor card manufactured in the world has a unique MAC address. Identifying that MAC address would mean identifying the manufacturer of that particular network card. The manufacturers are generally based in Malaysia, Taiwan and China, global hubs of electronic manufacturing.

A high level protocol with Chinese or Taiwanese government can help the investigating agencies get hold of which factory that particular card was shipped to and when. It can also identify the bar code number of that card. Each PC or laptop maker like Dell, HP, Lenovo or Acer tags the barcode numbers of the card before assembling them into the machines.

This information can be used to find out which dealer sold that particular laptop in which part of the world and to which buyer, which in this case can be the suspect. Identifying the digital footprint can thus help trace the culprits.

US-based Meru Networks’ India head Giridhar Java says: “We can also configure a network to operate only in a particular radius. All signals going outside a particular periphery can be blocked. Another way is to throw junk to an outside receiver trying to connect. We can easily jam his or her WiFi card but that’s not legally allowed in most parts of the world.”

The easiest way to secure is to provide a password for accessing WiFi but y experts say that too is penetrable. “Basically WiFi operates in the 2.5 GHz frequency and one can still access your WiFi network by special frequency scanners but that is tougher.

 

INDIA INC GOES SLOW ON HIRING AND FIRING

Ashish Agrawal
The Economic Times (Delhi edition)

Despite recording turbo-charged growth over the last few years, India Inc’s top firms are not accelerating their recruitment drive. According to an ETIG study on employee data for more than 450 listed companies, the firms added 1.63 lakh new people to their rolls in FY08 against 1.64 lakh during the previous year. The manufacturing sector, for instance, added 12 percent less than FY07. For IT sector too, hiring came down by 13 percent. However, the sector still continues to be the top recruiter, accounting for about half of the new jobs added.

While banking sector as a whole continued to hire with nearly 40 percent increase in employee intake, the numbers have swelled because of large-scale recruitment by few private sector banks. If we exclude them, there is actually a decline in hiring. Among the companies, which have seen significant hiring include HDFC Bank, Axis Bank besides the pack of IT firms Infosys, TCS, Satyam and HCL. The study does not include data for ICICI Bank and Wipro who are also likely to figure among the top recruiters last year.

The silver lining is that employee retrenchment at an aggregate level also dropped by about 20 percent from about 44,000 people during FY07 to 36,000 people leading to a 6 percent net addition in employee base.

Among the sectors, while manufacturing firms decreased the number of people they hired they also went soft on pruning jobs. Retrenchment in the sector came down from 25,000 to 19,500 last year. Among the firms, SAIL, TVS Motors, Tata Steel and Bata were the top companies who cut their flab. For TVS Motors, the reduction in manpower represents almost 24 percent of its manpower base. Similarly for banking, the retrenchment came down from 18,500 to 15,000. The only sector, which added people across the board last year was other services (excluding financial services and IT). These firms—which would include those engaged in healthcare, transport services, telecom etc—stepped up hiring by about 21 percent. However, since their total contribution is quite low at about 6 percent of the employee base, the impact was only marginal.

 

IT SPEND TO TOUCH $110 BILLION BY 2012, SAYS GARTNER

New Delhi
Business Standard | The Hindu Business Line | The Hindu | The Times of India | Financial Chronicle | 

IT end-user spending in India is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.8 percent from 2007 through 2012 to touch $110 billion (Rs 484,000 crore) by 2012, says research and advisory firm Gartner.

In the current year, IT end-user spending is on way to reach $64.7 billion (Rs 2,98,345 crore), a 17.2 percent increase from 2007.

This prediction, supplemented by a robust gross domestic product (GDP) averaging 8 percent growth from 2007 to 2012 means, the Indian market continues to represent a significant growth opportunity for IT vendors.

“Indian businesses continue to invest in IT in order to drive operational excellence and innovation. Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) will drive the growth of various IT-related industries, with the critical involvement of value added resellers, distributors and retailers,” said Naveen Mishra, senior research analyst at Gartner.

Moreover, the report notes that India’s domestic IT services market is the fastest growing in Asia-Pacific with a CAGR of 20.2 percent in these five years, reaching $11.8 billion (Rs 53,690 crore) in 2012.

 

FORGET FAT PACKAGES & ESOPS, EXECS NOW WANT LUXE CARS TOO

Mahima Puri & Chanchal Pal Chauhan, New Delhi, September 8, 2008
The Economic Times

Fat bonuses are passé. So are million-dollar stock options. For the top dogs in India Inc, the latest and priciest carrots are luxe marques that look beyond Mercs. From Beamers and Audis to Porsches and Rolls, the line-up is getting fast, furious and seriously fancy.

Suddenly, even big wheels aren’t enough. To be a sticky sop, the wheels have to be bespoke. Picture this—a newly appointed CEO of a major retail company was offered a hefty salary package, but his demands went much beyond just monetary considerations.

His ask—a Mercedes SLK 500 to drive to work. And, the company was happy to oblige. Make no mistake–this car mania is not restricted to a particular sector. In another instance, the CEO of a BPO was offered an Audi before he joined. Nor is this drive peculiar to current sunshine sectors like retail or ITeS. Corner room occupants in banking, aviation and energy are also demanding and getting their share of asphalt adrenalin.

The mad rush for these cars is partly thanks to their growing tyre print on Indian roads. And typically it is the pricier models/variants that are in demand. Said BMW India president Peter Kronschnabel, “We are selling around 30 percent of our cars to corporate customers. We have re-jigged some of our models like the 320i, which is more chauffeur driven and offers more space at the rear. In the second year of operation in India, we have seen a sizeable shift towards the larger and expensive, 5Series coming in the Rs 40 to Rs 50 lakh bracket.”

Head-hunting firms agree that cars are the new crore-competence at the top of the job heap. Transearch India managing partner Atul Vohra said, “For CXOs, cars speak volumes. And unlike in the past, the choice for the ‘executive car’ now goes beyond Mercs to Audis to BMWs with new offerings being added each year. In most cases, the size of the car is directly proportional to the negotiating strength or position of the candidate. Hence, for indispensable talent, companies do not mind providing just about anything on wheels.”

Agreed Head Hunters India CEO Kris Lakshmikanth, “There have been cases where cars have played a vital role in a make or break situation. Like, an energy company had to negotiate for six months before they gave in to the demands of the desired candidate. Reason, he wanted a luxury sedan, at least on par with his last car if not more.”

Nor are the sops restricted to the top guys. Now it’s the middle-level executives who are being pampered even more. Companies are also offering models like the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Skoda Laura to their heads.

Also, employees at mid-level managerial positions or key sales personnel are also being offered hatchbacks or mid-size sedans like the Hyundai i10 or Accent, Swift or Dzire and Skoda Fabia, among others.

 

SMALL IT FIRMS OUTSOURCE MARKETING

P P Thimmaya & J Padmpriya, Bangalore, September 08, 2008
The Economic Times

Indian technology firms, which have cracked the software codes, are now ready to learn a few marketing mantras and may actually be practicing what they preach. Small and medium firms are seen outsourcing some key marketing functions like making pitch documents, lead generation, power point presentations and even reverse outsourcing (where they appoint a local agency to market their products and services in the US).

Demand is coming from startups seeking to attract potential buyers and investors and those who are looking at sustained growth. Many VCs and PE players are also approaching outsourced CMO (chief marketing officer) or such outfits for their portfolio companies.

A cluster of service providers are mushrooming to capture business from small enterprises, who either lack the bandwidth or cannot afford a high-cost, full-time marketing resource. CMO Axis, co-founded by Vinod Harith, till recently global head of marketing communications for Wipro Technologies, offers to build and run a company’s annual marketing calendar. “We also work for large companies and free management time by taking over functions like blog and website management IT presentations, powerpoint repurposing,” says Harith.

In the same space is Vijay Menon, a freelance CMO, formerly vice president, marketing at QuEST and Infosys BPO. Menon says, these enterprises may not be able to derive benefits from hiring a full-time CMO, who may come at a salary level bill of up to Rs 50 lakh per annum. Obviously, “during a downturn everybody is cautious of hiring a high-cost professional,” one industry player said.

However, Srini Rajam, CEO, Ittiam Systems, makes a clear distinction between marketing and branding. Marketing becomes the fulcrum of any organisation in deciding the road map as well as the genesis of product and services. Some parts of branding activity could be outsourced especially when a product is being taken to the market, he adds.

Gaurav Gupta of Everest Group, says, “it is a long way to go before sales force is outsourced as most companies like to be in control and have their internal systems in place. Outsourcing is catching up in telemarketing and analytics, particularly in financial services sector like credit cards, insurance and the like. Even captives of i-banks, for instance, bring to offshore tasks like pitch documents, power points, analytics and marketing support, he says.

Globally, there is a case for outsourcing for companies in the $20 million-$100 million range and the biggest challenge for them is lead generation and building a brand. The challenge in the marketing outsourcing service provider space in India stems from lack of integration between analytics, market intelligence and marketing functions, says S Sabyasachi, senior director, neoIT, an offshore advisory firm.

 

SALARY SLUMP

Urmila Rao
Outlook Money (Edition: September 10, 2008)

Next year, there will be less reason to cheer in terms of salary hikes. The average salary increase projections for 2009 are lower by a percentage point, at 13.9 per cent, according to the Hewitt Associates Salary Survey, published by the human resources consulting and outsourcing services firm.

Though 2008 is seeing a strong average salary increase of 14.8 per cent, the global economic slowdown, US sub-prime crisis and rising inflation have caused Indian companies to revisit salary budgets for 2009.

Your only option to beat the odds would be a good performance. In the current economic slowdown scenario, performance-linked salaries are going up for middle and senior executives, reveals the survey.

Hewitt surveyed 150 companies, analysing information across nine primary industries, including BFSI (banking, finance, security and insurance), retail and IT/ITES sectors, among others. It measured actual and projected salary increases, and compensation practices for six specific job categories from top executive to manual workforce.

As many as 42 per cent of the companies said that they would have lower salary increases, bringing in a greater correlation between performance and pay, while 28 per cent stated that they would hire fewer staff. Meanwhile, 30 per cent have increased performance linkages to counter fixed pay hikes. None of the organisations surveyed are expecting a salary freeze for 2009.

Sandeep Chaudhary, leader of Hewitt’s Rewards Consulting Practice in India, said: “There hasn’t been any dramatic move in salary cuts. Instead, companies are looking at innovative ways to cut other costs like travel and recreation without compromising on employee salaries or learning and development. This is a sign of a growing and mature economy.”

The average salary increases across levels continues to be led by middle and junior management.

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CAN IMPROVE HEALTHCARE DELIVERY

Kolkata
Business Standard

There was a need to make the healthcare sector more IT-oriented, opined experts at a seminar on healthcare organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

According to Rajarshi Sengupta, executive director, Deloitte & Touche Consulting, there was urgent need to integrate the back office operations of hospitals by use of technology.

Apart from few hospitals in south India, no hospital in the country had tried to integrate the back office operations.

Speaking on the occasion, Hemant Kumar, director, health solutions group, India, Microsoft Corporation, said the aggregate revenue of the mid-sized hospitals in the country was expected to be $10 billion by 2010-11. This would be possible because of the unique combination of low cost and high standard of healthcare services in India.

In India, the success rate of bypass surgery was 98.7 percent, against, 97.5 percent in the US. In India, the cost of the surgery was one-tenth of that in the US. However, still 60 percent of the patient's time in a hospital is spend on furnishing information to the doctors.

Experience shows that a patient's time in his stay at the hospital could be reduced by 39 percent by improved IT structure, Kumar said.

V V Varma, managing director, Lazarus Hospital, said, studies show that PPP partnership in Singapore resulted in increase in life expectancy, which 78.4 percent in Singapore, against 63 years in India.