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21-Jun-10Wipro-TVS & Sons sign 10-year Total Outsourcing contract
Strategic partnership to drive business efficiencies through technology and process transformation
Bangalore, June 10, 2010
IT major, Wipro Ltd, and leading automobile and parts distribution specialist, TV Sundram Iyengar & Sons, today announced that they have signed a 10-year Total Outsourcing contract.
The partnership aims at leveraging the power of Information technology to drive business efficiencies across all business units and functional areas of TVS & Sons. Wipro, with its credentials in the automotive, retail domains coupled with its experience across large transformational IT engagements, will deliver a world class, scalable and agile IT landscape, aligned with the business objectives of TVS & Sons.
The scope of services includes the comprehensive suite of IT infrastructure and applications across the enterprise. In the initial transformation phase, Wipro will reengineer the current IT systems to achieve business IT alignment, backed by best-in-class processes and tools. The second phase covering operations and maintenance, would involve application and infrastructure support at the Data Center, and facilities management across 82 locations for 10 years. The engagement would be governed by a unique mix of milestone-based, business outcome-based and operations-based Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Speaking on the occasion Mr. R Dinesh, TVS & Sons said: “We see Business-IT alignment as the key driver for achieving business transformation. An integrated IT landscape will not only enable seamless information flow but will also help achieve high performance and scalability in our operations. We are delighted to be partnering with Wipro for this engagement, given Wipro’s consistent track record, leadership position in India, and strong IT and people processes.”
Senior VP and Business Head, India and Middle East, Wipro, Anand Sankaran said “It is our privilege to be associated with TVS &Sons in this engagement. We expect this partnership to provide the growth platform for TVS & Sons to continue their leadership in the highly competitive automotive distribution business by leveraging world class IT practices. We shall bring to bear our deep domain knowledge, years of experience in the IT space and knowledge of global best practices, to help TVS achieve new milestones in business operations and customer service.
About TVS & Sons
TVS & Sons distributes Commercial Vehicles, Utility & Sports Utility vehicles, Passenger Cars representing various leading automobile vehicle manufacturers such as Ashok Leyland, Daimler Chrysler, General Motors, Honda, and Mahindra & Mahindra. The company has more than 150 outlets and sells over 50,000 vehicles, and services more than 5,00,000 vehicles per annum, being the leading automobile distribution company in India. The company is also the largest distributor of automobile spare parts in the country, handling more than 80 suppliers, 5,000 manufacturers and 35,000 part numbers. “MyTVS” is the multi-brand, integrated, after-market Car services business division providing regular / periodical maintenance services through MyTVS All Car Service, Emergency Roadside Assistance through MyTVS 24×7 Emergency Services and complete car body repair facility through MyTVS Collision Repair Services.
About Wipro Infotech
Wipro Infotech, a division of the US $6 billion Wipro Limited, provides enterprise customers with high value Information Technology Products, Software Services, Solutions and Consulting Services in India and the Middle East. Headquartered at Bangalore, Wipro Infotech serves customers in India through a network of 22 offices and 170 service locations across the country. It also has regional offices across the Middle East serving the region.
About Wipro Ltd
Wipro Limited provides comprehensive IT solutions and services, including systems integration, information systems outsourcing, IT enabled services, package implementation, software application development and maintenance, and research and development services to corporations globally. Wipro Limited is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMM Level 5 certified IT Services Company globally. In the Indian market, Wipro is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the corporate segment in India offering system integration, network integration, software solutions and IT services. In the Asia Pacific and Middle East markets, Wipro provides IT solutions and services for global corporations. Wipro also has profitable presence in niche market segments of consumer products and lighting. Wipro’s ADSs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and its equity shares are listed in India on the Stock Exchange – Mumbai, and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit our websites at www.wipro.com, www.wiprocorporate.com, and www.wipro.in.
Wipro’s forward looking and cautionary statements
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects and our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions are forward looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding our ability to integrate and manage acquired IT professionals, our ability to integrate acquired assets in a cost effective and timely manner, fluctuations in earnings, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Wipro has made strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Wipro may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward looking statements, including statements contained in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. Wipro does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company.
Media Contacts
TVS & Sons Contact
Name: V A R Suresh
Mobile: 9600019963
e-mail: var.suresh@tvssons.com
Agency Contact for Wipro
Purnima Burman
K2 Communications Pvt Ltd
Mobile: +91-9900512025
Email: purnima.burman@wipro.com
Wipro Contact
Sandhya Shama Rao
Mobile: +91-9741100879
Email: sandhya.shama@wipro.com
Source: http://www.wipro.com/corporate/media/newsdetail.aspx?id=1625
Twitter, Facebook and Western Civilization’s Decline
I usually present Security Wisdom Watch as a list of thumbs up and down, but this month it’s all thumbs down, thanks to the recent state of affairs in the social media world.
This is a sequel of sorts to a column I wrote last week called ” Social Stupidity: Am I too social (LinkedIn, so to speak) to be saved.” In that piece, I focused on my own challenges in getting security right in the social networking world. This installment focuses more on how the platform providers themselves are making matters worse.
Facebook: True, Facebook users shoot themselves in the foot all the time by sharing too much information [See some examples in " 6 ways we gave up our privacy"].
But Facebook is making things worse by continually messing around with the privacy settings, making it increasingly impossible for users to tell who, exactly, has access to their information.
Foursquare: The platform is billed as a way for people to connect more effectively geographically and find the closest coffee shops, bars and the like. But the more we look at it, the more it comes off as nothing more than a tool for would-be kidnappers and stalkers.
My colleague Joan Goodchild gave a good example of the problem in her story ” Pleaserobme.com highlights dangers of TMI on social networks” when she explained how the site “aggregates the Twitter feeds of people who play Foursquare, a location-sharing application that allows users to “check in” from their various geographic whereabouts as part of a game where they earn badges for reaching certain milestones. The problem is, according to pleaserobme, in playing the game, many users are also publicly broadcasting that their home is likely unattended and a good “opportunity” (as the site terms it) for thieves.”
Twitter: We’ve already reported extensively on the threats facing users, including phishing attempts and other forms of social engineering. In an effort to be more like Foursquare, Twitter decided to add a function that lets users tell everyone exactly where they’re tweeting from. Did I mention yet that I don’t like that about Foursquare?
LinkedIn: This one is still best in terms of locking down the user’s privacy. But very subtle and quiet design changes along the way are giving users increasing opportunities to get themselves into the kind of trouble they now get into via Facebook. That includes users falling for imposter profiles advertised as one person but controlled by a bad guy.
In fact, with every design tweak LinkedIn starts to look more and more like Facebook (the ability now exists to “like” someone’s post, for example), which in turn has been trying to look more and more like Twitter.
In my view, trying to look more like the other guy means you are increasing your risk of making the same security mistakes as the other guy.
Read more about social networking in CSOonline’s Social Networking section.
Copyright © 2010 CSO.
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Bharti Airtel enters into a strategic partnership with Novatium to help expand the broadband market
 Bharti Airtel enters into a strategic partnership with Novatium Launches Net PC Plus on Airtel broadband for customers in Chennai |
| Chennai, May 5, 2010 : Bharti Airtel, Asia’s leading integrated telecom service provider, today entered into a strategic partnership with Novatium to help expand the broadband market in India. Novatium Solutions Private Limited is the leading provider of rich computing services in the country. Announcing the launch exclusively for Airtel broadband customers in Chennai, Bharti Airtel and Novatium have brought in a category defining introductory offer- The Airtel Net PC Plus comes with an in-built cash back offer of Rs.4500/- after 24 months of usage and a unique one month buy-back guarantee – if you are not happy with it you can return it within a month!
Available at multiple price points starting Rs.4999, customers wishing to purchase an Airtel Net PC Plus can order the same by calling on 1800 103 0121 OR by texting ‘net pc’ to 53636 OR by visiting www.airtel.in/netpc. Airtel Net PC Plus features Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vikas Singh, CMO-Telemedia Services, Bharti Airtel said, “Our partnership with Novatium for the launch of Net PC Plus reinforces our strategic intent to enhance broadband experience for our customers by offering innovative and collaborative products. This managed computing service adds to Airtel’s existing portfolio of services that harness the power of cloud computing. The initiative will on one hand help individual, businesses users save on recurring costs and help spur broadband uptake by making user experience simpler and more affordable.” Mr. Alok Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Novatium Solutions Pvt. Ltd. said, “India is on the verge of witnessing a computing revolution and we hope to be its engine. Nova NetPC Plus coupled with Bharti Airtel Limited has the potential to revolutionize the entire computing market. We are getting encouraging responses from subscribers and expect tremendous growth in the current fiscal. The vision of Novatium, he added, is to provide simple and affordable computing for the next billion.” The Airtel Net PC Plus – powered by Novatium- brings many advantages: Airtel broadband customers can purchase the Airtel Net PC Plus by choosing from 3 entry packs: All the above come with a bundled Airtel Net PC Plus Plan with a monthly rental of Rs 999/- @ 512 Kbps. The services provide for a comprehensive computing experience with special emphasis on Internet, gaming, digital entertainment, online education, telephony and business productivity. The zero maintenance device works as a plug and play service at the customer premises with all the data residing in the backend, fully secure and high availability data centre. About Bharti Airtel Limited : Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is among Asia’s leading integrated telecom services providers with operations in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The company has an aggregate of around 138 million customers across its operations. Bharti Airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by Business Week. Bharti Airtel is structured as four strategic business units – Mobile, Telemedia, Enterprise and Digital TV. The mobile business offers services in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Telemedia business provides broadband, IPTV and telephone services in 89 Indian cities. The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to carriers. The Digital TV business provides DTH services across India. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand (excluding Bangladesh currently). Airtel’s national high-speed optic fiber network currently spans over 126,357 Rkms across India. Airtel’s international network infrastructure includes ownership of the i2i submarine cable system and consortium ownership in five global undersea cable systems, SEA-ME-WE 4, EIG, I-ME-WE, AAG and UNITY. For more information, visit www.airtel.in. For more information, visit www.airtel.in About Novatium Solutions Pvt. Ltd Novatium is the leading provider of rich computing services and provides Utility Computing as a Service. Comprising of the best of breed computing applications and content, Novatium delivers end to end computing solutions with superior performance on a simple to use platform to operate on. Novatium has built a comprehensive support system that bridges the gap between the present and the future of computing. With users having the choice to have the latest technology retaining the legacy computing, Novatium provides a completely flexible computing service that delivers to the user, just what he needs with the least strain in the purse. Users can now get customized computing with handpicked software and applications. Novatium builds affordable and simple computing platform to provide comprehensive computing solutions. Novatium has top-of-the-line expertise in core computing environments like Linux Development, hardware platform, media processing, product testing, research in networking and Audio/Video technology, network administration, Linux/Windows system administration, Linux internals, programming and X Windows. |
LONDON—Vodafone Group PLC Tuesday booked a £2.3 billion ($3.4 billion) impairment charge on its Indian operations due to stiff competition and a fierce price war, overshadowing market-beating full year results and dividend guidance.
vodafone - A worldwide Mobile Related Business Company based on UK
For the year ended March 31, net profit more than doubled to £8.65 billion from £3.08 billion a year earlier because of higher revenue and major cost cutting. The year-earlier figure was marred by an impairment charge of £5.9 billion, which included a £3.4 billion write-down on the value of Vodafone’s Spanish assets and smaller write-downs related to operations in Turkey and Ghana.
Revenue rose 8.4% to £44.47 billion from £41.02 billion, helped by the pound’s fall against other currencies, including the euro.
Free cash flow, the driver of the group’s dividend and its preferred measure of profitability, rose 27% to £7.2 billion, beating market expectations of £6.8 billion. In February, Vodafone raised its free cash flow range by £500 million to between £6.5 billion and £7 billion.
Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said revenue trends improved in the fourth quarter, underpinned by growth in mobile data and fixed broadband. Cost cutting came in ahead of schedule, “enabling commercial reinvestment to improve market share and further strengthen our technology platforms,” he said.
But despite the improving trends, analysts remained concerned over the company’s problems in India.
Since Vodafone’s entry into India in 2007, the government has issued six additional national mobile licences, triggering what the company described as “intense price competition,” and with bids for the national 3G spectrum passing the $3 billion mark and climbing, the market there is set to remain tough.
In addition to the impairment charge announced Tuesday, the company is challenging a demand from the Indian government for a tax payment, reported by Indian media to be in the region of $2 billion. Meanwhile, earlier this month the Indian telecom regulator said it also would slap a one-time fee on major operators who own excess 2G spectrum, a suggestion Vodafone and its rivals also oppose.
Liberum Capital analyst Mark James described the situation in India as a “fiasco,” while Collins Stewart’s Morten Singleton questioned “why it wants to stay in the game” given the numerous tax and competition problems in the country.
Vodafone has sunk more than £8 billion in India so far, and with the current 3G spectrum auction it is expected to rise to more than £10 billion, Mr. James estimates. He kept his “sell” rating on the stock and 119 pence target price.
Vodafone is the second biggest player in India with 21% of the market behind Bharti Airtel Ltd. During the year ended March 31, 2010, Vodafone added 32 million customers in India, taking the total to 100 million in a country with a population of more than one billion.
Chief Executive Vittorio Colao was tight-lipped on the current 3G spectrum auction in India, while a Vodafone spokesman declined to comment on the group’s future investment in the country.
U.K.-based Vodafone raised its final dividend by 8.7% to 5.65 pence a share from 5.20 pence. That takes the total for fiscal 2010 to 8.31 pence from 7.77 pence a year ago.
The company forecast annual dividend growth of around 7% for the next three years, and expects total dividends of around 10.18 pence per share for fiscal 2013.
For the current year, ending March 31, 2011, Vodafone expects free cash flow to be in excess of £6.5 billion and adjusted operating profit within the range of £11.2 billion to £12.0 billion. It also expects to return to organic service revenue growth during the financial year. Capital expenditure should be similar to £6.2 billion in the year just gone, adjusted for foreign exchange moves.
Meanwhile, regarding Verizon Wireless in the U.S., in which Vodafone holds a 45% stake, Chief Financial Officer Andy Halford said the business is “performing very, very well.” He said there was no change in Vodafone’s position following speculation it may merge with Verizon Wireless’s other shareholder, Verizon Communications Inc. He didn’t comment on when Verizon Wireless would pay a dividend, an issue of growing concern to investors as it hasn’t done so since 2006.
After initially opening higher on the London Stock Exchange, Vodafone shares were up 1 pence at 137 near midday. The stock has risen 11% over the past 12 months, underperforming the FTSE 100 index, which has risen 22% over the same period.
Via: link