Wipro Jumps onto European BandwagonBefore the
Y2K charm could wear off, domestic software companies in a calculated move, began to ogle
at Europe. Wipro Infotech is the latest to join this select band, closely following
Datamatics which unvieled its plans a few weeks ago. What prompted Wipro Infotech to go in
for a local presence in Europe is the growing realisation that businessmen prefer to deal
with a local company. Wipro Infotech President Ashok Soota drew the inspiration from the
strategy adopted by multinationals operating in India through their own subsidiaries.
"Direct overseas presence is an asset," adds Girish Paranjpe, group vice
president in charge of finance.
Interestingly, the European operations will not be headed by
a senior Wipro Infotech executive exported from India. Instead Derek Langley, a European,
will oversee the European operations. Wipro already has local subsidiaries in the United
States and Japan and the shareholders' approval to float a subsidiary in United Kingdom is
also ready. Right now, Wipro has a presence in Scandinavia, Germany and Switzerland
through representative offices. Meanwhile, NIIT Ltd. has also unveiled its new corporate
strategy for Europe. NIIT has been operating in this market for the past three years and
notched a turnover of Rs 70 crore during 1997-98. "We are very excited about the
opportunities for software industry in Europe. We want to replicate in Europe the success
of our operations in the USA and the ASEAN region," says Gopal Chakravarthy, the
newly appointed director for the European operations. This is the first time a board
member has been posted overseas, signifying the importance NIIT attaches to the growing
European market.
Companies like Wipro, Datamatics and NIIT are moving into
Europe at a time when independent research groups confirm the lack of skilled infotech
personnel in the entire continent. A joint survey by IDC and Microsoft conducted recently
says that more than half a million jobs in Europe's infotech industry will remain unfilled
by the end of this year and predicts the same to triple by 2002.
Baan Rides High on the
Indian ERP Wave
 ERP major, Baan Info Systems India Pvt. Ltd, is fast
catching up with the country leader SAP in India with the latest IDC report indicating
only a marginal two percent difference between their market shares. So far, Baan has
bagged 11 new accounts-three more than the previous quarter and the largest number of
customer wins since it commenced operations in India-in the second quarter. Its prize
catches include diverse companies from all parts of the country: tobacco manufacturer
Rashbehari Enterprises from Nasik, turbines-and-engines producer Bovring Fouress from
Bangalore, and repeat orders from New Holland Tractors and Lloyd Steel.
Not to be browbeaten by the sluggish economy, Baan has taken
up on itself the role of a rejuvenator. Chief executive officer D. Bharath (see photo)
argues that IT is the perfect tool to ensure momentum during a sluggish period.
"Those companies investing in enterprise-wide IT now will be those spearheading their
markets when the economy is booming," he adds.
Meanwhile, the company has announced Baan-on-Board for the
Indian market. Baan-on-Board is an ERP-in-a-box style solution for mix-sized manufacturing
sector companies, estimated to be worth Rs 500 crore by 2000. It is a pre-packaged Baan
application software which will simplify implementation, reduce complexity, delivery
predictable results to the customer.
The total customer base for ERP in India is estimated at 381
for the year ended March 1998, according to IDC. Baan-on-Board, has been developed by Baan
Midmarket Solutions (BMS), a Baan company founded at the end of 1997 as a joint venture
between the Baan Company and Baan Invesmtent (BV).
Trouble Brewing At
Unicorp
 Unicorp Industries, ranked 11th in the
CT101 Almanac, is in the throes of a fresh crisis with the flight of its senior executives
for greener pastures. While B.V. Gupta has opted out of the board citing health reasons,
marketing wizards including Anil Khanna are believed to have quit in a huff.
According to privileged sources, the flight of senior
personnel is attributed to three reasons: non-payment of salary due to the severe
liquidity crunch, promoter Arun Sogani's (see photo) waning interest in Unicorp and last,
but not least, the low morale among the workforce.
This development has led many industry analysts to wonder
whether Unicorp is going the PCL way. It may be recalled, the Delhi-based PCL, a hardware
major, met with a similar fate. In a span of two years, PCL lost its hold on the market
owing to crisis within. Even today, PCL, like Unicorp, is in severe financial crisis
caused by its 1996 strategy to create a big niche for itself by trying to sell PCs at very
cheap rate, at around Rs 20,000. Despite the resounding response, PCL failed to fulfil its
promise thus landing itself in a soup.
Unicorp's cup of woes had its origins in its inability to
push Compaq products in the Indian market resulting in the Haryana-based hardware major
defaulting on its payment to the US multinational. Though both parties are tight-lipped
about this, it is no secret how Compaq had dealt a severe jolt to Unicorp.
DSQ in for Equity Sale
 The Chennai-based DSQ Software is in the
limelight again. The stock markets continue to be speculating that promoter Dinesh Dalmia
is on the verge of selling a sizeable chunk of equity to foreign funds. Globally renowned
Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse First Boston and ING Barings are touted as possible new
stakeholders. But Dalmia is playing it safe by maintaining a stiff upper lip.
Significantly, the Commonwealth Development Corp. (CDC) will
be divesting 19 percent equity which it has been holding in DSQ Software in favour of the
new player. Dalmia, if merchant banking circles are to be believed, will be unloading the
balance six percent. The promoters, including Dalmia, hold close to 50 per cent equity in
the company. The firm recorded a turnover of Rs 116.78 crore with exports accounting for
Rs 109 crore in 1997-98.
Change of Guard at TGK
India
 In a bloodless coup of sorts, the majority
Japanese promoter at TGK India Ltd has quietly jettisoned its Indian joint venture
partner. Anil Gupta, ex-managing director, has vanished from the scene, thus paving the
way for 25-year old Kenji Tomonaga (see photo), the son of promoter Katsuhide Tomonaga, to
take over.
More changes are expected at the Indo-Japanese joint venture,
rated as the fifth best Oracle Training Institute in India last year. Despite Gupta's long
ties with the Tomonaga family, he could not last long. "We had a perspective
difference in our approaches to doing business in India. We would like to say that our
strategy would be somewhat opposite to Gupta's," says the newly-installed Tomonaga
Jr. In a significant move, the Tomonaga family has brought down Gupta's equity to a bare
two percent, as a token of its long-standing friendship with the Indian business partner.
According to him, Gupta was trying to make TGK a company with
a very large set-up in terms of employees, infrastructure, etc., "something that
could be compared with the major IT giants and organisations in India." TGK India has
notched up a sales of Rs 3.3 crore last year. While Oracle ATC brought in only one-fifth
of total revenue, a turnkey project for IBM, Thailand and domestic sales of its Integrated
Systems Application Package (ISAP) installations and software development projects brought
in the balance in an equal measure. Tomonaga Jr says promotion of ISAP will remain the
most focused area and this is being undertaken to break the shell of being known as a
training institute only. TGK India's foremost strategy is to build an indigenous ERP
solution which will stand up to the global standards.
HCL Insys to Manage
Dealers at Hyundai
The dealers of Santro, the new passenger car from Hyundai
Motors, can now effectively monitor and control the inventory of cars through a
countrywide dealer management support network. To install, commission and support this
network, Hyundai Motors has assigned the contract to HCL Infosystems Ltd. Hyundai has
appointed 70 Santro dealers who will be equipped with Pentium II-based Infiniti Global
Line servers and up to five Infiniti 2000 desktop computers, which will serve as nodes and
associated networking components and middleware. HCL Insys is even planning to undertake
the entire network implementation service at each of these locations.
Said Sharad Talwar, general manager, marketing, HCL Insys,
"The dealer management network for the technologically advanced car will be
complemented by the three-tier support infrastructure." The three-tiered support
infrastructure to the participant dealers will be offered through its Systems Support
Organisation (SSO). At the first level, dealers will benefit from the on-site support
facility. At the second, a remote management utility available on Infiniti Global Line
server will enable remote hardware management facility, making distance no more a
stumbling block. The third level of support will be extended through HCL's TeleSupport
centres spread across the country. To avail this facility, users at dealer locations need
only dial the nearest HCL Telesupport centre. |
