Computers Today, June 1-15, 2000; Country Buzz, pg2

June 1-15, 2000 COUNTRY BUZZ

Quantum Launches Quiet Drive Tech in India

One of the largest volume suppliers of hard disk drives in the world, Quantum Corp., recently announced its strategic growth plans for the country- appointment of a new distribution partner and road shows in four major cities. Kevyn Ho, sales director, South Asia-Pacific, said, "The Indian market is poised to be the number two PC market in the region by 2003, and we want to be ready when that happens." His road shows, held in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi last fortnight, included a demonstration of the quiet drive technology from Quantum. The company appointed Cyberstar Infocom Ltd, a Singapore-based start-up, as its distribution partner to enhance its customer services and widen the base. So far it has been operating with Ingram Micro as its distribution partner. The company enjoys a 22 per cent share in the Indian disk drive market. "Five per cent growth is what we are targeting at," said Rahul Bindal, the newly-appointed sales manager for the country.

Globsyn Offers Web Solutions for Bank of Tokyo

Globsyn Technologies has obtained an order from Bank of Tokyo for providing Internet banking applications. The Web-based B-to-B transaction system would provide 24x7 hours access to non-financial transaction information to the bank's customers. The graphically interfaced information would be accessible via a Web browser, being developed and implemented by Globsyn. "Through end-to-end E-services, Globsyn seeks to assist enterprises in their endeavour to widen business reach electronically," said Bikram Dasgupta, chairman and managing director, Globsyn Technologies Ltd.

e4e Labs to Nurture Net, E-services Start-ups

In a pioneering move, Bangalore-based e4e Labs has announced the launch of incubation labs for early-stage companies. The company offers early-stage companies an unprecedented combination of access to world-class technology infrastructure, experienced advisory resources, executive management talent and strong links to Silicon Valley. Headed by Sridhar Mitta, a pioneer in the Indian infotech industry, the Labs will focus on the Internet infrastructure and E-services markets.

"We are building a 'green house' that replicates the innovative and entrepreneurial environment of Silicon Valley in Bangalore, making it a virtual extension of the Valley," said Sridhar Mitta. Prior to e4e Labs, Mitta served for over 20 years at Wipro in various senior management roles. More recently, he helped the company set up the global R&D division that develops products for all major networking companies.

e4e Labs will offer early-stage companies a unique combination of advisory and mentoring services and access to successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. "Start -ups need far more than just bricks and mortar to get a headstart in today's markets. Through e4e Labs, we will offer a unique proposition of people and technology resources to build world-class companies," Mitta said.

SDRC Launches E-business Products

Leading CAD/CAM/CAE player, SDRC India Pvt. Ltd, has introduced a slew of new products in areas of product knowledge management (PKM), collaborative product commerce (CPC) and E-design automation. These launches have been complemented by strategic partnerships with Microsoft, IBM, HP, Sun Microsystems and Co-Create.

The new products include Accelis, Metaphase, Digital Dashboard and portals like EngineeringOnTap.com and the MDcyberCAD.com. "SDRC's PKM solution, Metaphase, has been successfully adopted by many large corporates like Telco, BHEL and Infosys, among others," said Narendar Reddy, country manager, SDRC India. He added that the PKM/PDM solutions command over 80 per cent of the total Indian market share, and "with the Web becoming a backbone for the industry, the CPC product Accelis and other portals will help the manufacturing industry achieve enhanced productivity and innovation." Metaphase is priced at Rs 1-1.5 lakh per user at the entry level, while the prices for Accelis have not yet been finalised. Guy Hicks, vice president, marketing communications, SDRC, said that the company's solutions can provide an environment where information is leveraged as an intellectual asset that will support a firm's evolving business model.

PKM is the portion of the collaborative product lifecycle focused on creating and exploiting actionable knowledge. Product data management forms the necessary backbone for PKM.

Digital India Strengthens Presence in Europe

Leading software development and services company, Digital India, has announced the registration of a new branch office in Europe, to be located in Geneva. The opening of the Geneva office closely comes at the heels of the establishment of Digital India's London branch, which marked the first step in the firm's foray into the European market. Europe is the second largest IT services market after North America, growing at a rate of 10 per cent.

According to Ajay Malik, director, European operations, "The Geneva office would primarily be responsible for pan-European management of Digital India's operations and the firm's development in the high growth Swiss market. The company intends to capture new businesses from the multiple divisions of Compaq as well as from the large concentration of other independent, non-Compaq, IT and telecom companies. Based in Bangalore, Digital India has an independent charter for growth and functioning and enjoys the unique advantage of having Compaq Computer Corp., USA, as a major investor, customer and supporter. Digital India offers a comprehensive portfolio of software services with focus on E-business solutions.

Vignette Launches E-biz Tools, Allies with PwC

Provider of E-business solutions, Vignette Corp., has launched the V/Series of its E-business solution tools featuring a new architecture and platform with related services and applications to enable Indian companies go online. Designed for both B-to-B and B-to-C needs, the V/Series incorporates a powerful analytical data mining system to provide an insight into customer behaviour, and thereby, opening channels like E-mail, the Web, wireless phones and pagers for interpersonal communication with the end users.

Vignette also announced its tie-up with PricewaterhouseCoopers for enhancing its E-business and CRM offerings. The company also plans to have a physical presence in the country very soon. Ang Miah Boon has been appointed to lead the company in the Asia-Pacific region. Vignette, which gets 80 per cent of its business from its partners, is prowling for more partners in the country. Talks with Satyam and Wipro have already been finalised. The company expects to increase its revenues by about 50 per cent annually.

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