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Google still on the hunt

Internet giant Google is still looking for a local country manager following the resignation of Stafford Masie, almost two months ago.

Google's job placement advert is still on its site, which could mean the company has not yet received any viable applications. However, it says it is hard at work looking for a replacement for the colourful Masie. According to a Google spokesman, the local projects started by Masie are ongoing. “In the interim, Mohammad Gawdat, our MD for emerging markets, is managing our South African team.”

Last year, the local arm got caught up in a Competition Commission complaint levelled against it by online marketing firm Entelligence, which accused Google SA of attempting to take control of its customers.

Entelligence is convinced Google has been behaving anti-competitively through its attempt to take direct control of one of its clients. It goes on to say that when this did not succeed, it threatened to close all of Entelligence's accounts with the search engine giant.

The search engine business has grown its local presence substantially since it opened just over a year ago. One of its biggest deals is its partnership with Faritec, which allows the technology company to sell and implement Google's enterprise solutions.

For more info visit:.itweb.co.za/sections/business/2009/0904291034.asp?O=FPTOP&S=Career%20Moves&A=MOV

Amit

Our IT Vision

SAP user group welcomes value-based maintenance increase

The SAP UK & Ireland User Group has welcomed SAP's decision to provide benchmarking and key performance indicators (KPIs) for its maintenance.SAP and the SAP User Group Executive Network (Sugen), a global federation of 12 user groups, have a agreed a set of KPIs which govern the ERP company's maintenance contract.

Speaking to Computer Weekly, Alan Bowling, chairman of the SAP UK & Ireland User Group, said, "This is what we have been asking for. SAP's decision reflects the influence of user groups."Significantly, the agreement between SAP and the user groups means that SAP will only be able to increase its software maintenance fees if it meets the KPIs agreed with the user groups. Bowling said, "We are linking real delivery of value to SAP's price increase."

SAP and the user group's represented by Sugen will conduct benchmarking to measure the improvements made to the maintenance.the KPIs cover four business continuity, business process improvement, protection of investment and total cost of operations. Bowling said SAP will be required to reduce the number of emergency software changes it issues.

For more info visit:.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/04/29/235848/sap-user-group-welcomes-value-based-maintenance-increase.htm

Amit

Our IT Vision

Most IT security professionals earn over £50,000 : Infosec 2009

UK businesses are still investing in IT security professionals and paying them competitive salaries, despite budget cuts in the economic downturn, a survey has revealed.
According to a poll of 300 members of professional organisations including (ISC)2, ISACA, BCS and CREST Fifty six per cent of these workers have been given a pay increase in the past year. Sixty three per cent said they earn more than £50,000, with bonuses adding between £10,000 and 100,000 to their basic salary. The high salaries reflect the fact that information security profession is dominated by senior roles, with £53,600 being the average salary of those polled.
Iain Sutherland, managing director at recruitment firm Information Security Solutions (ISS) said- This shows organisations are rewarding good security people, which conducted the survey. Organisations realise that in financially challenging times they cannot afford data losses or compliance issues and are investing to attract and retain the skills they need. For more info Visit: computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/04/29/235847/infosec-2009-most-it-security-professionals-earn-over.htm
Amit
Our IT Vision

Good measures in bad times offer from IT vendors

According to Asia-Pacific executives- As the recession continues to take its toll, IT companies are rolling out new initiatives to help clients ride the downturn.

One of the new initiatives is a "Try and Buy" program where customers can review a SonicWall product in their own environment for up to 30 days. They then decide if they want to purchase or return the product.

Security vendor SonicWall, for instance, introduced three initiatives last month in response to the global financial crisis. Ang Chye Hin, SonicWall's Asean director of sales, told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview, the cost-saving schemes are targeted at both existing and new clients.

SonicWall also launched "Trade-up" for new customers migrating to its products, and upgrade programs, where customers buy new and refreshed products at an incremental price. The company is also working with its partners to offer payment installment schemes to customers.

For more info visit: http://.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,62051277,00.htm

Amit
Our IT Vision

EU cyberbully deal sign by Social network sites

MySpace, YouTube, Google,and Facebook are among 17 social networking sites to sign a European Commission deal to prevent cyber-bullying and protect the privacy of users under 18. The Commission said-. Social networking grew 35% in the past year and more than 100 million people are expected to sign up by 2012.and the agreement will cut the risks of children harassing peers online and curb "grooming", whereby pedophiles make friends online with children with the aim of seducing them. The other social networks to sign up include StudiVZ, Sulake/Habbo Hotel, Arto, Bebo, Yahoo!Europe, and Zap.lu. For more info visit: http.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/02/10/234741/social-network-sites-sign-eu-cyberbully-deal.htm Amit

Our IT Vision

Just 'Fix it' offers From Microsoft

Over the past six weeks, Microsoft has quietly added a "Fix it" button to a few of the thousands of help documents on its Web site. When clicked, the computer then takes all the recommended steps automatically.
The "Fix it" option is still fairly rare, showing up in around 100 different help documents. The effort is growing rapidly, though, up from just four such fixes when the program quietly began in December.
Microsoft is also adding the "Fix it" option into the error reporting tool built into Windows. Initially, all users could do when a program crashed was send a report to Microsoft. More recently, the system has started checking to see if there is any information on the issue. Next up, said Brownell, is offering the option to have the issue solved automatically.


For more info visit: zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62050690,00.htm

Amit

Our IT Vision

New regional headquarters open in Sydney by RIM

Research In Motion (RIM) today opened a new regional headquarters in Sydney to service its customers in Australia and New Zealand.

The opening of the new headquarters building was attended by representatives of the New South Wales Government, North Sydney Council and RIM's partners and customers.

At today’s official unveiling of the new headquarters by Canadian Consul General, Thomas A MacDonald, RIM’s Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Adele Beachley said the company had developed a strong operation in Australia over the past six years and the new regional headquarters would help foster RIM’s innovation and growth while serving both customers and partners in the region.

For more info visit: http:/.itwire.com/content/view/23022/1231/

Amit

Our IT Vision

IBM Updates Small Businesses for Lotus Foundations

This week at Lotusphere, IBM announced an update of its Lotus Foundations line of small business software, built on IBM's Express Advantage program. The Lotus Foundations hardware and software system helps businesses from five to 500 employees collaborate with tools like email, office applications, file sharing, back up and recovery.

The company also announced the opening of the Lotus Foundations Branch Office.With Lotus Foundations Branch Office, large enterprise Lotus Domino customers will be able to extend existing skills and data to remote offices quickly and efficiently. IBM says it will help large organizations reduce costs and better manage operations by supporting the often complex technology needs of the branch and satellite offices with a fully integrated appliance. The company is touting evaluations of Lotus Foundations' functionality and ease-of-use by Research In Motion (RIM) and ShoreTel, who say they believe it is a good platform to reach the SMB market.

For more info visit:www.eweek.com/c/a/Midmarket/IBM-Updates-Lotus-Foundations-for-Small-Businesses/

Amit

Our IT Vision

PM pushes in proble to restore IT trust quotient for swift Satyam

NEW DELHI: The hit India's IT sector's trust quotient has suffered in the wake of Satyam's very public fall from grace may impact India's ability to attract new economy

Investors and clients, prompting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stress on speedy and thorough investigations into the scam.

Even eight days after its founder Ramalinga Raju owned up to the fiddle, the Satyam mess is high on the PM's to-do list due to its worrisome fallout for the sunrise sector of India's economy. While ensuring Satyam does not sink, the PM has focused on what is felt as the core issue of investor confidence.

The stock-taking in government, which has involved senior ministers, industry, SEBI and National Stock Exchange chiefs and banks, has underlined risks to not just Satyam's survival as a viable business organisation, but the likely erosion of the vital "trust factor" in India's IT and software sector which has earned billions of dollars in foreign exchange.

Sources said government's intentions to pursue investigations into the scam vigorously were driven as much by a need to beam out a strong message that India would not tolerate corporate malfeasance as a desire to bring guilty to book. "Action will be taken by various agencies, those responsible will not be let off the hook," they said. This would cover all aspects of the fraud including the role of the board and top company officials.

The next steps the government takes may well have to wait a few days before the firm's accounts, described as completely opaque, unravel a bit. It is expected that even as auditors and investigators work hard, the government may not have an idea of Satyam's "receivables and liabilities" before the weekend. That would then provide some answers of how soon, and how, the hurt IT major could stand on its own feet again.

For more info visit: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/PM_pushes_for_swift_Satyam_probe_to_restore_IT_trust_quotient/articleshow/3979676.cms

Amit

Our IT Vision

SBI to retain contract with Satyam

Kolkata (IANS): India's largest bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), has decided to retain its contract with scam-tainted information technology (IT) firm Satyam Computer Services for maintaining its Internet banking services, a top bank official said here Thursday.

"We are not at all thinking of changing Satyam as our vendor for Internet banking services. But we are prepared," SBI deputy managing director in charge of IT, R.P. Sinha told reporters on the sidelines of an IT seminar.

"We are happy with Satyam's service as a vendor, there is no problem at all. If anything happens anywhere, we are fully prepared. There will not be any disruption in our net banking services,"

Sinha said when asked whether the vendor is capable of handling the banking transactions that takes place through the portal. Satyam's founder and disgraced former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju last week admitted to committing a Rs.70-billion (Rs.7,000-crore/$1.43 billion) accounting fraud.

Sinha said he was hopeful that the Satyam's condition would improve as the government was taking measures to "bring it back to health".

For more info visit: www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200901151931.htm

Amit

Our IT Vision

Luxury Customer Service Provided by NET-A-PORTER.COM

NET-A-PORTER, winner of the Customer Excellence category at the 2008 CBI/Real Business Growing Business Awards has selected eGain Mail(TM) and eGain CallTrack(TM) to provide distinctive and unified customer service experiences across email and phone that are also consistent with its luxury brand identity.

"As we grow our business, we are committed to further improving our award-winning customer service; we see partnering with eGain as key to achieving this," said Ian Tansley, VP of Ecommerce at NET-A-PORTER.

As a rapidly growing business with an absolute focus on exemplary customer service, NET-A-PORTER required a unified multi-channel customer service solution with the capability to manage all its customer interactions to the high standards that its customers expect and demand.

To begin with, the company will deploy eGain Mail and eGain CallTrack to manage email and phone customer service. Both eGain Mail and eGain CallTrack are an integral part of eGain Service(TM) suite, the industry's top-rated solution for unified multichannel customer service management. This enables a 360-degree view of all customer interactions regardless of channel and enables agents to provide rapid, context-aware customer service.

About NET-A-PORTER.COM
NET-A-PORTER.COM was launched in June 2000 and has since successfully established itself as the world's premier luxury online fashion retailer. Presented in the style of a fashion magazine, NET-A-PORTER features collections from over 200 of the world's most coveted designers including Chloé, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Miu Miu, Stella McCartney and many more. With its acclaimed editorial format, express worldwide shipping to 170 countries (including same day delivery to London and Manhattan), luxurious packaging and free returns, NET-A-PORTER offers an unparalleled shopping experience.

About eGain Service
eGain Service is the industry's most comprehensive customer interaction hub software suite and the first solution to support short message service (SMS) customer service interactions, as well as next-generation web self-service, chat, co-browsing, email, fax, postal mail, notification management, call tracking and resolution, knowledge management, and service fulfillment. eGain Service is built on eGain CIH(TM) Platform, the industry's most flexible and integrated customer interaction hub platform. Based on a 100% J2EE architecture, it includes out-of-the-box integration with leading business applications, content management systems, and call center infrastructure solutions. With its fine-grained service-oriented architecture (SOA), eGain CIH platform enables rapid development of powerful applications.

For more info visit: www.money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0465835.htm

Amit
Our IT Vision

Google Gets Serious About Resellers

Google is opening the doors to resellers for its Google Apps suite of office services. Businesses who want to use Gmail, Google docs and other Google offices services in lieu of Microsoft or other solutions will be able to sign up at Google or through any qualified value added reseller that chooses to carry the products.

Google says that more than 1 million businesses and 10 million users use Google Apps today, and 3,000 new businesses sign up daily. The largest business user, Genentech, has 20,000 employees on Google Apps.

The service is free for businesses that are willing to put up with ads, little customer service and relatively low storage limits. The premium version is $50/user/year. Most of the 10 million users are using the free version of the service, but Google says "hundreds of thousands" of users are paying for the service.

For more info visit: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/14/AR2009011400037.html

Amit

Our IT Vision