Assorted articles and Information

Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) Ltd and Nokia Siemens Networks have entered into a multimillion-euro agreement for jointly research and develop telecom products at Nokia Siemens’ Dusseldorf centre in Germany. Nokia Siemens will affect a transfer of product engineering, research and development services and parts of its operations and business software (OBS) to TCS. The operations transfer includes 90 employees, who will be moved to TCS as part of the deal.

N. Chandrasekaran, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of TCS said that the agreement with Nokia Siemens reiterates TCS’ capability to enhance customers’ business by leveraging its superior R&D services and strong domain. And they will share with Nokia Siemens innovative approaches, global best practices and benchmark standards to ensure excellence.

Nokia Siemens has placed innovation and R&D at the top of its strategic agenda as it tries to achieve its vision of getting five billion people connected by 2015. An agreement with TCS, a leading IT services, business solutions and outsourcing company, enhances its ability to deliver new and profitable services to their clients. The two companies said this agreement would create an efficient set-up in which TCS will provide global R&D services to Nokia Siemens by leveraging its expertise in the telecommunications sector.

The country’s largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has planned to reorganise its global operations, with an aim to cater to customers in a focused way and boost its revenue growth. The new structure would become operational from April 1. And this will create a framework that is scalable for growth across markets and provide focus on strategic initiatives like asset leveraged solutions, platform-based BPO as well other new initiatives

Tata Consultancy Services rejigged its organisation into five units, which will provide customers a single view of the company. The units would address new growth opportunities, provide sharper accountability and groom new leadership. The structure is aligned to the long-term strategy and allows the sales team to drive new business in a dedicated fashion. The units have been organised as: Industry Solution Unit, Major Markets Group, New Growth Market Group, Strategic Initiative Group and Organisation Infrastructure Group. All these units will be run by empowered group heads.

S Ramadorai , TCS CEO and Managing Director said that as TCS has 100,000 plus employees it needs a structure that allows us to build a nimble organisation to capture new growth opportunities. And this would also help the company in providing customers a clear and better understanding of TCS’s project delivery. As part of the reorganisation plan, the company has constituted a new unit for its BPO segment, in addition to TCS Financial Solutions and the Small & Medium Business Solutions. These three businesses would operate as independent units and help in leveraging sales and customer relationships, the company said adding that, the new structure would lead to non-linear revenue growth.

Diligenta, a subsidiary of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has won a contract to deliver Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services to support Sun Life Financial of Canada’s UK operations. The services, expected to commence in May are estimated to be worth Rs 784 crore ($200 million) over the life of the contract. Diligenta has been a preferred supplier since October and it will continue to run the operation in Basinystoke where Sun Life Financial Head Office is based.

Diligenta specialises in providing BPO services to Britain’s life assurance industry. Dillgenta is a UK-based, FSA regulated subsidiary of TCS. Since 2006, Diligenta has provided BPO services for the Pearl Group under a 12-year, pound 486 million contract to consolidate 11 financial and administrative systems onto a single platform.

Phiroz Vandrevala, Chairman of Diligenta said that Diligenta and TCS will ensure Sun Life Financial of Canada will continue to receive market leading standards of customer service.And this contract wins Diligenta’s reputation as a leading player in the UK Life and Pensions outsourcing market. A S Lakshminarayanan, TCS UK and Ireland vice-president and Country Head said that their vision was to establish a centre of excellence on the growing BPO trend and to cultivate new opportunities in this UK life and Pensions market sector.And he added that the services is expected to commence in May 2008 and the contract is estimated to be worth about 200 million dollars.

Janet Fuller, CEO of Sun Life Financial of Canada’s UK operations, said that the contract with Diligenta is on the basis of detailed and thorough review of the BPO market in the UK and Diligenta had satisfied with its cost guarantees, risk transfer capability and its commitment to match or exceed our service requirements. And it expects Diligenta will work closely with us and with our current provider during the second quarter of 2008.