SAP AG, the German ERP major, has set up its R&D laboratory at the International Technology Park Ltd., Whitefield, near Bangalore. SAP Labs India is its third such centre in the world, after Germany and US. The whole development base for SAP comes from Kieser & Whitinger India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keiser & Whitinger, based in Germany, which was recently bought over by SAP.
The Bangalore Centre will develop SAP products for worldwide consumption and also address the regional needs in particular, according to the Vice-President, (Training), SAP, South Asia.
Rebus Group of UK to set up a subsidiary in India for software development
The Rebus Group Plc., of UK, proposes to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary under the software technology park (STP) scheme in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, to develop software for exports, with an export projection of over Rs. 18 crores ($4.5 million) over a period of five years.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) of the Government of India has cleared the proposal to set up the subsidiary.
UK-based software development company sets up a subsidiary in India
Mobile Systems International (MSI), a leading British software development company in the area of data management and design and mobile communications networks, has set up a fully-owned subsidiary in India.
The Indian subsidiary would concentrate on consultancy services and oversee MSI's operations in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The company is also exploring the possibility of setting up a software development centre in India.
The company plans to appoint local software firms as consultants for development of applications for the global market. MSI officials have clarified that the software development in India would not be restricted to the Sub Continent but add to the global software development pool of the company.
First global factory for SAP R/3 services opened in Mumbai
Mumbai-based Origin Information Technology India Limited opened recently what it calls the first truly global factory for 'Advanced Business Applications Programs (ABAP)' at the Santa Cruz Electronics Exports Processing Zone (SEEPZ) in Mumbai. The Global ABAP factory is part of Origin's endeavour to deliver the full range of outsourcing options for SAP support services.
The thrust of the ABAP development factory will be to provide clients with a globally unified approach in ABAP-related project developments by significantly reducing time and budget requirements for SAP implementations.
SAP's Global Partner Manager for Origin said that the formation of the Global ABAP factory to support Origin's customer projects was an important part of its strategy to provide the full portfolio of SAP implementation and outsourcing services.
Siemens sets up software development centre in Bangalore for medical systems
Siemens Information Systems Ltd (SISL), a joint venture between Siemens Ltd (India) and Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems AG of Germany, has set up a Rs. 32 crores ($8 million) software centre in Bangalore to address the telemedicine and high-end applications market.
"Magic View" is a scalable application for medium-sized users and large corporates and it incorporates the concept of telemedicine, where doctors all over the world can share experiences over networks and offer remote diagnosis.
The centre will start with a 400-engineer work force which will later be expanded to 800 engineers. According to SISL, the new centre will focus on four key application areas for software development: medical diagnostic imaging, hospital information systems, tools for software testing and embedded systems for automotive and transportation sectors.
By delivering cutting-edge software through high-end applications, which add value to Siemens in the global market, SISL has reinforced Siemens' vision of leveraging the high calibre of Indian talents.
International smart card major sets up an R&D centre in Bangalore for software development
Gemplus, the leading provider of smart cards and plastic cards, with a presence in about 80 countries worldwide, announced an extension of its Asia-Pacific business by opening a subsidiary in New Delhi - Gemplus India Private Ltd., and an R&D centre at Bangalore. The R&D Centre will develop the next generation of smart card chip operating systems and a suite of software products supporting the smart card over the next five years.
Gemplus plans to invest $20 millions over the next three to five years mainly in R&D, manufacturing and business development, including plans to set up a high-tech smart card manufacturing facility by the end of 1999.
US-based Capricon Systems to set up a software development centre at Hyderabad
Softpro Systems Pvt Ltd., promoted by the US-based Capricon Systems Inc., is setting up a software development centre in the Madhapur software layout on the outskirts of Hyderabad. This layout in which 14 software companies were assigned land is adjacent to the Hitech City set up by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation and Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Mumbai.
Softpro Systems plans to set up the development centre in two phases, covering in all about 60,000 sq.ft at a cost of Rs. 20 to 25 crores ($5 to 6 million) in the one acre plot assigned to it. While the first phase covering 30,000 sq.ft is scheduled to be completed in the last quarter of 1999, the second phase will be ready by the year 2000.
The company has identified four major thrust areas, namely: Web-centric applications, Y2K, AS/400 and ERP for its project marketing effort and major expansion in offshore projects.
Cadence Design Systems inaugurates its facility at Noida, near New Delhi
Cadence Design Systems, the $916 million worldwide leader in Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools and services, has announced the opening of its new R&D facility at Noida, near New Delhi. The 85,000 sq.ft. state-of-the-art centre, built with an investment of $7.54 millions, will accommodate as many as 350 highly skilled design engineers from across the country.
The India centre is Cadence's largest software development facility outside the US and the first to get ISO 9001 certification. It will be responsible for the development of several mainstream and critical technology products across the entire spectrum of electronic and system design automation. The Noida centre will highlight Cadence's two historically strong areas - logic design and verification, and PCB design.
DSQ Software, Chennai, sets up an offshore development centre for a Japanese company
DSQ Software, Chennai, inaugurated its fourth offshore development centre in its existing premises at Chennai recently for Unisia Jecs Corporation of Japan, a world leader in automotive systems and components. This new centre will be engaged in developing software, particularly for the automobile sector, and will be the first of its kind in Chennai. DSQ will have an opportunity to participate in development of software which will go into the car of the year 2000. The electronic-controlled anti-lock brake system will take care of the functioning of the car wheel. The software will understand all the communications and apply the brakes properly.
Unisia Jecs Corporation which is engaged in manufacture and sale of automotive components and systems office machines, housing equipment, general mechanical equipment, electrical machinery and the like, selected DSQ Software because of the latter's communication facilities and familiarity with the Japanese language.
Sterling Commerce of US sets up an electronic commerce node in Chennai
The US-based Sterling Commerce has put up a central node, Commerce: Exchange, in Chennai to manage its regional e-commerce traffic. The $450 million company, which is the technology partner of the Chennai-based Satyam Infoway, has installed this electronic data interchange (EDI) server at the latter's premises. Outside the US, this is the second such central node for Sterling, the first being in Canada.
The Sterling network is one of the largest networks in the world used dedicatedly for electronic commerce, with about 4,000 nodes in 110 countries and over 20,000 customers. The purpose of the central node is to manage Sterling Commerce's customers' traffic locally.
Satyam Infoway which provides e-commerce services in the country in partnership with Sterling Commerce will make use of the network, apart from its own network Satyam:Net, with nine nodes across the country. The e-commerce market in India is estimated to be Rs. 500 crores ($125 million), with about 2,000 users.