New CEO Appointed to Take Jordan Telecom into Competitive Era
Middle East IT Monitor
Satyam implements 'Virtual University' portal for leading global consortium of universitiesSatyam Computer Services (NYSE: SAY), a leading global provider of IT services, announced the successful commencement of a Student Administration System (SAS) solution implementation for Singapore-based Universitas 21 Global (U21G), a leading online university initiative, offering on-line higher education to students all over the world.
July 26 , 2003, Hyderabad: SAS, developed on the PeopleSoft platform, would enable U21G to automate the entire process from enrollments to examinations, graduation and career counseling. At its peak, the online e-learning portal powered by Broadvision, being developed by Satyam is expected to have thousands of users.
U21G, the first of its kind initiative outside the US, is highly focused on offering a range of courses tailored for the global student community. Complimenting Satyam on the rollout of the SAS solution, Dr. Mukesh Aghi, CEO of U21G said; "Since we are having a high level of interactivity between the students and teachers in the virtual classrooms, we needed a strong technology backbone to support it. In Satyam we found the right people with the knowledge who could deliver what we wanted and even more. We are happy with Satyam as our technology partner."
An equally delighted Mr. Virender Aggarwal, Senior VP and Head of Asia-Pacific, for Satyam, remarked: "SAS is a major technological milestone for Satyam as it involved creating a robust solution to manage the back-end processes for such a large online initiative. We are glad to have been associated with a pioneering organization like U21G. It has also enriched our domain competency. "
U21G is a joint venture between Universitas 21, an international consortium of distinguished universities, and Thomson Learning, a worldwide leader for tailored learning solutions for individuals, businesses and institutions. Thomson Corporation, the parent of Thomson Learning, is a US$7.2-billion global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers.
As technology partners with U21G, Satyam has been involved in the creation of an e-learning integrated solution, including the development of a learning management system (LMS) which serves as a virtual classroom for students and acts as a dynamic interface between students and the faculty. In addition, Satyam has devised a student administration system to manage the complete cycle from enrollment, graduation and career counseling. Also built on the Broadvision platform by Satyam is a highly personalized portal for U21G.
UNIVERSITAS 21 GLOBAL is a joint venture between Universitas 21, an international consortium of distinguished universities and Thomson Learning, a worldwide provider of tailored learning solutions for individuals, businesses and institutions. Established to become one of the world's premier e-universities, we offer programs designed to create leaders for the global economy of the future.Universitas 21 (www.universitas21.com) is incorporated in Guernsey, Channel Islands, and is an international network of research-focused universities in Europe, North America, South East Asia, and Oceania. It provides the joint venture with experience and expertise across a range of vital educational functions, a proven quality assurance capability and high brand value.
The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2002 revenues of US$7.8 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges (TSX: TOC; NYSE: TOC). Its learning businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. For more information on Universitas 21 Global, please visit our website at: www.u21global.com Or contact Rivai Adidharma (Sr Marketing Manager) at DID: +65-6410 1311; Fax: +65-6410 1358; Email: rivai.adidharma@u21global.com
IBM Business Consulting Services helps bring e-Governance to the Government of Pondicherry
Plan designed to improve services and ensure increased efficiency & transparency.
July 21, 2003, Mumbai: Government of Pondicherry, today announced that IBM Business Consulting Services, India has helped them strategise a Master Plan and Implementation Road Map for e-Governance. Mr. Ravi Trivedy, Partner, IBM Business Consulting Services, India handed over this blue print to the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Pondicherry, Thiru N. Rangasamy at a ceremony.
The e-Governance Master Plan aims at improving services to citizens and businesses; to ensure increased transparency and efficiency in operations across different government departments. The blue print covers 16 key departments and encompasses the overall IT Architecture, the IT Organization Structure, cost estimates for funding the recommended IT initiatives and the Implementation Roadmap to achieve the Pondicherry government's vision of e-Governance.
As part of the plan, the team from IBM Business Consulting Services recommends an integrated approach to facilitate the e-Governance initiative for Pondicherry. The team has identified applications, which can be shared by the departments and hence jointly developed and deployed. The IT Architecture has taken into consideration the sharing of critical infrastructure such as Data Center, Wide Area Network etc. This approach will help in reducing the cost of implementation and at the same time help in better integration within the departments and hence improved and efficient services to the stakeholders.
"Governments today, are required to provide improved access for citizens, better collaboration across departments and enhancements in internal efficiency. To that end, they want to work with a partner who can assist them in designing and delivering this transformation", said Mr. Trivedy. "We are committed to partnering with the Government of Pondicherry to use Information Technology for efficient and effective governance. This master plan will also assist in future process improvement exercises & act as an overall road-map for all further IT initiatives."
The e-Governance Master Plan & Implementation Roadmap covers 16 departments including the Chief Secretariat, Legislative Assembly, Accounts & Treasuries, Planning & Research, Economics & Statistics, Information Technology, Revenue, Survey & Land Records, Excise & Commercial Taxes, Transport, Electricity, Civil Supplies, Agriculture, Forestry, Public Works, Health, Education, Industries and Local Administration Department.
IS0 9001: 2000 certification strengthens Siemens LLC standing in Middle East region
Certification acknowledges Siemens' expertise in oil, gas and industrial solutions
July 21, 2003
Siemens LLC, the regional arm of the global German conglomerate, has
recently achieved the prestigious ISO 9001: 2000 international certification,
endorsing its formidable global reputation in industrial automation and
solutions. The certification covers Siemens LLC's Industrial Solutions and
Services division, whose clients include industrial plants, the oil and gas
industry and infrastructure projects."Siemens has been powering the infrastructure developments worldwide
for over 150 years with leading-edge solutions that have built us a legion
of successful clients," said Joachim Kundt, CEO of Siemens LLC. "The
ISO certification provides further confirmation of commitment to excellence
that is an integral part of every equipment and solution provided by
Siemens. It is a privilege to achieve this certification because it is an
acknowledgement of our quality control systems by experts whose assessment of standards and quality is globally recognised."According to Kundt, the ISO certification will give the company an
additional advantage while vying for major local projects. Siemens is one of the
few global companies with specialist teams on the ground in the UAE and
across the region for creating solutions for the oil and gas industry as well
as industrial solutions"The ISO certification, combined with Siemens' own standards of
technical excellence and innovation, will provide clients with an unmatched
quality assurance."The Industrial Solutions and Services Group have a track record that
covers systems and services for the Taweelah A2 power plant, the Dubai
Internet City's Phase 0, MRI buildings for the Ministry of Works, the Al Raha
Cinema complex and the Bu Hasa oilfields electrical skids project.Siemens LLC secured the ISO 9001-2000 certification under the scope of
provision of supply, design and engineering, procurement, construction,
installation, services, maintenance and project management for
automation, instrumentation and control systems; electrical power, drive systems
and solutions, process control, communication systems and solutions.
Customer shift to standard enterprise technology favors Dell, Michael Dell tells investors at annual meeting Company Shareholders Approve All Management Proposals, Re-Elect Three Directors.July 18, Austin, Texas: Michael Dell today said more and more customers are making the company a trusted enterprise partner, especially for standards-based servers, storage systems and services. And shareholders embracing Dell's broader reach have approved a corporate name change-from Dell Computer Corp. to Dell Inc.
Mr. Dell, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, reinforced in remarks at the company's annual meeting of shareholders here this morning that the competitive advantages of Dell's customer-focused, direct way of doing business are enabling it to expand and deepen its customer relationships.
"We've always done business differently from other companies," said Mr. Dell. "That allows us to better understand the needs of and create superior value for customers, and consistently produce leading operating results for investors and others who hold stakes in Dell."
He said the applicability of Dell's direct model and opportunities for the company are vast. While the company's United States business remains exceptionally strong, growth in other markets is also rapid. Product shipments last quarter were up 40 percent in Asia-Pacific and Japan, and 29 percent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Operating income in both regions nearly doubled, to record levels.
In the enterprise, Dell's first-quarter server shipments rose 40 percent, more than four times the average of other suppliers, and the company accounted for almost one-third of U.S. server volume. External-storage revenue was up 65 percent.
"Customers are increasingly using clusters of standard servers in place of mainframe computers that rely on costly proprietary technology," Mr. Dell said. "Standards-based systems are now the better choice for most computing applications, and the trend to such powerful and reliable technology favors our company."
Dell's large and growing influence in the enterprise explains the company's name change, a management proposal approved by shareholders in proxy voting.
Mr. Dell said the company's formal name is "catching up" with its evolution from supplying strictly computer hardware to providing a diverse range of technology products and services.In other matters, shareholders voted to return three directors-Michael A. Miles, Alex J. Mandl and Morton L. Topfer-to the Dell board. They also approved two other management proposals: that all directors stand for re-election annually, and for a tax-deductible, performance-based executive compensation plan.
U.N. Warns India On AIDS Problem As New Figures Released
Friday, July 25, 2003
India today announced a significant increase in HIV/AIDS cases — 4.58 million at the end of 2002, up from 3.97 million the previous year — as the United Nations warned the country to urgently implement prevention programs to avert disaster.
"India has a king-sized problem," said Peter Piot, head of the Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS. "AIDS is spreading rapidly in the country. But it is a problem with a solution. We can act now before it is too late. India has the opportunity to turn around the epidemic," he added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo! News, July 25).
Meenakshi Datta Ghosh, project director of the National AIDS Control Organization, said that in certain states in India, 1 percent of the infected are pregnant women, and that the disease was "gradually spreading into rural areas and the general population." She added that the 2002 survey showed 61.5 percent of the infected population were males in India, home to more than 1 billion people (AFP/Yahoo! News, July 25).
Ghosh made her remarks on the eve of a Parliamentary Forum on HIV/AIDS to be held in New Delhi beginning tomorrow that will bring together over 1,000 politicians from all levels of government across India.
"This convention is a historic event," said Piot said. "Never before, in any nation of the world, has there been such a large and committed gathering of leaders for every level of decision-making dedicated to the common cause of fighting AIDS."
Conference participants are expected to sign a declaration underscoring their commitment to fighting the epidemic. National goals will include keeping infection rates low in the general population and decreasing transmission to less than 1 percent, increasing awareness among youth to 90 percent and increasing condom use to 90 percent among high-risk groups (UNAIDS release, July 25).
Piot said India is "a land of castes, of stigmatizations," and that "conservatism is not making it easy to promote condom use." However, he said, "If you cannot talk about sex, you cannot attack AIDS. Distributing condoms has to be part of the prevention strategy" (Brigitte Castelnau, AFP, July 25).
