MaSSSoftech

To give a chance to the voters to have a closer watch on the election scene, the state Government launched a new service by integrating the election database with the recently started SMS-gateway service.

Voters can access information about their names on the voter list and their polling booth by sending their voter ID card number to 56300 from their mobile phones, using the SMS service. “In reply, they will be sent the desired information about name and number of the constituency, the polling station number, voter serial number and the polling station address,” said Principal Secretary, Information Technology, B K Aggarwal.

The codes to access the information will also be launched shortly so that voters of Rohru and Jawali constituencies can use the service. The SMS service will be put to test for the first time during the Rohru and Jawali byelections to be held on November 7.
The new service will also enable the public to get instant information updates on their mobiles through SMS about voter turnout at booth level on the polling day, the male-female voter ratio and overall voting percentage.

He said a format for giving more information such as hourly polling percentage on the voting day was also being worked out. “We have the infrastructure ready. It depends on the election observers and other officials that at what frequency they want to release this information. The information will be updated in the state election department’s database on the website so that the voters can access it through SMS any time,” said Aggarwal.
“BSNL users will be charged Rs 2 per message and others at the rate of Rs 3. The service provider will charge the Government for the replies sent,” said Aggarwal.

He said the service will also have utility during the counting of votes, where voters could get round-wise updates.

College students interested in computers and information technology are encouraged to apply by Oct. 22 for a new scholarship program at Chipola College.

Chipola is the recipient of a $50,000 grant to promote and fund "WIRED for Technology" scholarships for students enrolled in several computer-related programs.

The scholarships were awarded 13 students during the fall 2009 semester. Applications for the spring 2010 semester will be accepted through October 22.

Scholarships are available for Associate in Arts (AA) degrees in Computer Science and Information Technology. AA students typically take classes for two years and then transfer to a university to complete the junior and senior years of a bachelor’s degree.

Associate in Science (AS) degrees in Computer Engineering Technology, Computer Information Technology, and Networking Services Technology are also included among the eligible programs. AS degrees are designed to prepare students for careers after taking one to two years of coursework.

Scholarships are also available for Workforce Certificate program in Computer Systems Technology which can be completed in as little as one year.

The new Scholarships may fund all or part of costs for tuition, fees, textbooks and software for students in technology or computer-related majors or programs of study. The scholarships may be awarded in addition to other scholarships or grants; however, the selection panel will also consider other funds available to students through the Foundation or Financial Aid Office. The scholarships will be available only for the 2009-10 school year.

The WIRED for Technology project is being funded by the U.S. Department of Labor through a consortium of panhandle colleges in partnership with the University of West Florida and Florida's Great Northwest.

For information about the scholarships at Chipola, contact Gail Hartzog or Pat Barfield at 850-718-2342 or email: hartzogg@chipola.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Nancy Burns at 850-526-2761 or email: burnsn@chipola.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Aggrey Awori, has halted the process of procuring a firm to manage the National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure and E-Government Infrastructure (NBI/EGI) project.

According Mr Awori, the reasons for halting the process is based on the need for the involvement of National Information Technology Authority - Uganda (NITA-U).

“As you are aware, the National Information Technology Authority- Uganda (NITA-U) has been operationalised. The Board of Directors has been appointed and has already started carrying out their duties. The appointment of the Executive Director is being handled by the Board and the Minister. One of the key functions of NITA-U is to manage the government Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure including the NBI/EGI,” Mr Awori wrote to the ministry permanent secretary September 3.

He added “I am aware that the ministry has started the process of procuring a firm to manage the NBI/EGI. However, since NITA-U will be directly responsible for managing the NBI/EGI, it is essential that it participates in the process of procuring the said firm. Secondly, we need to rectify the damages that were caused on the optic fibre in Phase I in order to make NBI/EGI fully functional and in view of the above, I am asking you to halt the process of procuring a firm to manage the NBI/EGI on behalf of government until the two have been sorted out.”

However, Sunday Monitor, has learnt that Mr Awori on July 31 wrote to the manager Huawei Technologies confirming that his ministry had accepted Comtel Integrators Africa Limited, to be Microsoft partner in the NBI/EGI project .
“Further to our previous discussion and correspondence about Microsoft software for NBI/EGI, I wish to confirm that my ministry has accepted the nomination of Comtel Integrators Africa Limited to be the Microsoft partners in the NBI/EGI project, after the due diligence. You are authorised to start working with them expeditiously so that this project can be operational,” Awori wrote. But in choosing Comtel there are suspicions of conflict of interest because a senior manager at Comtel sits on the NITA-U board. Sources further allege that the ministry awarded this tender to Comtel in violation of government procurement guidelines that demand that such transactions be advertised.

Last week, this paper reported that there was a fight for senior jobs at NITA-U with Mr Ambrose Ruyooka, a commissioner in the ministry, being dropped from the board. But Mr Awori last week dismissed the rumours that he sacked Mr Ruyooka saying “There is no evidence to show that I sacked him apart from a letter I wrote to him discontinuing him from National Information Technology Board. The truth is that Mr Ruyooka was on two boards…”.

Following our story, the ministry appointed Mr Andrew Lutwama as an interim chief executive officer of the authority. Mr Edward Baliddawa, former chairman of the ICT committee in Parliament but now an ordinary member of the same committee expressed dismay at what is happening in Mr Awori’s domain.
“What is contained in the reports is disturbing and of great concern to all of us in the ICT fraternity, but more so to all of those colleagues who did unreservedly contribute to the process of the successful enactment of the NITA-U Act 2008” Mr Baliddawa’s email posted on I-network, a social networking forum for ICT specialists and which this paper saw on Tuesday. He further noted that “after considering all the contributions, the House passed a law establishing

NITA-U and gave specific guidelines as to the operationalisation of NITA. For example, the law is very specific on who should sit on the Board of NITA and how the Executive Director shall be chosen. The law specifies that among the 7 Board Members, the Ministry of ICT shall be represented by the Commissioner for IT.

When I read in the papers that Mr Ruyooka Ambrose had been appointed on the Board, my understanding was that he had been seconded on the Board on the basis that he was an Acting Commissioner for ICT in the Ministry. Membership on the board is on the portfolio he was holding and not as a person in the name of Ruyooka. I find it strange too; that the minister was never informed that Mr Ruyooka was on another Board although in the law this is not a basis for rejection.”

A better operating performance and favourable currency movements help fetch the tech major better margins.
Infosys posted a 50 basis points increase in operating margins in the September 2009 quarter to 34.6 per cent, surprising the Street which had pencilled in a drop in margins, anticipating higher investments in sales and marketing. A better utilisation rate, up 300 basis points, together with a more favourable offshore:onsite ratio helped push up margins.

The Infosys management, however, remains cautious on margins, indicating it’s possible the 8 per cent increase in wages and salaries for offshore employees and the 2 per cent hike for onsite employees could hurt margins by about 200 basis points over the next couple of quarters. That is, however, not something to be concerned about, because with volumes recovering — up 2.3 per cent sequentially — compared with a fall in the June 2009 quarter, the outlook for the top tier technology firms now appears distinctly brighter.

Better volumes and favourable currency movements helped Infosys post an increase in dollar revenues of just under 3 per cent in the September 2009 quarter. Pricing, which came off by about one per cent, is still a bit of a concern, with the management indicating an upside could be some time away though right now pricing was stable. Nevertheless, the fact that Information Technology (IT) budgets aren’t coming off and are either flat or seeing a slight increase, has perhaps prompted the Infosys management to up its revenue guidance for 2009-10 by about 3 per cent to between $4.6-4.62 billion.

Even if budgets aren’t upped, it’s possible, say industry watchers, that Indian IT firms will gain as customers consolidate vendors. The good news is that the BFSI vertical, to which the bigger IT firms have a fairly large exposure, seems to have seen off the worst. Moreover, there’s traction in some other spaces, like telecom.

That was evident in the fact that Infosys managed to add 35 new clients during the quarter; at the same time the firm was also able to mine its top clients better. At Rs 2,178, the stock trades at 18.8 times estimated 2010-11 earnings and unless the rupee strengthens significantly or is very volatile, does hold at least a 15 per cent upside from current levels.

SAN FRANCISCO, October 10 (AFP) – Information technology (IT) will generate 5.8 million new jobs in the coming four years, according to research released Sunday by International Data Corporation, or IDC.

IDC predicts that the IT industry will help economies out of economic doldrums, creating more that 75,000 new businesses in the next four years and adding jobs at a rate of 3% annually.

"Countries that foster innovation and invest in infrastructure, education and skills development for their citizens will have a major competitive advantage in the global marketplace," said Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) chief executive Steve Ballmer.

"In this fundamental economic reset, innovative technologies will play a vital role in driving productivity gains and enabling the creation of new local businesses and highly skilled jobs that fuel economic recovery and support sustainable economic growth."

US software giant Microsoft sponsored the IDC research into the impact of IT in 52 countries that represent 98% of the global IT-spending.

"IT spending growth is a good sign as we come out of the recession," Microsoft Corporate Affairs communications manager Scott Selby said.

Employment growth in IT related jobs will be three times that of overall job growth in what Selby said is a "good driver of economic growth."

While the world has been in the grip of a recession, it has also been in the midst of a "technology renaissance," flush with advances in software, devices, and Internet-based services, according to IDC.

IDC expects IT spending in the countries studied to grow at slightly more than 3% annually, three times as fast as gross domestic product between now and 2013.

In good news for Microsoft, spending on software is predicted to grow faster than overall IT spending, rising 4.8% annually.

"Software is a driving force behind this IT growth," Selby said. "IT allows us to do more with less."

New technologies are also ushering in a new "cloud computing" paradigm, in which applications are provided online as services instead of as software bought and installed on home or office machines, according to IDC.

Money saved by using software as needed "in the cloud" instead of buying, maintaining, and updating applications will likely be devoted to bringing new products or services to market faster and cheaper, according to Selby.

IDC estimates that cloud services could add $800 billion in net new business revenues between the end of 2009 and the end of 2013.

"Over the past 20 years, we've seen transformative power in how investments in IT innovations foster economic growth," said Robert D. Atkinson, founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, D.C.

"Continued innovation and investment in information technology will help jump-start recovery from the current recession and will significantly contribute to the growth of employment and new businesses."

More than half of US companies do not allow employees to visit social networks such as Facebook, MySpace or Twitter while at work, according to a new survey.

Fifty-four percent of the chief information officers (CIOs) for 1,400 companies surveyed across the United States said workers were "prohibited completely" from visiting social networks while on the job.

Nineteen percent said employees were allowed to visit social networks "for business purposes only" while 16 percent said they allowed "limited personal use."

Ten percent of those surveyed said there were no restrictions on visiting social networks at work.

The survey of 1,400 companies with at least 100 employees was released this week and was conducted by an independent research firm for Robert Half Technology, a California-based provider of information technology professionals. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percent.

Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology, said "using social networking sites may divert employees' attention away from more pressing priorities, so it's understandable that some companies limit access.

"For some professions, however, these sites can be leveraged as effective business tools, which may be why about one in five companies allows their use for work-related purposes," he said.

Information technology (IT) bellwether Infosys Technologies announced its results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2009-10.

As is the practice, the company beat its target (guidance) it had set during the first quarter results on almost all counts. Known to be a conservative company, Infosys likes to set a lower guidance and beat it than set out a high target and not achieve it.

The company’s quarterly revenue stood at Rs 5,585 crore, up 2% from the previous quarter while it recorded net profit of Rs 1,540, up 0.85% in Q1.

The company also raised its full-year revenue and earnings per share (EPS) guidance.

Management speaks

After declaring the results, the Infosys top management comprising of CEO S Gopalakrishnan, COO SD Shibulal, CFO V Balakrishnan and Director – HR Mohandas Pai, among others, spoke to CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive interview on the company’s business and whether the slowdown in the IT sector was behind it.

“Customers are starting spend more money,” the Infosys management said, but added, “However, we continue to remain cautious on business.” A key challenge for the company ahead would be the volatility of rupee, it said. “The government must manage rupee volatility better.”

Infosys good numbers were a combination of better business and also internal factors, the management said. “We added 35 new clients in the second quarter and revenues from the top-10 clients were up 6%,” it said.

Infosys, which had recently hiked payscales of staff, also said the higher wages would impact the company’s margins by 200 basis points (2%).

It added that even as pricing had become stable and clients were not asking for renegotiations, an upside to pricing was still some time away.

On business ahead, it said: “FY11 [client] budgets are likely to be flat to marginally higher.”