Infosys Pay Package Row: Happy To Help, Says Former Board Member

Marti G Subrahmanyam, whose name was suggested as a potential infosys co-chair by co-founder NR Narayana Murthy, on Friday said he will be happy to help with his "counsel if called upon to do so".

The NYU professor, who served on board of Infosys from 1998 until 2011, admitted that paucity of time had led to reduced correspondence with the company once he retired from the board.

Asked about the tension brewing between the board members and founders of India's second-largest software services firm, Mr Subrahmanyam said: "I certainly cannot claim to have any insight into the affairs of the company today." 

He added: "I remain a well-wisher of the company, but do not have any specific views about the affairs of the company simply because I do not have any access to information about what is going on today. I am always happy to help with my counsel if called upon to do so."

Mr Murthy is of the view that Infosys' board needs to be re-constituted so that their governance standards improve.

Stating that Infosys as a bellwether of the industry has an important role to play, Mr Subrahmanyam, in an e-mail to PTI, said he is hopeful that its future will "remain bright".

The rift between the founders of Infosys and its board spilled out in the open today, with co-founder Mr Murthy questioning executive compensation and corporate governance at Infosys.

Mr Murthy, along with other co-founders Nandan Nilekani and S Gopalakrishnan, are believed to have written to Infosys board asking why Mr Sikka's compensation was raised and hefty severance packages offered to two top-level executives who quit the company.

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka To Address Investors On Monday

Amid the ongoing conflict between the board of Infosys and its founders, its CEO Vishal Sikka is scheduled to meet institutional investors at an event in Mumbai on Monday.

Mr Sikka may brief participating fund managers on issues that have prompted some of the company's co-founders, including N R Narayana Murthy, to publicly air their discontent against the board. He will deliver a keynote address at Kotak's Chasing Growth Conference on February 13 in Mumbai at 10:00 a.m.

Mr Sikka's participation was confirmed by a company spokesperson saying the event was scheduled much before these developments. 

Such events usually see investors and industry analysts asking questions about the macro environment, business prospects and challenges, but given the developments seen in the past few days, clarifications relating to the feud between founders and the board are likely to dominate the proceedings on Monday.

Mr Sikka, along with some of the board members, is also scheduled to interact with the media later in the day to clear the air over various issues flagged by the founders.

Last week, Mr Sikka called members of the senior management to assuage concerns and has advised them not to get "distracted" by the ongoing tussle and instead focus on company's business and strategy.

Mr Murthy, along with other co-founders Nandan Nilekani and S Gopalakrishnan, had written to Infosys board asking why Mr Sikka's compensation was raised and hefty severance packages offered to two top-level executives who quit the company.

Mr Murthy, who has gone public with his views, questioned "paying the former CFO (Rajiv Bansal) a 30-month severance pay".

Infosys, however, has denied any corporate governance lapses, and has emphasised that its board is fully aligned with the strategic direction of Mr Sikka and is very appreciative of the initiatives taken by him in pursuance of this transformation.

Zoom Air - India's Newest Airline - To Begin Operations Soon: Things To Know

Zoom Air, India's newest full-service commuter airline, is set to commence commercial operations from February 15, 2017, with a flight to Durgapur via Kolkata from New Delhi. With this, Gurgaon-headquartered Zoom Air will become the 12th operational carrier in the domestic aviation market. The Zexus Air Services-promoted carrier's inaugural flight took place on February 12, 2017.

Here are a few things to know about Zoom Air:

1) Zoom Air received a scheduled operator permit - which allows it to operate pan-India - from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the country's aviation regulator, earlier this month. 

2) Zoom Air's inaugural flight, using a CRJ 200 LR aircraft, landed at the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, Durgapur, at 1:39 pm on Sunday, February 12, where it was accorded the traditional water canon salute.

3) Analysts say the entry of Zoom Air will intensify competition in the domestic aviation market, as it will compete with other domestic airlines Air India, Jet Airways, Vistara, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and AirAsia India.

A search on Zoom Air's portal showed a one-way flight from Delhi to Kolkata a month after commencement of operations is priced at Rs. 2,850 (inclusive of base fare and fuel charge ofRs. 1,972).

4) The airline "operates to multiple capitals in India hubbing over New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad in initial stages offering convenient daily connections between city pairs," as per its website. With a fleet of three dry-leased CRJ 200LR planes, Zoom Air would operate flights to Amritsar, Surat and Bhavnagar from Delhi in its first phase of operations. It will also connect the national capital to Aizawl, Aurangabad, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Dimapur, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jorhat, Kolkata, Mumbai and Shillong in Phase 1, it added.

Zoom Air connects, for the first time, Durgapur, West Bengal with daily multiple direct frequencies to Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai with premium service on board. Also, for the first time "Meghalaya gets direct Air connectivity Daily to Kolkata and then further to Mumbai, New Delhi and major cities", as per the airline's portal zoomair.in.

Even Good People Make Mistakes: Narayana Murthy To NDTV On Infosys Board

Infosys co-founder and former chairman NR Narayana Murthy today said the company's board must address concerns raised by him about alleged lapses in corporate governance. "No, I have not withdrawn my concern. They have to be addressed properly by the Board and full transparency should be displayed and people responsible for it should become accountable," Mr Murthy told NDTV. Media reports had earlier today quoted Mr Murthy as saying that he does not want to escalate a confrontation with the board. Mr Murthy and other co-founders have flagged worries over issues like a hike in CEO Vishal Sikka's compensation and big severance pay given to former executives.

TCS, Infosys, ITC Add Rs. 40,438 Crore To Market Value In A Week

Three of the 10 most-valued companies added R
s.

40,438.58 crore to their combined market valuation in the week ended February 10, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) emerging as the biggest gainer.

However, seven others such as Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ONGC suffered losses of total R

s.

 15,665.14 crore in during the week.

Among the gainers, the market capitalisation or M-Cap of TCS soared by R

s.

 32,108.12 crore to R

s.

 4,72,252.46 crore. The valuation of Infosys zoomed by R

s.

 7,602.89 crore to R

s.

 2,22,355.73 crore while that of ITC by R

s.

 727.57 crore to R

s.

 3,31,103.56 crore. 

On the other hand, ONGC's valuation plunged by R

s.

 9,689.09 crore to R

s.

 2,48,194.77 crore. HDFC Bank's M-Cap slumped by R

s.

 1,739.63 crore to R

s.

 3,33,728.01 crore. The market capitalisation of HDFC tanked by R

s.

 1,196.73 crore to R

s.

 2,20,072.89 crore during the week.

The valuation of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) declined by R

s.

 1,098.85 crore to R

s.

 3,34,215 crore while that of SBI slipped by R

s.

 916.95 crore to R

s.

 2,20,268.06 crore. The market valuation of CIL dropped by R

s.

 806.97 crore to R

s.

 2,01,585.61 crore. Maruti Suzuki, the new entrant to the top 10 list, also suffered a loss of R

s.

 216.92 crore to R

s.

 1,84,595.08 crore.

In the ranking of top 10 firms, TCS led the chart, followed by RIL, HDFC Bank, ITC, ONGC, Infosys, SBI, HDFC, CIL and Maruti.

On a weekly basis, the Sensex recorded a rise of 93.73 points, or 0.33 per cent, while the Nifty gained 52.60 points, or 0.60 per cent, respectively.

Lenovo launches a new tablet similar to the Yoga Book, ditches Windows 10 for Android

Last year, Lenovo introduced a very interesting new device: the Yoga Book. On paper, Lenovo’s Yoga Book looked like a run-of-the-mill device with the latest and greatest specs. But it actually wasn’t a run-of-the-mill device thanks to its Halo keyboard — a full touch-screen keyboard that can also be used as a drawing board. The keyboard vibrates on touch, and it also adapts to your typing habits the more you type on it — which, in turn, makes typing on the device more accurate. With the Yoga Book, Lenovo allowed users to either choose Windows 10 or Android for the operating system and the device’s prices started at $549.

Lenovo is now back with another similar device: the Yoga A12. As the name of the device implies, the Yoga A12 is an Android tablet — and there isn’t any Windows 10 variant available of the device, unlike the original Yoga Book.

LENOVO’S YOGA A12 IS AN AFFORDABLE YOGA BOOK

So what’s different about the Yoga A12? It’s price. Lenovo’s Yoga A12 is an affordable Android tablet that comes with some pretty low-end specs but its prices start at only $299 — that’s $250 less than the original Yoga Book. For $299, you get a 12.2-inch HD screen, the Intel Atom x5 processor, only 2GB of RAM and only two Dolby Atmos speakers. The device also comes with 32GB of internal storage and promises to offer up to 13 hours of battery life on one charge.

For comparison, the original Yoga Book came with Intel’s Atom x5 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a smaller 10.1-inch Full HD display, and offered up to 15 hours of battery life.

YOGA A12 IS “MADE FOR PRODUCTIVITY”

Lenovo opting for Android instead of Windows 10 on the Yoga A12 is actually quite interesting to see, as the company touts the Yoga A12 as an Android tablet “made for productivity.” While Android includes the Microsoft Office suite, it still lacks some of the productivity features that you’ll find on Windows 10. Plus, 2GB RAM on an Android tablet likely won’t offer the ideal experience for productivity — but, to be honest, you probably won’t get a much better experience on Windows 10.

More importantly, Android also doesn’t have Windows 10’s inking features which Microsoft integrates nicely across the operating system. Unlike Android, inking features in Windows 10 are almost everywhere — it’s in the default browser, there’s a dedicated drawing feature (“Windows Ink”), it’s integrated into Sticky Notes, and it’s even in the Maps app. (Yes, Microsoft really loves inking features on its products.)

Lenovo doesn’t seem to be working on a Windows 10 version of its Yoga A12, but don’t be too surprised if the company comes up with a similar device running Windows 10 in the near-future. After all, Lenovo is one of the biggest Windows 10 OEMs and a close partner to Microsoft.

The Lenovo Yoga A12 will be available in Gunmetal Grey and Rose Gold from February 8 on Lenovo.com, prices start at $299. 

Tata Sons shareholders vote to remove Cyrus Mistry from board

Tata Sons Ltd in its extraordinary general meeting on Monday ejected Cyrus P. Mistry from the board of the holding company after shareholders voted in favour of a resolution that had sought his ouster, Tata Sons said in a statement.

“The shareholders of Tata Sons, at the extraordinary general meeting held today, passed, with the requisite majority, a resolution to remove Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry as a Director of Tata Sons,” the company said. Tata Trusts which controls two-third in the closely held firm had requisitioned Tata Sons to call for a shareholder meeting to remove Mistry to maintain confidentiality of the board

Mistry family’s investment firms—Cyrus Investments Pvt. Ltd and Sterling Investments Pvt. Ltd filed a suit at the National Company law Tribunal on 20 December alleging mismanagement at Tata Sons and oppression of minority shareholders.

In its hearing on 31 January, the NCLT gave a green signal to Tata Sons to hold a planned shareholder meeting.

Earlier in January, the Mistry firms filed a contempt of court petition seeking a stay on the Tata Sons EGM. This was dismissed by the NCLT, which asked the firms to club it with their original petition alleging mismanagement of Tata Sons and oppression of minority shareholders.

Dissatisfied with NCLT’s response, the Mistry firms moved the NCALT on 3 February.

NVIDIA Unveils New Quadro Pro Graphics Cards Powered By Potent Pascal GPUs

The same awesome architecture that powers NVIDIA's latest generation graphics cards can now be found throughout the maker's entire professional Quadro line for the desktop with top to bottom solutions. We're of course talking about Pascal, the game-changing architecture that made playing titles at a 4K resolution on a single graphics card possible. Pascal now powers half a dozen more Quadro cards that flesh out its existing lineup.

Having access to Pascal on the engineering side will provide a boost in performance in several categories. VR, photo-realism, and deep learning technologies, all of which are trending in the professional arena right now, feature bigger data sets and are more complex than ever. NVIDIA says its new Quadro cards based on Pascal will help streamline design and simulation workflows by bringing to the table up to twice the performance of its previous generation Quadro cards based on Maxwell.

"Professional workflows are now infused with artificial intelligence, virtual reality and photo-realism, creating new challenges for our most demanding users," said Bob Pette, vice president of Professional Visualization at NVIDIA. “Our new Quadro lineup provides the graphics and compute performance required to address these challenges. And, by unifying compute and design, the Quadro GP100 transforms the average desktop workstation with the power of a supercomputer."

The top-end card in NVIDIA's updated Quadro family is the GP100. It has 16GB of second generation high bandwidth memory (HBM2) and provides more than 20 TFLOPS of 16-bit floating point precision computing. Customers can combine two cards with NVLink and scale to 32GB of HBM2 to create a massive visual computing solution on a single platform. NVIDIA also sees this card being used in VR applications and for deep learning tasks in Windows and Linux.

NVIDIA's other desktop Quadro cards powered by Pascal include the P4000, P2000, P1000, P600, and P400. They complete the entire Pascal-based Quadro lineup, including the previously announced P6000 and P5000 for desktop, and mobile GPUs.

Several hardware partners have already committed to supporting the new cards, including Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Fujitsu. NVIDIA has also found a customers out in the field who've been using the new cards prior to their official launch.

"The NVIDIA Quadro P1000 enables me to work at the speed of thought. Orange County Choppers relies on a number of 3D CAD design and visualization tools to build the most innovative custom motorcycles in the world and the P1000 easily handles everything we throw at it. It’s the perfect GPU for an ultra-compact workstation like our BOXX APEXX 1," said Jason Pohl, senior designer for Orange County Choppers.

NVIDIA's newest Quadro cards will be available starting in March. Workstation OEMs will have first dibs, along with authorized distribution partners including PNY in North America and Europe, ELSA/Ryoyo in Japan, and Leadtek in Asia Pacific.

Donald Trump’s presidency and its implications for India

The assumption of office by US president-elect Donald Trump on Friday and his penchant for pursuing a disruptive agenda has aroused both interest and concern globally. Some of the more recent Trump tweets that have elicited sharp responses include his characterization of NATO as ‘obsolete’ and the candid opinion he has voiced apropos German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy, which he described as a “catastrophic mistake.”

Earlier there was a revisionist reference to the sanctity of the ‘one China’ policy much to Beijing’s ire and in an extraordinary development, some sections of the official media in China even referred to the possibility of a nuclear war! The Trump phase of US politics promises to be turbulent globally and bilaterally .

India, like other major powers, will have to carefully monitor how the Obama legacy morphs into the Trump inheritance and the degree to which there will be continuity in past policies and where the reset button is likely to be hit.

In the absence of a cogent policy document, one can outline broad and likely Trump policy indicators and their relevance for India. The three levels at which the impact of the Trump presidency can be reviewed are bilateral, regional and global.

At the bilateral level, some of the senior members of the Trump team who are awaiting confirmation have indicated that India will continue to be seen as a significant strategic partner of the US. The introduction of an India-specific law during the last lap of the Obama administration that enables greater defence cooperation will be nurtured, they have said.

There is anxiety that the Trump policy apropos H1-B visas for all foreign citizens seeking employment in the US will adversely impact Indian information technology professionals. The fine print of this policy change will be awaited with both anxiety and interest globally given the magnet that the world’s largest economy is for employment.

The Trump policy towards China and Russia has global strategic implications with considerable relevance for India. The quadrangular relationship between Washington, Moscow, Beijing and New Delhi went through an innovative trapeze during the Cold War. Despite the zero-sum binary of the US versus the former USSR and the ‘containment of communism’, the US and China were able to forge a strategic relationship, the communist identity of Beijing notwithstanding; and a non-aligned India could tango with the former USSR to protect its core interests.

Enterprise IT

The Enterprise IT Design Plan Story

When you walk into different IT operational setups with an open mind and watch enterprise workflow, you see what everyone's doing. Although sometimes disconnected and unaware, both leadership (strategy) and delivery (executive) teams are working with cloud and on-premise technology in the same 7 design plans:

This is very common in the retail sector, where even a mid-sized retailer will have a discrete Point-of-Sale (POS) product and financials application, then a series of specialized applications to handle business requirements such as warehouse management, staff rostering, merchandising and logistics.

Ideally, ERP delivers a single database that contains all data for the software modules, which would include:

Manufacturing 

Engineering, Bills of Material, Scheduling, Capacity, Workflow Management, Quality Control, Cost Management, Manufacturing Process, Manufacturing Projects, Manufacturing Flow

Supply Chain Management 

Inventory, Order Entry, Purchasing, Product Configurator, Supply Chain Planning, Supplier Scheduling, Inspection of goods, Claim Processing, Commission Calculation

Financials 

General Ledger, Cash Management, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Fixed Assets

Projects 

Costing, Billing, Time and Expense, Activity Management

Human Resources 

Human Resources, Payroll, Training, Time & Attendance, Benefits

Customer Relationship Management 

Sales and Marketing, Commissions, Service, Customer Contact and Call Center support

ERP Planning

Business owners and executives often expect that installing an ERP system will be a long, difficult and costly process. But it doesn't have to be that way, if you make the right choice. A true solution responds to your needs for reasonable cost and minimal disruption, as well as smooth-running software.

ERP Planning

Business owners and executives often expect that installing an ERP system will be a long, difficult and costly process. But it doesn't have to be that way, if you make the right choice. A true solution responds to your needs for reasonable cost and minimal disruption, as well as smooth-running software.

It might help to compare ERP software to the choices you have available when you buy a new suit for your organization

AMD Confirms Ryzen For Early March Launch And Vega For Q2 Arrival On Earnings

AMD Confirms Rayzen For Early March Launch

We now have a slightly better idea as to when AMD will launch its forthcoming Ryzen processors. The previously announced March time frame has now been narrowed down to "early March," according AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su, who provided the update during the company's fourth quarter earnings call on Tuesday afternoon. Dr. Su also promised "widespread system and channel availability" of Ryzen on its day of release.

That is good news for buyers who are waiting on Ryzen to arrive. Assuming Dr. Su is correct about there being widespread availability on day one, it means this will not be a paper launch where a small batch of inventory sells out fast followed by a prolonged shortage. It is also good news for AMD, which observed its processor sales decline in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago as potential buyers hold out for Ryzen.

"Desktop processor sales increased sequentially and declined from a year ago, in advance of our Ryzen desktop processor launch this quarter," Dr. Su said. "At CES, we highlighted broad design win in ecosystem momentum for Ryzen. 17 different system integrators unveiled Ryzen-based gaming and enthusiast systems and multiple ecosystem partners announced plans to offer a broad range of premium Ryzen motherboards. We have also secured a number of high-end design wins for Ryzen with our global OEMs."