Infosys Designs User Portal for US Diagnostic Firm

Bangalore: Infosys Ltd has designed an innovative cloud-based user portal for the US-based diagnostic-service provider NovaSom to test obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a medical condition affecting over 40 million Americans, the Indian IT bellwether said Tuesday.

"The portal, MeditrackR on Salesforce.com will provide physicians an easy interface to speed up the order-to-delivery of devices, processing of diagnostic data and management of insurance claims," Infosys global head for life sciences V.G. Dheeshjith said in a statement.

The portal also provides web interfaces with third-party applications to access and analyse patient data received online from the sleep test at home. The software helps NovaSom's sleep customers to deliver faster diagnoses to patients and hasten their treatment.

As the most common syndrome, sleep apnea (without breath) is caused by obstruction of the upper airway during sleep due to reduction in bloody oxygen saturation and lasts about 20-40 seconds.

"As patients with the breathless symptom face risk of other chronic diseases, the solution helps receive faster medical care," Dheeshjith said.

The diagnostic solution also leverages NovaSom's AccuSomR, the first and only FDA-cleared wireless home sleep testing device.

With over 18 million moderate to severe cases of OSA in the US, NovaSom's cost-effective home sleep testing solution is delivering benefits to patients, health insurers, and specialty and primary care physicians.

NovaSom unveiled in 2012 AccuSom solution as a customised turnkey solution to enable specialists to provide at-home sleep testing into their practice on a large-scale.

"The new portal has helped NovaSom scale operations to meet the expanded solution portfolio. Sleep specialists, surgeons and anesthesiologists can develop a patient management plan to minimise the risk of adverse respiratory events and other OSA-related complications during and after surgery," the statement noted.

NovaSom chief executive Richard Hassett said a quicker OSA diagnosis was critical to help sufferers get the therapy they need sooner.

"The portal enables us to complete tests quickly and accurately besides allowing us to partner with providers to improve access to care, reduce cost and address this undiagnosed epidemic," Hassett added.

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Infosys to Take Over Corp Affairs Min's MCA-21 Project

New Delhi: Technology major Infosys will take over the Corporate Affairs Ministry's ambitious e-governance initiative MCA-21.

Infosys would take over the programme from its rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

The second phase of the e-governance initiative would, among others, see gradual replacement of desktops, printers and scanners.

It is designed to fully automate all processes related to enforcement and compliance of the legal requirements under the Companies Act.

"The operator for MCA-21 project is changing with effect from tomorrow from TCS to Infosys," the Corporate Affairs Ministry said in a public announcement.

The second phase of MCA21, from January 2013 to July 2021, has a total project outlay of 357.81 crore.

The amount includes 54.42 crore for independent project management and certification, besides 29.84 crore for continuous improvement and upgradation to the electronic service delivery of the Corporate Affairs Ministry.

Infosys bagged the MCA-21 contract for a period of five years for about $50 million in November last year. The IT firm had said it would revamp the existing application after the transition from the incumbent vendor and manage the overall transformation.

The new features of the latest phase of MCA-21 include replacement of existing desktops, printers and scanners as well as replacement of out-of-support servers and associated infrastructure.

Among others, MCA21 envisages electronic filing of documents, registration of companies and public access to corporate information online through a secure interactive portal.

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Indian IT Companies Sharpen Claws For Deals Worth 2.7 Lakh Crore

2013 is going to witness almost 2.7 lakh crores worth software outsourcing deals coming up for renewal, which constitutes almost half the size of the Indian information technology industry. The Indian service providers are eagerly approaching this prospect in what is expected to be, a fierce fight for contracts, reports TOI.

Price discounting is nothing new, but the coming battle seems be to a serious one as some of the restraints that kept rivals under control seems to have scrapped away.

Besides all underlying factors, it is the shape in which the software service is in entering 2013 after leaving behind one of the most forgetful years in its history.

According to N Chandrasekaran, CEO of India’s largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services, “being irrational depends upon the situation one is in. TCS which is steady towards industry growth looks forward to be optimistic about the sector’s prospect and is in good shape among other Indian information technology companies.”

The top four IT services companies – TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL technologies have their results announced for the October – December quarter.

Corporations Demanding Outcomes

TO I reports that the top four IT service companies are being seen as indicators that the phase of slow growth may come to an end. However, India’s software exports may barely grow by double digits, while the company copes with fundamental, technological and business model transformation. The certainties of linear growth where revenue is directly proportional to the number of employees is fading away and corporations are demanding outcomes rather than showing efforts.

As an example of aggressive discounting, analysts cite HCL Technologies recently winning a contract worth several million dollars from Deutsche Bank. Although not clear of the discounting happened, executives aware of the deal negotiations, described the pricing offered as ‘significantly lower’. Once a major client of Infosys, Deutsche Bank now brings in excess of $50 million in business to HCL Technologies.

Competition seems to be heated further as large outsourcing contracts from Procter and Gamble, American Express, Bank of America and Unilever which were first signed during 2002-03, come up for renewal this year. Deep pricing discounts and even paying money upfront are becoming commonplace with associated negative implications for margins, say senior executives.

According to Wipro’s CEO, TK Kurien, fierce fights exist between the rational and irrational players. In a recent interview, as per his observation, he feels that some which were categorized as rational have moved on to the other side.

Analysts believe that Infosys which has been extremely profit-margin conscious  is now beginning to show increased flexibility on pricing and a greater willingness to take on deals which it had earlier shunned. Infosys seems to be under pressure to grow faster as compared to how it was being outpaced by partners previously.

However, analysts on seeing the company’s strong performance in the December quarter say that Infosys is being led by a desire to protect turf in a slowing market with enhanced competition. A deal wins for Infosys means a deal loss for another vendor, who may necessarily get their share of business and can drive a competitive response.

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Intel's Yolo low-cost smartphone debuts

Intel's low-cost smartphone will be sold for the first time in Kenya, the chipmaker announced today.

Intel Yolo smartphone will be priced at about $125 for sale in Africa.

Safaricom today announced a smartphone based an Intel design -- part of the chipmaker's effort to enter the global low-cost phone market.
The Yolo smartphone is aimed "cost-conscious...first-time buyers" in Kenya, said Intel, which is responsible for both the core electronics and phone's design.
That design was announced at CES 2013.
Inside the 3.5-inch Yolo is an Intel Atom Z2420 processor that can run at speeds up to 1.2 GHz and Intel's XMM 6265 modem with HSPA+ support for global roaming.
Yolo will be sold in Safaricom shops in Kenya at an entry price of Kshs. 10,999 (about $125) and comes bundled with 500 MB of free data.

At CES 2013, Intel announced the Lexington smartphone platform -- the design that Safaricom is using for Yolo.

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