Intelligent State-Kerala

CM meets heads of IT companies in Bangalore

Pursuing its stated mission of making Kerala the destination for knowledge intensive and high value IT services, the Chief Minister Mr. V. S. Achuthanandan met heads of some of the leading names in IT and software development in the country at a road show held in Bangalore on the 14th of October. The road show was attended by over 50 senior professionals in some of the leading names in the IT industry. In his opening remark, the chief minister reiterated that the Government would extend all possible help to IT companies to start operations in the state and appealed to various company heads to consider Kerala in their investment plans. Earlier addressing the media, Mr. Achuthanandan said, "We are looking at a decentralized model for further developing the business environment and related infrastructure in the state. We expect global participation, investment and support". Mr. K. R Jyothilal, Special Secretary - IT, Government of Kerala in his presentation showcased the upcoming IT projects in the state. "Investments in Technopark and Infopark exceed Rs. 3,000 crore. Also on the cards are projects like Smart City, Shoba Hi-tech City, CIAL IT Park, Technocity etc., which should see an investment of around USD 2 billion" he said. The road show in Bangalore in the first in a series of events scheduled to be held by the Government of Kerala across the country to hard sell the state to potential IT investors.

Other Kerla IT News

IBS opens own campus in Technopark

IBS Software Services opened its fully owned campus at Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram as a part of its expansion programme. The Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr. V. S. Achuthanandan inaugurated the new campus. In his address Mr. V. S. Achuthanandan said that Kerala was aiming at a decentralized pattern of growth in the Information Technology sector, unlike the other IT cities of the country that are having a concentrated development. The Government plans to launch satellite IT parks in the district headquarters in accordance with the hub and spoke model of business growth, he added. "The support of the State Government and the excellent infrastructure available at Technopark and Infopark has encouraged us to maintain Kerala as the hub for our India operations. The State is emerging as a key IT destination and IBS' growth over a decade is testimony to our belief in Kerala" said Mr. V. K. Mathews, Chairman & Managing Director, IBS Group. This campus at Trivandrum marks a beginning for the next level of our aggressive growth plans, as we aim to grow into a Rs. 1000 Crore Company by 2010. We also have plans to set up other campuses within Kerala in Kochi and Kozhikode and to open development centers outside the State, Mr. Mathews added. The new facility is the first of four blocks in the IBS campus, spread over 5.26 acres of land within Technopark. Two multi-storey office blocks, an activity center, an open-air theater, cafeteria and parking lots are to be completed in the next phase.

Stone laid for UST Global campus

UST Global, the largest IT Company in Technopark in terms of head count, unveiled its plan to ramp up its operations from Thiruvananthapuram. The groundbreaking ceremony for its proposed campus on 36 acres of land was inaugurated by the Chief Minister Mr. V. S. Achuthanandan on the 24th of October. Mr. Sajan Pillai, COO & President, said the campus, with a built-up area of 16-lakh sq. ft, would be rolled out in three phases. The first phase, with a built-up space of six-lakh sq. ft and a capacity to accommodate 5,000 professionals, would be ready within 12 months. The company was also looking at other districts in Kerala as well as tier-2 and tier-3 cities in Tamil Nadu for locating its campuses. Another plan was to start a UST Academy, which would have a world-class finishing school. He said the company, earlier known as US Technologies, was rechristened UST Global as part of its strategy to give more emphasis to its operations in Europe and Asia. UST Global, an SEI-CMMI and PCMM Level 5 company, is a leading provider of end-to-end IT services and BPO solutions for Global 2000 companies.

Medical Transcription: Keltron and KSITM join hands

The Kerala State Information Technology Mission (KSITM) and Keltron would jointly hold a six-month certificate course in Medical Transcription. The programme would soon kick off in Malappuram district and the course would be conducted through seventeen selected Akshaya centers. The certificate programme would later be made available at Akshaya centers across the state. A screening test would be conducted prior to admitting candidates for the certificate programme. Full details are available at www.akshaya.net

Anzera Properties to build the first IT shopping mall in Kochi.

Anzera Properties, a leading real estate firm with three decades of real estate development experience is building a Grade 'A' IT Shopping Mall exclusively for retailers of IT Products. "This will be the first IT mall in Cochin, developed along the lines of the highly successful IT malls in Hong Kong, Singapore and Kaula Lumpur", says Mr. Ziad A. Rahman, CEO, Anzera Properties. Once completed, it will offer a one stop shopping experience for business and individuals alike. The mall will encompass all modern facilities to ensure the ideal shopping experience. Hardware and software products of all brands will be available under the single roof.

"The company has planned an ambitious growth strategy for the next five years, that will focus on building brand equity. We plan to do this through a process of organic growth within Kerala as well as through acquisitions in markets outside Kerala. However, foremost in our strategy is to stick to our philosophy of offering great value for money, right here at home, in all our products and services. This way, we aim to build our reputation and brand equity based on quality products and unmatched customer service", he added.

Among the expansion plans in markets outside Kerala, the company plans to look for opportunities in Hyderabad and Chennai. The company has already identified opportunities in Malaysia and U.A.E. and plans are underway to execute projects there in the near future.

TKM Group launches TKM Infotech

TKM is synonymous with excellence in higher education since 1958. The quest for excellence has resulted in the creation of TKM Global Technology and Research Foundation with an objective to establish Information Technology Industry and Finishing School of International standards. The Group has launched TKM Infotech Private Limited, located at Info Park, Kochi with objective of developing cost effective software that can meet the requirements of the clients in time, to provide support for software maintenance and to train engineers to meet the requirements of the industry. The new Company will focus on competency with an experienced team of developers and consultants supported by a robust team of 15000 alumni of TKM College of Engineering. The company shall maintain an R&D team to explore the various domain of experience viz. Dot net with SQL, J2EE with SQL, and PHP with MYSQL and their core areas of Business includes Education, Banking, retail, Travel & Tourism, logistics and Web designing, hosting & Maintenance.

TKM Finishing School will be the true blend of varied capabilities, including technical knowledge, project skills and soft skills making out a true professional from a raw student, who can be readily absorbed by the Information Technology industry. The classes will be handled by TKM InfoTech, who with its software development back ground will be the ideal partner in moulding a true software professional and the certification will be done by TKM Global Technology & Research Foundation, the globally reputed educational brand.

Animation centers in China by Toonz

The Technopark-based Toonz Animation India Private Limited recently inked an agreement with Beijing University and Shenyang University of China for setting up animation training academies in the land of the dragon.

Toonz currently has animation training academies in Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi catering to the aspirations of candidates who are eager to make a mark in the fast growing animation industry.

'Hanuman Returns' is one of the current animation projects undertaken by Toonz, which would be the sequel to India's first animated movie 'Hanuman'. According to CEO of Toonz Animation Mr. P. Jayakumar the latest initiative in China signals the beginning of Toonz's ongoing efforts to become a global film and media-training center.

Wairs Language Lab (WLL) ideal for all Education Institutes

WAIRS Technologies, incorporated with an objective of providing quality service in the field of Information Technology is wholly committed to understand the changing customer needs and strive to maintain high quality standards. With a team of well trained professionals, they endow with top class services in areas such as Software Consultancy, Software writing, Web developing, Web Designing & Hosting, Search Engine Optimization and other IT enabled services.

Their prime product, the Wairs Language Lab (WLL) system - suitable for networked institutions, focusing on teaching English and other languages - constitute different categories and nationalities. Their clientele for this product include, Engineering Colleges, Regular Colleges, Universities, Schools, Nursing Institution (IELTS, TOEFL etc), Corporate (Learning and Training Dept.), Hotel Management - Institutions and Career Guidance Institutions. Tourism, Hospitality and Real Estate Trade mainly use their Web related services.

"Since inception WAIRS Technologies has provided for the development of the Web Projects, Desktop Projects, and Network Projects. We strongly believe our progress is vested with the continued satisfaction of our valued customers. We provide solutions for changing customer-needs. Our project division is always ready to take challenging project proposals, to verify whether the products meet the agreed requirements and to deliver it with maximum quality. We always take utmost care to ensure quality at every stage and achieve our commitments on delivery and service, before and after sales. Our 24 x 7-customer service team will be available at your call. We assure to clear troubleshoot within 2-3 days for places in India and within 5-7 days - overseas. Also the tools we provide are 100% guaranteed. We also focus on timely up-gradation of our products according to the changing technological environment and customer feed back", says Mr. Benoy P, Chief Executive, WAIRS Technologies, Kochi.

Get Trained in MT through ‘Akshaya’

Enabling job seekers to have a go at the expanding IT and BPO business in the state, 'Akshaya' e-literacy programme, currently being rolled out across Kerala, will impart training in Medical Transcription.

Reckoned as one of the major outsourced business to Kerala's ITES domain, the latest move through 'Akshaya' is perceived to provide the extra edge for job seekers in the Medical Transcription industry. The Kerala State Information Technology Mission (KSITM), the implementing agency of 'Project Akshaya' with Keltron, has made the training possible through a recent tie-up.

First phase of the training programme will be launched in Malappuram, the fully first e-literate district in the country. A certificate course of six months duration in Medical Transcription training would be offered through Akshaya centres.

Each centre would train ten trainees in two batches. Keltron would provide the required technical support as well as the course materials. Initially, twenty centres would implement the training programme and the psychometric profiling.