‘Medical Transcription Outsourcing Capital !

There is more to Coimbatore than just being the ‘Manchester of South India' with its burgeoning textile and engineering industries. This third largest city in Tamil Nadu and home to the Formula 3 circuit has, over the years, emerged as one of the top destinations for the IT-BPO industry.

In fact, according to a recent study by Cyber Media's Global Services and investment advisory firm Tholons, Coimbatore has been ranked in the 17th position in the list of the top 50 Emerging Global Outsourcing cities. Industry associations have been making concerted efforts to turn this industrial hub into another Silicon Valley. The Coimbatore zone of the CII has been, for nearly a decade now, promoting this industrial hub as an ‘ideal IT destination' for engineering process outsourcing (EPO), among others. The region has carved a niche for itself in engineering, auto components and machine tools space.

Industry experts say the locational advantage that the city enjoys, its proximity to Chennai and Bangalore, the huge talent pool and its entrepreneurial culture differentiates Coimbatore from other destinations. A number of companies across the gamut of outsourcing (from EPO to legal and medical transcription) have started their operations to capitalise on the rich pool of talent and resources readily available here.

Statistics reveal that there are over 27 engineering colleges, 70+ arts and science colleges and 18 polytechnics in and around here, making it an ideal recruitment destination as well. Retention of talent pool has been a strong point for most of the players establishing a presence here.

IT major Cognizant, for instance, was one of the first major players to start a development centre here and has since expanded rapidly. Its Vice-President and Head, Vishnu Potty, admits to Coimbatore being a strong sourcing base for its operations across India. Cognizant's Coimbatore centre focuses on financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and retail, media and entertainment.The city is set to emerge as the ‘Medical Transcription Outsourcing Capital of India', say leaders in the medical transcription space.

Players such as CBay Systems and Spheris have expanded their operations here rapidly. CBay, for instance, has its largest facility here in an area of about 20,000 sq.ft. The company has, in the last eight months, opened up two centres, initiated tie-ups with local colleges to rope in students. A few others are exploring opportunities across the landscape as this (medical transcription) industry is predominantly South-based.

Being the chosen hub for MT, the city also has a number of people travelling from smaller towns such as Salem, Erode, Pollachi and Udhagamandalam attracted towards this steadily growing industry.

“The availability of quality manpower, large talent pool of almost 28,000 non-graduate engineers passing out every year from the 260-odd institutions has made Coimbatore an attractive destination for us,” says Suresh Nair, CEO and Managing Director, Spheris.

Industry leaders believe that with requisite training, the prospective candidates could be groomed to become world class medical transcriptionists to cater to the $200-billion healthcare outsourcing business world-wide.

India tops in BPO list !

India has retained its top position on the advisory firm Global Services-Tholons ranking of the world's top outsourcing nations.Six cities -- Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune -- are the favourite offshore destinations for global outsourcers, according to the fourth Global Services-Tholons Top 50 emerging outsourcing destinations survey.

India topped the list with revenues of $40 billion from export of information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) services in 2008. Its closest rival Philippines increased outsourcing revenues by 25% to $6 billion in the same year. The two nations were followed by Ireland, China and Brazil.

According to the study, India also grabbed the top slot in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the country. It had the highest FDI in the IT-BPO sector in 2008 at $46 billion, a jump of 46% from the previous year, even as global FDI flows decreased from $1.9 trillion to $1.7 trillion and several developing economies struggled to acquire investments from client nations.

Avinash Vashistha, CEO of Tholons, said it is not just cost arbitrage that is bringing in funds into the country "For a CIO (chief information officer) today, finding a centre of excellence is more than just to lower cost. It must consider location, risk mitigation for business, cultural affinity and scalability of the skilled workforce," he said."The service providers need to think through their offerings so as to differentiate as the competitive advantage is rapidly vanishing due to a cut-throat competition and market saturation."

Besides the top six Indian cities, the other cities that have been featured in Global Services-Tholons' survey are Chandigarh, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Thiruvananthapuram. They have made to the list of next 60 outsourcing destinations.

Coimbatore IT park to become operational by January 2010

The Information Technology Park at Coimbatore will become operational by January 2010, according to Poongothai Aladi Aruna, Minister for Information Technology.Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, she said that the IT parks in Madurai, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli would become operational by September next year. She was inaugurating Common Service Centres (CSCs) in rural areas.

Pointing out that the government was giving more impetus to starting Rural Business Processing Outsourcing Centres across the State, Ms. Poongothai said already five such rural BPOs were functioning as model and pilot projects in Krishnagiri district.The State was keen on having at least one rural BPO in every district by January 2010. The modalities of the rural BPOs such as work and revenue pattern were being worked out.

Ms. Poongothai said the Centre had originally sanctioned one CSC per three panchayats and now the same had been increased to one each for every panchayat.The objective of the CSC was to take the benefits of e-governance to the doorsteps of rural masses.The cost of establishing a kiosk would be Rs.1.25 lakh to Rs.3.25 lakh, she said.

Ascendas upcoming with 53 acre SEZ

Ascendas India Development Trust (AIDT) and IREO announce proposed integrated development in Coimbatore

53-acre plot housing IT SEZ, residential, commercial and other supporting spaces


1. Singapore, 9 April 2008 – Ascendas India Development Trust (AIDT), the private
property development fund spearheaded by Asia’s business space leader Ascendas,
has partnered IREO, a leading foreign investor in Indian real estate, to develop an
integrated project, comprising an IT Special Economic Zone (“IT SEZ”) and mixed-use
development in Coimbatore in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The 50:50 joint venture
(“JV”) spreads over 53 acres, and is a first for both Ascendas and IREO in Coimbatore.
Ascendas will manage the development when it is completed.

2. AIDT, a private trust that undertakes green field development projects, has granted a
right of first refusal to Ascendas India Trust (“a-iTrust”) to acquire income-producing
business space in India.

3. Ascendas is a key developer of IT space in India with over 265 acres of development
spread across six cities. This latest project is Ascendas’ third IT space development in
the state of Tamil Nadu after the landmark International Tech Park Chennai (ITPC) and
CyberVale, located at Mahindra World City, Chennai.

4. IREO, one of the leading foreign investors in Indian real estate, has an asset portfolio of
about US$2.0 billion (S$2.76 billion / INR8,000 crores) spread across more than 15
development projects encompassing residential, office, retail and hospitality properties in
India.

5. The integrated project is within a fast developing business hub in Coimbatore and
located 10 km from the airport. Of the 53 acres, 28 acres will have development
potential of more than 3 million sq ft of IT SEZ space that can accommodate over 30,000
IT professionals when fully completed. The remaining 25 acres are earmarked for
residential, commercial and hospitality use.

6. Development of the project will take place over four phases and is expected to
commence in September 2008. The development will feature quality infrastructure and
facilities that are synonymous with Ascendas’ spaces across the region. The project is
expected to be completed in about six to seven years.

7. Ms Chong Siak Ching, President & CEO, Ascendas Pte Ltd, said, “Ascendas has forged
close ties with Tamil Nadu with two projects in Chennai and we now seek to enhance
our presence in the state with the latest planned offering of an integrated development in
Coimbatore. The city has a ready pool of skilled talent and we hope that this project will
provide more opportunities closer to home for Coimbatore. We are pleased to have
IREO as our partner in this venture. With an integrated development, Ascendas aims
to provide our clients with diverse services spanning residential, retail and other
commercial uses. This is in line with Ascendas’ existing strategy to deliver an
international business lifestyle in a well-planned environment.”

8. Anurag Bhargava, Managing Partner of IREO, said, “We are proud to partner Ascendas
in this milestone development project in Coimbatore. We look forward to enhancing
Coimbatore’s IT landscape by offering world–class facilities in the planned
development.”

CTS Donates Microscope To Sankara Eye Centre

Chief Executive Officer of Cognizant Foundation S. Madhavan (left) donates an operating microscope to Sankara Eye Centre in Coimbatore on Monday. The eye centre’s Managing Trustee R.V. Ramani (second right) and Cognizant’s Vice-President (Projects) Vishnu Potty (second left) are in the picture. Cognizant Foundation, the corporate-social responsibility arm of Cognizant Technology Solutions, donated a Rs.28 lakh worth operating microscope to Sankara Eye Centre here on Monday. The equipment was provided to the centre to support its community eye care programme for the poor.

Chief Executive Officer of Cognizant Foundation S. Madhavan handed over the equipment to the centre’s Managing Trustee R.V. Ramani at a function held as part of the Eye Donation Fortnight. Vice-President (Projects) of CTS Vishnu Potty was present. Mr. Madhavan said that while every corporate firm had a role to play in the area of corporate-social responsibility, Cognizant believed that bigger and successful corporate firms had a greater role in working for social welfare. The foundation joined hands with various service organisations to reach out to the needy.

He complimented Sankara Eye Care institutions on their significant contribution to provide eye care to the needy. Mr. Potty said that identifying the right service partner was a tough task for Cognizant. The work done at Sankara Eye Care institutions was inspiring and Cognizant members would involve themselves with various service activities at the hospital.

Dr. Ramani thanked the foundation for donating the equipment. While around 500 free eye surgeries were being performed every day by Sankara Eye Care institutions across the country, the Coimbatore Centre alone performed around 200 surgeries a day. The new equipment magnified the image, provided a lot of illumination and enabled the surgeon to perform operations with precision. The equipment also had a co-observer’s tube which enabled the surgeon assisting the procedure to have real time view of the entire surgical process. The equipment could also be connected to a video monitor and the surgery could be telecast live for the benefit of the doctors and medical students..

Cognizant targets new markets

As economic conditions remain weak in the US and Europe, IT firm Cognizant is making “renewed efforts” to get more business from new markets including India. “We want to increase our revenue from other markets and are making renewed efforts to get more domestic business,” said R Chandrasekaran, president and managing director, Cognizant. “We had taken a conscious effort to spread (to other geographies) and this is not (done) to address the slowdown.”

The $2.8-billion Cognizant is also bidding for government projects and would make significant investments to boost local presence, Chandrasekaran said. After putting in place a management team for Australia a year ago, the company has assembled a team for India six months ago. “Now is the time to increase revenues from other markets.”

The company, which gets 98% of its revenues from the US and Europe now, services 18 to 20 key customers in India including large MNCs. It is focusing on financial services, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing verticals in India, officials said. It developed an e-commerce engine for mjunction, a joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL. Pfizer and SAP Labs are among its key clients in India.

Customers in the West have started freezing IT budgets and this is a good sign, Chandrasekaran said. “It was in a state of flux (earlier). Now it is much better and customers know exactly what to spend. Our development revenues are also growing along with application revenues,” he said.

Though the company continues to recruit people, the hiring is a little more staggered than usual because of the economic conditions, officials said. It has also seen a huge increase in employee referrals in the last few months. About 50% of its lateral recruitment comes from employee referrals. “Employee referrals work well in a downturn,” officials said. The NASDAQ-listed Cognizant, which has about 64,000 employees, has made a net addition of 4,600 in the last three quarters, they said.

CTS Techno campus opened !

Government policies, availability of skilled manpower and the presence of a vibrant industry are some of the reasons that attract investments to the State from multi-national companies, Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said here on Sunday.Inaugurating the Coimbatore Techno-campus of Cognizant, he said the State’s annual software exports now was about Rs. 36,600 crore as against Rs. 29,490 crore the previous year.

The Government was developing Information Technology parks in different locations in the State, such as Coimbatore, Madurai and Tirunelvelli. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi framed an Information Technology policy for the State in 1997.Though globally the sector was affected by the economic recession, the slowdown had not affected the industries in the State. About 15 per cent of the country’s exports were from Tamil Nadu.

The new facility of Cognizant here was located on a 23 acre plot in a special economic zone. In the first phase, the company had invested Rs. 180 crore.When Cognizant started its operations in Coimbatore in 2005 it planned to increase its headcount here to 400 in the first year. But, it went up to 900. The total number of employees in Cognizant was 64,100 and about 40 per cent of them were in Tamil Nadu.Coimbatore had a strong industrial presence and educational facilities.

Hence, the company would be able to recruit from the institutions in Coimbatore and nearby places. The city also had connectivity, power, water supply and good air connectivity, he said.Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology A. Raja said inadequate infrastructure had been identified as one of the disadvantages faced by the electronics hardware manufacturing sector.

Hence, the Centre had decided to establish Information Technology Investment Region. These regions would be provided excellent infrastructure by the Government.Minister for Information Technology Poongothai said the Government was focusing on inclusive growth. Availability of quality education facilities and infrastructure helped in the development of the State. It was developing IT parks in different cities, including, Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Hosur and Tirunelvelli.

Interventional Radiology Website Launched

Secretary of Information Technology, Government of Tamil Nadu, P.W.C. Davidar (left), launching the website on Interventional Radiology of Kovai Medical Center and Hospital in Coimbatore on Wednesday. Chairman of the hospital Nalla G. Palaniswami (second left) and Chief of Radiology Services Mathew Cherian (third left) are in the picture. Choice is an important factor in the legacy that an individual leaves behind, P.W.C. Davidar, Information Technology secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, said here on Wednesday.

At a meeting organised by the Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) on “The Impact of Interventional Radiology in the Society”, Mr. Davidar launched the website http://www.irtreatment.org/ and spoke on “The legacy we leave behind”. He said every individual left behind a legacy. Every one should choose legacies with values. The legacies that one left behind could be habits, patterns of lifestyle, attitudes or assets. It was something handed down.

And, the legacy could be at the family or society-level. “All of us have been affected or benefited by somebody’s legacy.” Choice was an important factor and each individual had the choice to leave behind a good legacy. It was important to recognise the legacies that an individual was part of and to support the legacy that others were building, he said. Kavitha Rajan, Director of Master Mind Solutions, explained the features of the website. Dr. Nalla G. Palaniswami, chairman of the hospital, spoke about Interventional Radiology. Some of the patients who had been treated with interventional radiology shared their experiences.

Coimbatore To Host TCS IT Wiz 2009

Tata Consultancy Services will organise the 2009 edition of the TCS IT Wiz, a technology quiz for schools, here on August 25. According to a release, each school can send in multiple teams of two per team. It is open to students studying in standard VIII to standard XII. Entry is free. The quiz will focus on application of Information Technology across various sectors such as Internet, advertisements, software, communication, etc. Also areas where IT has made an impact like education, entertainment, books, multimedia, music, movies, banking, sports, gaming, blogs, etc., will be covered.

Winners will get laptops, while runners-up can win cameras and digital photo frames. Finalists too will receive prizes. Entries have to be sent through the schools before August 22 to the Quiz Co-ordinator, TCS IT Wiz Co-ordinator, Teknoturf Info Services Private Limited, KRV Tower, 126 G, Sengupta Street, Ramnagar, Coimbatore – 641009. The quiz will be held at the Corporation Kalai Arangam, R.S. Puram. For details, visit http://www.tcsitwiz.com/.

Interventional Radiology Website Launched

Interventional radiologist at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, Mathew Cherian, explains contents of his website on interventional radiology, in Coimbatore. Advances in the field of medicine now offer an option of treating a bulge in the blood vessel in the brain without the need for an open surgery.

Interventional radiology applies the minimally invasive technique to access the brain from the thigh, to put a coil in the bulge and stop the blood vessel from bursting. But, how many people know of this option that can enable a patient return home in just 24 hours since the procedure? Not many. And, this is why Chief of Radiology Services at Kovai Medical Center and Hospital Mathew Cherian has launched a website on interventional radiology.

Teaming up with a web designer, V. Kavitha of Master Mind Solution in the city, Dr. Cherian now has an interactive website ( http://www.irtretment.org/) that tells people about the use of interventional radiology in diverse areas: putting a stent in the blood vessel in the brain, to treat vascular malformation in the eye and fibroid in the uterus and to stop life-threatening internal bleeding.

Dr. Cherian loves animation because it removes the morbidity that is normally found in the overdose of text. He has used animation liberally to attract the attention of the browsers and help them understand the procedure better. Ms. Kavitha, who says she designs websites for clients in the U.S., has gone a step further by having the doctor giving a voice-over to the animation. The audio part provides the extra impact that is needed, she says. As a coil snakes through the blood vessel towards the brain, Dr. Cherian explains how it prevents a rupture and saves a life.

Apart from being a reference portal, the website also offers an online appointment facility. Patients can access the appointment schedule of the doctor and find out when he is available. Being an interactive site, the doctor scrutinises the requests and grants appointment. “Ultimately, the patients land here with the knowledge of the procedure that is to be performed on them. In the process of fixing the appointment, they have already gone through the information provided on the procedures,” says Dr. Cherian.

“We designed this site in such a way that it caters to the needs of the both medical (doctors) and non-medical persons (patients/general public),” says Ms. Kavitha. “This is also a learning portal; a small postgraduate class room or clinic,” he points out. “Postgraduate doctors in our hospital or doctors in any other medical institution across the world can access this site and know of the procedures and the cases we have done,” he explains. “Though done in a private hospital, we have made this a learning portal for anyone across the world.”

The website has a list of all standard reference books and links to every site available on interventional radiology. A significant component is the uploading of a ‘Case of the Week’. The toughest and interesting case is chosen and uploaded for everyone to learn from. Young doctors who want to apply for “observership” (to learn the procedure at the hospital) can also apply online through this website. The probable dates are available on a calendar on the site. Dr. Cherian goes through the bio-data submitted online to choose the candidates.

Coimbatore software exports up

Coimbatore’s annual software exports have gone up to Rs. 360 crore from about Rs. 50 crore in 2004, according to Minister for Information Technology, Poongothai Aladi Aruna.

Inaugurating an Information Technology Learning and Research Centre at AJK College of Arts and Science here on Thursday, she said that India, especially Tamil Nadu, had managed to ride-over the recession.The country registered nearly 12 per cent growth in software exports last year and Tamil Nadu, about 29 per cent.

The Information Technology revolution in the country had put India on the global map. It showed the world that the country was capable of quality business. And, the strength of the country was human resource. “We have cost effective human talent,” she said.The country had a large number of English speaking students. However, as an industry, the information technology sector was yet to reach full potential.

Areas

There were several areas such as Business Process Outsourcing and E-governance, apart from software development. Technology advancements should be applied to Indian conditions. Thus, “there is still more to be accomplished,” she said.

Inaugurating the academic year 2009-2010 at the college, B.K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, chairman of the Coimbatore unit of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, said that the biggest strength of the country was the youth. Education would help harness this strength. What was important was the quality and content of education. Education was development of the human resource. He asked the students to realise that each one had the potential to achieve. One needed a shift in education that focused on human resource development than on just knowledge gathering.

R.S. Lal Mohan, trustee of the college, said India required skilled manpower in green technology.The youth had more responsibility and the IT centre opened at the college would equip them with the required exposure.Ajeet Kumar Lal Mohan, Secretary and Managing Trustee of the college, welcomed the gathering.

KGISL to invest 600 Cr in SEZ !

Hi-Tech Infrastructure Private Limited, promoted by Coimbatore-based KG Information Systems Limited (KGISL), plans to invest around Rs 600 core over the next two years in building a township at a special economic zone (SEZ), the first SEZ for IT and ITeS sectors being developed at Saravanampally in Coimbatore.

Speaking to Business Standard, KGISL managing director, Ashok Bakthavathsalam, said the company was developing the SEZ on 150 acre, of which 65 acre had already been allotted to Robert Bosch India, Cognizant and Perot Systems. Bosch is setting up a research and development centre in the SEZ with an investment of around Rs 250 crore.

Bakthavathsalam said the SEZ was expected to attract investments to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore and generate employment to about 15,000 people over the next two years. “KGISL alone will invest around Rs 600 crore in the SEZ, which will be funded through a mix of internal accruals and debt,” he said.The company is planning to set up a budget hotel, 400 affordable houses and a hospital to supplement the upcoming industries in the SEZ, he said, adding that the company is open to join hands with private partners to promote the township.


“The SEZ will also help other industries to grow in this region. For instance, Robert Bosch facility will not only create additional job opportunities in Coimbatore, but will also benefit the manufacturing sector in and around Coimbatore as Robert Bosch is looking for partners to bring complimentary strengths to what it does,” Bakthavathsalam.

Coimbatore, he said, will be the right destination for IT and ITeS companies, which are currently passing through rough times. A business process outsourcing (BPO) company, which will operate out of Coimbatore, can save up to $200 per seat a month when compared to Delhi or other major metros.“Moreover, there are about 40 engineering colleges and 80 arts colleges, which are producing about 150,000 students every year. Availability of human resources is the biggest advantage.The establishment of the SEZ will also benefit the adjoining villages with the creation of non-IT jobs,” he said.

Govt keen to develop Tier II cities

A steep increase in exports by information technology and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) units located at Special Economic Zones (SEZs) enabled Tamil Nadu to register a 29 per cent growth in software exports to Rs 36,680 crore in the year 2008-09.The figures for the previous year were Rs 28,426 crore

In 2008-09, the SEZ IT and ITeS units alone contributed revenue of Rs 6,102 crore, which was nearly a 241-per cent increase over the corresponding year’s figure of Rs 1,787 crore, according to Mr J. Parthasarathy, Director, Software Technology Parks of India (Tamil Nadu and Puducherry).


Software exports from Puducherry registered a 23-per cent growth to Rs 79 crore (Rs 64 crore). The IT and ITeS SEZs brought in an investment of Rs 3,063 crore during the fiscal. As of March end, 19 IT and ITES SEZs are operational in the State, and of these, 18 are in Chennai, he told newspersons.The IT and ITeS industry employed around 2.85 lakh (2.44 lakh) people in the State. The IT and ITeS units in the SEZ alone employed 45,481 people, he said.


Hardware exports in 2008-09 increased by Rs 1 crore to Rs 263 crore. There are 18 registered units at present in the State. Of these, three units were started during the year, he said.The Tamil Nadu IT secretary, Mr P. W. C. Dawidar, said the State was committed to expanding IT infrastructure in Tier II cities of Madurai, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli. This year, we are moving very quickly in creating the infrastructure,” he said.

The construction of Tidel Park at Coimbatore (the second in the State after the one in Chennai) should be completed by the year-end.The park has an area of 2,00,000 sq ft on each floor and a total built-up area of 1.8 million sq ft.

Firstsource bags Idea cellular order !

Telecom major Idea Cellular Tuesday signed a Rs.145-crore agreement with Firstsource Solutions, a business process outsourcing (BPO) service provider.

As part of the agreement, Firstsource will provide for five years a suite of customer management interaction services, including customer service, billing, new product information and plan details to Idea from its centre in Coimbatore, the companies said in a statement.

Firstsource will provide these services for Idea's Kerala and Tamil Nadu customers in English, Malayalam and Tamil.

'Firstsource brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in running large customer support operations for global telecom service providers and has the ability to help us manage our rapid growth in the service areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu,' said Navanit Narayan, chief service delivery officer of Idea.

Idea is the largest services provider in Kerala with a subscriber base of over 4.5 million and has recently launched its services in Tamil Nadu. It is expanding its network in the state.

Ugam Solutions Opens Up !!

India-based MR outsourcing firm Ugam Solutions has opened a new delivery center at the Coimbatore Park in Sarvanampatti, Tamil Nadu. Over the next two years, the firm plans to hire 400 staff for this new facility.

The center, which is spread over 44,000 square feet, will offer market research outsourcing, analytics and online marketing services.Dharmesh Mistry, VP and Chief Talent Officer (CTO), explained that the firm already has two facilities in Mumbai and had been looking for a suitable delivery center outside the area. Sarvanampatti has a high number of engineering colleges from which Ugam will be able to recruit the ‘right talent’, and this drove the decision to locate there.

Mistry says the company’s growth will come from the Coimbatore centre. ‘The idea is to keep growing in Coimbatore, so that all the investment required to do this in the next couple of years is made from here,’ he explained.

In addition to its operations in India, the firm has units in the US in Rochester, New York and Dallas; and an international data collection and client service facility in London, UK.

Web site: www.ugamsolutions.com .

CBay Systems opened its center !!

Leading global medical transcription (MT) company, CBay Systems plans to scale up its operations in India."We will double theheadcount in India in the next 18 months," said Mr Dinesh Kumar, Director and COO – India Operations, CBay Systems, after inaugurating its captive centre here on Wednesday.Now, it has 3000 captive seats with centres in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Vijayawada.In 2009, the company will be investing Rs 45 crore for creating 1800 new seats. He said the company has just completed two satellite units each in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The new facility on 18,000 sq is located at Rathinam Technopark of Rathinam Techzone Campus, Eachanari. "In three months, the centre entailing an investment of Rs 11 crore will start functioning with 450 seats," Mr Kumar said.CBay plans to hire over 700 people in Coimbatore by December 2009 and reach a strength of 1500 employees over a year. The MT industry has a good presence in Coimbatore, with Spheris India, another large MT company already functioning.

"Coimbatore is hub for MT in South India and the city has very strong MT work force. Also, the proximity to Chennai and Bangalore is an added advantage," he added.Further, the presence of 27 engineering colleges, 72 arts and science colleges and 18 polytechnics in the city has encouraged the company to start its captive centre here. The city already has three established franchisee centres.The company is planning to tap the premium educational institutes in the city for training in medical transcription. "In an effort to induct fresh talent into our company, we will be extending our training program to several educational institutes," said Mr Kumar, adding, the demand for MT keeps increasing despite the global slowdown.Kumar said medical profession is globally recession proof and there is a good market for medical transcription business. "There is no price cut. Whatever contracts that have come for re-negotiations, we have been able to get nominal increase," he said.

The US healthcare outsourcing market is estimated to be US $12 billion and expected to reach around US $ 18 billion by 2010.CBay, which had completed 69.5% acquisition of MedQuist last year provides MT services to 1700 hospitals and a large number of physician practices in the US. It also provides transcription technology and services into the NHS (National Health Service) market in the UK.

Apart from captive centres, the company has franchisee centres spread across 42 centres in India and one each in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Oman and Barbados.Recently, the company tied up with John Keels Group to start a small unit in Sri Lanka. "The Sri Lankan government is keen to promote MT profession," Mr Kumar said.

IT sector will Boost in 2 yrs ..

The Information Technology (IT) space in Coimbatore is expected to go up further in the next two years, pushing up exports, according to Ashok Bakthavatsalam, convener of the ICT panel of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore Zone.

He told that the first wave of the IT sector arrived in Coimbatore with creation of infrastructure at various premises, including the Coimbatore Hi-Tech Infrastructure Private Limited (CHIL), Software Technology Parks of India facilities and Science and Technology Entrepreneurial Park. A number of independent companies had also started operations.

Software exports from Coimbatore now were about Rs. 550 crore and the figure would soon go up to Rs. 1,000 crore. However, this was relatively low as the other tier-two cities were already doing larger volumes.

The CHIL had created six lakh sq. ft of built-to-suit facilities at the Special Economic Zone. This could be scaled up to even 1.2 million sq. ft. It also had three anchor companies taking space at the built-to-suit campus. The annual exports from CHIL were about Rs. 100 crore now.

Growth in Coimbatore was likely to be more from the IT-enabled services segment. For companies in larger cities, moving over to Coimbatore would provide at least 20 per cent cost advantage.

“We were in dire need of infrastructure, especially for plug-and-play operations. When that is created, recession has set in,” he pointed out.What was needed now was constant awareness about the potential here. Coimbatore should be promoted as an ideal location for IT and ITES companies.

The Government should expedite works on the Tidel park here, he said.

Bosch to invest Rs 250 crore !!

Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Ltd, the IT subsidiary of global automotive component maker Robert Bosch, is allocating over Rs 250 crore to expand its operations in Coimbatore, sources have said.

The company will induct 4,500 people into its operations at the Coimbatore Hi-Tech Infrastructure Private Ltd (CHIL) IT SEZ in Saravanampatti near Coimbatore. The IT subsidiary currently employs over 4,000 people at centres in Bangalore and Coimbatore.
Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions was likely to shift many of its internal contracts for European automotive majors to Coimbatore, with a bulk of the recruitment for the expanded facility likely to be done locally, sources said.So far, the first of four proposed buildings for Bosch at the CHIL SEZ has been completed. The rest are expected to be operational by the end of this year on an area of around 22-acre, sources said.

The company has been present in Coimbatore since 2006. Its existing facility operates with just under 1,000 people. Industrial automation, mechanical engineering, and shared services are looked after at the centre.The 300-acre IT SEZ, an initiative of KG Information Systems Private Ltd, is expected to be ready by January next year and will create direct employment for nearly 12,000 people. An area of 150 acres at the SEZ has been set aside for IT/ITeS operations.
Wipro is planning its development centre here and companies like TCS and HCL are expected to set up base here in the coming months. Companies presently operating out of the SEZ include Cognizant, Perot Systems and KGISL.

Bosch India is currently supplying fuel injection systems for the Tata Nano from its facilities in Bangalore and Nashik. The Coimbatore facility has played a leading role in designing the engine and the innovative braking system of the car.Coimbatore, which has been a major investment destination for textiles companies and foundries operating in the automotive space, has seen IT, education and healthcare emerging as strong draws in recent years. Consequently, the city has shown good upside in the residential and commercial space. A recent Jones Lang LaSalle India study identified Coimbatore as one of the top 10 growing consumer markets in India.

FBSC opens its center @ coimbatore ..

Coimbatore, India – Ford Business Services Centre (FBSC) recently celebrated the opening of its second location in India – a 60,000 square foot office that will house 11 FBSC operation teams, with a total staff strength of over 700. The opening represents a big step in FBSC's ongoing expansion of operations, which includes increased accounting and operations support business services for Ford globally, and a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) facility. ''This new centre is a milestone for FBSC,'' said Joginder Singh, executive director of Global Business Services and president and managing director of FBSC. ''It marks another phase of growth for Ford in India as well as a sign of Ford's continuing confidence in the country.''

During his address to senior leadership from Ford India, Ford Technology Services India and FBSC at the centre's formal inauguration on 27 February, Joginder acknowledged the support FBSC received from Ford senior leadership in Dearborn and thanked them for their commitment to the project. Spread over two floors, the new global centre has 25 meeting rooms, a library and learning centre, an assessment centre, and provision for a crèche. Colour coordinated work spaces, highly functional meeting rooms and a well-designed break-out area are but a few of the new business centre's distinct features. Forty-nine employees are already working out of the new facility, a number that will rise to 100 – the base strength to achieve BCP readiness – by the end of this month.

Tidel park will function from Jan 2010 !

The much awaited IT park- Tidel park at Coimbatore is expected to start functioning from January 2010. After a three year wait, work is in full swing for building the park inside the IT & ITES special economic zone (SEZ) at Vilankurichi, behind Coimbatore Medical College. Promoted by the State-owned Electronics corporation of Tamil Nadu ( Elcot), the project is expected to be ready for occupation by companies by September 2009. With a built-up area of 1.7 million sq ft, the Tidel Park is expected to provide employment to 12,000 IT & ITES professionals.

Conceived in August 2006, foundation stone for the Park was laid in February 2007, but the evacuation work began only in November 2007 and the civil works contract was awarded only in September 2008. "The delay was mainly due to complying with various government stipulations and also since a contractor had backed out due to price escalation. A second global tender was floated and Mumbai based B E Billimoria & Co are the civil contractors now," Tidel Park Coimbatore’s Director and GM, planning, ELCOT, L Stanislaus told . Moreover, ELCOT had also planned to scrap the residential building plan inside the IT-SEZ. "Since the SEZ is well within the corporation limit, we have decided to allot more space for IT companies and use the remaining space for bus parking and other social amenities like restaurant, gym and extra curricular activities," he added. In the 56-acre IT-SEZ , Wipro, Tidel and TCS have a taken 9.5 acres each and HCL 5 acres for building their campus facilities. Two acres had been allotted to TNEB for sub-station.

"In the 11.69 acres earlier allotted for residential area, five acres would be sold to an IT company," Mr Stanislaus said. The Rs 370 crore Tidel Park would have three floors. The office space would be available from smallest module of 5000 sq ft up to 2 lakh sq ft with back up power from 5X2000 KVA DG sets. Of the proposed 9.7 lakh sq ft IT & ITES space, companies have already shown interest to take 7.5 lakh sq ft and the ELCOT has asked them to re-confirm it. "The companies can occupy the space from Sept 2009 and after completion of interior decorations, the Tidel Park would be up and running from January 2010," Mr Stanislaus said. Further, he said, ELCOT has called for tenders to build IT Parks in Trichy, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Salem and Hosur. "Despite general talk of slowdown, the demand for IT space is very much there and we plan to start construction works in other cities soon," he said.