TCS and HCL Tech look to acquire Comviva as Bharti plans to sell (India)
Bharti Enterprises may sell off a majority of its stake in Comviva, a leading company specializing in providing value added services (VAS) for mobile handsets. Sources claim large IT companies such as TCS and HCL Technologies are competing to acquire the same and a deal might be in the pipeline. Reportedly, Bharti aims to receive between $300 and 350 million for sale of its non-core business.
The youth segment provides for a large consumer base demanding quick downloads for music, video clips and sports updates among others, enabling VAS to become a good revenue stream for mobile service providers. With competition causing voice tariffs to be priced at very low rates, mobile operators are increasingly turning to VAS for better revenue generation.
Services such as SMS account for half the VAS revenues, while caller tunes and mobile applications for radio, live score update and mobile gaming downloads are increasingly gaining popularity. For some mobile companies, VAS accounts for as much as 7-10 percent of their revenues.
With mobile players working to provide various new services on their 3G network and innovations like mobile banking on the rise, VAS revenues are expected to rise significantly.
du selects Tata Consultancy Services as an IT Managed Services partner
In its efforts to enhance customer excellence and service delivery levels, dutoday signed a five year contract with leading Indian IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS). As an IT Managed Services Partner, TCS will support du in its aggressive growth strategy and its continuous focus on enhancing the company’s capabilities in offering a better scope in developing and managing customer-centric products and services.
The agreement was signed in a ceremony attended by Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Human Resources and Shared Services Officer, du, and Mr Girish Ramachandran, VP and Head – Middle East, Africa and Mediterranean, TCS, in the presence of Saleem M . Al- Balooshi, Senior Vice President – Technology and Wholesale Operations at du, and Mr. Manoj Agarwal, Regional Director- TCS Middle East and North Africa.
Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Human Resources and Shared Services Officer, du, said: “In a dynamic business sector such as telecom we are constantly looking at enhancing customer experience – made possible by further enhancing our IT operations. With TCS’ capabilities we expect to further streamline our efficiencies in service delivery, quality of service, as well as bringing best practice in IT operations, and create further value for our shareholders.”
Mr. Girish Ramachandran, VP and Head – Middle East, Africa and Mediterranean, TCS, said: “We are delighted to be chosen as a strategic partner to du. With our strong global telecom expertise we are committed to delivering service improvement, flexibility and predictability to du’s IT, which will supports du’s progressive strategy to enhance customer experience.”
TCS started its operations in the Middle East in 1973 and today Middle East & Africa contribute a significant portion of TCS revenue from the developing countries market segment. We do business with some of the top government and private business houses in the different countries that we operate in the region. The nature of projects we execute in the region both from a sheer volume & complexity perspective speaks strongly of our service quality and delivery capabilities. These projects in many ways are unique and create references for TCS. TCS MEA has the world’s best trained IT consultants working in nearly 12 countries, deployed in various client locations and offshore delivery centers.
BCG adds Bharti, Lupin in 100 global challengers list
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has added telecom major Bharti Airtel and drug-maker Lupin into its list of 100 companies from the emerging markets which can challenge existing Fortune 500 firms over the next five years.
In a report titled ‘ BCG Global Challengers 2011, released globally, it states that these 100 firms, mostly from China, India, Brazil, Mexico and Russia, and for the first time four companies from South Africa and Egypt, are the hidden engines of the global economy and can qualify for inclusion in the Fortune Global 500 in five years as they grow faster and more profitably than MNCs from developed world.
This year, overall, there are 23 new challengers, including Bharti and Lupin, in the list from 16 countries. The BCG Global Challenger series was launched in 2006 to identify companies shaking up the global economy.
According to reports, the 100 challenger companies grew annually by 18 % during 2000-09. If they continue on their current growth path, they could collectively generate US$8 trillion in revenues by 2020, an amount roughly equivalent to what the S&P 500 companies generate today. These challengers’ revenue stood at US$ 1.3 trillion in 2009.
According to BCG India Partner & Director and a co-author of the report Sharad Verma, as competition intensifies, the boundaries between these two distinct sets of companies will continue to blur. Many challengers are creating disruptive business models and coming up with new and better ways to get the job done in many industries. Bharti Airtel exemplifies this approach with its innovations in outsourcing and distribution.
Of the 20 Indian firms in the list, six are from the Tata Group – TCS , Tata Steel , Tata Motors , Tata Global Beverages , Tata Communications and Tata Chemicals . Others are RIL , Infosys , L&T , M&M , Bajaj Auto , Wipro , Hindalco , Crompton Greaves , Dr Reddy’s , Bharat Forge , Suzlon and Vedanta .
Bharti to outsource operations; TCS, Infosys, Wipro, IBM in race
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Bids have been invited by Bharti Airtel to outsource operations worth over a billion dollars for African assets it recently acquired from Kuwait’s Zain Telecom. This indicates that the company is looking for better deals than those being offered by its existing partners. Bids have been invited for IT-related services as well as the management and maintenance of mobile and landline networks in 15 nations.
TCS, Infosys and Wipro along with IBM are in the race as Bharti Airtel is looking for the best deal. Nokia Siemens and Ericsson which maintain and manage Bharti Airtel’s networks in India through multi-billion-dollar contracts will have to compete with China’s ZTE and Huawei and bids have already been called for.
Alcatel-Lucent has also been posed as a potential bidder for the African deal.
