Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited, has joined the Open Handset Alliance, extending its device development and service Integration expertise around Android – an open mobile phone software stack.
 
The Open Handset Alliance (OHA) is a partnership of more than 60 global mobile industry leaders working together to accelerate innovation and offer consumers an enhanced mobile experience. Wipro will now enable its customers in conceptualizing and creating devices on the Android platform along with providing differentiating solutions and applications translating to faster time-to-market for the clients.

Wipro is currently engaged with a number of Handset Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Telecom Carriers, Semiconductor companies, Consumer Electronics and Automotive companies on multiple Android based product developments. “Joining the Open Handset Alliance will help us turn around Android based products and solutions faster with rich feature-sets,” said Nagamani Murthy, Vice President of the Mobile, Automotive and Consumer Electronics Group, Wipro Technologies. “With most device vendors now releasing Android based phones, we foresee an impressive growth on this platform. The Open Handset Alliance membership will enable us to satisfy the strong customer demand,” she added.

Wipro has been focusing on developing differentiated applications on the Android platform along with testing frameworks. The IT major has had a strong Linux background augmented by robust in-house training and proof-of-concepts. These investments have enabled Wipro to help its customers in releasing Android based products in the market.

Wipro offers wide spectrum of mobile platform expertise ranging from development on industry standards and customer proprietary platforms, device engineering to Application/UI development expertise. Wipro works closely with leading mobile semiconductor players and has also supported many leading Tier 1 OEMs across the world in building complete phone software.

Wipro is the world’s largest third party product engineering services provider and was recently rated as the #1 R&D Service Provider globally by leading analyst firm, Zinnov based on an overall rating spanning across factors like financial strength, business models, innovation & expertise, people strength and operations.

Atos Origin, an international IT services company, has been certified by SAP AG as a provider of solution implementation based on the Run SAP methodology, the company said. Atos Origin is among the first Global SAP partners to be certified in the Run SAP methodology and will incorporate the methodology into its implementation standards.

“By adopting the Run SAP methodology into our own implementation standards, we are going beyond the vision of implementing the solutions required by our customers,” said Paul Bray, senior vice president and global head of SAP solutions at Atos Origin. “We are now providing our customers the proven methodology for managing their SAP applications through end-to-end solution operations standards. This will empower our customers to manage their SAP applications more efficiently and at a lower cost.”

Run SAP methodology is a phased methodology based on world-class knowledge. It provides best-practice procedures, content, services, training and tools for end-to-end solution operations, along with a standardized and proven implementation method. The Run SAP methodology focuses on application management, business process operations, and administration of SAP solutions. The methodology describes how support should be implemented across the lifecycle design, set-up, operations and optimization. In addition, with its best-practice documents for solution operations, it describes how to implement end-to-end solution operations for different SAP software-based business processes.

“We applaud Atos Origin’s achievement as a global SAP services partner certified in the Run SAP methodology,” said Dr. Uwe Hommel, executive vice president of Active Global Support at SAP AG. “By adopting the end-to-end solution operations standards provided by the Run SAP methodology, Atos Origin will deliver to its customers a higher level of effectiveness and efficiency.”

Run SAP is an integral part of SAP Enterprise Support services, a holistic support model designed to enable continuous improvement and successful solution operations at lower risk and cost.

SAP customers will realize the benefits of operating with the end-to-end standards. SAP standards for solution operations are a prerequisite for the continuous improvement of SAP solution operations. Not only do they enable automation, reducing the cost of operations, but also improved traceability and an audit trail, helping companies to achieve cost efficiency, quality assurance and compliance enablement.

IT Europa announced today that it will stage the European IT Excellence Awards 2010 in London on 25 February 2010. The IT Excellence Awards have been designed to recognise and reward excellence in solutions provided by European IT and Telecoms Channels. The awards will bring together leading ISVs, Solution Providers and Systems Integrators from across Europe to demonstrate their ability to provide IT solutions for their customers.

The awards are split into three sections. The first set of awards are exclusively for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) highlighting the crucial role that applications play in the development of customer solutions. The second set of awards recognise the vital role played by Value Added Resellers (VARs), Solution Providers and Systems Integrators in providing solutions for both the SME and Large Enterprise sectors. The third set of awards is for vendors and suppliers who best support channel partners in delivering excellence.

“With more than 80% of sales now going through some form of channel and the complexity of technology continuing to increase, recognition of the crucial role that channels play in the delivery of real solutions to end customers is probably overdue,” said Alan Norman, Managing Director of IT Europa. “The European IT Excellence Awards are the first pan-European awards to recognise excellence in the delivery of real solutions and are intended to encourage the development of partnerships between vendors and solution providers across the IT and Telecoms industries.”

IT Excellence Awards winners will be presented with their awards at the European IT Excellence Awards Dinner on 25 February 2010 at The Tower, a Guoman Hotel, London. The Awards Dinner has been timed to coincide with the European ISV Convention 2010 which is being staged at the same venue on the same day.

Organisations wishing to enter the European IT Excellence Awards or interested in sponsorship opportunities can find further information at www.iteawards.com . The closing date for entries is 16 January 2010. Further information about the European ISV Convention can be found at www.isvconvention.com

Metro de Madrid, the third largest metro system in the world, has successfully introduced a program to transform its maintenance operations and provide higher standards of transportation services.  Metro de Madrid has teamed with Accenture and GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions, to launch the program, known as ‘COMMIT’,  to increase operational performance and raise the level of its customer service.

To meet Metro de Madrid’s operational goals, Accenture implemented a new operational maintenance model and designed a technology infrastructure to manage in real-time the installation of metro’s equipment such as elevators, escalators, energy distribution and management, telecommunications, hydraulic pumps, ticketing and turnstiles. The model comprises monitoring and automation tools with capabilities including advanced diagnostics of failures and incidents to minimize service disruptions, the analysis of incidents and equipment faults to reduce maintenance costs and maximize manpower resources, and remote maintenance and remote monitoring of installations of equipment to increase efficiency. GE Fanuc Intelligent Platform’s supervisory control and data acquisition software suite, Proficy iFIX , was implemented as a part of the solution. iFIX provides real-time information management to help Metro de Madrid drive better analytics and leverage more reliability, visibility into day-to-day operations, flexibility and scalability across their enterprise.

“We are delighted with the early successes the COMMIT program has delivered,” Manuel Vázquez , Metro de Madrid’s Infrastructure Director. “The work Accenture and GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms carried out is central to the expansion of our network and delivery of superior service as we now have real-time diagnostic and monitoring tools that enable us to be proactive rather than reactive at all levels and aspects of the network’s operation.”

Since the launch of the COMMIT program in June 2006, Metro de Madrid has realized a range of benefits including:

*  Putting into service about one third more equipment and facilities without deteriorating the quality of service. The costs of implementation were also controlled;

*  Manpower efficiencies with a reduction in second on-site visits to resolve equipment failures or malfunctions;

*  Increase in positive customer experience due to real-time availability of the state of services offered;

*  Improved technical and service management internally and with its suppliers.

Carlos Gallego, Accenture senior executive for public transportation, said, “COMMIT has a strong focus on innovation and is a pioneering model in maintenance infrastructures for the railway industry. It has already been able to deliver superior quality of service at a reduced operating cost.”

Marco Ribas, senior executive with Accenture automation and industrial solutions services, said, “Accenture is committed to leveraging our skills in industrial automation and experience in business process and systems to help Metro de Madrid achieve its goals of operational excellence and positive customer experience.  We were able to provide Metro de Madrid with critical, real-time transit system operations data and other essential information, using GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms software, which allowed it to align operations with the business strategy.  We look forward to collaborating with GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms on future client opportunities.”

Erik Udstuen, Vice President of Software and Services for GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, said, “Our industry-leading HMI/SCADA software is designed to provide organizations like Metro de Madrid visibility into their operations so they can make decisions to achieve a sustainable advantage for their business. We are pleased to be working jointly with Accenture on this operation and service quality program, and plan to collaborate on similar client opportunities.”

Accenture and GE have begun a working relationship to provide enterprise solutions globally.

Dell has received top rankings across all the recent survey reports from Technology Business Research (TBR), including IT Service and Support, corporate desktops and notebooks and x86 servers. The IT services company has earned record customer satisfaction scores for the first quarter of 2009.

Research and consulting firm Technology Business Research analyzed results received from users at large and medium corporate organizations, who rated their desktop, notebook and x86-based server installed brands. Other than getting top rankings, Dell has also earned the title of the most improved performer of the year.

“Our continued focus on delivering technology solutions that customers want and need in today’s economic and IT environment continues to pay off,” said Jan Uhrich, Vice President Global Services, Dell. “We believe that through customer feedback, we are able to grow and evolve our solutions for increased efficiency and ever-better customer satisfaction. Consistent results across multiple categories exemplify Dell’s dedication to putting customers first.”

• Corporate IT Service and Support Satisfaction – Dell achieved a No. 1 ranking for IT service and support. TBR recognized Dell as the most improved vendor in this report, noting the company’s ongoing commitment to enhancing its support services offerings. Dell ProSupport offers IT support tailored to the customers’ environment, not the outdated one-size-fits-all model.

• x86 Servers – Dell held its No. 1 position in customer satisfaction for x86-based servers. Dell showed strong results for key server attributes including overall value, overall ease of doing business and replacement parts availability. Dell recently expanded its 11th generation PowerEdge server portfolio to include new systems for SMBs and remote office locations, and high performance computing clusters.

• Notebooks – Dell ranked No. 1 in the TBR Q1 customer satisfaction survey for notebooks, continuing its leadership for the last four quarters. Dell retained its full competitive strength for repair time and notebook value and regained its competitive position for parts availability. Dell recently introduced new mobile data security solutions for its Latitude line of laptops.

• Desktops – Dell ranked No. 1 in TBR’s customer satisfaction survey for desktops, marking the 8th consecutive quarter of Dell leadership in this report. Key survey findings indicate strong improvements in Dell’s overall satisfaction, phone support satisfaction and ease of doing business in this category. Dell expanded its OptiPlex desktop line to include the OptiPlex 160, Dell’s smallest commercial desktop ever, designed for energy and space efficiency and reliability.

Cambridge Consultants has today announced an agreement to license its ConixTM Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) technology platform to 3M Drug Delivery Systems.

The deal gives 3M an exclusive technology license and purchase agreement to an extremely high performance drug delivery platform. Conix is capable of being used in a range of devices, from single dose mass inoculation through to a multi-unit dose suitable for routine therapies, such as asthma and COPD. The deal gives 3M complete access to the technology enabling them to deliver the next generation of DPIs.

Whilst the Conix platform technology is simple in its design, its true strength lies in an ability to deliver drug effectively to the deep lung whilst at the same time reducing upper airway deposition. The technology is based around a novel ‘reverse flow cyclone’ and contains no moving parts or propellants. The unique swirling action within the patented cyclone provides a highly effective deagglomeration process, enabling a large percentage of drug to be delivered efficiently into the lung. This action also overcomes the problem that many inhalers have, where the drug is released within just a fraction of a second, before the patient has had time to reach their optimal inhalation rate. The cyclone distributes the drug throughout the inhalation manoeuvre, enabling better use of the patient’s lung power, even where this is limited. The Conix technology has demonstrated up to 40% increases in respirable dose compared to market leading products in back-to-back trials.

Cambridge Consultants has a world-class capability in the field of drug delivery and has developed almost twenty different DPI and MDI devices for companies in the United States, Europe and Middle East.

David Blakey, Head of Drug Delivery at Cambridge Consultants commented, “This licence marks a key stage in the evolution of Conix. We are well known for our market leading capabilities in device design and development, but what this deal highlights is our ability to offer a range of platform technologies and know-how that can help our clients bring solutions to market more quickly.”

About 3M Drug Delivery Systems

3M Drug Delivery Systems partners with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to develop pharmaceuticals using 3M’s inhalation or transdermal drug delivery technology. 3M offers a full range of feasibility, development and manufacturing capabilities combined with regulatory guidance to help bring products to market. In-house resources, including toxicology, regulatory expertise, quality assurance, operations, and marketed product support, are available for each step of the development and commercialization process. This depth of resources is one reason why more than 50 percent of all metered-dose inhalers worldwide and 80 percent of all transdermal systems in the United States utilize 3M drug delivery technology. For more information, please visit www.3M.com/dds.

3M Drug Delivery Systems is exhibiting at DDL-19 in Edinburgh, 10-12 December 2008, at stand number 1.

Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology critical issues for clients worldwide. For nearly 50 years, the company has enabled its clients to turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies.

With a team of over 270 engineers, designers, scientists and consultants, in offices in Cambridge (UK) and Boston (USA), Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, automotive, transport, energy and wireless communications. For more information visit: http://www.CambridgeConsultants.com

Cambridge Consultants is exhibiting at DDL-19 in Edinburgh, 10-12 December 2008, at stand number 9.

Cambridge Consultants is part of the Altran group. Altran Technologies, which is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange (FR:003463), employs over 16,000 consultants in 20 countries around the world. In 2007 the group generated a turnover of €1,591.4 million. For more information visit: http://www.altran.com

Capgemini Group, one of the world's foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, was ranked in the FinTech 25, a special report from American Banker and Financial Insights.

"It is a great honor to be included the FinTech 25--as it clearly reflects our commitment to being a global financial services provider with solutions that lead across various sectors," said Raymond Spencer, CEO of Capgemini Financial Services International Inc. "This recognition for the fourth year in a row reinforces Capgemini's staying power as a highly competitive, leading consultancy in the financial services industry."

The FinTech 25 recognizes the top horizontal technology firms that provide products and services across multiple industries but derive less than one-third of their revenues from this vertical. Capgemini is ranked 17th on the list of financial technology companies that were judged according to their global revenues - attesting to the company's growth, stability and importance to the industry. Since Capgemini's acquisition of Kanbay International Inc. in 2007 (formerly ranked #38 on the FinTech 100), the newly formed Financial Services Strategic Business Unit (SBU) has grown and integrated its operations in India, Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

For more information about the rankings, visit www.financial-insights.com/fintech.

To view the FinTech Special report, visit www.AmericanBanker.com/fintech100

IBM and Dassault Systèmes (DS) today announced EADS’ commitment to IBM and Dassault Systèmes’ product lifecycle management (PLM), for 3D collaborative design and manufacturing applications and services. EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services, is streamlining product design and manufacturing processes through the use of collaboration tools to make key product information more easily accessible to suppliers and partners worldwide.

Aerospace and defense companies face new global manufacturing challenges as they extend their network of partners and suppliers around the globe. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like EADS are developing more sophisticated products that rely on deeper integration between the mechanical, electrical and software components of product development. For example, components of an aircraft are made in different locations, making an OEM’s ability to share reliable data and design plans with global suppliers key.

To address these challenges, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., or EADS, launched a worldwide program named PHENIX, which stands for PLM Harmonization ENhanced Integration and eXcellence. Partnering with IBM and Dassault Systèmes, EADS’ goal is to integrate Dassault Systèmes’ tools such as product design (CATIA), digital manufacturing (DELMIA) and collaborative solutions (ENOVIA-VPM) into EADS’ PLM processes as key enablers for excellence and harmonization.

The IBM Dassault Systèmes applications are currently deployed across EADS, a company known for its Airbus commercial aircraft, special mission and military aircraft, satellite launchers and space services and platforms for missile systems. These applications contribute strongly to support engineering and manufacturing industrial processes from end-to-end.

With its PLM platform, EADS is addressing key industry challenges by:

• Deploying a ‘3D Master Reference,’ digital mock-up approach to help streamline industrial product development programs by increasing collaboration across multiple divisions and tapping into the collective knowledge of international teams.

• Turning complex 3D design and manufacturing processes into tested and repeatable models to achieve optimal results in manufacturing through the integration of 3D and simulation technologies.

• Predicting product behaviors using virtual group validation and resolution techniques that support speedy decision-making and help shrink product design cycle times.

• Creating an easy flow of key design and data information to promote the correct interpretation of product definitions, reducing costly design mistakes in the early stages of product development.

“We’re leveraging a long standing relationship with IBM and Dassault Systèmes, to create harmony in PLM practices across 3D design and manufacturing teams at EADS,” said Jean Botti, EADS Chief Technical Officer. “An increased focus on sharing a 3D master definition and collaborating across our divisions will reinforce our globally integrated approach to product development. IBM and Dassault Systèmes bring indisputable value to the transformation process underway with our PHENIX program. This is in synergy with the recent EADS choice of another key PLM building block of the global PHENIX solution.”

“We share IBM and Dassault Systèmes’ PLM vision of using 3D technologies to effectively communicate and collaborate on new product development,” said Jean-Yves Mondon, EADS vice-president and head of the PHENIX program.

“This collaboration reflects the strength of our long-term partnership with EADS,” said Etienne Droit, executive vice president, Dassault Systèmes. “New PLM technologies from Dassault Systèmes, such as PLM 2.0 and DS V6 solutions, will offer EADS the capacity to extend the strategic value it has placed on collaborative innovation. With new online product creation and life-like simulation tools, companies will simplify PLM platforms and reduce technology costs.” “IBM has the expertise and resources to help companies become more globally integrated,” said Albert Bunshaft, vice president, IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions. “As EADS gives partners and suppliers more responsibility for deploying products in new markets and consumer tastes become very local to a region of the world, the use of defined PLM business practices will become paramount for managing on-going market change.”

IBM and Dassault Systèmes have experience in translating complex 3D design and manufacturing processes into tested and repeatable models for successful product development and manufacturing. Whether it is building the largest passenger aircraft in the world or delivering technology used in the International Space Program, IBM and Dassault Systèmes are teaming up to contribute to the transformation of PLM processes into initiatives for product excellence around the globe.

For more information about IBM please visit www.ibm.com and www.ibm.com/solutions/plm. For Dassault Systèmes please visit http://www.3ds.com.

The Green 500 report has announced that the most energy efficient supercomputer in the world is the IBM system installed in the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM), at the University of Warsaw.

"Nautilus" is a development system for hybrid computer architectures - runs on Linux and it is based on QS22 Blade servers. It produces more than 536 Mflops (millions of floating point operations per second) per one watt. Nautilus has been ranked 221 in the latest Top500 list of supercomputers, which was announced earlier this week.

IBM has already installed the two-rack system which is now up and running. ICM will use Nautilus for high-end computer-intensive research projects in the areas of computer visualization, medical imaging, astrophysics, bioinformatics, fluid flow simulations and weather forecasting. Hybrid computing machines, based on PowerXCell8i processors like Nautilus are 'smarter' than the usual systems, because they are able to reach greater performance while reducing the power consumption.

“Together with IBM, we are starting in Poland a new trend, which I would call green revolution in high-end technology. We believe that the world should be greener. That is why we decided to build our supercomputer with that idea in mind, choosing technology, similar to the one used in world's fastest supercomputer Roadrunner.” – said Professor Marek Niezgódka, ICM Director.

One of the first technical prototype activities was working with DDR InfiniBand on the QS22 blades as well as tuning the PowerXCell8i processors to operate at a clock-speed of 4Ghz which results in further increase of the theoretical peak performance of the cluster to 30 TFlops. Future plans include further development of hybrid computer architectures in which PowerXCell8i processors are used as accelerators for traditional x86 based nodes (i.e. AMD Opteron based BladeCenter LS21 blades).

“According to some recent reports, the energy losses in conventional systems range between 40 and 70 percent. On average, for every 100 units of energy piped into a data center, only 3 units are used for actual computing. More than half goes to cooling the servers. Nautilus, based on IBM technology, makes supercomputing smarter - greener and more efficient. We at IBM are pleased to have the lead in this project” – said Krzysztof Bulaszewski, Systems and Technology Group Manager, IBM Poland.

Apply for the latest IBM jobs on TopITconsultant.com.

EDS, an HP company has announced the launch of an integrated manufacturing software solution that will enable manufacturers to compete more effectively and improve profitability.

This solution, based on Apriso's FlexNet(R) platform, is designed to support the integration and collaboration of a manufacturer's plant floor, warehouse and quality operations with its enterprise resource planning and product life cycle management systems.

Today more than ever, manufacturers are challenged with finding ways to remain competitive and more efficient to deal with market volatility, globalization, increased client demands and shrinking margins. At the same time, they need to be vigilant about cost management, bringing new items to market quickly and improving the customer experience across multiple channels. EDS brings strong manufacturing expertise along with proven experience in deploying enterprise applications to serve the operational requirements of global manufacturers and their supply chains.

"Manufacturers are under increasing pressure to streamline costs, improve product quality and exceed customer service expectations and responsiveness," said Darl Davidson, vice president and manufacturing industry leader at EDS, an HP company. "Leveraging Apriso's manufacturing operations management platform with EDS' large global services presence will enable us to enhance our manufacturing clients' agility while lowering their operating costs."

Together, EDS and Apriso are actively engaged with global manufacturers within the automotive, industrial, aerospace and defense, high-tech/medical device, and consumer goods industries to provide a globally integrated manufacturing enterprise that will design and implement next-generation operations execution platforms.

Behind the success of 75 percent of the top 100 manufacturing companies around the world is a global team of experienced personnel that EDS has dedicated to the manufacturing industry. EDS' industry insight and technical innovation in a broad range of manufacturing sectors provides manufacturing domain expertise and global organizational support.

About EDS

EDS, an HP company, is a leading global technology services provider, delivering business solutions to its customers. EDS founded the information technology outsourcing industry more than 46 years ago. Today, EDS delivers a broad portfolio of information technology, applications and business process outsourcing services to customers in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries, and to governments around the world.

About HP

HP, the world's largest technology company, provides printing and personal computing products and IT services, software and solutions that simplify the technology experience for consumers and businesses. HP completed its acquisition of EDS on Aug. 26, 2008. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com/.