Infosys-Oracle Blog

Today’s global environment has placed increased pressure on Hi-Tech manufacturers to become more competitive and profitable. Global outsourcing activities have increased in importance and have increasingly emerged as a key strategic tool in achieving cost reduction, quality and delivery improvement, cycle time reduction, and improved responsiveness to customer, competitive, and financial market demands. It is estimated that a well planned and executed global outsourcing strategy can result in a cost savings differential of 15 to 25 percent when compared to manufacturing inhouse.

Using external suppliers to design, manufacture, ship and service products or components  - has been a growing trend in recent years as Hi-Tech manufacturers have sought, among other things, to divest themselves of production capacity (and the inherent risks associated with owning capital equipment), lower their labor costs and maintain greater flexibility in the face of ever-shrinking product lifecycles.

 

Continue reading "Importance of Outsourcing to provide flexibility to Hi-Tech Manufacturers" »

Posted by K N Harilal at 08:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Engineering and design occupies an important role in most Hi-Tech companies due to mounting business pressure on R&D and product development functions. This is due to increasing demand for innovative feature-rich products accompanied by shrinking product life cycles and decreasing prices for the improved products. Thus there is a need for the PLM software to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of users beyond the Engineering department within and outside the company.

Continue reading "Need for expansion of Product Life cycle Management (PLM) beyond engineering to users across the company and its extended enterprise" »

Posted by K N Harilal at 05:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

It was Oracle Open World time in September and CXOs from leading hi-tech companies came together again for this year’s High Tech Leader Circle (HTLC) at the Moscone Center. I had the privilege of delivering the keynote session and could not think of a more pertinent topic than “Innovation through Collaboration” for a thought-provoking discussion with business leaders in the room.

The global business scenario has changed dramatically in the last year. Rising costs continue to put pressure on margins; globalization and the power of emerging economies are increasing the complexity of the business environment, and customer expectations from vendors and service providers has multiplied exponentially. The economic slowdown, collapse of the housing market and unexpected exchange rate fluctuations have made the business environment even more difficult. C-Level executives can no longer rely on conventional approaches to create a competitive advantage and have to look at innovation through collaboration to steer their organizations through turbulent times.

Continue reading "Innovation through Collaboration: Addressing Flat World Challenges in the Hi-Tech Industry" »

Posted by Chandra Shekar Kakal at 06:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Greetings from OOW - SF, USA

 With so much going on - its hard to find time to stop and type:

• Newly announced Oracle business units
• Aggressive solution development plans to address industry whitespace
• Larry's keynote later today...

Last night our own Kakal (ES Head) presented his Hi-Tech Leaders Circle keynote:  "Innovation Through Collaboration" - showcasing Infy thought leadership in what is arguably the most intensely competitive crucible today: the fickle, product-centric hi-tech marketplace.  In the end, hi-tech companies that combine traditional and emergent technologies will be better positioned to create competitive advantage in the flattening world.  Over 100 senior executives (a who's who of hi-tech) were present to hear these key messages - and did you note the big announcement by one of our key Oracle clients, Cisco?  Collaboration tools (Jabber, Webex, etc) are expanding their markets ---immediate proof points that we are riding and defining the front edge of the next wave.

Our leadership hosted over 150 Infy clients, partners, and team members from around the globe to celebrate and thank all for the exceptional dedication and effort that has resulted in a thriving Oracle professional services powerhouse here at Infy and most importantly driven our clients success.  Both Srinath Batni and Kakal warmly welcomed and thanked the group, and we enjoyed a brief respite from the hectic schedule of the conference to reflect on past, present, and future.

Back to Day 3 - the always engaging Larry Ellison will deliver the keynote today - watch for one final show update tomorrow before we pack up and head back to the field.

Chris

Posted by Christopher Spangler at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Greetings from OOW 2008!  We are finally here in SF and the show is underway.

Key Themes

Green - Oracle has gone all out on the Green Theme:  a Marketplace, targeted sessions, a green fashion show (?),  and of course the mandatory green social events.  Reference the earlier blogs on this topic - sustainability and "green" is here to stay on the agenda.

Election - A LOT of people are talking about the election and its potential impact on their business - James Carville and Mary Matalin gave last nights keynote.  Their comments and insights effectively lead to the conclusion that the younger demographic and turnout will likely drive the outcome...but of course anything can happen between now and November.

Economy - in case you missed it this week, the economy is undergoing tectonic plate shifts.  Nearly everyone here wants to know "have you seen anything change".  Interestingly, I met someone from the IMF who is busily working away on a large transformation program...guess THEY don't have a liquidity issue!

Today has US swimming phenom Michael Phelps on tap, and day filled with over 15 Infy-sponsored meetings with customers, prospects, and Oracle.  Time for a quick run and off to Moscone -

Chris

Posted by Christopher Spangler at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week when I was in Kansas City presenting a paper at the 2008 APICS International Conference, I had an interesting observation. There was a tremendous emphasis on Sustainability. We talk about Lean Supply Chain but companies were one step ahead discussing Green Supply Chain. Initially I had dismissed it as another fad but I was amazed at the commitment more so in the High Tech Domain.

Continue reading "Going Green" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In his classic best-seller ‘The Goal’, Eliyahu M. Goldratt discusses about the three fundamental ways of making money for a going concern namely,

1. Increase throughput (the rate at which the system generates money through sales)  
2. Reduce Inventory (all the money that system has invested in purchasing things which it intends to sells)
3. Reduce Operational expenses (all the money the system spends in order to turn inventory into throughput)

    

Continue reading "Collaboration: The way forward for High Tech Industry" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 06:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)