Summer Edition

Welcome to our sizzling hot summer edition of the NIIT Newsletter. As we extend the circulation of this editorial to our European customers, and welcome a few new faces to the UK team, we say a special goodbye to what has become a familiar face in editions of the NIIT Newsletter.

In this edition, I will update you on our very busy quarter, with 7 marketing activities undertaken. One such event was the NIIT Customer Group Meeting. Held at an offsite location and combined with an Activity Day, we tell exactly what happened when we bravely handed over shotguns to our customers.

NIIT announces it’s long term strategy to mesh its IT and BPO operations, and we report on a recent speech to the Labour Friends of India at the House of Commons.

Until the autumn edition of the newsletter, when the majority of us will only have distant memories of our annual holiday, have a good summer. Carl Stadler, Marketing Manager NIIT Technologies Limited.

Dear Diary: A Day in the Life of a Senior VP...

Tuesday 5th July 2005
So much has happened since the last Dear Diary in April, but let me start with a sad farewell. After four years at the helm, it is my last day at NIIT today.

I have enjoyed the many challenges of being the UK-India ambassador for NIIT and providing continuous translation between the needs of the UK clients and the enthusiastic willingness to provide excellent service from the delivery teams in India.

My time at NIIT started inauspiciously – to say the least. I was in Delhi airport preparing myself for the homeward flight after my induction into the organisation, when a shocking image flickered onto the TV screens. It was 911, and soon I found a completely different business proposition from the high growth situation I had envisaged. The entire global IT industry went into severe recession, with NIIT being no exception, and I learned new skills on managing a business profitably in dark times.

We were able to keep the longer view, and re-investment allowed strong recovery from 2003, which has continued through into this year. Indeed prospects look rosy, with our quarter ending 30th June being an extremely positive one. We are sharing big double-digit growth over the last quarter, we have added more new clients and are completing some large and important projects. We have brought more new sales people on board, we have had one of our busiest marketing periods in our history, and we are upbeat about our future.

So you might say, why am I leaving? I have been offered a really terrific role outside the Indian IT Services Sector, going back to software, which is a great passion for me. Furthermore, the timing is good as we have set out our plans for the coming year, and my successor, Rahul Nanda, has the talent and experience to capitalise on them.

I wish NIIT Technologies every success in the future and I hope you the clients (and possible future clients) of NIIT, enjoy a very successful relationship with the organisation in the future.

Rahul, I’ll be a keen reader of Dear Diary and I look forward to reading of more success in future Newsletters!
David West, Senior VP NIIT Technologies Limited (UK)

People News...

Tom Crosby has joined NIIT as Business Development Manager for UK Manufacturing. Previously, he was BDM at IDS-Scheer working with international manufacturing organisations such at Coca-Cola and British American Tobacco.

Tom has held sales and managerial roles at UPCO, Computer Associates, QSP Financial Systems and International Business Systems. "I'm delighted to join NIIT and to have the opportunity to leverage NIIT’s strengths within a sector that continually seeks lower costs; nimble, innovative IT solutions; and high quality, flexible delivery capability from it's IT vendors".

Having originally started his career with NIIT, Roney Soloman has returned to the fold as Business Development Manager for the Retail sector. Roney has previously engaged with an endless list of retail companies including Sainsbury's, Cadburys and Unilever.

Two major factors enabled his decision to return to NIIT; one is that he deems NIIT to be a leader in putting people first, which, he points out, makes perfect sense in a people-driven services business. “Another reason for returning is NIIT’s intense commitment to customer delight and its transparency and partnership approach towards customers” says Roney.

Somnath Ghosh (Som) has recently joined the NIIT team as Delivery Manager for one of our prestigious media customers. He was previously CEO - India operations of a CRM solutions company based out of India and US. Som has over 12 years of IT management experience in an onsite offshore environment.

"The fast changing UK IT business and the association of a CMM and CMMI Level 5 company, which NIIT is, has drawn me to this assignment" says Som.

NIIT SmartServe Appoints A New President—BPO

We extend a warm welcome to Paul Barrow who joins NIIT SmartServe as President – BPO Operations. Paul joins NIIT from major UK outsourcer, Unisys Insurance Services Ltd (UISL), where he was Customer Services Director.

Prior to this, Paul, who is a qualified Chartered Accountant, worked as an Audit Manager with Price Waterhouse Coopers until joining Abbey Life in 1976. Over his 24-year career in Abbey Life, Paul worked in a number of roles including Financial Management, Strategic Development , Senior Sales Management and Customer Services Management. He joined UISL in 2001 as Customer Services Director and had oversight of the Transition of the Abbey Life administration to UISL. He also performed a major role in ongoing service delivery both on the Abbey Life and other outsourced contracts.

Paul is responsible for SmartServe globally, and will be based in the UK’s High Wycombe office.

“I am delighted to join NIIT SmartServe and look forward to building further on its current success of providing high quality services in Business Processing Outsourcing and Contact Centre development. I am also looking forward to working with my new colleagues towards an Integrated IT and BPO model” says Barrow.

A Vision For A Third Term… A Speech by Steven Pound MP

NIIT visited the House of Commons on 25th May 2005 to hear Steven Pound, MP and Chairman of Labour Friends of India, congratulate both the British and Indian Governments on the Joint Declaration signed in 2004 entitled “Towards A New And Dynamic Partnership”.

The implementation of the proposals focus on five key areas, one of which was the campaign to Build Real Partnerships in Trade, Investment and Finance Cooperation. He went on to say, “growing trade and investment links with India is increasingly being reported in the media. Indian companies have made significant investments in Britain in many sectors. Tetley Tea – owned by Tata, software and call centres by leading edge Indian companies like NIIT, Satyam et al, financial services by ICICI Bank and the number of British companies like P&O, BG, BT et al, now taking advantage of India has also increased”.

But, he surmised, more could be done. Labour Friends of India seeks to promote India to British companies, “We will welcome the formation of a private sector alliance called ‘The India Group’ comprising of India’s biggest companies in Europe”.

Covering other such topics as Reform of the UN Security Council; The Environment, Climate Change & Science; Security and Grown Infrastructure, Pound concluded to the Labour Friends of India his intention to “reaffirm our [Labour party’s] commitment to strengthen our comprehensive strategic partnership for the benefit of both our peoples and the international community based on universal values of democracy and respect for the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms. Let this third term be used to develop ties based on mutual respect, shared benefit and prosperity for all”.