May 2008

Welcome..

With NIIT Tech’s new fiscal year well and truly underway, my thoughts were on how best to update you, our valued customers and colleagues. There is news to share on what we’ve been doing in the year gone by, and perhaps more importantly, our plans for the future. So, it is with great pleasure that we announce the re-launch of the UK NIIT Newsletter.

We have had a busy time over the last couple of months, what with the usual frenetic pace of our year-end. The targets somehow seem larger as the year draws to a close. But more of the moans on another occasion.

The good news is that we have managed our existing client base and new business acquisition fairly well. Among others, I would like to highlight our partnership with De Agostini, the leading Partwork publisher, who provide a range of products that, when collected, build into a complete work of reference on a given subject. We also welcome on board SITA, the world's leading service provider of IT business solutions and communication services to the air transport industry. SITA now have a dedicated Offshore Development Centre (ODC) in New Delhi enabling them to deliver solutions to market with greater speed. I hope you enjoy reading the details behind the 2 new client acquisitions linked within this newsletter. I am encouraged that there have been many other client additions, details of which will become too long to share in this short space. In the meantime our current engagements with some of the largest names in UK in the airlines, retail and media space continue to provide growth and challenges in equal measure.

It’s been a busy time too for our marketing team as we focus on lead generation through co-branded events, initiating a UK focussed PR and Brand Build programme and starting our very own India based Inside Sales Team. Great to see that we have finally ‘walked the talk’. After all, we spend our careers selling ‘offshore’ based services to our clients and it is satisfying that we will now manage this most critical part of our sales cycle out of India.

At our HQ base in the UK, we have been expanding in all divisions of the business. The teams responsible for Business Development and Human Resources have expanded to reflect the importance we place on both client and employee delight. Growth at this rate means we have to look for additional office space to accommodate us all! There is talk of the Adecco JV moving into our offices in UK. With NSS, NIIT and now the Adecco JV, the Westfields office truly represents the group beachhead in UK.

On a personal note, I am excited by the initiatives NIIT Tech is taking in IT+BPO convergence, SaaS offerings and IP led sales strategies through our acquisition earlier of ROOM Solutions and now Softec. These are forward looking initiatives that ‘future proof’ NIIT Tech dominance in thought leadership in this industry, along with local alliances with solution providers in UK in the areas of business consulting (Crimson) and managed services (Phoenix), we are well prepared for 2008-09 and beyond. We will always be on the lookout for any initiative that we believe will add value to you, our most important constituencies.

I very much hope that you enjoy reading this edition of the newsletter. If you would like to contribute to the next edition, please do not hesitate to send your articles here. For us back at HQ, our targets for the coming year have now been distributed, and everyone knows what we are gunning for… so for now, we’ll get cracking, and I look forward to updating you again in the next edition…hopefully you will not have to wait long for it.

From all of us at NIIT Tech, UK, here is wishing you the very best for the times to come.

Ravi Pandey
Sr. VP and Head of UK BU

Marketing Update

It’s been an extremely busy and exciting year for the Sales and Marketing Team in the UK, sponsoring a number of events including “NOA Outsource Summit”, The future of Air Transport and Air Cargo Summit” and sponsoring the official launch of Mark Kobayashi-Hillary’s recent book BRIC’s”.

We’ve also been pleased to invite clients to the Six Nations Charity Launch Dinner, and we’ve held our 2008 Annual Day – a chance for all of the UK staff to get together.
Full Story....

NIIT Employee Crowned Winner of Microsoft’s ChampionIT Competition
NIIT’s very own Tarun Sharma, Design Leader on one of our British Airways projects, wins the coveted Microsoft ChampionIT award.
Full Story....

NIIT SmartServe
NIIT SmartServe, the BPO division of NIIT Technologies, has commenced operations on its engagement with PKL Limited, one of the leading lettings specialists in the UK. PKL, owned by Countrywide plc, offers a comprehensive range of lettings and property Management services through various retail branches in the UK. NSS has partnered with them to support a range of finance and accounting services through a dedicated off-shore team.
Full Story....
Cutting-edge technology helps Virgin Atlantic to create world’s fastest check-in

NIIT Technologies has partnered with Virgin Atlantic to provide custom-built technologies at the airline’s new Upper Class Wing in Heathrow’s Terminal Three.   Full Story...

SITA is the world's leading service provider of IT business solutions and communication services to the air transport industry. Of paramount importance is the speed at which it takes products to market.

So when SITA embarked on seeking a Strategic Partner to help achieve its goals of delivering solutions to the air industry faster and quicker than their competitors, they turned to NIIT Technologies. Combined, with SITA’s various products that set standards in quality and reliability, and NIIT’s rich experience in providing services to the Travel and Airlines market, this strategic partnership is set to enable SITA to realise their goals to continuously meet customer needs in the most efficient and reliable manner.

With a dedicated offshore Development Centre (ODC) in New Delhi, India, NIIT will be providing services in the areas of Application Development, Application Support and Maintenance, and Testing across various business groups within SITA.  Full Story...

De Agostini and NIIT Join Forces to Provide Mission Critical Application Redevelopment

De Agostini is the leading Partwork publisher in UK with its head office in Milan, Italy. Founded in 1901, the group employs over 2000 people and publishes in 33 countries. Consolidated net revenues for the entire De Agostini Group amount to €2.9 bn. It has chosen NIIT Technologies to re-write and support three core applications in .NET technology. These applications, originally custom written, remain the most important part of the business systems as a whole. The applications are closely coupled with each other, the two largest of which are used for Sales forecasting and financial reporting. A further application provides the framework for creating Partwork products, specifying their particulars and modelling their lifespan.   Full Story...

NIITPhoenix Infrastructure Signs with NIIT Technologies

NIIT Technologies have partnered with Phoenix IT Services a UK nation-wide organisation that delivers a wide range of IT Infrastructure Services. With over 2,500 staff in the UK and 30 years of proven expertise and knowledge, Phoenix is proud to be a trusted NIIT partner.

Phoenix IT Infrastructure services will fully complement NIIT’s own service delivery model, broadening the capability and service offering to both organisations customers.  Full Story...

NIITCrimson Systems signs With NIIT Technolgoies

NIIT Technologies Ltd UK have partnered with Crimson Systems - a UK based organisation that provide Business Consultancy and Solutions to businesses.  Full Story...

NIITNIIT Signs with BSA

NIIT Technologies UK has recently acquired a significant membership with the Building Societies Association (BSA).  Full Story...

Solution Accelerators for the Transport Sector

NIIT Technologies’ has launched three solution frameworks for the Transportation sector to extend its value to clients whilst increasing its bottom line. A report by Forrester released in October 2007 highlights the fact that clients are looking for solutions that will help them automate discrete business processes or aspects of product development. NIIT Technologies foray into development of these frameworks exemplifies NIIT Tech’s innovation.

On an average, NIIT’s frameworks can save 30-40% of the time spent on a software project, providing a lower cost of ownership with open system technologies and flexible business models.  Full Story...

NIIT Technologies is a diversified global IT Services company offering e-Commerce, CRM Solutions, Offshore Development, Applications Maintenance/Support, Legacy Transformation, Knowledge Solutions and Business Process Management Services. Spanning 19 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific and India, it has been working with global corporations for over two decades. NIIT understands the complex issues surrounding outsourcing and offshoring while partnering with its customers to provide practical IT Solutions.