Software Piracy and India

Software Piracy causes USD 866 mln loss to Indian Govt.!

India is one of the leading countries in Software Piracy – Even today over 65% of Indians use pirated software on daily basis. Although, the rate of software piracy is coming down, it still is at a level where it causes Billions of dollars of losses to Software Manufacturers.

According to a recently released report by Business Software Alliance (BSA) , the commercial value of unlicensed software installed on personal computers in India touched USD 2.739 billion in 2010, whereas the global losses stood at USD 59 billion.

Now, some of you may be wondering – How does software piracy cause losses to Government ? It is basically in form of taxes which government pockets when a genuine software is sold – And taxes are quite steep for all software.

The BSA report pegs the losses caused due to pirated software to Government exchequer (in 2009) are US $866 million in net taxes, both indirect and direct.

Affects of Software Piracy in India

According to IDC estimates (in 2009), the software piracy in India caused:

• Loss of commercial value of unlicensed software totalled over US$2.27 billion causing the domestic economy to lose US$5.3 billion of software, services and channels revenues to software piracy.
• Consequently, the state exchequer tax receipts loss was roughly US$866 million at the current piracy and employment levels, as the industry lost its otherwise legitimate share of revenues to pirates.
• The indirect tax receipts would have contributed US$553 million from software (media and paper licenses) and services-related business transactions and direct tax receipts would be around US$313 million for the Indian economy.

The report goes on to suggest various measures that could be taken up to curb piracy in India, which includes amending laws to classify software piracy as a form of tax evasion.

information of people and business

Providing Data Base Services

Getting delicate information on people and businesses that matter is easy now.

How would it feel if you could reach just anybody and everybody? Data Base Services makes it easier, by giving you direct email id and mobile numbers of those you have always wanted to connect with. Better than the local directories and yellow pages whose collection is limited to only addresses and phone numbers.

Scope

The scope of business covers wide spectrum like FMCG, Top Brokerage Companies, Recruiters, Financial Publications, Mutual Fund Companies, Banks, Bollywood, Production House, Marketing firms, World Email Directory, Credit Card Holders, etc. basically, almost all businesses thrive on contacts, so the more the better and what could be more easier than getting it ready made in CDs.

Offer

Accurate and relevant data (at least 80 per cent) with personal email ids and phone numbers and the price starts from 3,000, containing over 5 million business and 50 million consumer e-mail addresses and mobile numbers.

Minimum Investment

There is no minimum investment for this. But you may be required to invest in man power that would collect data, assemble and put it on CDS. You may even start from home. Amjad Sharif of Data Base Services started with 2 lakh initially that was his own money, and 2 staff, and today he have 12 staff in all. His idea is to reach new prospects and retain existing customers with e-mail & Mobile marketing campaigns with over 5 million business and  50 million consumer e-mail addresses and mobile numbers.

Retail point

Sold online and on order, and also in shops.

Tackling Competition

There is a lot of competition now so one has to really be different to stay in the business. So, how does one get the best deal? One must, before comparing the prices from other data provider compare the following:

1. No. of datas (Quantity)

2. Updated year (coz with year N year data becomes outdated)

3. Discount offered

4. Other facilities, like cash on delivery, direct deposit in bank etc.

Check points

A good solution provider will adhere to the practice of maintaining:

1. Accurate & relevant data

2. Updated data till recent date

3. Bulk mailing software for inbox delivery

Assembling Data

It is better to get the data from the office of the business/person. In some cases, from  Pr agencies( which may not come directly or easily). In case, it is on the net, check that it is updated before including it in your directory base.

Promotion strategy

1. Through sms, email and largely by word of mouth.

The idea seems interesting, if it does at all, then put everything in the right place as discussed above; so that you are raring to go.

Customer relationship management

Business benefits of CRM:

Implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) solution might involve considerable time and expense. However, there are many potential benefits.

A major benefit can be the development of better relations with your existing customers, which can lead to:

• increased sales through better timing by anticipating needs based on historic trends
• identifying needs more effectively by understanding specific customer requirements
• cross-selling of other products by highlighting and suggesting alternatives or enhancements
• identifying which of your customers are profitable and which are not
  
  
  This can lead to better marketing of your products or services by focusing on:
  
  
• effective targeted marketing communications aimed specifically at customer needs
• a more personal approach and the development of new or improved products and services in order to win more business in the future.
  
  
  Ultimately this could lead to:
  
  
• enhanced customer satisfaction and retention, ensuring that your good reputation in the marketplace continues to grow
• increased value from your existing customers and reduced costs associated with supporting and servicing them, increasing your overall efficiency and reducing total cost of sales
• improved profitability by focusing on the most profitable customers and dealing with the unprofitable in more cost effective ways
  
  
  Once your business starts to look after its existing customers effectively, efforts can be concentrated on finding new customers and expanding your market. The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to identify new prospects and increase your customer base.

  Even with years of accumulated knowledge, there's always room for improvement. Customer needs change over time, and technology can make it easier to find out more about customers and ensure that everyone in an organisation can exploit this information.

Microsoft Vision 2019 – Fascinating & Exciting !!

IT Market Predictions for 2011

10 Indian IT Market Predictions for 2011 !

Every year, Springboard research releases IT market predictions for many countries including India. But, before we look at 2011 IT predictions, lets look at what was buzzing in Information Technology sector in 2010.

2010 IT award winners

Springboard research has named “HCL Technologies” as the Indian IT company of the year, while the biggest IT trend is “Everything as a service”. Suddenly in 2010 you have started hearing phrases like storage-as-a-service, testing-as-a-service, security-as-a-service, business intelligence-as-a-service, software lifecycle-as-a-service and so on. Thanks to cloud computing, vendors have revamped their offerings to package and position their solutions “as-a-service.”  And with hardware and OS offerings like chrome, this trend is does not seem to be dying anytime soon!

While, last year the IT buzzword award went to “cloud computing”, this year it is the subset – “Private Clouds” on which these “Everything-as-a-service” solutions have been built. The acquisition of the year award goes to IBM-Netezza Deal.

Top Indian IT Market Predictions for 2011

So here the 10 IT predictions as put forth by Springboard research.

1. Mobile Reporting Services Transforms “Business Intelligence”
2. Cloud Computing – From Silver Bullet to Just Another Sourcing Option
3. Managed Services Providers Innovate to Drive Added Value
4. Mobile Banking Triggers Technology Innovation in the Banking Sector
5. IT Distribution Channel Partners Accelerate the Evolution of their Business Models
6. “Single Window System for Integrated Services Delivery” to Gain Greater Attention from State Governments
7. Telcos Embrace the Cloud but Are Forced to Prove Their Customer Orientation
8. New Market Opportunities to Drive IT Investments from Enterprises
9. #Information Security Becomes a Key Priority for Government and Enterprises and Sparks Client Virtualization
10. The Consumerization of IT Drives Major Changes in Usage Patterns and Expectations

If you want to read details on each of the IT market predictions, you can download the full PDF here.

Indian IT: headway in china

Indian IT firms seek to make headway in China              In the backdrop of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's recent visit to India to beef up economic ties, software companies like TCS and Wipro are "ramping up" efforts to win business in the last Communist bastion, according to a Chinese media report. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), India's largest information technology services company by sales, is leading the effort to expand the presence of the Indian IT industry in China, state-run China Daily reported. However, cracking the Chinese market may not be an easy job, the report said. Chinese companies are still used to the traditional global brands. They have not yet seen Indian IT companies. So it is also a question of brand-building for Our Companies. Unlike their Western counterparts, large Chinese companies usually have their own IT department, and outsourcing is hardly yet a phenomenon that China witnesses. But when they start doing it and focus on their core business, then the Indian companies can bring value to China's domestic outsourcing market. With the trade deficit between the two countries expected to widen with record bilateral trade worth $60 billion in 2010, India has been pressing China to give market access for IT, pharmaceuticals, agro-products and engineering services, as they are presumed to have good scope to grow in Chinese markets. In recent years, TCS has emerged as the largest Indian software company, servicing large Chinese state-run companies. It has established a noticeable presence in China's banking industry. Four major Chinese banks, including Bank of China and Hua Xia Bank, use TCS's core banking system, the China Daily report said. TCS needs to further increase its presence in China and added the company is very keen on expanding into the sectors of government, insurance, healthcare and manufacturing. TCS currently hires more than 170,000 people in 40 countries around the world, but it only has 1,200 people in China. The company plans to increase its workforce in China to 5,000 people in the next three years.