THE CSC INDIA TIMES

THE CSC INDIA TIMES
I N D I A AT YO U R FI N GERT I P S
SEPTEMBER 2007 - Vol : IX
Shaking Hands with Covansys
INDEX
Update
Latest happenings at CSC in
India
Social Responsibility
Corner
Initiatives taken towards socioeconomic upliftment of the
weaker sections of society
Celebrity Zone
Star performers of the
company
Face-to-Face
Bala Mahadevan-President
and MD, CSC India
talks about India Direct
initiative
Tech Talk
Success stories on project
achievements for different
business units
CSC Global at a Glance
Information about other CSC
locations worldwide
EDITOR’S DESK
Welcome to the ninth edition of The CSC India Times.
This newsletter is a mixed briefcase, offering you insights and news about the various developments taking place in
CSC India since our last release.With the launch of Project Accelerate, CSC is taking aggressive steps to accelerate its all
round growth.We hear consistent messages like - we need to increase our focus on delivering business solutions for our
customers, we need to gain better understanding about the industries that our customers serve and offer resultsoriented business solutions that have a positive impact on their bottom-line.
Within business development area, we are on a proactive drive to increase the number of pursuits and our pipeline
opportunities. We are beginning to see results pointing to significant progress made across the service delivery
excellence as our teams have initiated Project Accelerate. FS India delivery options have been assessed as operating at
CMMi Level 5. With this, FS India becomes the first CSC entity in the commercial sector to earn this distinction.
Achieving and maintaining this level of excellence is critical to gaining clients' trust and winning new business.
Acquisition of Covansys is a major outcome of Project Accelerate. CSC and Covansys executive teams hosted Town Hall
meetings across all CSC locations in India in July to discuss the exciting opportunities the merger would open for all
employees, the guiding principles, the market strategy for the combined team and the vision for future growth.
CSC in the News
Media coverage of CSC's
presence in the Indian IT
market
The Lighter Side
Various events organised for
recreation and team building
Know-Our-Managers
Brief profiles of our leaders
who are driving CSC
operations in India
CSC launched the “Innovation Icon” contest in India as part of CSC's Collaborative Open Innovation Network (COIN)
initiative launched earlier this year to drive rapid innovation in information technology (IT). Both CSC and Covansys
employees are invited to participate in this event by providing mentors/contributors to assist students with their
projects.
CSC has been consistently recognised for its exemplary HR practices. More recently, CSC ranked 12th in the Top 20
Dataquest-IDC Best Employers 2007 survey and was also rated amongst Top 20 in Great Places to Work 2006
survey.The award for Best Exporter of IT Products/Software award in MP that CSC India received, once again endorses
our dedication to providing viable business products and solutions that help customers grow their businesses.
Through our earlier issues, we have learnt how CSC India has made corporate social responsibility an integral part of its
business planning process. Our social services committee (SSC) consistently contributes to social causes and organises
initiatives for social change, primarily in the areas of education, environment and healthcare.
This issues features a special section on how we Celebrate Success with Covansys, along with an exclusive interview
with Bala Mahadevan, president and MD (CSC India) on the India Direct initiative and the business advantages Covansys
acquisition brings to CSC.
We hope you find this issue, interesting and insightful.We look forward to your valuable feedback.
- The CSC India Times Team
1
Update
UPDATE @ OFFICE OF INNOVATION
As a part of Collaborative Open Innovation Network (COIN) initiative,
CSC's Office of Innovation is conducting a pan-India contest called “Innovation
Icon” that provides students of engineering and business colleges the
opportunity to work on and build innovative solutions for real business
problems.
More than 1,000 colleges and universities across India are participating in the
contest, which began on July 20.The contest will expose students to real-world software development scenarios, provide them with a platform for
turning their innovative ideas into practical solutions, as well as equip them for working in the IT industry.
CSC has assigned a team of around 260 mentors and contributors to assist students through their projects. CSC will also provide all necessary
software products, although, title to and ownership of the intellectual property rights of the software will remain proprietary to CSC.
A jury comprising members from CSC and its alliance companies will select the winning teams by January 26, 2008, based on the projects' business
relevance and concept originality, as well as quality and usability of the developed solution.The top three winning teams will receive cash awards of
Rupees one lakh, Rupees seventy five thousand and Rupees fifty thousand, respectively, along with offer letters for employment at CSC.There will be
consolation prizes as well.
UPDATE @ HR
Diversity Program
Several programs have been organised across CSC
India locations under the ambit of the Diversity
initiative since its launch on Women's Day. The
month of May was dedicated towards the wellbeing
of our women employees. A training program on
wellness and self-defense and a health camp
including pathological tests and gynecologist
consultation was offered across locations. One of
the important takeaways of the workshop was the
session on Self Defence.
Eat Healthy, Stay Healthy
Another initiative was a cookery workshop at
CSC's facility in Noida on “Healthy and Fast
Cooking for Working Women” by renowned
cooking expert, Nita Mehta who demonstrated fast
and healthy cooking tips and recipes to out women
employees.This program was a great success.
Health Checkup Camp - Chennai
Health Checkup Camp - Hyderabad
Health Checkup Camp - NOIDA
2
Spot Talent Drive In CSC
As part of the ongoing integration process, CSC India has
launched the first joint referral program at CSC for Covansys
requirements. It is an exciting offer for employees to win a swanky new
motorbike, i-pods, laptops and digital cameras along with the cash
rewards.The program was launched on July 31 and has been delivering
results. Approximately, 180+ profiles have been received so far and are
under screening. A similar employee referral drive has also been
launched in Covansys to seek referrals from Covansys employees for
specific CSC India requirements.
Application Services Recruitment Team has 250+
Joiners in a Month
Srinivas Polisetty Receives
Academia Industry Interface Award
International Business School in Noida on August 3, 2007. This
recognition is for the company's unrelenting efforts, guidance and
The Application Services recruitment team has achieved
approximately 65% offer to joining ratio in May 2007. Several factors
have been responsible for this exponential rise:
§ Use
of competency based models: With the rapid pace of
change, there is an increasing demand to select people who match
the wider context of working within the company, such as fitting
with the company's values, relationships with colleagues and
customers and the physical environment such as the technology
the company uses. A competency-based approach is used to
meet these changing needs.
cooperation in increasing the knowledge base of students and taking
them further on their chosen paths. Srinivas Polisetty, who was CSC
India's Office of Innovation head earlier was invited to this special gettogether of all industry mentors.
Through these Corporate Meets, eminent personalities and stalwarts
from various management fields (both corporate and academia) get a
chance to interact informally with the students and further strengthen
the industry–academia relations through experience sharing and
networking, thus creating a synergy of interests.
§ Use
of new tools and techniques: With deployment of
recruitment management solution named Hiring Management
System (HMS), posting jobs online and searching for resume
databases is fast, affordable and efficient.
CSC India Among Top 25 Places to Work in India
For four consecutive years, CSC has ranked in the top 25
§ People
capability and teamwork: When working as a team
that has people with diverse talents, perspectives and abilities,
team members display a collaborative approach that places the
needs of the organisation ahead of their own interest.
Great Places to Work in India, according to Businessworld magazine's
Great Places to Work survey 2006, which is conducted across various
industries by Great Places to Work® Institute Inc. and Businessworld in
association with Grow Talent. The award acknowledges CSC India's
§ Healthy
competency among team members: With each
member in the team allowed to put forward all the best ideas on
the table, we not only foster healthy competition but also aid in
building strong teams.
§ Internal
employees' support through referrals: CSC
strongly believes in the employee referral system and accepts that
candidates selected through the referral system stand high on
quality and perform better as they are in a company which
includes their friends and known colleagues.
accomplishments and creative methods to develop trust, pride and
camaraderie in its workplace. CSC India's employees rated their
organisation at four stars - the highest rating - on these parameters.
This year, CSC India rated higher in human resources effectiveness.
CSC India is establishing itself as a listening organisation, by conducting
regular employee meetings with management and human resources.
Supporting employees with work/life balance has been a focus since
September 2006, when CSC India launched a counseling initiative called
§ Regular performance monitoring of individuals and teams.
§ Excellent
support from all stakeholders including business unit
heads and tech panel members.
SPARSH.
Businessworld's survey assessed nine critical human resources
processes: performance management system, learning and
UPDATE @ AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
development, rewards and recognition, career planning, compensation
and benefits, job evaluation, recruitment and selection, leadership
CSC India Receives Academia Industry Interface
development and organisation structure. The award was received at a
Award
National Learning event in Delhi where CSC's HR team was invited to
showcase its HR practices.
CSC India has been honoured with “Academic Industry
Interface” award in the annual Corporate Meet organised by Amity
CSC India has also been awarded the Silver Award for Excellence in
3
People Management by Grow Talent Company Limited and
Businessworld. This honour has been given to CSC India based on the
top 25 ranking in the Great Place to Work India studies conducted in
the last four years.Through this award, CSC India has been recognised
CSC Honoured as the “Best Exporter of IT
Products/Software” in MP
CSC India has been awarded the "Best Exporter of IT
as a national leader in Human Resource Management for successfully
Products/Software” honour in Madhya Pradesh (MP) to recognise
implementing best practices and consistently excelling as "preferred
its efforts for being the pioneer in IT in the state. An award of Rs.
employer" in the challenging talent market.
50,000 in cash along with a trophy and citation was presented by
CSC India Awarded LOMA's 'Excellence in
received by Dhimant Shah - general manager (Life Insurance –
Hon. Chief Minister of MP and IT Minister on June 6.The award was
Education’ Award
CyberLife), Ashok Gaur - general manager (P&C Insurance
Enterprise) and Deepak Ilwadhi - general manager (CyberLife
Services).
CSC India has been awarded the LOMA's Excellence in Education
Dhimant Shah Receives
Best Exporter of IT Products/Software Award
award this year, for the fifth time now. This achievement showcases
CSC India's continuous support in enhancing domain knowledge and
leadership in Financial services. It also recognises the commitment
made by CSC India and its leadership to support and encourage
professional development of its employees by continually educating
them to make empowered decisions on both business and personal
levels, which in turn prepares both the individuals and the company to
meet tomorrow's challenges.
CSC's operations in Indore bagged this prestigious award for the first
time in 2002 and subsequently in 2003 and 2005. Noida operations
followed the trail clinching this award in 2005 and again in 2007. LOMA
is one of the world's most recognised and reputable professional
education institutions offering courses in life insurance, financial
Department of Information Technology, MP recently instituted
services, annuities management, reinsurance, compliance, underwriting,
four categories of awards for excellence in e-governance/IT in MP
customer service, and more. Excellence in Education award honours
to recognise various Information Technology initiatives in different
companies that have achieved excellence through their outstanding
sectors and areas:
professional development and participation in LOMA's education and
training programs.
§
Best e-Governed district of MP
§
Best project fulfilling the objective of “IT for masses”
Only 85 out of more than 1,200 LOMA member companies were
awarded LOMA's Excellence in Education award this year. Among
these member companies, six Indian companies managed to receive
§
Best application software developed in MP
§
Best exporter of IT products and software located & having
production facilities in MP
this award on two to five occasions. Historically, CSC India has had
exceptional pass rates for LOMA examinations, an average of 85%.
CSC India nominated itself for the fourth category of award and
won. The selection criteria for this category of award included -
LOMA had extended a special invitation to CSC India to be a part of
Government of India/NASSCOM certified quantity and value of
LOMA's Annual Conference & Conferment in Quebec City, Canada to
exports of IT products in other states of India and abroad, number
of person employed in the state and figures of software export in
be felicitated with this award on September 17, 2007.
the previous year.
CSC India also expressed its appreciation to the Government of
MP for its continued cooperation.
4
FS India Achieves CMMI Level 5 v1.2.
FS India delivery operations have been assessed as operating at
CMMI Level 5, as defined by Software Engineering Institute (SEI) USA.
With this, FS India becomes the first CSC entity in the Commercial
sector to achieve this distinction.This assessment highlights our ability
to implement better predicting techniques and ensures a more
Holland – director FSS, we could integrate the operating framework of
the India operations with that of the wider FSS organisation.
Going forward, during the year, while we will continue our focus on
institutionalising our CMMI Level 5 version of FS Solution, we also take
up the exercise of refreshing our people practices as per PCMM Level 5,
our Six Sigma initiatives and so on.
proactive quantitative management across various projects.
CSC India in DQ-IDC Top 20 Best Employer Survey
CSC ranks 12th in the seventh Top 20 Dataquest-IDC Best
Employers Survey. We have received this award for the fourth time
now and have been quoted as "having mastered the art of managing
Indian employees to rank among the Top 20 employers in the country".
The rating was done on the basis of composite scores in employee
satisfaction and HR surveys.The employee survey score was calculated
CMMI
LEVEL-5
A lead auditor from Quality Assurance Institute (QAI) evaluated FS
India group on stringent parameters including the deployment of
process frameworks, use of process optimisation tools and techniques
like Six Sigma, integrated team structures at the project level and top
management's commitment to institutionalisation of quality across the
organisation. Using the SEI SCAMPI assessment methodology, a total of
5,562 multi page documents along with 21 process areas covering 409
practices were reviewed.
This assessment is the culmination of a change program that FS India
team launched a year ago - moving from an India-centric process
framework to a Catalyst based Financial Services Sector (FSS) Americas
process set (named FS Solution), enriching FS Solution to comply with
SEI CMMI Level 5 v1.2 requirements, rolling it out and institutionalising
it across the FS India organisation.
based on 10 parameters out of which CSC ranked 8th on "I Wish I
Were There" parameter making it the 8th most preferred employer
in the industry. CSC jumped seven notches up on "This is My Dream.
I Love it Here." parameter, with a ranking of 8 as compared to 15 last
year showing that CSC employees consider it as a dream company.
UPDATE @ MISCELLANEOUS
CSC Sponsors the NASSCOM HR Forum
CSC sponsored the NASSCOM HR Forum, the annual
congregation of academia (professional and technical institutes and
universities), industry-HR and technical heads, recruitment
organisations and consultants that aims to discuss and debate issues in
the area of human capital management in the IT-BPO industry. The
forum took place in Chennai on July 5-6 where Neelam Gill Malhotra,
director - Human Resources, CSC India chaired a panel discussion on
the future of Total Rewards.
Today's knowledge professionals require companies to deploy 'Best
Practices' that create a conducive environment for achieving their
personal and professional goals. CSC recognises that as one of the
fastest growing companies in India, it is important for it to be a part of
such forums to share its thoughts and learnings with the industry as
well as to recognise the industry perspectives.
Competency Centers Academy Setup across
CSC India Locations
Since the beginning, CSC India has been setting standards for quality and
process excellence in its operations and has been amongst the first to
To derive higher productivity, higher capability and innovative
adopt every key industry-standard or certification. This CMMI Level 5
solutions for the customers, CSC has created Competency Centre
v1.2 is a key milestone in our quality journey and reinforces our
Academy across its locations in India with a strong balance of people,
commitment to delivering consistently high levels of quality and
processes and technologies, bound together with the right
predictability to our customers. With the excellent work put in by FS
infrastructure and best practices. The academy will create training
India Quality Manager, Alok Sharma, and the focused guidance from Bill
opportunities for competency resources in Application Services Group
in India.
5
The Academy was inaugurated by Grant D Marques, director - Application Services Group,
India on August 6 in Hyderabad, with Bala Mahadevan, president and MD, CSC India as the
guest of honour and Sundar Viswanathan - CFO, CSC India, competency centre leads, SMG
members and key support staff present on the occasion. These world-class training
academies will cater to SAP, Oracle, Testing, Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing
(BIDW) and Database competencies and will be primarily engaged in identifying business
offerings, understanding customer needs and creating best practices.
These academies will offer following benefits to employees:
Building expertise in the above mentioned competencies
<
Grooming the resources in creating innovative solutions and offerings for our sales team
<
Supporting the business processes and bringing down the costs as efficiently as possible
<
Enabling better decision-making through the best use of organisation's resources
<
Grant D Marques Inaugurates
Competency Centre Academy
Mr. Marques congratulated everyone for their effort towards this initiative and mentioned that these competency academies will be one of the best
differentiators between CSC and its competitors. Mr. Mahadevan too emphasised the need for enhanced focus on competencies as they are the key
growth drivers for CSC India going forward. There was a congratulatory message from Anil Kumar Thekkepat, head GRC where he stated that this
academy will help CSC India sell more. Sunil Kumar Tuli, head - competency centres in his closing remarks thanked the competency team and the
support staff for making this happen.
Through these competency centre academies, CSC India provides a better way to dedicate some of its most talented individuals for solving business
problems. These academies will create a mix of both business people and technologists - a balance of individuals who deeply understand how
technology supports business requirements and know how to apply the right application to solve the right business need.
Celebrating Success With Covansys
We have created new paths and opportunities for CSC as we are entering FY08.We
want to reposition our basic client value proposition – responding to market dynamics and
balancing risks.To achieve this objective, CSC has launched Project Accelerate, under which
one of the key growth objective is to maximise India's potential by entering the market for
India Direct services and compete directly with the major India “pure-play” companies.
The acquisition of Covansys creates exciting opportunities for employees of both the
organisations while increasing our capacity to penetrate new industry verticals and deliver
superior service to our existing clients.The combined CSC and Covansys teams create
customer engagements in powerful new ways.
(L-R) Bala Mahadevan, Mary Jo Morris, Raj Vattikuti,
Tom Kenyon and K Subrahmaniam
Mary Jo Morris (CSC) and Raj Vattikuti (Covansys) along with Tom Kenyon, K
Subrahmaniam and Bala Mahadevan have completed a week of India Integration Team (IIT) kickoff sessions and Town Hall meetings in July at four key
development centres in India - Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Noida.Town Hall meetings were also conducted at Mumbai,Vadodara and Indore
chaired by Bala Mahadevan and K Subrahmaniam.
During the Town Hall meetings at each location, RajVattikuti and Mary Jo Morris outlined the exciting opportunities the merger presents for employees
including new avenues for their professional growth and development, enriching work environment and a P&L based mindset to business resulting in
more empowerment and more accountability. Details on CSC's Project Accelerate initiative and its focus on the importance of India operations
seemed to excite the crowd.
The Integration teams from different work streams are actively involved in planning and designing integration process to accomplish the stated business
objectives. For more details on integration, please refer the following link: http://ourspace.in.csc.com/CovIntegration/intNl-Vol2.asp
6
Social Responsibility Corner
Summer Camp @ Sagarpaisa and Nayagaon
Social Services Committee (SSC) based in Indore location
organised a summer camp in Sagarpaisa and Nayagaon villages, adopted
spite of the scorching heat.
Radio Mirchi has aired the interview taken with two of our employees
on the same day. Here are excerpts from the interview.
by CSC India.Typically, SSC members and volunteers visit the children in
these villages every weekend and organise innovative games and quizzes
How important is world environment for you?
for them. With the schools closed for summer vacation and the
students bored with their routine work, the SSC team arranged a funfilled activity camp that also involved some learning.
World environment is extremely critical and human race would
cease if the environment on planet earth is not conducive for us to live
in.
SSC Team Participates in Summer Camp Activities
We, as the living beings on this planet, need to protect the environment
so that the coming generations can enjoy the lush and green. It is
important that each of us celebrate this day not just on the marked day
but everyday and leave behind a cleaner and greener earth.Truly, like the
many days of our calendar; Mother's Day, Father's Day, St Martin's Day,
the World Environment Day is a time for us to reflect and ponder the
earth's environment.
How did u feel participating with Radio Mirchi on
this world environment day? Why did u participate
in this event?
There was an enthusiastic response from the students for this camp
where they had a chance to play their favourite games. Apart from
games, the SSC team encouraged them to take part in extra-curricular
We are delighted to be a part of the effort taken by Radio
Mirchi to educate the people in the city and make this place more
clean and green to live in.
activities such as painting and crafts. Colour boxes, crayons, drawing
books and crafts books were provided to them.
We, as CSCians and as citizens of this country have a responsibility to
give back to society by educating the people around us to conserve
The SSC team also imparted to the students, a general health and
natural resources and keep healthy surroundings.
hygiene training, along with some general knowledge about India. The
children looked excited and enjoyed the playful learning process.
The SSC team in Indore would also be moving ahead with a camp in
another adopted village, Lalpura.
SSC Celebrates World Environment Day
with Radio Mirchi
June 5, celebrated as World Environment Day witnessed
SSC Hyderabad Team Celebrates
World Environment Day
celebrations from CSC employees in Hyderabad. Employees
volunteering to commit themselves to the cause collaborated with the
SSC members to make a difference on the day, by synergising their
efforts with Radio Mirchi, radio station at Hyderabad.
The celebrations marked off with the CSC team, along with the Radio
Mirchi employees, visiting the localities that required attention to
environmental management. The team got into immediate action by
distributing pamphlets, spreading awareness about better living
conditions and distributing and planting saplings in the local areas. The
spirit of the occasion was clearly visible in the dynamic approach of each
and every individual who went an extra step to spread awareness in
7
Independence Day Celebration
The 60th Independence Day was marked with great enthusiasm
and solemn celebrations across CSC locations in India on August 15,
2007. Here is a snapshot of the host of activities organised by Social
Services Committee (SSC) at various locations:
INDORE: The SSC team at Indore celebrated the day with patriotic
fervor in the villages of Nayagaon and Lalpura. The celebration started
with flag hoisting by the Principal of the school at Nayagaon.The school
students organised a cultural program comprising patriotic songs and a
play on freedom fighters including Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru.
A prize distribution ceremony was also organised at both the villages.
The prizes were given to the students who excelled in academics and
were the winners of the painting competition held during the summer
camp, sponsored by CSC. Finally, there were some fun packed activities
for all. Sweets were given away to the students and villagers.
NOIDA: SSC members in Noida celebrated the day with kids from
Udayan Care and Grace Home, both orphanages in Delhi. Celebration
began with a dance by the children on Vande Matram. This was followed
by various dances, songs and skits by these children, who were enjoying
every moment of the event. The celebrations also witnessed a cakecutting ceremony commemorating birthdays of two children from
Udayan Care. Present on this occasion were Biduyt Kranti Thakur
(former SSC mentor), Kiran Modi (Managing Trustee of Udayan Care)
and George A Hughes (Sr. Manager – Infrastructure Services).
All the volunteers who are associated with SSC for Corporate
Mentoring Program (CMP) were honoured with Certificate of
Appreciations.
HYDERABAD: The SSC team in Hyderabad celebrated the day at
Ramkrishna Upper Primary School with approximately 250 students
from the nearby slums. The celebrations started with the flag hoisting
ceremony, after which games were organised for the younger students.
The school children also presented a dance.
There was lunch for all students. Prizes were distributed to winners of
various events and some special prizes for outstanding performers of
the school. On behalf of CSC, all the children of nursery and class I were
given school bags, writing instruments, colour books and colour pencils.
Mementos were given to the teachers for their hard work and
dedication in making the school a success.
CHENNAI:The Recreation Committee (REC) in Chennai organised a
grand celebration of the 60th Indian Independence day on August 14.
Various competitions like Face Painting, Floor Decoration, Mr. and Ms.
Patriotic were conducted, with “Independence Day” as the theme.The
team also distributed mementoes, chocolates and Indian tricolour
bands as Independence Day gifts to all Chennai employees.
Face Painting Winners - Chennai
8
SSC Organises Blood Donation Camp
Social Services Committee (SSC) team in Noida organised the 10th
Mega Blood donation camp in association with Rotary Club, Noida.
With a tremendous response from each CSCian, total 540 units of
blood were collected in comparison to 451 units contributed last time.
This is the highest contribution by CSC in the last five years. With this
camp, CSC became the largest corporate blood donors in Delhi
National Capital Region (NCR).
A blood donation campaign was also organised at CSC premises in
Indore with the support of Sri Sathya Sai Blood Bank, a well known bank
known for its blood collection drives. The campaign fetched the
enthusiasm of employees at all hierarchical levels; be it the senior
management group, the new employees or the support staff. Total 57
units of blood were collected by the blood bank who issued 'Donor
Card' to every donor with a Thank-You note.
Both the drives were run with utmost care and followed all the standard
recommended practices.
1 Honour
Guest of
2
Richard M. Soley, Chairman & CEO of the Object Management
Group (OMG) visited CSC’s facility in Noida during the first week
of May for a one-on-one discussion with our senior technologists
and executive leadership. In his address, he talked about OMG and
its modelling standards including Model Driven Architecture
(MDA), Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Business Process
Modeling Notation (BPMN) and Business Motivation Metamodel
(BMM).
Dr. Soley addressed the concepts of modelling as they apply to
business agility, pulling together the threads of business modeling,
software modeling, portfolio modeling and systems modeling with
a single metamodeling framework standing behind them to enable
better, faster, cheaper, interoperable and portable solutions. He
extensively covered the new OMG standards and initiatives. CSC
technologists discussed their applicability and implications for CSC
customers and projects.
Volunteers Participate in Blood Donation Camp
Richard M. Soley, Chairman & CEO of the Object
Management Group with CSC Team
9
Face-to-Face with Bala Mahadevan
What motivated us to go
for India Direct initiative?
The market is becoming
increasingly competitive and our clients'
requirements continue to evolve as the
market changes.As we have in the past, we
need to enhance our competitive edge to
be able to respond to the evolving market
dynamics. Our new strategy called
“Project Accelerate” is enabling us to
serve our customers better, retain and strengthen our market
leadership position, and deliver enhanced value to our shareholders and
stakeholders.
One of the focus areas under this new corporate strategy is to build on
the success of our India operations. To achieve this, we have launched
the India Direct sales channel as one of the important strategies to
address our customers' evolving needs and to compete more effectively
against low-cost, offshore IT service providers. This required us to
transform from a pure delivery organisation to one that also provides
sales support, program management capabilities for end-to-end service
delivery and a rapid response and pre-sales capability for supporting
new business opportunities.
India Direct sales channel will offer the following benefits :
§Strengthen CSC's portfolio of service offerings with pure play
model
§Create cross-selling opportunities to bring in additional revenue
from existing clients
§Address the $30Bn India services market opportunity, along with
the emerging infrastructure services market
§Improve financial performance that would enable better
investment in our business and our people
§Provide accelerated growth for the company which, in turn, will
create new avenues for professional growth and development of
our people
How is this strategy different from the way
we currently do business?
Since 1991, CSC India and Covansys, a CSC company, have been
delivering reliable offshore IT services to many of our global customers.
Our operations in India have steadily grown to respond to our
customers' needs proactively, as we expanded our footprint in India.
Accordingly, we have invested in people, facilities, world-class processes,
advanced training methods and management and leadership bandwidth.
Traditionally, we had offered offshore services as part of our large
engagements for infrastructure and/or application outsourcing services
and systems integration projects, which were not typically delivered
solely from India but were part of an overall outsourcing strategy.
with the business account teams to help grow our existing and new
business.
When do we expect to see results?
While we expect to realise significant results and benefits within FY08,
the full potential of our strategy will be delivered over the next 3-5
years. Some initiatives will show results very quickly as we implement
the strategies, while others are expected to yield results over a longer
term.
How will Covansys and our India Direct
efforts be combined to advance our world
sourcing strategy?
Covansys brings significant business and technical expertise in the India
Direct arena, along with a work culture and value system similar to CSC.
For example, both the companies share a high level of emphasis on
customer satisfaction along with employee best practices of great
reputation as recognised by third parties. Both Covansys and CSC have
a proven track record of providing India-based service delivery. CSC's
India Direct sales channel combined with Covansys' existing sales
channel will synergise and complement each others' strengths further.
The combined strengths will provide the customers with access to a
larger portfolio of services and competencies along with strong
technology capabilities and matured industry knowledge. Additionally,
the combined strengths of the two companies are better positioned to
deliver higher value to customers and shareholders and open up
significant opportunities to penetrate new markets and industry
verticals, while offering several growth opportunities to employees in
both the entities.
As the integration of Covansys and CSC progresses, the companies will
remain focused on serving customers with the shared talent base of a
more diverse and stronger organisation with a wider reach.
How will this initiative help in employee
development/empowerment?
Our employee development programs initiated as part of India
Direct will benefit the employees in many ways:
<
Our strategy is driving accelerated growth for the company and this
in turn will create new avenues for employees' professional growth
and development.
<
Focus on industry-specific solutions will result in an enriching work
environment for our current and prospective employees.
<
Improved financial performance will enable us to make increased
investment in our business and our people.
<
A P&L based mindset to business will result in more empowerment
and more accountability.
Through India Direct, we are proactively addressing our customers'
evolving needs to compete directly with the Indian and India based
offshore providers and deliver as well as manage the same services endto-end comprehensively from India, through our India based resources,
domain and process expertise and management teams.
Will there be any reorganisation as part of
this acquisition? If yes, how will the
employees be affected?
To start with, the front-ending India Direct sales teams are based in the
UK and US and are focusing on acquiring new customers along with
supporting new business from existing customers. They are working
We are currently evaluating if organisational changes are necessary to
enable successful implementation and delivery of our strategy.
Organisational changes, if any, will be communicated as soon as they are
finalised.
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CSC IN THE NEWS
N.E.W.S
DQ-IDC Top 20 Best Employer Survey - August 29, The Hindu
From Rank 19 in 2006 to Rank 12 in 2007, CSC recorded the second highest jump in the Dataquest-IDC best
employers Top 20 list. CSC has been quoted as "having mastered the art of managing Indian employees to rank
among the Top 20 employers in the country".
Read the complete article: http://in.country.csc.com/en/ne/na/11787.shtml
Taking Responsibility - July 16, Express Computers
Bidyut K. Thakur, asst. vice president & mentor, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at CSC India says, "The IT
Industry is a sunrise industry; however it adopted CSR as one of its core missions quickly.
Read the complete article: http://in.country.csc.com/en/ne/na/11785.shtml
CSC Completes Acquisition of Covansys - July 4
CSC announced that the company has completed its acquisition of Covansys for $34.00 per share in an all-cash
transaction. Covansys will operate as a separate business unit of CSC and will now be known as Covansys, a CSC
Company. Raj Vattikuti will continue to lead this new business unit.
Read the complete article: http://in.country.csc.com/en/ne/na/11005.shtml
Coping with 'Change Fatigue' - June 29, Express Computers
Neelam Gill Malhotra, director HR - CSC India explains why change should be in rhythm with the organisational
culture, “The determinants are the rationale behind a change and correct time and stage for implementation. Any
change can be unsettling, so it logically needs to have a settling influence before any other change in policy is
introduced.”
Read the complete article: http://in.country.csc.com/en/ne/na/10926.shtml
Companies Shifting From Having a Satisfied to Committed Employees - June 12, The Economic Times
Neelam Gill Malhotra, director HR - CSC India, talks about changing employee mindset and how companies need to
think ahead and reward significant contributions of employees beyond their routine jobs.
Read the complete article: http://in.country.csc.com/en/ne/na/10706.shtml
Far from the Madding Crowd - May 28, The Financial Express
“Being almost equidistant from the major metros, Indore is well located. Our employees get better networking
opportunities as they can travel to one of the metros for important industry events, conferences and seminars.
Indore is also supported by good educational institutions,” says Padmaja Krishnan, director - marketing, planning and
research, CSC India.
Read the complete article:http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=165432
Making the Two Indians Meet, Atleast For a Couple of Hours - May 7, Mint
One of the NGOs our SSC is working with is “Udayan Care” – a New Delhi based voluntary organisation that is
committed to sustainable social development through working with disadvantaged children. CSC runs a Corporate
Mentorship Program for these children at Udayan Care.
Read more about CSC's association with Udayan Care: http://in.country.csc.com/en/ne/na/10328.shtml
In the Service of the Customer - May 7, Express Computers
As the Director-Marketing, Planning and Research, CSC India, Padmaja Krishnan has been a key player in creating the
brand awareness, in India and overseas. She has also leveraged CSC India's credentials for the offshore services
markets.
Read the complete article:http://in.country.csc.com/en/ne/na/10329.shtml
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CSC Global at a Glance
The CSC Chairman's Award – The Eagles
Technical Excellence Award Recipients
The CSC Chairman's Award is presented to business units that
meet all five key budget financial targets: revenue, operating income,
operating margin, days' sales outstanding and return on investment. For
24 years, this award has recognised the business results CSC has
achieved for its customers, through its significant technology and
experience.
The Chairman's Award was presented to the group president and
members from this year's qualifying business units. All these teams
extend their thanks to the many colleagues within their own units, as
well as across CSC who contributed to a successful FY07.
§ Asia Group:
George Bell, group president,Violet Chua, Darren
Collins, Ken Wang
§ Australian Group: Mike Shove, group president,Wayne Banks,
Matthew Day, Gavin Larkings, Christiane Moloney, Rod Paine,
Darryl Thompson, Garry Tuckwell
§CSC Credit Services: John Dickson, group president, Cindy
Austin, Peggy Fisher
§ European Group - Western Region: Claude Czechowski,
group president
A special Eagle was presented toVan Honeycutt, recognising him
for his leadership during his 12-year tenure as CEO.
Technology and Business Solutions Conference:
Intersections
This year's Technology and Business Solutions Conference (TBSC),
held from June 7-9 in Miami, Florida was attended by more than 750
projects must excel in four areas: the work must be technically
innovative; it must be an accomplishment that CSC can leverage in
other business domains; it must be proven in day-to-day use; and it
must add value for CSC customers.
The following team representatives were recognised by Mr. Honeycutt,
Mr. Laphen and Mr. Bill Koff, vice president and chief technology officer
for CSC's Office of Innovation.They are:
§ Mary
L. Pollard, Agility in Government: IRS Integrated Financial
System
§Alberto Buoncore Caccialupi, Border Control System
§ Joe Loiacono, FlowViewer: What's Really Happening on Your
Network
A. Morales, Military Aircraft Safety and Operational
§ Miguel
Readiness for Today's Warfighter
Chartier, Mobile-Enabling a National Utility Provider's
§ Bernard
Field Force
§ Oliver Charles Burghardt, QBOP: Supporting Germany's Air
Security
Rollin, Server Transformation Core Team Process
§ Billy
employees, clients and alliance partners.
New Rewards & Recognition (R&R) Program for
This year's TBSC featured nTAG, an interactive badge and networking
device. nTAG helped participants navigate their way through the event
Americas Outsourcing Employees
and keep track of the contacts they made during the three days. nTAG
reported that a total of 11,144 electronic business card exchanges and
34,560 individual interactions took place at the TBSC.
A new Rewards & Recognition (R&R) program for Americas
Outsourcing is maintaining CSC's focus on excellence and employee
value. The program rewards and recognises employees for their ideas,
Srinivas Polisetty, who was CSC India's Office of Innovation head
suggestions and contributions across all levels in Infrastructure
earlier delivered a session on overview of Innovation Centre activities
Services, Application Services and Technology Management groups in
in India where he summarised the list of projects being done from India.
the United States and Canada. Components of the program include:
CSC Award for Technical Excellence
§Recognition: Recognises and rewards everyday behaviours and
The CSC Award for Technical Excellence is CSC's highest technical
honour, recognising innovation and business value in the company's
achievements appropriately based on level of contribution and
business value.
work with clients. The seven recipient teams, chosen from 75
nominees, reflect the global nature of CSC's business. The teams span
§Discretionary Bonus: Timely, monetary awards based on
Europe and the United States and represent both government and
individual and team-based performance for value add business
commercial entities. To be considered for this award, nominated
impact.
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§Employee Suggestion: Recognises and rewards employees based on quality improvements and cost savings resulting from their suggestions
and implemented changes.
§Excellence Award: Recognises and rewards significant individual and team-based contributions in support of strategic business unit
objectives by the President of Infrastructure Services,Application Services and Technology Management groups.The program is customised for
each business unit based on organisational goals and performance criteria.
- Reference: Update - CSC's Global Employee Newsletter
Tech Talk
ViLink Development Team – Constant Performers
The ViLink product team of seven strong and creative professionals achieved another milestone with the June release of Intelligent e-App, CSC's
software that streamlines and reduces errors during life and annuity new business submission.
Going forward, eApp will be branded as a component of the nbAccelerator application and a new convergence effort is underway to make this
product architecturally and technologically consistent with other products in the CSC e4 framework.The new Intelligent e-App release, unveiled at
the Life User Forum in June, has the following enhancements:
§Ability to be deployed either as a stand-alone or portal application.
§A new feature called Biometric e-Signature, replacing the earlier version of digital signature. With this new functionality, parties are required to
sign only once for all the forms using an e-Pad. Once the signature is captured for a party, it can be placed with all the required forms.
§Seamless integration with nbA.
Another unique Intelligent e-App feature called Disconnected Client was also recently released, enabling insurance agents to enter applications offline, without connecting to the Internet. They can later submit the completed applications by connecting to the home office server through the
Internet. Disconnected Client also provides the flexibility to download the latest plans and PDF forms from the server, further reducing dependency
on Internet connectivity.
Disconnected Client has earned lot of appreciation during customer demos. A proof-of-concept project is already in progress to implement a
client's Life product in Intelligent e-App. This proof-ofconcept is being done by the Services team at Indore. The
team is excited about the new enhancements/requirements
lined up for several major clients. The new application
changes include PPFA, Partial Application Synchronisation in
the application, which would give a new dimension to the
existing application.
ViLink Development Team
13
The Lighter Side
Runners-up in Airtel Premier Corporate Soccer League
CSC Football Team Receives Runners-up Trophy
The CSC Football team based out of Noida office was Runners-up for Silver Trophy in Airtel Premier Corporate Soccer Tournament 2007 held in May.
The tournament was organised by Eventus - a sports event management company and sponsored by Airtel and Motorola.
A total of 32 teams from some of the best known corporate giants including GENPACT, ICICI, HSBC, MCKENSEY, HP, Times of India, IBM Daksh,
HUDCO, Citi Financials, Global Logic,Vertex, Ericsson, EXL services competed for the trophy. The highlight of this tournament was CSC's exceptional
performance against two of the best teams in its group (EXL Services and Ericsson), both in the pre-quarters and quarter-finals. Other significant
achievements were:
§Praveen Tokas (CSC goalkeeper) was chosen as the “Best Goalkeeper” of the tournament
§Sudip Rana (Forward Center) was adjudged as “Man of the Match” for two consecutive matches
The team was awarded “Runners-up” trophy, certificates and other awards by the organisers for securing the Runners-up position in such a tough and
grueling tournament. This team had also stood third in the DVR Corporate 12-team tournament held few months back.
Josh-Junoon-Jashn!
CSCians at Noida experienced rocking music, combination of
Punjabi Artist, Mika Performs at the CSC Party
exquisite mocktails, sumptuous food and unlimited masti till late night at
an exclusively designed Hawaiian Theme party on June 9.
The party organised by Recreation committee (REC), in coordination
with the Food committee (FC) had a Bollywood (the Indian equivalent of
Hollywood) setup, featuring an 18-year old international DJ performer.
With the summer sun beating hard, CSCians enjoyed a rain dance and
beach volleyball, all true to the Hawaiian spirit.
Flamboyant Punjabi celebrity, Mika, gave a breathtaking performance to
make the gala party an unforgettable night.Towards the end of the event,
Anuj Kumar – assistant vice president, HR and Brian J Manning – director,
Infrastructure Services distributed awards to the CSC Football team
winners and Women's day celebration winners.
JOSH
JUNOON
JASHN
14
Celebrations at CSC Indore
PMG OUTING
The experience was refreshing and painted a lasting impression on all.
Celebrity Zone
FS EMEA President's Award
In the same month, CSCians at Indore too organised a celebration and a
talent show on June 16. The star performers with hidden talents
Anurag Shrivastava, project lead,
attracted the audience's attention. Electrifying DJ mixes and popular
working on one of the insurance
foot tapping numbers had everyone on the dance floor. This was
accounts, has been recently awarded
followed by a buffet.
the prestigious Gold Award under the
Healthcare PMG Outing
FS EMEA President's Awards scheme.
This award has been given to Anurag in
In June, to get respite from Delhi's heat and crowd, the Healthcare
recognition of his outstanding
Project Management Group (PMG) team organised a two-day trip to
contribution, exceptional hard work
the Himalayan Ranges.
and professionalism in the project.
Situated 22 KMs from Nainital at an altitude of 1370 meters, the
Anurag Shrivastava
location of Mountain Club, Bhimtal was very enticing. The surrounded
forest was extremely rich in the Himalayan wildlife.The cottages faced
The FS EMEA President's Award recognises and rewards employees
the most beautiful bounty of mountains, which gave the feeling of living
whose contribution to CSC's business has been outstanding or
in a jungle.
exceptional. This scheme applies to all Financial Services Sector
employees working in the EMEA account. There are three levels of
After refreshing themselves, everyone set out for boating to Saattal, a
award - Bronze, Silver and Gold. The President's Gold Award is the
cluster of seven lakes considered as one of the most untouched places
highest level of recognition under the scheme and represents a very
in the lake region of Uttaranchal. The densely wooded hills and little
special achievement.
creeks along the shores of the lakes were a constant attraction for all.
Sheela Venkat Memorial Award
Once back at the hotel, everyone was geared up for bonfire and games.
The team played several brainteasers like Atlas and dumb charades and
games like TT, Badminton, cricket, virtual volleyball, musical chair and
number games. Almost everyone in the team unveiled their hidden
talents by singing melodious songs and reciting shero-shayari.
Healthcare PMG Team Outing
Shobha Joshi, working on an
insurance account, has been selected as
the first recipient of the Sheela Venkat
Memorial Award.
In February 2007, this memorial award
was instituted in the memory of Sheela
Venkat, the Group Director for the
account, who was responsible for
CSC's outsourcing engagement and
had been actively involved from the
start of this account. She had also
Shobha Joshi
visited CSC facility in Noida few times
and had interacted extensively with the
The next day was filled with adventure sports like rock climbing, river
team here.
crossing, rappelling and mountain climbing.
15
She tragically passed away after losing a battle with cancer in December
We have four winners from CSC India in the above-
2006. As a tribute to the dynamic lady, this award was introduced to
mentioned categories:
recognise the single most outstanding performer in the India team
working on the account.This award would be given twice a year.
A detailed process was followed which involved defining the nomination
criteria and receiving nominations from all CSC India managers. Five
Nisha Agarwal
nominations were submitted to the senior management of the account
(Financial Services Group)
who made the final recommendation.
under the category of WOC
Technology All Stars
Shobha has been a key member working on the account from the start
of the engagement. A consistently outstanding performer, her
contribution in the AUL III LPR & AUL II DB projects this year has been
tremendous. Apart from incorporating several complex modifications,
she has been appreciated by the clients for providing quick resolution of
problems during QA checkouts and excellent support in User
Acceptance Testing (UAT) phase. She is widely acknowledged within the
Prerna Awasthi
account for her knowledge of the complex LIFE/70 application and
(Infrastructure Services
innovative ideas. She has also been actively involved in various account-
Group) under the category
of WOC Technology Rising
level initiatives and in grooming new team members.
Star
Four CSC India Employees Win Women of Colour
Awards
CSC has been participating in the Women of Colour Awards event
for the past six years and this was the first time the CSC team invited
nominations from India as well.This is an annual event held in the US to
honour women who have demonstrated excellence as role models and
Ena Gulati (Financial
leaders throughout their careers and continue to shape the course of
Services Group) under the
business and technology.
category of WOC Technology
Rising Star
Nominations were invited from different business units in the following
categories:
§Women of Colour Awards (WOC): The Women of Colour
award is given based on Professional Achievement, Career
Achievement, Community Service, Corporate Responsibility,
Managerial Leadership, New Media/IT Leadership, Technical
Innovation and Research Leadership.
§Technology All Star Award (TAS): The Technology All Stars
are accomplished women of colour at an advanced stage of their
Shalini Arya (Financial Services
Group) under the category of
WOC Technology Rising Star
careers that have demonstrated excellence at work and in their
communities. They are acknowledged for technical innovation,
career achievement, client interaction and/or managerial
leadership.
The winners will be honoured at the 12th Annual National
§Technology Rising Star Award (TRS): Technology Rising
Women of Colour Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
Stars honor women of color early in their careers, who have been
Conference to be held in Atlanta, Georgia in the month of
outstanding in helping to shape technology for the future.
November.
16
Know-Our-Managers
Anil Kumar Thekkepat is the Assistant
Vice President in India Direct (ID) and
heading the Global Response Centre
(GRC). In his current role, he is
responsible to lead and manage, provide
an India centric perspective and enable
business by imparting solutioning, bid
responses, sales support and demand
forecasting functions for ID.
In a short span of the launch of ID,
GRC has been able to establish itself as a
key link between India centric
solutioning and ID focused sales.This has
been possible due to teamwork by a
responsible and dedicated group of employees, striving to bring
success to ID.The leadership conviction that organisational targets can
be achieved, if 'right' resources are cross-leveraged and work as a team,
is proven by this enthusiastic staff of CSC.
Anil Kumar Thekkepat,
Assistant Vice President
India Direct
The GRC team has been able to create a lighter version of worldwide
processes and methodologies, and weave this within the business
process of ID.The only constant factor is change, and today GRC under
the leadership of Mr. Thekkepat embraces this totally and the positive
changes that have been created in the business flow has helped the
team build the momentum for ID business.
Mr.Thekkepat joins us from Hewlett Packard, where he was the Client
Principle and was handling offshore business/delivery engagements
with HP global business units. He has worked across the EMEA region
to identify potential business opportunities and leverage the offshore
model for improving the competitive market offerings from HP.
As the general manager of FSS'
CyberLife division in India, Dhimant
Shah is responsible for the entire gamut
of operations pertaining to CyberLife
area with the objective of sustaining and
enhancing CSC's competitive position.
Under his dynamic leadership, CyberLife
India has seen over 50% growth, and he
has been instrumental in initiating some
critical accounts. At present, the group Dhimant Shah,
It is worth General Manager - CyberLife
has 21 active projects.
mentioning
that
the
group has Division of Financial Services
consistently manifested high Customer
Sector
Satisfaction Index to the tune of 8+ out
of 10.
Prior to this, Mr. Shah has held a key position in CSC's Financial Services
- P&C division and made commendable contribution to grow it to
200+ people. Mr. Shah has also been instrumental in initiating the work
with EMEA and Asia region. At an organisational level, he has made
significant contributions to the upward quality journey in implementing
ISO 9000, CMM L5, PCMM L5, and CMMi L5.
Mr. Shah is one of the most dynamic leaders at Indore under whose
leadership CSC India, Indore bagged the prestigious 'Best Exporter of
IT products/ Software' award for the year 2006- 2007, conferred by the
Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Prior to joining CSC in 1997, Mr. Shah worked with the LTITL (now
L&T Infotech) for nearly five years, where he successfully managed
Mr.Thekkepat brings with him more than 22 years of work experience
in large organisations. He has proven business management capabilities
and his core competencies include cross leveraging of IT services for
business excellence in customer program engagements.
His varied interests outside work life include discussions on subjects
that involve public opinions and travelling with his family. Cricket,
movies and Indian music are his passions.
large projects for a large retail store and a large brokerage firm in the
US.
Mr. Shah is a keen sportsman who loves to play tennis and cricket. He is
passionate about travelling. In his leisure time, he enjoys reading good
books and watching TV. He holds a Masters in Computer Application
(MCA) degree. As a manager, he is known for being truly a people's
person.
Computer Sciences Corporation India Private Limited
C-29, Sector-58, Noida – 201 301, India
Phone - +91-120-2582323
Fax - +91-120-2582322
This newsletter has been brought to you by the Marketing, Planning and Research division of CSC in India.We appreciate your feedback, comments or suggestions with
regard to any aspect of this edition of the newsletter and any specific news or information that we should include in our future editions. Please direct your
correspondence to [email protected] or [email protected].
Note:The newsletter is for internal selective distribution only.
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