FCCS training

New batch starts in Nov 20223

SmartView with Hyperion Planning - netRetry / netRetryInterval error

The following registry keys have to be updated on the client machine: 1. Open the Registry (Start -> Run -> Regedit) 2. Locate the following section:[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ 3. Create the following new keys for DWORD with Hexadecimal values: ReceiveTimeout and set it to 00dbba00 KeepAliveTimeout and set it to 00180000 ServerInfoTimeout and set it to 00180000 4. Locate the following section: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Services\TCPIP\Parameters\ 5. Create the following keys for DWORD with Decimal Values: TcpTimedWaitDelay and set it to 30 MaxUserPort should be set to 65534 6. Restart the Client machine for the new settings to take effect and check if the issue is reproduced. Cheers,

US slowdown trickles over to India

Trouble in the US economy has started trickling down to India. This has prompted individuals to think seriously about the future. This particularly applies to those who had a good run in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) industries with US-based customers. For them and others, it is time to think about financial security. Here are some tips to sail through the tough times.
The slowdown may worsen prospects of smaller firms with shallow pockets. Unlike large organisations, such enterprises have smaller balance sheets are more susceptible to a slowdown. If you are considering switching to a start-up, think twice before taking any step and take only calculated risks. Large organisations, in most cases, offer financial security. Further, there are some qualitative benefits that you enjoy such as better terms while borrowing from banks and other financial institutions, which may come in handy during tough times. A word of caution: large institutions do fail; albeit less frequently.
As the level of uncertainty goes up in the US, there are some businesses that might get directly affected. On the other hand, there are some businesses that might flourish as outsourcing increases. If you feel, in current scenario, it is risky to work with a firm wherein your work is primarily US-centric, it makes sense to shift to another firm where work is India centric. “Employees who are working on the US non-voice processes may consider other options as jobs in Indian companies are posting healthy growth,” said the HR head of an Indian BPO player. “This is especially true for technical services/operations jobs in telecom and insurance,” he added. However, be prepared for a scenario wherein you may have to accept a pay cut. Always remember that job security is very important.
If you manage to get into a ‘safer’ employment option, make sure you look at the offered salary structure in detail. Don’t be content with the overall package. For instance, most of the large employers are introducing compensation packages which have a component called target variable pay (TVP). TVP is given at the end of every year taking into account an employee’s performance, departmental performance and profits earned by the company. So, the amount mentioned in the offer letter is not precise and, in most cases, falls short of what is indicated. In turbulent times, this gap between the actual pay package and the one you receive at the end of the month may widen and you may end up getting a lower amount than what you are expecting.
Similarly, employee stock options programmes (ESOP) have rewarded many employees, especially those working in financial and IT sectors. However, if the stock market remains weak, ESOPs are to be seen with utmost caution. There are many companies where the employees are saddled with stock options where the current stock price is quite low. If you are the kind who don’t like taking risks, ESOPs can best be avoided. Adapt as the situation demands Identify the trends in the job market quickly. Currently, the ITES sector is facing problems. However, given the economic growth and development, there is a boom in industries like training. Those who are working as trainers in ITES sector on voice processes may consider assignment-based work with ‘training entities’ here in India. It is better to start with occasional assignments before you consider a shift to full time engagement, as it may help to understand the dynamics of the business in a better way.
In times of cost cutting, companies are keen to retain those employees who are good at multiple roles. Investing in yourself by enrolling for skill upgradation workshops or short courses may hold you up in the eyes of your employers as you are seen as a better player as compared to others. However, you must first understand what the employer actually requires. Identify the ‘marketable traits’ in you that may earn you the extra income when you are employed. In case of job loss, such extra activities may come to your rescue.

SAP says saw business drop off at end of quarter

FRANKFURT: Software group SAP has seen business drop off abruptly, which means third-quarter revenue from software and software-related services was
now expected to rise only 13-14 percent, it said on Monday. The world's biggest business software maker said it expected third-quarter 2008 U.S. GAAP software and software-related service revenues of between 1.970 billion and 1.980 billion euros ($2.68-$2.69 billion). "The market developments of the past several weeks have been dramatic and worrying to many businesses. These concerns triggered a very sudden and unexpected drop in business activity at the end of the quarter," co-Chief Executive Henning Kagermann said in a statement. "As SAP is still finalising the quarter-end closing process, total revenues and operating income are not yet available and will be provided along with further details on Oct. 28, including an update of its 2008 outlook," it said. SAP shares fell 19 percent by 1530 GMT to 27.945 euros, the second-leading decliner among German clue chips. Shares in rival Oracle fell nearly 9 percent. "The overall fundamentals of our business remain in place. SAP did report double-digit growth in software and software-related service revenues for the quarter and we expect to have gained further market share, even during unfavourable market conditions," Kagermann added.

'Kerala IT companies closely monitor US economic crisis

The IT companies in Kerala, many of which have huge business interests in the US, are closely monitoring the financial crisis in that country, according to a top industry official. Kerala's joy of crossing the Rs.10 billion ($217.4 million) mark in software exports earlier this year would be short-lived if the US financial sector did not survive the current crisis, V.K. Mathews, chairman and chief executive of IBS Software Services, a leading IT company in Kerala, said. The crisis that led to the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers and the nationalisation of insurance giant American International Group is equivalent to the "great depression" of 1930s, Mathews said over telephone from the US. "Of course this is a serious issue. Due to the credit crunch, investments are likely to be delayed. The companies that have huge business interests in the US and whose client list includes financial companies will be affected badly," he added. "We do have interests in the US but our major markets are elsewhere in Japan, Europe and Australia," Mathews said. IBS is a leading provider of new-generation IT solutions to the transportation and logistics industry and its client list includes giants like Nippon Cargo Airlines, All Nippon Airways KLM, Oman Air, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, South African Airways, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways and China Southern Airlines. But Arun Narayanan, who heads UST Global's Kerala operations, said the company was relatively safe given its balanced portfolios spread over various continents. "No doubt we are cautiously watching the scene unfold, and investments will take place with utmost caution. As far as we are concerned, this appears to be a blessing in disguise because, we feel that companies in the US as part of tightening their belts in the wake of this crisis will look forward to companies like us," Narayanan said. Headquartered in California, UST Global has close to 6,000 employees worldwide, of which more than 3,000 work in their two Kerala offices at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Now it remains to be seen what sort of impact the US financial crisis will have on the proposed Rs.15 billion Smart City project at Kochi to be built by Smart City Dubai. The work on the project is scheduled to begin next month.

Tata Consultancy interested in Siemens SIS

Tata Consultancy Services, India's top software services exporter, is interested in Siemens' IT Solutions and Services (SIS) unit, a German newspaper said on Saturday. Talks between the two companies would begin next week in Munich, where Siemens is based, Germany's Boersen-Zeitung said, without saying where it obtained the information from. Siemens declined to comment. A couple of days ago, sources close to the company said that Siemens Chief Executive Peter Loescher was considering the divestment of SIS's external business, the paper said. Siemens is in the midst of a major overhaul and regrouped its divisions into three main sectors to benefit from global growth trends -- energy, industry and health care -- at the beginning of this year.

'Impact of Wall Street crisis will be marginal on India'

The great tsunami that started on Wall Street has become a global crisis. The suddenness with which some of the biggest Wall Street firms like Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and American Insurance Group (AIG) collapsed like a house of cards is unbelievable. Lehman, after 158 years of high flying, filed for bankruptcy a little over a week ago. Merrill Lynch, Wall Street’s third largest investment bank, worth more than $100 billion last year, was bought by Bank of America for just $50 billion. AIG had to be bailed out by the US government with a $85 billion loan in exchange for nearly 80 per cent shares of the company, by far the biggest act of nationalisation in Wall Street’s history. As the contagion started moving across the globe like a giant hoover, gobbling many small and big-sized banks in other countries and forcing countries like Russia and Japan to inject massive sums into their financial systems, share markets tumbled everywhere. Inevitably, comparisons were drawn with the Great Depression of 1929. But this analogy is not correct. The world’s capacity to deal with such crises has increased enormously since 1929. To take one example, the massive intervention by the American government in the present crisis is unheard of. Already, the total bailout package by the US has crossed the $1 trillion mark and President George Bush has spoken of the urgent need for a new law to unclog the markets. Such acts of nationalisation of private debts would make past leaders of the US turn in their graves. Thus, corrective mechanisms are already in place and hopefully the crisis would be overcome sooner than later, albeit with many job losses and many stockholders losing money. How did this crisis arise? It started from retail banks lending enormous housing loans to borrowers with inadequate security and uncertain credit histories. These banks repackaged these doubtful loans as tradable securities and sold them to investment banks, such as Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. Inevitably, when these borrowers defaulted, the market for these securities crashed. Some of the investment banks, like Lehman, had also invested substantially in the booming property market. When the housing boom went bust, the property market also collapsed, adding to the losses of the investment banks. The fact that in March this year the US government rescued Bear Stearns had raised fond hopes in Lehman Brothers that a similar rescue package may come their way. But this time, with elections around the corner, the American government refused to use public funds to absorb Lehman’s losses. The US Federal Reserve did not realise at this stage that this was only the tip of the iceberg and that they would have to intervene in a few days’ time. With an accumulated debt burden of $613 billion, Lehman Brothers had no other option other than to file for bankruptcy. This triggered a downward spiral in share prices and a crisis with others like Merrill Lynch announcing bankruptcy soon after.