The KPO sector across the globe is brimming with opportunities and Evaluserve India’s first and foremost KPO seems to be leading the charge. Evalseserve with their team of 2500 + analysts offers a wide range of high end services including custom market research, business research, data analytics, investment research, intellectual property and legal process services . BPOVoice talked to Marc Vollenweider, CEO and Co -founder of Evalueserve to get the first hand account of the company’s roadmap for 2010 along with his views on the upcoming challenges for the KPO sector. (...)

Our strategy is very straight forward. Therefore, 2010 is simply about implementation, i.e. selling according to our strategy (which I can not disclose). The markets have woken up again in Q3/2009 and the momentum is excellent. Therefore, we do not want to make any major changes in our strategy.

Our addressable market is simply huge and competition is not really coming from India anymore (apart from a few specific areas). The main challenge is growing the market by educating companies on the benefits of KPO. The objective of the KPO industry should be to jointly grow the market, as the unaddressed market is simply huge. Of course, penetrating the existing clients further yields better growth than winning new customers. Of course, winning new customers is critical for the medium-term. The pipeline is excellent and we are have been winning 95% of all pilots during the last six months. (...)

BPO Voice>>

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, driven by the need to provide employment to a growing workforce and counter increasing competition from other emerging markets, have introduced economic and investment reforms to increase private investment in their countries. Although the level of foreign private investment in the MENA region throughout the 1980s and 1990s remained low, the region has now become attractive to investors due to acceleration in the pace of reforms and a decline in the role of the state. Foreign Direct Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, driven by the need to provide employment to a growing workforce and counter increasing competition from other emerging markets, have introduced economic and investment reforms to increase private investment in their countries. Although the level of foreign private investment in the MENA region throughout the 1980s and 1990s remained low, the region has now become attractive to investors due to acceleration in the pace of reforms and a decline in the role of the state. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows increased at an average of 28 per cent per annum, from $13bn in 2000 to over $97bn in 2008.

Alt Assets>>

Evalueserve recently released its study on patent enforcement in India.  As the article highlights, India is quickly becoming a leader in innovation, especially in the areas of pharmaceuticals, automotive technologies, and IT.  During the past six years, patent filings at the IPO have tripled.  Additionally, India was recently designated as an International Search Authority and International Preliminary Examination Authority for PCT applications.

As a result of the growing interest in obtaining patent protection in India, litigation as well as pre-grant and post-grant oppositions have increased substantially.  Given India’s current status as a developing country, these types of disputes often create a challenge for multinational corporations (MNC’s). (...)

IP Pangea>>

Ashish Gupta: (...) KPO is KPO - it doesn’t matter whether it is: in China, India, Latin America or elsewhere. So what is KPO really? KPO stands for Knowledge Process Outsourcing.

Every company on this planet has a knowledge process: there is knowledge management, sales and marketing, finance, or back office processes, there is decision making done by management. All of that is done based on some research, on some analysis, and on some decision support systems. The process of helping a client with their knowledge processes is called KPO. It can apply to either industry verticals, for example healthcare, or functions, such as intellectual property, market research or analytics. KPO is a global industry, it is not regional (...)

And a final point: everybody in the beginning thought of us as yet another BPO company. We felt that since we are not really a BPO company, we need to talk about our business by using a different term, and that’s what gave birth to KPO. Not only were we pioneers of the business model - we actually got an award from the Prime Minister of India for business model innovation - we were also the founders of the term KPO. (...)

China Sourcing>>

China Sourcing (In Chinese)>>

"Viña runs for Haiti... every second counts" is the motto of this noble cause that has started to take effect this week. The initiative was taken by Patricia Narvaez, whose father was part of the Chilean battalion in Haiti in 2009. (...)

Patricia and I are colleagues and are working for the company Evalueserve Chile, in Curauma. The company has contributed by letting us use working hours to organize this event. The run for a cause will take place on Sunday, 31st January 2010, from 9.00 AM. (...)

El Martutino (In Spanish)>>

Evalueserve has shared an article on the patent disputes in India. This article mainly talks about the patent infringement/litigation, particularly it reports 75 infringement cases pending in Delhi High Court.

Excerpted article:

In lieu of the increasing number of litigations filed by both Indian and foreign companies, there is increased awareness of the importance of investing in IP assets and companies are embracing IP as a crucial component of their business strategy.

India’s booming talent and innovation has triggered a lot of companies primarily in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automotive and information technology (IT) to set up R&D Centers in India. Innovation involves investment, which needs to be safeguarded using Intellectual Property (IP) protection in various forms such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights. These factors also triggered the need to modernize and digitize the Indian Patent Office (IPO) and to employ talented patent examiners. They are trained to handle the surge in patent application filings at the IPO. Recently, India was designated as an International Search Authority (ISA) and as an International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA), making India the only English-speaking Asian country to be granted this privilege.

India Patents>>

"Viña runs for Haiti, every second counts" is the name of the run for a cause that will take place next Sunday, 31st of January in Viña del Mar. The funds raised will help children that became vicitms of the recent earthquake in the Central American country.

The run for a cause is organized by Evalueserve Chile, Full Marathon, World Vision and the municipality of Viña del Mar (...).

El Mercurio (In Spanish)>>

By Evalueserve: After opening its economy for foreign direct investment in the early 1990s, India has become an important destination for multinational companies (MNCs). The population of over 1.2 billion not only makes India an attractive market, but also provides a vast educated talent pool. Consequently, many companies have set up their research and development centres in the country. (...)

India is emerging as a big powerhouse in the global economy with a rapidly expanding market and hub for research and development. The patent enforcement system in India is undergoing rapid changes due to the surge in patent filings and reforms initiated by the government. Patent litigations are on the rise, involving both domestic and multinational corporations. Therefore, it becomes essential to understand the patent dispute resolution platforms and procedures to efficiently deal with patent disputes. Armed with this knowledge, a corporation can proactively assess IP risks and opportunities in India. Corporations should be watchful during the publication of patent applications, and oppose them early, if needed, using opposition or revocation mechanisms. Further, they should be alert in the event of potential infringement of their patents, and approach the courts after conducting proper due diligence.

IPFrontline>>

Chile may not be as big as Brazil or have as many IT professionals who speak English as they have in Mexico, but that hasn’t deterred global sourcing leaders in this Southern Cone country from putting a lot of muscle behind a thriving outsourcing industry. (...)

A plus for IT companies – Chile has the second highest R&D investment in the region after Brazil, and President Bachelet has pledged to increase this to more than 1% of GDP by this year. An open immigration policy adds to the appeal.  “Work permits are processed within a week”, says Mohit Srivastava, Country Manager, Chile for Evalueserve. “It’s a huge advantage for companies looking to bring in talent from the US or India to kick-start their LATAM operations”. The high level of business transparency and employer-friendly labor laws complete the package for him. The fact that Santiago is the safest capital city in Latin America, and the least corrupt doesn’t hurt either. (...)

One effect of this IT specialization is companies that diversify operations between India and Chile. “There is a strong proposition to collaborate with India, since the ‘heavy lifting’ can be done there, while the vale-added and time sensitive ITO work can be handled in Chile”, says Srivastava of Evalueserve. “ITO companies serving the US market can have a workforce model of 10% in the US, 20% in Chile, and 70% in India, which results in dramatic improvement in communication and service levels at a slightly higher cost”.

Evaluserve is one of the Indian outsourcing companies that have set up in Chile to serve their US clients in the same time zone. (...)

Nearshore Americas>>

NEW DELHI: The asset under management (AUM) of the domestic mutual fund industry is likely to double at Rs 17.6 lakh crore by 2015 on account of favourable economic climate, a study by Evalueserve and Assocham said.

“A favourable economic climate, increasing participation of retail customers, especially in tier II and tier III cities and rural areas, along with a gradual shift in investors’ preference towards mutual funds will drive the projected growth,” it said.

The Hindu Businessline>>

Mid Day>>

Press Trust of India>>

The Tamil Nadu government plans to dedicate the scenic East Coast Road (ECR), touching the historic town of Mahabalipuram, for tourism development. The state is also in the process of developing 18 lesser-known tourist destinations to ease the congestion in traditional destinations.

“The ECR will be dedicated to tourism-related developments in the way the parallel Old Mahabalipuram Road has been developed for IT infrastructure,” S Bakthavatchalam, joint director, Tamil Nadu Tourism department said while talking at the release of FICCI-Evalueserve study on hotel infrastructure. (...)

Mydigitalfc>>

A study done by industry body Ficci, in association with Evalueserve, has called for granting the hotel sector the status of infrastructure and export industry, delinking of hotel projects from commercial real estate and 100 per cent FDI in developing tourism infrastructure in India.

The study also endorses escalation of investment in the tourism sector, creation of land banks for budget hotels, single window clearance for new hotel projects by the state governments, identification of hotel sites to be given on long-term leases, improvement in civic amenities through the PPP model and development of one destination in each proactive state as a model tourism destination. (...)

Imagesfood>>

Chennai: With a view to give a fillip to investments in hotel infrastructure and promote the tourism sector, a study done by trade body Ficci, in association with Evalueserve, has set out a nine-point agenda. The study calls for granting the hotel industry the status of infrastructure and export industry, delinking of hotel projects from commercial real estate and 100% FDI in developing tourism infrastructure in India. (...)

The Financial Express>>

Some of Britain's biggest law firms have been cutting costs during the downturn by sending tasks including conveyancing, accidental claims and due diligence investigations to young lawyers in India. (...) Alok Aggarwal, CEO, Evalueserve, opines "Foreign law firms are better off giving work to an Indian LPO provider, because the work culture in India is much different than in the U.S. and U.K. Alternatively, they can create joint ventures or "novel" corporate governance and mechnisms to run the LPO unit in India." (...)

Law firms are attracted to India because of its large pool of English speaking graduates, around 80,000 graduates each year, and its common law system based on English law. The often negative image of call centres is increasingly being replaced by more accurate perceptions of the quality of legal work, available from professionals in India.

Lex Witness Magazine (only in print)

NEW DELHI: Industry chamber FICCI has called for granting infrastructure status to the hotel industry aimed at boosting investments in the sector. "Granting infrastructure status to the hotel industry will encourage re-investments in the hospitality sector," according to a FICCI-Evalueserve study. (...)

Mr Bhavya Sehgal of Evalueserve, a database firm that has done a survey commissioned by Ficci on investment opportunities in hotel infrastructure in India, says the survey finds that high land costs and high taxes in the hospitality sector are driving up the average room rates in India, making the industry uncompetitive vis-à-vis its counterpart in South-East Asia.

As of now, over 421 hotel projects have been approved by the authorities, accounting for over 72,682 rooms. Between 2008 and 2014 over 95,000 rooms will be added, against a demand estimated to be 50 per cent higher.

The industry survey by Ficci-Evalueserve points out that despite the huge earning potential there is little expenditure by the government on the hospitality industry.

The Hindu Business Line>>

A recent study has urged the government to grant the hotel sector the status of export and infrastructure industries in a bid to boost investments in hotel infrastructure and give a fillip to the country's tourism sector.

"The tourism industry earned foreign exchange worth USD 11.7 billion in 2008, an increase of 9.5 percent from the previous year. Given this quantum of earnings, the industry should be granted deductions on foreign exchange earnings," says the study jointly conducted by FICCI and Evalueserve. (...)

SME Times>>

Android is a mobile operating system running on the Linux kernel. It was initially developed by Android Inc., a firm later purchased by Google, and lately by the Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries. (...)

In September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had filed several patent applications in the area of mobile telephony.

The SEO Guru>>

Hard hit by recession and further driven to distress by Mumbai terror attacks, the Indian hospitality industry is seeking to recoup itself from the double whammy.

It is against this dismal backdrop of trickling tourist inflows and shrunk bottomlines, that the convergence of nearly 31-member strong high-powered delegation of Asian American Hotel Owners’ Association (AAHOA), in Bangalore, on January 11, 2010, assumes immense importance.

Official sources told Deccan Herald that the team led by San Jose, California-based Pacific Hospitality Company’s Tarun Patel will hold discussions with the Indian hospitality players on ways to address the current scenario as also explore joint venture initiatives in tourism infrastructure in India.
Sources said the meeting being held under the aegis of Ficci and Karnataka government, will also see presentation of Investment Opportunities in Hotel Infrastructure in India by Evalueserve.

Deccan Herald>>

We live in a world that is flat, has shrinked to help us reach out to anyone, anywhere on the other side of the globe in no time. The entrepreneurs today stand to benefit the most from the ‘global village’ structure of the society we live in. (...)

According to a report by Evalueserve, the FDI inflows in MENA region have grown at an average of 28% per annum from $13 billion in 2000 to over $97 billion in 2008. The report credits the growth in FDI to a “stable micro-economic environment” and consistent GDP growth and increase in trade, especially in non-oil exports. The IMF has indicated that between 2009 and 2014, the growth in the MENA region would be higher than the world average.

Dare - Because Entrepreneurs Do>>

Knowledge process outsourcing firm Evalueserve has revealed plans to triple staff numbers at its Chilean base over the next five years.

The office in Valparaiso currently employs 150 staff and Evalueserve describe it as “one of the company’s more profitable locations.”

Evalueserve provides market, market and business research to investment houses, private equity firms, management consultants and research firms. The Chilean base is one of four research centres alongside India, China and Romania.

Research Magazine>>

(...) Likewise, another company that chose Chile as a platform is Evalueserve. This company, one of the biggest KPO players with branches in India and China, was attracted by Chile’s infrastructure, well trained work force, and the government incentives, among other reasons.

Located in the Valparaiso Region on the coast just west of Santiago, Evalueserve provides services to its clients in the US, taking advantage of the similar time zone Chile has with that country. From here it can work in unison with its centres in India providing 24-hour coverage.

"There were different aspects that influenced the decision of establishing an Evalueserve centre in Chile. When we were looking for a Latin American country, we had several options, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Costa Rica, and analysed each one of them. Although we realised that there were cheaper countries than Chile, we chose settling here for various reasons, such as its infrastructure, its low crime rate, the government’s excellent economic policy, and the quality of its labour pool, among others. The support given by the government and InvestChile added an important benefit influencing our decision”, said Mohit Srivastava, Evalueserve Country Manager in Chile.

Srivastava cites the quality of professionals who work in this industry, who are highly qualified and have undergraduate degrees that are in many cases equal to master’s degrees in other countries.

Evalueserve hopes to expand the services it provides. “Our plan is to focus on a new service strategy, creating an integrated platform among our centres. Thus, we expect to triple our operations in Chile, generating job positions for 450 people in the next five years”, concludes Mohit Srivastava.

Worldfinance>>

Dubbing Chilean Center a Stronghold, KPO Pioneer Continues Global Expansion Emphasizing the Value of Indian-Chilean Connection

NEW YORK and SANTIAGO, Chile, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the global cooling of investment, Chile continues to secure new investments and expansions of existing ventures in global services. Evalueserve, a leading provider of Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) services, recently decided to expand its existing operations in Chile, one of the company's more profitable locations, to take advantage of the country's business environment and meet current and anticipated customer demand as part of its global strategy.

Ten years ago, Indian companies investing in Latin America were few and far between. Within the past few years, however, Indian service providers began viewing Chile as a complementary location to their main operations. To strengthen its global offering, Evalueserve opened its Latin American operation in Chile in 2006. Today, Evalueserve's integrated global delivery platform focuses on four locations - India, China, Chile and Romania. From Chile, the company is able to diversify geographical risk, offer U.S. daytime support, a 24x5 global delivery platform, Latin American services (Spanish and Portuguese) and overnight Asia coverage. This strategy allows Evalueserve to provide a high level of service to U.S. clients at considerably lower cost.(...)

TMC Net>>

PR Newswire>>

Research-live>>

Cloud Computing Journal>>

Green Life>>

News Blaze>>

(...) Recent studies have shown that non-resident Indians are returning to their home country in a big way. There is a reverse brain drain or brain gain as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prefers to call it. Alok Aggarwal, founder and chairman of Evalueserve, has studied trends and says that IITians are no longer as enamoured of the US. There is no demand for H1B visas, the magic chit that took techies to the US. There is no demand for techies either with IT spends being postponed. (...)

Job Searching Blog>>

(...)Four years ago the Chilean government conducted a study to determine how to expand its economy. Global services was one of five focus areas it selected, according to Carlos Alvarez, executive vice president and CEO of CORFO, the Chilean economic development agency.

Evalueserve: the near-shore KPO center

After opening delivery centers in Gurgaon, India, in 2000 and Shanghai, China, in 2005, Evalueserve, a KPO provider, opened its third delivery center in Valparaiso, Chile, in December 2006. The knowledge process outsourcer has added 60 professionals each year. Currently, 160 people work in the Chilean office, which operates rent free in a building owned by CORFO. "We hope to have 500 employees by 2014," says Srivastava.

Evalueserve provides research and analytics services to Fortune 500 companies as well as small and medium enterprises across industry verticals. "Being able to operate in the same time zone as our clients in North America results in real-time collaboration and higher productivity and innovation," says Srivastava. (...)

Outsourcing Center>>

As the global recession tends to bottom out, emerging Asian economies have been less affected and there are already indicators of a comeback. The financial services industry was worst hit by the recession, but it now seems that Hedge Funds and Private Equities are keen to focus on Asia again.

Institutional investors have to take well informed decisions in order to maximize returns and in the last few years they have been using expert network services to develop a quick and accurate understanding of various niche areas they are focusing on. The use of expert networks is more critical while investing in Asia, because it is difficult to understand various regional factors, and get access to sufficient information sources.

As the worst of the recession seems to be over, Asian countries such as India and China have only been marginally affected compared to the heavy slowdown in the mature western economies.

CFO>>

Schneider Electric, a provider of power and control solutions headquartered in France, recently announced it had settled a three-year old patent litigation with Chint, one of the largest manufacturers of low-voltage devices in China. The settlement amount of CNY 157.5 million (~ USD 23 million) paid by Schneider is believed to be the largest for a patent litigation settlement in China. The decisive victory for Chint puts a fresh spotlight on the fast-changing patent litigation landscape in China. (...)

 Available filing statistics indicate that Chinese companies are increasingly becoming aware of IP matters and are realizing the power of protecting IP through filing at the SIPO and foreign jurisdictions. Litigation statistics suggest that Chinese companies are increasingly becoming more aggressive with patent enforcement and non-Chinese companies operating in China have started to feel the heat. As the case of Chint v. Schneider shows, ignoring or not planning one’s IP strategy in China can cost companies dearly.

(...) Drive 75 miles west toward the port city of Valparaiso, and you'll find another leg of Chile's efforts to build a knowledge economy. There, Evalueserve, a New Delhi outsourcing firm, employs 160 Chileans who provide business analysis for companies worldwide. "I feel like I'm exposed to the heart of the international financial system," says Santiago Tapia, a 32-year-old who analyzes beverage and food companies for a global investment bank. Tapia says he's "living the American Dream," with a modern apartment two blocks from the ocean, a late-model Hyundai, and his fast-paced job with co-workers from India, Japan, China, and a half-dozen other countries.

Thanks to government-subsidized training and free rent for five years, Evalueserve says its costs in Chile are half what they would be in the U.S. and just 50% more than in India. The company plans to triple its workforce in Chile in four years. Corfo, the economic development agency, says outsourcers in Chile will export some $950 million in services in 2009. Within five years the agency aims to boost that to nearly $3 billion. (...)

BusinessWeek>>

"It has proved to give a good ROI, save the environment, ensure increased collaboration and faster dispute resolution."(...)

Forbes>>

“While the global economic crisis sure has had a big impact with the parent companies in many cases becoming cash strapped and wanting to jettison their captives, in some cases there is a clear lack of management focus,” said author of the report Manoj Madhusudanan, vice-president and head of business research at Evalueserve. Captives, which have less than 500 employees, are expected to have been the worst hit. (...)

Financial Express>>

The reform of India's patent system has given foreign companies the confidence that they can protect their intellectual property rights, but the economic boom is yet to translate through to a surge in home grown innovation, according to the latest research from the market analyst Evalueserve.

India has witnessed rapid changes in its patenting landscape as a result of growing economic activity and patent reforms. The number of patent applications filed with the Indian Patent Office (IPO) has increased threefold over the past six years.

This has been primarily due to multinational companies setting up and expanding their markets in India, says Balwant Rawat, Group Manager with the Intellectual Property Division of Evalueserve, and author of the report, “Patent Landscape in India 2009.” (...)

Science Business>>

The 3G operators worldwide have been reporting annual increases of 300 to 700% in 3G data traffic volumes, which is further likely to grow and some HSPA networks will have capacity shorfalls by middle of 2010, says a report published by Unwired Insight.

(...)Evalueserve estimates that about 275 mn subscribers will use 3G-enabled services and there will be nearly 395 mn 3G-enabled handsets.

"With the availability of 3G spectrum, private operators are expected to deploy 3G services in more than 30 Indian cities. Initially, operators are likely to focus on voice services; however, over the years, revenues are also expected to be generated from data and application-related services," the Evalueserve study said.(...)

Voice & Data >>

Telecom as a sector is booming. Not very long ago, we reported how Rural Telecom figures had touched one million. With reference to the UID, there was a suggestion on using the verified mobile user database as basis. India is now ready to teach the 500 million mark.

At the end of August, there were 494 million subscribers, including both fixed and wireless mobile segments. That was a whopping 15 million increase from the end of July from the figures released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. If the rate of growth continues, the 500 million mark could very well be reached by the end of this year. (...)

WAT Blog >>

 India is likely to have more than 850 mln mobile subscribers by the end of 2012 with the customer base rising significantly with the launch of 3G services, according to a study by knowledge process outsourcing company Evalueserve.  As on Aug 31, India's global system for mobile communications technology-based subscriber base stood at 335.45 mln. Wireless services have grown  phenomenally since 2003, with the number of mobile subscribers growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 75.7% per annum.

According to Department of Telecommunications' annual report for 2008-09, the number of wireline and wireless telephones in 2002 was 38.29 mln and 6.67 mln respectively. From 14.85% in Mar 2002, the share of wireless phones has increased to 91.17% in Mar 2009. Over the next four years, Evalueserve estimates that about 275 mln subscribers will use 3G-enabled services and there will be nearly 395 mln  3G-enabled handsets.

"With the availability of 3G spectrum, private operators are expected to deploy 3G services in more than 30 Indian cities. Initially, operators are likely to focus on voice services; however, over the years, revenues are also expected to be generated from data and application-related services," the study said.

The overall mobile penetration is expected to reach 78.3% in 2013 from about 30% in 2008.  According to Evalueserve, the launch of 3G services in India would have a positive impact on value added services such as video clips. The much-awaited auction of 3G spectrum will start on Dec 7 with companies providing services based on GSM technology getting a chance to bid first. The government is targeting a mop-up of at least 350 bln rupees from the auctions. State-owned operators, namely Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, have already been allotted 3G spectrum in their respective circles.

They will pay for the spectrum as per the highest bid of the successful participant in a particular circle. Evalueserve expects that the growth in the 3G subscriber base will be driven primarily by urban customer segment, accounting for about 80% of the total 3G consumer base by 2013. 

The launch of 3G technology will open the door to innovative value added service (VAS) offerings and will give impetus to the highly competitive Indian mobile market. Content developer companies like Comviva, IMImobile and Nazara Technologies, are betting high on the 3G as VAS would prove as a differentiator for telecom companies. (...)

Financial Express >>

With the availability of the 3G spectrum, about 275 million Indian subscribers will use 3G-enabled services, and the number of 3G-enabled handsets will reach close to 395 million by 2013-end, estimates the latest report by Evalueserve, a provider of knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) services. (...)

Evalueserve expects that nearly 50 per cent of the urban (above poverty line) customers will opt for 3G services by 2013. The low rural (above poverty line) penetration indicates a huge untapped potential in the rural market. With the launch of the advanced 3G services by private operators, the revenue from data services is expected to increase substantially in the near future. In addition, the demand for regional content like video clips, mobile comic strips and mobile magazines is expected to surge in the rural segment post-2012. Industry experts estimate that the percentage share of data revenues (in total revenues) is expected to reach 23 per cent by 2013. (...)

Business Standard >>

WAT Blog >>

SiliconIndia >>

Think Digit >>

Voice & Data >>

Total Telecom >>

"Patent filing in China has grown by an average of 20 percent every year since 2001. It is apparent that China is becoming a patenting giant. China already ranks third behind the US and Japan in terms of 20-year patent filing. The Chinese patent law, formulated in the 1980s and amended three times since, has ensured that rightful owners of new technology are recognised and infringers are punished. Patent enforcement is being strengthened as evident in several recent cases, most notably with Schneider Electric, which paid over RMB150 million (€15.34) to settle its patent dispute with the Chint group.

…As China continues to innovate, domestic patent filing will continue to grow. The increasing size of the Chinese market will increase the stakes for litigations. This will result in an increasing need for professional patent research services.” - Written by Ram Deshpande.

EuroBiz >>

Ashish Gupta, COO of Evalueserve said that they chose Chile for it’s local authority commitment, stable business climate and good infrastructure. Ashish Gupta announced that the company was going to increase in size from 140 professionals to 450 in the next 5 years.

Diario Financiero >>

Encouraged by improving consumer sentiment, consumer durables companies have lined up new product launches and are increasing their advertising and marketing spends by anywhere between 10 and 60 per cent this year. They believe sales will increase by 30-40 per cent in the festive months, even as analysts say the optimism is misplaced.

..Analysts, however, put out a cautionary note against misplaced optimism. B Vijayalakshmi, Assistant Vice-President at Evalueserve, counters that "the economy now is a compilation of two factors: lack of monsoons and the global economic recession, which has definitely resulted in a slowdown of sales. The upcoming festive season could see a change in consumer trends. Given the importance of festivals in India, one can see the same number of people coming in to buy various products, but there is a strong chance that they would spend only a fraction of what they did last season. Companies have to work extra hard to make their products more attractive and be able to convince the buyer to spend on their product despite having a limited disposable income this season."

Business Standard >>

Schneider Electric, a provider of power and control solutions headquartered in France, just settled a three-year patent litigation suit with Chint, one of the largest manufacturers of low- voltage devices in China. The settlement amount of CNY 157.5 million (about USD 23 million) paid by Schneider is believed to be the largest for a patent litigation settlement in China. The settlement highlights the changing patent landscape in China.

The above is from the article, “Patently Speaking: Failure to Heed IP in China Can be Costly,”. The article is authored by Ram Deshpande, Assistant Vice President with the Intellectual Property division of Evalueserve China, and Dr. Alok Aggarwal, the Co-founder and Chairman of Evalueserve.

Patent Baristas >>

Read More>>

1st RANK: Gurgaon - All grown up

 As little as two decades ago, Gurgaon took its first baby steps from a sleepy little hamlet in Haryana to becoming a bustling township, snapping up Delhi’s corporate gentry as its tenants. Today, the new kid on the block is attracting hordes of multinationals, bringing in their wake swish restaurants and hotels. Hard to believe, but take a drive down the recently constructed fivelane, world-class expressway to Gurgaon 29 km away—make sure you stay well behind manic tempos, SUVs and motorcycles weaving across lanes like deranged Formula 1 drivers—and you will soon pass a clutch of glittering buildings that are home to some of the biggest corporations in the world. What’s Gurgaon got that Delhi doesn’t? “I would say it’s got the feel of an international city—barring some potholes of weak infrastructure,” says real estate consultant Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and MD, CB Richard Ellis South Asia...

..There’s more to Gurgaon than just its tax policies. In the wake of this corporate migration, the city has attracted thousands of young professionals who find that living, working and playing in Gurgaon is cheaper, more convenient and fun than Delhi. “There appears to be a vibrant cultural takeoff here,” says Manoj Madhusudanan, VP- Business Research, Evalueserve. 

Read More>>

The Indian IT-ITeS industry, already reeling under effects of US recession, lost an estimated $1.5 billion worth of productive hours in 2008 due to because of poor employee lifestyles and habits, says a latest study. Nearly one out five ITITeS employees skip breakfast despite being aware of the first and most important meal of the day, a survey done by analytics company Evalueserve found.

Stressed and unhealthy employees translate to increased absenteeism and sub-optimal performance at the workplace, which adds to the long-term costs of the company and the overall economy. The study shows that around 30% of employees feel a sense of constant fatigue while around 32% employees experience eye stress, probably linked to their long working hours.

“Our research shows that sports or any other sort of physical activity such as exercising at the gym or aerobics, do not form a part of the daily routine of most of the surveyed people. This can be primarily attributed to the lack of time and initiative as people do not give high priority to physical fitness,” Sheetal Ranganathan of Evalueserve said. More than a third of the respondents were overweight, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) above 25. Simply put, one out of every three ITITeS employees is vulnerable to a serious health risk. This is alarming as the average age of the respondents is only 27 years with more than 2 years of experience, the study said.

 “In India, better roads with lesser congestion and quick alternative modes of transportation will make people spend lesser time on roads and have more time to take up physical activities or nurture a hobby. IT-ITeS staff in India spend, on an average, 2-3 hours every day travelling for work, apart from the time spent at work, which translates to a 12-hour work day,” Marc Vollenweider, CEO of Evalueserve, said.

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Evalueserve is an award-winning research and analytics company specializing in market, business and investment research; data and financial analysis; intellectual property and legal process; sales support; information; technology and related services to clients in a broad range of industries. In such a fast-moving, in-demand industry, even a momentary lapse in communication could cause serious problems for Evalueserve's viability. The company thus faced two major challenges: to provide those reliable communications links; and to ensure that the capacity and capabilities of its network could continue to grow as quickly as- and where-its business grows.

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Evalueserve is a global research company based in India, offering business and technology intelligence, market research, investment research, data analytics, and intellectual property services. The data centre is the lifeline of operations at Evalueserve.Time is money for the company as it bills its clients on an hourly basis, and even a second's downtime can prove costly. Business continuity was another concern because the reputation of the company was at stake - if power goes down, it's harder for Evaluserve to service its customers.

Learn how Evalueserve made optimal use of the data centre in terms of space, power, and cooling while ensuring scalability and availability.

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Slowdown or not, value retailers are still making money by selling discounted merchandise under one roof. Though relatively new to the game, they account for almost 50% of the sector's turnover.

Future Group's discount format, Brand Factory, which operates 2 outlets in Bangalore, has seen brisk business in the recent past. A snap poll of retailers found that most stores get 25% of revenues from discount retailing. Rajesh Seth, vice-president (marketing), for Central and Brand Factory, said, "Our turnover in apparel and footwear segments is almost the same as large lifestyle retailers."

Brand Factory will add 1,20,000 sq ft to its existing 1,50,000 sq ft in Bangalore in the first quarter of fiscal 2009-10. Seth said, "We have seen tremendous growth in the last four weeks and are touching double-digit growth."

Pegged at Rs 12,000 crore, value retailing is expected to grow by 35%, according to Evalueserve data. It provides an avenue for lifestyle firms to clear unsold stock. On an average, a value retailer gets 22-30% margins on the products.

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GURGAON: The terrace at the Hao Shi Nian Nian ("Here's to the Good Life") restaurant in Gurgaon's Central Plaza Mall offers a good sense of the city. A short drive from glass-fronted buildings that house Nestlé, American Express, and other multinationals, the Chinese restaurant is among the top lunch destinations in this suburb of Delhi, India's capital.

But on a recent weekday, the place has few customers. After the dumplings arrive, the manager declines to talk about his sales, but a waiter pouring water whispers bravely: "It's bad. No customers. No tips. I should get a new job." In the parking lot, used-car salesman Sachin Kulkarni displays late-model sedans, including a one-year-old Honda Civic sold by a couple who both lost their jobs. "People just look," Kulkarni says. "They don't buy."

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The Oil & Gas market situation has changed drastically over recent months. The current economic climate, coupled with declining oil prices, has led to increased pressure on procurement departments to dramatically cut costs in order to maintain profit margins.

IQPC is proud to announce the 3rd Annual Oil & Gas Procurement conference, scheduled to take place from 14 – 17 June in Abu Dhabi. The key focus of this year’s event will be on successful and low-cost solutions to optimize procurement processes and strategies and will also cover the very latest industry solutions.

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Confluence, the seminar series organized by the Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi conducted the second edition of the series based on two core managerial topics – operations and strategy.

The event, held on April 11, saw two sessions: the morning session which delved into operations and had eminent business leaders presenting their views on ‘Operations: Organizational Growth Driver’ and the afternoon session which saw various industry leaders sharing their thoughts on the theme “Reinventing Strategy; Rediscovering Growth’.

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The saying, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’ never meant as much to organizations as it does in today’s tough economic environment. With market pressures bottling up fast, enhancing productivity and driving efficiencies has become a priority for all businesses. In the current challenging market scenario, with factors like consumer familiarity and appropriate access driving both economic and social change, customer dynamics seems to be evolving too. In fact, businesses can lose customers literally at the click of a mouse!

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With India aiming to increase its research and development expenditure in the coming years, the country is likely to emerge as the next global hub for innovation and join the club of developed nations, a study has said.

The country is expected to strengthen its position in the innovation space as it is targeting to increase its R&D spend to two per cent of the GDP by 2012 under the 11th Five-Year Plan, from less than one per cent, as per a study conducted by global research and analytics firm Evalueserve.

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In recent months, knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) firms have seen an influx of talent apply for their growing number of positions.

In recent months, knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) firms have seen an influx of talent apply for their growing number of positions. It has been an interesting phenomenon that without a doubt is in part to blame to a multitude of factors affecting the financial services industry in the western world today.

Most bulge-bracket investment banks are aggressively reducing their headcount or limiting the number of new positions available and have been looking to leading KPOs to pick up much of the slack. As the work being outsourced these days is similar to what an internal research associate or analyst would do, KPOs have become a breeding ground for developing talent.

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