Rainmakers of engg services boost biz: Indian Tech’s Fastest Growing Segment Runs On Execs Whom Customers Trust

When former chief digital officer at Rolls-Royce Neil Crockett wanted to identify a service provider to accelerate its IoT (internet-of-things) capabilities three years ago, he floated a request for proposal (RFP). The company wanted to use IoT to get a lot more data from customers and use that to provide long-term service contracts.

Ayyaswamy presented TCS’s IoT platform, called Connected Universe Platform (TCUP), that helps develop and deploy IoT applications. Having worked with Rolls-Royce, TCS had a deep knowledge of its engines, blades, compressors and exhaust. “We were able to characterise what we could do for them. Our strength was contextual knowledge, digital platforms, information security, core engineering, capability around services. We were able to bring the might of TCS into making their business goal a reality,” Ayyaswamy says.Reguraman Ayyaswamy, global head of IoT & engineering and industrial services at TCS, saw it as a great opportunity for the company, and he knew he had his task cut out. Roll-Royce specialises in highperformance power systems engineering and aircraft engines. It was a decade-old-customer for TCS. But this was a different kind of engagement, one that impacted the core operations of Rolls-Royce, and TCS would really have to prove its capabilities. Other IT players too were participating in the RFP.

TCS won the deal. Ayyaswamy declined to mention the deal value, but independent sources estimate it is around $20 million annually. The platform today captures and analyses data to reduce the cycle time for Rolls-Royce to develop new products and services.

Getting customers to outsource core engineering work is very difficult, but Indian IT companies today have built significant expertise in the field, and it has become the fastest growing business for them. Deals above $10 million are considered large in this space. It is also a high-margin business. Industry body Nasscom in its 2018 strategic review called out engineering and R&D and product development as the fastest growing segment in IT services, growing at 12.8%, led by demand for connected cars, mobility and connectivity.

Pareekh Jain, founder of Pareekh Consulting, says the growth in engineering services is not a demand problem, as much as a supply problem. “Of the over $1-trillion R&D spend, only $60 billion or 6% is currently outsourced. There is a huge market but someone needs to go out and make it happen. That’s why the role of key executives and rainmakers are important,” he says.

L&T Technology Services, Persistent and HCL each won an over $50-million deal in the last two years, signalling a psychological threshold that would open up upstream, high-end engineering opportunities.

Source: The Times of India dated 6 March, 2019

Now, just 1-day gap between engg papers at Mumbai University

MUMBAI: A month before the engineering exam is set to commence, Mumbai University has decided to reduce the gap of four to seven days given between each paper for preparation.

After a meeting held recently, a university official issued directives to all colleges, informing them about the need for creating a slot of 45 days for internship post exams. The decision has caused panic among students who plan their studies taking those leaves into account. An online petition, started a day ago, already has close to 20,000 supporters.

A message forwarded by the university’s dean of science and technology, SK Ukrande on Sunday, read, “Examinations will be conducted in two slots. Regular examinations will be held in the first slot and the ATKT (allowed to keep term) exams in the second. There will be only a day’s gap between two successive papers of the semester.” The regular exams are likely to be held from May 7 to May 22, and repeaters’ exams from May 23 to June 7. Students have been instructed to prepare themselves for the change in schedule and accordingly plan their studies. They have also been asked to plan for their internship in any industry from May 25 to July 7.

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) recently stated students should mandatorily undergo internship for 600 hours during their BE/B Tech programme. Mumbai University, therefore, wanted colleges to facilitate a 45-day period during every vacation in the four-year programme – for first, second, third and final year students.

But the practice of giving preparation time before each paper is being followed for several years. Students claim the decision has come at the end of semester and can make it difficult for them to prepare. Students are worried some papers may clash. A student who signed the petition said there was no point in condensing the time-table as it would affect passing percentage of engineering students, which is already poor. “It is not possible to revise conceptual subjects in one day,” said a student. Another said the university should have announced this decision at the start of semester. The petition on change.org states students are overloaded with assignments and experiments for most of the year and there is enough pressure on students having ATKT.

A senior teacher claimed the decision was ad hoc and taken without discussion in the academic council meeting. “Also, there is a huge mismatch between number of students available and number of industries willing to take them for training,” said the teacher.

While the dean was unavailable for comment, Vinod Malale, spokesperson for the exam section, said the decision is not yet officially declared. “The university will take feedback from stakeholders,” he said. Another official said there was no point in dragging the engineering exam for a month when study leave is not given to students from any other programme. He added the university had recently shortened the timetable for TYBA exams too.

Source:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/now-just-1-day-gap-between-engg-papers-at-mumbai-university/articleshow/68263857.cms (Accessed on March 6, 2019)