HERZLIA, ISRAEL: VocalTec Communications Ltd, a global provider of carrier-class multimedia and voice-over-IP solutions for communication service providers, has signed a partnership agreement with AMT Group, a Russian systems integrator. The partnership has already yielded a first joint customer.
The partnership will focus on the delivery of VocalTec's comprehensive set of VoIP solutions to service providers and enterprise customers across Russia. AMT Group is fully certified to market, sell, install and support VocalTec's products and solutions.
The partnership is part of VocalTec’s strategy to expand the sales of its Essentra VoIP solutions through well respected channel partners in Russia. AMT Group specializes in the in design, implementation and technical support of complex telecommunication and information systems, having already successfully implemented and delivered thousands of projects.
AMT Group’s experience and large local presence will serve to further promote VocalTec’s widely accepted solutions in Russia.
VocalTec and AMT Group are happy to announce the first customer of this partnership. Ijsvyaz Invest, an alternative carrier in Russia, has deployed VocalTec's Essentra BAX, class 5 application server enabling the delivery of residential and hosted enterprise VoIP services over any broadband infrastructure. The deployment also features VocalTec’s Essentra iCX, a uniquely integrated SIP-to-SS7 solution enabling seamless interworking between IP and legacy networks.
“VocalTec’s Essentra solutions are ideal for the needs of competitive and next-generation VoIP carriers in Russia," said Oleg Tabarovsky, Technical director at AMT Group. "We value this partnership and believe that VocalTec and AMT Group share the same inspiration, based on leveraging next generation technologies to provide fast ROI and business advantages to carriers."
“AMT Group’s customer-base and expertise, together with our comprehensive VoIP offering, ideally positions us to take advantage of the fast growing VoIP market in Russia," said Ido Gur, President and CEO at VocalTec. "We are delighted to welcome AMT Group as our partner and view this agreement as another very positive step in expanding our presence in Russia. VocalTec’s class-5 certification by Infocom, the Russian Center of Examination and Certification is expected to further enhance the market opportunity for both companies.”
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Rules change in mobile handset outsourcing business: iSuppli
EL SEGUNDO, USA: With the structure of the mobile handset supply chain upended by the global economic crisis, the old rules for the contract manufacturing of wireless devices have been overturned, leaving new pitfalls for OEMs and EMS providers, according to iSuppli Corp.
One major rule change is that the contract manufacturing business can no longer count on incremental growth in outsourced production from all wireless OEMs.
"Until recently, the contract manufacturing industry yielded consistent double-digit year-over-year growth rates in mobile handset outsourcing,” said Jeffrey Wu, senior analyst, EMS/ODM for iSuppli. “However, the uncertainty in the marketplace now is forcing some OEMs to not only decelerate outsourcing but also to reclaim production by moving it in-house. Nokia, for instance, is one such OEM."
In 2008, Nokia decreased the percentage of its outsourced manufacturing volume to 17.1 percent, down from 21.5 percent in 2007. The attached figure presents the balance of in-house and outsourced manufacturing at Nokia from 2005 to 2008.
“This reflects a larger trend in the mobile-handset supply chain,” Wu said. “Decelerating and decreasing outsourced manufacturing by those OEMs that are still operationally competent will hurt the growth prospects of contract manufacturers.”
Thus, as EMS and ODM providers mull their future strategies, they should not fall into the trap of assuming continued strong growth in production outsourcing among mobile-handset OEMs.
Vertical structure goes flat
Looking at another potential pitfall, the success of Foxconn International Holdings (FIH) in recent years has spurred other EMS firms to emulate the company’s vertical supply chain structure, including component procurement.
FIH’s extensive integration of various nodes of the supply chain into its operations often was credited as a key contributor to the company’s success and its rise to the leading position in the global EMS market. However, the halo surrounding FIH disappeared in 2008 and was replaced by a series of disappointing financial announcements.
"When the economy is going strong and market demand is vibrant, the vertically integrated model can help an EMS provider grow because the economies of scale can be leveraged internally, and the manufacturing business and the component business can subsidize each other," Wu said. "But when the order volume drops, this model doesn’t allow a lot of flexibility for the manufacturing arm and prevents it from sourcing to external component suppliers easily. Thus, the vertical integration model is like a double-edged sword, helping an EMS provider to compete better when the market grows, but making it suffer more when the economy stagnates."
Because of this, EMS firms may want to avoid the hazard of adopting FIH’s vertical structure amid the market downturn.
One major rule change is that the contract manufacturing business can no longer count on incremental growth in outsourced production from all wireless OEMs.
"Until recently, the contract manufacturing industry yielded consistent double-digit year-over-year growth rates in mobile handset outsourcing,” said Jeffrey Wu, senior analyst, EMS/ODM for iSuppli. “However, the uncertainty in the marketplace now is forcing some OEMs to not only decelerate outsourcing but also to reclaim production by moving it in-house. Nokia, for instance, is one such OEM."
In 2008, Nokia decreased the percentage of its outsourced manufacturing volume to 17.1 percent, down from 21.5 percent in 2007. The attached figure presents the balance of in-house and outsourced manufacturing at Nokia from 2005 to 2008.
“This reflects a larger trend in the mobile-handset supply chain,” Wu said. “Decelerating and decreasing outsourced manufacturing by those OEMs that are still operationally competent will hurt the growth prospects of contract manufacturers.”
Thus, as EMS and ODM providers mull their future strategies, they should not fall into the trap of assuming continued strong growth in production outsourcing among mobile-handset OEMs.
Vertical structure goes flat
Looking at another potential pitfall, the success of Foxconn International Holdings (FIH) in recent years has spurred other EMS firms to emulate the company’s vertical supply chain structure, including component procurement.
FIH’s extensive integration of various nodes of the supply chain into its operations often was credited as a key contributor to the company’s success and its rise to the leading position in the global EMS market. However, the halo surrounding FIH disappeared in 2008 and was replaced by a series of disappointing financial announcements.
"When the economy is going strong and market demand is vibrant, the vertically integrated model can help an EMS provider grow because the economies of scale can be leveraged internally, and the manufacturing business and the component business can subsidize each other," Wu said. "But when the order volume drops, this model doesn’t allow a lot of flexibility for the manufacturing arm and prevents it from sourcing to external component suppliers easily. Thus, the vertical integration model is like a double-edged sword, helping an EMS provider to compete better when the market grows, but making it suffer more when the economy stagnates."
Because of this, EMS firms may want to avoid the hazard of adopting FIH’s vertical structure amid the market downturn.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Fujitsu no. 1 in key North American optical markets: Ovum
RICHARDSON, USA: Fujitsu Network Communications announced that according to data from Ovum, Fujitsu has strengthened its top position in Aggregation (MSPPs/OEDs) and achieved market leadership for Metro WDM and ROADM in North America for 2008. Together, these sectors comprise nearly 60 percent of the $4.7B optical networking market.
“By continuing to make substantial inroads at major carriers and becoming the #1 metro WDM and ROADM vendor in North America, Fujitsu is clearly the leader in 2008,” said Ron Kline, Research Director of Optical Networks: North America at Ovum. "The company posted its fifth consecutive year of growth and outperformed the market, with 2008 revenues rising 14 percent as compared to a market decline of 4 percent. Fujitsu increased its North American overall optical networking share by nearly 2.5 points, capitalizing on metro network growth and its strong incumbent positions with Tier 1 carriers, which drove metro ROADM and MSPP/OED sales."
Ovum segregates the North American optical networking market into four main segments -— Aggregation, Bandwidth management (DCS/OCS), Metro WDM, and Backbone DWDM.
Aggregation, which includes legacy ADMs, MSPPs/ OEDs, and converged non-ROADM Packet Optical systems, is the largest segment and accounts for nearly 30 percent ($1,395M) of the overall $4.7B optical networking market in North America. Fujitsu has been the leading Aggregation equipment supplier every year since Ovum began measuring this market in 2002. In 2008 the company increased its share in this segment by nearly 3 points to 31.5 percent, which is more than 10 percentage points higher than its closest competitor.
The Metro WDM segment, includes ROADM and non-ROADM DWDM equipment deployed in metropolitan and regional applications. North American spending on Metro WDM equipment in 2008 increased 11 percent year-over-year, reaching $1,358M. Ovum believes that metro WDM will become the largest North American optical networking segment in 2009. Fujitsu's metro WDM revenue grew 77 percent on strong sales of its FLASHWAVE 7500 platform, which far outpaced 2008 market growth of 11 percent. Consequently, its metro WDM market share rose nearly 8 points to 21.4 percent and placed Fujitsu in the #1 market position.
At $793M, the ROADM market is now 58 percent of the total metro WDM spending and 17 percent of the total optical networking spending, up from 14 percent in 2007. Fujitsu has 32.9 percent of the ROADM market and became the market leader with a share change of 11 points versus its nearest competitor, which gained 1 point.
“Despite the challenging economic environment, Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers, as well as Cable/MSOs, CLECs and Enterprise customers continue to rely on Fujitsu to meet their optical networking solutions needs,” said Doug Moore, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Fujitsu Network Communications. “Fujitsu offers the right combination of market-leading MSPP and ROADM products, along with experienced employees and financial strength that position Fujitsu to continue to grow our share of the optical networking market.”
Fujitsu controls 15.5 percent of the overall optical networking market in North America. The company participates in the two largest segments, Aggregation and Metro WDM, and has the #1 market position with a 26 percent share in this combined $2,753M sector.
“By continuing to make substantial inroads at major carriers and becoming the #1 metro WDM and ROADM vendor in North America, Fujitsu is clearly the leader in 2008,” said Ron Kline, Research Director of Optical Networks: North America at Ovum. "The company posted its fifth consecutive year of growth and outperformed the market, with 2008 revenues rising 14 percent as compared to a market decline of 4 percent. Fujitsu increased its North American overall optical networking share by nearly 2.5 points, capitalizing on metro network growth and its strong incumbent positions with Tier 1 carriers, which drove metro ROADM and MSPP/OED sales."
Ovum segregates the North American optical networking market into four main segments -— Aggregation, Bandwidth management (DCS/OCS), Metro WDM, and Backbone DWDM.
Aggregation, which includes legacy ADMs, MSPPs/ OEDs, and converged non-ROADM Packet Optical systems, is the largest segment and accounts for nearly 30 percent ($1,395M) of the overall $4.7B optical networking market in North America. Fujitsu has been the leading Aggregation equipment supplier every year since Ovum began measuring this market in 2002. In 2008 the company increased its share in this segment by nearly 3 points to 31.5 percent, which is more than 10 percentage points higher than its closest competitor.
The Metro WDM segment, includes ROADM and non-ROADM DWDM equipment deployed in metropolitan and regional applications. North American spending on Metro WDM equipment in 2008 increased 11 percent year-over-year, reaching $1,358M. Ovum believes that metro WDM will become the largest North American optical networking segment in 2009. Fujitsu's metro WDM revenue grew 77 percent on strong sales of its FLASHWAVE 7500 platform, which far outpaced 2008 market growth of 11 percent. Consequently, its metro WDM market share rose nearly 8 points to 21.4 percent and placed Fujitsu in the #1 market position.
At $793M, the ROADM market is now 58 percent of the total metro WDM spending and 17 percent of the total optical networking spending, up from 14 percent in 2007. Fujitsu has 32.9 percent of the ROADM market and became the market leader with a share change of 11 points versus its nearest competitor, which gained 1 point.
“Despite the challenging economic environment, Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers, as well as Cable/MSOs, CLECs and Enterprise customers continue to rely on Fujitsu to meet their optical networking solutions needs,” said Doug Moore, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Fujitsu Network Communications. “Fujitsu offers the right combination of market-leading MSPP and ROADM products, along with experienced employees and financial strength that position Fujitsu to continue to grow our share of the optical networking market.”
Fujitsu controls 15.5 percent of the overall optical networking market in North America. The company participates in the two largest segments, Aggregation and Metro WDM, and has the #1 market position with a 26 percent share in this combined $2,753M sector.
Welcome to PC's Telecom Blog!
Welcome to PC's Telecom Blog!
Hi friends, I've been thinking about adding a telecom blog to my network for a very long time! The reason being, I started my career in electronics and telecom back in 1989.
I had the privilege of being part of Asian Sources Telecom Products -- a site, which I managed and built, with the help of my team and colleagues at Asian Sources Media, and later, Global Sources. Later, I moved on to Wireless Week, USA, as Asia Pacific Editor for the Asian Edition.
Back in India, I managed Convergence Plus for a short while, before launching four sites for CIOL in 2004 -- Mobility, Networking, Storage and Security.
Given this background in telecommunications, it is apt for me to start a blog on this subject as well. Telecom has been my forte, and well, it is a subject that has also won me four awards in technology journalism, while at Global Sources.
Again, this blog has been spun out off my award winning blog! That blog remains unchanged, and will continue to carry top-quality, world class content!
This blogs will now include specific blog posts related to telecommunications, as well as press releases, industry updates, new products, features, statistics, etc. It will cover wireless, wireline, broadband, networking, optical networking, Test & Measurement, etc.
Thanks for your kind support as always. Suggestions for improvements are always welcome! :)
Hi friends, I've been thinking about adding a telecom blog to my network for a very long time! The reason being, I started my career in electronics and telecom back in 1989.
I had the privilege of being part of Asian Sources Telecom Products -- a site, which I managed and built, with the help of my team and colleagues at Asian Sources Media, and later, Global Sources. Later, I moved on to Wireless Week, USA, as Asia Pacific Editor for the Asian Edition.
Back in India, I managed Convergence Plus for a short while, before launching four sites for CIOL in 2004 -- Mobility, Networking, Storage and Security.
Given this background in telecommunications, it is apt for me to start a blog on this subject as well. Telecom has been my forte, and well, it is a subject that has also won me four awards in technology journalism, while at Global Sources.
Again, this blog has been spun out off my award winning blog! That blog remains unchanged, and will continue to carry top-quality, world class content!
This blogs will now include specific blog posts related to telecommunications, as well as press releases, industry updates, new products, features, statistics, etc. It will cover wireless, wireline, broadband, networking, optical networking, Test & Measurement, etc.
Thanks for your kind support as always. Suggestions for improvements are always welcome! :)
IPTV in Latin America: Not so fast!
DUBLIN, IRELAND: Research and Markets has added the "IPTV in Latin America: Not So Fast" report to its offering.
IPTV will take a backseat to other pay-TV platforms as telcos seek alternative strategies to meet the significant market demand, according to this latest report.
IPTV in Latin America: Not So Fast examines the market for pay-TV services in general and IPTV in particular in Latin America. The 18-page report analyzes the regulatory hurdles faced by IPTV and the progress telcos are making in introducing various pay-TV services, as well as the various strategies they employ to make the most of the opportunity in the face of significant challenges.
The report cites more than 23 examples of pay-TV services and contains case studies of Telefónica and Telmex/América Móvil that investigate their respective pay-TV strategies across the region. In recent years, telcos around the world have developed an attraction to the idea of IPTV as a new revenue source and competitive instrument.
However, IPTV is simply not living up to expectations in Latin America. "Fewer than 0.1 percent of households in Latin America subscribed to IPTV at year-end 2008 and the technology had very few net additions during the year," notes Derek Medlin, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. "As the market has evolved, it has become evident that there is significant demand for pay-TV, which is pushing telcos to seek alternative strategies to meet this demand," he says. "However, the reality is that the struggles on the front end have severely crippled adoption so far; regulatory issues are blockading IPTV altogether, or at least leading to deployment delays," he adds.
Although pay-TV penetration remains anaemic relative to the adoption of pay-TV in other regions, the author believes this is due to a lack of supply rather than a lack of demand. "Recent initiatives from telcos and cable companies are catalyzing the market by thrusting a variety of pay-TV services into underpenetrated areas and market segments," says Medlin. "As a result, adoption is taking off, making the low penetration levels an indicator of the growth potential, especially when gauged against the levels of adoption reached in other regions," he explains.
"IPTV will have to take a backseat to other pay-TV platforms for the rest of the forecast period, becoming part of a lineup of pay-TV offerings rather than the sole telco service," Medlin adds. In the future, the author does not expect IPTV to break out of its niche until around 2012, when it will be approaching a 5 percent share of total pay-TV subscriptions. "Pyramid estimates that by 2014, the region will be home to more than 4.4 million IPTV subscriptions, which will reach 2.6 percent of all households," he says.
IPTV will take a backseat to other pay-TV platforms as telcos seek alternative strategies to meet the significant market demand, according to this latest report.
IPTV in Latin America: Not So Fast examines the market for pay-TV services in general and IPTV in particular in Latin America. The 18-page report analyzes the regulatory hurdles faced by IPTV and the progress telcos are making in introducing various pay-TV services, as well as the various strategies they employ to make the most of the opportunity in the face of significant challenges.
The report cites more than 23 examples of pay-TV services and contains case studies of Telefónica and Telmex/América Móvil that investigate their respective pay-TV strategies across the region. In recent years, telcos around the world have developed an attraction to the idea of IPTV as a new revenue source and competitive instrument.
However, IPTV is simply not living up to expectations in Latin America. "Fewer than 0.1 percent of households in Latin America subscribed to IPTV at year-end 2008 and the technology had very few net additions during the year," notes Derek Medlin, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. "As the market has evolved, it has become evident that there is significant demand for pay-TV, which is pushing telcos to seek alternative strategies to meet this demand," he says. "However, the reality is that the struggles on the front end have severely crippled adoption so far; regulatory issues are blockading IPTV altogether, or at least leading to deployment delays," he adds.
Although pay-TV penetration remains anaemic relative to the adoption of pay-TV in other regions, the author believes this is due to a lack of supply rather than a lack of demand. "Recent initiatives from telcos and cable companies are catalyzing the market by thrusting a variety of pay-TV services into underpenetrated areas and market segments," says Medlin. "As a result, adoption is taking off, making the low penetration levels an indicator of the growth potential, especially when gauged against the levels of adoption reached in other regions," he explains.
"IPTV will have to take a backseat to other pay-TV platforms for the rest of the forecast period, becoming part of a lineup of pay-TV offerings rather than the sole telco service," Medlin adds. In the future, the author does not expect IPTV to break out of its niche until around 2012, when it will be approaching a 5 percent share of total pay-TV subscriptions. "Pyramid estimates that by 2014, the region will be home to more than 4.4 million IPTV subscriptions, which will reach 2.6 percent of all households," he says.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Farnell looking to convert 3,500 prospects this year in India!
Now that's what I call aggression!
Last July, I had the pleasure of meeting Ms Harriet Green, CEO, Farnell Electronics, a part of the Premier Farnell group of companies. It is soon going to be a year since the company set up presence in India. Farnell has aggressive plans for India, with the company likely to look at converting at least 3,500 prospects this year.
I met up with Nader Tadros, Commercial Marketing Director APAC, Premier Farnell (see picture here), and Navin Honnavar, marketing manager, Farnell Electronics India Pvt. Ltd to get an update on Farnell.
According to Tadros, Farnell is said to be the number 1 small-order high service multi-channel distributor in the world. "We carry obver 3,500 leading suppliers and 450,000 product stocks globally. We have 36 transactional websites in 23 languages," he added.
Farnell currently has six warehouses -- one in America, and two in Europe and three in Asia -- Sydney, Shanghai and Singapore. In India, it now has nine branch offices, and one contact center and one global tech center (GTC) -- in Bangalore. The GTC provides live chat and board level support, which also translates into global support.
Tadros said that Farnell is aggressively are supporting the EDE (electronic design engineers) community and MRO (maintenance, repair, operatoinal) marketplace. "We have taken particular focus on developing the EDE space, providing support, services and relevant products. We want to make sure the value proposition is mapped on to the EDE needs," he said. Elaborating on the value proposition, he cited an example of x-ray machine manufacturers.
Global business strategy
Farnell has a four-pronged global business strategy. This includes:
* Focusing on global EDE customer segment.
* Increase business via the Web.
* Internationalization
* Continue to develop profitable MRO business.
Tadros believes that the power of the Web is tremendous. "It is very useful for customers to search and transact. Another area is customer demand. They are looking for efficiencies," he added. "An important aspect that can help us is that we are able to understand customers; needs. The data that the web search is able to provide gives us the critical information. If a customer searches for a part, and we track that, we are able to service their needs better."
Hasn't Farnell been affected by the recession? Tadros said: "We are not immune to the recession. The volatlity is higher, and it is also at the customer level." Honnavar added: "Our strategy seems to be working for us. We are maintaining our base in the MRO space. We are still pulling in customer requests and still growing."
So, what else is Farnell doing, besides these activities? Well, it has adopted a multichannel approach for the Asia Pacific region. It has 154 staff in eight call centers, besides being involved in direct and e-marketing. The company has nine local websites -- simplified chinese for China, thai for Thailand, and English for India, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. Besides, it has 103 field sales engineers in 29 sales offices.
Aggressive plans
I started this post by saying I liked Farnell's aggressive plans. It currently has 2,500 active customers and 9,000 prospects in India alone. The company has a target to reach $25 mn by 2010. It is also a walue added distributor offering products to leading suppliers such as Texas Instruments, Molex, and 3,500 other leading brands.
Touching on Farnell's clients in India, Honnavar said: "We have independent design houses, resellers, R&D centers, educational centers, government organizations (such as BEL, HAL), etc., among our customers. The prospects includes a huge list of people. We have touched the top layers in tier 2 cities -- such as Coimbatore and Ahmedabad. We are looking at converting 3,500 prospects this year."
More focus on components, SMEs
The components industry isn't exactly in the pink of health right now. Giving his views on the electronics and components space, Tadros said: "Customers themselves are not able to anticipate the demand for the next quarter or periods. We are seeing that there is still growth in the EDE space and inquiries are still coming in. During a recession, you have an opportunity to distinguish yourself from competition. There is pressure on teams as they have to continually innovate. Customers require more even support, more technical documentation, and look for faster turnaround times."
Farnell is in a position to help those SMEs who are in the electronics and components spaces. Tadros said that the company can support such SMEs by helping them to build their markets in a timely fashion.
Honnavar added that Farnell is focusing on building a product and purchasing team, sitting out of Singapore and Hong Kong. "Moving forward, you will probably get to see more buying happening in the Asia Pacific region. Going ahead, a lot of sourcing will also be done from India." The company intends to be extremely close to suppliers, especially in the Greater China region.
Last July, I had the pleasure of meeting Ms Harriet Green, CEO, Farnell Electronics, a part of the Premier Farnell group of companies. It is soon going to be a year since the company set up presence in India. Farnell has aggressive plans for India, with the company likely to look at converting at least 3,500 prospects this year.
I met up with Nader Tadros, Commercial Marketing Director APAC, Premier Farnell (see picture here), and Navin Honnavar, marketing manager, Farnell Electronics India Pvt. Ltd to get an update on Farnell.According to Tadros, Farnell is said to be the number 1 small-order high service multi-channel distributor in the world. "We carry obver 3,500 leading suppliers and 450,000 product stocks globally. We have 36 transactional websites in 23 languages," he added.
Farnell currently has six warehouses -- one in America, and two in Europe and three in Asia -- Sydney, Shanghai and Singapore. In India, it now has nine branch offices, and one contact center and one global tech center (GTC) -- in Bangalore. The GTC provides live chat and board level support, which also translates into global support.
Tadros said that Farnell is aggressively are supporting the EDE (electronic design engineers) community and MRO (maintenance, repair, operatoinal) marketplace. "We have taken particular focus on developing the EDE space, providing support, services and relevant products. We want to make sure the value proposition is mapped on to the EDE needs," he said. Elaborating on the value proposition, he cited an example of x-ray machine manufacturers.
Global business strategy
Farnell has a four-pronged global business strategy. This includes:
* Focusing on global EDE customer segment.
* Increase business via the Web.
* Internationalization
* Continue to develop profitable MRO business.
Tadros believes that the power of the Web is tremendous. "It is very useful for customers to search and transact. Another area is customer demand. They are looking for efficiencies," he added. "An important aspect that can help us is that we are able to understand customers; needs. The data that the web search is able to provide gives us the critical information. If a customer searches for a part, and we track that, we are able to service their needs better."
Hasn't Farnell been affected by the recession? Tadros said: "We are not immune to the recession. The volatlity is higher, and it is also at the customer level." Honnavar added: "Our strategy seems to be working for us. We are maintaining our base in the MRO space. We are still pulling in customer requests and still growing."
So, what else is Farnell doing, besides these activities? Well, it has adopted a multichannel approach for the Asia Pacific region. It has 154 staff in eight call centers, besides being involved in direct and e-marketing. The company has nine local websites -- simplified chinese for China, thai for Thailand, and English for India, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. Besides, it has 103 field sales engineers in 29 sales offices.
Aggressive plans
I started this post by saying I liked Farnell's aggressive plans. It currently has 2,500 active customers and 9,000 prospects in India alone. The company has a target to reach $25 mn by 2010. It is also a walue added distributor offering products to leading suppliers such as Texas Instruments, Molex, and 3,500 other leading brands.
Touching on Farnell's clients in India, Honnavar said: "We have independent design houses, resellers, R&D centers, educational centers, government organizations (such as BEL, HAL), etc., among our customers. The prospects includes a huge list of people. We have touched the top layers in tier 2 cities -- such as Coimbatore and Ahmedabad. We are looking at converting 3,500 prospects this year."
More focus on components, SMEs
The components industry isn't exactly in the pink of health right now. Giving his views on the electronics and components space, Tadros said: "Customers themselves are not able to anticipate the demand for the next quarter or periods. We are seeing that there is still growth in the EDE space and inquiries are still coming in. During a recession, you have an opportunity to distinguish yourself from competition. There is pressure on teams as they have to continually innovate. Customers require more even support, more technical documentation, and look for faster turnaround times."
Farnell is in a position to help those SMEs who are in the electronics and components spaces. Tadros said that the company can support such SMEs by helping them to build their markets in a timely fashion.
Honnavar added that Farnell is focusing on building a product and purchasing team, sitting out of Singapore and Hong Kong. "Moving forward, you will probably get to see more buying happening in the Asia Pacific region. Going ahead, a lot of sourcing will also be done from India." The company intends to be extremely close to suppliers, especially in the Greater China region.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Infineon on India's e-passport and semicon industry
If you have ever been a resident of Hong Kong, you'd know what an e-passport looks like! You would have even used it! For example, if you were crossing over into Shenzhen, China, from Lo Wu, which is on the borders of Luohu district within Hong Kong and the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, China, [having reached there via the KCR (Kowloon-Canton Railway)] -- you can easily use your Hong Kong e-passport to get past the immigration point and enter China!
It is really easy! Simply drop your e-passport into the e-passport reader slot and place your finger on the fingerprint reader for it to scan and read. Once your e-passport comes out, move over to the other side to another e-passport reader, repeat the same exercise, and you're done! All it takes is less than a minute!
All Indians could soon have e-passports!
Well, such an e-passport can become a reality in India soon! If you haven't heard it, Infineon Technologies recently supplied contactless security microcontrollers (MCUs) for India's electronic passport (e-passport) program! The Indian e-passport rollout started with Indian diplomats and officials being issued e-passports -- around 30,000 to be issued in phase one. It is likely that by September 2009, the e-passports will be extended to the general public.
The rollout has started with the issuance of electronic passports to Indian diplomats and officials. It is expected that in this first phase, up to 30,000 electronic passports shall be issued. By September 2009, the program is likely to be expanded to include passports used by the general public. Today, around 6 million passports are being annually issued in India. I believe, the government of India has invited a new tender for interested stakeholders to bid for 20 million e-passports.
So, being a Hong Kong e-passport holder, I was interested in knowing whether the Indian version is as smart as that particular one? By the way, Hong Kong's e-passport also doubles up as your Hong Kong ID (HKID) card. If you don't have one, you simply cannot do business in Hong Kong! Your HKID number is unique and remains unchanged!
Dr. Rajiv Jain, Vice President and Managing Director, Infineon Technologies India Pvt Ltd, said that both Hong Kong and India are using the same product family from Infineon. "The security levels of both e-passports are based on the Common Criteria EAL 5+, the highest possible security certification for MCUs. In addition, both comply to ICAO requirements, the international standard for e-passports."
Infineon’s SLE 66CLX800PE security MCU provides advanced performance and high execution speeds, and was specifically designed for use in electronic passports, identity cards, e-government cards and payment cards. Sounds very interesting!
Highlights of Infineon's security MCU
The security MCU features a crypto-coprocessor and can operate at very high transaction speeds of up to 848kbits/s even if the elevated encryption and decryption operations have to be calculated.
The SLE 66CLX800PE offers all contactless proximity interfaces on a single chip: the ISO/IEC 14443 type B interface and type A interface, and both used for communication between electronics passports and the respective readers; and the ISO/IEC 18092 passive mode interface, which is used in transport and banking applications. The SLE 66CLX800PE features 80 kilobytes (kb) of EEPROM, 240kb of ROM, and 6kb of RAM.
The SLE 66PE contactless controller family, which includes the SLE 66CLX800PE, is certified according to Common Criteria EAL 5+ high (BSI-PP-0002 protection profile) security certification. Infineon’s security in MCUs used in e-passports builds on the underlying hardware-based integral security, with data encryption, memory firewall system and other security mechanisms to safeguard the privacy of data.
The SLE 66PE product family comprises a whole product portfolio designed for use in basic-security to high-security smart card systems, with the EEPROM sizes ranging from 4kb to144kb, and covering different applications including government ID, transportation and payment.
Infineon's perception of Indian semiconductor industry
So much about the e-passport! I can't wait to get my hands on one! Since I was in a discussion with Infineon, it naturally turned toward the Indian semiconductor industry and what needs to be done!
Dr. Jain said: "The Indian semiconductor industry has seen its share of successes and misses. The in-depth technical talent required for design and development is omni-present (TI, Intel, Infineon, Wipro, etc., to name a few). For example, we are doing critical R&D in the areas of automotive electronics, broadband, mobile communications and secured ID solutions at Infineon India, and the fact that it is one of the largest centres in Infineon’s global R&D network, is a testimony to India’s importance as the destination for cutting edge research. This has also led to creation of home-grown design houses offering services to the larger companies.
"We are also seeing in some small, but growing numbers, products and ideas for local markets. As the local markets evolve, so will the ability of these companies to deliver innovation for these local markets, which can then be taken globally."
He added that an area of debate has been the need for semiconductor manufacturing in India. For example, having fabs, test and packaging plants, and EMS. "There have been government initiatives with a few successes. However, financial, tax-related and custom-related investment in these areas needs to come together and be centrally driven from a long-term perspective, as these institutions, which can provide a stable manufacturing base, need larger efforts to be successful."
Hopefully, we will finally get to see some action on all of these areas post the Indian general elections due shortly.
PS: Just to let all of my friends know, I am no longer associated with either CIOL or its semiconductors web site.
It is really easy! Simply drop your e-passport into the e-passport reader slot and place your finger on the fingerprint reader for it to scan and read. Once your e-passport comes out, move over to the other side to another e-passport reader, repeat the same exercise, and you're done! All it takes is less than a minute!
All Indians could soon have e-passports!
Well, such an e-passport can become a reality in India soon! If you haven't heard it, Infineon Technologies recently supplied contactless security microcontrollers (MCUs) for India's electronic passport (e-passport) program! The Indian e-passport rollout started with Indian diplomats and officials being issued e-passports -- around 30,000 to be issued in phase one. It is likely that by September 2009, the e-passports will be extended to the general public.
The rollout has started with the issuance of electronic passports to Indian diplomats and officials. It is expected that in this first phase, up to 30,000 electronic passports shall be issued. By September 2009, the program is likely to be expanded to include passports used by the general public. Today, around 6 million passports are being annually issued in India. I believe, the government of India has invited a new tender for interested stakeholders to bid for 20 million e-passports.
So, being a Hong Kong e-passport holder, I was interested in knowing whether the Indian version is as smart as that particular one? By the way, Hong Kong's e-passport also doubles up as your Hong Kong ID (HKID) card. If you don't have one, you simply cannot do business in Hong Kong! Your HKID number is unique and remains unchanged!
Dr. Rajiv Jain, Vice President and Managing Director, Infineon Technologies India Pvt Ltd, said that both Hong Kong and India are using the same product family from Infineon. "The security levels of both e-passports are based on the Common Criteria EAL 5+, the highest possible security certification for MCUs. In addition, both comply to ICAO requirements, the international standard for e-passports."Infineon’s SLE 66CLX800PE security MCU provides advanced performance and high execution speeds, and was specifically designed for use in electronic passports, identity cards, e-government cards and payment cards. Sounds very interesting!
Highlights of Infineon's security MCU
The security MCU features a crypto-coprocessor and can operate at very high transaction speeds of up to 848kbits/s even if the elevated encryption and decryption operations have to be calculated.
The SLE 66CLX800PE offers all contactless proximity interfaces on a single chip: the ISO/IEC 14443 type B interface and type A interface, and both used for communication between electronics passports and the respective readers; and the ISO/IEC 18092 passive mode interface, which is used in transport and banking applications. The SLE 66CLX800PE features 80 kilobytes (kb) of EEPROM, 240kb of ROM, and 6kb of RAM.
The SLE 66PE contactless controller family, which includes the SLE 66CLX800PE, is certified according to Common Criteria EAL 5+ high (BSI-PP-0002 protection profile) security certification. Infineon’s security in MCUs used in e-passports builds on the underlying hardware-based integral security, with data encryption, memory firewall system and other security mechanisms to safeguard the privacy of data.
The SLE 66PE product family comprises a whole product portfolio designed for use in basic-security to high-security smart card systems, with the EEPROM sizes ranging from 4kb to144kb, and covering different applications including government ID, transportation and payment.
Infineon's perception of Indian semiconductor industry
So much about the e-passport! I can't wait to get my hands on one! Since I was in a discussion with Infineon, it naturally turned toward the Indian semiconductor industry and what needs to be done!
Dr. Jain said: "The Indian semiconductor industry has seen its share of successes and misses. The in-depth technical talent required for design and development is omni-present (TI, Intel, Infineon, Wipro, etc., to name a few). For example, we are doing critical R&D in the areas of automotive electronics, broadband, mobile communications and secured ID solutions at Infineon India, and the fact that it is one of the largest centres in Infineon’s global R&D network, is a testimony to India’s importance as the destination for cutting edge research. This has also led to creation of home-grown design houses offering services to the larger companies.
"We are also seeing in some small, but growing numbers, products and ideas for local markets. As the local markets evolve, so will the ability of these companies to deliver innovation for these local markets, which can then be taken globally."
He added that an area of debate has been the need for semiconductor manufacturing in India. For example, having fabs, test and packaging plants, and EMS. "There have been government initiatives with a few successes. However, financial, tax-related and custom-related investment in these areas needs to come together and be centrally driven from a long-term perspective, as these institutions, which can provide a stable manufacturing base, need larger efforts to be successful."
Hopefully, we will finally get to see some action on all of these areas post the Indian general elections due shortly.
PS: Just to let all of my friends know, I am no longer associated with either CIOL or its semiconductors web site.
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