What are BackLinks....??

A backlink is an incoming link to a website/webpage. The number of backlinks is an indication of the popularity/importance of that website or page. They may be of significant personal, cultural or semantic interest: they indicate who is paying attention to that page. Backlinks enable you to keep track of other pages on the web that link to your posts.

In basic link terminology, a backlink is any link received by a web node (web page, directory, website, or top level domain) from another web node. Backlinks are also known as incoming links, inbound links, inlinks, and inward links. There are several factors that determine the value of a backlink. Backlinks from authoritative sites on a given topic are highly valuable. If both sites have content geared toward the keyword topic, the backlink is considered relevant and believed to be have strong influence on the search engine rankings of the webpage granted the backlink. A backlink represents a favorable 'editorial vote' for the receiving webpage from another granting webpage. Another important factor is the anchor text of the backlink. Anchor text is the descriptive labeling of the hyperlink as it appears on a webpage. Search engine bots (i.e., spiders, crawlers, etc.) examine the anchor text to evaluate how relevent it is to the content on a webpage. Anchor text and webpage content congruency are highly weighted in search engine results page (SERP) rankings of your webpage with respect to any given keyword query by a search engine user.

Search Engine Optimization

Websites often employ various techniques, called Search Engine Optimization(SEO) to increase the number of backlinks pointing to their website. In other words, SEO is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it "ranks," the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines. Quality backlinks are crucial for SEO's success. But the the question is how to get them..?

The idea behind including backlinks as part of the page rank algorithm is that if a page is good, people will start linking to it. And the more backlinks a page has, the better. But in practice it is not exactly like this. Even if plenty of backlinks come to your site the natural way, additional quality backlinks are always welcome and the time you spend building them is not wasted. Among the acceptable ways of building quality backlinks are getting listed in directories, posting in forums, blogs and article directories. The unacceptable ways include inter-linking (linking from one site to another site, which is owned by the same owner or exists mainly for the purpose to be a link farm), linking to spam sites or sites that host any kind of illegal content, purchasing links in bulk, linking to link farms, etc.

There are different ways to for SEO. Go for volume of links or go for Trusted links. But only a few go on the angle of "get the right links" and you might not need as many links as you thought you did. It should be noted that a blog with the right 10 links can beat the blog with 1000 of the wrong links.

















A typical search engine results page












































The above pictures shows the difference between the site that has lots of wrong links from many wrong sites and sites that has few right links from trusted sites like google, yahoo etc.

PageRank

PageRank is a numerical value which represents the popularity of a website. It is one of the methods Google uses to determine a page's relevance or importance. It is from 0 - 10, with 10 being the highest number awarded.

"Mathematical PageRanks (out of 100) for a simple network (PageRanks reported by Google are rescaled logarithmically). Page C has a higher PageRank than Page E, even though it has fewer links to it: the link it has is much higher valued. A web surfer who chooses a random link on every page (but with 15% likelihood jumps to a random page on the whole web) is going to be on Page E for 8.1% of the time. (The 15% likelihood of jumping to an arbitrary page corresponds to a damping factor of 85%.) Without damping, all web surfers would eventually end up on Pages A, B, or C, and all other pages would have PageRank zero. Page A is assumed to link to all pages in the web, because it has no outgoing links."



According to Google "PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important"."

According to Wikipedia.com "PageRank is a family of algorithms for assigning numerical weightings to hyperlinked documents (or web pages) indexed by a search engine. Its properties are much discussed by search engine optimization (SEO) experts. The popular search engine Google to help determine a page’s relevance or importance uses the PageRank system. Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed it while at Stanford University in 1998." However, examine search results and you will find that page rank isn't the only determining factor in search engine placement, although it has value and is part of the algorithm.

According to webworkshop.net, "PageRank is a numeric value that represents how important a page is on the web. Google figures that when one page links to another page, it is effectively casting a vote for the other page. The more votes that are cast for a page, the more important the page must be. Also, the importance of the page that is casting the vote determines how important the vote itself is. Google calculates a page's importance from the votes cast for it. How important each vote is is taken into account when a page's PageRank is calculated. PageRank is Google's way of deciding a page's importance. It matters because it is one of the factors that determine a page's ranking in the search results. It isn't the only factor that Google uses to rank pages, but it is an important one.

Note that, not all links are counted by Google. For instance, they filter out links from known link farms. Some links can cause a site to be penalized by Google. They rightly figure that webmasters cannot control which sites link to their sites, but they can control which sites they link out to. For this reason, links into a site cannot harm the site, but links from a site can be harmful if they link to penalized sites. So be careful which sites you link to. If a site has PR0, it is usually a penalty, and it would be unwise to link to it."

Page Rank : Some Facts

1. One-way inbound links from websites with topics that are related to your website's topic will help you gain a higher page rank.

2. Other one-way inbound links from pages with high page rank but unrelated topics do help a little, but not nearly as much.

3. The number of links outbound from the website that links to you also determines the value of the link. A related website with 10 outbound links that links to you is much better than an unrelated website with 100 outbound links that link to you.

You can find more information on this topic from :

* What are Backlinks and how do i use them?

* Wiki : Backlink

* Improving your page rank

Dear Friends/Visitors/Fellow Bloggers......

I really need your support in maintaining this blog. If you find my posts informative, please do comment on them. And if you want me to post on any topic that you feel may be informative to others, kindly notify me with a comment or shout in the shoutbox.

Regards,
Karthick

This video explains the end of the wolrd in 2012

Hey.... Everyone must watch this video... Though i don't believe in all these kinda stuff, this video made me fear gripped....



Comments are welcome.....

The Gateway to Northern Mindanao : Cagayan de Oro

Cagayan de Oro City is located at the northern coast of Mindanao, Philippines. It is the capital of Misamis Oriental province and the regional center for Northern Mindanao (Region 10). The city is popularly known for its initials CDO or CDOC.

CDOC is known as "The Gateway to Northern Mindanao" because of its location and good transportation facilities. However, it is through her warm and hospitable people that the city became more known as "The City of Golden Friendship".

Cebuano or Bisaya is the city's main dialect. English on the other hand is widely used in schools, media, government and commercial transactions. People from Cagayan de Oro are called Kagayanons. Most are brown-skinned of Malay descent and some with mixed ancestry popularly known to locals as mestizo.

The city has a reservoir of advantages: no typhoons all year round, rich agricultural environments, a broad consumer and manpower base, cheap and abundant power, strategically located internation seaports, modern telecommunication facilities, adequate infrastructure and a highly efficient educational system.

The city is also home to several universities and colleges. Xavier University, Liceo de Cagayan University and Capitol University are known in the fields of nursing, medicine, agriculture, engineering and commerce.

City Facts

COUNTRY	Republic of the Philippines
ISLAND	Mindanao
PROVINCE	Misamis Oriental
POSTAL CODE	9000
AREA CODE	8822 (MisorTel); 88 (Philcom)
TIME	+ 8 hours
AVERAGE TEMP.	29 C (89 F)
POPULATION	553,966 (2007 Census)
POPULATION GROWTH	2.54% (2007 Census)
LAND AREA	488.86 square kilometers
LANGUAGE	Cebuano, Tagalog, English
RELIGION	Christian, Islam, Buddhism
CURRENCY	Philippine Peso (PhP)
MEASUREMENT	Metric, mixed with English
ELECTRICITY	220 volts, 60 cycles
ELECTRIC PLUG	Type A, Flat Blade
ROAD	Left Hand Drive
Places Of Interest * Monigue Cave * Malasag Eco-Tourism Village * Macahambus Adventure Park * F.S. Catanico Falls * Mapawa Nature Park * Macahambus Hill Cave * Pueblo de Oro Golf Club * Rodelsa Hall * Xavier Museum * Night Cafe & Night Market * Mc. Arthur Marker * Kagay-an Resort * Tourism Showhouse Official Website : http://cagayandeoro.gov.ph/ In News at CDOC : Duaw Sa Kagayan Delegates To arrive Today

In pics: HP TouchSmart tx2 laptop

Hewlett Packard has introduced the company's first laptop computer with multi-touch technology promising users the same fingertip navigation built into previous HP desktops and popularised by Apple's iPhone.

The new notebook, called the TouchSmart tx2, will have three modes: PC, display and tablet, with a digital pen to sketch or take notes directly on the screen.

Here's a look into the first touchscreen laptop from the world's largest computer maker.

Capacitive multi-touch technology
TouchSmart tx2 features a 12.1-inch diagonal BrightView LED display and convertible design that allows it to be used as a PC, display or tablet. Users can navigate the screen with more than one finger simultaneously, using what HP describes as `capacitive multi-touch technology'.

Since the laptop recognises input from more than one finger at a time, users can use multiple gestures, such as flicking, pinching and rotating.

In addition, the screen, which has a resolution of 1,200 by 800 pixels, swivels and can be laid flat.

Processing power
The TouchSmart tx2 comes preloaded with Windows Vista Home Premium, and HP is giving customers the choice of AMD's Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core mobile processor or AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core mobile processor.

The system also has ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics processor, up to 8 GB of memory and a 500 GB hard drive. Other features include Bluetooth and WiFi wireless technology, an integrated camera and a DVD burner.

Rotating screen
HP has developed a `convertible' display for tx2, which lets users rotate its screen and use the notebook like a tablet PC. For less adventurous users, tx2 also offers a traditional keyboard and mouse.

HP said that tx2 also has a rechargeable digital ink pen that can be used to write or draw on the screen, and the handwriting can then be converted into typed text.

Software & pricing
The software foundation of the tx2's multi-touch capabilities is HP's MediaSmart 2.0. This allows users to view photos, listen to music, surf the Net or watch movies in high-definition, while bypassing Microsoft’s Vista interface.

In addition, HP has entered into a partnership with MTV Networks to bring video in from MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

HP TouchSmart tx2 is priced starting at $1,149. The company has placed its touchscreen laptop in the same bracket as Apple's low-end MacBooks in terms of pricing.

Rivals in the market
Although HP is touting tx2 as the first product of its type, rival Dell already offers touchscreen technology on its Latitude XT tablet PC. The Dell laptop, however, lacks consumer-oriented software.










Evolutionary growth
The company introduced its first touchscreen computer -- HP-150 -- in 1983. Earlier this year, the company unveiled TouchSmart family of PCs, which feature HP software designed to enable users to access applications with a swipe or tap of a finger, without touching a mouse or keyboard.

These TouchSmart machines have been largely aimed at integrating computers into the home, designed to serve as a kind of family bulletin board, a television and a place to check email in one place.

Source : TOI

The rise and fall of Yahoo CEO

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang is stepping down after a rocky tenure as chief executive of the Internet company. Among, the original Silicon Valley dotcom billionaires, Yang was named CEO in June 2007 after Terry Semel exit.

As CEO, Yang had the task to turn around the company's dwindling fortunes. However, the rejection of the Microsoft offer and a failed advertising partnership with Google marred his brief tenure. Here’s tracing the rise and fall of Yang.

Yahoo was born
Born in Taiwan on November 6, 1968, Yang moved to the United States with his family when he was around 10 years old and was raised in San Jose, California.

While studying electrical engineering at Stanford University in California, Yang and a classmate, David Filo, created a directory for websites in their spare time called "Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web."

Yang and Filo founded Internet portal Yahoo in 1995. Yang became an instant billionaire the following year when the company went public.

Yahoo survived dotcom bubble burst five years later and despite its recent struggles has remained one of the most popular sites on the Web, drawing millions of users a day as a gateway to the Internet. Yahoo mail still is the second most popular mail globally.

Among the world’s richest
According to Forbes magazine, Yang is the 524th richest person in the world with a fortune estimated at $2.23 billion.

Despite his wealth, Yang has remained heavily involved in running Yahoo. Some shareholders have accused him of putting his personal affection for the company he created over the interests of its shareholders.







Microsoft offer proves ‘costly’
Earlier this year, Yang rejected a $33 per share offer by Microsoft for Yahoo worth a total of more than $47 billion.

Yahoo has since been trading at between $10-12 a share, and rejection of the Microsoft offer led to a shareholder revolt against Yang.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer huffily withdrew the offer after Yang sought $37 per share. The negotiating breakdown triggered a shareholder revolt led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who called for Yang's ouster in July.

Icahn reached a truce that put him and two allies on Yahoo's 11-member board, but he still has been lobbying for Yahoo to pursue a deal with Microsoft that would either involve selling the company in its entirety or just its search engine, which ranks a distant second to Google Inc.

Failure of Google ad deal
After squandering the opportunity to sell to Microsoft, Yang tried to boost Yahoo's profit by forging an advertising partnership with Google.

But that backup plan fell through two weeks ago when Google walked away from the deal to avoid a court battle with the US Justice Department, which had concluded the partnership would have throttled competition in the online advertising market.

On the day the Google partnership collapsed, Yang publicly said he thought Microsoft should hook up with Yahoo. But Ballmer threw cold water on the idea the next day by declaring he doubted a deal could be worked out.

Given the acrimony surrounding the breakdown of the earlier talks between Ballmer and Yang, some analysts have speculated Microsoft will be more willing to renew negotiations if Yahoo had different leadership.

Plunging stock
Yang had also been exploring a possible acquisition of another fading Internet star, AOL, but most analysts panned the idea as a desperation move that threatened to hurt Yahoo more than it would help.

As Yahoo shares sank, a major acquisition became a moot point anyway because the depressed stock price made it more difficult to finance a deal. Yahoo said Yang will step down as CEO once a replacement is named but will retain a strategic role in the Sunnyvale, California, company.

"From founding this company to guiding its growth into a trusted global brand that is indispensible to millions of people, I have always sought to do what is best for our franchise," Yang said in a statement.

"Having set Yahoo on a new, more open path, the time is right for me to transition the CEO role and our global talent to a new leader," he said.

"I will continue to focus on global strategy and to do everything I can to help Yahoo realize its full potential and enhance its leading culture of technology and product excellence and innovation," he said.

What went wrong with Yahoo!

Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo has announced his decision to step down from his position as chief executive officer as soon as a replacement has been appointed.

Yang's departure comes after less than 18 months at the helm. Over the past few months, Yang drew intense criticism from shareholders for failing to agree an acquisition by Microsoft early this year.

Since then, Yahoo's fortunes have continued to deteriorate. A planned search deal with Google, its best hope of getting a quick boost, fell apart after regulators objected, and the company's shares have slumped as its core display advertising market has deteriorated.

So, where did Yahoo actually go wrong?

First mover, but not the leader
But many of its firsts have not panned out -- Yahoo was early among major companies to seize on the social network trend popularised by MySpace and Facebook, in which Web users share messages, photos and videos with select friends. But it remained too wedded to a decade-old idea of being a one-stop Web portal to embrace the new wave.

Promised changes, from new Web search advertising technology to do battle with rival Google Inc to the hiring of Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang as CEO, have failed to yield any promising changes.

Missed opportunities
Yahoo is struggling with the legacy of former chief Terry Semel, who from 2001 to mid-2007 led its resurrection from the dotcom crash and diversified it successfully into advertising. But a push into entertainment was far less successful.

"Yahoo was backed into a corner because they passed up compelling acquisitions," according to an analyst. The company had an opportunity to buy Google and didn't. It could have bought Facebook for less than a couple billion dollars and didn't said the analyst referring to two of Yahoo's biggest rivals.

No Panama
In a letter to Yahoo's board, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Semel had rebuffed him a year ago when he sought to hold talks to merge, citing confidence in Yahoo's "potential upside" from planned reforms and a new advertising service, dubbed Panama, to challenge Google in the increasingly important Web search and pay-per-click advertising markets.

"A year has gone by, and the competitive situation has not improved," Ballmer wrote to Yahoo's board in February. Under Semel, managing at Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo became ever more unwieldy as major operations, each with its own industry culture, grew up in Silicon Valley, New York, Los Angeles and in a variety of joint venture operations in Asia.

Failed manifesto
A leaked Yahoo internal memo in November 2006 called for a dramatic organisational shake-up and layoffs of up to 20 per cent of the workforce to restore competitiveness.

Known as the "Peanut Butter Manifesto," the memo argued that Yahoo was spreading organisational resources too thinly. "I hate peanut butter," memo author Brad Garlinghouse wrote.

Repeated product delays, business restructurings and executive defections, including former Chief Operating Officer Dan Rosensweig and research head Zod Nazen, led Semel himself to resign as CEO in June, when he was replaced by Yang.

Microsoft merger: Cost refusal?
In early February, Microsoft publicly announced $44.6 billion cash-and-stock offer to acquire Yahoo. Yahoo's stock surged from a close of $19.18 the day before the offer was made public to close at $28.38.

However, almost ten days later on February 11, Yahoo rejected Microsoft's offer, saying "Microsoft's proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo."

In April, Microsoft sets an ultimatum for a Yahoo response, threatening to take the matter directly to Yahoo shareholders. In May, discussions finally break down. Microsoft announces that it's really not interested in Yahoo.

Yahoo's market value has dropped by more than $20 billion since Yang took over as CEO in June 2007 as discussions with Microsoft ended in failure. Microsoft bid as much as $33 a share for Yahoo this year, and Yahoo now trades at a less than a third of that value.

However, with Yang gone, analysts are speculating that Microsoft may come back.

'Google dump'
Failed merger talks with Microsoft were followed by derailing of an ad partnership with Google Inc and stalling of talks with Time Warner Inc's AOL.

Google abandoned an agreement to sell ads alongside Yahoo's search results recently after US regulators threatened a lawsuit to block the partnership, saying it would give Google too much power.










Need to reinvent
"Yahoo needs to reinvent the 'cool factor.' (But) you can't just do that because you want to," said an analyst about Yahoo. He added that the same also holds true for Microsoft: "(It) can't hold a board meeting and tell people to go back to their desks and start acting cool."

Infosys on Obama, billing rates & Q3

Obama, billing rates, acquisition, currency fluctuations and hiring are some of the hottest issues facing Indian IT industry. And in the current downturn, almost all of them raise concerns.

While Obama raises outsourcing fears, worsening IT situation threatens to affect billing rates and both these seem to be eating into IT sector’s hiring.

So, what is the stand of Indian IT’s poster boy Infosys on these issues. Here’s from the horse’s mouth.

Mergers and acquisitions
Despite the global economic slowdown, Infosys Technologies said it is looking at mergers and acquisitions in Europe and Japan as it would "accelerate growth."

"We are looking at acquisitions and have a dedicated team working on it. We do not make an acquisition based on valuation alone, we will invest and acquire in companies which make strategic sense and are able to integrate in that entity properly," Infosys CEO and MD Kris Gopalakrishnan said.

"We had two focus areas to fill a gap in our services like consultancy, business process outsourcing and geography-based acquisitions, typically in Europe and Japan, where with acquisition we can accelerate growth," he added. He said Infosys wanted to invest in the "right company for the right price."

Gopalakrishnan agreed that the economic situation was challenging and companies working in the non-financial services business were also facing the heat.

"The downturn is global in nature and not just limited to North America. The environment is challenging and the impact is being felt on the whole economy," he said.

Hiring
According to company’s CEO and MD Kris Gopalakrishnan the economic crunch had not affected the company's hiring plans.

Earlier this fiscal, the software major announced it would hire recruit 25,000 new people this financial year.

However, according to a report published in a financial daily the net additions by TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and HCL Technologies were nearly 17,000 professionals in the just-concluded quarter, against 26,500 professionals in the year-ago period.

The company which signed 40 new customers in the last quarter has revised its growth rate prediction to about 15 per cent annually. The CEO said he was not very concerned whether the new US administration led by Barack Obama would introduce protectionist measures, offering tax breaks to American companies which do not outsource jobs, as mentioned in the Democrat leader’s campaign manifesto.

Currency fluctuation
Nasdaq-listed Infosys will see an impact on its December quarter revenue from currency moves, its chief executive said.

"Definitely currency movement will have an impact but it is difficult to say what exactly it is," S Gopalakrishnan said.

Infosys is seeing flat billing rates and the company is on track to add 25,000 gross staff in the current fiscal year to March 2009 despite the financial sector turmoil, he said.

India's export-driven software service firms, used to a scorching pace of growth, have been badly hit by a slowdown in the United States, which contributes more than half their revenue, and the spreading global financial turmoil.

Last month, Infosys cut its forecast for full-year dollar revenue growth due to the global turmoil and the rise of the US currency against euro and British pound, even as it beat expectations with a 30 per cent rise in quarterly profit.

IT growth
Infosys said growth in the IT sector will be slower in the wake of the current 'unprecedented' challenges that the world economy is facing but exuded confidence that the sector will bounce back.

"Growth in the IT sector will be slower... There is an overall slowdown which is understandable given the crisis... Infosys Techonologies co-founder Nandan Nilekani said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. When we look at the growth of the 4-5 years that is not going to be reproduced... in the current environment it is definitely not going to be of that nature," Nilekani, who is also the co-chairman of the company, added.

Infosys had earlier scaled down its dollar guidance by about 3 per cent for the full year to 13.1-15.2 per cent, perhaps its lowest revenue growth since inception from 19- 20 per cent.

Nilekani, however, said, "I think the IT industry has demonstrated time and again that it is resilient enough to meet the challenges."

“We had a similar situation, though not as profound in 2001, but we not only got out of that but took advantage of that. So I am sure the companies are following the right strategies to wait for the things to subside and take advantage of next cycle of growth."

The Indian IT sector, led by $40-billion software exports besides cashing in on the booming outsourcing opportunity, has been registering 30-32 per cent growth in the previous year, but had shown signs of slowing down under pressure of the credit crunch in the US market which fetches 60 per cent of the revenue. Industry association Nasscom has already scaled down the growth rate to 21-24 per cent.

Allaying fears that the current financial crisis will further impact the IT job market Nilekani said, "Companies will continue to recruit.... we are going ahead with the recruitment. I think it will continue.”

Obama worries
Infosys brushed off concerns that the election of Barack Obama as US president could mean a drop in outsourcing work.

During his campaign, Obama said he would offer incentives to companies that created jobs at home and halt tax breaks to those that ship work abroad.

However, Kris Gopalkrishnan said similar promises were heard during previous presidential campaigns and nothing had come of them. "In the past, when we've seen the mention (of curbing outsourcing) during the campaigns, it did not translate into a change," Gopalkrishnan told reporters on the sidelines of an economic summit. "Of course, we have to wait and see," he said.

At the same time he said it would be a mistake to embark on "reverse globalisation" in response to the worldwide financial crisis by retreating on outsourcing.

"We should continue to support globalisation," he said. "It's one of the opportunities for growth." During the past decade, firms outsourced software development, technical help and other services have benefited India which has a huge pool of talented English-speaking graduates.

Gopalkrishnan said there were signs from some clients that they might decrease their outsourcing budgets but "there are also indications from some clients that they may increase their allocations offshore."

The flagship outsourcing sector, which generates $40 billion in annual export revenues, traditionally views bad economic times as offering potential as Western firms cut costs by moving work to cheaper destinations. The sector has said it expects a similar outcome this time.

Billing rates
Infosys said its pricing has not come under pressure due to the global financial crisis which has hit the bottomline of the country's outsourcing industry.

"Not any trend or anything like that," Infosys Kris Gopalkrishnan said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's India edition when asked about if the company has witnessed any pricing pressure under the current global financial meltdown.

The Indian IT sector came under pressure following the meltdown in the US market which contributes nearly 60 per cent towards the software exports. He further said the slowdown has not only affected the IT sector but the retail, manufacturing and other sectors as well.

"The slowdown is affecting everyone...it is not just impacting IT services industry but everyone," he added. "We are still adding people. We will be recruiting 25,000 people this year gross and we, from a client perspective, have added good number of clients in Q2 and we still see opportunities in the market."

However, he said everything is not negative. "We are still seeing new business," he added.

Inside Infosys Q2 numbers

India's bellwether Infosys Technologies beat expectations with a 30.2 per cent rise in quarterly profit, thanks to a weaker rupee. However, the signs of the global economic crisis are writ large on the company's Q2 results as it cut its full-year profit forecast.

This is probably the first time Infosys has scaled back its guidance both for revenues and profits. However, the company said that it expects no major project cancellations.

Here's piecing together Infosys Q2 numbers.

Number crunching
Profit rose to Rs 14.32 billion ($298 million) from Rs 11 billion in the quarter ended September 30, Bangalore-based Infosys said in a statement here. Revenues were up 32 per cent to Rs 54.18 billion from Rs 41.06 billion.

The company reported that the consolidated income is expected to be in the range of Rs 55-57 billion, projecting 29-34 per cent YoY growth under the Indian accounting system.

Weaker rupee helped
An 8.4 percent drop in the rupee against the US dollar in July-September was positive for Infosys helping it push its Q2 numbers.

"We benefited from the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar during the quarter which was partially offset by the sharp appreciation of the US dollar against all other major currencies," Infosys chief financial officer V Balakrishnan said.

Indian software companies tend to get much of their income from the US billing in dollars. A weaker rupee helps companies to price their services more competitively and convert their dollar income into greater local currency. Average billing rates fell 0.3 per cent in the September quarter.

Cautious, but optimist
The company lowered its full-year revenue forecast in dollars citing global economic conditions. The revenue guidance is now down from $5.05 billion to $4.72--4.81 billion, about a five per cent fall.

However, though Infosys revised its full-year guidance, it said that it expects stable profit margins. Optimistic but cautious about medium-to long-term business growth, Infosys chief executive S Gopalakrishnan said, "The past four weeks have witnessed a lot of changes in the marketplace. We want to be cautious and that is why we have revised our guidance."

Gopalakrishnan added, "The challenging environment provides interesting opportunities for transformational service providers like us."

Newer geographies
The global financial turmoil has made India's IT companies explore new territories in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. This will help industry to lower its dependence on the United States, from where the IT majors draw more that 60 per cent of their revenue share.

Infosys too plans to expand its presence in Europe and elsewhere to cut its dependence on the US market. Recently IT-BPO industry body Nasscom said that it's time for IT firms to de-risk their marketing strategy from being US-centric and foray explore other geographies like EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), APAC and Latin America.

Also, its the right time for IT majors to focus on other verticals such as manufacturing, retail, transport, utility and so on continue keep traction.

Employees addition
Bangalore-based Infosys earlier said that it plans to make selective acquisitions and recruit 25,000 people this year.

The company reported that a gross addition of 10,117 employees (net 5,927) for the quarter including its subsidiaries. The company has close to 1,00,306 employees as on September 30, 2008. Last quarter Infosys added 3,192 new employees.

According to TV Mohandas Pai, member of the board and head, HRD and education & Research, "Infosys continue to be an employer of choice. Our significant investment in training has enabled us to continuously enrich our human capital."

New clients
During the quarter Nasdaq-listed Infosys added 40 new clients, as compared to 49 clients it added during the previous quarter (Q1).

Pointing towards tough and challenging market conditions, company's COO SD Shibulal said that deal flow remained stable. Among major deals, Infosys bagged a pharmaceutical major and helped a global automotive supplier in end-to-end implementation and rollout of Oracle 11i.

A chemicals company selected Infosys as its preferred supplier to provide architecture services, application optimisation and performance improvement services around its Web Content Management applications. An auto major sought company's services in process engineering, as well as deployment and maintenance of applications.

Will not raise Axon bid
The company also abandoned its bid to acquire UK-based SAP sunsultancy Axon Group Plc. In August Infosys had announced its plan to buy British consultancy Axon Group Plc in an all-cash deal. The second-largest IT exporter in India agreed to pay $753 million in cash to acquire SAP consultant Axon.

In late September smaller rival HCL Technologies offered 650 pence per share on Axon, trumping Infosys' 600 pence a share offer in August.

In a statement, the company said, "After careful consideration, the Board of Infosys has concluded that it will not increase the price of its original offer. The company is confident that its decision will have no material impact on its strategic plans."

According to analysts, the worsening profit outlook prompted Infosys to walk away from plans to acquire Axon after its 407.1 million pound ($690 million) bid was trumped by HCL Technologies Ltd.

Cash rich
The board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 10 on shares of face value of Rs five. The company said that its liquidity position continues to be strong with cash and cash equivalents reaching $1.9 billion.





Analysts speak
The company's results have got a mixed response from analysts. Though most analysts term Infosys' second quarter numbers in line with expectations, they are disappointed with the revised guidance.

The company not raising Axon bid is also seen as negative by some analysts. Analysts also fear that other IT companies may follow Infosys and reduce guidance.

Rating cut
Goldman Sachs Group Inc this week cut its investment ratings on Tata Consultancy, Satyam Computer Services Ltd. and Wipro as its analysts turned 'cautious' on the Indian technology-services industry from “neutral,” citing reduced earnings expectations because the financial turmoil.

The International Monetary Fund said this week that the global economy is headed for a recession next year and that losses related to US debt may bloat to $1.4 trillion.

Tech biggies still hiring!

You thought pink slips are the flavour of the season, especially in the technology industry? Read this: Satyam hiring 15,000, TCS to add 12,500, Infosys headcount to be up 25,000...

Yes, you are reading it right! Contrary to the fears of a hiring freeze due to global economic slowdown, IT majors in India have their hiring plans intact.

While initial reports indicated that the slowdown could nibble revenues of IT firms, followed by a spate of pink slips, delayed joining dates and promotion postponements, here comes the good news that the companies are still hiring.

However, the slowdown has led to a review of the hiring policies with companies adopting what they term as 'stringent quality measures'.

So, here's looking into the hiring plans of tech biggies.

Infosys
India's second largest software exporter which beat market expectations with a 30.2 per cent rise in quarterly profit, has become the second technology firm in the country to cross the one-lakh employee mark after industry leader TCS.

The company has expressed its plans to hire 25,000 people in FY09 and has said that it is committed to all the campus recruitments too. Following its Q2 results, Infosys reported that while 11,000 employees have already joined this year, another 18,700 are expected to join before the fiscal end.

Infosys and its subsidiaries added 10,117 employees in the second quarter of this fiscal that ended on September 30, taking the total headcount to 1,00,306 employees.

The company reported that a gross addition of 10,117 employees (net 5,927) for the quarter including its subsidiaries. The company has close to 1, 00,306 employees as on September 30. Last quarter Infosys added 3,192 new employees.

Company's HRD education and research head TV Mohandas Pai said, "Infosys continue to be an employer of choice. Our significant investment in training has enabled us to continuously enrich our human capital."

Tata Consultancy Services
India's top IT major Tata Consultancy Services, which reportedly fired close to 500 employees and announced delaying of promotions this year, is also upbeat on hiring plans. To tide over the US crisis, TCS plans to increase experienced hiring over freshers. A senior HR official said that the company is focussing on experienced candidates.

TCS plans to hire approximately 30,000-35,000 employees in the current fiscal. The company which recently acquired Citigroup Global Services for $505 million plans to hire nearly 12,500 employees of Citigroup Global Services (CGS).

During Q2 ended September 30, 2008, TCS saw gross addition of 9,682 employees (net 5,328) of which 6,673 were trainees and 1,587 were lateral recruits in India and 1,422 employees were added in overseas subsidiaries and branches. The total employee base is 121,610 professionals.

According to Ajoy Mukherjee, VP, head, global HR, “Our retention rates for employees continue to be the highest in the industry and we remain on course with our hiring plans for this financial year."

Satyam
The country’s fourth largest software firm Satyam Computers too claims to be upbeat on hiring. Incidentally, the company was also among the IT companies who downsized their workforce and delayed appraisals.

The company recently said that it has no plans to recast its recruitment targets. According to chairman Ramalingam Raju, “Satyam will recruit 14,000-15,000 people this fiscal year.”

However, the company said that it may postpone some of the new recruitments for the next quarter. Earlier there were reports that the company has deferred the joining date of 7,500 graduates it had recruited from various college campuses this year. The company though maintains that it has no intension of withdrawing these offers.

During the second quarter ended September 30, 2008, the software major reported a gross addition of 1,814 employees, including 221 trainees. The total employee strength including subsidiaries and joint ventures stood at 52,865. The attrition rate fell to 12.3 per cent from 12.6 per cent in Q1 FY09. Satyam's attrition for the first quarter was among the lowest in the industry at 10.95 per cent.

Satyam has also denied any move to sack employees. Company’s chairman Ramalingam Raju said that the recent media reports about the company sacking 5,000 people are wrong. According to him these people were actually asked to go on performance grounds. He said, “As part of our appraisal process we identify around five per cent of our associates in the performance improvement category. Every year about five per cent of our employees leave the organisation as they fail to meet the performance expectations."

Microsoft
World's largest software maker, Microsoft, too is geared up to add thousands of new jobs this year. The company which was recently said to have announced a hiring freeze denied any such move.

It said that though it is reviewing its hiring plans in light of the tough economic conditions, there is no company-wide hiring freeze. A few media reports had indicated that Microsoft has sent out an internal memo calling for a hiring freeze.

Company's spokesperson Lou Gellos sent out a mail saying, "Given the current economic environment we are taking the prudent step of reviewing our hiring plans and will make some adjustments as appropriate."

Microsoft, which has more than 91,000 employees worldwide, has been on a hiring spree, adding more than 20,000 employees in the last two years.

Wipro
Wipro Technologies, which reportedly fired close to 1,000 employees recently, too claims to have put no freeze on hiring. According to Wipro Talent Acquisition VP Pradeep Bahirwani, the company has started campus hiring in US and UK. The company is also pursuing campus programmes in India.

Wipro has introduced stringent quality measures into their hiring pattern. Various measures have been introduced including setting up a Talent Quality Group within Talent Acquisition.

Bahirwani added, "There are programmes like Wipro Academy of Software Excellence (WASE) which will help graduates learn while they work on projects with us."

Earlier reports indicated that the company had put about 4-5 per cent of its workforce, about 2,400-3,000 employees, under the scanner for non-performance. While some would be given counseling to improve their performance, others would be asked to leave.

New-York listed Wipro had 97,552 employees as of September 30, 2008. This number includes 75,748 employees in IT business unit and 21,804 employees in BPO business.