News in Brief

iSeva receives ISO 9001 - 2000 certification

NEW DELHI: iSeva Systems, an end to end CRM solution provider, incorporated

in November 99 in USA has been certified by BVQI for ISO 9001 2000 certification

which makes it the first company in India in the CRM space to have ISO

certification as per the latest standards. iSeva India CEO Vaibhav Tewari said,

" Just like the IT services, a leading group of CRM companies will emerge

while the rest will compete at the commodity end of the market that will

ultimately be squeezed out". Currently, iSeva has a 200 workstation contact

center in Bangalore that is being expanded to 50,000sq feet having 550 seats in

the next nine months. iSeva is also looking at setting up a second call center

in Delhi or Mumbai. Delivery mechanisms are being set up in Phillipines and

Canada as well.-CNS

LG introduces iMonitor

MUMBAI: LG Electronics' Digital Information Display Division has developed

iMonitor that can be hooked up to the Internet without a PC. The soft launch was

done recently at an exhibition held in Mumbai and it will be available

commercially in three to six month's time. The iMonitor comprises a 15-inch CRT

monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and has a 32 MB system extendable to 128 MB. It

enables web surfing just like the PC. Although the company has not decided on

the price, the sources reveal that the product will cost approximately half that

of a basic PC. "As the Internet monitor prevents unnecessary data storage

and program changes, it is highly suitable for public institutions or companies

needing a high level of security. Because a web environment can be created at

half the price of ordinary PCs, the new product is expected to receive a warm

reaction from consumers," says a company spokesperson.-CNS

Vintron ventures into retailing

NEW DELHI: Vintron is all set to open its retail shops across the nation.

This initiative, which has been undertaken after an extensive market survey by

the company, will kick off with its first retail outlet in Delhi. Vintron plans

to open 75 to 100 such shops by the end of September this year, of which 15 will

be housed in the National Capital Region of Delhi. Another 15 is planned in

Mumbai and five each in Bangalore and Hyderabad. When asked how much the entire

initiative will contribute to the company's overall revenues, Manish stated that

it would be too early to comment on incremental sales, though he added that the

potential was immense. "The margins for the retailer will also be healthy,

as their business development expenses will be limited," says Vintron

Informatics director - operations Manish Agrawal.-CNS

PCI brings first battery-less UPS to India

NEW DELHI: PCI Ltd. has introduced India's first battery-less UPS for

high-end applications from Piller GmbH of Germany. Starting from 150KVA, the UPS

comes with an alternative source of backup power to ensure the smooth running of

equipment during power failures. The high-end UPS is a combination of a diesel

engine, a motor generator, and a power bridge that actually replaces the

battery. The company has already completed an installation at Center for

Advanced Technology (CAT) in Indore. "Installed at a cost of Rs 2 crore,

the battery-less version saves costs, as the normal static version would have

cost CAT close to Rs 5 crore," adds Munjal. To keep maintenance costs low,

the UPS comes with an automatic grease dispenser that greases all moving parts

automatically at periodic intervals. PCI plans to complete nearly seven

installations by March 2002. With offices in 12 locations, PCI is also adding

mid-sized UPSs to its portfolio. The company is looking at an additional Rs 20

to 25 crore coming in to its coffers from the sales of this product range by

March 2003.-CNS