devesh final 2

8/9/2019 Devesh Final 2

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It gives me immense pleasure to express my heartfelt gratitude to my respected guide Ms.

MANITA DUBEY for providing me articulate guidance and ceaseless encouragementthroughout my training. Despite her numerous preoccupations, she always spared her

valuable time to guide me at all stages of the work.

I am also very thankful to my guide Ms. JASPREET KAUR (Lecturer in LIM, LPU)

and my coordinatorMs. SUKHWINDE KAURfor their full support in completing this

project work.

The project proved to be one of the most productive and knowledgeable experiences of my

career. It provided an opportunity to me to upgrade my skills and to sharpen my

professional knowledge by analyzing the collected data.

DEVESH KUMAR CHAUHAN

CONTENTS

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1. Executive Summary 4

2. Company Profile 6

3. Introduction of topic 7

4. Objective of research report 12

5. Research Methodology 56

6. Analysis 58

7. Conclusions 63

8. Bibliography 65

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Business restructuring with the help of information & technology

Today IT is very helpful in every aspects of business fields now- a- days business cant

be thought without the IT. Information Technology- is your computers and

communications systems capable of giving you the information and analysis you need?

How do you use email - is it helping or hindering your business and the quality of service

you give to your customers? What internet presence and processes do you need? How

should your voice and data systems work together? What systems need to be available to

mobile staff? What customer relationship management (CRM) systems should you have?

How should you consider all these issues to see the needs and opportunities? IT and

communications systems increasingly offer marketing and competitive advantage to

businesses in all sectors - make sure you know that IT can do for you and for your

customers.Despite the global economic slowdown, the Indian IT software and services

industry is maintaining a steady pace of growth. Every business at a point of time starting

to bend towards the declining position and there the company go for the restructuring of

the business and that point of time IT is a very vital thing for the business field and can

help a lot. A significant modification made to the debt, operations or structure of a

company. This type of corporate action is usually made when there are significant

problems in a company, which are causing some form of financial harm and putting the

overall business in jeopardy. The hope is that through restructuring, a company can

eliminate financial harm and improve the business.

A lot of companies are trying to restructure with the help of IT; spin-offs, demergers are

in the news quite regularly. Wockhardt is an example of a demerger, where all life

sciences businesses were grouped together and demerged while pharmaceuticals

continued as the original company. Indian Rayon, on the other hand, wrote off assets of

the Sea Water Magnesia division, which was no longer viable, as a non-cash loss against

accumulated profits and is looking at disposing off the assets. It also acquired the

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garments division from Madura Coats for cash. This was after the demerger of the cement

business from Indian Rayon and its merger with Grasim in the previous year.

Today, it is not necessary to restructure entire businesses; instead, it is possible to identify

any part of the value-chain in any business and work out its necessity and profitability.

The focus is surely towards managing the core expertise of the company and any part of

the value chain, which doesn't fit in, can be outsourced. Addressing this demand, a lot of

companies are coming up which position themselves as IT-enabled, focused

service/support providers.

Another example is the restructuring and repositioning in the Indian software industry. To

achieve the benchmark industry growth rate of about 60%p.a. over the next few years, our

IT companies will have to move away from the indirect businesses to direct ones and get

a larger share of the business from each of their clients. The earlier contracts involved

converting legacy systems to ERP, now we have web-enabling contracts. This business is

very critical and can be done only in the context of a direct customer and grabbing a large

share of fulfilling its needs. Providing migration services is today's biggest earner and a

lot of MNCs will be looking at buying out such businesses in India. Similarly, Indian

companies with high skills and resources are looking at new markets and customers, by

taking up strategic stakes or share swap acquisitions, of niche IT companies across US,

Europe and Japan. The impact of IT in business is so much because companies are trying

to achieve the best results with the help of IT thats why some companies are taking ERP

software facilities so that if they will have a problem relating to their Business they

consult to their ERP soft wares and from their they get the best options to apply in their

business and achieve their goals. Now a days companies doing their business not only in

national field but in internationally also with the help of IT they are doing video

conference across the world staying their home town sitting their office they can send

their important messages all over the world very easy in a short amount of time.

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COMPANY PROFILE

Ever since its Inception in 1994 Technocare has been offering software Education.

It started off as the Authorized Training Center of Datapro in 1994. Then in 1996 went

in to Corporate Trainings for Corporate client like Airport Authority of India, Northern

Railways, Deference, HMT, EIL, Samsung, National Insurance etc, and is also

conducting training programs for their staff on regular basis. Technocare also ventured

into the Area of Software Development in 1997 to Develop software for medium sized

business organizations related to Billings, Stocks and Inventory Control, Payroll,etc. But

education always remained the core strength area of Technocare now ATS InfoTech (p)

LTD. And we firmly believed that it was very important to stay technogically abreast in

this market. Since the main potential lied in the higher-end Training segment and our

expertise also lied in the same area so it was decided that we come up with something,

which will cater to the state of the art latest technologies and will focus only on the

higher-end segment. This is how ATS was born. Since the day of its inception we at ATS

decided on one thing that became our Key Motto Quality Training at Affordable Price.

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INTRODUCTION

Advance Training Systems is a training institute started by ATS InfoTech (p) Ltd. Having

Presence in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, MP, Bihar, and Gujarat and UP region

and have a vast Experience Base in software Training industry, software Development

and Corporate training. Advance Training Systems was specifically incorporated for

imparting Higher Education and Keeping in mind the fact that their was a need for such

training centers who give quality based higher end training and that also at affordable

cost. ATS is Microsoft Certified Partner and is also a VUE Authorized testing center for

global Certifications.

AIM

To be precise the very aim of establishing ATS is to provide state of the Art

Technology at an affordable price something which is actually useful and in demand and

fulfills the very objective i.e. Value for Money.

VISION

Our vision is to be the No. 1 company for providing higher-end education and to have a

global presence.

OBJECTIVE

Once again with the growth in the software markets world over and more value added

work coming to India. India is fast becoming the global Hub for catering to all aspects of

the world software industry be IT Infrastructure, Development, or back Office, BPO and

as India moves up the value Chain from just coding for offshore projects to full productdevelopment. The demand of skilled manpower is at its peak. And ATS is geared up to

meet this need by providing right kind of training on the different technologies that are in

demand.

EMPLOYEES: - 250 employees are working in organization.

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ORGANIZATION WORK:

ATS InfoTech offers a wide range of cutting edge technology training programs for

fresh / experienced IT and corporate learners.

Hardware & Networking Technologies

5. MCSE

6. CCNA

7. LINUX

8. Exchange Server

Software Technologies

1. J2EE

2. Visual Studio.NET

3. Software Quality Testing

Database Technologies

1. MS SQL Server 2000

2. Data ware Housing

3. Oracle 10g

Embedded Systems Design

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INTRODUCTION

Information &Technology

These are your computers and communications systems capable of giving you theinformation and analysis you need? How do you use email - is it helping or hindering

your business and the quality of service you give to your customers? What internet

presence and processes do you need? How should your voice and data systems work

together? What systems need to be available to mobile staff? What customer relationship

management (CRM) systems should you have? How should you consider all these issues

to see the needs and opportunities? IT and communications systems increasingly offer

marketing and competitive advantage to businesses in all sectors - make sure you know

hat IT can do for you and for your customers.Despite the global economic slowdown, the

Indian IT software and services industry is maintaining a steady pace of growth. Software

development activity is not confined to a few cities in India. Software development

centers, such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Calcutta, Delhi-Noida-

Gurgaon, Vadodara, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Goa, Chandigarh, and Trivandrum are

all developing quickly. All of these places have state-of-the-art software facilities and the

presence of a large number of overseas vendors. Indias most prized resource is its readily

available technical work force. India has the second largest English-speaking scientific

professionals in the world, second only to the U.S. It is estimated that India has over 4

million technical workers, over 1,832 educational institutions and polytechnics, which

train more than 67,785 computer software professionals every year. The enormous base

of skilled manpower is a major draw for global customers. India provides IT services at

one-tenth the price. No wonder more and more companies are basing their operations in

India. India is among the three countries that have built supercomputers on their own. The

other two are USA and Japan. India is among six countries that launch satellites and do so

even for Germany and Belgium. India's INSAT is among the world's largest domestic

satellite communication systems. India has the third largest telecommunications network

among the emerging economies, and it is among the top ten networks of the world.

According to National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), the

IT investment in telecom in the country is primarily in applications and products for

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managing the network and providing improved customer service. In 2002-03, according

to NASSCOM estimates, the total revenues of the Indian IT market were Rs317 billion,

comprising hardware of nearly Rs180 billion and software and services revenues

(including IT Training) of Rs137 billion. While overall, the Indian IT market has grown

from Rs 5,4500 million (US$ 1.73 billion) in 1994-95 to Rs79,3370 million (US$ 16.5

billion) in 2002-03, accounting for 3% of India's GDP in 2002-03. Today, India exports

software and services to nearly 100 countries around the world. The share of North

America (U.S. & Canada) in Indias software exports is about 61 per cent. According to

a NASSCOM - McKinsey report, annual revenue projections for Indias IT industry in

2008 are US $ 87 billion and market openings are emerging across four broad sectors, IT

services, software products, IT enabled services, and businesses thus creating a number of

opportunities for Indian companies. In addition to the export market, all of these segments

have a domestic market component well. Other key findings of this report are:

Software & Services will contribute over 7.5 % of the overall

GDP growth of India.

IT Exports will account for 35% of the total exports from India.

Potential for 2.2 million jobs in IT by 2008.

IT industry will attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of U.S. $

4-5 billion.

Market capitalization of IT shares will be around U.S. $ 225

billion.

Ministry for Information and Technology (IT), Government of India has taken a major

step towards promoting the domestic industry and achieving the full potential of the

Indian IT entrepreneurs. An IT committee was set up by the Ministry of Information

Technology, comprising Non Resident Indian (NRI) professionals from the UnitedStates to seek expertise and advice and also to step up U.S. investments in India's IT

sector. Minister of Information Technology chairs the committee and the members

Include Secretary; Ministry of Information Technology and a large number of

important Indian American IT entrepreneurs.

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Impact of Information & Technology in Business

Information Technology is an important and extremely effective tool through which

development and progress can take place with the co-operation of all strata of society

including government and the public. District Administration is committed to

providing a responsive and effective administration for the welfare of the public

keeping in view the national objectives. District Administration recognizes the need to

harness the growing power of I.T. for the betterment of the life of the residents of the

District Leh of Jammu & Kashmir State. Dealing with Government is usually

complicated, slow and confusing. Government typically is associated with complex

hierarchies, elaborate procedures, and slow decision making. Public access to

Government services is uncoordinated, cumbersome and paper based, which is furthercompounded in case more than one agency is involved. Service delivery by the

government can be contrasted for example with ATM services abroad, which provide

twenty four hour service of high quality using Information Technology. Similarly,

tracking a file in a Government department can be an exasperating experience, while

companies like the Federal Express using Information Technology, can pinpoint the

location of a package anywhere in the world, despite handling more than two million

packages a day.

Mystification of procedures and an atmosphere of obscurity give immense discretion and

consequently power, to the bureaucracy. Existing organizational structures, hierarchies

and procedures in Government were designed in fact for a different era. IT together with,

greater transparency, flatter organizational structures, and simpler procedures can help

tackle some of the maladies of Government resulting in speedier and better decisions.

Rapid changes are taking place in the field of Information Technology with the

convergence of computing and communications. The emergence of the Internet and itsassociated technologies has opened up an entirely new paradigm in which Governments

will be required to function in the future. The infrastructure for the electronic

Governments of the future is fast taking shape. Singapore with its IT - 2000: Vision of

an Intelligent Island or Malaysia with its Multimedia Super Corridor are examples in

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point. It is in this context that the District Leh intends, over the next five years, to make

definite progress in using Information Technology for better governance.

The information technology industry has truly transformed the way the world looks at

India. Rapidly capturing global imagination, the success of its IT industry has placed

India at the forefront of the emerging global knowledge economy. According to the

National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), the apex body

for software services in India, the revenue of the information technology sector has grown

from 1.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in FY 1998 to an estimated 5.5 per

cent in FY 2008. The net value added by this sector, to the economy, is estimated to be

3.3 to 3.9 per cent for FY 2008.

India's IT growth in the world is primarily dominated by IT software and services such as

Custom Application Development and Maintenance (CADM), System Integration, IT

Consulting, Application Management, Infrastructure Management Services, Software

testing, Service-oriented architecture and Web services.

The government expects the exports turnover to touch US$ 80 billion by 2011, growing at

an annual rate of 30 per cent per annum, from the earlier few million dollars worth

exports in early 1990s.

OBJECTIVES

IT helps the business to meet its desired goals.

IT makes the business globalized.

IT provides information resources to the business.

With the help of IT management can make a better future planning.

IT controls the internal management system for MNCs or any company which has

different branches in different locations.

Management team of a company can analyze the situation with the help of IT and

can restructure their business.

Business restructuring becomes very flexible with the help of IT.

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For a particular situation IT gives the best possible solution to the management

team.

As per NASSCOM's latest findings:

Indian IT-BPO sector grew by 33 per cent in FY 2008 to reach US$ 64 billion in

aggregate revenue (including hardware). Of this, the software and services

segment accounted for US$ 52 billion, growing by 28 per cent over FY 2007.

Software and services exports (including exports of IT services, BPO, engineering

services and R&D and software products) reached US$ 40.4 billion, contributing

nearly 63 per cent to the overall IT-BPO revenue aggregate.

IT-BPO exports (including hardware exports) grew by 28 per cent from US$ 31.8

billion in FY 2007 to US$ 40.9 billion in FY 2008.

While the US (61 per cent) and the UK (18 per cent) remained the largest IT-BPO

export markets in FY 2007, the industry is now making a mark in other countries

as well - with exports to Continental Europe in particular, growing at a compound

annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 55 per cent over FY 2004-2007.

Domestic IT market (including hardware) reached US$ 23.1 billion in FY 2008 as

against US$ 16.2 billion in FY 2007, a growth of 43 per cent. Hardware remained

the largest segment of the domestic market with a growth rate of 44 per cent in FY

2008. Software and services spending grew by over 41 per cent during the year.

The industry's vertical market exposure was well diversified across several mature

and emerging sectors. Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) remained

the largest vertical market for Indian IT-BPO exports, followed by high-

technology and telecom. These sectors together accounted for nearly 60 per cent

of the Indian IT-BPO exports in FY 2007. Manufacturing, retail, media, healthcare, airlines and transportation, and utilities

were the other key segments.

Moreover, according to a study by Springboard Research, the Indian IT services market is

estimated to remain the fastest growing in the Asia-Pacific region with a CAGR of 18.6

per cent.

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Impact of IT on BPO Industry in India

A research by Gartner forecasts India as the undisputed leader in the outsourcing space in

the year 2008. The Outsourcing Service Provider Performance Study 2007, undertaken bysourcing advisory firm Equa Terra, reported that the majority of UK businesses offshore

all or parts of their IT functions to India and plan to continue with this strategy as India

continued to be the favorite outsourcing destination for businesses in UK in terms of

satisfaction.

India's most prized resource is its readily available technical work force. India has the

second largest English-speaking scientific professionals in the world, second only to the

US. It is estimated that India has over 4 million technical workers, over 1,832 educational

institutions and polytechnics, which train more than 67,785 computer software

professionals every year. The enormous base of skilled manpower is a major draw for

global customers. According to a Gartner study, India remains the undisputed leader in

offshore services and tops the list of 30 countries on criteria's such as language,

government support, labour pool, infrastructure, educational system, cost, political and

economic environment, cultural compatibility, global and legal maturity, and data and

intellectual property, security and privacy.

Twenty-nine India-based companies including Tata Consultancy Services, HCL

Technologies, Genpact, and WNS Global Services amongst others have been listed

among the best 100 IT service providers in a new survey carried out with a view to assist

business heads of major outsourcers identify reliable, innovative and tech-savvy partners.

The Vision

The vision of District Administration is to create a knowledge-based society through

extensive use of Information Technology. District Administration envisages a scenario

wherein every citizen shall be able to access the benefits of Information technology by the

year 2005. The residents of this region are enlightened enough to realize the significance

of the I.T. revolution and it is expected that they shall wholeheartedly participate in this

movement. The ultimate goal is to use I.T. as a medium for effective interaction between

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the Administration and the public so that exchange of information and access to

government departments is speedy and easy leading to a better quality of life.

Primarily, Information Technology will be used to increase quality, reduce costs and

improve overall efficiency and effectiveness in government. The vision as delineated

below is possible within the framework of technology as it exists today. The Internet,

Web and groupware technologies today permit seamless access to huge volumes of

information overcoming constraints of time and distance. Networking for the citizen

by the year ending electronic networks will be introduced at all points of contact between

the Government and the citizen. All forms requiring submission of information, while

applying for any service or clearance from Government, will be made available for

electronic access and submission.

Electronic mail

Electronic mail is good starting point for launching employees on to computerization. The

use of email has been encouraged and all employees have been provided access to E-mail

facilities. This would also help the transition from a paper based Government of the

present, to an electronic Government of the future.

One of the important Networking Services being provided by NIC is its Electronic

Mail Service.

E-MAIL SERVICES OVER NICNET THROUGH VSATS

One separate email server is installed at Leh So that Electronic Mail (better known as E-

Mail), "the means to exchange messages electronically", is the most commonly used

Network Service. NIC provides different kinds of E-mail services to its users, over

NICNET, NIC's satellite based communication network. The different types of e-mail

services being provided include SMTP, UUCP and X.400. The NICNET e-mail service is

distributed over many mail servers located at different NIC centers. These are inter-linked

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with each other such that mails can be exchanged amongst all types of users at Leh and

Sub Divisional Hqs.Nyoma, Nubra, Khaltsi & Durban.

Civil Construction Architecture

All engineering departments will be required to effectively use Information Technology

in the design, execution, monitoring and evaluation of their works. All future civil

construction activity in Government will incorporate minimum standards for facilitating

extension of networks in the future. The R&B department would therefore be required to

work out such standards, for incorporation as part of its engineering designs. During the

year 2000-2001 Superintending Engineer, Executive Engineer R&B & Executive

Engineer Construction procured computer systems, UPS, Printers and Plotters to be used

for engineering purposes and CAD specially.

Accountability

Performance accountability will be kept in mind while designing information systems for

each department. Each departments information system will be so designed as to make it

easy to assess the performance of each functionary on the basis of objective criteria. Thus

the codification of officers in each department, and the linking of databases with such

codes will be systematically carried out. This will help in institutionalizing accountability

at all levels in the Government.

Computer literacy

There may be a need for insisting on computer literacy at all levels in Government.

Consequently, all future recruitment in Government would necessitate basic computer

literacy, so that the culture of using information technology in the service of the common

man can be effectively introduced in the governmental set up over time.

Training of Employees

Large scale training of employees at all levels is contemplated as part of the approach

spelt out in this paper. However, there is a possibility of rapid de-skilling in the post

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training phase, unless facilities for computer access are made available to employees.

This aspect would have to be kept in mind while planning for the introduction of

Information Technology in different departments.

The present approach relies significantly on web technologies for setting up distributed

data warehouses in different departments for providing seamless access to information

both within and outside Government. Since the level of familiarity with web technologies

is at present low, a detailed and well thought out plan will have to be worked out for

training and supporting use of such technologies across the board.

Every year training programme is being organized by the District Administration for

officers/officials of all the Departments from Leh and Sub Divisional Hqs.

Information Kiosks

It is proposed that by the next year Information Kiosks relating information of Tourism

and district profiles & Communication data to public i.e. accessibility and retrieval of

data by public through citizen I.T. interface (Information Kiosks) in Public Places such as

Airport arrival lounge, Tourist Reception Canters, shopping centers, etc (Upgraded to

manned public access terminals) also selected STD/ISD booths at prominent places can

be converted into information Kiosks.

IT PROPOSALS & PLAN

1. Three more Vsat in being installed at the remaining Block Hqs viz, Leh, Kharu &

Nyoma under CIC Project during the year 2005-06.With this complete Wide Area

Network (WAN) will be established in Leh district.

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2. One IT Promotional Centre / IT Park is proposed to be setup in Leh by the Ladakh

Autonomous Hill Development Council & The proposal stands submitted to the IT

Ministry Govt of India.

3. One proposal for setting up IP Star by the STPI in Leh Feasibility report stands

submitted

4. Proposal for establishing Village IT Centre around Leh town villages under PURA

Scheme stands submitted.

Introduction of Business Restructuring

Restructuring

A significant modification made to the debt, operations or structure of a company. This

type of corporate action is usually made when there are significant problems in a

company, which are causing some form of financial harm and putting the overall business

in jeopardy. The hope is that through restructuring, a company can eliminate financial

harm and improve the business.

.A lots of companies are trying to restructure; spin-offs, demergers are in the news quite

regularly. Wockhardt is an example of a demerger, where all life sciences businesses were

grouped together and demerged while pharmaceuticals continued as the original

company. Indian Rayon, on the other hand, wrote off assets of the Sea Water Magnesia

division, which was no longer viable, as a non-cash loss against accumulated profits and

is looking at disposing off the assets. It also acquired the garments division from Madura

Coats for cash. This was after the demerger of the cement business from Indian Rayon

and its merger with Grasim in the previous year.

Today, it is not necessary to restructure entire businesses; instead, it is possible to identify

any part of the value-chain in any business and work out its necessity and profitability.

The focus is surely towards managing the core expertise of the company and any part of

the value chain, which doesn't fit in, can be outsourced. Addressing this demand, a lot of

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companies are coming up which position themselves as IT-enabled, focused

service/support providers.

Another example is the restructuring and repositioning in the Indian software industry. To

achieve the benchmark industry growth rate of about 60%p.a. over the next few years, our

IT companies will have to move away form the indirect businesses to direct ones and get

a larger share of the business from each of their clients. The earlier contracts involved

converting legacy systems to ERP, now we have web-enabling contracts. This business is

very critical and can be done only in the context of a direct customer and grabbing a large

share of fulfilling its needs. Providing migration services is today's biggest earner and a

lot of MNCs will be looking at buying out such businesses in India. Similarly, Indian

companies with high skills and resources are looking at new markets and customers, by

taking up strategic stakes or share swap acquisitions, of niche IT companies across US,

Europe and Japan.

Businesses restructuring for several reasons:

1. self imposed due to economic conditions (positive or negative)

2. self imposed due to acquisitions or divestiture

3. externally imposed due to court order

4. externally imposed due to bankruptcy filing

Planned reorganization may be handled by existing staff as long as work loads are

reasonable. Unplanned or externally imposed reorganization often results in an immediate

loss of management and technical staff. Steve Guthman & Associates can assist in both

situations by providing on-site management, short and long term planning, and can supply

technical staff to maintain operations.

The most dramatic reorganization is bankruptcy. The mere announcement of bankruptcy

triggers a swift departure of key IT personnel seeking new, stable employment. The

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remaining staff must continue day to day operations, while at the same time, look at

consolidation, additional reporting requirements, and the real possibility that their jobs

may be over when the task is complete.

Steve Guthman & Associates can help. We react quickly to gain control over the

situation, create a plan to accomplish your required results, on time and on budget.

An extensive task list related to business restructuring can be provided for your review.

Business restructuring can take a healthy company looking forward and remove some of

the burden of the past. We offer multiple solutions to support a company through

corporate debt restructuring or filing for business bankruptcy - whether voluntary or

involuntary.While many institutions focus on past profitability and balance sheet ratios as

the basis for their lending decision, GE Commercial Finance considers the business plan

and the current and future value of all business assets to achieve a more realistic outlook.

By better understanding business and shareholder needs and learning how the business

works prior to proposing a lending structure, we are able to provide tailored solutions to

more complex restructuring needs.

Since every restructuring situation is unique, GE Commercial Finance offers you the

confidence of an experienced lender with expertise in structuring your financing to

accommodate the perspectives of the range of interested parties. In addition, GE can help

you plan for and structure your exit financing as we

All of our debt restructuring clients are companies that have suffered hardships. From

family issues to natural disasters. Whatever the reason, our clients are in jeopardy of

losing their businesses their livelihoods. Yet they all have a fighting desire to save their

companies. They want to pay their creditors but have meager means. Whether they sell

goods or services, we can help.

Business Debt Restructuring has many benefits:

Increase your cash flow Short-term debt can be converted into a manageable long

term plan.

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Improve your quality of life Let us deal with creditors, collection agencies and

attorneys so you can get back to doing whats important, creating revenue, not hiding.

Avoid unnecessary legal fees Debts can be settled without the need for attorneys.

Your payments are fixed & affordable Cash outlay can be forecast and managed

better. Business Debt Restructuring is not for everyone, but is a godsend for others. If you

want to pay your creditors but cant establish affordable settlement terms, our program is

ideal for you. Keep in mind this is not a loan, no real estate is necessary, and we dont

even have to check your credit. If more than 30% of your payables are over 90 days old,

you are taking chances with the future of your company unless you have a realistic plan to

satisfy your creditors. Without a practical and affordable plan your company can sink

deeper into debt, and it may only be a matter of time before creditors seize your assets

and put you out of business

Here Information Management at work can make a difference to your organization.

We have the expertise to help you:

Review your current business strategy and drivers

Evaluate best practices

Align business processes with your functional requirements

Identify operational issues and opportunities for change

Assess organizational maturity

Develop a road-map for implementation

An organization can build a knowledge culture by integrating people, process and

technology. Culture supports changing employee behavior. A variety of market factors

have contributed to the growth of and interest in knowledge management. They include

staff attrition, global integration of businesses, increase in networked organizations,

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revolution in technology, etc. An organization's knowledge process usually includes

mastering transaction data management, transforming this data into information and

converting the information into knowledge.

What we can teach you is knowledge management planning, where the organization

focuses on enriching customer relationships, product leadership, operational excellence

and increasing market share.

Any change to your existing business model, in pursuit of opportunity, involves risk. Risk

management is a proactive and formal structure to ensure against an avoidable exposure

to failure. It is important that as an organization, you are able to identify measure and

control risk.

Today, in most countries, a regulator's assessment of the risk management process is a

primary factor in the overall rating of an organization.

Information Management at work has the experience to help you categorize your risk and

formulate a risk management policy to manage this risk. Such initiatives will significantly

increase the intangible benefits for your organization.

Demergers

The option to carry out a demerger is increasingly being favoured by companies looking

for new ways to realise value from their assets. Prime candidates are conglomerates with

distinct activities and few synergies, whose public profile presents a confused picture to

investors. Critical factors in realising value include a highly motivated management team

and effective project management of the separation process.

We can help you ensure that the business case for a demerger is robust, the financial

structure is tax efficient, and that an effective plan for separation has been developed.

Solvent liquidations

A solvent liquidation or Members Voluntary Liquidation (MVL) is a statutory

procedure governed by the Insolvency Act 1986 which takes a solvent company through

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to its ultimate dissolution. MVLs are often overlooked but can be a very useful procedure

in the right circumstances, for example dealing with special purpose vehicles that have

reached the end of their lives, companies that have ceased trading or companies that are

surplus to requirements.

There are many benefits that can result:

saving management time to allow resources to be concentrated on ongoing trading

activities

the prompt return of cash to shareholders

the creation of tax efficiencies and resulting financial savings

Our Restructuring & Recovery Services has a dedicated team of experienced professions

dealing with solvent liquidations. Our approach is heavily focused on meeting our clients

requirements and concluding the MVL process as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

Corporate simplification

A group structure may over time become overly complex. This commonly arises as a

result of mergers and acquisitions or transfers of business and assets between groupcompanies. The consequent waste of management time that can arise in dealing with

unnecessary corporate governance and accounting for inter-company transactions can be

significant.

A project with an aim of simplifying a corporate structure will involve a cross-discipline

team from Corporate Tax as well as Restructuring & Recovery Services. This is to ensure

that, from the outset of the restructuring, tax efficiencies are identified and the

crystallisation of any unwanted tax liabilities is avoided. The implementation of the

restructuring in the majority of circumstances involves Members Voluntary Liquidations

and occasionally Creditors Voluntary Liquidations to both facilitate the restructuring and

to hasten the dissolution of surplus group companies.

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Restructuring

Smith & Williamson Restructuring & Recovery would work closely with management

and their advisors to prepare the scheme document, agree a timetable and liaise with thekey stakeholders to ensure the Scheme is properly implemented and concluded.

Insurance companies

Schemes of arrangement are an established method for enabling a company to restructure

itself. These schemes are more commonly applied to insurance/reinsurance companies as

a means to exit the business early and release surplus capital.

Schemes of arrangements avoid many of the problems faced by insurance companies as itachieves a conclusion sooner, thus ensuring:

reduced run-off costs

creditors claims can be adjudicated and paid

an earlier return of equity to the shareholders/members

The key to a successful scheme is threefold:

drafting a Scheme document which best fits the requirement of the stakeholders

(members, creditors, FSA etc)

communication of its objectives to the key stakeholders and maintaining good

relations with them during the whole process

agreeing and adhering to an achievable timetable

Managed exits

When a company has come to the end of its useful life (for instance a special purpose

vehicle whose purpose has been achieved, a trading company that intends to cease tradingor an international group that wishes to close its UK subsidiary), we can assist in

providing interim management to wind down the business with a view to maximising the

return to stakeholders at the same time reducing any latent risks.

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Our involvement can commence from the early planning stage and project management

of the whole exit process as well as later in the formal aspect of acting as liquidator in the

solvent winding up which can be a very useful exit management procedure.

Debt-for-equity swaps

In a debt-for-equity swap, a creditor/s of a business agrees to cancel some or all of its debt

in exchange for equity in the business. Our specialist business restructuring team can

assist with planning and implementing the most effective debt-for-equity swap option.

Debt-for-equity deals often occur when there is no advantage to creditors to force the

company into a formal insolvency procedure, and the creditors prefer to take control of

the business as a going concern.

Workouts

We will manage the following, providing a solution to a funder or joint venture partners

in dispute as well as others:

property developments

contract completion under Supervision

refinancing

Contractions:

Contraction, as the term implies, results in a smaller firm rather than a larger one. If we

ignore the abandonment of assets, occasionally a logical course of action, corporate

contraction occurs as the result of disposition of assets. The disposition of assets,

sometimes called sell-offs, can take either of three board form:

Spin-offsDivestitures

Carve outs.

Spin-offs and carve outs create new legal entities while divestitures do not.

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Ownership and Control

The third major area encompassed the term corporate restructuring is that of ownership

and control. It has been wrested from the current board; the new management will often

embark on a full or partial liquidation strategy involving the sale of assets. The leveraged

buyout preserves the integrity of the firm as legal entity but consolidates ownership in the

hands of small groups. In the 1980s, many large publicly traded firms went private and

employees a similar strategy called a leveraged buyout or LBO.Whether a purchase is

considered a merger or an acquisition really depends on whether the purchase is friendly

or hostile and how it is announced. In other words, the real difference lies in how the

purchase is communicated to and received by the target company's board of directors,

employees and shareholders.

Synergy

Synergy is the magic force that allows for enhanced cost efficiencies of the new business.

Synergy takes the form of revenue enhancement and cost savings. By merging, the

companies hope to benefit from the following:

Staff reductions - As every employee knows, mergers tend to mean job losses. Consider

all the money saved from reducing the number of staff members from accounting,

marketing and other departments. Job cuts will also include the former CEO, who

typically leaves with a compensation package.

Economies of scale - Yes, size matters. Whether it's purchasing stationery or a new

corporate IT system, a bigger company placing the orders can save more on costs.

Mergers also translate into improved purchasing power to buy equipment or office

supplies - when placing larger orders, companies have a greater ability to negotiate prices

with their suppliers.

Acquiring new technology - To stay competitive, companies need to stay on top of

technological developments and their business applications. By buying a smaller

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company with unique technologies, a large company can maintain or develop a

competitive edge.

Improved market reach and industry visibility - Companies buy companies to reach

new markets and grow revenues and earnings. A merge may expand two companies'

marketing and distribution, giving them new sales opportunities. A merger can also

improve a company's standing in the investment community: bigger firms often have an

easier time raising capital than smaller ones. That said, achieving synergy is easier said

than done - it is not automatically realized once two companies merge. Sure, there ought

to be economies of scale when two businesses are combined, but sometimes a merger

does just the opposite.

Mergers and Acquisitions: Valuation matters Investors in a company that is aiming

to take over another one must determine whether the purchase will be beneficial to them.

In order to do so, they must ask themselves how much the company being acquired is

really worth.

Naturally, both sides of an M&A deal will have different ideas about the worth of a target

company: its seller will tend to value the company at as high of a price as possible, while

the buyer will try to get the lowest price that he can. There are, however, many legitimate

ways to value companies. The most common method is to look at comparable companies

in an industry, but deal makers employ a variety of other methods and tools when

assessing a target company.

Here are just a few of them:

Comparative Ratios - The following are two examples of the many comparative metrics

on which acquiring companies may base their offers: Price-Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio) -

With the use of this ratio, an acquiring company makes an offer that is a multiple of the

earnings of the target company. Looking at the P/E for all the stocks within the same

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incentives to the people who work in the separating unit, and help the parent's

management to focus on core operations. Most importantly, shareholders get better

information about the business unit because it issues separate financial statements. This is

particularly useful when a company's traditional line of business differs from the

separated business unit. With separate financial disclosure, investors are better equipped

to gauge the value of the parent corporation. The parent company might attract more

investors and, ultimately, more capital. Also, separating a subsidiary from its parent can

reduce internal competition for corporate funds. For investors, that's great news: it curbs

the kind of negative internal wrangling that can compromise the unity and productivity of

a company. For employees of the new separate entity, there is a publicly traded stock to

motivate and reward them. Stock options in the parent often provide little incentive to

subsidiary managers, especially because their efforts are buried in the firm's overall

performance.

Disadvantages

That said, de-merged firms are likely to be substantially smaller than their parents,

possibly making it harder to tap credit markets and costlier finance that may be affordable

only for larger companies. And the smaller size of the firm may mean it has less

representation on major indexes, making it more difficult to attract interest from

institutional investors. Meanwhile, there are the extra costs that the parts of the business

face if separated. When a firm divides itself into smaller units, it may be losing the

synergy that it had as a larger entity. For instance, the division of expenses such as

marketing, administration and research and development (R&D) into different business

units may cause redundant costs without increasing overall revenues.

Restructuring Methods

There are several restructuring methods: doing an outright sell-off, doing an equity carve-

out, spinning off a unit to existing shareholders or issuing tracking stock. Each has

advantages and disadvantages for companies and investors. All of these deals are quite

complex.

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Sell-Offs

A sell-off, also known as a divestiture, is the outright sale of a company subsidiary.

Normally, sell-offs are done because the subsidiary doesn't fit into the parent company'score strategy. The market may be undervaluing the combined businesses due to a lack of

synergy between the parent and subsidiary. As a result, management and the board decide

that the subsidiary is better off under different ownership.

Besides getting rid of an unwanted subsidiary, sell-offs also raise cash, which can be

used to pay off debt. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, corporate raiders would use debt

to finance acquisitions. Then, after making a purchase they would sell-off its subsidiaries

to raise cash to service the debt. The raiders' method certainly makes sense if the sum of

the parts is greater than the whole. When it isn't, deals are unsuccessful. Equity Carve-

outs more and more companies are using equity carve-outs to boost shareholder value. A

parent firm makes a subsidiary public through an initial public offering (IPO) of shares,

amounting to a partial sell-off.

A new publicly-listed company is created, but the parent keeps a controlling stake in the

newly traded subsidiary

A carve-out is a strategic avenue a parent firm may take when one of its subsidiaries is

growing faster and carrying higher valuations than other businesses owned by the parent.

A carve-out generates cash because shares in the subsidiary are sold to the public, but the

issue also unlocks the value of the subsidiary unit and enhances the parent's shareholder

value.

The new legal entity of a carve-out has a separate board, but in most carve-outs, the

parent retains some control. In these cases, some portion of the parent firm's board of

directors may be shared. Since the parent has a controlling stake, meaning both firms

have common shareholders, the connection between the two will likely be strong.

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That said, sometimes companies carve-out a subsidiary not because it's doing well, but

because it is a burden. Such an intention won't lead to a successful result, especially if a

carved-out subsidiary is too loaded with debt, or had trouble even when it was a part of

the parent and is lacking an established track record for growing revenues and profits.

Carve-outs can also create unexpected friction between the parent and subsidiary.

Problems can arise as managers of the carved-out company must be accountable to their

public shareholders as well as the owners of the parent company. This can create divided

loyalties.

Spin offs

A spin off occurs when a subsidiary becomes an independent entity. The parent firm

distributes shares of the subsidiary to its shareholders through a stock dividend. Since this

transaction is a dividend distribution, no cash is generated. Thus, spin offs are unlikely to

be used when a firm needs to finance growth or deals. Like the carve-out, the subsidiary

becomes a separate legal entity with a distinct management and board.

Like carve-outs, spin offs are usually about separating a healthy operation. In most cases,

spin offs unlock hidden shareholder value. For the parent company, it sharpens

management focus. For the spin off company, management doesn't have to compete for

the parent's attention and capital. Once they are set free, managers can explore new

opportunities.

Investors, however, should beware of throw-away subsidiaries the parent created to

separate legal liability or to off-load debt. Once spin off shares are issued to parent

company shareholders, some shareholders may be tempted to quickly dump these shares

on the market, depressing the share valuation.

A tracking stock is a special type of stock issued by a publicly held company to track the

value of one segment of that company. The stock allows the different segments of the

company to be valued differently by investors. Let's say a slow-growth company trading

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finally, a fifth wave happening today. Wasserstein attributes the explosion of M&A

activity at the turn of the century to the need for companies to reposition themselves in

today's ever changing competitive environment.

Porter (1987) attempted to study this relationship in a slightly different way. He took rate

of divestment of new acquisitions by companies within a few years as an indicator of

success or failure. He found that about 75 percent of all unrelated acquisition in the

sample was divested after few years and 60 percent of acquisitions in entirely new

industry.

In 1992, Aggarwal, Jaffe and Mandelkar studied post merger performance of the

companies with a different perspective. They adjusted data for size effect and beta

weighted market return and found that shareholders of the acquiring firms experienced a

wealth loss of about 10% over the period of five years following the merger completion.

A study done by J.Fred Weston and Samual C.Weaver shows that around 50% mergers

are successful in terms of creation of values for shareholders. Anslinger and Copeland

(1996) studied returns to shareholders in unrelated acquisition covering the 1985 to 1995

and they found that in two third cases companies were failed to earn their cost of

acquisition.

Robert W. Holthausen "The Nomura Securities Company Professor, Professor of

Accounting and Finance and Management": Various studies have shown that mergers

have failure rates of more than 50 percent. One recent study found that 83 percent of all

mergers fail to create value and half actually destroy value. This is an abysmal record.

What is particularly amazing is that in polling the boards of the companies involved in

those same mergers, over 80% of the board members thought their acquisitions had

created value. Corporate India - Still counting costs of restructuring: S. Vaidya Nathan:

Not one company has restructured itself in a way that could rekindle investor interest and

improve valuations substantively.

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Wockhardt has come the closest: Restructuring, painful and protracted: Numerous

companies -- big and small -- have traversed the restructuring route and shown some

improvement in stock prices. But this aspect is only from the point of view of

shareholders who had entered the stocks at lows, post-1996. No domestic company

pursuing restructuring has shown conclusive and sustainable improvement in valuation in

the long-term interest of the shareholders. As far as companies with a presence in a range

of businesses go, though most have shed a few businesses, they still retain the profile of

unfocussed business entities with limited competitive edge. And they are still in the

process of restructuring despite having had a few rounds of mergers, de-mergers, asset

sell-offs, one-time special dividend payments, stock buybacks and capital reduction.

Prashant Kale of University of Michigan, and Harbir Singh of Wharton, a study on

M&As between 1992 and 2002, concluded that in the initial years of economic

liberalization, Indian companies failed to create sufficient value from acquisitions, as

compared to MNCs. However, with the passage of time, Indian companies have begun

developing the necessary capabilities to create more value from deals. But returns on

acquisitions fell after 1998.

Stressing on the importance on changes required in the restructuring environment in the

country, Ashwani Puri, Head, Corporate Finance and Recovery Services-PricewaterhouseCoopers India said, "Business Restructuring in India has been slow and

expensive. Lack of conducive regulatory environment, a complex tax framework, court

processes and an endless list of compliance issues impede the process and impair efficient

and effective realignment of resources through restructuring.

Evidences and several studies suggests that "Intense competition, rapid technological

change, major corporate accounting scandals, and rising stock market volatility have

increased the burden on managers to deliver superior performance and value for their

shareholders. In the modern "winner takes all" economy, companies that fail to meet this

challenge will face the certain loss of their independence, if not extinction. Corporate

restructuring has enabled thousands of organizations around the world to respond more

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quickly and effectively to new opportunities and unexpected pressures, there by

reestablishing their competitive advantage".

Thus recombinant techniques' of corporate finance often have an impact on the financial

markets far beyond the individual companies and sectors they involve and, in theory, all

return real control of companies to shareholders. Virtually without exception, stock prices

of participating companies rise in response to announcements of corporate restructuring.

But are such events good for investors beyond the very short term?

Navigate the Portal

The Business Portal of India has a well structured navigation pattern that enables the

users to surf and get around the portal with ease. The breadcrumb trail at the top of every

page helps you trace your path and location.

Left-hand Navigation Bar:

On the left side of every page on the 'Business Portal of India', you can see the main

modules, along with their respective sub modules. Clicking on the sub modules may take

you to the web page containing detailed information on a particular aspect of the main

module. For example, the module starting a Business has ten sub modules under it

including creating a Business Plan, Making a Product Choice, Setting up Infrastructure

and others.

Quick Menu:

On top left side of every page on the 'Business Portal of India', the pull down button

showcases all the fourteen main modules on the portal. So, from any page if you want to

visit any of the main modules or the home page, click at the 'Quick Menu' link and further

click at the desired main module

Right-hand Navigation Bar:

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For some of the sub modules, the right side navigation lists the sub sections under that

sub-module. These sub sections at the right side of the page further lead to detailed

information on some of the vital aspects of the sub-modules. For example, sections like

Choosing a Product, Industry Specific Agencies, Products for Small Scale Units, Major

Industry Clusters of India further elucidate the sub module making a Product Choice. For

getting back to the sub-module page from its sub section, click on the 'previous' button,

that is on the top right side of the web page, below

the header.

Frequently Asked Questions:

'Frequently Asked Questions' is one of the fourteen major modules of the 'Business Portal

of India'. The section has been categorized on the basis of other thirteen modules of the

portal and once you click on a particular module on the FAQ page, various links to major

bodies and organizations regulating and affecting the business market in India, will

appear. Clicking on a particular set of FAQs may take to you to the site of a particular

body.

Bottom Navigation Bar:

Further, at the bottom of each page, you'll see another set of navigation links to the major

areas listed on the left menu. These are customer support links that help you know and

connect to the portal in a better way.

Sections of this Portal

Starting a Business: Starting a business is like planting a seed that needs to be nurtured

colossally at the initial stages so that it can grow in a flourishing manner. The section

gives you detailed information on setting up you own business from formulating a

business plan to arranging infrastructure and hiring human resource.

Managing a Business: The success of every business venture depends on the

management of the business that is a dynamic and on going process. Read this section to

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acquaint yourself with the technical, the human and the conceptual business management

skills, vital for every entrepreneur.

Doing Business Aboard: To explore the international markets for business expansion,

one needs to have a profound understanding of the overseas investment polices, the legal

concerns involved, varied investment routes and similar fundamental issues. The section

provides you with information on how to start, sustain and grow your business across the

globe.

Legal Aspects: Every business has to work within a legal framework set by up by the

government. So, legal know-how and adherence to all legal business acts and regulations

is indispensable for the functioning of every business organization. The section explains

the major business acts and laws set up by the Government of India relating to running a

business within and/or outside the country.

Investment Opportunities and Incentives: With high prospects for growth and profit

potentialities in practically all areas of business, like in tourism, information technology

(IT) and agricultural sector, India is making it big in the global market. Read this section

to know about the national level and state level investment opportunities that Indian

Business market offers.

Trade: Being up-to-date by keeping a tab on the national and overseas trade policies is

the key to success in the business arena. Visit this section to get links to Ministry of

Commerce And Industry that showcase the latest trade statistics, international trade

trends, foreign trade polices and major agreements affecting the national and the global

business markets.

Industry and Services: India excels in both the industrial as well as the service sector.Her vast domestic market, skilled and technical manpower as well as low production and

R&D costs have been making India a manufacturing hub. Read more about the major

industries and service sectors operating in India.

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Growing a Business: The ultimate goal of every business is profit maximization and the

profit of a business is directly proportional to its growth in terms of goodwill, market

reach and sales. Surf though this section to know how an entrepreneur can make use of

the various alternatives available to him to ensure steady growth of his business.

Business Financing: Be it starting a business, sustaining it or expanding it, at every stage

of a business life cycle, funds and monetary support are required for carrying out various

activities. Learn how to acquire funds for your business from various sources like banks,

capital market, financial and non-financial intuitions, etc. and also get an overview of the

Indian financial system, set up by the Government of India.

Closing or Changing a Business: When an entrepreneur is unable to profitably grow and

expand the business on a sustained basis, s/he may have to take a decision of either

restructuring the business or closing it. For both closing a business and changing its type,

every entrepreneur is required to follow the basic regulatory requirements framed by the

Government that mentioned in this section.

Infrastructure: Go through this section to get an insight into India's enormous unmet

infrastructure needs that combined with the public private partnership approach, offer an

unprecedented investment opportunity for the private players.

Indian Economy: Have a look at the various studies, reports and surveys that indicate the

present performance of the Indian economy and also helps an entrepreneur in predicting

and forecasting its future growth prospects.

Taxation: Subsequent to the economic reforms, the tax structure of the country has

under gone a radical change, in line with the liberal policy. Surf the section to know aboutthe diverse taxation policies and the changes in the tax system including rationalization of

tax structure; progressive reduction in peak rates of customs duty; reduction in corporate

tax rate; customs duties to be aligned with ASEAN levels and others.

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between the corporate level and the IT function. When this is supported by an investment

appraisal and performance monitoring, the organization can have a clearer understanding

of the benefits IT brings to the business. In addition, business events such as transactions

and restructuring will change the overall IT requirement. Clients then need to reappraise

management and sourcing decisions.

Risk issues

Risks change. Priorities change. People and processes change. When that happens, your

business becomes exposedunless you have a sustainable approach to risk management.

In this section you will find G.K.Choksi & Co.'s perspective on managing riskthe most

important risk issues that our clients are seeking advice on; our global risk research into

the views of key stakeholders; the unrivalled sector insights that our industry teams offer,

and risk case studies that demonstrate how we are helping clients to tackle both the

opportunities and threats of risk.

Technology risk

The Global Information Risk Management (IRM) team works with G.K.Choksi & Co's

clients across the spectrum of information technology risk and performance.

Security, Privacy and Continuity: In today's business environment, the reputation

of a business, indeed its existence, can be impacted significantly by the strength of

the security, privacy and business continuity mechanisms it has in place.

Fundamental controls, such as the segregation of duties, are often completely

reliant on the strength of technology based access controls. In a world of global

communications networks, security vulnerabilities can be quickly exploited. Well-

publicized frauds and scams erode public confidence.

IT Internal Audit Services: For some time, risk management through internal audit

has been considered a contributing factor to an effective corporate governance

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framework. With developments, this perception is further reinforced.

The quality and effectiveness of Internal Audit functions are diverse, as are their

mandate. To achieve effective Internal Audit coverage, specialist skills will often

be required to assess the business' specific risks. Where IT is concerned, technical

subject matter specialists are often required.

IT Attestation Services: In an environment where customers and clients are

increasingly impacted by a business' IT systems, extra assurance is often required

to satisfy stakeholder expectations.

SAS 7 comprehensive review of control activities. This includes controls over transaction

processing as well as IT and related processes. Reviews provide clients with a third party

attestation against the organization's internal control objectives. A formal report including

the auditor's opinion is issued to the client at the conclusion of the examination.

IRM in the External Audit: IRM is a vital part of the external audit and is used to evaluate

financial audit risk. This involves identifying financial and operational risks embedded in

business systems and processes, and providing advisory on risk mitigation.

IRM professionals integrate technology issues into the framework of the audit, working

as part of the audit team to assess the technology component of business issues, risks, and

strategies.

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The Lebanon IT Report

Independent 5-year IT forecast for Lebanon.

Original IT market research and IT sector trend

analysis for Lebanon's IT industry.Competitive intelligence, regional IT company

rankings and SWOT analyses on international and

domestic IT companies in Lebanon.

The Lebanon Information Technology Report has just

been researched at source, and features latest-available

data covering production, sales, imports and exports; 5-

year industry forecasts through end-2012; company

rankings and competitive landscapes for multinational

and local manufacturers and suppliers; and analysis of

latest industry developments, trends and regulatory

changes.

Business Monitor International's Lebanon Information Technology Report provides industry

professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, Information Technology associations,

government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive

intelligence on the Information Technology industry in Lebanon.

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Key Benefits of Report

Benchmark BMI's Independent 5-year IT Industry Forecasts

to test other views - a key input for successful budgetary and strategic business

planning in the Lebanese IT market.

Target Business Opportunities & Risks in Lebanon's IT sector

through our reviews of latest industry trends, regulatory changes, and major deals,

projects and investments in Lebanon.

Exploit Latest Competitive IT Intelligence & Company SWOTS

on your competitors and peers through company rankings by sales, market share

and ownership structure includes multinational and national companies.

Coverage

Summary of BMIs key industry forecasts, views and trend analysis covering Information

technology, regulatory changes, major investments and projects, and significant

multinational and national company developments.

Regional Overview

Cross-border analysis of regional markets, commenting on IT penetration (PC and

internet) and market growth drivers (IT market size and IT market compound growth).

Market Overview

Structure, size and value of industry sector; overview of industry landscape and key

players; assessment of business operating environment and latest regulatory

developments.

BMI 5-Year Industry Forecast

Historic data series and 5-year forecasts to end-2012 for all key industry indicators (see

list below), supported by explicit assumptions, plus analysis of key downside risks to the

main forecast. IT industry value ; IT sector contribution to GDP ; value of hardware,

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software and services industry ; PC, peripherals and software imports and exports ; PC,

peripherals and software sales ; number of PCs ; PCs/ 100 inhabitants; internet users ;

internet users per 100 inhabitants; broadband subscribers ; broadband subscribers per 100

inhabitants.

BMI 5-Year Macroeconomic Forecast

BMI forecasts for all headline macroeconomic indicators, including real GDP growth,

inflation, fiscal balance, trade balance, current account and external debt.

Competitive Landscape & Profiles

Company profiles, including SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)

analyses, business activity, leading products and services.

The Lebanon Information Technology Report has just been researched at source, and

features latest-available data covering production, sales, imports and exports; 5-year

industry forecasts through end-2012; company rankings and competitive landscapes for

multinational and local manufacturers and suppliers; and analysis of latest industry

developments, trends and regulatory changes.

Lebanon Information Technology Report provides industry professionals and strategists,

corporate analysts, Information Technology associations, government departments and

regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on the

Information Technology industry in Lebanon. Independent 5 years IT forecast for

Lebanon original IT market research and IT sector trend analysis foe Lebanons IT

industry. Competitive intelligence, regional IT company rankings and SWOT analyses on

international and domestic IT companies in Lebanon The Lebanon Information

Technology Report has just been researched at source, and features latest-available data

covering production, sales, imports and exports; 5-year industry forecasts through end-

2012; company rankings and competitive landscapes for multinational and local

manufacturers and suppliers; and analysis of latest industry developments, trends andregulatory changes.

Market Overview

In the wake of the recent conflict, which has had a major disruptive effect on the IT

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sector as well as the wider economy, It expects at least a 40% contraction of the market

in 2006. Supply lines have been disrupted and retail outlets closed, many thousands of

people have suffered serious economic losses, and a breakdown of law and order in some

areas has fuelled a resurgence of software piracy and grey market activity.

While many uncertainties continue to surround the market situation, It has revised its

forecasts and now sees the market falling to around US$156mn in 2006, down from

around US$259mn in 2005. A significant recovery should start in 2007, fuelled by

government and vendor IT related reconstruction initiatives and normalization processes,

but the 2005 market value will not be surpassed until 2009. It sees the market increasing

from US$259mn in 2005 to around US$336mn in 2010. The IT market, which in 2005

accounted for only around 1.3% of GDP, will therefore grow at a CAGR of 21% over the

2006- 2011 period, whereas CAGR is only 5% if measured from 2005.

Before recent tragic events underlined the enduring instability of the region, Lebanons

IT sector had been a great example of the emerging entrepreneurial dynamic in the

country, and the government seemed to be going some way towards addressing

traditional barriers to IT sector growth in the country, notably telecoms market

underdevelopment. However, the IT sector still faced a number of serious obstacles

including low internet penetration, a lack of international bandwidth, and accusations that

the government was not doing enough to address either of these problems, despite the

launch of DSL services in 2006.

Government Initiatives

As post-war reconstruction continues, a number of initiatives are focusing on IT as an

engine of development and opportunity for the economically deprived to improve their

prospects. In a new initiative from the Professional Computer Association of Lebanon

(PCA), training and technology centres are to be established in seven towns to provide

local communities with exposure to and training in IT. Following the launch of two such

centres in Nabatieh and Baalbek, the 3rd centre was opened recently in Bint Jbeil, and the

centres are being supported by Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, CA, and other IT vendors.

Prior to the outbreak of the recent conflict, the Lebanese government had announced the

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establishment of a new institute for the development of the technology sector, grouping

representatives from several ministries as well as the private sector and civil society.

Another result of the recent conflict has been to provide a renewed boost to software

piracy in the country. According to recent statement from the Lebanon High Tech and

Intellectual Property Crime Bureau, the organization charged with combating hi-tech

crime, piracy currently accounts for at least 75% of business software alone. The bureau

was established in March 2006 and claimed, before the recent conflict, to have made

significant inroads into reducing the countrys piracy, reportedly substantiated by

increasing vendor monthly revenues.

PROFITS OF IT IN BUSSINES

BY BILL GATES

The cofounder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Microsoft, the world's leading

provider of software for personal computers, Bill Gates played a prominent role in

launching the Information Age. Now this modern visionary reveals how expanding

technology is propelling the business world into an exciting new economic era...how

every manager canand muststay ahead of the curve...and how integrated information

systems can help every organization achieve...

Business @ the Speed of Thought

Chances are your company has a sizable investment in technologyand is realizing only

20 percent of its potential benefit. As Gates explains, you're probably viewing hardware

and software as a way to solve specific problems. But like a living organism, an

organization functions best if it can rely on a nervous system that will instantaneously

deliver information to the parts that need it. In clear, nontechnical language, Business @

The Speed of Thought shows you how a digital nervous system can unite all systems and

processes under one common infrastructure, releasing rivers of information and allowing

your company to make quantum leaps in efficiency, growth, and profits.

With systemsfrom the simplest to the most sophisticatedare revolutionizing the very

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nature of business. Eye-opening, detailed tours into Microsoft and other major

corporations, Gates unveils the way digital nervous You'll learn how integrated

technology can:

Instantly access scattered information to analyze patterns and trends

Decrease cycle time and get new products out before the competition

Deliver up-to-the-minute sales and inventory statistics on every one of your

products, anywhere in the world

Help customers solve their own problems and, using intelligent software,

automatically feed complaints to designers and line workers ... and much more.

"I have a simple but strong belief," Gates writes. "How you gather, manage, and use

information will determine whether you win or lose." Business @ The Speed of Thought

gives you the information you need to win.

Business is going to change more in the next ten years than it has in the last fifty. As I

was preparing my speech for our first CEO summit in the spring of 1997, I was

pondering how the digital age will fundamentally alter business. I wanted to go beyond a

speech on dazzling technology advances and address questions that business leaders

wrestle with all the time. How can technology help you run your business better? How

will technology transform business? How can technology help make you a winner five

orTEN years from now?

If the 1980s were about quality and the 1990s were about reengineering, then the

2000swill be about velocity. About how quickly the nature of business will change.

About how quickly business itself will be transacted. About how information access will

alter the lifestyle of consumers and their expectations of business. Quality improvements

and business process improvements will occur far faster. When the increase in velocity of

business is great enough, the very nature of business changes. A manufacturer or retailer

that responds to changes in sales in hours instead of weeks is no longer at heart a product

company, but a service company that has a product offering.

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These changes will occur because of a disarmingly simple idea: the flow of digital

information. We've been in the Information Age for about thirty years, but because most

of the information moving among businesses has remained in paper form, the process of

buyers finding sellers remains unchanged. Most companies are using digital tools to

monitor their basic operations: to run their production systems; to generate customer

invoices; to handle their accounting; to do their tax work. But these uses just automate

old processes. Very few companies are using digital technology for new processes that

radically improve how they function, that give them the full benefit of all their

employees' capabilities, and that give them the speed of response they will need to

compete in the emerging high-speed business world. Most companies don't realize that

the tools to accomplish these changes are now available to everyone. Though at heart

most business problems are information problems, almost no one is using information

well.

Too many senior managers seem to take the absence of timely information as a given.

People have lived for so long without information at their fingertips that they don't realize

what they're missing. One of the goals in my speech to the CEOs was to raise their

expectations. I wanted them to be appalled by how little they got in the way of actionable

information from their current IT investments. I wanted CEOs to demand a flow of

information that would give them quick, tangible knowledge about what was really

happening with their customers.

Even companies that have made significant investments in information technology are

not getting the results they could be. What's interesting is that the gap is not the result of

a lack of technology spending. In fact, most companies have invested in the basicbuilding blocks: PCs for productivity applications; networks and electronic mail (e-mail)

for communications; basic business applications. The typical company has made 80

percent of the investment in the technology that can give it a healthy flow of information

yet is typically getting only 20 percent of the benefits that are now possible. The gap

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between what companies are spending and what they're getting stems from the

combination of not understanding what is possible and not seeing the potential when you

use technology to move the right information quickly to everyone in the company.

CHANGING TECHNOLOGY AND EXPECTATIONS

Job that most companies are doing with information today would have been fine several

years ago. Getting rich information was prohibitively expensive, and the tools for

analyzing and disseminating it weren't available in the 1980s and even the early 1990s.

But here on the edge of the twenty-first century, the tools and connectivity of the digital

age now give us a way to easily obtain, share, and act on information in new and

remarkable ways.

For the first time, all kinds of information-numbers, text, sound, and video-can are put

into a digital form that any computer can store, process, and forward. For the first time,

standard hardware combined with a standard software platform has created economies of

scale that make powerful computing solutions available inexpensively to companies of all

sizes. And the "personal" in personal computer means that individual knowledge workers

have a powerful tool for analyzing and using the information delivered by these

solutions. The microprocessor revolution not only is giving PCs an exponential rise in

power, but is on the verge of creating a whole new generation of personal digital

companions-handhelds, Auto PCs, smart cards, and others on the way-that will make the

use of digital information pervasive. A key to this pervasiveness is the improvement in

Internet technologies that are giving us worldwide connectivity.

In the digital age, "connectivity" takes on a broader meaning than simply putting two or

more people in touch. The Internet creates a new universal space for information sharing,

collaboration, and commerce. It provides a new medium that takes the immediacy and

spontaneity of technologies such as the TV and the phone and combines them with the

depth and breadth inherent in paper communications. In addition, the ability to find

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