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iRise Announces Strategic Alliance With Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
IT Services Outsourcing Organization Uses iRise to Reduce Risks and Costs of Offshore Development
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — August 2, 2004 — Driven by the need to save money, increase productivity and align IT with business goals, an increasing number of Fortune 1000 organizations continue to engage in offshore software development, however, many are discovering that the associated risks can often times outweigh the benefits. In a move to substantially lower the potential risks and costs associated with large-scale offshore development, iRise® (www.irise.com), a leading enterprise software and services company dedicated to bridging the communication gap between business and IT, and TCS, one of the world's largest IT software and services consulting organizations, announced a strategic alliance today in which TCS will incorporate iRise's Application Simulator™ technology platform into its methodology for engaging with clients on new offshore development projects.
TCS is an established global services leader with more than 1,100 clients in more than 55 countries. For over 30 years, the company has been providing strategy consulting, system integration and offshore development services to small, medium and large companies across a variety of industries, including information technology, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, transportation, retail, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and utilities. As a result of the strategic alliance with iRise, TCS is helping clients minimize risk and achieve rapid ROI through successful offshore software development. The iRise Application Simulator platform enables applications to be "test marketed" and visually validated through an interactive simulation prior to the investment of time and money toward development, ensuring the needs of the business are met.
"Software development is an inherently complex process faced with the risks of miscommunication and the potential loss of control," said Vipul Shah, Manager R&D at TCS. "iRise helps TCS mitigate these risks by visually simulating and validating requirements before development even begins. This strengthens the scope of our engagements and ensures the solutions and services we deliver to our clients are exactly as intended. Furthermore, in the face of increased budget constraints and scrutiny around IT spending within Fortune-class organizations, iRise helps TCS to win new business through the incorporation of these simulations into our proposal process."
Among the challenges associated with offshore software development, defining application requirements can often pose the greatest risk. Handing off requirements to developers who are working remotely and less available for real-time communication demands increased focus on the clarity and completeness of specifications - particularly if a language barrier exists. By serving as a common communications medium at the earliest stages of the process, the iRise Application Simulator acts as an enabling technology for offshore development, bridging gaps in language, time zones, and cultures - ensuring against potential risks and making the theoretical gains of outsourcing real.
"While offshore development offers companies many advantages, miscommunication between those involved can often substantially take away from any gains a company may have realized," said Matt Light, research director at Gartner. "Emerging technology focused on automating the development process and improving the communication between business users and developers in the same building, as well as overseas, will play an increasingly important role in the success of offshore development projects for enterprises."
"Offshore development is no longer a trend, it's a reality of the new global economy," said Emmet B. Keeffe III, CEO and co-founder, iRise. "As a globally-recognized leader in IT outsourcing services, TCS is in a position to drive development best practices, and we're thrilled to be part of the solution to help reduce the various associated risks and costs. Until now, large organizations have invested in process improvements and text-based requirements management but have not had a cost effective way to visually validate requirements prior to development. But, it doesn't have to be this way, and through our partnership with TCS, we hope to show companies that there's a much easier way to realizing the benefits of outsourced development, whether it's offshore or onshore-go visual."
In addition to reducing the costs related to offshore development, TCS is also using iRise to reduce the risks associated with fixed-bid projects. Increasingly, clients are requesting fixed-bid projects as opposed to time- and material-based costing, forcing vendors to adopt much more sophisticated processes for estimating the value of the solution as well as managing risk. Vendors can end up losing money if the project runs longer than expected or requires additional resources. By using iRise to visually simulate and validate application requirements from the start, TCS can more accurately estimate the costs of projects and gain a competitive edge through fixed-bid projects.
About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is a leading global IT services provider and was the first billion-dollar Indian IT services organization by annual revenues. Since its inception in 1968, TCS has pioneered many of the significant developments in the Indian IT services industry, including the offshore delivery model for IT services.
TCS is a global organization with offices in 32 countries and development centers in 10 countries. TCS offers a comprehensive range of IT services to its clients in diverse industries such as banking and financial services, insurance, manufacturing, telecommunications, retail and transportation. TCS' clients comprise of some of the world's largest and well-known organizations. TCS has developed extensive experience in providing end-to-end IT services, integrating multiple technologies and delivering solutions in multiple geographies for its global clients. It is the largest Indian IT services organization in terms of revenues as well as profits.
TCS is part of the Tata Group, which has a heritage of over 135 years as one of India's leading corporate groups. The Tata Group has interests in a diverse range of industries, and had combined sales of approximately Rs. 542 billion (US$11.8 billion) in fiscal 2003.
For more information on TCS, visit www.tcs.com.
About iRise
iRise® is dedicated to bridging the communication gap between business and IT by improving the process of defining business applications. Focused on Fortune 1000 companies, its innovative iRise Application Simulator enterprise software product recently received eWEEK magazine's Analyst's Choice award. It allows an organization to "test market" applications with customers, partners and employees before making funding decisions and validate business requirements with stakeholders during the definition process. iRise ensures business applications actually meet the needs of the business. With the same focus, its services group has successfully translated the needs of business users to deliver mission-critical business applications for more than 100 customers on 300 engagements. The company is based in El Segundo, Calif., with regional offices in New York and San Francisco, and sales offices covering the continental US.
For more information contact:
Aimee McManus, iRise
(310) 426-7811
amcmanus@iRise.com
Karen Hayes for TCS, Fleishman-Hillard Inc.
(212) 453-2309
hayesk@fleishman.com
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