Q. What are the unique capabilities of your company as compared to other companies?

A. We have the following unique points:

• We have a very strong technical team with a track record of deliveries to international clients from Japan, U.S., U.K, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
  
  

• All our software engineers are fluent in the English language and 25% of them are fluent in the Japanese language. We can therefore handle software projects from all the English speaking countries as well as Japan.
  
  

• We have an entrepreneurial style of work, which enables us to take quick decisions, be flexible and take tough challenges.

Q. What are the advantages of Pune as compared to other Indian cities such as a location for an IT industry?

A. . Following are some of the unique advantages of Pune:

• Pune is an education center with about a dozen engineering and computer science colleges offering full degree courses and several other institutions offering various levels of software courses. Pune also has good foreign language institutes, including Japanese.
  
  

• Pune has very good infrastructure. The electric power supply is one of the best in the country. Availability of Interrnet connections via dedicated lines, DSL, ISDN, cable, etc. is very good.
  
  

• Housing is very easily available and is affordable as compared to other cities.
  
  

• Pune has excellent weather round the year and a very good quality of life, which makes it an enviable place to live. This is also an excellent place for children's education.
  

• The staff turnover in Pune is much lower as compared to other cities such as Banglore or Mumbai.
  
  

• Pune is well connected by air, road, and rail. It is about 15 minutes by air, three hours by train/road from Mumbai.
  
  

• Pune is one of the safest places in the country.

Q. We would like the software engineers who work on our projects to continues to work for a long period, since we do not want to re-train new people. How will you ensure this?

A. We understand the importance of knowledge retention and ensure it by taking the following measures:

• While selecting the team, we assign those people to a project who have the required skills, interest, and a commitment to be with the project for the required period.
  
  
• We have very good HR policies that help in the retention of the team. People are adequately rewarded for good performance and commitment to the projects assigned to them.
  
  
• We implement an efficient knowledge management system for the project. This includes documentation, knowledge base creation, and induction training for new project
  members. We also ensure that all important knowledge areas are shared by at least two people.
  
  
• Special efforts are taken to ensure the retention of the key members of the project team by offering them stock options and other benefits.
  
  
• We are also open to discuss all the knowledge retention issues and work out a retention plan that addresses the unique needs of any project.
  

Q. In our projects, the specifications may keep on changing during the course of the project due to various reasons.  How do you handle such changes?

 A. We understand that specification changes are a part of life in any software project. We address these changes in the following manner:

• At the planning level: While planning the project, we take the expected changes into consideration.  For example, it makes logical sense to schedule the parts that are less likely to change earlier than those more likely to change.
  
  
• At the software engineering level: The design and coding are carried out in a way such that changes can be easily accommodated. This includes the use of good software engineering practices such as object-oriented design, avoidance of hard coding, use of tables/parameters to change system’s behavior, use of multi-layered architectures, auto generation of code, use of automated tools, etc.
  
  
• Change control: A systematic change control procedure is followed. We analyze the impact of every specification change in terms of effort, time and cost involved.  If the change is minor and does not have a significant cost and schedule impact, we agree to the change right away.  However, if the change has a significant impact on cost or schedule, we discuss it with client, reach an agreement and then carry out the change.
  
  
• Positive attitude: We have a very positive attitude to specification changes and try our best to accommodate them.

 Q. How do you make sure that your software engineers keep abreast of the latest technologies?

 A. We encourage our engineers to keep abreast of the latest technologies by the following means:

•  Internet: Everyone has Internet access and is encouraged to use the net for technical learning.
  
  
• Library: We have a library that is stocked with the books on latest technologies.
  
  
• Partnerships: We receive the latest products and technology materials from Microsoft, Oracle, and Palm, which helps our engineers understand the latest offerings from these vendors.
  
  
• Seminars/Technology Events: We encourage and sponsor our engineers to attend various seminars and technology events in Pune and Mumbai.
  
  
• Research Projects: At any point, we have several research project active in the company for exploring new technology areas. The knowledge gained from these projects is shared across the organization.
  
  
• Educational Institutions: We have relationships with local educational institutions, which help in a two-way knowledge flow.
  
  
• Awards: We announce special awards for innovative solutions and use of new techniques, technologies and methodologies.  These awards encourage our engineers to explore new solutions and techniques.