Chennai Consulting Group

MARKETING PLAN FOR AN IT INITIATIVE

Client: ABC Company, India

1|Page

Chennai Consulting Group

Table of Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................. 3 Business Description ......................................................... 5 Market Analysis .............................................................. 8 Operations & Marketing Strategy .................................. 14 Financials .......................................................................... 18 Risk Factors and Contingency Plans ......................... 25

2|Page

Chennai Consulting Group

Marketing Plan for an IT INITIATIVE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Marketing Plan is a result of our efforts to identify an activity that will leverage the capability that the Company has generated in the past and to match it with the opportunities that the business environment would present in the near future. We strongly believe that we need to startup a business activity, which will provide gainful employment to our Companys graduates, as well as result in additional revenues to the Company. The present seems to be the most opportune moment and the IT sector offers the most feasible business proposition for such an activity, given the revival wave that is starting to happen in the IT sector. The IT Company will generate large professional and well paying employment possibilities for the graduates of our country. The following revenue and employment projections are arrived at:

ACTIVITY REVENUE (Rs in Lacs) EMPLOYMENT

Yr I 1105 145

Yr II 2054 205

Yr III 2477 280

Yr IV 3576 395

Yr V 4546 500

The business idea proposed in this document is an IT company that will primarily offer Software Development and System Integration solutions in an industry vertical, as also provide IT Enabled Services and IT Market Research solutions. The proposal is based on our intimate familiarity with the vertical sector of Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare, which are highly competitive, priority sectors of our economic activity and high spenders on technology. The main theme of our business proposal is the development and deployment of an internet enabled software application, which is state of the art in its use of technology, as also wide in its coverage of various segments of the Pharma and the Healthcare industry. We are convinced about the market that exists for our product offer for the Pharma and the Healthcare industry, mainly due to the unpenetrated nature as also the burgeoning demand for IT services in these segments of the USA market. The Pharmaceutical segment spends around 2% of the turnover, and has traditionally been an early adopter of IT products and services. The Healthcare sector too is becoming one sought-after segment for all Indian IT companies. Domain expertise is in demand and the number of IT players in this segment is still small. The ITES sector is a sunshine industry in India and current forecasts predict a phenomenal growth for this sector in the next five years. Demand for the IT Market Research 3|Page

Chennai Consulting Group activity is also large but untapped, as there are few players specializing in this niche market. Marketing will be the mainstay for succeeding with this business proposition. Our Marketing strategy hinges on our value proposition of providing IT solutions to our clients at a cost that will deliver value that will far exceed the clients investments. We will establish profitable business alliances with clients, vendors and individual users to educate, promote and sell our product offers. One of our major selling tactics will be the use of product champions and evangelists from among the user groups. Our marketing plan involves the usage of promotional methods specially suited to market IT products and services. We will enter the domestic market through Software Development, and later shift gear towards Software Exports, to provide a differentiated value proposition to the client. The IT Enabled Services division will start with providing basic financial services and then graduate to high-end BPO activities, thus serving to generate large employment potential for the Companys graduating Finance professionals. The IT Marketing Research activity will start as a field research activity and slowly move up the value chain to become a full-fledged IT marketing consulting firm. The financials for the business proposal have been worked out for the base reasonable situation and also for varying levels of uncertainty. We have also provided for large risk mitigation efforts to counter the uncertainties. Our workings show a project IRR of 71% with a payback of around 2.5 years for a project cost of Rs 670 Lacs. We have assessed the various risks in terms of technological, business, managerial as also people risks, and have identified contingency action plans for mitigating them. We have also identified the exit options that are available.

4|Page

Chennai Consulting Group 1. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

The proposed company will operate in the IT area and Software Development & Systems Integration will be its main area of activity. Simultaneously starting from the first year, we will incubate the Software Exports Business, which will be the mainstay activity from the fourth year onwards. In addition to the flagship activity of Software Development and Maintenance, the IT Enabled Services and IT Marketing Research activities will be the two revenue and employment generating activities, where the IT Company will be entering.

1.1

THE IDEAS

A. Software Development and Systems Integration:

The Software Development division of the IT Company will start with the development of Software Solutions for a Vertical Business Sector, and will develop the activities that in turn will develop into Software Exports. Over time, expertise in two types of projects will be developed - in System Integration, which will include Applications Development, both offshore and onsite, and Systems Conversions from the existing Legacy Systems to Web-enabled systems. The other activity is Software Maintenance that has become a specialized activity and now becoming a candidate for offshore setups, yielding high margins and large employability. As the Company will become specialized in IT area, this activity can draw specially trained students for meeting its manpower requirements.

B. IT Enabled Services:
IT Enabled Services is a component of the Business Process Outsourcing Industry which constitutes a separate set of tasks, both at the low end of the spectrum of the Information Technology, like Data Entry which requires basic computer skills and command over the language especially grammar and style. Services like GIS, Movie Animation and Captioning are at the higher end. The level of knowledge value and technical capability decides the level of the IT Services chain. IT Enabled Services provides ample opportunities for employment, foreign investment and export earnings. When on one side it provides higher salary levels and transfer of skills to Indian workers it also provides an opportunity for being employed abroad as their work ethics improve. It is therefore a sunshine industry for India and if properly guarded against complacency, would set an unprecedented role for IT Enabled Services in the country.

C. IT Marketing Research:
Information Technology Market Research refers to the research work done by the companies that operate in the Information Technology environment -Computer hardware, software and services. Given the convergence of the technology, often, telecommunications hardware and software, as well as the Internet, hand held devices, intelligent machines and other equipment, are also included in the definition of Information Technology. According to IDC data, India is the fastest growing market in Asia in terms of IT spending by other industry sectors, followed by Singapore and China. The remarkable growth of the I.T. sector and the subsequent increase of the investments that the sector has attracted makes it important for the players and potential investors in the I.T. market to rely on industry and competitive analysis, market data, information on technology trends and insight on market needs, all which can provide strategic and tactical guidance to help them make sound business and technology decisions.

5|Page

Chennai Consulting Group 1.2 A. DIVISIONS & PRODUCTS ENVISAGED Software Development & Systems Integration:

We plan to concentrate our Software Development Activities in the Vertical Business Sector of the HealthCare & Pharmaceuticals Market, primarily because of the availability of an expertise in this sector and the untapped Market Potential in this area. Recent Nasscom-McKinseys findings suggest that the only vertical sector that promises a potential for growth in the IT Sector as on date is the HealthCare & Pharma Sector. Our proposed product idea for the Software Development Division is called the Health Exchange, which is essentially a knowledge base of Health care & Pharmaceutical Industries, a system which enables players of Health care and Pharmaceutical Industries to share or complement their knowledge among themselves for better health care. The Health Exchange is essentially an integration of all the players in both the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. This integration provides shared knowledge across these two industries thereby leading to a symbiotic relationship. The exchange would connect the Healthcare players whereby treatments are made more efficient and faster cure is available. Through the Application Service Provider (ASP) model, branded e-health solutions can be deployed with minimal investment of capital or resources, since all Health Exchange solutions will be hosted in the Hub our technology solution center. The Health Exchange Solution will consist of the following applications: For Healthcare Services: The e-Health Exchange is a comprehensive software application that helps health care organization to efficiently manage the many aspects of their day-to-day operations. E-Health Exchange services provide complete, secure and Internet-enabled medical office management services for clinics and physician offices. Physicians and their staff no longer have to worry about maintaining computer servers and upgrading application and can concentrate on providing high quality care to the patients. Practice Information is available anywhere access to the Internet is available. For Pharma Companies: p-Health Exchange, a comprehensive, web-enabled product suite that provides innovative CRM solutions, sales force effectiveness tools, and analytical tools that enable pharmaceutical companies to influence prescriber behavior, thereby delivering a sustained competitive advantage. P-Health Exchange services improve communications optimizes promotional activities, and streamlines new product launches of pharmaceutical companies. Our Health Exchange system for Health care and Pharmaceuticals comprises various functional subsystems, divided into two major categories: Health services segment: e-Health Exchange Hospital Management Systems Doctors and clinics system Pharmacies system Health Centers and Dispensaries System

Pharmaceuticals systems segment: p-HealthExchange Knowledge Management Portal Medico Marketing Systems

6|Page

Chennai Consulting Group

Field Force Services/ Medical community/ Training/ Symposia System Doctors / Chemists calls management system.

B.

IT Enabled Services:

IT Enabled Services are ever increasing in their variety and traditional activities of those, which have found their presence in India, are as follows: Data Entry Services Transcription Medical, Legal, Business and Seminar GIS CADD Call Centers and CRM activities Pre Press and Digitization Human Resource Services Health Sector Activities like billing, insurance claims, etc. Captioning and Entertainment Sector Activities Accounting and Financial Services Training and Distance Education Activities

Though there are many kinds of activities in ITES, this report selects Accounting and Financial Services, as a Strategic Business Unit. The Activities in this segment are four; Investment Analysis, Reconciliation of Accounts, Tax and Related Services, Corporate and Management Reports. The marketing strategy is to procure orders from the large, global companies, which have outsourced these activities. Dow Jones, Reuters, Bloomberg, Emerging Money, International Market Manager (IDD) and Business Decisions (Australia) are few of the leading companies around the globe seeking services of Facilities in India. The Company with its academic accreditation and referrals in Finance and Accounting is probably very accomplished to pursue this business. The revenue projection is made on very plausible assumptions and the growth is commensurate with the projections made by NASSCOM, the leading agency researching this business sector. The employment is starting in the first year at 40 and in the fifth year, it is expected to grow to strength of 225 people. The revenue in the first year is expected to reach Rs. 1.15 Crores and by the end of the fifth year of operations it is to reach Rs. 10 Crores. The margins in this business would be around 45 percent and the payback of investments is in four years. The business segment is easy to manage, as the skill set is not very high, and the labor turnover can be managed by quick substitution without much training and gestation.

C.

IT-Marketing Research:

The IT-MR Business Unit will deliver dependable, relevant, and high-impact data and insight on information technology; to help our IT firm as well as client organizations make sound business and technology decisions. The team will be expected to forecast worldwide IT markets and technology trends and analyze IT products and vendors, using a combination of rigorous primary research and in-depth competitive analysis. In three years time, as we get more experienced in the Market and Marketing aspects of the IT area, we will also explore possibilities of diversifying into Marketing Consultancy services for the IT sector. The IT-MR services that are proposed will be complementary to the other activities that take place in an I.T. company. Information and Knowledge that is required to perform Software Development operations automatically become resource inputs for the IT-MR division, while existing market data residing in the IT-MR team will become Market Intelligence inputs for the Marketing team of the IT Company. We intend to provide clients with market-oriented solutions to the opportunities and threats created by technology, especially internet and electronic trading. Our services would cover a wide range of market-related issues from supporting high level strategic planning to track tactical implementation issues. We will also work with clients to help them to understand how E-

7|Page

Chennai Consulting Group

Commerce can be leveraged to grow their business, as well as reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction. The results of a sampling study done with IT developers, providers and users, as well as a secondary search show that the following product offers are possible. 1. Research Reports on I.T. Technologies Market Size 2. Research Reports on I.T. effectiveness 3. Research Reports on Sector wise I.T. Spending. 4. Research Reports on State I.T. Policies 5. I.T MR for Specific Business Groups 6. Evaluation of Vertical segments from I.T. Spending Perspectives 7. IT industry analysis 8. IT competitive analysis 9. Market data and Insight 10. Product wise Research Reports 11. Worldwide IT market Forecasting 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Technology trends Forecasting IT product Research Web Surveys Web Audience Measurement Research Online research Indian demographic research Consumer Research IT industry analysis I.T. Company reports Technology Trend Reports Customer Satisfaction Research Market Sizing Research Price Sensitivity Measurement

&

1.3

REVENUE & EMPLOYMENT GENERATION:

The Company can be a good employer of its IT students who have a flair for Software Development. There are many current employees in the Company who can also be utilized for the projects. The ITES sector offers opportunity for employment to a large number of our own students from the Company, in the form of permanent employment and assistantships. The different activities to be carried out to deliver the various products and services in The IT-MR market would generate employment opportunities to a large number of management and IT professionals graduating from our Company. Initial Projections point to around 35 jobs as well as 10 assistantships per center that can be provided by the IT-MR team alone, a number that can increase to 100 in five years. In addition, placement opportunities may also result out of our rapport with satisfied clients who may want to recruit from our Company. The employment generation opportunities that the different I.T. areas can offer are given as below: ACTIVITY Software Development & Systems Integration IT Enabled Services IT Marketing Research Total NO OF JOBS CREATED Yr I 70 40 35 145 Yr II 80 80 45 205 Yr III 100 120 60 280 Yr IV 110 200 85 395 Yr V 150 250 100 500

The business venture will be able to generate margins, which will be larger than what could be generated from student fees and subscriptions. The availability of funds could be used for funding development and broad banding the Companys activities. The Revenue projections for the different I.T. activities comprising the proposed I.T. firm are given as below: (All figures in Rs Lacs)

8|Page

Chennai Consulting Group

ACTIVITIES Software Development & Systems Integration IT Enabled Services IT Marketing Research Total REVENUE GENERATION Yr I Yr II Yr III Yr IV Yr V 875 1714 1907 2576 3296 115 115 1105 200 140 2054 400 170 2477 800 200 3576 1000 250 4546

2. MARKET ANALYSIS A. Software Development & Systems Integration:

Market The Total market for the Health Exchange System comprises the Pharmaceutical Companies and the Healthcare Services markets i.e. the customers that the Pharma companies serve. The Health Exchange Product in India is in its early stages of development and hence there is no reliable source of ascertaining the Total Market Size for the product. Being pioneers in the field of Health Exchange Systems Development, we were convinced of the market existing for the product by way of primary research and the various depth interviews we had held with the opinion leaders and thought leaders in the Pharmaceuticals industry as well as the Healthcare Services. Segments The market for the Health Exchange system can be segmented based on the type of users and the type of benefits derived. Two major buyer segments have been identified The Pharmaceutical companies segment and Health care services segment. The Pharmaceutical companies segment is one of the major knowledge based industries, which will derive the maximum value by use of the Health Exchange product. The system will result in benefits like huge cost reductions and market share increase through better Prescription Analysis, Product Portfolio Management and Field Force Management. The other market segment, the Healthcare Services Market serves as a major customer segment and also an enduse market i.e. a customer to the pharmaceutical segment. The sub segments that are targeted for direct sales should be doctors, chemists, hospitals and government healthcare institutions. The Pharmaceutical segment is particularly an attractive segment because of the huge tangible and intangible benefits the Health Exchange system can deliver to the users in this segment. Typical beneficiaries from the system would be Product Managers, Field Force Managers, Medical Representatives, Medico-Marketing Teams, and Sales Force Trainers. The Healthcare services segment comprises around 4,98,000 practicing doctors, 15,000 Hospitals and 22,000 Government Institutions. The doctors and hospitals will primarily benefit from the Health Exchange system and hence the major targets in this segment would be this sub segment. Patients and Pharmacists are also a sizable benefiting sub segment in the Health Care services segment. FUNCTION SAVINGS (in Rs Crores) 200

Users in the Pharma segment

User-wise Cost Savings & Revenue Increases

120

10% 8%
Size

10%

Product manageme 40%nt Promotions 40

Market

Portfolio Research

40

manageme nt 50 Research
50

9|Page 8%

24%

Chennai Consulting Group

According to research published by CMIE, the Indian Pharmaceutical Companies account for a total turnover of Rs 27,750 crores for year ___. Published sources have put the proportion of IT spend to the sales turnover in Pharma companies to be in the area of 1.5 - 2 % for the year __. This translates to a whopping Rs 555 crores of IT expenditure by the Pharma companies. Based on BCG estimates of share of the e-solutions in the total Indian IT spend to be 10% during 2002, we have arrived at a market size of Rs 55.5 crores for the E-solutions Product Market. The Esolutions Consulting and Implementation & Training Market will be estimated to be 80% of the total value of the Product offered, and hence this Market will total up to Rs 45.5 crores. Adding the E-solutions Product and the E-solutions Consulting and Implementation & Training Market, the Total Market Size for the Health Exchange System is derived to be Rs 100 crores.

The Net Derivable Value is an analysis based on the aggregate lifetime value derivable through the use of the Health Exchange system for all the users in the respective segment. For purposes of corroborating the market size, we have considered only the major segment for the Health Exchange system, viz. the Pharmaceutical segment and to derive at the net annual value derived by the Pharma segment, using the Net Derivable Value Framework. After the analysis, the aggregate derivable value for the whole of this target segment is arrived at Rs 500 Crores per year. This is around than five times the price that the market would be paying for the Health Exchange System, if the Market size is estimated at Rs 100 crores. Competitors There are about 20 health portals operating from India, and more than a thousand online pharma portals in UK and USA. However, the absence of a connecting system between the different players of the health sector in the Indian sub-continent results in the lack of straight competition the Health Exchange product. Indirect competition exists in the form of Hospital Administration Software and individual systems for the Healthcare systems. This would be no match with the functions and applications of a Health Exchange and the value and benefits it promises.

10 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

Revenue Projections
Customer Group Target Software Consulting Implementation Sales Training Rs in lacs Rs in lacs Rs in lacs 15.00 10.00 5.00 Maintenance Total & Enhancement Rs in lacs Rs in lacs nil 300.00

YEAR I

PHARMA COMPANIES Product Management Doctors Chemists Field Force Sales HOSPITALS DOCTORS CHEMISTS INSTITUTIONS & DISPENSARIES PHARMA COMPANIES Product Management Doctors Chemists Field Force Sales HOSPITALS DOCTORS CHEMISTS INSTITUTIONS & DISPENSARIES PHARMA COMPANIES Product Management Doctors Chemists Field Force Sales HOSPITALS DOCTORS CHEMISTS INSTITUTIONS & DISPENSARIES

10.00

10.00 1000.00 500.00 5.00

10.00 0.05 0.05 5.00

5.00 0.03 0.03 5.00

3.00

5.00

nil nil nil nil Total 90.00

180.00 80.00 40.00 75.00 675.00 690.00

YEAR II

20.00

15.00

10.00

5.00

15.00 1000.00 750.00 10.00

10.00 0.04 0.04 4.00

5.00 0.02 0.02 4.00

3.00 0.03 0.02 5.00

45.00 12.00 9.00 12.00 Total 90.00

315.00 102.00 65.25 142.00 1314.25 670.00

Year III

20.00

15.00

10.00

4.00

20.00 1000.00 1000.00 15.00

10.00 0.04 0.04 3.00

5.00 0.02 0.02 3.00

2.00 0.03 0.02 3.00

60.00 12.00 12.00 13.50 Total

400.00 102.00 87.00 148.50 1407.50

Year IV

Maintenance & Enhancements SOFTWARE EXPORTS Total

416 2160 2576

Year V

Maintenance & Enhancements SOFTWARE EXPORTS Total

416 2880 3296

11 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group B. IT Enabled Services:

Market Size The market for IT Enabled Services has been projected to grow to about US $ 25 billion by the year __. The kinds of services included in this projection are ever growing and the estimates are revised upwards with each new opportunity arising. The annual growth rate expected is about 30 percent and this is projected as a very modest rate. The composition of the market in terms of value and employment is given in the table below: Many institutions have done the market size projection for IT Enabled Services. The Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) its report on IT Enabled Services forecasts that the growth will be phenomenal from about US $ 264 millions in ___ to about US $ 4072 to US alone in ___. The business segments identified are as follows: IT Enabled Services Projections for year___ Business Segments Revenue in Y1 In US $ Million 60 30 50 45 60 3 13 3 264 Revenue In Y5 000 US $ Million 2250 800 375 200 50 150 115 75 30 27 4072

1.Customer Interaction Centers 2. Medical Transcription 3. Financial and Accounting Services 4. Pre Press pre-media 5. Distance Learning 6. GIS 7. HRD Services 8. Medical Billing and Collection 8. Insurance Claims 9. Litigation and legal support services TOTAL Source: NASSCOM- MCKINSEY REPORT

The Market size currently for Accounting and Financial Services is US $ 50 Million and is expected to reach US $ 375 Million by Year__. This estimate is being adjusted upwards as many more segments enter the bandwagon of ITES. The major clients are in the USA, UK and Australia. In order to keep a future option of adding clients, the markets/ clients in all the three countries have been identified. Competition In assessing the competitors for Indian ITES facilities the countries that offer similar infrastructure and worker support are very few. The country that has created a presence other than India is Ireland. India has in fact scored on both Location attractiveness and on people attractiveness.

12 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

The Countries which offer ITES Support globally are Ireland, Netherlands, Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, Mexico and China. The following table best explains the competitive advantage that India has over the other ITES support facilities from other countries: Country Develop Infrastru Work Cost Confide Quality ment of cture Culture base ntiality conscio local usness market Singapore 1 3 2 3 3 1 3 3 Ireland 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 3 Philippines 2 2 1 1 1 3 2 2 India 3 3 2 2 1 3 1 1 1=Below Average, 2= Average, 3= Good. Adapted from Business Magazine, some additions
made by extrapolation

Work Force

Market Access

Revenue Projections 1. Reconciliation of Accounts and Analysis 2. Tax Services 3. Investment Analysis Reports 4. Corporate Dossiers 5. Management Financial Reports TOTAL Yr1 30 25 25 20 15 115 Yr2 60 40 40 40 20 200 Yr 3 90 90 80 80 60 400 Yr 4 200 240 140 120 100 800 Yr 5 250 300 180 140 130 1000

C.
Market

IT-Marketing Research:

The estimated size of Market Research in the different regions of the world reported as USD 46 mm. Out of this; the share of Technology research spends can be estimated around USD 5 mm. The spending on Market Research can be attributed to three major customer groups viz., Builders Providers and Users of Information Technology. In addition, the customers also include the financial community, policy-making bodies and business associations. The mistakes of the players in the New Economy have created wide opportunities for market research. For example, the erroneous management of the Indian dotcom firms led to an undeveloped market for eCommerce. It has been accepted subsequently that market researchers with their advanced research techniques (including interviews with advertising companies, significant companies who have recently built their own website, website design companies, and suppliers of services connected with electronic media) have helped solve this particular situation. Target Markets The Key Target markets for our products and services will be the following segments: I.T. Providers Builders (Developers) Users Financial Community Policy Making / Industry Bodies Magazines, Associations & Consulting Groups

13 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

Demand An initial dipstick survey conducted in India revealed a strong orientation in the IT companies towards market research activities. The study showed that there is a huge potential for market research activities in IT companies. The sampling study probed into the research savviness of the companies and their orientation towards conducting external or internal research. Market research is generally done for identifying the Needs of the customers, Product requirements, emerging markets etc. Their business development managers help them to get the required information about the customers needs and the current trends in the market. Companies also buy reports from MR agencies such as IDC, NASSCOM etc. Competition Almost all the top MNC Market Research Companies have their presence in India either through their branch, subsidiary or a joint venture partnership. Most of the Indian MR companies too, have at least a small division devoted to I.T. Marketing Research. Some of the existing players in the IT MR market are: IDC (India) Gartner India Frost & Sullivan I.T. group IMRB- E-technology Group, Bangalore. Group Pacific Technology India. Delhi. Research Pacific India, Delhi. Scope Marketing & Information Solutions, India. Ions Infotech Services, Delhi. MBL Techno search. Stylus Systems, Bangalore.

I.T. Industry associations and monitors like the following groups do extensive IT research and publish them at regular intervals: Nasscom Express Computers Hindu Sector wise Reports CMIE

Revenue Projections

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

TARGET GROUPS Policy Making/ Industry Bodies Magazines, Assns, Consulting Groups IT Providers Developers Users Financial Community Builders Total

Yr1 20 10 20 20 20 25 115

Yr2 22 12 28 28 22 28 140

Yr3 27 17 33 33 27 33 170

Yr4 30 20 40 40 30 40 200

Yr5 40 26 46 46 36 46 240

14 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group 3. OPERATIONS 3.1 TECHNOLOGY

Technical platform for Development and Deployment of Health Exchange System Health Exchange System is a very complex system and among the key factors that would go into making the project successful is the infrastructure that includes hardware/software used for the development and deployment. Any platform that is selected must provide for Global Support for the product: that would ensure greater acceptability by the customer. This would also result in widest Access to skilled support/technical/development resources for using the technology. The Selected Platform must be stable and provide consistent performance. As the scope of the application expands and new features are added to the applications the software must perform consistently without any errors thereby enabling them to combine existing information services with new business functions. The solution must be deployable across host of hardware platforms thereby providing greater choice to the users and leverage existing infrastructure investments. The selected solution must provide for Cross Platform Integration (i.e. enable transfer of information between the various players) resulting in greater collaborative efforts in the health sector. The solution must have readily available and easy to use tools for development and easy to deploy. This would enable the application to be delivered very quickly to the market. In addition the solution must extend support to emerging technologies such as XML standards for insulating the application from non-compatibility to new technologies. The solution must have low TCO both for developers and the users of the software. The end result would be delivery of the solution that is hosted across Unified platform that simplifies multi tier High Scalar application and enables seamless integration of information between various players and enables businesses to protect and leverage existing infrastructure investments resulting in technology for End to End E-Commerce/M-Commerce Solution. At the time of deployment the platform must make the application secure and non-accessible to unauthorized users, deliver optimum Performance, scalable, ensure confidentiality and privacy of the information, and adequately provide for Disaster Recovery. Cross platform evaluation Matrix We sought the opinions of technical experts through a survey conducted by us and based on their feedback we have arrived at the following rankings: Criteria/Platform Microsoft Sun IBM Oracle Matured Technology 1 2 4 3 Cross Platform Compatibility. 2 1 3 4 Low TCO 1 3 2 4 Security 2 2 1 4 Performance 1 2 3 4 Scalability 2 3 4 1 Confidentiality 1 1 3 4 Data integration 1 2 3 4 Messaging 1 2 2 3 Pluggable components. 1 3 2 4 Disaster recovery 3 1 2 4 In the above table the top vendors in the market have been ranked against the various performance criteria. Compared to Microsoft all the other vendors require high level of initial investment. However Microsoft technologies require very low initial investment and the source can be upgraded based on the incremental requirements there by resulting in an optimal ROI. Based on the above ranking we find that Microsoft Technologies are most suitable platform for developing and deploying our solution.

15 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group 3.2 A. MARKETING STRATEGY Software Development & Systems Integration:

Value Proposition: Our Marketing plank will be based on our value proposition of developing Superior IT solutions for our Healthcare and Pharma clients, at a cost that will deliver value that will far exceed the client costs involved. We will harp on our commitment to provide our customers with a distinct competitive advantage, in terms of lower promotional costs, improved marketing efficiency and enhanced profitability. Alliance Partners: The major strategy we will adopt to market the Health Exchange will be that of Alliance formations with users Pharma Companies, Hospitals and ISPs. These alliance partners would help in defining market needs, testing the software used for/during development, act as demo sites for the Health Exchange and also act as product champions who will accelerate market penetration. Foot in the Door: We will identify and maintain presence in leading organizations establishing Project Pilots through a foot in the door policy. Product Evangelists: We will appoint Doctors as our Product evangelists who will spread the word in the medical community, and the scheme will be backed by strong incentives. Symposia: We will get the various stakeholders in the Healthcare & Pharma markets together for discussions and product experience, through Symposia and seminars. Packaging Strategy: We will market an integrated system to the Pharma segment while a stripped or a basic product / individual modules would cater the health services sub segments. Pricing: The pricing will be based on what the traffic can bear. Certain ways of alternate pricing arrangements in terms of profit sharing with select large Pharma companies will be explored with prestigious customers. Advertising: The advertising objective would be to build product awareness among early adopters and dealers through print advertisement. Direct mailing to specific target customers in the form of newsletters and pamphlets on the Health Exchange system and benefits is envisaged. Sales Promotion: Heavy sales promotion would be used to entice trails and undergo demonstration at demo sites at hospitals. Seminars and symposium in addition to specific sales promotion web-sites will be planned. Incentives for doctors who will be product evangelists and recruitment of medical practitioners for sales and market position are also considered. Distribution: Selective distribution channels will be used for the distribution of product, as the emphasis will be on the direct selling by the executives. The company plans to create alliances with Pharma & Health Services providers for the development of Health Exchange system with flexible cost/revenue sharing arrangement. MR Division: Our IT-MR division will help us with market leads and Market Intelligence from the target market.

16 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group B. IT Enabled Services:

Direct Solicitation for orders The constant question asked by project evaluators is the consistency of markets or marketing arrangements. The permanency or validation of a market is necessary. In such an attempt the facility being set up as a start up project, should endeavor to make its own marketing solicitation and procure its direct orders from the client. This gives a strong relationship being developed and a continuity of orders if the deliverables by the facility meet the requirements of the client. Presence in Europe or USA The major market for the ITES outsourcing is the US and UK. Germany and Japan are a few new entrants. These countries work normally in their own foreign languages, which makes it for Indian workmen to be familiar. There are some companies in India, working for the German Engineering companies, but the specialization is in language and methodology, so the prospect is limited. Increase quality assurance One of the success factors in getting continuous orders is the delivery level both in quality and in timeliness. The Quality Assurance Program, and the faster returns of work accomplished is the key factors to develop a relationship. This is the only way to be supported by the overseas client in outsourcing work to Indian contractors. Develop Domestic Markets A factor, which is serious but presently not attractive, is to develop domestic markets. The development of domestic markets may not be attractive as the revenues or price would not be an incentive, but a deterrent. Banks, Railways, Governments, Universities, and business establishments are the biggest clients. Since the market here is largely untapped, some effort could be made to secure large domestic orders. This will also support the need expressed by the companies to relook at their marketing strategy. The marketing effort to procure orders from overseas customers has three options Direct solicitation, Intermediary of through another company, which has an excess of orders. In order to go directly to the client the costs will be high and also there are no referrals of work experience. The direct contact with the client will bring in higher rates and also permanency of contracts. However the working through an intermediary for securing work orders is most suitable. In any start up operation, it may be possible to work through another company in India, which is processing such a business. It is also possible that the Captive units like GE Capital, Ford Motor Company and many insurance companies, which have set up facilities in India and outsource orders in Indian Currency. It may be an alternative, but for a short period. The direct solicitation may be done as soon as the project stabilizes and the work output can be assured for quality and timeliness. Initially, the business orders for financial services would be solicited through other facilities in India. A few intermediaries have also been contacted, and the orders so procured would be serviced till the first six months of referral work is done to start direct solicitation for US based companies and other Global companies.

17 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group C. IT-Marketing Research:

Our USPs We believe that the IT-MR business idea as a product offer possesses the following Unique Selling Points: Pioneering the concept of IT-MR In India, though there are several companies that do market research for IT companies, none of them are totally dedicated to IT-MR. We are the first organization that is totally dedicated to IT-Market Research. The objective of such narrow casting is to provide a professional approach towards the assignments we carry out. IT-MR Portal We will be the first Indian organization to provide a specialized portal for Market Research. The portal will contain the regular login facilities. In addition to that we will also provide continuous online polls, Competitor intelligence services etc. through it. Synergy benefits The organization obtains significant synergy benefits by virtue of being a part of a large group that comprises academic institutions, consulting group and IT Company. Academic institutions fundamentally act as repository of knowledge and information. The various reports generated as apart of the academic exercises act as storehouse of knowledge and can give significant benefits to the IT-MR organization. Besides it also acts as a platform to prove the adage practice what you preach. Niche Operator: Our major strength is our presence in the MR industry as an exclusive and a niche operator, just to cater to the IT industry; making use of the rich experience we have acquired in the IT Companys other activities. Alliance Strategy We will form alliances with small and medium MR companies abroad to undertake their Asiaoriented research works. We will also concentrate on Indian companys setup in the US and the UK, doing their India specific work as also oversees research if applicable. We will form alliances with US and UK based IT magazines to provide research content on required IT topics. Reports and Publications will be made available at our portal for downloading, by way of subscriptions. Newsletters and free Membership options will be initiated for greater awareness and image building. Personal selling and Direct Marketing Direct marketing will precede the personal selling activity. Direct marketing will involve creating and mailing flyers, organization specific letters etc. to the various organizations that are being targeted. Personal selling in the form of presentation will follow the direct marketing exercise. Web Advertising Advertising through web will also be one of the important campaign elements. Web advertisement will enable the organization to be visible among those who are sedentary workers. As indicated earlier, a separate portal will be created perform the job. In addition to that having tie-ups with other leading portals can also be undertaken to improve the brand visibility. Publicity and Public Relations The launch of the IT-MR organization will be official and will be made public through PR exercises. A brief to the Media and Press can be given on the official launch of the organization.

18 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

Besides a constant updating of significant deals struck can also be made public. A constant touch with the media will act as a enabler to enhance the brand visibility.

3.3 A.

OPERATIONS PLAN Software Development & Systems Integration:

We have chosen a clear strategy to enter the IT services and ITES market space with the idea of generating sufficient placements to our students as also surplus funds for augmenting out IT activities. We have chosen the niche vertical area of Health services and Pharmaceuticals as they are at this juncture the most underpenetrated as also the most willing users of IT systems for improving their operational performance in India. The time is ripe as in the next couple of years the GATT IPO regime will be operational and the Pharma industry is gearing itself for a metamorphosis through mergers and acquisitions and resultant reorganizations of their activities, especially in the medico-marketing areas. The main thrust of our proposal is to start as an entrant into Software Development and build pluggable and reusable software routines in this application area of Health exchange, taking into consideration the required technical necessities of having to work in multi-vendor, cross platform environment as the users are diverse from pharmaceutical companies to individual doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and medical representatives as also a wide assortment of patient-users. During the first nine months we will develop software suite covering the various segments to include Healthcare and Pharma. Simultaneously we expect to form alliance partnerships with 3-5 alliance partners from each of the major segments of Pharma and Healthcare who will later become our beta sites as also demonstration partners. Our marketing efforts will enlist 3-5 prospective clients from each of the above segments within this period. The Software Export activities will start during this phase through marketing alliances with the incumbent players in the USA.

During the next year, local projects will be executed as per the plan to establish our local presence. We will also start executing 3-4 onsite export projects during this tenure. Around 20 people will be working on onsite projects during this tenure. Parallely, we will graduate our selves in Systems Integration skills. Here system Integration skills will involve obtaining proficiency in Microsoft, Java technologies and third party EAI tools. In addition to this we will also deepen our alliances by investing in understanding the clients of alliance partners.

19 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

During the second year more local projects will be executed to deepen the roots in the domestic market. We will also be executing larger onsite export projects to create a good presence abroad. Closer to 40 people will be working on onsite projects during this tenure. In addition we must create lighthouse accounts that will act as service-product evangelists. This will benefit the organization to get more clients and have better visibility in the foreign markets. In the East Coast of the USA we will try and penetrate leading MNCs in Pharma and Healthcare using our contacts. During the third year still more local projects will be executed that will enable us to develop specific vertical market context for EAI. We will also execute more export-oriented projects, as it will enhance our revenues. About 60 people will be working on onsite projects during this tenure. We will also have a better understanding of our clients at that time and will develop tailored value proposition for each of them. We will also demonstrate our offshore capabilities at this juncture. From the fourth year onwards the organization will shift gear towards an offshore model. However care will be taken to make sure that the offshore model will provide differentiated value proposition to the client. During this tenure, 90-120 people will be working offshore for export projects. Transition from the entry stage to the stage of maturity and self-sustaining growth is shown in the above diagram adapted from the NASSCOM McKinsey Report.

B.

IT Enabled Services :

Order Procurement The back office operations for the Financial and Accounting Services are dependent on the order procurement. The global companies, which seek this kind of work, are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Dow Jones require company, industry and stock market reports Reuters require company, industry and stock market reports Bloomberg require company, industry and stock market reports and syndicated news Emerging Money company, industry, commodity prices, precious metals, money market and foreign exchange information IDD (International Dealers Digest ) Digital Alliances sources company, Industry, Government Spending and Foreign Exchange Data Price Waterhouse outsource Accounting Reconciliation and Management Reports Jardine Fleming company reports, industry and market data Business Decisions Company, Sectoral, and Banking Data CPA Associations in USA are now seeking Outsourcing partners in India.

Trial Order The preliminary phase is the Trial Order stage, in which we train the employees, run parallel work and then achieve efficiency and effective turnaround. In this stage, the test work is given to assess the error rate, return of processed work and work flow. The client also assesses the capability in this stage and sets a staged work order. This indicates the volume and nature of work, and therefore the employment and investment in the infrastructure can be then planned. Commercial Order This is the final stage in which the client places the full order. In effect the real paid work starts at this stage. This would normally take about 30 45 days of the trial work. However, this may be done even faster, depending on the work force and its achieving an error free support. Work Flow Much of the work is given for a extended period of six months and if the support is good, this may be converted into a long term service contract of say three years. The Back office operations is done by establishing a connectivity with the client and then the data/financial information is given

20 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

to the facility which has to be processed and returned within a given period. The processing is all done without much of intervention, as the individual is expected to check and send information at a 1.5 percent error rate. Work with a higher error rate is rejected and not paid for. The workflow for Investment Analysis, Company Dossiers and Management Reports, expects the collection of data, structuring, massaging and representing the data and report within a given period. The work is very time sensitive, and therefore the work ethic plays a bigger role, in client satisfaction. This is true in the case of Domestic Clients also. Brilliant I.T. Services We are currently getting into an arrangement with M/s Brilliant I.T. Enabled Services for providing them with technical manpower who will edit financial reports from overseas customers. This arrangement is expected to fetch the Company Rs 2.5 million in revenues and generate about 20 jobs during this financial year. This association with this project will enable us to understand the US stock markets and help us develop an expertise in financial analysis of various US companies, later allowing us to develop ourselves into Analysts with industry specialization viz. Telecom, Pharma, Financial, etc., at which time the revenue generation can become manifold due to the enhanced nature of the work and the volume of business.

C.

IT-Marketing Research:

The business operations of the Market Research division will be upgraded in terms of scale and value addition over time, and three stages of development are envisaged. During the first stage, we will concentrate on effective manpower utilization rather than company/brand enhancement. During the next two stages, we will emphasize on brand development and value enhancement by diversifying into related functional areas within the IT sector. Research & Field work During the first two years, we will take up research work as well as field data collection from existing MR companies and Consultants. This strategy is based on our need to feel the market as well as step up employment and assistantships for our students. With a thin full time marketing staff, we will conduct the research work through consultants who will also double as marketing personnel. Field work co-ordination and analysis will be conducted by executives, while the actual investigation can be provided by the assistantships. Research After the third year, we will take up only direct research work and even start outsourcing our fieldwork. We will consciously decide not take up fieldwork alone, lest we will be perceived as a field services company. Effective this time, we will only be doing research work on our own name. This strategy is based on our assumption that by then, we will be recognized by the IT sector as a brand/company that can provide quality research work. We will essentially concentrate on gaining visibility by publishing named reports (with our name) along with leading names in the IT sector. MR & Marketing Consulting From the fifth year, we will start to offer research products as well as take up Marketing Consulting projects for our clients in the I.T. sector. After four years of experience in the IT-MR sector, we hope to have acquired expertise in the marketing of the IT market, which will allow us to feel waters in the Marketing Consulting area of the IT sector. This strategy is based on our need to move up the value chain as well as effectively utilize the knowledge and experience gained in the IT MR market. We believe that this will be the logical next step to do, after so many years in a niche market, and this follows the example of many successful MNC marketing consultants operating now in India. The Business development activities for the MR division will be carried out by marketing executives from all the three divisions of the IT Company, as well as the Consultants and

21 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

executives who will be meeting with clients and respondent companies for the execution of projects. Project execution will be carried out by executives, Consultants with the help of assistantships and external field force agencies.

4. FINANCIALS & EXPLANATIONS OF FINANCIALS 4.1 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS & WORKING

1. The revenue plan and details of operational, marketing, export development and risk mitigation expenses are furnished separately under Business Assumptions. These have been arrived taking into account the three major business segments of the organization, viz. Software Development and Systems Integration, IT Enabled Services and IT Marketing Research. 2. The base case scenario refers to the organization taking up all the three segments of activity. The other scenarios are analyzed separately. 3. The business is expected to go into commercial operations with effect from year__. The period from __to __, is assumed to be the pre-operative stage, when the requisite infrastructure both hardware and software would be installed. This would also be the period for software research and development, including trial operations etc. 4. The year __would also see considerable developmental activities concurrent with commercial operations. Expenditure during this period as well as the pre-operative period (nine months of __) to the extent attributable to development has been included as part of the non recurring project cost. 5. The overall project cost under the base case scenario is estimated at Rs.670.00 lakhs: Pre operative expenditure during first 9 months Expenditure during __ not charged to revenue account Preliminary expenses for business formation, legal etc. Total 6. The means of financing the project cost is as under: Cost (Rs. in lakhs) 420.00 130.00 120.00 670.00 Cost (Rs. in lakhs) 330.00 330.00 10.00 670.00

Contribution from ABC ORG Alliance Partners Internal Generation Total

The contribution from ABC ORG is assumed to be towards incubation reserve (a capital reserve). Accordingly the share capital is assumed to be NIL. The actual position of how the contribution can be raised would be decided after ascertaining legal constitution of the business and positions regarding permissible routes for ABC ORG to invest. 7. Fixed assets to the tune of Rs. 190.00 lakhs would be acquired under financial lease and therefore is not included under the project cost. 8. The lease rentals payable for 60 months have been determined assuming an effective return of approximately 13% per annum to the lessor after reckoning an initial moratorium of 9 months.

22 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

9. The lease rentals have been appropriated towards implied interest and principal repayments (in line with the suggestions of IAS). The implied interest rate has been chosen so as to reduce the residual lease outstanding value to NIL at the end of 5 years. 10. Depreciation on the leased assets has been reckoned at 40% on WDV basis. The outstanding lease value at the beginning of a year is the basis for computing depreciation. Suitable adjustments for addition of fixed assets wherever considered has been made. 11. The preliminary expenses are assumed to be written off in 10 years @ 10% each year. 12. The amount of pre-operative expenditure and development expenditures not charged to revenue account aggregating to Rs. 660.00 lakhs (termed software expenditure in the profitability statement) have been written off @ 20% annually. In practice however subject to adequacy of profits, the write off may be accelerated or may be varied to derive optimum tax shield within the permissible rules. 13. Working capital requirement has been assessed reckoning 60 days for receivables and 30 days for expense cushion. Permissible bank finance thereof is taken at 80% of receivables. Interest rate on receivables financing has been reckoned at 15% p.a. 14. Income tax including surcharge has been computed at 35% of the profit before tax. 15. IRR has been computed after taking into considerations lease rentals as outflows. Salvage value is assumed at 5% of investment in fixed and intangible assets and full value of receivables.

Business Assumptions
1. Export Development Expenses for the Software Development Division have been assumed at 8% of the revenues for the first year, and annually increased by 33% each year. 2. Provision for Risk Mitigation Provisions for the Software Development Division has been assumed at 10% of the revenues each year. 3. During the fourth and fifth year, there will be additional revenue although reduced inflow from additional sales to the Pharma sector and Hospitals, and these funds can be used towards R&D expenses. 4. For Software Exports Revenue for the Software Development Division during the fourth and fifth year, we have assumed offshore charges as $25 per employee hour. 5. Travel & Conveyance expenses incurred by IT-MR division for project execution are included under Administrative expenses.

23 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

4.2

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONSISTS OF

Profit & Loss Statement Statement of Cash Flow Assessment of Working Capital Statement Lease Interest Computation Statement Depreciation Statement Project IRR Statement Balance Sheet Divisional Revenue / Expenditure Refer Annexure for tables

24 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group 5. RISK FACTORS AND CONTINGENCY PLANS

Any technical project of this complexity and size is fraught with many risks and imponderables. As such IT projects have almost always run into major vagaries of time and cost overruns. Many have completely failed at various stages. One significant problem that compounds the problem of assessment of risks is the break neck technological shifts that regularly take place at routine intervals, while many projects have large development life cycles. Above all, the major problem is in not being in a position to assess the chance of succeeding or failing until the project has already advanced to the implementation stage, when it becomes difficult to exit the project venture. We have shown our assessment of various risks. The project entails together with the contingency plan for mitigating them in the following table. At the end we suggest exit conditions and options: Risk Factors In The Project
1. Over Optimistic Targets a. b. c. d. 2. Schedule Overruns a. b. c. d. 3. Technical And Technology Issues a. b. c. d. a. b. c. d. 5. Employee Attrition a b. c. d. a. b. a. b. a. b. c. a. b. a. b. a. b. c.

Eventuality
Orders not obtained Orders obtained but not executable Price cut Volumes curtailed in ITES Labor productivity Cost considerations like compensation not attractive Availability of manpower Poor effort Estimation. Wrong choice of technology and partners Technology change Cost of change Litigation on Contract terms Method of work changes Capital equipment becomes technologically obsolete Scalability not possible Options for upgrade cost prohibitive Alternate industry attracts Competitor attracts Client attracts Industry has monotony Trained employee exits Key person exits Competition offers low rates/better proposition Competitive advantage lost Traditional methods of work / Comfort levels Client sees exposure Fatigue of adaption New process too complicated Skill requirements perceived high Selected options become obsolete or of low performance Newer options at far lowered cost War / Rioting Employee unrest Others a. b. c. d. e. a. b. c. d. a. b. c. d. a b. c d a. b. c. d. a. b. a. b. a. b. c. a. b. a. b. a.

Contingency Plan
Various regular channels, Regularly assess Strict contracts Standards in domestic markets Operations at high levels through work contract e.g. Brilliants Scale down operations and delay pick up Space fresh employment and slice costs Select well, manage well Skills development Make incentives attractive for manpower to put additional effort Use process maturity model methods for effort & schedule estimation and project management Evaluate/select /contract Alter / adapt Assess and adapt Adjudicate / lay off client Alter method /Try new segment Contract for upgradations Subcontract Hive off segments not attractive Increase incentive / salary/ other options Make legal barriers/stored incentives Consider placement charges Attract more assistantship / casual workers Have bench workers Have alternate person always / management to be Trained Try alternate segments Make alternative business portfolio Train client employees Counsel Space implementation Stage wise implementation Train client manpower Change vendor with strict performance based contract Adapt to new options Regularly manage and have anticipatory management practices

4.

Technological Obsolescence

6.

Key Employee/ Group Exits Competition

7.

8.

Resistance From Customer

9. 10.

User Problems / Implementation Connectivity Issues Extraneous Matters

11.

25 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

Exiting this above venture, should such a contingency arise, can be effected at different stages on continuous assessment. Since the bulk of the initial investment is in computing equipment/software, all of them are immediately usable in our training activities. Even in worst case situations, the consultancy revenue generated (IBS India has a parallel activity that will generate over Rs.50 lakhs during this academic year), though we have not shown any for the first nine month period through the IT company project, will offset to that extent, in the eventuality of the closing down this venture. The software ideas generated, by the company name established, the business volumes generated, software components developed, all will be highly saleable to other interested parties as many organizations have started focusing in this area of specialization. Parts of the risks are already shared by our alliance partners. In fact alliance partners mostly multinational Pharma companies and established hospitals will have a greater stake in making the project successful. Thus the risks of the first nine months can be entirely mitigated and the exiting done without much loss. Revenues are planned for the second year on the domestic projects and exports. Viability assessment can be done at quarterly intervals (create a quarterly iceberg!) and exit during the following quarters with minimal loss. Since the further growth of the business is planned only with the operating surplus, exiting is simple if the need arises.

26 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group An example of Secure Computing in the .Net Environment

The example of information exchange on adverse drug reaction between medical practitioner and the Pharma Company has been taken up to explain the working of Internet Technology. The example involves the scenario wherein the medical practitioner has identified certain adverse drug effects of the drug prescribed by him. The practitioner wants to exchange his findings on the drug with the Pharma Company. The company after evaluating the report decides to publish the same for use by other medical practitioners. In such a scenario the practitioner would have to log on to the application and post the information on to the site. The concerned personnel from the pharma company can then go through this report and post his response to the physician. Up to this point whatever communication goes on between the physician and the Pharma Company is totally confidential and can be accessed only by either of the party. Once the Pharma Company decides to make the information public then it can post the information in the bulletin board, which is accessible globally. To implement this and ensure that the application performs optimally when it is evaluated against the following parameters of Security, Performance, Scalability, Integration, Confidentiality and Disaster Recovery, we have taken the implementation of the solution in Microsofts .Net Framework. The following section explains the functionality of each of the component. For each of this activity proper user authentications and verification of access rights is performed before letting the user to complete the operation. The user authentication is taken care at three levels. At the first level the firewall filters for unwanted/unauthorized access to the site. This will prevent any unauthorized user from directly accessing the system. The firewall is implemented as Internet Security and acceleration server (ISAS), which also acts as proxy server. The next level of filtering is done based on the authentication of Valid User ID and Password. This is done by Passport services that come as part of Advanced Windows Server 2000. The third and final level of security is internally handled by the system by defining access rights for the users to various options. Once the user is successfully logged in he can (subject to appropriate access rights) upload information relating to adverse drug effects. Initially the data has to be hosted by the user onto the system. This information can be uploaded either in form of a document or in form of data from his legacy/ERP system. Documents can be uploaded onto the system in pre defined acceptable formats through services offered by Content Management Server. The user can directly post this information without requiring any additional administrative efforts (as in other cases). The content manager can be used to upload, organize and archive information in a very effective manner. Considering the volume of transactions that are always higher than normal data bound transactions Content management server is highly scalable and very effective in handling large volume of information over a period of time without requiring any additional efforts in terms of maintenance or any kind of fixes. Once the document is posted entry relating to the storage information is updated into the database for faster future access. The application seeks to combine the power of Document Management server along with that of SQL Server 2000 for achieving better and speedier performance as storing information relating to document in the database enables indexing for faster retrievals. If a pharma company decides to maintain more than one document manager server for wider distribution and faster access, system can assist in organizing information along certain pre defined hierarchy (Business Rules) there by resulting in optimal load balancing and speedier performance. The system based upon the user definition will intelligently decide the

27 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

storage location and thereby provide for optimal usage of disk space resulting in better performance. The details relating to adverse drug effect can be hosted onto the health exchange system in form of data. The user might have the details relating to adverse drug effects stored in his internal systems (Legacy or ERP) and might wish to post the data into health exchange system. This requires Information mapping between users system and health exchange system, facility to convert data from one format to other format, facility to transfer the data between the user system and health exchange system effectively with minimum of additional programming efforts. Biztalk Server offers all the above features. The information transfer can be one time feature, request basis or regular intervals. It is also possible that this information can originate from more than one source. (Pharma, Pharmacist, doctors). BizTalk server confirms the integrity of information among the various users and achieves uniformity of data. The information once posted can be accessed by the users with the help of search engine provided by the application. The search engine is a common utility and hence developed as a component and hosted onto COM+ Services of Advanced Windows 2000 server. The user can search for information based on certain criteria. The user (a patient in this case) can also request for any specific information relating to any of the drugs using Messaging services (implemented through Microsoft Exchange server). Any communication between the patient and the medical community is totally confidential. The Exchange server stores the message user wise in the database and nobody other than the sender and recipient of the message can access the message thus ensuring high degree of confidentiality. Disaster Recovery is a parameter that needs to be considered during the deployment phase. During the development stage disaster recovery can be achieved by effective backup strategy. During the deployment phase data redundancy has to be implemented for effective disaster recovery. This can be achieved by opting for a combination of hardware / software based solution. .Net enterprise offers features such as clustering; support for Raid 5 implementation hence ensures effective disaster recovery. Microsoft Technology has been chose to illustrate the above scenario; the technology can effectively enable seamless flow of information between users separated geographically and provide them with the means to keep track of the progress on specific queries. It will empower them with the means to access relevant information anytime/anywhere. The system would enable the players to arrive at a uniform definition of data/structure thereby facilitating standardized communication between various players resulting in performance optimization that would benefit all the players of the industry. Microsoft is economical than the other technologies and has greater market penetration as compared to its competitors. In India CTS (Cognizant Technology Solutions) has implemented a project in Health services using .Net Framework and the performance is very satisfactory. The standard market norm is that Java involves 20% additional development effort as compared to Microsoft Technology to achieve the same functionality. It also has the advantage of various components being developed by the same vendor. We are working out a beneficial arrangement with Microsoft Technologies at India, whereby we will have very favorable terms for acquiring and using the software suite for the users and potential customers.

28 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group

Left Blank Intentionally

29 | P a g e

Chennai Consulting Group Example of Information Exchange on Adverse Drug Effects Between Medical Practitioner and Pharma Company

Mobile Information Server

User Authentication (ISAS)

PDAs
User Authentication (ISAS) Data content

Advance Windows 2000 Server

Uploads data Updates Database

Specialist / Pharma SQL Server

Browser

Content Management Server Doctor

Updates Database XML Uploads data

BizTalk Server
Messaging

Legacy Applications

Exchange Server

30 | P a g e