Enterprise delivery centres allow CA clients to accelerate e-business and development projects through access to highly skilled personnel and CA technology, enhance quality through adherence to standards and best practices, and rapidly bring to market new business technology environments.

The EDCs have access to the high-speed EDC-NET network, which links each facility and allows systems to share all available technical resources. This network enables the global professional services division to leverage the full range of CA''s products, and its experienced consultants, project managers and specialists around the world to assist in critical client projects. The GPS division also maintains a repository of re-usable applications, code strings and components that reduce the time, effort and expense needed to achieve client solution goals.

EDCs can readily model even the most complex, large-scale projects, helping ensure that development, integration and installation requirements are fulfilled. The GPS division has established eight EDCs in the US and similar centres in Munich in Germany, and Perth in Australia. It also plans to open additional centres around the world.

"Our alliance with Datamatics is outstanding news for those businesses that require manageable systems developed according to proven quality standards — all within the tight time frames mandated by today''s competitive climate," says Chris Wagner, CA GPS executive vice president and general manager.

Datamatics brings to the partnership a complex satellite logistics system and proven ISO 9000 international standards certification for software development. The first in India to pioneer and establish the offshore software factory model, Datamatics employs 1,500 software professionals and services more than 1,100 clients in 58 countries, including five of the top 10 Fortune 500 firms. With more than two decades of experience in managing large and complex projects, Datamatics'' platform experience includes IBM mainframes, networked PCs, AS/400, RS/6000, HP/9000, SUN SPARC, Unix, Wang and DEC systems, among others.

Datamatics specialises in custom software development, legacy transformation and migration, business process re-engineering and data management. The company will adopt CA''s GPS methods and technologies in order to be consistent with other EDC operations around the world. The firm will employ CA''s ''accelerated delivery'' methodology to provide client solutions while focusing on technology integration, application manageability and development/deployment time frames.

"Datamatics and CA are both prominent players in the Indian information technology marketplace," says Lalit Kanodia, chairman and managing director of Datamatics. "Through our partnership, we shall be able to deliver new levels of development quality and business value, not only to India, but to the world."

Earlier, on 17 November, CA had announced a joint venture with Pentafour Software, one of India''s top five software companies for utilising the technology of ACCPAC International, a business unit of CA''s interBiz division, and major investments in the joint venture. The joint venture is part of CA''s $100 million investment plan in India over a five-year period, which it had announced in 1997.

ACCPAC technology includes a comprehensive line of accounting and business management software that includes financial management, operations management and e-business solutions aimed at companies ranging in size from small offices to large corporations.

"We are consistently impressed by India''s world-class technical talent and the strength of the Indian market," says CA chairman and chief executive officer Charles B. Wang. "We believe this joint venture will heighten the already advanced standards of software development in India by combining the knowledge of local programmers with CA''s state-of-the-art technology."

Pentafour Software will establish the joint venture''s infrastructure, contribute local domain knowledge, provide a financial investment and supply a strong pool of engineering talent actively involved in development activities. The new company will develop and distribute the accounting software primarily for the Indian market.

V. Chandrasekaran, chairman and managing director of Pentafour Software, says, "Our installed base in the past six years would include a rich track of direct-end and indirect clients in over 100 countries. Through this partnership with CA, we believe we can make a meaningful contribution to the development of the Indian software industry."

On 16 November 1999, Computer Associates had also earlier announced a joint venture with Escosoft, the software subsidiary of Escorts, one of India''s leading business groups, which has operations in the automotive, engineering, telecommunications, healthcare and software industries. The new company, CA-Escosoft Ltd, will leverage CA''s wide range of IT solutions in India.

The deal was formally announced by Mr Wang and Rajan Nanda, chairman of Escorts, during a ceremony in New Delhi.

"CA''s development strategy for India is to partner with local companies to propagate our technology and to support the development of the local software industry," Mr Wang said while announcing this venture. "This joint venture will enable CA and Escosoft to bring unparalleled expertise and the latest IT solutions to our Indian clients. Establishing a joint venture company to develop solutions represents one of the many models CA can employ to expand its global reach and to serve the needs of regional markets more effectively."

The joint venture will develop, market, license and service telecommunications and healthcare solutions based on Unicenter TNG, CA''s enterprise management software and Jasmine ii, its comprehensive information infrastructure. CA will provide sophisticated technology and financial support while Escorts will bring to the venture its extensive knowledge of the Indian telecommunications and healthcare markets where it has a presence though Escotel, a cellular phone provider, and the Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre.

To round off its hectic alliances in the country, CA announced that the company and its president and chief operating officer Sanjay Kumar have donated $1 million to grant tuition waivers to more than 6,000 engineering students throughout India and to sponsor programmes aimed at helping more than 4,000 underprivileged and disabled children in the region.

Half million dollars will go towards fee waiver for undergraduate students up to one year, and the other half would help underprivileged children by helping establish educational facilities and shelters, offer vocational training, and assist those with disabilities, helping them to assimilate into India''s educational system through 10 non-government organisations involved in social work.

Mr Kumar, 37, who emigrated to the US with his family from Sri Lanka at age 14, said he believes the grants are an ideal way to encourage social responsibility within the global community.

"I''m a product of both the social and educational systems of this region and think it is extremely important to be able to give something back to it. My own success would not have been possible if it were not for the opportunity afforded me by CA''s founder, chairman and CEO, Charles B. Wang, and all the employees of CA, who have always been committed to helping people throughout the world reach their full potential."