Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Awards 2005 for Europe

Mumbai: Infosys Technologies Ltd (Nasdaq: INFY) and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania today announced the winners of the 'Wharton Infosys business transformation awards' (WIBTA) 2005 for Europe in London.

The 'enterprise business transformation award' was presented to RBS Group for "its understanding of the benefits of standardisation, centralisation and the use of technology to control the way its business grows", while the 'technology change agent award' was presented to Yair Goldfinger of CTO, Dotomi Inc. "for creating personal, relevant and timely messaging channels".

The awards are designed to recognise the success of those organisations and individuals who utilise technology for IT-led business transformation since technology is seen as a business enabler, critical to the financial success of RBS.

John Turner, head of IT development, RBS Group commented: "Understanding the benefits of standardisation and centralisation has meant we can attain synergies by implementing similar processes across the group. All back office operations, services and technologies are centralised through our multi-brand, multi-channel and single-platform model. This single-platform approach has enabled us to implement new technologies across the group, deliver cost savings associated with acquisitions and achieve economies of scale from the benefits of specialisation."

Widely recognised as the 'father of instant messaging' Yair Goldfinger has extensive technology expertise in creating personal, relevant and timely messaging channels. As one of the co-founders of ICQ he created the first Internet-wide instant messenger, which is today used as a business and personal communication tool. More recently, he created the one-to-one channel Dotomi Direct Messaging, trademark protected name, the online advertising, to enable consumers to have a permission-based, relevant and timely way to communicate with companies of their choice.

Commenting on the award, Yair Goldfinger, CTO, Dotomi Inc., said, "The WIBTA is a great proponent of innovation within people and organisations all over the world and I am honored to be recognised by this organisation for my work."

The awards were jointly presented by Dr Patrick Harker, dean of the Wharton School and S Gopalakrishnan, COO, Infosys Technologies. Announcing the winners, Gopalakrishnan, COO, Infosys Technologies Ltd, said, "Europe has always been at the forefront of technological innovation. It wasn't easy for the jury to pick the winners from this region. WIBTA is a tribute to these leaders, who envisioned and executed the transformation process propelling their organisations to new-found growth."

Commenting on the award, Harker, said, "Two years ago, the Wharton School joined with Infosys Technologies Limited to express our shared commitment to business innovation through the establishment of the Wharton-Infosys Business Transformation Awards. We continue to be proud of the partnership that sponsors these awards, and we are delighted to join in honoring the companies selected this year."