The year 2005 saw the exp-ansion of IT-ITeS companies in newer locations, especially Tier II cities and the nature of work grew to deliver high end services in the value chain, according to a report by Nasscom, an IT industry lobby, and Hewitt Associates, a human services firm.

The report — the Nasscom-Hewitt Total Rewards Study 2005 — says that with the burgeoning growth of the IT and ITeS industry, the year saw players in the industry sign multi-million dollar deals and offshoring of greater portions of work to India by foreign companies.

The growth saw companies expand operations in newer towns and cities and the nature of work gravitated to higher end of the val-ue chain. "Pressures on talent and profitability increa-sed in 2005 and companies looked at ways to establish competitive advantage. Or-ganisations created progre-ssive practices to support continuous development of its employees," it says.

"The Indian IT-ITeS ind-ustry continues to chart re-markable growth with an expected growth of 28 per cent by exceeding $36 bill-ion in annual revenues in 2005-06. It is also maturing and moving towards a higher degree of specialisation," said Sunil Mehta, vice-president, Nasscom.

New channels, particularly the Internet and mobile networks are transforming the distribution of content that is subject to intellectual property (IP) rights, thereby leading to increased dependence on network delivery, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan, a consulting firm.

As a result, the need to find an effective means to control the usage and distribution of IP is creating enhanced emphasis on digital rights management (DRM). "Moreover, the implementation of the open mobile alliance (OMA) DRM v2.0 enables improved interoperability across networks and is expected to boost the growth of DRM solutions in Europe," it says.

"DRM will witness further growth as content owners exhibit their desire to promote content to customers through all available channels," says the report. "Further, the implementation of OAM DRM v2.0 will spur the wireless content industry market which will reach around $20.00 billion by 2011." At present, the file size of DRM (built into content or delivered separately) remains a challenge. File size plays an important role in ensuring that the handsets processors are not unnecessarily burdened.

"Hence, it will become essential to ensure ease of use in the implementation of DRM technologies," says Pranab Mookken, a Frost & Sullivan analyst. "Besides the focus on security, DRM and content management solutions from companies such as Coremedia AG, which are OMA DRM v2.0 compliant also provide emphasis on content distribution. As a result, operators that run CoreMedia DRM, such as Vodafone, will benefit from increased usage of mobile content applications due to the improved interoperability offered by the OMA DRM v2.0."

How does one combat the digital piracy, ensuring protection against attempts to remove control mechanisms will also become important for effective DRM. Frost & Sullivan says DRM will need to progress towards an open and transparent control mechanism. "As proprietary systems restrict industry growth, thereby hindering industry participation and innovation, open standards at the software as well as the platform level are imperative for continued growth," it says.

It says that wireless network operators, currently facing challenges of falling average revenue per user, will also gain from standardised and interoperable DRM systems. Besides raising data ARPU for both, fixed and wireless service providers, DRM also assists in driving network traffic by providing secure transfer of sensitive payment-related information.

"As DRM is evolving, it will become crucial to provide a level of ubiquitous functionality across multiple platforms," the consulting firm says.

Tata Sky Ltd, the joint venture between Tata and STAR, announced on Monday that it has selected Sun Microsystems Inc. to provide IT Infrastructure solutions and support for the launch of the company’s direct-to-home (DTH) television service in India in mid-2006. Tata Sky is investing in building a high quality digital infrastructure in the country to offer a superior television viewing experience to Indian households. The service will enhance the choice for viewers looking for the best of pay television services in the country. The company, in a press statement, said that, "Tata Sky aims to become India’s largest digital television platform, offering consumers a wide array of programming choices with interactive features and superior picture and sound quality." Mr Vikram Kaushik, CEO, Tata Sky Ltd, said that, "Sun’s offerings will enable us with a technology infrastructure that is best-of-class and geared to deliver high service level standards that we are targeting."

Talking about being chosen by the Tata Sky Mr Bhaskar Pramanik, managing director, Sun Microsystems, India said, "Our products are highly scalable and reliable, making it easier for us to deliver mission critical applications."