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Business India - June 27 edition
IT Accreditation - Re-certifying for contracts
Shrutika Shriniwas
An order from Software Engineering Institute (SEI), which accredits IT firms across the globe, has not stirred up much of a sweat among Indian IT firms. SEI, which is funded by the US government, has made it mandatory for all IT companies to get all their centers assessed before 25 August 2007. As per the new norms, this certification will be valid for three years, after which companies will have to re-certify.
The SEI certification is very important as it helps companies get contracts while clients are often assured of high quality services from SEI-certified canters. However, concerned about the sprouting of IT firms and in fear of a fall in quality, SEI has upgraded its certification process. To achieve a Level 4 or Level 5 (based on certification by SEI), centers will have to go through a process wherein their projects are scrutinized and their technologies and staff training programmes assessed before certification.
Ravi Mani, head of the quality department, iGate Global Solutions, says the new measures are more stringent and involve a long process. "We welcome the changes as the filtration process will let only the best companies get re-certification," he says.
Some fear the re-certification process will have a bigger impact. "Small size companies will be affected badly because they will not be able to quality for the requirements of SEI due to the type of work they do and the amount of data they have. The mid sized companies might fare better but SEI might raise some issues if they jump from Level 3 to level 4 within two years. While the Level 5 companies might get all their development centers approved for Level 5 certification, they might need to upgrade all their processes as expected by SEI," says Sontakke, vice-president of quality and processes and a SEI certified assessor.
India has the maximum number of Level 4 and Level 5 companies, at around 450 companies and 2000 centers but only 13 lead assessors. Most companies might not be able to get themselves re-certified before August. But Sulcohana Ganesan, senior-vice president, quality, Hexaware Technologies, says this might not affect those centers exporting to private firms. "The need for re-certification might prove to be a problem only for those companies who are dependent on government contracts as only they might make it mandatory for companies to have a SEI certification," she adds. Sai Chintala, vice-president, Applabs, echoes her sentiments.
SEI has sent a formal letter to all the companies regarding the re-certification. The cost of re-certifying each center is about $40,000 - 50,000 and the process takes about a month. While there are several companies who are aware of the re-certification requirement, there are several who are unaware. A survey conducted by Nihilent Technologies revealed that most of the industry is not aware of the new SEI rules. Worse, China, seeking to match India in the IT sphere, appears better prepared.
"Though all the companies would have received letters informing them about the change in the rules, they have not understood the seriousness of the issue and the impact it could have on the global economy. Countries like China have been taking preventive measures for the past two years and hence will not face much problems," warns Sontakke.
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