Page 325 - DCAP404 _Object Oriented Programming

Object-oriented Programming

Notes 13. A single process can be further broken into several threads so as to enhance the overall
performance of the…………………......
14. ………………….. method (also known as Object Modeling Technique) of developing
concurrent object-oriented systems is applicable in all the phases of development.
15. …………………….. allows an application with multiple threads running within a process.

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Caselet Software Acquisitions — Discretion to Dictate Deals

“Going global” through overseas acquisitions is the flavour for India Inc. over the past
few months. This week, it was the turn of the software sector to jump on to the bandwagon,
breaking the spell of inactivity on the acquisitions front by frontline companies.
The previous acquisition of note by a frontline company was Wipro’s buy of US-based
Nervewire Inc in April. Two companies from across the software spectrum — Infosys
Technologies from the software services space and i-flex solutions from the products
space — unveiled their maiden acquisitions — of Australia-based Expert Information
Services and US-based SuperSolutions respectively. The media buzz surrounding the Infosys
deal was particularly high, given the fact that it was its first acquisition made after listing
its ADR on Nasdaq in 1999 to help explore inorganic growth options. But the stock market
appeared lukewarm to these deals, with the stocks hardly budging on the day of
announcement. The uptrend in the Infosys stock on Friday was largely a reflection of the
bullish sentiment across Sensex heavyweights, rather than any stock-specific activity.
In the backdrop of these deals, two key trends can be collated for the future.

Presaging a trend?
The Infosys acquisition may not be suggest a trend in the software services arena. This
becomes evident from the fact that Infosys sifted 135 candidates over the past four-and-
half years to find the right match this week. Though the company has been sitting on $470
million in cash and equivalents (including investments in liquid mutual units) in its
balance-sheet, less than 5 per cent of it is to be used for making this acquisition. Finding
the “right fit”, proper due diligence of the target company and financial prudence will
continue to dictate Infosys’ future acquisition strategy.
Second, it cannot be said that competitive pressures were at play driving Infosys to make
this deal. Wipro, its closest competitor, had announced four acquisitions — two each at
home and abroad over the past 12-15 months. And the last deal by Wipro involving
Nervewire Inc was put through in April. Moreover, the size of the Infosys deal at
$22.9 million (relative to $18.7-million Wipro-Nervewire deal or $11.5million of i-flex
solutions) is fairly small. This may hardly change the competitive dynamics for frontline
companies such as Satyam Computers and HCL Technologies to press the panic button on
the strategic front. The only signal that Infosys has sent out is that it will not be averse to
acquisitions when the company offering the right match at the right price comes along.
Integration Challenges

Going by the merger and acquisition (M&A) experience in the software arena, Indian
software companies, be it frontline or medium sized, are acutely conscious of the challenges
of integration and employee retention issues.

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