Wharton-Infosys business transformation awards 2005 announced

Mumbai: Infosys Technologies Ltd (Nasdaq: INFY) and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania have announced the winners of the 'Wharton-Infosys business transformation awards (WIBTA) 2005 for Asia Pacific' (APAC) at Singapore.

• 'Enterprise business transformation award' was presented to Samsung Electronics for being at the forefront of technology revolution by inventing products that inspire digital integration.
  
• 'Technology change agent award' was presented to Wu Ying executive vice president and CEO UTStarcom for inventing and introducing very affordable and flexible PHS wireless technology in China.

The awards were presented jointly by Dr. Patrick Harker, dean of the Wharton School, and. Srinivas Uppaluri, head, global marketing, Infosys Technologies Ltd.

Announcing the winners, Uppaluri, said, "Information technology is now well established as the cornerstone of an organisation's competitive capabilities and has clearly proved itself to be a key driver of shareholder value. Through WIBTA, we aim to recognise and reward business leaders and organisation whose achievements showcase the best practices of using technology to create new business paradigms."

Entering its fourth year, the award applauds pioneering enterprises and individuals who have transformed their businesses and the society by leveraging information technology.

Harker said, "Four 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 honouring the companies selected this year."

The panel injcluded Wharton's professor Harbir Singh, Edward H. Bowman Professor of Management and Co-director of Wharton's Mack Center for Technological Innovation; David Boyles, former COO of ANZ Banking Group; Esther Dyson, editor-at-large at CNET Networks; Michael Eskew, chairman and CEO, UPS and Sir Paul Judge, director, Schroder Income Fund.

Both the winners have pioneering achievements to their credit. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2004 parent company sales of US$55.2 billion and net income of US$10.3 billion. Recognised as one of the fastest growing brands, Samsung Electronics is the world's largest producer of colour monitors TVs, memory chips and TFT-LCDs.

Wu caused something of a revolution by introducing an inexpensive alternative to the mobile phone, that enables telephony at rates 75 per cent lower that traditional telephony in China's extreme regulatory environment. His company, UTStarcom, a Fortune 1000 company, is a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and international service and support and. The company sells its broadband, wireless, and handset solutions to operators in both emerging and established telecommunications markets around the world. UTStarcom enables its customers to rapidly deploy revenue-generating access services using their existing infrastructure, while providing a migration path to cost-efficient, end-to-end IP networks. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Alameda, California, the company has research and design operations in the United States, China, Korea and India.