| As on December 2006, over 440 Indian companies had acquired quality certifications with 90 companies certified at SEI CMM Level 5 "" higher than any other country in the world, according to Nasscom. And of the nearly 1,600 companies certified by SEI in 2006, 177 were Indian firms. |
| However, the quality bar has been raised from August 31 this year. Companies with version 1.1 will have to upgrade to version 1.2. Two companies "" IBM India and Infotech Enterprises "" recently achieved this distinction, making them one of the first few organisations in the world to have achieved this credential. |
| IBM's Global Delivery Centre (GDC) was appraised at the highest rating "" level 5 "" for version 1.2 of the CMMI framework. Hyderabad-based Infotech Enterprises too has successfully been reappraised at maturity level 5 of the CMMI version 1.2. |
| What's the fuss over an upgraded version, one may ask? To begin with, the SEI recently limited the validity of CMMI certification appraisals to a maximum of three years. |
| The Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI-V1.1) ended on August 25. As a result, companies that underwent appraisals in 2004 and 2005 will have to be reappraised in 2007-08. |
| There are around 1,100 such companies worldwide, of which 40 per cent are in for level 4 and level 5 (high maturity) appraisals, according to Ashok R Sontakke, vice-president (quality and processes) and head, CMMI Consulting Practice, Nihilent Technologies. |
| Secondly, the total value of business would be around $30,000-$50,000 (around Rs 12 lakh to Rs 20 lakh) per certification, in addition to the lakhs of rupees spent on internal resources required, preparation time, man hours and so on, according to Pradeep Uddhas, global head (sourcing advisory), KPMG. CMMI certification is given for a specific development centre or project and not for the organisation as a whole. |
| Thirdly, "with only 58 HMLA (high maturity lead assessors) globally, and 13 in India, chances are that companies will find it difficult to meet the deadline," says Sontakke. |
| Companies may not retain the high-maturity status if the practices set out by the SEI are not implemented. This could affect the company's image as well as its business in the international market. The CMMI certification is a pre-requisite for many tenders in government, banking and other sectors, and hence has a potential impact on business. |
| Big organisations may find all development centres appraised at level 5, which calls for significant performance improvements to support business needs. This will again compound the problem of shortage of HMLAs, note Uddhas and Sontakke (both are HMLAs). |
| M Hariharan, director (Software Quality Assurance), Cognizant, says: "The new appraisal methodology SCAMPI v1.2 provides a three-year validity for appraisal results. This will provide IT companies an opportunity to reassess their process methodologies every three years and help benchmark their practices at higher levels available at that point of time. In the revised methodology, the SEI mandates that the entire appraisal cycle be completed in 90 calendar days. For large IT companies, owing to their size, this means the assessment needs to be staggered as the entire organisation cannot be covered in one single assessment cycle. This again will provide an opportunity to companies to assess different segments of the organisation/business units/geographies on a periodic basis, thereby progressively covering the entire organisation over multiple appraisals." |
| However, some analysts opine that Indian IT firms do not rely solely on SEI-CMMI certifications to get business. |
| "It is no longer a real differentiator," says the partner and managing director of outsourcing consultancy firm, TPI, adding: "The outsourcing story is well known around the world. Most IT firms have established relationships with clients who give them regular business." |
| THE CHANGES |
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