TCS launches iLab to focus on technology
The Asian Age — September 30, 2005

The technology arm of the Tata group, Tata Consultancy Services, or TCS has launched its latest research outfit called iLab an innovation lab, based out of New Delhi. TCS said that iLab will focus its research on emerging technologies that could drive disruptive changes in the global technology industry and develop reusable frameworks using these. iLab will also be working on emerging technologies such as grid computing, collaborative software development and service oriented architectures.

Dr Gautam Shroff, vicepresident, technology programmes, TCS said, "iLab will focus on delivering value through scalable and secure platforms based on new enterprise technology components developed by TCS." Mr Shroff added that iLab will play a key role in integrating emerging technologies to further improve research driven products being developed by TCS at its other R&D centres across the country.

According to Mr Shroff, in Life Sciences, iLab is using grid computing to parallelise computations within TCS' bio-suite product in the field of drug discovery using commonly available desktop computers which will lead to 10fold or more reduction in the time taken to complete complex molecule docking calculations. Code generation tools developed by Tata Research Development and Design Centre (TRDDC), the Pune-based R&D division of TCS are being integrated into a service oriented architecture framework to help improve the productivity of software developers.

Mr Shroff also said that iLab is also integrating TCS' state of the art code generation, testing and standards checking tools along with tools from technology partners into an integrated global collaborative software development offering. Apart from iLab, TCS works in other areas of research, which include systems and software engineering, applied process engineering and research for societal benefits. In systems and software engineering its R&D efforts are focused on language processing and automation tools for application development, testing, migration and re-engineering.

In the past few years it also expanded its research areas to embedded systems, bioinformatics and information security. The technology arm of the Tata group, Tata Consultancy Services, or TCS has launched its latest research outfit called iLab an innovation lab, based out of New Delhi. TCS said that iLab will focus its research on emerging technologies that could drive disruptive changes in the global technology industry and develop reusable frameworks using these.

iLab will also be working on emerging technologies such as grid computing, collaborative software development and service oriented architectures. Dr Gautam Shroff, vice-president, technology programmes, TCS said, "iLab will focus on delivering value through scalable and secure platforms based on new enterprise technology components developed by TCS." Mr Shroff added that iLab will play a key role in integrating emerging technologies to further improve research driven products being developed by TCS at its other R&D centres across the country.