TCS and IIT Kanpur to partner on storage computing
January 11, 2007

Tata Consultancy Services, a leading global IT services and consultancy firm, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) have announced that the two organisations would collaborate to promote higher education and research in storage computing and related technologies.

As part of the collaboration, TCS and IIT Kanpur today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a post-graduate course on 'Storage Computing Architecture'. The MoU also covers joint research projects that are relevant to address the technology and business needs of the booming global storage industry, including TCS customers in this space.

TCS and IIT Kanpur have together designed the contents of the new M Tech course on storage computing and will identify areas of research interest. In addition, TCS will sponsor students for the new storage computing course at IIT Kanpur and provide project work for the students. TCS will also establish a storage computing laboratory at IIT Kanpur.

"TCS is always looking beyond the horizon to identify new technology areas that will become part of the mainstream over the next few years. In this context, we see the demand for cost-efficient storage services as a key trend for the future," said S Ramadorai, CEO and managing director, Tata Consultancy Services. "Our strategic partnership with IIT Kanpur will utilize some of the best young talent in the country and will leverage TCS' strong experience in storage for innovative applied research. We see immense potential to develop distinctive assets and end-to-end solutions for the industry," added Ramadorai.

Professor Dhande, Director, IIT Kanpur said, "IITK and TCS have a glorious tradition of collaboration since the late 60s. At present IIT-K is emphasising research in evolving technologies such as storage and I'm very pleased to see that TCS has come forward and joined hands for this activity. It is an excellent example of academia industry collaboration."

"TCS' 'Hi-Tech Industry Practice' has identified storage as one of the strategic focus areas and has a strong team focused on storage offerings. We are very excited with the tremendous progress we have made, in the Storage Space," said N Chandrasekaran, global head, sales and operations, TCS. "We have been extensively involved in storage technology areas for our clients worldwide. We are confident that our partnership with IIT will bring unique approaches and compelling solutions to our customers," said Chandrasekaran.