If you are good in written communication, can work well in teams and want to work in a technical environment, probably Technical Writing is a good career option for you.

Indian IT sector has evolved from a provider of manpower to providing complete end-to-end solutions for entire project. Every project invariably comes with the requirement of technical documentation. Hence, the demand for professionals in Technical Writing has increased and will continue to exist in future.

Let us start by understanding what does a Technical Writing Professional do for a living. A Technical Writer is a person who will write instructions to help people use a product or service.

Listed below are some examples of the many interesting projects that technical writers are involved with.
- Writing online help documentation. When people need help using a software program they can click the Help button to get answers to their questions. (To see an example of help documentation, click on “Help” at the top of your Internet browser.)
- Writing user manuals that describe, step-by-step, how to use anything from computer software to appliances.
- Writing procedures manuals for businesses. For example, you might write a company’s human resources manual to explain procedures for employees to take time off, get reimbursed for expenses, etc.
- Writing for various services on the Internet. You could write web pages describing a company’s services or explaining how to use the web services.
- Writing training manuals.

Let us look at some critical traits for becoming a technical writer.

1. Technical writing is about learning
If you want to succeed in this field, you need an appetite for learning; a real hunger to know and understand how things work. You should have a keen interest in technology and should like learning about how things work. There is always something new to learn. It really isn’t enough to have to document an application. At some point, you have to want to help the reader genuinely understand how this works. To share what you’ve learnt and hope this makes their experience of the product that little bit better.

2. Technical writing is about organization
Most technical writers like to organize bits of information. Can you organize information so that logical pieces fit together and information flows in a coherent manner. Distilling random bits of information into a more organized format is a key skill in technical writing.

3. Technical writing is about teaching
One of the misconceptions about Technical Writing is that it’s a solitary profession. While there are phases when I need to close the door and write for the afternoon, an equal amount of my time is spend talking to developers and clients (i.e. understanding the application) and holding workshops and sessions where we discuss the results. So, the role of a tech writer is as much about sharing information as it is about writing.

What do you need to start your career in Technical Writing?
You need to be good in communication- that is a pre-requisite. While there are training organizations that can help you hone your written communication skills, you need to have a basic level of competence in written communication. Apart from that, you should have a good level of proficiency on Microsoft Word. There are some popular technical writing tools and it definitely helps if you have a working knowledge of some of these tools- Adobe Framemaker, Adobe RoboHelp, Microsoft Visio, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Flash, and Microsoft Frontpage.

What kind of organizations hire technical writers?
Practically all IT Software Product and Services organizations recruit Technical Writers. This includes large organizations such as HP, IBM, Wipro etc. and mid-size organizations like Integra, NetApp, etc. You can start your career at an entry-level salary of 2-3 lacs and reach to a six figure salary in 6-7 years timeframe.

The career in Technical Writing is a promising one and will continue to grow in times to come. A little investment in yourself and get you an entry into this rewarding area.

Resource : education.in .msn

www.varshyltech.com

New Delhi: India on Thursday (23/07/2010) unveiled a Rs 1,500 (around $30) laptop designed specifically for students.If more companies decide to manufacture a similar device, prices will come down automatically,” Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said after unveiling the low cost-access-cum computing device here.

The device would be made available to students in 2011.

When the ministry floated the concept of a low cost laptop some years ago, officials said it would cost Rs.500 ($10). It will now cost about three times the initial projections.

The ministry expects the prices to drop to Rs.1,000 ($20) and reach Rs.500($10) as innovations are introduced.

The device, no bigger than a conventional laptop, is a single unit system with a touch screen and a built in key board along with a 2 GB RAM memory, wi-fi connectivity, USB port and powered by a 2-watt system to suit poor power supply areas.

“This is real and tangible and we will take it forward. Sun will rise for the Indian students in 2011,” he said.

The ministry also invited private players to produce similar low cost computers.

When we started the project, the response from the private sector was lukewarm. Now many are willing to join the innovation,” Sibal said.

The ministry started its efforts by holding discussions on this concept with a group of experts at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Bombay, a ministry official said.

The low cost laptops will be distributed in institutions by the HRD ministry. The final price will depend on the transportation cost.

“We will give some subsidy on the device. As far as transport is concerned, if the transport cost in less, the government can bear that as well,” Sibal added.

Source: www.ians.in

www.varshyltech.com

Bangalore-based Hidden Reflex today launched Epic, the first web-browser targeting Indian audience powered by Mozilla platform. The browser has been created by a team of Indian engineers.

Addressing the press conference, Alok Bhardwaj, CEO and founder, Hidden Reflex, said that they were excited to introduce a unique Indian browsing experience that they hope will reach and resonate with every citizen in the country. As an organization,They foresee huge growth in Internet usage in India. And he said that their aim with Epic is to make it easy even for the first time web users and at the same time powerful enough to be important for advanced users.

He told about the features of Epic’s India Sidebar. One of the features of Epic’s India sidebar, which supports Indian content, is to provide users access to latest national and regional news from popular publications, live television channels, videos, stock quotes, live cricket scores, top music albums, and local events.

He addes that users can also choose from 1500+ customized Indian themes and wallpapers. It also enables user to write in twelve Indian languages on any webpage or on Write, Epic’s free built-in word processor.

R Rajalakshmi, director, STPI, said that At STPI, they encourage small and start-up companies to use their infrastructure to build new and innovative applications.

She added, “We must utilize the large talent pool available in India and develop our own innovative products. I hope to see more technologists catch up to the entrepreneurial spirit”

Epic also incorporates free antivirus scanning and healing, the only browser to offer this service.

Epic is the first browser to have a suite of sidebar applications to improve multi-tasking and productivity. Pre-installed applications include communication apps for Facebook, Orkut, Gmail, entertainment apps such as a Picture-in-Picture Video Sidebar and Games, and utilities such as File Backup, My Computer, a To-Do list, and Maps.

Internet user can now download the browser for free by logging onto the company website.

We can feel this that Mobile internet usage on rise in India.Today, India ranks fourth among the top 10 nations in the world.It has been growing in every sense of the world.

when it comes to internet usage. Obviously, U.S. leads all the way with 220 million internet users subsequently followed by China 210 million and Japan 88.1 million. China will outdo the U.S. in internet use by 2011.Brazil is ranked 5th with 53.1 million users, UK 40.2 million, Germany 39.1 million, republic of Korea 35.5 million, followed by Italy and France.

Internet users

%u2022 1.73 billion – worldwide (September 2009).
%u2022 18% – Increase in Internet users since the previous year.
%u2022 738,257,230 – Asia.
%u2022 418,029,796 – Europe.
%u2022 252,908,000 – North America.
%u2022 179,031,479 – Latin America / Caribbean.
%u2022 67,371,700 – Africa.
%u2022 57,425,046 – Middle East.
%u2022 20,970,490 – Oceania / Australia.

Social media users

%u2022 126 million – Total number of blogs on the Internet (as tracked by BlogPulse).
%u2022 84% – Social network sites comprising more women than men.
%u2022 27.3 million – Number of tweets on Twitter per day (November, 2009)
%u2022 57% – Twitter’s user base located in the United States.
%u2022 350 million – People on Facebook.
%u2022 50% – Percentage of Facebook users that log in every day.
%u2022 500,000 – The number of active Facebook members.

The number of  internet users  on personal computers be it desktops or laptops may not have risen on the expected lines however, innovative data plans offered by telecom operators and fall in the prices of handsets are expected to cover the gap with an increasing number of users wanting to surf the net on their handsets.

People using mobile  internet in India has almost doubled, nearly 8-10 million at the start of 2009. By March-April the rise was four-fold when it came to Google searches on mobiles.

Product  manager, Mobile, Google India,Alok Goel says that India initially was looked upon as a low-end market, however, by February and March 2009, there was a sudden spurt in the number in mobile traffic in the mobile internet space.

The low price of a general packet radio service (GPRS) ready mobile handset seems to a foremost factor driving the growth. Almost a year ago, an internet-enabled handset costs at least Rs 5,000. But today, a customer can buy a GPRS-enabled handset for just Rs 2,000.

According to  industry analysts there are around 500 million mobile phone subscribed in India and with prices of handsets falling the numbers of people who surf the internet on their mobiles have reached to 10 million mark.

Film-maker and activist Bishakha Dutta from Mumbai is  the first Indian on the WikiMedia Foundation Board of Trustees . She interacts with Wikipedians at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), in Bangalore on April 11.

Here she said that  she is “terribly excited.” She listens intently as wiki volunteers make presentations on the technical aspects of editing and various other outreach activities. When something strikes her as important, she scribbles furiously in her notepad.

The appointment precedes another major announcement, one that has been on the cards for a few months now: the formation of a formal Indian Wikipedia chapter. Even as the nitty-gritty of the chapter formation is being worked out, Ms. Dutta is already in the thick of wiki activity.

The virtual close-knit community of Wikipedians in India was bemused last week when the Wikimedia Foundation appointed its first ever Indian board member. The predominantly male community was further astounded that the appointee was a woman, an “outsider” at that, with no background or involvement in wiki editing.

In India, she points out that Wikipedia has been able to drive the growth of regional language content on the internet.

In an informal study released in 2008, the Wikimedia Foundation reported that only 13 per cent of contributors to this online encyclopaedia are women. These numbers are even more skewed in India. Even at the Bangalore Wikipedia meet, Ms. Dutta is conspicuous, being the only woman.

She emphasises that getting more women on board is her top priority. “This is reflective of the fact that women do not think of themselves as creators of content. This needs to be changed by conducting activities that will help drive this change. Women need to realise they can put up pages that are important to them — and this could include anything from women’s activism to women-centric hobbies,” she says.

Ms. Dutta points out that despite growing content on India, there is not a single wiki entry on the iconic woman Bhanwari Devi, who was gang-raped in Rajasthan, or the Bilkis Bano case.

There is immense interest in India on the Wiki board. In late 2010, the Wikimedia Foundation will begin implementing its new five-year plan, which will include its first-ever on-the-ground activities designed for growing readers and editors within specific geographies, including India.

Realy -Wikipedia India’s new face

Sector structure/Market size

The Indian information technology (IT) industry has played a key role in putting India on the global map. Thanks to the success of the IT industry, India is now a power to reckon with. According to the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), the apex body for software services in India, the revenue of the information technology sector has risen from 1.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in FY 1997-98 to an estimated 5.8 per cent in FY 2008-09.

Further, the industry body expects the sector to grow between 4 per cent and 7 per cent during 2009-10 and return to over 10 per cent growth next year.

India’s IT growth in the world is primarily dominated by IT software and services such as Custom Application Development and Maintenance (CADM), System Integration, IT Consulting, Application Management, Software testing, and Web services.

As per NASSCOM’s latest findings:

* Indian IT-BPO sector grew by 12 per cent in FY 2009 to reach US$ 71.7 billion in aggregate revenue (including hardware). Of this, the software and services segment accounted for US$ 59.6 billion.
* IT-BPO exports (including hardware exports) grew by 16 per cent from US$ 40.9 billion in FY 2007-08 to US$ 47.3 billion in FY 2008-09.

Moreover, according to a study by Springboard Research, the Indian IT services market is estimated to remain the fastest growing in the Asia-Pacific region with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6 per cent.

At present, there are 60 million Internet users in the country. According to the Manufacturer’s Association of IT (MAIT), the number of active Internet entities rose to 8.6 million by March 2009 from 7.2 million units in March 2008.

MAIT has outlined ‘Goal 511′, an ambitious target that talks about 500 million Internet users, 100 million broadband connections and 100 million connected devices by 2012.

A study by MAIT estimated that the total PC sale in India is likely to grow by 7 per cent in 2009-10, with total sales expected to cross 7.3 million units.

Moreover, software companies continued to constitute the fastest growing firms in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India 2009 programme. In 2009, the composition of software companies amounted to as much as 80 per cent. Despite the slowdown and challenges for growth, the report stated that the average growth rate of the top ten winners increased significantly to 1,003 per cent, compared with 845 per cent in the previous year.

Outsourcing

According to NASSCOM, software and services exports (including exports of IT services, business process outsourcing (BPO), engineering services and research and development (R&D) and software products) reached US$ 47 billion in FY 2008-09, contributing nearly 78 per cent to the total software and services revenue of US$ 59.6 billion.

India continues to be the most preferred destination for companies looking to offshore their IT and back-office functions. It also retains its low-cost advantage and is among the most financially attractive locations when viewed in combination with the business environment it offers and the availability of skilled people, according to global management consultancy, AT Kearney.

Global IT giant, IBM, plans to scale up its business process outsourcing (BPO) operations in the country and looks to recruit 5,000 people to support the expansion.

Some big deals in the outsourcing space include:

* HCL Technologies has entered into a five-year deal with media conglomerate News Corp for managing its data centres and IT across British newspapers. The deal is pegged to be in the range of US$ 200-US$ 250 million, according to industry experts.
* HCL Technologies has also received a contract worth US$ 50 million from UK-based defence equipment maker Meggitt for providing engineering services.
* Walmart has selected three IT vendors in India — Infosys Technologies, Cognizant Technology Solutions and UST Global — for multi-year contracts worth over US$ 600 million.

Domestic Markets

India’s domestic market has also become a force to reckon with, as the existing IT infrastructure evolves both in terms of technology and depth of penetration.

According to NASSCOM, domestic IT market (including hardware) reached US$ 24.3 billion in FY 2008-09 as against US$ 23.1 billion in FY 2007-08, a growth of 5.3 per cent.

India Inc’s demand for IT services and products has bolstered growth in the domestic sector with deal sizes going up remarkably and contracts worth US$ 50 million-US$ 100 million up for grabs.

The market for enterprise networking equipment in India is estimated to grow from US$ 1 billion in 2008 to US$ 1.7 billion by 2012, recording a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent during this period, according to a study by Springboard Research.

HCL Infosystems has bagged an order worth US$ 23.69 million from the Gujarat government to supply and implement biometric attendance and computer aided learning systems in over 7,000 schools across the state.

Investments

* The Andhra Pradesh Government expects the IT-related SEZs and Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) in the State to receive about US$ 3.27 billion investments in the next five years.
* Mahindra Satyam has tied up with defence and security company Saab to develop its operations in India for the global defence and homeland security market. The estimated deal value is US$ 400 million.
* San Francisco-based Virtualisation solutions provider VMware Inc plans to invest US$ 100 million in India by end 2010.
* The total investments of EMC Corporation, a leading global player of information infrastructure solutions, in India will touch US$ 2 billion by 2014.

Rural Penetration

According to a report of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), rural India has 3.3 million active internet users as on March 2008. (Since rural India was mapped for the first time, the year-on-year growth of internet users in rural India could not be estimated.) The research also notes there are 5.5 million people who claim to have used Internet at some point in time.

Government Initiatives

* The government set up the National Taskforce on Information Technology and Software Development with the objective of framing a long term National IT Policy for the country.
* Enactment of the Information Technology Act, which provides a legal framework to facilitate electronic commerce and electronic transactions.

The government-led National e-Governance Programme, has played an important role in increasing internet penetration in rural India.

Road Ahead

The Indian information technology sector continues to be one of the sunshine sectors of the Indian economy showing rapid growth and promise.

According to a report prepared by McKinsey for NASSCOM, the exports component of the Indian industry is expected to reach US$ 175 billion in revenue by 2020. The domestic component will contribute US$ 50 billion in revenue by 2020. Together, the export and domestic markets are likely to bring in US$ 225 billion in revenue, as new opportunities emerge in areas such as public sector and healthcare and as geographies including Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC) and Japan opt for greater outsourcing.