Moreover, some points pertaining to the software business need to be pondered upon. Firstly, the business is peoplecentric which simply means competent skilled manpower is a prerequisite for the business to grow. Secondly, promoters contribution to the low paid up capital is generally higher. This leaves amplescope for rigging, the companys stock price. Thirdly, companies which cater to the higher end of the market and able to create value added software solutions grow at a faster rate.

All the major companies namely Infosys, Satyam Computers, Pentafour Software, NIIT ( third Quarter) and Aptech ( half yearly ) have posted good results. For instance contrary to expectation, Infosys has maintained operating margins around the 30 per cent mark. This is commendable as traditionally with the increase in manpower costs margins were expected to be under pressure. Over 90 per cent of Infosys turnover constitutes export income. The total revenues increased to Rs 98.43 crore from Rs 45.48 crore. But quite interestingly the depreciation of the rupee has only contributed Rs 2.04 crore to the bottom line. This is contrary to general opinion in the industry that software results are driven only on account of the depreciation of the rupee. The Infosys bottom line for the period has increased by 157 per cent to Rs 23.7 crore.But all said and done Infosys might struggle to maintain its phenomenal growth in the future owing to increased costs from overseas operations.

Satyam Computers has taken pride of place among the top 15 exporters and stands as one of the leading software developers. Previously mainly perceived as a Y2K and software maintainance provider, Satyam has diversified into other infotech areas like e-commerce and internet. But still a large chunk of Satyams business accrues from Y2K solutions. The company is looking at leveraging on this to garner a chunk of the Euro solutions business. For the first quarter ended 30 th June, 1998, Satyams turnover soared by 166 per cent to Rs 78.90 crore. Exports contributed Rs 78.78 crore to the turnover a rise of 167 per cent. During the period, business from North America accounted for 79.7 per cent of total turnover and the share of business from Y2K projects was 29.9 per cent of the turnover. Offshore business contributed over 75 per cent of the total turnover while the restcame from onsite development. For the period other income marginally increased to Rs 0.12 crore from Rs 0.06 crore. On account of an accelerated depreciation policy, Satyam provided a depreciation of Rs 7.55 crore up by 256 per cent. A provision of Rs 23.25 lakh was provided towards post project execution warranty expenses in respect of software contracts. Though interest burden rose by 33.9 per cent to Rs 4.42 crore, net profits zoomed by 137 per cent to Rs 15.29 crore.

Pentafour Software is strongly placed with order book position at USD 145 million comprising of financial insurance, Y2K and Multimedia projects. For the first quarter ended 30th June, 1998 PSEL's turnover rose by 67.62 crore to Rs 95.78 crore. Operating profits have risen by a phenomenal 72.67 per cent to Rs 42.41 crore. Commensurately operating margins were at 44.55 per cent up from 43.10 per cent. Thanks largely to increased revenues from the multimedia business. PSEL does not provide for tax as it comprises of a designated 100 per centExport Oriented Unit ( EOU ) under the Software Technology Park (STP) and Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) schemes. The general software segment contributed 53.2 per cent whilst the rest was contributed by multimedia operations. The banking and financial services segment contributed 9.46 per cent to the turnover. Also Y2K projects have contributed 13.4 per cent of the banking revenues whilst the insurance and ERP Strategic Business units have contributed 10.39 per cent and 33.35 per cent to the total revenues respectively. Almost 16 per cent of the ERP revenues came from Y2K projects. Other Income increased marginally to Rs 0.6 crore from Rs 0.16 crore. Having successfully provided animation in Hollywood films proves that the company has the potential to emerge as a leading player in the global multi-media business.

NIIT's operating profits for the third quarter ended June 30, 1998 rose by 70 per cent to Rs 54 crore. Commensurately operating margins increased to 41.3 per cent from 37.22 per cent.NIIT and Aptech equally share 80 per of the computer education business. To date NIIT has been focusing on three business areas namely software solutions, education and training and learning software. In the near past income from global operations has crossed the Rs 100 crore mark ( around 40 per cent of revenues ), a sign which proves its increased global presence. Furthermore, the company started selling its products under its own brand name in the global markets. It is also just started focussing on Internet and Intranet based applications These being high growth areas, there is a distinct possibility they would substantially boost NIIT's revenue generation in the future.

With a substantial market share in the computer education business, Aptech still garners around 85 per cent of its revenues from this area. The Asset International and Arena Multimedia division still only contribute around 11 per cent and 4 per cent respectively to total revenue. The turnover for the six months ended 30 June, 1998 grewby 41.46 per cent to Rs 120.56 crore whilst the bottom line soared by 50.78 per cent to Rs 13.74 crore. Operating profits for the first half rose by 39 per cent to Rs 23.35 crore and operating margins were maintained at a healthy 19.7 per cent. All this proves that the software majors of late have had a field day and will continue to perform phenomenally in the future.