Thursday, August 25 2005 17:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd, along with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), today (Aug 25, 2005) announced the launch of a certification to assess the quality of the software development process undertaken by Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) in India.

The certification seeks to improve credibility for Indian software products and aid in building a robust local software ecosystem, a joint statement said.

It has been developed on the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) and would enable ISVs to align themselves to the product development requirements as per the SEI CMMI Level 3 certification, it was stated.

The statement added, "This certification will help Indian ISVs adopt internationally accepted standards for engineering and development, and ensure that their products are on par with globally successful offerings thus allowing them access to both the domestic and international markets".

Software process consulting organisation QAI has been chosen as the implementation partner for this initiative.

NASSCOM President Kiran Karnik told a news conference in Bangalore that India has already emerged as a global leader in the IT services domain and, in order to further build on this leadership and to leverage the competencies Indian IT companies have attained so far, it is vital to capitalise on the burgeoning products opportunity.

"We are confident that Indian ISVs will benefit from this quality certification as it will help them tap the global and domestic software products market a vital element for moving up the IT value chain", Karnik said.

Director Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft India, Sheila Gulati said the certification is priced approximately Rs 1.25 lakh and is valid for all ISVs irrespective of the technology platform used by them.