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Wipro, first to bag CMMi level 5 1.1 ver certificate

Fakir Chand in Bangalore

Wipro Technologies, the global IT services division of the Bangalore-based Wipro Ltd, became the world's first company to be certified at level 5 of version 1.1 of CMMi (Capability Maturity Model Integrated).

The latest quality certification by the Software Engineering Institute is considered more elaborate and rigorous than CMM level 5, which Wipro achieved years ago.

"Wipro became the first company to include integrated product and process development as part of the CMM criteria, raising the standards further by which all other software services organisations will be judged hereafter," Wipro Technologies chief quality officer Sambuddha Deb disclosed to the media in Bangalore on Thursday.

Unlike in the case of CMM level 5 involving only 18 process areas, version 1.1 of CMMi has 24 process areas and 460 practices. The assessment covers the whole of Wipro Technologies, including all verticals and all locations from where it operates.

In a phone-in conference call from California, Wipro vice-chairman and CEO Vivek Paul said the CMMi level 5 certification bolstered the company's forays into high-end, knowledge intensive space that includes system integration and intellectual property services.

"Achieving level 5 CMMi certification is critical for any company planning to enter the areas of total outsourcing, system integration, and product or intellectual property development as it sets stringent standards on defining design requirements and evaluation, quantitative project management teaming and integration," Paul stated.

Incidentally, Wipro is the world's first company to achieve level 5 certification in all the three categories, viz., CMM, CMMi, and PCMM.

Though the business environment is currently looking up, especially in the US where the company has a large market, Paul said it was too early to guess what would be the impact on the IT business in the event of an Indo-Pak war.

In response to a query, Paul told rediff.com that visits by Wipro clients to India were going on as scheduled but nothing could be said for certain about the business prospects if the border tension escalates further.

Recently US government issued notice asking US citizens to defer their travel plans to India.

"We have the right kind of business models to take care of such risks. Events like the September 11 have readied us to be more focused on our customers and their sensitivity to developments back home," Paul affirmed.

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