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Microsoft has launched its Office Professional 2007 prepaid edition in India. The office productivity suite of the software major is meant for both home and small businesses.

They can subscribe to it for six months by paying Rs.1499 and can renew it after that through prepaid cards. This would enable small businesses to use the office productivity suite without huge investment. It also enables home users and students to make use of the software only when they need it.

Microsoft has also introduced the prepaid edition in other emerging markets including South Africa where it has been a success.

Chennai based California Software is set to fully acquire International Innovations, a California based technology consulting firm for not more than $1.32 million to expand expand its offerings and strengthen its presence in the US market, the company said.

Innovations valuation will be capped at $.132 million and the deal envisages phased payments over a period of one year from the conclusion of a share purchase agreement and based on certain performance parameters. The acquisition process is expected to completed by 31 December.

It said that the innovations acquisition is expected to add $2.3 million with $300000 profit after tax to the consolidated revenues and profit of Calsoft in the first year after consolidation.

Sam Santhose, MD & CEO, California Software said that the innovations brought its expertise and presence in the information management market in the USA, to Calsoft’s enterprise offerings and capabilities, a key focus area for the company.

Innocations delivers business intelligence tools, analytics, business rules management and enterprise search capabilities that help clients improve their decision making processes across all business functions.

Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost technology consulting and outsourcing services, has launched its new infrastructure venture in the south, wherein it will be developing a global service center spread over 25 acres of land in Mahindra World City, Chennai, with a investment of over $100 million.

Salil Parekh, executive chairman of Capgemini India said that, once operational in early 2009, the new facility will have a capacity to house over 10,000 people.

Parekh said that Capgemini India had become an important contributor to the group’s success globally and they had very strong growth plans for this part of the country. He said that the new centre in Chennai would add further muscle to their global delivery capabilities from India.

Capgemini India has been steadily increasing its presence in the country over the last 10 years, with nearly 17,000 people working for the company across various locations like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata. The group is now aiming to employ over 40,000 employees by the end of 2010.

The first office for Capgemini in Chennai was through the acquisition of Indigo, an F and A focused BPO of the Unilever Group, and the second addition was acquiring Kanbay, a financial services focused IT solutions company, last year.

Parekh added that Chennai which is increasingly becoming the hot destination for IT services, chosen for its rich technology talent pool and the well developed infrastructure to support the huge growth plans, will be our preferred choice even in the future