HCL Announces New Power Architecture (TM) Design Center; HCL to provide Power Architecture based system solutions to OEMs

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Thursday, November 17, 2005 -- HCL Technologies (“HCL”) today announced an agreement with IBM under which it has acquired to right to use and sublicense IBM’s PowerPC 405 and PowerPC 440 embedded microprocessor cores and certain associated peripheral cores. HCL intends to use these newly-acquired license rights to establish itself as the first Power Architecture™ Design Center outside an IBM business line. Over the years, IBM’s Power Architecture technology has proven to be the best fit architecture for a variety of applications. The objective of the design center is to expand Power Architecture designs in additional applications including networking, wireless and consumer devices.

HCL has been providing system design solutions including VLSI and hardware designs in vertical industries such as Consumer, Telecom, as well as storage domains. Complementing this capability, HCL will now offer to OEMs a wide range of Power Architecture System-on-Chip (SoC) Solutions, including sub-licensing of the IBM PowerPC 405 and PowerPC 440 embedded microprocessor cores , Open SystemC models, core hardening and integration services, SoC prototyping services, software development platform services and system prototyping services. In addition, HCL intends to provide customers access to high performance peripheral cores with a native CoreConnect interface, the open system bus architecture available from IBM.

"IBM’s goal is to make Power Architecture solutions as pervasive and open as possible,” said Ron Martino, IBM's Director of Power Products, “This strategy applies not only to our architecture, but extends to our ecosystem of alliance associates and our routes to market. We are pleased to be assisting HCL to open this Power ArchitectureTM Design Center with HCL."

"This alliance helps HCL further expand its credentials as a premier design house and is in line with our strategy to offer superior customer value and transformational R&D services. We're excited about the opportunity to offer Power Architecture based end to end design solutions to OEMs. The combination of access to the PowerPC 405 and PowerPC 440 embedded microprocessor cores and HCL’s design solutions will allow a new technology alternative and with time to market and cost advantages to customers, said Divakar Maddipatla, Corporate Vice President & Head – Semiconductor Practice at HCL.

Shiv Nadar, Founder HCL commenting on the alliance added, “The HCL Team and I are very pleased to be selected as IBM’s first partner to set up a design centre outside of IBM. This initiative shall receive my team’s highest attention to ensure its success”.

About HCL Technologies

HCL Technologies is one of India’s leading global IT Services Company, providing software- led IT solutions, BPO and Remote Infrastructure Management services. Making a foray into the services domain in 1997-98, HCL Technologies focuses on technology and R&D outsourcing, working with clients in areas at the core of their business. The company leverages an extensive offshore infrastructure and its global network of 26 offices in 15 countries to deliver solutions across select verticals including Banking, Insurance, Retail & Consumer, Aerospace, Automotive, Semiconductors, Telecom and Life Sciences. For the twelve month period ended 30th September 2005, HCL Technologies along with its subsidiaries had revenues of US $ 814 million (Rs.3,584cr) and employed 26,285 professionals. For more information, please visit www.hcltech.com

About HCL Enterprise

HCL Enterprise is a leading Global Technology and IT enterprise with annual revenues of US $2.7 billion (Rs.12,000 cr). The HCL Enterprise comprises two companies listed in India - HCL Technologies & HCL Infosystems. The 3-decade-old enterprise, founded in 1976, is one of India’s original IT garage start-ups. Its range of offerings span Product Engineering, Technology and Application Services, BPO, Infrastructure Services, IT Hardware, Systems Integration, and distribution of technology and telecom products. The HCL team comprises 30,000 professionals of diverse nationalities, who operate from 15 countries including 300 points of presence in India. HCL has global partnerships with several leading Fortune 1000 firms, including leading IT and Technology firms. For more information please visit www.hcl.in