SUNNYVALE, California and NOIDA, India, August 12, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- HCL Technologies Ltd. (HCL) (http://www.hcltech.com/), a leading global IT services provider, today announced a strategic partnership with Daon (http://daon.com/), a leading provider of biometric identity assurance software, to help aviation, transportation, government and public sector clients solve their identity program challenges through innovative biometric technology solutions.

In the post-9/11 world of stringent international travel requirements and passport standards, the need for a secure, automated system that incorporates real-time passenger identification and verification is imminent. Biometric recognition technology will be an essential component to making this identification system a reality.

Daon provides the enabling identity assurance technology wherever authentication is required, delivering identification and verification software for managing identities in border management environments, civil identity applications, traveler ID, employee credentialing and access control solutions. Through this partnership, Daon will leverage HCL's expertise in innovative biometric technology solutions engineering, deployment, training and R&D, to provide joint air travel clients with innovative solutions and service differentiators.

"HCL is committed to helping air travel companies transform their organizations through the adoption of biometrics, reducing operating costs and infrastructure changes. Also achieving this by enhancing the operating efficiency of screening, storage, transport and sorting systems required to ensure the safe and timely arrival of passenger luggage, as well as by reducing cost while heightening passenger safety through paperless air travel," said Amit Gupta, vice president and global head of transportation vertical at HCL Technologies. "We pride ourselves in partnering with the world's most advanced solution providers, and this partnership with Daon represents our continued commitment to delivering transformational, high value-add industry solutions to the air travel industry."

"Daon is honored to join forces with HCL, a leading global engineering partner for aerospace and transportation companies," said Daon CEO Tom Grissen. "We share a joint vision to deliver innovative solutions for enhanced security and travel convenience to the air transportation sector. HCL's deep expertise, strategic insight and execution capabilities, coupled with Daon's proven technologies, will provide comprehensive identity assurance solutions to transportation organizations worldwide."

About HCL

HCL is a $5 billion leading global Technology and IT Enterprise that comprises two companies listed in India - HCL Technologies & HCL Infosystems. Founded in 1976, HCL is one of India's original IT garage start-ups, a pioneer of modern computing, and a global transformational enterprise today. Its range of offerings spans Product Engineering, Custom & Package Applications, BPO, IT Infrastructure Services, IT Hardware, Systems Integration, and distribution of ICT products across a wide range of focused industry verticals. The HCL team comprises over 64,000 professionals of diverse nationalities, who operate from 26 countries including over 500 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 http://www.hcl.in

About HCL Technologies

HCL Technologies is a leading global IT services company, working with clients in the areas that impact and redefine the core of their businesses. Since its inception into the global landscape after its IPO in 1999, HCL focuses on 'transformational outsourcing', underlined by innovation and value creation, and offers integrated portfolio of services including software-led IT solutions, remote infrastructure management, engineering and R&D services and BPO. HCL leverages its extensive global offshore infrastructure and network of offices in 26 countries to provide holistic, multi-service delivery in key industry verticals including Financial Services, Manufacturing, Consumer Services, Public Services and Healthcare. HCL takes pride in its philosophy of 'Employee First' which empowers our 64,557 transformers to create a real value for the customers. HCL Technologies, along with its subsidiaries, had consolidated revenues of US$ 2.7 billion (Rs. 12,565 crores), for the year ended on 30th June 2010. For more information, please visit http://www.hcltech.com

About Daon

Daon is a leading provider of identity assurance software products focused on meeting the needs of governments and commercial organizations worldwide. Daon supports customers and system integrators in building enterprise solutions requiring the highest level of security, performance, scalability, reliability and privacy. Daon's COTS products are scalable, flexible and proven in the most challenging real-world environments and have been selected to secure more than 700 million identities around the globe. The Daon product suite covers every aspect of identity management from pre-enrollment and identity proofing to enrollment, multimodal capture, adjudication, credentialing and provisioning; and provides a technology agnostic approach which gives leverage to the customer. Daon's offices are located in Washington DC, New York, Canberra, Singapore, London and Dublin. For further information, please visit: http://www.daon.com

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the statements containing the words 'planned,' 'expects,' 'believes,' 'strategy,' 'opportunity,' 'anticipates,' 'hopes' or other similar words. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding impact of pending regulatory proceedings, fluctuations in earnings, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services, Business Process Outsourcing and consulting services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, customer acceptances of our services, products and fee structures, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, our ability to integrate acquired assets in a cost effective and timely manner, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, the success of our brand development efforts, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies /entities in which we have made strategic investments, withdrawal of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property, other risks, uncertainties and general economic conditions affecting our industry. There can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements made herein will prove to be accurate, and issuance of such forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by the Company, or any other person, that the objective and plans of the Company will be achieved. All forward-looking statements made herein are based on information presently available to the management of the Company and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company.

    For details, contact:
    Kirsten Paragona
    HCL Technologies
    Phone: +1-857-350-5393
    Email: kparagona@hcl.com

    Jill Newberry
    BluePoint Venture Marketing for HCL Technologies
    Phone: +1-781-861-7800
    Email: jill@bluepointmktg.com

    Cheryl Walker Waldrup
    Vice President, Global Marketing
    Daon, Inc.
    Phone: +1-703-984-4040
    Email: Cheryl.waldrup@daon.com

SOURCE HCL Technologies