Catch me on wordpress : http://criticalchain.wordpress.com
Blogger to Wordpress
Just moved to Wordpress and am finding it more intuitive and interesting OR may be it is just the initial new tool excitement which will wear off soon.
Indian IT Shake-out
2008 has been a historic year for a host of events including some of the more unfortunate ones. The biggest ones that impact the Indian IT industry have been the Economic Crisis and to an extent the recent 'Satyam' fiasco.
My bet is that 2009 will be the year of shake-out and alignment for the Indian IT industry as it is forced to adopt creatively to the global economic conditions and the closer governance scrutiny that will be the fall-out of Satyam.
By the end of the year we will see a lot of companies closing down or being merged to form a more viable entity. It is likely that we see a new entrant in the top 7 IT firms. I will try publishing a entry list of companies as of the beginning of the year so that we can compare with what is left at the end of the year.
The present list and predictions to follow. Stay tuned
My bet is that 2009 will be the year of shake-out and alignment for the Indian IT industry as it is forced to adopt creatively to the global economic conditions and the closer governance scrutiny that will be the fall-out of Satyam.
By the end of the year we will see a lot of companies closing down or being merged to form a more viable entity. It is likely that we see a new entrant in the top 7 IT firms. I will try publishing a entry list of companies as of the beginning of the year so that we can compare with what is left at the end of the year.
The present list and predictions to follow. Stay tuned
Satyam - Hey Ram !
Over 2 weeks have passed since i vowed to myself about blogging regularly. It takes a while to fall back into the habit I guess. But then at least I was more "Satyam" than the Satyam which has kept Indian and international investors entertained by its less than Satyam act.
But it is not a unique case of corporate fraud, the examples of which are littered through Corporate history. Nor is it unique to India or IT industry.
Having said that I dont think it can be generalized to apply to all IT companies in India. However, it does invite closer scrutiny of other IT companies. Especially in focus would be family managed firms that went public and essentially forayed into this field at a time when Indian Stock Market made IPOs go over-subscribed just for the mention of word tech in the company. That was also a time many non-IT companies also kept their names as 'Tech' or 'Sys' to take benefit of the market frenzy.
But it is not a unique case of corporate fraud, the examples of which are littered through Corporate history. Nor is it unique to India or IT industry.
Having said that I dont think it can be generalized to apply to all IT companies in India. However, it does invite closer scrutiny of other IT companies. Especially in focus would be family managed firms that went public and essentially forayed into this field at a time when Indian Stock Market made IPOs go over-subscribed just for the mention of word tech in the company. That was also a time many non-IT companies also kept their names as 'Tech' or 'Sys' to take benefit of the market frenzy.
Return of the Prodigal Blogger (The Sequel)
After being away from blogging for nearly two years now, today signifies the sequel to the first attempt at blogging. Hopefully I am able to maintain a more regular presence in the blog world this time around.
A lot has changed in last 2 years infact the world has changed dramatically in the last 6 months thus there is enough impetus to blog again. On personal front, have moved base to Toronto during very turbulent times which makes you think if it was a wise decision in hindsight.
The current interests which will appear as theme of my blogs in near future are:
- Start up culture and landscape in Toronto
- Financial Markets Meltdown and its consequences for Software Service Vendors. Every crisis also brings out opportunities .. the key is ability to find and tap it.
- Workflow & Process Engines and business process modeling
- Digital Rights Management and associated workflows
- Positioning ideas for Software Service Vendors
hope I keep up with this in the new year as well
A lot has changed in last 2 years infact the world has changed dramatically in the last 6 months thus there is enough impetus to blog again. On personal front, have moved base to Toronto during very turbulent times which makes you think if it was a wise decision in hindsight.
The current interests which will appear as theme of my blogs in near future are:
- Start up culture and landscape in Toronto
- Financial Markets Meltdown and its consequences for Software Service Vendors. Every crisis also brings out opportunities .. the key is ability to find and tap it.
- Workflow & Process Engines and business process modeling
- Digital Rights Management and associated workflows
- Positioning ideas for Software Service Vendors
hope I keep up with this in the new year as well
EPIC
Here's a great thought and vision by Robin Sloan describing the effects of Web 2.0 and related phenomena like blogging, social networking, podcasting, aggregation on the society at large. While the future may hold players other than the ones mentioned in the movie, the thing to appreciate and understand is that the effect all these technologies are going to have over time will be profound!
I found it while researching on impact of Web 2.0 on Public Relations ! Apparently it has given rise to a new sub industry called PR 2.0 focused on exploring and exploiting the social media
update: the video on youtube was taken off so please use the following links
I found it while researching on impact of Web 2.0 on Public Relations ! Apparently it has given rise to a new sub industry called PR 2.0 focused on exploring and exploiting the social media
update: the video on youtube was taken off so please use the following links
Kyunki SaaS ab HOT hai !!
translated literally it would be: Because SaaS is HOT now !!
& before the Indian channel surfers & Ekta-logy lovers interpret it differently, let me clarify I am only refering to Software as a Service, the flavor of the season with the IT industry. Infact the word seems to be hotter than Web 2.0 these days.
So the blog is not about explaining the concept of SaaS or 'On Demand Software' but to ofcourse rant about the typical IT Services Companies take on it. The interesting question is how should a services company capitalize on SaaS, given that it does not want to go creative and launch its own product offering, which will ofcourse require a bigger investment with the associated risk.
The SaaS phenomenon has been brewing for last couple of years, the Services industry has only got tuned to it since Bill Gates issued a memo last October acknowledging the Disruptive power of the On Demand Software and its possible impact on traditional software business. In fact Microsoft realigning itself with Ray Ozzie as its CTO has been essentially to be able to leverage this concept and not be left behind. Infact Larry Ellison had recognized the power earlier and thus angel funded SaaS startups like Netsuite, SalesForce
So how does a Services company leverage SaaS? IMO there are 2 very simple approaches. One obviously is to hone, build and showcase expertise in technologies involved in any SaaS application.
The second & an interesting approach is to grow expertise in taking SaaS to the end client. This would mean partnering with the SaaS providers in educating end clients, implementing - configuring & customizing it for their use, integrating it with other end client apps & processes. This obviously requires a Services company to go in as Consultant who can help redefine the end client processes, application portfolio in order to leverage On Demand Softwares.
To get into SaaS based Consulting we will need to be thought leaders in SaaS which definitely will be a tall claim for any services company. So the other entry criteria is being a reliable business consultant experienced in process and portfolio reengineering who is very well aware of SaaS options available to solve a particular problem. Lot of my previous blogs mention various SaaS apps available in different domains particularly useful for any startup. A good place to look at new and established on demand players and offerings is this.
& before the Indian channel surfers & Ekta-logy lovers interpret it differently, let me clarify I am only refering to Software as a Service, the flavor of the season with the IT industry. Infact the word seems to be hotter than Web 2.0 these days.
So the blog is not about explaining the concept of SaaS or 'On Demand Software' but to ofcourse rant about the typical IT Services Companies take on it. The interesting question is how should a services company capitalize on SaaS, given that it does not want to go creative and launch its own product offering, which will ofcourse require a bigger investment with the associated risk.
The SaaS phenomenon has been brewing for last couple of years, the Services industry has only got tuned to it since Bill Gates issued a memo last October acknowledging the Disruptive power of the On Demand Software and its possible impact on traditional software business. In fact Microsoft realigning itself with Ray Ozzie as its CTO has been essentially to be able to leverage this concept and not be left behind. Infact Larry Ellison had recognized the power earlier and thus angel funded SaaS startups like Netsuite, SalesForce
So how does a Services company leverage SaaS? IMO there are 2 very simple approaches. One obviously is to hone, build and showcase expertise in technologies involved in any SaaS application.
The second & an interesting approach is to grow expertise in taking SaaS to the end client. This would mean partnering with the SaaS providers in educating end clients, implementing - configuring & customizing it for their use, integrating it with other end client apps & processes. This obviously requires a Services company to go in as Consultant who can help redefine the end client processes, application portfolio in order to leverage On Demand Softwares.
To get into SaaS based Consulting we will need to be thought leaders in SaaS which definitely will be a tall claim for any services company. So the other entry criteria is being a reliable business consultant experienced in process and portfolio reengineering who is very well aware of SaaS options available to solve a particular problem. Lot of my previous blogs mention various SaaS apps available in different domains particularly useful for any startup. A good place to look at new and established on demand players and offerings is this.
Bar Camp Anyone ?
A bar camp is being organized in Noida. When I first heard about it, it souded more like a self organizing conference that Martin Fowler talks about. Also it happens to be on Web 2.0 and similar cool stuff. Though i am not qualified enough on either web 2.0 or open spaces, I am keen to attend this one & hopefully it turns out to be as exciting & vibrant as it sounds.
Also hoping to learn a lot, meet like minded great people and figure out how these concepts can be levaraged in my organization. Will update on how it went.
Also hoping to learn a lot, meet like minded great people and figure out how these concepts can be levaraged in my organization. Will update on how it went.
Beyond Bullet Points
One thing I have realized over the past few years is that creating an wonderful technical design - architecture is fun & important for a successful techie project but more important & tricky is to be able to present it to not so geeky management people and get them excited about it.
This is where all of us end up working & cursing powerpoints: the necessary evil. & unfortunately create it like Gates does instead of adopting the Jobs style. Read this blog to figure out who are you closer to atleast in presentation styles. after reading it, i certainly need to re-visit my presentations & think beyond bullets !!
This is where all of us end up working & cursing powerpoints: the necessary evil. & unfortunately create it like Gates does instead of adopting the Jobs style. Read this blog to figure out who are you closer to atleast in presentation styles. after reading it, i certainly need to re-visit my presentations & think beyond bullets !!
Starting a Start-up - III (Software Infrastructure)
Continuing from my previous post on why we are seeing more and more start-ups these days, I mentioned the fact that lower entry barriers are also due to host of software infrastructure needs that can be addressed by open source or very economical but mature options.
So here is my list of softwares (mostly collaboration ones) that any start-up should consider:
PBX:
Let me know what kind os softwares you find useful in a startup.
So here is my list of softwares (mostly collaboration ones) that any start-up should consider:
PBX:
- asterisk: complete telephony solutions including conferencing, call queuing etc
- skype
- babble
- teleo of course is now part of microsoft empire (the kind of acquisitions they have made recently makes me excited about what their vista will have to offer
- instalcoll: sabeer bhatias latest brainchild
- writeboard & writely: more like collaborative writing offering "software as service"
- shinkuro & dropload
- loads of wiki engines are available but no wiki talk is complete without mentioning confluence & jotspot (2 of my favorites.... jot being more like a wiki farm)
Let me know what kind os softwares you find useful in a startup.
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