Tag: IT

Is your ERP solutions partner as efficient as your ERP System?

January 25, 2018

“The era of digitalization has made the business world of today complex and volatile. The software can support a company, but it can also act as a brake when it is inflexible and obsolete.”   – Rödl & Partner ERP systems are revolutionizing the world of retail and how. Nowadays, all entrepreneurs with an expansive base of operations choose to simplify their business processes by deploying management systems like the ERP. The future of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems has never been brighter, and it has become a popular management technology in India as well. However, procuring an ERP for your enterprise isn’t enough to ensure seamless performance and worry-free round-the-clock management. Being an intricately designed software interface, ERPs require impeccable servicing, from the moment a need for it is identified, right up to its installation. A solution partner will be there beside you every step of the way to help you adapt to the changing landscape. Besides offering comprehensive advice and innovative solutions, any ERP consultant worth their dime provides holistic support for companies with international operations. Remember, your ERP is as good as your ERP partner. To get the most out of your software, you must work alongside a good service provider. ERPs afford a future-oriented user-experience IT strategy for the enterprises of tomorrow. Today, they are capable of dexterously managing every aspect of your business. They can put your company “on the road to success, especially in the core areas of planning, reporting, finance, controlling and logistics” (Rödl & Partner). In the increasingly automated retail landscape, ERPs are becoming a necessity rather than a mere luxury. Once the need for an ERP system is recognized, an informed decision must be made regarding the kind of ERP your enterprise needs. In this respect, it is advisable to consult a solution partner before settling for the ERP you’ll ultimately choose to engage with. “Failure is incumbent when you invest in things without thinking long and planning ahead of them”.  Remember that selecting the right software is a lot like signing a business contract—not easily retractable once implemented. After you’ve made your mind up and committed to the planner, you are in it for the long haul. This is primarily because the initial investment involved in installing an ERP is very high. Therefore, replacing it due to dissatisfaction with the existing system is not really a viable option. Furthermore, developing a level of intimate familiarity with the model (of your choice) is of paramount importance, if you’re uploading control and access to your enterprise onto the resource planning system. This offline to online transition is made easier with the help of an expert to walk you through the imminent changes likely to take over your operations model, post-installation. Constant maintenance, monitoring, and upgradation of the ERP software is also required, and for that, it is crucial to avail the services of a reliable ERP solutions partner that is as efficient as your ERP. In addition, it is better for you and your ERP system, if your solutions partner is prompt and proficient intending to immediate hiccups, glitches, and related issues that are bound to appear in your enterprise technology with time. High responsiveness to ERP-related emergencies is always a quality that determines the reliability quotient of your solutions partner. There needs to be a team of skilled and intuitive personnel ready for dispatch, whenever the need arises, at any point during the product’s lifecycle. If you’re curious and skeptical about how much enlisting this support system will cost you (especially considering the lump-sum investment in purchasing the ERP software), frankly speaking, that is a small price to pay if you consider the amount of savings ERP implementation will generate for you. But if you want to get the implementation right, a good consultancy can maximize your ERP’s competitive potential. In an ideal world, the software would work endlessly without bugs, hardware wouldn’t break down and employees would run like clockwork with fail. But disasters happen with technology, just as easily as human resources. To avert the loss of productivity caused by such unavoidable breakdown of man-made systems, ERP solution partners come into play. In case of deciding on a consulting partner, take into account the scale and type of your business. Based on your needs, you can either opt for a full-service provider or problem specific services. To select the right solution for your business, understand exactly how much the project will cost at each stage and chalk out the timeline for each phase. Having a thorough discussion about price can prevent future surprises and disappointment, including the Upfront cost, Support coverage, and Recurring costs. Complete understanding and clarity about the partner’s role from start till end will help shape a contract both parties are happy with. Remember to include:  Timeline of go-live  User-friendly  Support & Services  Regular upgradations on current statutory  Bug fixing timeline A good partner will offer you solutions commensurate to and appropriate for your company. There is a host of specialized services that are offered in addition to the common ones: Strategy and innovation consulting Requirements analysis and implementation Improvement of your business processes Operation of the total solution including application management There is a popular saying in the business stratosphere, it is no longer enough to manufacture a good product; it needs to be followed up with good servicing. The same applies to the ERP market as well. Without a reliable and efficient solutions partner to fall back on, the entire prospect of improving your business operations with your new state-of-the-art ERP goes for a toss. To get you up and running quickly, Breeze offers ERP Implementation service to meet your business management needs and get you started quickly. Choose from: Rapid Essentials Implementation Service, which covers essential key functional areas and goes live user training Essentials Plus Implementation Service, where you can include additional requirements tailored to meet your business’ specific needs Customised Implementation Service, designed specifically for your business FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US FOR A

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Let us walk you through the MWC 2017

March 20, 2017

Let us walk you through the MWC 2017 (in less than 4 minutes – it’s worth every second) Mobile World Congress (MWC) has evolved as a major go-to-event for the mobile industry. It is much more than an expo. It is a meeting point of business leaders from mobile industry, tech-geeks, enthusiasts, startups and other eco system players. It has amazing product launches that make waves around the world. It has thought-provoking keynote and panel sessions, and last but not the least – a peek into the future through 4YFN (4-years-from-now) expo and innovative exhibits. In recent years, we have seen an exponential increase in business executives from totally unrelated business domains, which is a clear indication on the impact of digital on every business, and mobile’s leading role in the same. As a premium mobile technology company, MWC finds a permanent place in our annual calendar. This year we saw four major trends that are worth thinking through:  VR/AR is for real and has application Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay  Innovation Multiplier through SDKs 5G is round the corner And, not to forget the media stunt pulled by Nokia, by bringing back a new colorful avatar of Nokia 3310, which was its iconic phone in early 2000. It was great fun, generated a lot of interest on social media, got Nokia a brand boost – but that was the end of its impact, to be honest. VR/AR is for real, and has application. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) seems to be coming of age.We now see widespread adoption,piped up due to the major sale of VR headsets last Christmas. Every gadget manufacturer – Samsung Electronics, Qualcomm, Nokia, etc. have their own headset to cash in the demand of this new gadget. We strongly believe that VR and AR will continue to gain traction with more applications and commercially feasible use cases emerging at every corner. Bharat Berlia, CIO of Indus Net Technologies states – “Certain industries like training and education, real estate and complex engineering have gained massively from using VR and AR. VR can provide a real world interface, and AR can set the context.” He further cites the example of a major engineering company which uses VR to conduct training on airline engine maintenance across their workshops around the world, without getting into logistics nightmare. VR and AR are also finding major application in advertising and communication. Did you know a 360-degree immersive video advertisement of Hong Kong Airlines was 35x more effective than the same advertisement in 2D format? The increasing importance of immersive VR videos was one of the most-discussed topics at MWC. Brands and advertisers will soon be rushing to create VR content driven by emotional storytelling, to engage better with their target audience.Indus Net  Technologies also develops VR and AR content and applications, including mobile games; for its global clientele. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay Artificial Intelligence (AI) finally seems to be stepping out of the academia and making its impact felt in the hyper-competitive commercial world of digital. And, it has moved at a faster speed than we imagined even few years back. We have near perfect voice-to-text conversion, which might eventually change the way we interact with computer or computer driven systems. Our image recognition is improving beyond believe, and it is visible in form of the autonomous car madness, that we see and hear everyday. Robocar, a self-driving electric racing car using Artificial Intelligence (AI), manufactured by Roborace, drew a lot of attention when it was launched at MWC this year. LINE also announced that it is developing an AI digital assistant, called Clova. Olay also unveiled an AI-powered selfie skincare app, which will help women with skin problems. Yes, it goes without saying that AI has taken the global tech community by storm. According to Global Market Insights, the global AI market is likely to grow nearly 81% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2016 to 2024. Interestingly, Abhishek Rungta, CEO, who juggles multiple responsibilities has been using bots, powered by AI to streamline his daily plans. He is enamoured by Eva bot, which helps him in sending gifts to his business clients. Abhishek also uses Amy Ingram, a bot, to schedule his meetings. “This saves time and helps me to organize my day better.”- admits Abhishek. Innovation Multiplier through SDKs We also met several startups and businesses who are doing innovative stuff, and are letting you build those innovations within your business app through their SDKs and APIs, which are licensed on pay-per-use or pay-per-build. The range of innovation is mind boggling, starting from: Consumer behavior tracking App analytics VR/AR capabilities Bot engines AI engines / Image recognition and processing App testing App performance improvement. The list is endless. This area will become extremely busy in years to come and innovation from the smallest companies will find it way to the largest corporation through such an ecosystem. 5G is round the corner Though still in discovery mode, and mostly in labs, 5G is being talked about a lot. 5G is expected to change the way mobile works and how it is used. The impact is far beyond speeds,higher throughput or greater energy efficiency. The applications that will evolve with connected societies will be far more critical – be it sending senses across the network, app as a service, friction-less shopping experience, or driverless vehicles, or banking for the unbanked. Technology leaders from across the value chain have been hard at work to develop 5G concepts and prototype use-cases, many of which will serve as the backbone of modern 5G networks. It was a great experience to watch some of the research demos and learn about the use cases. And, last but not the least, we saw and experienced those phones which we will see in commonplace in next few months and years. There were lots of interesting product launches, but we were so overwhelmed by the above areas, that we did not

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Microsoft Joins Linux Foundation

November 17, 2016

If you thought Microsoft and Linux didn’t go along very well, think again. The technology giant made its decision to join Linux Foundation public recently. It will join as a high-paying Platinum member and it also underscores the new found importance that Linux has garnered in recent months. #corporate

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Making Peace with Rapidly Changing Technology Helps You Accept Losses

October 21, 2016

Accepting changes is one of the most fundamental difficulties that we as human beings face. We resist change when we change schools, we resent change when our friends move away, and we resent our own parents if they separated or moved away from us. Change is not always pleasant and it is not always for the better. Cities change, buildings are torn down, favorite bars and cafes are closed down and everything starts to seem unfamiliar and strange. Jim Morrison of The Doors once sang “Strange days have found us, strange days have tracked us down, They’re going to destroy our casual joys, We shall go on playing or find a new town” The essence of this opening stanza is that change always brings with it the unknown. Even if the change is for the better, we unconsciously resent it. We may become accustomed to old and current ways, and when something disrupts what we already, our status quo is destroyed. Yet, like Jim so wisely says, we shall go on playing or find a new town. And we must. [php snippet=1] Accepting technological changes Think about IT companies that deal with changes on an everyday basis. While they are always open to changes, somewhere there is always a fear of being upstaged by a newer and tougher technology, fear of not playing catch-up with newer start-ups and the fear of salvaging what has been lost to changes in technology. Underlying all this fear of changes is resistance to change. The more we resist to changes when they occur, the more we are going to resent it, fear it and ultimately, lose our minds. No matter how much loss you have experienced because of all the tech buzzwords, there is always hope. There is always hoping to make peace with that which you have lost, and that which you may gain by wholeheartedly embracing changes, in spite of all your vulnerabilities. This brings us to the stage of becoming comfortable with discomfort or the state of being vulnerable. Once we accept and embrace our vulnerabilities, we tend to become more resilient, and are more open to taking proactive actions to embrace changes as they occur, instead of fearing them and mourning the losses. We become peaceful, and will no more be bothered about strange days finding us. We will not fear change and instead, we will make peace with changes, technological or otherwise. Now let us take a look at how we can effectively stop fearing change, and make peace with it so that we can embrace technology as it changes, no matter how radical. A 7-step process to overcoming resentment towards change, and embracing it Calculate your losses One of the first things that you must do in order to assess what technological change has done to your damage is to calculate your losses. If you have not upgraded from legacy systems to a cloud based computing model, you probably have already lost a lot in time and money. Objectively analyze your losses and seek help from people who are good at these kinds of jobs. Calculate your losses and quantify them, and print those charts in your office for everyone to see. Every single employee in your organization must know what are the losses incurred for not having embraced changes. Mourn your losses Begin the process of mourning your losses. Mourning is a very crucial and important step when it comes to healing. It is also important when it comes to moving towards success in a business that is not functioning very well. Be candid to your board of directors and be frank to your employees. It is perfectly OK to feel sad, angry and dejected our losses and to regret what was not done earlier. However, do not dwell on these emotions. After a while, know that there are 5 more steps for you to complete your healing journey. Accept that you are not in control The next step in healing is to admit that you are not in control of changes that take place on an everyday basis in the world of technology. Technology changes at a rapid pace and it is not easy to remain informed about everything and make all the changes necessary. You are not always in control and no one is. It is only human to be powerless against the tides of change unless one is prepared. Accept this vulnerability of yours. Accept that you are vulnerable The next step is also to realize that you are vulnerable. Vulnerable to changes, vulnerable to losses, vulnerable to stressful situation, people yelling at you, to constant taunts from competitors and vulnerable to self-criticism. All these things make you more stressed out, and far-removed from the changes that continue to happen anyway, no matter how you feel about it. By accepting that you are vulnerable, you will begin to see the light of the day as it is. It might be cloudy and rainy, and it might even be stormy. Wait for that to pass, and there will be sun shining bright sooner or later. Begin to learn about changes that are taking place Once you realize that you are not in control over things that happened to you and that you are vulnerable to things that can happen to you, start doing something about it. The first step is to equip yourself with knowledge. Knowledge may come from interacting with people from your industry, networking with influential people, reading books, listening to podcasts and just about anything, including taking classes. You need to understand and learn about the changes that have taken place in your domain, and also understand in a realistic manner what kind of changes you can expect in future. Seek help to bring those changes in your life Once you assess the changes that are taking place and are likely to take place, seek professional help. Ensure that you have a counselor or a psychologist to discuss your emotions and

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What Comes After Disrupting Existing Business Practices?

October 19, 2015

There has been a lot of discussion  about disrupting business practices. Most start-ups try to disrupt an existing paradigm or homeostasis in order to create something new with the help of technology. Uber did to taxi companies what email did to post office. There are a number of such disruptive technology examples that it is beyond the capacity of this blog post to discuss. However, what we need to understand is, the current trend is to disrupt something that has worked well and replace it with something more intelligent and usually mobile. The prevalence of mobile technology has also played a role in disrupting existing business practices. One might wonder, what happens after one disrupts an existing business practice. The answer to this question is usually convoluted. It is not easy to answer such a broad question whose answer depends on a number of factors. However, in this article, let us focus on a few possibilities that might happen once an existing business practice is disrupted. What does disrupting consist of? Usually, disrupting an existing business practice entails uprooting what was earlier practiced with something new. So, success is something that is taken for granted at least initially. Therefore , when you disrupt a business practice, there is success for those who disrupted and convenience for the users, while a certain set of people who practiced the old ways suffer. After this, success may decline or it may plateau. Usually, it declines without additional disruption or innovation. This is the reason why insiders would tell you that disruption is a constant process. What MySpace was a decade is what Facebook is today. We can’t really say when Facebook will be replaced by something new. When that happens, we will speak of another disruption. Thus, it is important to keep innovating and disrupting, even if it means that we disrupt our own business practices. This ensures that we are one step ahead of the rest of the competition. While the rest of them are still trying to play catch-up with you, you can already disrupt what you started and move ahead to a new set of practice. This is how it works today in this world. Should you disrupt? The answer is always a yes, if it is possible. Sometimes, a disruption may not be necessary. However, there is always room for innovation and change. If you come up with a new programming language altogether to build mobile apps, you are disrupting the existing space. However, if you come up with a new technique to build better apps using existing languages, then you are innovating. It is difficult to disrupt and not so difficult to innovate. Most people do neither. It is not possible for all of us to disrupt like Uber or Facebook did. However, we all can innovate and change the way we conduct our businesses. Innovation is what drives real growth. Disruption may make you a millionaire overnight but not everyone has the ability or aptitude to do that. If we are going to be realistic, it makes sense to focus on innovation. Innovation by far is the most important business practice. If you are not going to innovate, you will probably perish, as the old clichéd comment goes. Usually, there is always a bit of truism in clichéd statements and this is one such. Looking forward If you need help regarding innovating your existing business practices, speak to a consultant who will be able to help you. Our team of developers and designers can help you sort your ideas and suggest ways to innovate and change your existing practices.

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Outlook for IT Outsourcing in 2015 and Beyond

September 28, 2015

IT outsourcing is undergoing an evolution and is going to be driven by changes in consumer demands. New service providers are entering the market while the existing providers are exploring new markets. Enterprises will continue the trend of shared critical business operations and IT services to keep a tab on cost, minimize errors and enhance productivity.  The growth in IT outsourcing in 2015 will continue under the substructure of skilled staff, high service quality and business process excellence. Optimization of cloud-based platforms, data driven sourcing, outcome-based pricing and standardization of business process are going to be some of the leading trends in outsourcing. The following article will give a detailed outlook for IT outsourcing.  1.      Sourcing to be data driven With rising complexity in sourcing, increased awareness level of clients and growing project uncertainties; data and analytics is going to take a center stage. The clients will explore opportunities through data measurement and analysis. Enterprises can make informed business decisions and plan accordingly. A thorough knowledge about sourcing channels will help the clients to design a sourcing strategy.  The intricacies of why, where and what will be answered lucidly with handy data. Data analysis also helps clients to understand how sourcing needs to be done. Since a lot of end-consumers and stakeholders get affected through sourcing decisions, data analysis will help clients to manage project and meet expectations of all the parties involved.  However, one must remember to take a representative figure of data sets to avoid being misled due to insufficient data.  2.      Cloud optimization Cloud will no longer be seen as a new technology.  Security and business continuity concerns looming over the businesses till last year will be put to rest by opting for a hybrid model where critical applications are hosted privately while general applications are hosted on a public cloud. A majority of the businesses will host their existing applications in cloud through SaaS model. Internal IT teams will align themselves with the cloud-based platforms for cloud application development through IaaS and PaaS infrastructure. On the other hand, large enterprises will dive into application analysis and testing on an individual basis. This is crucial to operate cloud infrastructure at optimized level and keep a check on cost escalation due to system inefficiency. Apart from that, cloud strategies will continue to evolve with deployment of point solutions. 3.      RFP loses sheen Request for Proposal through bidding process is often time-consuming and is going to be blotted out in 2015. In rapidly evolving IT environment, RFP is plainly anachronous and there is a considerable gap between proposal closure and business requirements. Business requirement change by the time proposal is sealed. Under such circumstances, it is important to look for purchasing processes that are fast and flexible. Businesses can explore the option of enterprise marketplaces where business requirements are instantly analyzed through data analysis and a suitable proposal is generated automatically.  Similar purchasing processes can be explored as this will enhance competition among service providers thereby helping the clients to choose the best. Market leaders need to work collaboratively with service providers to make this process work.  4.      Business leaders to participate actively in IT purchases IT purchase decisions have become critical to core business functioning. A wrong purchase decision can cost a business significantly.  The year 2015 will witness more top leadership involvement in technology purchase. Product engineering teams are likely to deal with IT purchases as well because they are capable enough to understand the implications of IT on product and service. Likewise, suppliers will target new buyers and evolve their selling approach. IT will observe a shift towards service brokerage model.  Decisions on application development in cloud and application subscriptions will be taken at a strategic level with CEO, CFO, COO and CIO involved deeply. IT expenses, quite often, are more than budgeted. Ultimately, businesses are going to look for IT savings through rationalization, integration and superior service selection and measurement.  5.      Multiple service providers Clients are going to spread their cloud application portfolio and look for different service providers for specialized requirements. The number of service providers per client will witness a dramatic increase in 2015. As a result, compliance, legal and governance obligations will increase for the client. There is going to be an increasing requirement for application portfolio managers due to application-focused approach. Bundled services are slated to be discontinued as application specific service will be focused upon to form a suitable mix of on-premise / off-premise, public / private cloud applications. SaaS integration will increase to integrate cloud applications with traditional on-premise applications. SaaS integration solution by SaaS providers will play a major role in managing the integration process which not only integrates data but helps in overcoming organizational inefficiencies, improve productivity and plug in gaps in performance.  6.      Neutralizing supplier risk Project risk rises if client is dependent on a single service provider. In the event of a failure which could be due to any reason, businesses are badly affected. Ultimately, it’s the end customers who bear the brunt causing lack of trust in the services. Clients are going to take supplier risk factor analysis seriously in 2015 and incorporate supplier risk into planning, proposing solutions and taking action for different risk events on real-time basis. The outsourcing teams will be conscientious while deciding upon the location of service provider considering the geopolitical risk factors involved like struggling economy and political turmoil.  Neutralizing supplier risk is also essential due to growing uncertainties like shrinking labor pool, rising cost of labor, changes in law, and weather.  7.      Renegotiation of contracts Over a last couple of years, clients have favored multi-vendor or tower-based outsourcing approach for the avoidance of lock-in to a single outsourcing service provider.  However, in future, clients are going to focus upon multi-sourcing cloud-based model.  Clients and service providers who have already entered into contracts last year will look forward to renegotiate with new SLAs. Moreover, cloud-based models are quick to implement and clients will again avoid vendor lock-in

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The Emergence of GPS-based Apps

September 21, 2015

The last time you wanted to meet someone interesting for a date, you probably opened one of the many apps available to look who is near you. You also probably opened another app to see which restaurants or bars are nearby, if you were visiting a new city. Of course, there are always those meet-ups nearby that you can check out, when you are in another city. All these tools help you to meet interesting people, access services and products close to where you currently are and also receive help with respect to maps and directions. All this is possible because of the GPS technology. There has been a spurt of growth in the realm of GPS-related apps and this is something that one must take note of. GPS based apps are becoming an everyday-part of life, if they haven’t already become. As more people adopt smartphones, we will see a greater need to choose GPS-based applications as our main format for marketing locally. The GPS technology can be used in a number of ways today. It has almost changed lives, and people are warming up to the idea of GPS-based apps even before they are being released, calling for a growth in developing such location-based apps. Is GPS right for you? If you have a business that caters to a certain geographical area, you could try using GPS-technology in your app. Most businesses that are local can somehow integrate GPS into their apps. This helps clients or customers to figure out where you are, though maps usually do the same thing too. By using GPS, you will be more accessible to your target audience and they will be able to reach you quickly. The tendency today is to find a service provider who is physically closest to the user. This means, if someone is in the vicinity of where your business is located, if you are on a platform where your location can be tracked, it is better to integrate GPS somehow. There are many existing apps that help you to make use of GPS without having to design a new app. Yellow pages and classifieds have their own apps which help people to search for businesses closest to them. You could start with getting listed on those apps. This will help you to be more visible and approachable to clients and customers who are in the vicinity. Mind you, a number of your competitors might already be using GPS-based technology. The future of GPS GPS certainly is going to be a big part of our future. It can be used in innumerable ways and it helps businesses to reach their clients and customers easily, without having to actively participate. When the customer opens an app and looks for businesses nearby, yours must be listed. It becomes that easy for this client or customer to approach you. GPS works best for companies and businesses that are geographically based. If your business caters to a particular geographical community, it would be wise to get listed on a GPS-based application. If you wish to have your own GPS-based app, you should have a good reason to do so. You might even consider your GPS-app to be a product on its own. If you are willing to consider your app to be a product on its own, feel free to speak to our app development consultants who would be better able to help you make a decision. At the end of the day, it is important to note that GPS is here to stay and will remain an important part of today’s application ecosystem.

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10 Reasons to Migrate from Physical IT Infrastructure to Cloud

September 14, 2015

There is a buzz with cloud adoption advocators and supporters in the market. All kinds of organizations whether big, medium or small, irrespective of their sector, are rushing to make cloud an integral part of their business. Among them, there are groups of people who do not support cloud and claim it to be disastrous and a threat to business security. It was understandable to hold such views when public cloud was introduced a couple of years ago, but not anymore. It is important to note that cloud is a broad term and is largely classified into three categories SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. The most common model used by small enterprises is SaaS i.e. Software-as-a-Service, as it can be easily delivered over the web browser and is cheaply available on subscription basis. SaaS is usually run on public cloud. On the other hand, many large enterprises use IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model that delivers computer infrastructure. Here the users do not have to invest in servers, software, and datacenter space or network equipment. Instead they buy fully outsourced IaaS service that manages everything for them. It is high time you move to the cloud, if you haven’t already Irrespective of the cloud model chosen, cloud technology has delivered obvious benefits to modern businesses. It has become a strategic imperative for organizations to delve into cloud and adopt it. The core agenda of IT teams using cloud is to ensure governance and keep a tab on cost. The cloud is typically used for web hosting, email hosting, productivity solutions, back up/ recovery, security and monitoring, application hosting, and content filtering. Many organizations have learned to use cloud as a hybrid model (a combination of private and public cloud) and safeguard their organizations from security threats. In the following article, we will discuss ten important reasons to migrate from physical IT infrastructure to cloud. 1.      Security Security has remained the topmost concern for many IT executives owing to deployment of data on shared resources. It is also important to note that the kind of capability delivered by cloud technology is incomparable to any other traditional on-premise infrastructure. A certain level of concern for security is justified owing to high stakes. However, the unwarranted criticism generated by cloud computing is largely a hoax by rancorous elements because; security of customers’ data is actually the selling point of vendors. Security in cloud systems is governed by the highest level of recognized data protection standards managed by professional IT experts. While cloud vendors have strong systems in place to protect data centers, it is simultaneously the responsibility of clients to ensure that appropriate firewall, and strong passwords are in place. Moreover, the responsibility of employees (especially those accessing cloud on smartphones) in protecting critical organizational data can’t be annulled. Depending upon the business sector, both clients and vendors need to be compliant with regulatory compliances like HIPAA, SAS70, and PCI DSS.   2.      Paradigm shift from capex to opex Once you are able to outsource your hardware and software requirements with cloud computing, the risk factor of managing infrastructure is significantly reduced. Your capital and operational expenses will plummet like never before. As you need to deploy few internal IT resources, there is considerable release of tied-down capital. Most of the cloud vendors charge as per pay-as-you-go method, and clients find it easier to bear the expenses from their operational costs. The relieved capital expenditure can therefore be reinvested to a more deserving area in business to stoke your business expansion plans.  3.      Flexibility Cloud technology offers you the flexibility of operating under open standards. The open standards allow you to avoid vendor lock-in. You can rope in different vendors for meeting different business requirements. You can also shift your outsourced service from one vendor to another. It gives you an opportunity to trade off risk by dispersing your services and bypassing single vendor dominion. Furthermore, it encourages competition among vendors where the client is bound to get the best.  4.      Economies of scale A simple concept of economies of scale is applicable in cloud computing as well. The cost per unit can be reduced significantly by increasing the number of units produced. The cost savings that cloud technology brings in is unquestionable. It is almost impractical for an organization to hire staff of world class caliber and deploy multiple servers of high capacity to meet their needs. On the contrary, a cloud vendor can easily offset these cost concerns by having a long clientele.  5.      Real-time synchronization helps to collaborate and service customers better Most of the leading cloud service providers have developed mobile and tablet applications which allow the users to access cloud solution remotely and on-the-go. Productivity solutions like ERP and HRMS deployed on cloud are easily accessible on smartphones through applications. This enables employees to work together on a project seamlessly. Cloud can be remotely updated by a sales employee and instantly viewed by a production employee. Thus, cloud helps in plugging the gap in communication and information relay. Customers can be updated in real-time about order status and marketing executives can improve their responsiveness to the market by instantly viewing the sales data and tracking marketing campaign.  6.      Reliability You can rely on cloud services ten times more than you do on your on-premise system. Cloud brings along with it a high level of reliability by minimizing downtime to negligible. It is the sole responsibility of the cloud vendor to keep the systems up 24 x 7. Even if maintenance has to be carried out, it is done without affecting the businesses dependent on it. A cloud vendor specifically considers all types of failures like overflow, timeouts, and network failure before deploying the solution. For the same reason, they believe in storing multiple data copies to maintain system continuity. On the other hand, with on-premise system, you are completely left to fend for yourself. Getting an instant help during downtime seems out of reach. Ultimately, you lose business and

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What Is Green Information Technology?

July 22, 2015

There is no doubt that today’s environment is significantly different from the environment of 20 years ago. There are a lot more cars, industries and pollution from all kinds of sources. With developing countries consuming more than developed countries, it is becoming an unsustainable scenario where millions of tons of waste is generated on a continuous basis. Amid all this, there is also the problem of information technology. As IT grew, people and organizations began to buy more computers, devices, servers and other peripherals, leading to more electronic waste. Some of this waste is very hazardous and polluting to the environment. Moreover, computer peripherals tend to use a lot of energy and companies that make profits from the IT sector have a unique responsibility towards their environment. With this in mind, Green Information Technology is the practice of environmentally sustainable computing. Green IT, as a philosophy, came into being in 1992 when the Energy Star labeling system was unveiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It is a labeling system that helps companies to reduce greenhouse emissions and save money as well. It does this by identifying superior and green products that reduce greenhouse emissions & energy consumptions. With this in mind, we can kind of gather where the philosophy of Green IT comes from. Now, in order to understand green IT in today’s context, let us take a look at some of the problems that are pulling us down as a society. 1. Electronic waste Today, companies generate a lot of electronic waste. This includes computers, laptops, batteries, chips, smartphones, silicon and a host of other waste products. All this pollute our environment greatly. Green IT involves safe disposal of electronic waste and dealing with companies who will also engage in safe disposal of their electronic waste. Adequate waste disposal methods need to be put in place in all IT departments and this actually needs to be a part of IT governance. 2. Increased energy consumption The more we consume energy, the scarcer coal, water and other products will be. Nuclear technology has its own risks. The best we can do is to reduce energy consumption. It order to do this, companies can adopt cloud computing, instead of buying their own personal infrastructure. Shared platforms and infrastructure help companies to reduce their greenhouse emissions & energy consumptions. It becomes our moral responsibility to choose products and services, which work towards reducing energy consumption. Cloud computing will definitely be one of the preferred options because of this. 3. Culture of replacing products, instead of repairing A number of companies continue to replace their devices and peripherals even when it is not required. These older devices can easily be fixed and used for a few more years. Companies need to actively encourage repairing devices rather than replacing them. This is an important part of green IT. When we repair existing products, waste generated by our companies will be lesser. 4. Using low quality products Low quality products consume more energy and emit more greenhouse gases. They might also be manufactured with unsafe and toxic materials, which do not degrade biologically. In order to avoid this, we will need to invest in high-quality and energy-efficient products, which are green and environmentally friendly. They might prove to be expensive in the beginning but you will save a lot of money in the long term. Low quality products do not go through the standard testing protocols and some of them fail emission level tests, hazardous materials test and other such tests miserably. They are also known to drain electricity more than high quality products. Looking ahead Green IT is only going to grow bigger. As global warming is becoming more important to tackle, we all will need to focus on green IT. This begins with doing business with companies that are green and sustainable. It becomes our responsibility to push green philosophy for the sake of environment. It becomes a moral responsibility not only for companies but also for end users and clients. Unless you go green, people might hesitate to conduct business with you. In the near future, we can see a growing awareness about environment-friendly behaviors and people will likely prefer to use products & services from companies that stand up to their green ideals.

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Differentiation: The Biggest Area for IT Investment in BFSI Sector

June 22, 2015

The Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector is considered to be the 2nd largest consumer of technology in the world; the first being the Telecom sector. As a consequence, the entire sector, both globally and in India, is expected to witness an increased momentum for different kinds of cloud based solutions. In fact, this highly-regulated sector in the country of India is believed to bring in a lot of growth opportunities. Which is the best IT investment area in the BFSI sector of India? One of the prime areas, as Oracle, the computer technology giant, thinks it to be is “differentiation”, when it comes to IT investment in the BFSI sector. It is more relevant for the Indian BFSI sector for the following reasons: The big players would be concentrating more on digitalization of their products or services. They are more likely to adopt digital distribution of products and services than opening up new branches on different locations. Termed as “the retirement decade”, this decade is being anticipated to come up with about 3 lakhs vacancies in different banks of the public sector, which in turn would pave the way for a major IT spend towards capital and talent management. Finance and integrated risk is another big area for IT investment. Though, initially, it has never been an investment-worthy area, however, the introduction of IFRS, Basel III regulation and a number of other regulatory prescriptions by RBI (Reserve Bank of India) and BIS (Bank of International Settlements) has led to an increased IT investment in this arena. Does cloud feature in the portrayed IT investment trends? Research says that the conventional technologies are still attracting about 70% of the entire IT investment. However, big players like Oracle strongly believes that it’s not far when the IT investment trend would shift from the traditional back office data management to technologies related to customer interaction, mobility, on the fly analytics management etc. Even different studies by some of the famous research firms speak in favour of this. Let’s see how: McKinsey’s Research A recent study by McKinsey shows that the total number of customers opting digital banking is more likely to rise remarkably on a global level. In Asia, the number is expected to reach about 1.7 billion by the year 2020, out of which the country of India alone has been portrayed to have 450 million digital banking customers by the end of that year. Now, in such a scenario, banks looking forward towards acquiring new digital-minded customers need to explore cloud based technologies. In a nutshell, it is better for banks to deploy technologies that can help them glide into the digital banking era. Gartner’s Research According to this reputed IT research and advisory firm of America, more than 60% of the global banks would resort to the cloud based transaction processing. In fact, this is what is making the IT departments of those banks become increasingly bimodal. Coined by this IT research firm, the concept “Bimodal IT” refers to the IT departments of banks having the following two operational modes: Lights on mode Innovation mode However, in order to catch up with the continued changes in customer behaviours, banks based in different parts of the world would need to continue investing in the traditional technologies and simultaneously adopting cloud technologies. Now, this adoption of cloud technologies would not just be completely cost-driven and triggered by improvements in the efficiency level but would primarily be an effect of the major shift in banking behaviours of modern customers; and banks, which plan to stay ahead need to surely opt the emerging cloud technologies. After all, unless a bank cannot be differentiated from others in the positive sense, it can never stay ahead of its competitors. This is what would call for more IT investment in the BFSI sector. In fact, the sector has already started witnessing the growing IT investment opportunity for “differentiation”. The big technology players in the world like Oracle are thinking of introducing “Data-as-a-Service” in place of the traditional Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service. This newly introduced notion would enable banks to build digital profiles for customers, based on customers’ daily banking behaviours and drive their revenue accordingly; and all of these just points to the increasing IT investment for differentiation in the BFSI sector.

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