More investments in India - Time to go back to India?

 

Click here for details

India continue to boom with more and more investments coming in from various sources.  I have been actively considering a move to India for professional reasons - but after the trip in December, the family element has made it even more compelling.   I believe, after 12 years in Singapore, it is indeed time to go back.  Getting a job may not that easy anymore ;-). Anyway, time to start planning a move in the next 12-18 months at the latest.

All said and done, 12 years in Singapore which has been my longest stint ever in one city (I have spent my whole life moving from city to city- when my dad was in the Indian Air Force), is not easy.  Too many roots here - so may just move to India and keep all else as status quo here in Singapore.   Let us see how it all plays out.

My favorite Dilbert :)

 

I found this very funny and I laughed for a long time. Next time someone says, their work is "fine" I am bound to think of these lines.

Technorati Tags: Dilbert,Humour

Alexandra Hospital, Singapore

I was at Alexandra Hospital earlier last week to take Puji, our helper, to get her hand stitched after she cut her finger. Unfortunately for her, she also cut her tendon partially for which she had to go & get it stitched up. For the first time since we came to Singapore, I went to Alexandra Hospital.  Located across town (we stay in the east and this is in the West).

I must say I was very impressed with the Hospital.  Starting with the Emergency ward & the doctors, all were helpful & went that extra step to make us, and I am sure, the other patients, comfortable.

What impressed me was the "spare glasses" (photo on top).  I thought it was a very kind gesture, considering the possibility, that many people may rush to the Emergency Ward and may have forgotten to take their glasses along.   Indira was curious if people actually use & leave those glasses back.   I suspect, yes.  

The No Smoking was another nice touch - unlike the stern "No Smoking" warnings that most of us are used to.

Good customer service.

Not that I want to go back there (after all it is a hospital), but I did come back with some good impressions - which I did not get when I visited some of the "private" hospitals here in Singapore .

Technorati Tags: Alexandra Hospital,Singapore

HCL MiLeap - HCL News Release

http://www.hclinfosystems.in/news97.html

Pricing for Low Cost Notebooks is touching new lows :) This is a great sign and HCL as usual has taken the lead in addressing this market opportunity. 

Price is obviously the selling point here.  When this price point hits new users- they are bound to be enticed. But that is just part of the story.  These users - if they are newbies in the computer world, are bound to be a "bit disappointed" (sic!) at the lack of features that these first generation notebooks come with.  

That could have a bigger impact in the longer run & the companies coming out with the Ultra Low Cost PC's risk hitting a bump by turning off a number of new users who may be buying a "PC" for the first time.   I wonder if anyone (Gartner/ others?) are thinking about doing a customer survey to track the user satisfaction. 

Chinese Blogger beaten to death!

I guess we have a lot to be thankful for. 

A Chinese blogger has been beaten to death by Government authorities for the crime of attempting to record a protest on his mobile phone.

When Wei was present at some sort of confrontation or protest by local villages against municipal authorities when more than 50 municipal inspectors turned on him, attacking him for five minutes.

According to CNN, the killing has sparked outrage in China, “with thousands expressing outrage in Chinese Internet chat rooms, often the only outlet for public criticism of the government.”

The Chinese Government has moved swiftly to detain those involved, arresting 24 municipal inspectors whilst investigating more than 100 others in relation to the incident. Notably (for China) the story was published by the official state news service Xinhua, in what is believed to be an attempt to head off dissent over the mater by demonstrating that the Chinese Government does not condone those involved in the beating.

Project Shiksha - Terrific results!

I read this article earlier today and I thought this was one of more the most impactful work Microsoft has done in India ( I know there are a lot more such initiatives which have been done by MS). 200,000 teachers in India trained - who have in turn trained 10 Million- those are BIG numbers.  

I was recently reading a book called "The Elephant & the Dragon" by Robyn Meredith.  Well researched, it had a lot of information on what China & India are doing and how they have reached the tipping point & are poised to become the powers of tomorrow.  What also stuck me was the way China was moving faster and faster than India- because of its Communist Government and their implementation of policies.  India on the other hand struggles at different levels because of its politics & internal issues. 

Coming back to the original point - What struck me in this article - was the comment from the Free Software Foundation, who apparently compared this to a Cigarette manufacturer handing out free samples of cigarettes.  It got me thinking on what exactly does this Agency do and what have they done that makes the MS effort like that of a cigarette company.  Education - cigarettes- the connection misses me- but then, maybe I am just slow :)

I searched the net and came to their site. I looked for some idea on what they have given/ what they have - after all it is the "FREE software foundation".. and this is what I saw.   So the gist of the list of "free software" they have listed includes all of 23 software (this includes utilities & libraries).  To me this reeks of a anti-Microsoft tirade as opposed to objecting to something that genuinely requires help.

This is the ailment that affects India. Some people forget a good cause and the results that it drove.  I am sure Microsoft, notwithstanding, its positioning by the Linux players, has done more good than what many company together have achieved.   I don't say this because I work in Microsoft, but I genuinely believe this company has done a LOT to change the lot of the people in India - and the other parts of the world.

Give due credit where it is due.  Comments like are upsetting because it reflects the lack of depth in many organizations who hide behind the "freedom of speech" to just condemn any good.  All without really doing much for the people who need it the most.   

http://www.gnu.org.in/fsdirectory

 

Microsoft has trained 200,000 teachers in India on the use of computers, ahead of its original target to train 80,000 teachers in the country during the five-year period ending December this year, it said.

The company introduced the program, called project Shiksha, in 2003 with the objective of raising the computer literacy of Indian teachers and students in government-run schools. The 200,000 teachers trained so far have in turn trained about 10 million students, a spokeswoman for Microsoft India said on Monday.

The moves by Microsoft to offer free or subsidized software in India have however come in for criticism from the Free Software Foundation, which compared Microsoft's philanthropy to that of a cigarette manufacturer handing out free samples of cigarettes to students.

The communist-run state of Kerala in south India is actively promoting open-source software in schools, but most other states and the federal government are beneficiaries of Microsoft's programs.

Microsoft works with state governments to help teachers use its technology in school administrations and also to include it in their curriculum and teaching methods, she said. While the state governments provide the classrooms, Microsoft provides the hardware and software, and a team of trainers for the teachers.

Although the company has reached its training target, it's not stopping the program yet. It did not say how many more teachers and students it plans to cover under the program, though.

The company has introduced low-cost, starter editions of its Vista operating system, as well as local language versions of its Office suite to target both the academic and e-governance markets.

Technorati Tags: India Free Software Project,Microsoft,Project Shiksha

NComputing - $75 "PC's" based on Virtualization Technology

http://venturebeat.com/2008/01/13/ncomputing-raises-28m-to-spread-cheap-computers-to-poor/

Yet another "Ultra Low Cost" Solution for the emerging market segments & for Education solutions .  Unlike the other PC's like OLPC, CMPC etc, which are based on their individual architecture, this is based on a Client Model and designed on Virtualization.    This is a hot new area, and a terrific solution to bringing down the cost of ownership. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consider these price points -

1. US$75 for the cost of a device

2. Resellers will make 10%

3. Cost of the machine is around $11.

My take?

- This may be the beginning of the model for the Virtualization technology moving into the Low End of the pyramid. 

- This will entail more and more opportunities as the business model evolves.  

How will this end?

- Any  new technology  needs the ecosystem to develop. At these costs, forget about having an organization selling these products.  This will need to be in the domain of partners who will drive this.

- Solutions need to evolve for this - and this demands new licensing to sell the software.

- Many software vendors are beginning to explore this model - but it also affects their current revenue stream in a big way.  It will therefore take some time before they fall in line & put their maximum effort. 

In my view, this is a good evolution - and, it is just that.  It will take a few more iterations, as the entire ecosystem evolves & till then, these are good test studies/ cases. 

Technorati Tags: NComputing

Mindmaps

 

This is a mindmap that Ryna made earlier last year. Was just cleaning my computer when chanced upon this mindmap.  Mindmaps are a great way of capturing notes & remembering them. I will update these mindmaps for books I read.

Part of my 2008 goals is to get certified by the Buzan Institute as a certied Buzan Trainer. Let us see how that goes amongst all the things that I have identified as go-do's for this year.

Technorati Tags: Mindmaps,Buzan

Bhagavada Gita – One of the best lessons to learn

 

In today's otherwise busy world, here is something that I read, that brought a level of perspective rarely achieved.

 

Why do you worry ? Why are you scared ?
Whatever happened, it happened for good.
What is happening, is also happening for good.
Whatever will happen, that too will be for good.
What have you lost for which you weep?
What did you bring with you, which you have lost?
What did you produce, which has perished?
You did not bring anything when you were born.
Whatever you have, you have received from Him.
Whatever you will give, you will give to Him.
You came empty handed and you will go the same way.
Don't be remorseful about the past , nor worry about the future. The present is before you .
What is yours today was someone else's yesterday and It would be someone else's the day after. You may think all of yours is for you to keep. This is the main cause of the sorrow.
Change is the nature of life. Remove the thought "Mine and yours" and "Little and big" from your mind. Then everything is yours and you belong to everyone.
Then what are you? surrender yourself to the higher power, the only source of your strength.
He who realizes this will be free from fear, worry and emotion.

Questions around Double Amputee running against world class able-bodies athletes

Questions around Double Amputee running against world class able-bodies athletes

I was amazed while reading this article earlier today. Amazed at this person who has the gumption and the drive to achieve what is otherwise an impossible task for many - let alone run- many don't attempt to walk if they lose both their legs. Amazed at the sheer hypocrisy of the people who complain about "unfairness". I cant get over the fact that many of the best known sportspeople in the baseball games build their muscles by pumping themselves with harmones - and go on to smash records- and you have people jumping over themselves to wish them well. In that crowd, one man who has taken on his own nemesis & managed to reach a stage where he can at least stand together with the world's best- needs to be acknowledged & respected. I respect him for what he has done! Way to Go.

Global Growth & changes

Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal. India growing at 9.4% and on the same article, indicates US logging its slowest expansion in 5 years! Times have really changed. I remember a joke that circulated in the internet in the early 2000's where we viewed a world where the US folks would undergo what Indian underwent to get a visa to the US(Wait in the road to get into the US Consulate etc.). Though, I never believed it possible, I am beginning to think that it is a possiblity :) Read another article where it said there would be a requirement of around 100K foreigners to work in India.

Way to go India.

Someone do something about the Road and Traffic!!!! I was in Bangalore for a day and almost missed my flight because of being stuck in the traffic for 3 hours!!! No infrastructure = no growth!

Away & Back

Interesting article that I saw in the Economic Times. The limits to which the Governments go today to attract companies. There was a time when you had Governments who would go out of the way to woo Foreign Investments. Now it is investment from Indian companies itself - anything to be part of the Indian Growth Engine - IT :)

The new Big Boy in IT?

I read this article with great interest. HP is going to end this year at around $100 Billion… What a turnaround for this company! Interesting also would be that it makes HP the BIGGEST IT company , taking over from IBM, the defacto leader in the Industry… Now that is something for a company everyone thought had lost its way.. (remember HP=Printer company… ). The Compaq purchase WAS worth it. On a personal note though, the HP Smartphone I have, is a dummy!!! (a piece of brick, as I like to call it!).

The news article: HP reported a great quarter Wednesday. Revenue jumped 13 percent, to $25.5 billion, helped by tremendous sales in industry-standard servers, PCs, and the hot laptop market. HP forecast revenue to increase to $100.5 billion to $100.9 billion for its fiscal year, ending Oct. 31. The prior forecast was $98 billion to $99 billion. If it hits its new revenue target, it would be approximately a 9 percent increase over its 2006 revenue. Most companies HP's size are expected to grow at 6 percent at the most.

Offshore Model in India evolving

I read this article in Infoworld with interest. This is from IDG… What this article does not necessarily address is that Indian Outsourcing Industry is also at a crossroad now. The salary structures in India has reached levels, where it makes it expensive to outsource to India on pure cost basis. Some companies like TCS and Infosys, have already started thinking ahead, and they are proactively opening up outsourcing/development centre (call it what you will), in other "emerging" countries – like Eastern Europe or even China ("Emerging" for Development related work). NOW, that is an interesting take on the state of the business. Imagine, a company sitting in Europe, outsources work to a company in India, which actually does many of the work out of East Europe – which could be just next door!!! J Here is the article… a snapshot of it. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (InfoWorld) - Foreign companies aiming to take advantage of India's less-expensive IT and back-office employees often take one of two routes -- they set up their own operations in the country, commonly referred to as "captive centers," or they outsource work. But new market research suggests there are cost benefits to turning over software development or business processes to an outsourcer rather than setting up a subsidiary. Forrester Research Inc. found that hidden costs raise the baseline expense per person per month at a subsidiary to $4,944, compared to the baseline cost of $4,231 per person per month to hire an outsourcer. A number of companies are shutting down their captive centers and turning to outsourcers, said Sudin Apte, senior analyst and country head for India for Forrester. "Captives centers run as cost-centers and cannot be as competitive as a vendor offering services," Apte said. The size of the captive center also matters. "My experience suggests that generally the minimum economic size for a captive operation is about 1,000 staff," said Siddharth Pai, a partner at outsourcing consultancy firm Technology Partners International in Houston. A smaller staff means the expenses of real estate, infrastructure, and other overhead keep the cost per person at levels too high to appeal to the parent company, he added. More than 60 percent of the captive centers in India are struggling with escalating staff attrition and costs, according to Apte. Most of these centers have been set up with the expectation that they can do the work more cheaply than outsourcers as they will not be paying vendor margins. Money saved on the outsourcer's margins is outweighed by the inefficiency of the captive operation, he added. Because they usually don't do leading-edge work, subsidiaries spend more than outsourcers to attract and retain staff, according to Forrester. Conversely, outsourcers provide staff growth opportunities and the chance to work on a variety of projects from various customers, Apte said.

 

Microsoft

Microsoft has at last started its upward spiral. Nothing but a ton of innovation to a market that just does not reward innovation- the hard work begins to pay off… Way to go, MS.

 
 

 
 

Cambodia Visit

First trip to Cambodia. It was a very interesting trip. Considering what people had told me about it.

"Dirty, no good roads, poor country, no infrastructure, unsafe, dangerous" etc. etc.

With that background, I went in with a bit of trepidation. And it turned out to be one of the more pleasant surprises for me. I landed at the airport expecting it to be some old building and was absolutely stunned to see a well designed albeit small, airport which was on par and in most cases better than many of the airports in the Region. The city was impressive considering what my mental picture of the city was. Well planned and people who mostly were very friendly. The roads were good! (so much for "mud roads"). I went out for dinner with a couple and the restaurants were good, well organized (along the river), and mostly looked safe J

What I was most impressed with, was the SIZE of the houses! I just cant get over it. They were HUGE houses, and more interesting- almost all of them COVERED with Metallic posts to avoid thieves (was that the "safety" issue everyone spoke about?).

For a country with such a painful history, the people looked at peace with themselves, and helped where they could.

Most understood English and spoke it much better than the Vietnamese do.

All in all a memorable trip which I enjoyed and I hope to go back – this time to see the Angkor Wat temples.

Here are some snaps.. Yeah, the traffic was a challenge J

Robo Repo – Car Buyers Beware

This came in Business Week – May issue

"Car buyers with lousy credit have a new digital rep man to worry about. Sekurus, a Temecula technology firm, is racking up sales of its On Time device, a $250 under-dash gadget that disables a car's starter if the owner falls behind on loan payments. Its main customers are car dealers who cater to subprime borrowers! "

This to me was very interesting news. A reminder service is great –but something that disables the owners car, is something quite something. Interesting are these times- when we get technology supporting us for the oddest things… what next? If you default on your home loans, the doors don't open anymore?

Another thought – does it affect the equity of this brand?

The Trusted Advisor – by David H Maister

Yet another business classic! Sometimes, a lot of effort in managing a business relationship (or even a personal relationship) – ends with limited results. And as in most other things in life, this also seems to have an equation that goes to solve our problems J

This book was a suggested reading by a Trainer who took a class for me earlier this year! And one thing that made me sit up & think real hard was the following equation:

T= (C+R+I)/S

Where T= Trust Factor

C= Credibility

R= Reliability

I=Intimacy

And most importantly S= Self Orientation

And after some introspection, I find it to be Simple & Brilliant!

One can have a very high score on C,R & I and still be so full of themselves (S), that it lowers your trust factor. Go figure!

And some very good tips on how to build the trust factor to maximize what you do in life!

Worth Reading.

Great Article: When NOT to trust your gut

Have a look at this picture. What do you think? Are they similar or different?

My gut told me they are different!

I found this article from the Harvard Business School Professors very interesting & apt for many decisions we come to in life. To check out this article & the 4 steps they have recommended before you take any major decision here is the HBS Article

Getting Organized: Read this book: Organizing for Success : Kenneth Zeigler

Trying to read books on getting some good tips on becoming more & more effective and maximize your day.

I realized, that while I was doing everything I could to get more from my day (clear desk, keep diary, have task lists, follow through on activities etc.), I was still not very happy. Hence, this extra piece of work to start looking at books that could help me get to the next level.

Was this useful?

Absolutely.

I wanted to share some of the key learnings – which I thought was unique in this book…

Goals & Setting goals

• This is something every Personal Productivity guru talks about & this was the same. What was however, different, was the 9 step process to set goals. It made it a whole lot simpler to go through the steps.
  


• Again- not something that is not logical –but still something you may want to read & Try out.
  


• I am tempted to put those 9 steps – but just wary of the copyright issues related to that J
  

Daily,Weekly and the Master List

• The Master List was something totally new for me! I am used to working through the Daily Lists (Courtesy-Franklin) or the Weekly Lists (Courtesy Covey-Franklin)- but never looked at the Master List before. I tried it out and I find it to be a quite a unique and interesting concept. Does it work? Not sure – but testing & working on it. I find I can put a lot more into it. Developed a small excel sheet which I use to put my master list on – and can put dates into it as and when needed. Hopefully it will work out.
  

Veggie Principle

• A Different view of looking at the most difficult job!
  


• What was refreshing was to focus on 1 or 2 Veggies in a day and not more than that
  


• Know what the "veggie" is….
  


• I found this portion very useful!
  

The other elements were all ok & as per any other standard book you would find in the market – but these 3 key areas were, in my mind, unique & something which we can learn from.