October 2010 | Rs. 50
Vol 2 Issue 22 | A 9.9 Media Publication
November 2009
SPECIAL CHANNEL EDITION
Taiwan Calling
TAITRA’s brand meet with channel partners PAGE 10
Averting Disaster
What happens and what to do when a calamity strikes PAGE 20
Biz Intelligence
How it is transforming from an elite tool to a widely-used one PAGE 31
editorial
M&As: Right or Wrong?
J sanjay.gupta@9dot9.in
What do mergers mean for the companies involved, their customers and their business partners?
eff Bewkes, the chief exec of Time Warner, recently made the astounding admission that the merger of AOL with Time Warner was one of the biggest mistakes in corporate history. (Announced in 2000, it was one of the biggest mergers of all time, valued at a jaw-dropping $185 billion.) The two companies were demerged last year, and in 2002, Time Warner had to write down $99 billion in losses attributable to the merger. In an interview to The Daily Telegraph, Bewkes said his lesson from the whole process was that the recipe for success of any company is this: You have to know what you are. The words are full of impact and pack a lot of insight into what makes a company what it is. Still, the world of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) keeps on spinning, engulfing smaller companies into the fold of the big. With technology firms especially, when one looks at the heightened M&A activity in the past year or so, one wonders where all this vendor consolidation will stop. More pertinently, should there be a stop switch for M&As? And what do mergers mean for the companies involved, their customers and their business partners? There are several theories and explanations for acquisitions – some for and some against. Proponents say that M&As bring in economies of scale, cost savings, improved efficiencies and easy access to new markets or customers; detractors aver
that they stifle innovation, cause job losses and lead to erosion of choice for consumers. Like in most mother-of-all arguments, both sides have valid points. In the context of tech firms, we have seen that yesterday’s behemoth is often rendered less relevant or relegated to a puny role (Novell, SGI, for instance); the startup of a few years is today’s 800-pound gorilla (Google, Facebook); and today’s new kid on the block is either slated for future greatness or set to become hors d’oeuvre for the fat boys. In my opinion, as long as the wheel of innovation rolls on, allowing new companies to emerge and offer better solutions at compelling prices, there is nothing wrong with M&As. They serve as a useful vehicle for clearing up the roads clogged with too many companies. But if the acquisition-spree works up such a froth as to make only one or two companies terribly gargantuan (Microsoft; Coca-Cola and PepsiCo), it’s a cause of worry for everyone.
SANJAY GUPTA Editor Digit Channel Connect
sounding board sounding board October 2010 | Rs. 50
Vol 2 Issue 22 | A 9.9 Media Publication
November 2009
n
Rohit Verma, Director, R Square Consulting Services: “Many new technology companies do not have the expertise and the mindset to build large channel networks required in countries like India, China, Indonesia, etc. So they prefer the M&A route to be able to get closer to the customer.”
n
Manish Manocha, Director – Technology, F1 Infotech: “[Post-merger] The customer will have fewer choices while deciding on a solution. If the mergers are within the area of relevant technologies, the same vendor can support them. But in case of acquisitions, the vendor population goes down drastically.”
n
Forrester Analyst Andrew Jaquith in his blog: “Because the balance sheets of big potential acquirers like Symantec, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle et al are relatively healthy, we will likely continue to see additional M&A activity through the end of the next year and into Q1 2011.”
special chaNNel editioN
Taiwan Calling
TAITRA’s brand meet with channel partners Page 10
averting Disaster
What happens and what to do when a calamity strikes Page 20
Biz Intelligence
TAITRA’s brand meet with channel partners Page 31
Write to the Editor E-mail: editor@digitchannelconnect.com Snail Mail: The Editor, Digit Channel Connect, B-118, Sector 2, Noida 201301
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
2
OCTOBER 2010
contents OCTOBER 2010 Managing Director: Dr Pramath Raj Sinha Publishing Director: Vikas Gupta EDITORIAL Executive Editor: Sanjay Gupta Copy Editor: Akshay Kapoor Sr. Correspondents: Sandhya Malhotra (Delhi), Payal Pruthi (Bengaluru) DESIGN Sr. Creative Director: Jayan K Narayanan Art Director: Binesh Sreedharan Associate Art Director: Anil VK Manager Design: Chander Shekhar Sr. Visualisers: PC Anoop, Santosh Kushwaha Sr. Designers: Prasanth TR, Anil T, Anoop Verma & Joffy Jose Designer: Sristi Maurya Photographer: Jiten Gandhi
6
16
VIRTUALISATION UNLIMITED
Paul Maritz, CEO, VMware speaks about how VMware aims to rule the world in data centre automation and management space
26
WIRELESS BY CHOICE
Enterprises are going wire-free only with caution and restraint
8
10
Taiwan brands shared their success stories with channel partners at a recent meet
OTHERS
4
OCTOBER 2010
Published at:
EDITORIAL.......................................................... 02 TRENDS.............................................................. 11 TELEPRESENCE................................................... 18 DISASTER MANAGEMENT.................................. 20
FILE TRANSFER................................................... 25 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE................................... 31
advertisers index HP..................................Cover on cover, inside false cover Iomega............................................................Back Cover Nvidia..........................................................................IFC Canon......................................................................... IBC Rashi..............................................................................1 Compuage......................................................................3 iBall...........................................................................5,13 Fenda.............................................................................7 Jupiter..........................................................................17 Gigabyte.......................................................................19 Supertron......................................................................29 Sakri IT Solution............................................................33
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
CHANNEL CHAMPS Sr Coordinator Events: Rakesh Sequeira Events Executives: Pramod Jadhav, Johnson Noronha, Suyog Thakur Audience Dev Executives: Aparna Bobhate, Shilpa Surve
Published, Printed and Owned by Nine dot Nine Interactive Pvt Limited. Published and printed on their behalf by Kanak Ghosh.
IDENTITY MANAGEMENT................................... 24
TAIWAN CALLING
BRAND COMMUNICATION General Manager: Ankur Agarwal Asst Brand Manager: Arpita Ganguli
PRODUCTION & LOGISTICS Sr. GM Operations: Shivshankar M Hiremath Production Executive: Vilas Mhatre Logistics: MP Singh, Mohd. Ansari, Shashi Shekhar Singh
UNIFIED STORAGE
In the wake of an explosion of data, an easily managed unified storage platform is the need of the hour the hour
SALES & MARKETING VP Sales & Marketing: Navin Chand Singh (09971794688) National Manager - Events and Special Projects: Mahantesh Godi (09880436623) National Manager - Channels: Krishnadas Kurup (09322971866) Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai: Vinodh K (09740714817) Delhi: Lalit Arun (09582262959) Kolkata: Jayanta Bhattacharya (09331829284)
Nine dot Nine interactive Pvt Ltd Kakson House, A & B Wing, 2nd Floor,80 Sion Trombay Road, Chembur, Mumbai- 400071 INDIA.
Printed at: SilverPoint Press Pvt Ltd D- 107, MIDC, TTC Industrial Area, Nerul, Navi Mumbai- 400706 Editor: Anuradha Das Mathur Bunglow No. 725, Sector - 1 Shirvane, Nerul Navi Mumbai - 400706
COVER DESIGN: PRASANTH TR
vendor speak
“THERE ARE MORE APPS ON VIRTUALISED INFRASTRUCTURE THAN IN PHYSICAL” – Paul Maritz, CEO, VMware
Maritz speaks to Rahul Neel Mani about how VMware aims to rule the world in data centre automation and management space Q: What trends do you think the industry has witnessed to reach the stage virtualisation is in today?
The industry has witnessed three distinct stages to reach to the evolved stage of virtualisation. The first stage was when the industry tackled inefficient hardware in the data centre and brought in efficient hardware. The second stage was when the industry was looking forward to resiliency in the line of business applications. The third and more contemporary stage is when the industry looked for a fundamentally more agile environment to serve the needs of business. The industry saw a very interesting trend last year. IDC reports mentioned that it was the first time in the history that applications deployed on virtualised servers surpassed the applications deployed on physical servers. It is clear where the focus of action needs to be. The technology spans the globe and our customers range from the healthcare to dairy farms to the fashion industry. In the year 2010, more than 10 million virtual machines will be deployed worldwide - growing at 28% year on year. VMware already serves 190,000 customers around the world. This technology has touched the entire economy. Q: What will this tipping point mean to the industry?
There are interesting indications coming out from the developments
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
6
in the industry. There are now more applications on virtualised infrastructure than on physical. Now, the enterprises no longer require investing more in mediating hardware. In other words, this cost saved from the hardware is largely taken over by an entirely new layer of software that we call extended virtualisation. That extended virtualisation layer is not only mediating access with other resources like CPU, memory, storage, networking etc. It is this layer which is forming a new layer in the infrastructure. It is this layer which is increasingly becoming the focus of innovation in the industry. This is not only true for VMware but for the entire industry. Q: Virtualisation is great, but don’t you think there will be a huge challenge when it comes to security, governance and compliance?
It is an important aspect. But my answer to this is that there isn’t a single silver bullet to get to a perfect stage. We are playing our role by working with the industry and allowing them to take up the capabilities that are built and apply those in this new highly dynamic virtualised world. It was easier to keep a check on who came in and went out of the physical data centre. In the hybrid cloud environment, users won’t necessarily have a physical data centre. It can be quite fluid. We are working with various industry players to develop
OCTOBER 2010
In the year 2010, more than 10 million virtual machines will be deployed worldwide growing at 28% year on year. We are playing our role by working with the industry and allowing them to take up the capabilities that are built and apply those in this new highly dynamic virtualised world.
techniques to provide a secure and compliant environment. Q: Microsoft is catching up fast with you in this market. It claims to be leading the pack now. How would you defend that?
Just between VMware and Microsoft, there are many versions of Hypervisor – some of these are free and some are paid. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to count some and not the others, which brings a very different statistic on market share. If you go by the serious usage of Hypervisor in the businesses, we have the largest market share by any means. That being said, Microsoft is a company with enormous resources. They sense the same change as we do. They are increasingly shifting their capabilities to address the same issues as we are addressing. The key point here is that it is no longer about the hypervisor. It is about how you stitch all the resources in the data centre together into a coherent, usable, secure environment. That means, you have to be able to work with not just the traditional hypervisor technologies, but you have to coordinate storage, networking, security etc. VMware is no more a hypervisor company. If you want a hypervisor for free, we have one. We no longer make money by selling hypervisor. We make money by selling data centre automation and management.n Courtesy: CTO Forum
storage Unified Storage Solutions
Storing the Digital Universe In the wake of an explosion of data, an easily managed unified storage platform is the need of the hour TAD LEBECK
have a shortfall of around 35% if we tried to store every single piece of digital data created in 2009. This gap will only increase over time.
The growing need for Unified Storage Solutions
W
e are currently in the midst of a digital revolution that is changing the way we communicate, work and live, which in turn has had significant ramifications on how we produce, store and recall information, almost every bit of which is becoming digitized. Collectively, we are on pace to churn out 1.2 zettabytes (10 raised to the power of 21 bytes) of digital information in 2010, according to IDC. This is expected to grow to 35 zettabytes, or 35 trillion gigabytes, by 2020. Given this reality, it is critical that we have a reliable, cost effective, and scalable storage solution in the form of an easily managed unified storage platform.
Drowning in oceans of data The increase in data creation is
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
8
taking place at personal and enterprise levels. At a personal level, the rise of personal digital devices speaks volumes about the way we create and share personal data. Photos have moved from physical photo albums to things like smartphones and photo sharing websites. At an enterprise level, there is unprecedented growth in online transactions and services needing to be stored, secured and managed. With each item holding an accompanying description, photos, and customer data, there is a burgeoning need for robust and scalable storage solutions.
Insufficient storage We are creating so much digital content that we have already exceeded the amount of digital storage space available. In IDC’s estimates, we would
OCTOBER 2010
Traditional servers have become too expensive as a long term solution, especially when factoring in the costs of the equipment and software licenses, and also the need for management by a network administrator. In recent years, a new class of storage solutions which consolidates Network-Attached Storage (NAS) appliances and Storage Area Networks (SAN) has become readily available. Instead of multiple servers running on various platforms, these new storage appliances run on a single storage platform and provide enterprises with reliability, scalability, and ease-of-use tools to effectively manage their storage needs.
It is critical that we have a reliable, cost effective, and scalable storage solution in the form of an easily managed unified storage platform.
High reliability Given the growing dependence on digital information for business transactions, a single minute of downtime has direct revenue impact for a company. For a business like Taobao that processes all of its transactions via its website, losing one minute of uptime can cost the company $36,000, or roughly $2 million per hour. Taobao selected Huawei Symantec’s Oceanspace N8000 unified storage platform because of its active-active node configuration, which can survive single or multiple node failure through workload redistribution across a clustered solution. In addition, the N8000 can recover data almost
storage Unified Storage Solutions instantaneously through data snapshots. With these safeguards in place, companies can enjoy the assurance of 99.999% availability.
High scalability Enterprises also need to consider future business and data growth in their selection of storage solutions. For example, Shanghai Ocean University was looking to manage 100 terabytes of e-books and videos within its digital library on campus, while also planning ahead for its role as a supercomputing centre. With scalability and flexibility in mind, it chose a unified storage platform that is not only a high performance file serving solution, but is also capable of scalability up to15 petabytes in the future. Dynamic Storage Tiering (DST) within this platform also ensured the most efficient use of storage locations for the university’s data. DST enables data to dynamically move to different storage tiers depending on usage needs. For example, frequently accessed data would be stored on tierone servers which consist of faster disks, while less volatile data resides on
tier-two or three servers. Because most organisations access only 10% of their data frequently, 90% of the university’s library data would be redirected to the less expensive storage using DST technology, which is expected to bring more than $700,000 in savings.
High performance The constant demand for data is putting a strain on storage system performance. To meet this demand, there is a need for even utilization across multiple nodes within a single storage system. A unified storage system addresses this by enabling every NAS engine node to share the same storage pool simultaneously. In addition, systems like N8500 make it possible for multiple NAS engines to read and write the same document simultaneously, thus improving response time and performance in cases where many users are trying to access a single document.
Management simplicity While technologies are becoming more sophisticated, the management of these technologies has to be
New storage appliances run on a single storage platform and provide enterprises with reliability, scalability, and ease-ofuse tools to effectively manage their storage needs.
simple and intuitive. Unified storage systems offer centralized management tools that are easy-to-use and access, whether through a GUI application or a web interface. System administrators can use these management tools to set notification alerts via multiple communications mechanisms in the case of a system failure. Data backups can be configured and monitored for success and failures.
Conclusion We are moving into a digital universe of unfathomable amounts of content. For enterprises, the demand for innovative storage solutions will only increase with time and it will be increasingly important for these solutions to be highly reliable, scalable, and simple to manage. Unified storage platforms can adapt to an enterprise’s changing business needs and provide it with the peace of mind to focus on improving the business.n Tad Lebeck is CTO - Huawei Symantec Technologies Co. Ltd.
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
9
OCTOBER 2010
event
(From left) Shashikant Satbhai, President, CMDA; Ketan Patel, President, TAIT; Champakraj Gurjar, Director, TAIT; Paul Chen, Director, Taiwan World Trade Centre Liaison Office in Mumbai; Alex Huang, GM – System Business Group, Asus India; Varun Singh, Senior Manager – Marcom, BenQ India; Gary Yang, MD, D-Link India; and Hemant Naik, VP, CMDA
Taiwan Calling Taiwan brands shared their success stories with channel partners at a recent meet
T
aiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA)’s brand forum concluded successfully in Mumbai on September 28, with over 100 key channel members attending the event. Held in association with Business Standard and Digit Channel Connect, the highlight of the event was a panel discussion titled ‘Destination Taiwan – Reliable, Innovative and Worthy’. The theme for the event was Excellent Lifestyles. Present on the occasion were Ketan Patel, President, Trade Association of Information Technology (TAIT), Mumbai; TAIT directors Champakraj Gurjar and Praveen Dhoka; Shashikant Satbhai, President, Computer
Media Dealers Association (CMDA), Pune; Yogesh Godbole, Secretary, CMDA; Paul Chen, Director, Taiwan World Trade Centre Liaison Office in Mumbai (which represents TAITRA); Gary Yang, Managing Director, D-Link India; Jayesh Kotak, Vice President, D-Link India; Alex Huang, General Manager – System Business Group, Asus India; and Varun Singh, Senior Manager – Marcom, BenQ India, among others. The panel discussion, which was moderated by Sanjay Gupta, Editor, Digit Channel Connect, had Gary Yang, Varun Singh and Alex Huang participating as panellists. The discussion highlighted Taiwan’s journey into the world of technology business
(From left) Varun Singh of BenQ, Alex Huang of Asus, Gary Yang of D-Link and Sanjay Gupta (moderator) of DCC during the panel discussion
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
10
OCTOBER 2010
many decades back as a manufacturing hub for components and saw the panellists recount their own brand stories. Today, Taiwan is increasingly known as the birthplace of some of the top-selling brands and a hotbed of technology innovation. It accounts for three-fourths of the world’s production of PCs, half of the global production of LCDs, a quarter of its semiconductors and as much as a fifth of all the mobile phones sold worldwide. Taiwan brands are also emerging as among the fastest-growing lifestyle brands for consumers everywhere. The panellists stressed on the need to have a differentiation for their brands in the consumer’s mind to match their aspirations. They also spoke about building extensive service and support networks in association with their partners. Also, the role of the channel partners in helping a brand succeed in the market was highlighted in the discussion. Since channel is still the dominant force through which consumers come in contact with IT products, the panellists argued that they can make them aware of the distinct advantages of each brand. The discussion was followed by a Q&A session in which partners put up their queries on service support, margins and the looming threat from LFRs (Large Format Retail stores).n editor@digitchannelconnect.com
trends
BUSINESS ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Kaspersky Lab scouts for enterprise channel partners
A
fter achieving a strong position in consumers and retail security products, Kaspersky Lab is now gearing up for the enterprise segment. Having a negligible presence in the enterprise segment in India, the company is now planning to bring new suite of end to end security products by adding new versions and updating the existing range of products, particularly for medium and large enterprises. Besides this, the company is also putting efforts to attain the No.1 position in retail products by the end of 2011. Within this year, Kaspersky has increased its focus on the Indian market. The company has set up its direct office in Hyderabad. Moreover, to go more closer to its partners, the company has kicked off the Kaspersky Star Partner Programme recently, catering to Indian channel partners at large. Elaborating more on Kapersky Star Partner Programme, Suk Ling Gun, Managing Director (South Asia), Kaspersksy Lab India says, “Launching of the partner programme has tremendously picked up our Indian business. Comparing with last year’s sales figures, the new programme has superseded the current month’s sales figures. Within two months, we have added 16 platinum partners, 17 gold partners and other silver partners or registered partners.” Moreover, the company has two national distributors including Pune based Sakri IT Solutions for
Presents
retail products and Zoom Technologies for corporate products. Similarly, the company is planning to build its channel distribution for its enterprise products. “As of now, we are looking for enterprise partners, but by the end of 2010, we will be ready with our strategies for enterprise business. Essentially, we are looking for partners who are strong in terms of technical knowledge and also capable of offering pre and post service to large customers,” informs Jagannath Patnaik, Director, Channel Sales, Kaspersky Lab India. With its range of enterprise solutions, Kaspersaky will be offering solutions for different types of operating software, be it Mac, Microsoft, Linux, etc. The new version of products will allow the company to Suk Ling Gun venture into cloud computing, hosted, thin clients, visualisation and Vmware domain, etc. “All our enterprise products will be available under Kaspersky Open Space Security (KOSO). Currently, we are working on developing tailor made solutions, specific to the enterprise need. On the retail products, we have launched Internet Security 2011. However, we will take another three years to introduce Kaspersky Pure retail products in the open market, Nevertheless, Indian customers can get it through online,” says Gun. n Sandhya Malhotra
C
Range of Softwares to Suit Every Need 0/-*
4,50
Basic Edition
Accounting, Inventory, Billing, VAT, Service Tax, Interest Calculation, Bank Re-conciliation ... 0/-*
7,20
Standard Edition All features in Basic Edition + TDS, POS Billing, Challan, Order Processing, PDC Handling, Brokerage, Royalty, Item Serial No. Tracking, Batch-wise Inventory ... /-*
00 10,8
Premium Edition
All features in Standard Edition + Production, Bill of Material, Excise Registers (Mfg. / Trading) 00/-
13,5
*
Enterprise Edition All features in Premium Edition + Voucher / Masters Approval, In-built Message Centre
Creative unveils new Zen portable media players reative Technologies has announced the release of the Creative Zen X-Fi Style and the Creative Zen Style series of portable media players. The built-in X-Fi technology in the new players
®
* Single-User • CST / VAT extra • Multi-User & Remote Access variants also available.
restores music tracks to replace audio quality lost in compression. The Creative Zen X-Fi Style features a wide range of video and audio format support, making it a full-fledged portable media player. The Creative Zen Style series of portable media players comprises the Creative Zen Style 100 and Creative Zen Style 300. The Creative Zen Style 300 has all the features of the Creative ZEN Style 100 and is further enhanced with a built-in speaker and FM radio. The Creative Zen X-Fi Style is available at the suggested retail prices of Rs.6,999 (8GB), and Rs.8,999 (16GB). The Creative ZEN Style 300 is available at the suggested retail prices of Rs.4,199 (4GB), and Rs.5,499 (16GB). The Creative Zen Style Series and Zen X-Fi Style will be available at retail stores soon. n
Over 4 Lakh Users To locate the Channel Partner nearest to you, visit us at www.busy.in
DELHI
Ph: 011 - 27375062 / 6063 / 7064 093122-39487 • sales@busy.in
MUMBAI
Ph: 022 - 26865415 / 16 / 17 093238-07358 • saurabh@busy.in
KOLKATA
Ph: 033 - 24939090 093312-99699 • kolkata@busy.in
Resellers Enquiries Solicited
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
11
OCTOBER 2010
trends B. Hari replaces Alok Garodia as COMPASS President for 2010-11
K
olkata -based Computer Association of Eastern India (COMPASS), has elected a new team at the recently held elections during the Annual General Meeting on September 28th, 2010. As per the results, B. Hari, MD and CEO of Ontrack Systems, has taken over as President of COMPASS for the year 2010-2011. Hari has replaced Alok Garodia, who will be continuing in the association as a immediate Past President of the association. The new team has five office bearers and other executive committee members. According to Hari, “I have been involved with COMPASS since its inception and have seen how the association has grown in stature over the years. In my new role, I have set aggressive plans for the betterment of the IT channel. Going forward, my first objective is to increase the membership of COMPASS from 300 to 600 members, followed by initiating various campaigns for members, such as anti piracy, etc.” Hari said that COMPASS will be taking an active stand to resolve pending payment issues with distributors and vendors. Last but not the least, it will strengthen its rela-
tionship with all the other associations in eastern region and principal companies by professionalising the back office of COMPASS in a way that quality work and projects in the interest of the members can be undertaken. Though majority of COMPASS members are from Kolkata,West Bengal, the association now plans to seek representatives from different local associations and bring them together to make a large association across the eastern part of India. “We will be a new team in the coming days, and then, we will pen down our road map for 2010-2011,” said Hari. Other office bearers who were elected during the Annual General Meeting are: Vice President - Gopal Pansari from Rashi Peripherals, Secretary - Rajiv K Podder, Computer Center Treasurer Rajen Keshan from Cine Photographic Agencies, Joint Secretary - Manoj Jain from Shiva Technologies, Immediate Past President - Alok Garodia from Jupiter International. n Sandhya Malhotra
HCL appoints Harsh Chitale as CEO
H
CL Infosystems has announced the appointment of Harsh Chitale as Chief Executive Officer post the selection process undertaken by the Nominations Committee of the Board. Based in Noida, Chitale will take over the position of CEO from Ajai Harsh Chitale Chowdhry who will continue to be the Chairman. As per the company, Chitale has rich business management experience in both Indian and global companies. He has handled various large system integration and lifecycle services businesses. Chitale moves to HCL Infosystems from Honeywell Process Solutions, where he led the business for the North and South America region; prior to which, he was responsible for strategy and global marketing for Honeywell Process Solutions. While at Honeywell, Harsh played a leading role in driving three strategic acquisitions of Honeywell Process Solutions in Europe and Canada. According to Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman, HCL Infosystems, “Harsh will focus on enhancing our presence, strengthening our system integration and services offering and capacity building. I wish Harsh the very best and I am confident he will take HCL Infosystems to its next level of development, expansion and growth.” n
HP, TAIT hope to resolve differences just ahead of festive season
K
ey representatives of TAIT and HP, including HP’s President Sunil Dutt, met in Mumbai recently and had discussions on the business moving forward. The discussions were very productive and fruitful for both TAIT and HP. HP and TAIT have renewed the resolve to work together for the growth of the industry, for all stake holders in the industry and towards working for the benefits of the channel partners and customers in a collaborative manner as in the past. TAIT appreciates the present channel distribution policy of HP, which is meant to increase the profitability of the channel partners, increase the transparency of doing business and make the distribution partners accountable for growth and development of the retail channel partners in the industry. TAIT has pursued similar objectives all
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
12
OCTOBER 2010
along and welcomes this intent. HP shared with TAIT that while it follows an inclusive approach for all channel partners and cannot be restrictive, it appreciates the concerns raised by TAIT regarding finding opportunities for existing IT partners for distribution. HP has assured all TAIT representatives that in the next expansion opportunity in distribution partners, which is planned for October 2010, HP will first consider the suggestions of TAIT for appointment of (TWO) new distribution partners planned, and these will be appointed from what has traditionally been called the IT Channel, provided that they meet all evaluation criteria of selection. TAIT and HP recognize the fact that products in IT, telecom and consumer electronics are converging and that there will be enough and more opportunities of growth for all channel partners in the future.
Even for the 1st tier distribution, both HP and TAIT have agreed to mutually find distribution partners again preferably from the traditional IT channel for the new product lines and new categories that HP will be introducing and getting into in the months to come. HP is also very supportive of activities planned by TAIT for the growth of the channel partners business in the coming festival season and beyond, and is very keen to support the same. HP and TAIT categorically stated that they look forward to working closely together in a collaborative way for driving growth. In view of the same and in the interests of working together for maximizing the benefits for all channel partners in the coming festival season, TAIT has asked all its member partners to wholeheartedly support HP’s products with immediate effect and work together for the best interests of the channel partners and the brand. n
trends HCL launches ‘Own a PC’ programme for Indian paramilitary forces
H
CL Infosystems has announced an initiative to provide HCL desktops and laptops at special discounted prices exclusively for the para-
Rajender Kumar (Right), Executive VP, HCL Infosystems giving away an HCL laptop to an official from the Paramilitary forces.
military forces of India. This is a project undertaken by HCL Infosystems to pay tribute to the hardship and solidarity of the para military soldiers. Commenting on the occasion, J V Ramamurthy, President & COO, HCL Infosystems said, “Today, computers have become one of the most essential requirements for every individual, and we are proud to be associated with the largest para military force of the world.” Under this scheme, HCL
Infosystems is offering computers at special prices with easy installment facility. M o r e ove r, t h e c o m p a ny wo u l d a l s o p r ov i d e 2 4 x 7 helpline and product lifetime service support and doorstep delivery of the product at any locations in the country. State Bank of India (SBI) will be supporting the project by providing easy finance options and hassle-free documentation on purchase of HCL personal computers through express credit loans. n
Lenovo extends retail footprint in India
L
enovo India has embarked on a retail expansion across the country to tap into India’s key tier 3, 4, 5 cities/towns and plans to connect deeper with its customers. As part of this nationwide expansion, Lenovo recently inaugurated its first set of LES ‘Lite’ stores in Bihar. LES Lite is a smaller version of Lenovo Exclusive Stores (LES), typically around 150-250 square feet in size and is aimed at helping the company to penetrate deeper into tier 3, 4 and 5 markets. LES Lite stores will showcase the entire range of Lenovo’s consumer products - namely notebooks, netbooks, desktops and all-in-ones, to address the growing computing needs of consumers in the state. The launch of four new stores in Bihar is a
first step towards fortifying the company’s retail presence in the state and marks the first phase of the expansion of LES Lite stores for Lenovo. Announcing the company’s ambitious retail plans, Alex Li, Vice President, HSB (Home and SMB), Lenovo India, said, “LES Lite stores will help us connect with our consumers across the length and breadth of India, particularly in the upcountry markets. We plan to open around 400 LES Lite stores across key upcountry markets by the end of FY 2010-11. LES Lite stores will showcase the entire range of Lenovo’s consumer product range under one roof.” “The opening of our four LES Lite format stores further reinforces our commitment to Bihar’s dynamic PC market,” Li added. n
Dell launches new Android-based tablet
D
ell has announced the launch of the Dell Streak i n I n d i a , wh i c h i s a 5-inch Android-based tablet, combining popular features of a smartphone and a tablet. Launched in association with Qualcomm and Tata Docomo, the
Dell Streak is aimed at providing people “on-the-go” entertainment, social connection, and navigation experience. As per the company, the Dell Streak is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8250 mobile processor, and is a compact and powerful companion for people who want to access their digital lives on the go. The 5-inch screen is ideal for accessing thousands of Android market widgets, games and applications. Built-in 3G HSUPA, wi-fi and bluetooth connectivity makes multitasking quite convenient and
enables easy access for downloading and listening to music, updating social networking status in real-time, and staying connected to friends and family through e-mail, text, IM, and voice calls all at the same time. The tablet’s 5-inch screen is large enough to present web pages in their natural form and create a comfortable viewing experience. Priced at Rs.34,990, Dell Streak will be available for pre-booking at all Dell Exclusive stores, Tata Docomo ‘Dive In’ centers and authorized retailers. n
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
13
OCTOBER 2010
trends Dell launches new Inspiron R laptops
D
ell has announced the launch of its wireless entertainment solution featuring its new line of Inspiron R series laptops. The solution, featuring Intel Wireless Display technology, enables users to view personal and online content from their laptop on the big screen without the need for cables. The new range is available in two display sizes, 14 and 15-inch models that fit perfectly in a messenger bag to home or hostel room.
Kishore Badami to join Cisco as Director of Marketing
H
aving named Scott Brown as its new Vice President of Worldwide Distribution a few days back, Cisco India has now brought in a series of changes to its marketing team as well. Cisco would soon be announcing the ap p o i n t m e n t o f N a n d Kishore Badami as Director Marketing. Badami, who was earlier the VP Global Marketing at Net Magic and before that at Citrix, will succeed Amit Sinha Roy who earlier occupied the position. Amit, who has been with Cisco for four years now, will move on to a different role within the organisation. n Payal Pruthi
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
14
As per the company, the range offers smooth video playback, surround sound and a built-in webcam. Using the built- in Intel Wireless Display technology and an external Netgear Push2TV adaptor, the new laptop creates a Personal Area Network (PAN) for a one-time hassle-free set up. Customers can get content from their hard disk, home network, or the internet and immediately display it wirelessly on a nearby large screen TV. “A simple, convenient way to share content on personal devices with a larger audience has been a need for some time now. With the Dell Inspiron R laptops, users can display content to the entire family or friends using Intel Wireless Display to seamlessly transfer data between their laptop and home entertainment system. This is a part of our customer solution strategy, to address the needs of specific customer segments with technology that offers great value,” said Mahesh Bhalla, Executive Director and General Manager, Consumer, Dell India. Available in a selection of four vibrant colours - obsidian black, peacock blue, tomato red and lotus pink colours with the integrated Intel Wireless Display kit, the Dell Inspiron 14R is available for Rs.60,000 and the Dell Inspiron 15R is available for Rs.52,800, with a 1 year complete cover warranty at Dell exclusive stores, Croma and authorized retailers. n
Logitech launches K200 keyboard
L
ogitech has unveiled the Logitech Keyboard K200, which has features like instant access to play/pause, volume, the internet, e-mail and more. As per the company, the keyboard has a thin profile, with the bold, bright white characters making the keys easier to read. The Logitech keyboard K200 can withstand 5 million keystrokes and its design lets the liquid drain out of the keyboard, making it spill resistant. “The Logitech Keyboard K200 lets you do more, faster with one-touch controls for instant access.
With this keyboard, there is no need to navigate to launch your e-mail or calculator, or put your computer to sleep— you will get instant access right from your keyboard. Logitech Keyboard K200’s thin but sturdy design makes it a perfect choice for users who expect style, comfort and durability in one single package.” said Subrotah Biswas, Country Manager- India & South West Asia. The Logitech K200 will be available in India for a recommended retail price of Rs.595. It will be distributed by Neoteric and Ingram Micro. n
Introductions from Rashi event completes first leg
R
ashi Peripherals has completed the first leg of the ongoing event “Introductions from Rashi” in northern and western parts of the country. The western leg kickstarted at Rajkot, followed by Indore, Raipur, and ended at Nagpur. The northern phase started off at Jaipur, covering Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Chandigarh, before ending at Ludhiana.
OCTOBER 2010
The initial phase saw over 100 partners attending the event at most of the locations, with Jaipur getting a crowd of over 150 partners. Many locations saw spot offers being announced by the participating partners, especially on ECS and Targus range of products. Ken Cheng, Dept. Manager, Pan India Sales Dept. Channel Business Unit, ECS, Sandesh
Shetty from Targus, and Ankur Agarwal from ASUS traveled along with the Rashi teams to all the locations. Till now, the event has covered 10 cities and is scheduled to start the second phase in October from Vijaywada and will culminate in Mangalore, covering southern and eastern states. n
trends Ruckus CEO makes it to GTB Power100 list
R
uckus Wireless has announced that its President and CEO, Selina Lo, has been named by Global Telecoms Business as one of the 100 most powerful people in the telecoms industry worldwide. The GTB Power100 list was compiled from nominations by worldwide readers of Global Telecoms Business — including CEOs, CFOs and other senior executives of the world’s major operators, telecoms vendors and indusSelina Lo try organisations. Lo debuted on the Global Telecoms Business’ annual list – the GTB Power100 – which was revealed both on the Global Telecoms Business website and in its magazine. Known for her ability to create new markets, innovate new technology and capitalize on emerging trends, Lo has more than 20 years of experience in the networking and communications industries. She has pioneered smarter Wi-Fi systems to telecom providers around the world such as AT&T, Deutsche Telecom, Swisscom, Belgacom, PCCW, Telus, Telenor and many others. As per the company, Lo has turned the unlicensed spectrum into reliable transport for global telecoms. She is now innovating technology to help mobile operators solve new infrastructure problems caused by the overload of data traffic hitting 3G networks everywhere. n
Abacus launches new range of flash drives
A
b a c u s Peripherals, one of the leading IT hardware distributors and the brand owners of Zion memory modules, have launched their new range of flash drives - The IQ Pro. One of the unique features about the IQ Pro flash drive is that the USB connector is in sync with the cap. When the cap is rotated, the USB connector comes out and can be easily connected with the choice of the user’s gadget. This makes the IQ Pro flash drive quite reliable and safe from external damages. The IQ Pro flash drive is available in a range of capacities right from 2GB up to 64GB and also in a wide variety of colours. It is backed by three-year warranty and technical support. The IQ Pro Flash Drive is available at IT stores, all across India. n
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
15
OCTOBER 2010
networking Wi-Fi
A
ll-wireless is coming — if you’re talking about the end-user perspective. No one is proposing wireless data centres. Ethernet to the desktop isn’t dead yet, especially since there’s no reason to tear out wiring already in place. Yet, as far as new equipment goes, it’s slowly being phased out. “There’s no reason that client devices shouldn’t be wireless,” said Craig Mathias, a principal at Farpoint Group, a wireless advisory firm. “You can argue that even a good part of LAN infrastructure will be wireless eventually, especially with mesh architectures, but one thing that Wi-Fi still doesn’t achieve is Gigabit-speed throughput,” he added. Which means wires are here to stay, albeit in a pared back roll. If you need those thick pipes for specialised applications, you’ll still be running cable for a long time to come. Even things like continuous backup and disaster recovery would overwhelm wi-fi, but those IT-specific tasks should have little bearing on the typical end user.
Security and throughput 802.11 has a checkered past within the enterprise. First, there was WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). Then there were the various 802.11 favors that never quite interoperated as well as they were supposed to. There were also backwards compatibility issues, with .11b clients killing .11g throughput. Then there were the competing infrastructure philosophies on how to control and manage WLANs, with people spending vast amounts of time and energy debating the merits of switches vs. gateways vs. whatever other architecture vendors dreamed up. No wonder, plenty of CIOs and even whole industries are wary of wireless. “Today, when we get called into financial organisations, it’s to make sure there is no wireless,” Roeckl said. However, 802.11n is light years beyond its troubled .11a/b/g predecessors. “802.11n brings two fundamental shifts. First, it’s safe enough. Second, it’s fast enough,” according to Roeckl. Compared to wired infrastructure, Roeckl argues that 802.11n is actually more secure than a wired environment. Encryption schemes like WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) are extremely advanced, rogue AP detection comes standard with most enterprise WLAN management suites, and VPNs add
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
16
Wireless by Choice another layer of protection. Ethernet, by contrast, doesn’t have these protections at the transport layer. As far as performance, 802.11n delivers the throughput to satisfy everything but the most extreme, and rare, bandwidth hogging applications. Meanwhile, even those enterprises with 802.11a or .11g are generally satisfied with throughput. This returns us then to the original question posed by this article: Are you ready for the all-wireless workplace? The answer? Not quite yet. The problems aren’t trivial, though. They range from the need to support existing investments in legacy wired and wireless infrastructures to authentication issues to device control. All of these issues can be solved, but they take careful planning, and often require complementary technologies. “The vendors hyping 802.11n are the ones coming to us with lists
OCTOBER 2010
802.11n will catch on in certain verticals like health care and education, but it will take longer to penetrate the horizontal, generic enterprise, which will act with more caution.
Enterprises are going wirefree only with caution and restraint
of network analysis questions,” said Jay Botelho, Director of Product Management at WildPackets. In the near-term, most 802.11n adoption will show up at the fringes of the enterprise. 802.11n will find its way into branch offices, or it will extend existing LANs into places that have no current coverage. 802.11n will also catch on in certain verticals like health care and education, but it will take longer to penetrate the horizontal, generic enterprise, which will act with more caution, waiting to adopt 802.11n as part of hardware upgrade cycles. “For large enterprises, 802.11n represents an investment they aren’t ready for,” Botelho said. “They’re looking at 802.11n. They’re interested, but in tough economic times, they’re not ready to jump,” he added.n Courtesy: CTO Forum
communications TelePresence
Game Changer In an era of economic downturn, TelePresence is emerging as a technology that can help firms reduce the time taken to do business and equip them with quick decision making capabilities NIPUN SAHRAWAT
T
elePresence delivers real time, face-to-face interaction through a combination of life-sized projections, fluid motion, synced audio, high-definition cameras and optimised networks. It offers a visual conferencing environment that helps companies cut travel costs and boost productivity. According to Neeraj Gill, MD, India & SAARC, Polycom. “When recession hit the industry, and IT organisations faced fat IT/Infrastructure budgets, TelePresence emerged as a viable technology which could not only reduce the time taken to do business but also equip businesses with quick decision making capabilities.” Initially, the challenge of collaborating at a global scale and with multiple locations lead to the widespread use of conventional videoconferencing. However, these videoconferencing tools are not very reliable. There are a few challenges that users face in a videoconferencing environment. First, video calls are complex to set up and operate. Secondly, in traditional videoconferencing, the connections are unstable. “TelePresence suppliers have taken steps to ensure that their systems deliver a consistent experience throughout the session. These include network assessments to ensure that the network traffic is properly engineered to avoid issues like congestion,” says
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
18
Minhaj Zia, National Sales Manager, Cisco India and SAARC. A combination of these factors has led to the advancement of Immersive TelePresence as the “game - changing” technology. According to Sanjay Bansal, Chairman of the Board and MD, Business Octane, “Immersive TelePresence has arrived on the scene to change the dynamics of traditional videoconferencing.” Improved internet connectivity can make Immersive TelePresence an instant hit and has a potential to create a high degree of keenness among employees. With the slowdown hitting businesses worldwide, there is growing demand for TelePresence, as it can help cut costs on travel and save a lot of time. “In addition to technology companies, MNCs and Indian companies with a global presence are also interested in setting up TelePresence to help employees collaborate and reduce the time taken to make decisions,” says Zia.
Major inhibitors However good and innovative this technology is, one of the biggest challenges for its adoption is its prohibitive deployment costs. Although the companies are surely cutting costs to
OCTOBER 2010
save on operational expenditure and thus adopting a lot of collaborative tools, they are not yet prepared for TelePresence. Another big issue in adopting TelePresence is interoperability. These video solutions have been woefully proprietary and thus don’t work with other solutions. This issue is being actively addressed by producers of the technology.
The improved internet connectivity can make Immersive TelePresence an instant hit and has a potential to create a high degree of keenness among employees.
The future Having seen both pros and cons, what does the future of TelePresence look like? Most experts view Immersive TelePresence as a promising technology which makes users feel as if they are sitting together in one big conference room. It helps in quick business decisions which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. It can also help home office users (with HD screens) connect with their corporate offices located far away. Once the HD screens become cheaper and video processing technology adapts to improved quality of service over internet, the technology will go beyond traditional TelePresence rooms and reach out to mobile workers who can take advantage of what this technology promises to deliver.n Courtesy:- The CTO Forum
security Disaster Management
WHEN BY SHASHWAT DC
IMAGING: BINESH SREEDHARAN
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
20
OCTOBER 2010
security Disaster Management
STRIKES A survival guide on how to mitigate disaster and rebound from it
2
6th July, 2005, is a day that no Mumbaikar will ever forget. It was the day that the city was brought to its knees under a torrential deluge. The flood was caused by a sudden opening of the skies, and a record rainfall of 994mm (39.1 inches). Some 5,000 people perished as the incessant rains virtually submerged all in its wake. Mumbai, the financial capital of India, drowned under the monsoon fury. It’s a day that everyone remembers as 26/7. And it was not merely the human cost alone, financial losses ran into a few hundred crores. As the waters rose, many companies had to close shop and remain shut for the next few days—till the waters receded. Huge losses occurred because several companies were caught completely unaware and unprepared to face a
disaster of such magnitude. Many were unable to resume business for days or weeks because their IT systems were completely destroyed. Some went bust. To understand the Mumbai disaster better, let’s take a closer look—especially at the banking sector. Almost all major banks (largely PSUs) are based out of Mumbai. Most had their core data centres in Navi Mumbai. As floodwaters rose and drowned these centres, banking transactions across the country were adversely affected. Branches and commercial establishments were unable to function. ATM networks of banks, including State Bank of India, the nation’s largest national bank; ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and several foreign ones like Citibank and HSBC, stopped functioning from the afternoon of 26 July at all centres of Mumbai. Progressive loss
of connectivity with central systems in Mumbai took ATMs around the nation off line on the following days. The importance of DR (disaster recovery) hit home. Companies, across domains, be it a bank, telco, or a BPO, realised the need to have an alternate set-up, which could cushion the impact of such a disaster. Ever since, each company has been trying to put in a DRC (disaster recovery centre) in place. But the truth is, it is not as easy as it seems. Not only from a technological point-of-view, but also from a business perspective, there are lots of “ifs and buts” that need to be ironed out. As Jacob Livingstone, manager IT, BEC Ltd., states, “Disaster Recovery involves preparing of disaster before occur rence and suppor ting and rebuilding of infrastructure almost instantly without business disruption
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
21
OCTOBER 2010
security Disaster Management Most IT executives don’t have a whole lot of confidence in their company’s business continuity strategies. The reason for this lack of confidence isn’t necessarily based on a lack of will, but rather on a lack of budget. Though IT organisations generally have enough funding to support their ongoing IT operations, they typically run short of funding when it comes to buying the secondary infrastructure required to deploy a robust business continuity plan. As a result, most IT organisations have no real business continuity plan in place—or else they have a plan to support key assets that’s tenuous at best.
WHY THERE IS NO BUSINESS CONTINUITY
This situation exists primarily because the vendor community has always viewed business continuity as an opportunity to sell additional products. In effect, vendors are using the fact that IT products can fail as an excuse to sell additional products to their customers. The question is, Does it really have to be this way? The answer is, No. A number of products have recently come to market that not only distribute workloads across multiple devices, but also automatically pick up for each other if one of the products fails. For example, the Oklahoma division of 7-Eleven manages the IT infrastructure for 100 stores from its Oklahoma City facility. The division is in the process of deploying wireless access points across these 100 stores as part of an effort to improve its inventory control system. But instead of choosing one of the better-known providers of wireless access points, the company opted for Aerohive’s wireless access points, which are mutually supporting in the event of failure.
or in short business continuity in fail safe mode.” The emphasis is on being predictive, i.e., preparing for an event before it even occurs.
DR isn’t backup
Minutes Last transaction
Take a piece-meal approach The ideal way to go about planning a DR is to prioritise what needs to be covered. DR is like an insurance, everything cannot come under its
DR Principles Clustering
Remote date replication
Local data Replication
Hours Days
Recovery point objective
One of the single biggest fallacies is that many technologists confuse DR with backup. They think of DR as a backup system that resides in an offsite location. Nothing could be further from the truth. While there is some similarity, but the basic idea, intention, or the function of DR is vastly different from that of backup. Pertisth Mankotia, head IT, Sheela Foam, compares DR to insurance. “DR is a hedge against a calamity that could take place in the future,” he adds. Thus, if you have a single data centre, consider how and where you want to
move your data out of harm’s way. Solutions could range from purchasing a high-quality fire safe and putting backup tapes inside it each night, to paying for a remote hot backup site where servers are constantly running and data is being replicated near realtime. The migration process could involve a combination of steps, such as making backup tapes and moving them to a remote location on a set tape-rotation schedule, and then replicating data to another storage repository across the internet.
Traditional back-up Days
Cost
Two storage back-up recovery
Hours
Minutes
Seconds Instant
Recovery time objective
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
22
OCTOBER 2010
Companies, across domains, be it a bank, telco, or a BPO, realised the need to have an alternate set-up, which could cushion the impact of a disaster. In times of a disaster, the Disaster Recovery cannot replace the actual data centre, but it can ensure that some fundamental functions are not impacted.
wake. Thus, in times of a disaster, the DR cannot replace the actual data centre, but it can ensure that some fundamental functions are not impacted. If your business requires all systems to be up and running at all times, then you need to dig deeper. Rajesh Agrawal, Manager IT, Jindal Pipes, says, “Based on the company’s BCP (Business Continuity Practice), the DRP could be tailored to give either 100% recovery, or par tial recovery of essential services necessary for continuing the business. In today’s context of 24 x 7 online operations of businesses required to cater to the global market with geographical time differences, it is preferable to have fully-automated 100% recovery. This is more expensive than the partial DRP options, but is more costeffective as far as the business operations are concerned.” To start off, create a matrix of functions that need to be up and running, and prioritise them accordingly. Rahul Khattar, GM-ES, Seclore, has sequenced the process like this: 1) Get an Excel sheet to map the existing set-up in terms of criticality, business value, confidentiality, detailed business functionality, data size, laws and restrictions that apply, etc. 2) Now rate each of the elements. Note: The weight of each individual element may differ for each application. 3) Once this is done, you should move each of apps into three buckets (in-house, cloud based, remote full DR
security Disaster Management
According to Mike McTice, a senior systems programmer and integrator at the company, this means that if an access point were to fail, 7-Eleven would not have to immediately dispatch someone to fix it. More importantly, the company would not have to pay for additional wireless access points just to serve as a back up. A similar concept is at work in a new generation of Ethernet switches from Woven Systems, which are plugged into a mutually supporting fabric of switches. This system allows the load to be automatically balanced, and, in the event of a failure, the other switches on the network automatically kick in to make sure there is no disruption in service. When you think about it, this is the way all enterprise-class technology products should work. If they did, the underlying infrastructure would be intelligent enough to provide an embedded business continuity capability. With that in place, it would also be a lot easier to wrap people’s minds around the whole sustainability issue, which dominates much of the discussion taking place in the boardroom today. The core element of creating a business sustainability strategy is to break down processes into a set of modular components that can be
setup location) with “in house” having the lowest number of points.
People priority Choosing a good off-site location is also important. As one needs to find a place that is as far as from the original data centre in terms of geographic proximity, but not far enough, so as to be unmanageable. You need to keep in mind all the worst-case scenarios, right from a earthquake to political upheavel. Also, while technology, investment and location is important, don’t forget the “man factor”. In the end, there should be an assigned person who should be responsible for DR and be a know-all guy. The person should not only be aware of the technical backups but also the processes that need to be followed in case of an exigency. Most often, people forget that while putting in the infrastructure is crucial, putting up a person is equally so. Under ideal circumstances, there should be a senior resource located at the DR site. But in case that is not possible, the site should be remotely managed under expert guidance.
Offsite or outsourced? Finally, over the past few years, there is a rising debate on doing DR in a cloud ecosystem. Many third vendors, like Amazon, Salesforce, etc., offer solutions that work to this end. But as stated earlier, DR can be tricky. The reason is simple: the data that you
easily replicated in the event of some type of disruption. But if the underlying IT infrastructure is too fragile or expensive to support a sustainability strategy, the issue becomes moot. The good news about all the fuss over sustainability is that it forces companies to take a hard look at their IT infrastructure. A lot of business executives don’t want to have a conversation that basically ends up with them having to authorize additional IT budget allocations. As a result, they wind up shorting the IT budget in terms of what is really required to sustain the business. In effect, this means most companies are betting that a major business disruption isn’t going to happen, rather than putting appropriate plans in place beforehand. The best answer to this conundrum would be for every product to simply plug into a fabric in which every device automatically supports every other system, but it will probably be a few years before that happens. This means IT people need to have real conversations about the costs of sustainability, given the fact that the business basically runs on the back of the IT infrastructure. Of course, insisting that technology vendors provide distributed loadbalancing capabilities as a core feature, rather than as an expensive option, would be a major step in the right direction. By Michael Vizard © Ziff Davis
Major Factors affecting security spend within the enterprise
If you have a single data centre, consider how and where you want to move your data out of harm’s way.
Source: The Global State of Information Security Survey, 2010
39% Economic
37%
Downturn
Regulatory Compliance
41% Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery
38%
32%
Internal Policy Compliance
Company Reputation
In the end, there should be an assigned person who should be responsible for DR and be a know-all guy. Work out a bailout strategy for your IT and business processes for when the clouds bursts open or the earth quivers.
will want to have with you in times of disaster is extremely crucial or critical for your business. And, despite all the security assurances, one cannot be completely sanguine about privacy or security of this critical data. Hence, even though DR over the cloud seems like a win-win scenario, organisations like banks or telcos are wary about it. Balwant Singh, head IT, IndoAsian Fusegear, empahsises on the need to have stringent SLAs and contracts in place before moving to a cloud. “I will prefer my own DR site, as it gives 100%
control. Otherwise, working on a cloud can be a good option provided all the checks are in place,” he says. In the end, like 26/7 was an eyeopener for many banks and enterprises, don’t wait for a calamity to strike before going in for DR. Like the old adage goes, prevention is always better than cure. Thus, work out a bailout strategy for your IT and business processes for when the clouds bursts open or the earth quivers.n
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
Courtesy: IT Next
23
OCTOBER 2010
security Identity Management
IDENTITYCHECKED The application of identity management and access control systems can provide an organisation with both security and speed DREW ROBB
S
ecurity and speed are desirable yet often incompatible goals. CIOs need to continually balance the needs of security while giving users rapid access to the applications and data. Identity Management and access control systems (IdM) can go a long way to reconciling those needs. However, it is not as simple as just deploying a new application.
finance, sales and other parts of the company may have their own systems in place that cover part of the field. Another key step in strategic planning of IdM is to gain agreement on the appropriate policies and procedures that balance the needs for security and ease of use. Only then can you get around to selecting the set of technologies that will best meet those needs.
Picking apart the pieces
Once you have defined the scope and direction you want to move in, it’s time to evaluate the products that will achieve the desired end state. As usual, there are two camps: suites and best of breed. Whichever route you take, you should focus on flexibility, especially since this is likely to be a multiyear project. Suites offer smoother integration than best-of-breed. But integrated means different things to different vendors. And since the IdM vendor space is rapidly consolidating, today’s suites may be composed of software recently acquired from competitors. “Sometimes, these products have been integrated seamlessly, but with others, it is an ongoing process,” said
Successful implementation of IdM begins with defining the scope of what you are hoping to achieve. A full-fledged approach to IdM, after all, consists of an array of tools and processes that are deployed across a wide variety of hardware, applications and services relating to different user groups. Before formulating a strategy, it is vital to find out what you already have in place. Every company is already using some sort of IdM, even if it is just Active Directory. This means examining the policies, procedures, work flows, hardware and data sources, in addition to software. This survey must include looking at departments other than IT, since physical security, HR,
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
24
Suite or best of breed
OCTOBER 2010
A full-fledged approach to IdM consists of an array of tools and processes that are deployed across a wide variety of hardware, applications and services relating to different user groups.
Bill Nagel, an analyst for Forrester Research in Amsterdam. Gartner divides the IdM vendor space into three broad categories: single sign on, user provisioning, and web access management, and publishes Magic Quadrants on each. During selection, it is important to also evaluate the existing infrastructure and skills in the organisation, not just the functions of the application itself. “Most companies prefer to deal with fewer vendors rather than more,” said Gerry Gebel, VP and Service Director of Burton Group’s Identity and Privacy Strategies service.
Looking ahead Initially, it may be impossible to obtain the ideal IdM solution out of any given suite or grouping of best-ofbreed tools. But, since deploying IdM is a long range process, that isn’t necessarily a problem, as long as you don’t become firmly locked into a particular vendor or technology. In deploying a suite, therefore, emphasize the selection of elements that are the most mature or best integrated.n Courtesy: CTO Forum
security File Transfer
IN UNSAFE HANDS There needs to be complete visibility into files that are moving company-wide, as backdoor file transfers are putting enterprises at risk LARRY BARRETT
A
ccording to Ipswitch, 40% of attendees surveyed at this year’s InfoSecurity Europe conference said they routinely violated their companies’ security and compliance rules by sending confidential information through their personal email accounts. Worse, they said they did it specifically to eliminate any chance of an electronic trail being left on their companies’ data networks and security tracking software. “Employees will almost always take
the path of least resistance, even if that unintentionally means violating company policies and breaking security protocols,” Frank Kenney, Ipswitch’s Vice President of global strategy, said in the report. “Businesses need complete visibility into the files that are moving internally and externally company-wide, with a file transfer approach that makes it fast and easy for employees to securely exchange information with customers, partners and colleagues,” he added. Unsaid in the report is the fact that
Employees are reading, emailing, texting and copying company files around the clock every day, putting customers’ personal information, their jobs and their employers’ reputations at risk.
enterprises are put in the precarious position of increasingly relying on employees to use smartphones, instant messaging, social networks and new media devices to do their jobs efficiently — even though they lack the security technology and staff to properly manage and monitor all these applications and devices. 69% of respondents in the report said that they send classified information including payroll, customer data and corporate financial data through their personal email account at least once a month. And 34% said they do it every day. The security implications of this laissezfaire attitude hit home in a big way in March this year for HSBC, one of the world’s largest private banks. After downplaying what was first described as a minor security issue, the London-based bank finally had to admit that an employee stole the account information of more than 24,000 clients and then tried to sell them to competing banks in Lebanon before finally turning them over to French tax authorities. It doesn’t help that consumers have been conditioned to expect more storage, clarity, functionality and speed from device and application developers. While most companies (62%) have file-sharing policies and rules in place, most companies lack the resources or file-transfer monitoring tools in place to enforce them. In fact, 72% of respondents said their companies lack any meaningful visibility into files moving both within the company and to and from out-side email accounts and websites. “With thousands of gigabytes of information moving in and out of companies every month, executives need visibility into who’s sending, receiving, and forwarding businesscritical documents for security and compliance purposes,” Kenny said. “It’s far too easy for information to get into the wrong hands, evident by hundreds of data breaches in the first half of this year alone, and unless companies communicate and enforce file-transfer policies, with total visibility and company-wide management, their risk of a breach will continue to rise,” he added.n Larry Barrett is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com. Courtesy: CTO Forum
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
25
OCTOBER 2010
cover story
M DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
26
OCTOBER 2010
cover story
Even though mergers and acquisitions are necessary for the overall growth of the industry and there are clear benefits, they often leave fewer choices for customers and put partners in a bind
MM SUMA E P
ergers and Acquisitions (M&As) are nothing new in the world of technology business. But if one were to look at acquisitions – especially the big-ticket ones – that have been going on over the past few months, it would seem that vendors are in a renewed hurry to grab whatever comes their way. So, what is it that has unleashed this M&A frenzy? And what does it mean for all those customers who betted on one vendor against the other? And for the partners who chose to go to market with a particular vendor rather than a rival – only to discover that the rival has bought over their hand-picked principal and they must deal with the new partner equation? Some of the key mergers in the news now are apparently happening so that vendors are able to offer more comprehensive solutions to their customers. Many of them want to acquire, strengthen or leverage capabilities that are a must-have in the new and evolving business environment. For instance, when Intel announced that it was acquiring McAfee, it said in a press statement: “The acquisition
enables a combination of security software and hardware from one company to ultimately better protect consumers, corporations and governments, as billions of devices—and the server and cloud networks that manage them—go online.” Analysts, however, are still figuring out the intricacies and future impact of a core microprocessor company acquiring a pure-play software one. Likewise, when SAP announced its acquisition of Sybase, it mentioned in the announcement: “Both SAP and Sybase will benefit from synergies across product lines and markets. SAP will accelerate the reach of its solutions across mobile platforms and drive forward the realization of its in-memory computing vision.” Quite often, it’s also the question of the smaller company finding it difficult to scale up to the growing needs of their customers or to keep spending on their individual niche capabilities or compete with bigger rivals. An acquisition by a bigger or broader tech giant offers a way out – usually, a lucrative one. According to Rohit Verma, Director, R Square Consulting Services, which delivers analytics-based marketing programmes especially for IT and telecom companies,
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
27
OCTOBER 2010
cover story “There are three causative factors for the growing M&A activity. First, the recession has taken a toll on the investment abilities and plans of the technology companies. The shareholders of such companies realised that they would not be able to generate the new capital required from the external sources, or markets, and hence had to sell out.” “Second,” says Verma, “the nature of growth in the market has changed. Markets like US and Western Europe are on a slow growth path, and many new markets such as Brazil, China, India, Mexico, have grown at a very rapid clip.” Typically, technology plays a very significant role during the initial growth phase of the companies in all sectors. So, these growing markets have placed sudden and discontinuous demands on the technology suppliers, says Verma. To meet these demands, companies have adopted the M&A route, as organic buildup would take more time than these new markets are able to afford to offer. “Third, many new technology companies do not have the expertise and the mindset to build large channel networks required in countries like India, China, Indonesia, etc. So, they prefer the M&A route to be able to get closer to the customer,” according to Verma.
The M&A track record Are all M&As as successful as they are planned out to be? In the second half of
the 1990s, many studies, including ones by Wharton University and KPMG, pointed out that the success rate of M&As in being able to increase shareholder value was dismal. But since then, M&As have been given a lot more focus to enable more successful associations. Changes in regulations, building in more accountability for the drivers of the M&As, focus on critical factors— all have led to improved success rates. Among some of the key factors impacting the success of M&As that receive a lot of focus are: upheaval in the company, operational dysfunctions and customer service issues. Also, many big ticket mergers of the recent past are serving as key lessons for imminent mergers. The HP-Compaq merger of 2001 was criticized for not being able to get HP the profitability targeted in the initial years; but by 2007, HP had tripled its share value compared to 2004 levels, and toppled Dell from its number one slot among PC makers. So, it’s natural for customers to become anxious when they hear of a merger. The customer’s first questions are related to the visibility of how the products or services he has signed up for are going to be affected. While most mergers ensure that the customer’s service levels and expectations are not altered in the short term, it is important for customers to know how the future pans out, what products will be kept, rebranded, given support for, etc.
Take the Avaya-Nortel Enterprise Solutions merger for instance, the announcement for which came in mid 2009. By January, a roadmap had been planned for the product lines. At a recent user conference of Avaya and Nortel products, the future of some of the top products was detailed out. And for legacy Nortel products, Avaya has laid out an investment protection plan, which gives a customer six years of support from the date the product is sold. With this kind of visibility available, a customer would be far more comfortable with the merger.
Good for the customer? How is the customer’s choice affected? If mergers have been in the same space, say hardware, then it could mean a reduction in brand name choices in the long run. However, the product portfolio usually becomes broader, thus giving more customers more choice. Where there are overlaps, some brands get discontinued, which would affect a set of customers. Verma says, “In most instances, a merger or an acquisition is good for customers. The primary purpose of an acquisition from the acquirer’s perspective is to identify and grow value. Therefore, in all probability, an acquirer will invest significantly more than what the previous entity was able to do to unlock larger value. This is always good for the customer, as this would mean better technologies, better channel design, superior market creation effort, etc.”
THE BIG GET BIGGER – AND BROADER A look at some of the big-ticket mergers and acquisitions in the worldwide IT industry over the past year or so Vendors
Value
Supposed Key Reason
Intel acquires McAfee
$7.68 billion
To provide embedded security across various networked devices
Oracle buys Sun Microsystems
$7.4 billion
To provide an apps-to-disk integrated system to customers
Xerox buys Affiliated Computer Services
$6.4 billion
To combine Xerox’s strengths in document technology with ACS’s expertise in managing and automating work processes
SAP acquires Sybase
$5.8 billion
To accelerate SAP’s presence in mobility
Cisco acquires Tandberg
$3 billion
To expand its videoconferencing product portfolio
HP acquires 3Com
$2.7 billion
To further its position in enterprise networking and get better access to the China market with 3Com’s strong presence there
IBM gets Netezza
$1.7 billion
To expand its business analytics initiatives
HP acquires ArcSight
$1.5 billion
The combination is touted to improve security, reduce risk and facilitate compliance at a lower cost for customers
Intel acquires Infineon’s wireless division
$1.4 billion
To better compete in the fast-growing market for smartphone chips
IBM acquires Sterling Commerce
$1.4 billion
To expand its ability to help organisations communicate with customers, partners and suppliers (on-premise as well as through cloud computing)
Symantec acquires VeriSign’s security business
$1.28 billion
To extend its strategy to create the most trusted brand for protecting information and identities online
Nokia Siemens buys Motorola’s wireless network unit
$1.2 billion
Access to 50 new customers and manufacturing operations
HP acquires Palm
$1.2 billion
To strengthen position in the mobile devices market, especially with Palm’s WebOS
Dell buys 3PAR
$1.15 billion
For 3PAR’s strength in virtualised storage products
Note: Not an all-inclusive list; some acquisitions may still be in process of approval or completion
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
28
OCTOBER 2010
cover story requires a lot of careful planning, execution and training. According to Manocha, “A channel partner typically aligns himself with the strategies of the principal. He spends time to understand the product and the different strategies of the principal, and then designs his services and support strategy, which is entirely a business case initiative.” Post-merger, he has to re-assess the situation and redo his thinking and execution. And then, there’s always the question of the overlapping of channel partners. If the merged entity feels that there is no need to keep the number of partners for each product or technology at the previous level, some of the partners may be pruned off its list.
Gearing up for the change
A thorough business plan and vision would be needed on the basis of which a partner can decide how fast he can benefit out of the M&A. If the mergers are within the area of relevant technologies, the same vendor can support them. But in case of acquisitions, the vendor population goes down drastically.” MANISH MANOCHA, DIRECTOR – TECHNOLOGY, F1 INFOTECH
Not everyone thinks consolidation is essentially a good thing for customers. According to Manish Manocha, Director – Technology, F1 Infotech, a security and storage solutions provider, “The customer will have fewer choices while deciding on a solution. If the mergers are within the area of relevant technologies, the same vendor can support them. But in case of acquisitions, the vendor population goes down drastically.” And because a vendor who has the exposure to two competing technologies will have the edge over one that has only one of the two, the customer will either move to another vendor with skill sets of both or – in the absence of another such vendor, he will be forced to limit himself with a different technology option, as a result of too much consolidation.
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
30
OCTOBER 2010
Many new technology companies do not have the expertise and the mindset to build large channel networks required in countries like India. So, they prefer the M&A route to be able to get closer to the customer.” “Even though M&As look like something to be scared of, it actually is significantly beneficial to the channel partners. ” ROHIT VERMA, DIRECTOR, R SQUARE CONSULTING SERVICES
Good for the channel? Verma thinks it is. “Typically, M&As are equally beneficial for the channel. Any acquisition implies an investment to improve the future product line and its sales mechanism. Therefore, even though M&As look like something to be scared of, it actually is significantly beneficial to the channel partners. The takeover of possibly weaker and smaller companies by larger, probably better run and managed companies, always translates to better turnover for the channel partners through superior product lines and better recognized brand names,” he says. Of cour se, one must keep in mind whether the buying company has the vision to invest in strengthening the channel mechanism. Integration of different channel strategies could throw up a host of issues, and
As soon as a merger is announced, the partners’ phones start ringing, with anxious customers calling in. Verma says, “A channel partner typically would be the first one to face the questions from existing and prospective buyers on stability, availability and support to various product lines. For example, in Oracle’s purchase of Sun, the most critical question asked was the future of MySQL, which was in direct competition to Oracle. But, Oracle clarified on the day of the announcement itself that the MySQL would stay, and that Oracle will continue to invest in MySQL development.” According to Verma, the first and foremost thing required from a vendor is the clarity of communication. “That translates to clear communication down the line,” he says. According to Manocha, “The basic expectations that a channel partner should have are related to the business strategies and bottomline margins. It is also expected that at least changes should be made in the existing technical support structure.” As new technologies, products and solutions come to play, the focus on how the support will be delivered can become a critical issue. A channel partner could also need to change or tweak his business style. “If the acquiring company has significantly stricter policies on credit, or on accuracy, or timeliness of sales and stock information, then a partner would need some investments, either as fixed capital, or if the credit cycle is getting shrunk, then as working capital. Typically, these would be discussed by the vendor with its channel community. The channel is given time to be able to react to these needs,” informs Verma. Manocha sums up the partner situation neatly: “A thorough business plan and vision would be needed on the basis of which a partner can decide how to move ahead, and how much this will add to his business, what changes are required and how fast he can benefit out of the M&A.”n editor@digitchannelconnect.com
business intelligence Transformation
DEMOCRATISATION
BI
From being a tool for the head honchos, to providing insight to the line managers, BI is undergoing a metamorphosis and with it the way the companies conduct business is changing as well SHASHWAT DC
H
ave I bitten more than I could possibly chew? This was a thought that f lashed across Suresh Shanmugham’s head as he got down to the deliverables that he had committed upon. As head of IT at Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd (MMFSL), Suresh had in the operations committee meeting promised to deliver growth in figures that were pointing northwards in comparison to current numbers. The specific product sales were not looking too optimistic either, but Shanmugham had confidence in his team and on technology, and was confident on delivering the stiff targets. Among the many technologies in his armoury, Shanmugham was banking heavily on Business Intelligence or
ILLUSTRATION BY ANIL T
BI to deliver the goods. He knew that if MMFSL had to make headway as a rural NBFC, the only way he could do the same was by empowering his workforce and making strategic information readily available. Over the next few years, MMFSL agents in far-flung areas across the nation were empowered with a handheld device that not only helped them record financial transaction, but also gave them insights on customer behaviour and market trends. With the MF Connect (the handheld device) in their hands, each agent was a decision maker. And with this decentralisation of information, intelligence was effectively multiplied. The result: In a decade, MMFSL has grown to be one of the largest
rural NBFC in India, having over 450 branches across the length and breadth of India. The credit for success, according to Shanmugham, lies as much with technology as it does for people. “One of the distinguishing factors was that we were able to empower our agents through the right tools and technology. This helped us to be agile and realign ourselves to the shifting market dynamics,” he states confidently. T h e r e a s o n b e h i n d M M F S L’s success is not all that hard to guess. In today’s dynamic environment, the only companies that will succeed are the ones that will be most agile and responsive to the changing scenario. BI, as a tool, aids and abets this agility. Like it is often said that the proof of the pudding is eating it, the success of
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
31
OCTOBER 2010
business intelligence Transformation BI can too be measured in two simple ways: how much revenue was added or how much revenue was saved. BI is particularly effective in these times, where the problem is not the lack of information, but information overload. With data flowing in from different points within the organisation, it becomes particularly cumbersome and almost impossible for someone to collate all the data and then make much sense from it. BI, in conjunction with Business Analytics (BA), helps do this data crunching, to find trends, to bring insight from the information and open new vistas. While, more often, the terms BI and BA are used inter-changeably, the essential difference is that while BI tools are typically more focused on measuring business performance using assigned metrics, BA takes a predictive approach to business performance, using insights gained from a relatively vast set of data. Both, of course, serve as decision making tools.
Traditional BI Previously, BI was touted as a magic wand–it could change business fortunes. Coming at a premium, these standalone solutions–namely Cognos, Hyperion, etc.–promised the moon; agility, productivity and profitability. Though many did deliver, the crux lay in how the application was integrated with the existing infrastructure. The system was dependent on the information being supplied by other enterprise applications. The focus was on reporting, especially for the honcho, on assessing the success (or failure) of the business processes and marketing initiatives. BI was considered an additional functionality, something that came on top of other business applications, like the cherry on top. Considering the costs and issues with integration, only big or aggressive players went in for BI–after all it is the magic wand for revenue growth. Little wonder then that the verticals that were the biggest users of BI were also the ones that were gunning for maximum growth. Speaking from the Indian context, BFSI and telecom were at the forefront of economic growth.
Democratisation of BI All that changed in the past decade. The growth bubble burst and recession clouds appeared. Organisations that were gunning for growth suddenly were grappling with sustenance. That
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
32
competitive landscape, which had evolved over the years, caught several enterprises unawares. The result was mayhem– as companies were unprepared for both. Big ticket companies, also using high-end analytics software, were not able to duck the trend either. With the realisation hitting the management that saving the buck was as important, (or probably more important), than earning the buck– scope and focus of BI was turned inward. So, while BI was a telescope that could look at new horiz ons outside, it could also play a diagnostic role within the enterprise. It was also around this time that another important change took place. Companies realised that limiting the access to BI reports to only the top managers was not the best way to function. Instead, if the whole platform was more democratised, and reports (specific to job profiles) were made available to even line managers, the enterprise’s agility would be increased by leaps and bounds. So, if market intelligence, or customer insight was provided to even the sales manager trying to sell a product or service, it greatly helped in closing a deal. Again, banks and telecoms were at the forefront of this change–providing customer details to even the customerrelationship officers and sales representatives to help them make an informed decision. Suddenly, from being an ancillary tool, BI became pervasive. It was no longer an additional factor, but a must-have for firms that wished to cut their loses and grow. There was a shift– BI was no longer focusing on data generation, but on enabling efficient and smart resource utilisation.
Verticalised solution One factors that enabled this shift was the emergence of “verticalised BI solutions”. Larger enterprises such as software companies acquired BI vendors–IBM acquired Cognos, SAP acquired Business Objects, and Oracle acquired Hyperion–looked at ways to integrate features into their existing offerings such as ERP and CRM. The result was appreciated by all. A reason why IT managers were skeptical about BI was because of the implementation issues. Integrating BI suite with other existing enterprise applications was a tough call– it involved a lot of customised coding work at the clients’ end. This customisation not only took a lot of time, but
OCTOBER 2010
MANEESH SHARMA, HEAD-BUSINESS USER & PLATFORM, SAP INDIA
“A business intelligence solution focused on vertical needs shortens the execution cycle & adds business value for the customer”
KRISHNAKUMAR AVANOOR, CUSTOMER CARE ASSOCIATE & DGM, SOLUTIONS AND TECHNOLOGY TEAM, SHOPPER’S STOP
“The secret to BI’s success is team work. Participation from all side of business is not only crucial but critical”
also money. The result: people were never satisfied with the output, as it was not commensurate to efforts. But, with enterprise vendors offering an integrated suite with BI capabilities that was specifically aligned on a vertical basis, companies were able to adopt BI into their operations without being too quick and without hassle. Also, the fact that now BI had specific features based on a space that a company operated in, greatly aided the adoption. Companies are moving beyond the traditional reporting and analysis tools. They are increasingly banking on capabilities that could assist them with targeted data mining, dashboarding, collaboration, statistical analysis and dimensional analysis. Moreover, there has been a growing uptake of customised analytical and intelligence tools. Some enterprises have felt that standardised models are too complex and inadequate to meet their needs effectively. Maneesh Sharma, Head-Business User & Platform, SAP India, reaffirms his faith in verticalised solution. “The reason behind the evolution of verticalised BI solutions is the specific requirement in any industry. Each industry vertical has an unique speciality segment, with specific BI needs and pain points–unique data structures, process patterns and standards, job roles with industry-specific responsibilities and KPI’s. A business intelligence solution focused on vertical needs shortens the execution cycle and adds business value for the customer.” Concurs Nitin Singhal, Country Manager, Information ManagementSoftware Group, IBM India (South Asia). “As industry adoption of IT matures and competitive differentiation of IT reduces between similar organisations, companies are looking for faster implementation of key initiatives and are leaning towards preconfigured vertical solutions. Apart from this, lack of standard business definitions is continuing to inhibit business transformation. Customers want to spend time in bringing out the potential from the information available within the transactional and nontransactional systems; rather than spend time defining the basic framework for the applicable BI,” he says.
Challenges remain Even as BI adoption continues to grow, there are two challenges that
business intelligence Transformation continue to haunt decisions revolving BI–data quality and cost of solution. Take for instance the example of Bank of India, one of the premier banks in India. It has completed its first phase of modernisation. Now, it is looking at implementing BI within enterprise. But, because of its past legacy, it has huge amount of records that are stored in silos and in an unstructured manner, getting them in a central repository is a challenge. “We are currently working on ways to collate all data and records into a central location. To ensure that it is clean and error free. Once we have laid the foundation, we can move to the next level, using business analytics for growth and productivity,” explains P.A. Kalyanasundar, GM-IT, Bank of India. Problems faced by BoI is a common one. It is said that a BI, or BA solution can be only as good as the quality of data. If the data is a suspect, it can lead to an implementation failure, which can prove to be catastrophic for any organisation. Ensuring data integrity across systems can be a nightmare sometimes. This is an area that can be challenging for an IT manager entrusted with the task. The other tangle is to justify the cost of implementation. Most of IT managers often debate if it is really worth the ef fort–considering the costs and results. Singhal attempts to answer the dilemma. “Previously, the issue was that an IT manager looked at the BI only from a pure playreporting perspective. The first leg of implementation on reporting business now demands more capabilities from a platform. And When IT managers approach BI with business buy-in, there are benefits that can be seen immediately.” In fact, he goes on to talk about how a customer using IBM solution was able to show a whopping 403% ROI and a payback period of 3 month for a predictive analytics implementation.
Going forward The next big leap for BI would be a movement towards hand-held devices. In days to come BI systems will not only reside on a server, but will also port on to mobile devices. They will have access to data and capability to
DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT
34
OVER 25% OF RESPONDENTS STILL MENTIONED COSTS AS THE MAIN REASON FOR NOT OPTING FOR BI SOLUTION: Cost & budget Satisfied with current system Unclear about business benefits BINU LAKSHMAN, MANAGER - IT, HONDA SIEL CARS INDIA
“Heterogeneous systems pose a challenge, as the application aims to integrate and analyse information from all areas of business.”
NITIN SINGHAL, COUNTRY MANAGER, INFORMATION MANAGEMENTSOFTWARE GROUP, IBM INDIA (SOUTH ASIA)
“When IT managers approach BI with business buy-in, there are benefits that can be seen immediately.”
OCTOBER 2010
Unaware of solutions available Haven’t thought about it in detail Lack of IT resources
BI IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE MORE PERVASIVE AND INWARD LOOKING, AS IT IS BEING USED TO INCREASE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES: Improve business planning
Manage inventories
Control Costs
Explore new business opportunities
Improve operational efficiencies & cut waste
Cut revenue leaks and prevent fraud
Manage vendors and suppliers
Comply with regulations
perform analytics themselves, potentially enabling use of optimisation and simulation everywhere. Bhavish Sood, Principal Analyst– BI, Gartner (Asia Pacific), captures the shift when he says, “Another way to view this is as a ‘shift in timing’. Business intelligence has provided us historical analysis; powerful ways of analysing what has already happened. We can increase the scope of the information that is analysed. We can reduce delays between data creation and analysis. In the future the step would be predicting what can, or will, happen.” Another development is BI on a SaaS model, delivered over the cloud seamlessly. As the cloud computing market expands, the on-demand business analytics model has been getting much attention by the IT managers. In fact, according to IDC, the BI SaaS market is set to grow three times faster than the overall business analytics market with a CAGR of 22.4% through
2013, though the base is indeed much smaller now. In the days to come, as the market dynamics become more complex and enterprises drown under TBs and PBs of data, making sense of it all will become extremely critical. And BI will become more pervasive. And credible information will be readily available to the man of the ground. This will help even the smaller companies to compete with the behemoths. Or even open up new markets or business opportunities, like Shanmugham was able to do for MMFSL. Through the spread of relevant information across the organisation, not only are people empowered, but companies become profitable. And what is good for the balance sheet, needs to be good for all. So, let’s hail the new avatar of BI, a refurbished democratic one.n Courtesy:- IT Next