Three Trends Worrying the CIOs/IT Managers

Do you know the key trends that are affecting information security and are forcing businesses to draft stronger controls as they become popular within the organization? Well, these trends are:

·          Cloud

·          Mobile

·          Social Media

In its 2011 Global Information Security Survey, Ernst & Young informed that “The rise of cloud services, mobility and social media is creating a new security paradigm and companies are having difficulty keeping up”.  The explosive growth of the three has definitely taken the organizations by surprise, they are struggling with ways and means to ensure that there are no security breaches or data loss.

I personally feel that the look for the perfect security to keep in pace with the fast growth of the three technologies will continue for some time.  Organizations need to draft the proper security policies to ensure that infringement does not happen and protecting their customers’ data should be their utmost priority. But they should also keep in mind that the policies do not create disgruntled employees and users.

Here are my suggestions:

·    The issues and concerns about cloud security will continue, but the growth of Cloud will too continue—so if you want to be a step ahead in comparison with your competitors then adopt the Cloud and build a secured network.

·    Consumerization of IT is blamed for the mobility revolution. But it is bound to stay and CIOs/IT Managers should encourage Consumerization of IT to keep their workforce happy, savvy and in sync with the current times. Drafting the right security policy is of utmost importance here (Read my earlier post on Consumerization of IT.)

·    The use of social media and social networking sights continues to explode, and it will do so at least over the next decade and will continue will be an area of worry for the CIOs/IT Managers. But a kneejerk reaction like limiting and not allowing access to social media sites is not the right solution. Here too, drafting the right security policy for the organization would be a proper action.

Gartner High on Social Media & Mobile Apps

I have always spoken about and encouraged my clients and friends to use social media to propagate and enhance their brand image and recall. I have emphasized on the usage of the mobile applications to attract customers. The potential of the social media platform and it power of its ability to reach the masses around the world is immense. The ability of the mobile applications to make a positive impact on our lives is amazing (check out my previous posts: Mobile Apps for Strokes, Healthcare Apps). Hence I felt my stand is vindicated when Gartner recently mentioned “Companies Will Generate 50 Percent of Web Sales Via Their Social Presence and Mobile Applications by 2015”.

This trend will definitely continue for at least to the next decade. Today users are looking for innovative but simple ways to interact with the companies. The old way of interaction is gone as the users become more tech savvy and do not like to wait. Hence, fast, easy and advance tools to interact with the consumers will be major requirements for the companies across the globe.

Additionally, as the usage of the Smartphones increases and bypasses the traditional PC—the expectation of the consumers will be vastly different and more integrated with the social platforms and innovative mobile applications. For the content driven industries, it will be both a challenge as well an opportunity. And whichever companies makes the first plunge and brings in integrated solutions for the consumers will emerge as the winner.

Another opportunity for the companies will be to expand their reach all over the world without making any investment on physical infrastructure or manpower in every region that they want to operate.

As technology grows more advanced and its usage becomes more innovative, the demands of the net and tech savvy consumers will also be in par with it. I firmly believe that the future will be interesting! What say you?



P.S: Check out Gene Alvarez, Research Vice President at Gartner, comments on the above topic in the Gartner YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjF3hqKm93Q

Nielsen India - Content usage on high among SmartPhone users

Did you check out the recent report on Indian smartphones usage patterns by Nielsen India? Indian SmartPhone users spend more time on content than Voice and SMS!! Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights,  revealed in its most recent study of this emerging market that the average Smartphone user spends 2.5 hours a day using their phones with 72% of their time spent on activities such as gaming, entertainment, apps and internet related content. Only 28% of their time is now used for voice calls and text messaging.

Key Findings by Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights

• Smartphone users in India are using their phones for more than 2.5 hrs per day, of which communication (calls, SMS, emails) accounts for only 28% of usage
• Younger Smartphone  users (15-25 yr olds) spend more than 3 hrs per day on their phones and spend 60% of the time on entertainment & browsing e.g., gaming, surfing the net and multimedia
• 68% of 15-24 year olds used a chat app last month as compared to 42% for the 31+ year olds; and
• Data usage for 3G users was close to 44% more than 2G users
• An Android user installs an average of 19 apps in a month compared to 10 apps for a Symbian user
• 84% of Android users played a game in the last month compared to 59% for Symbian users

What are trends expected?

I firmly believe that as 3G usages becomes more rampant in India, the focus and usage on content is going to increase. In fact, the time is ripe for the content developers to introduce innovative content. The jobs for content developer are also bound to increase, as a result. Hence, I do believe in future content would become the king in the SmartPhone arena.

Big Blue Overtakes MS-- shows a trend

You must have already read/heard the news that the Big Blue has overtaken Microsoft and become the 2^nd most valuable company across the globe. What an achievement for the company that was at the brink of closing down! And to become bigger and better than Microsoft which was in fact worth more than 3 times of IBM in 2000 is an applause worthy achievement.

Propelled by new growth areas and focus on services market, IBM kept on growing. In fact, as you all must be aware of, IBM Chief Executive Officer Sam Palmisano divested the company's PC business six years ago and decided to invest in software and services.

I do see a trend building here. The move is definitely from the boxes to services. There seems to be a paradigm shift from the personal computers to services and software. Along with IBM, many companies have divested its PC business to join the services bandwagon. The recent major company to move away from its PC business is HP, which was earlier a major player in the PC business.


The need for the hardware would always be there, but the reliance on it would become less. With companies further moving into virtualization and cloud, the demand for the hardware would drop.

But let me be clear on one point, I am not advising you to move away from hardware. I am a firm supporter of the hardware segment, and believe it to be an important segment of the IT industry. Just look at Apple—it’s the most valuable company.

My advice would be to ask you to find a synergy between your hardware, software and services segment. And that’s what the new age businesses would be looking for.

Do feel free to share your views on it!

Outsourcing -- 10 Steps to maximize

Outsourcing is an integral part of the IT process and many companies adopt it to bring efficiency and cut cost. Hence, it is extremely important for the companies to know and understand what they need to do and implement so as to get the maximum benefit out of outsourcing. With the industry seemingly on the verge of another recession, outsourcing is getting a strong shot on its arm. CIOs, IT leaders and sourcing managers are on the lookout for means and ways they need to follow to in order to get more from outsourcing. 

And help comes at the right time!! Gartner has identified 10 key steps in the sourcing strategy phase which looks like sure winners. So do the following to maximize your benefits from outsourcing:
1. Set context and objectives
2. Assess service delivery 'as is': Assess the organization's current internal and external capabilities.
3. Assess service and multisourcing management capability: Determine the level, position and maturity of the 10 multisourcing competencies within the organization to determine current and required capabilities.
4. Evaluate constraints and opportunities
5. Analyze gaps
6. Analyze external market
7. Conduct scenario planning: Compare the risk and potential value of different sourcing scenarios or models in terms of the organization's requirements and potential direction. Assess 'softer' issues, such as the fit of the sourcing solution to business objectives and
8. Analyze risks
9. Develop business case
10. Construct action plan

It’s imperative for companies to adopt best practices and follow steps that enable them to get the most out of outsourcing. And I see the outsourcing market grow at a fast pace, and it will be great for the Indian IT companies. You might ask why now? I would say because now is the opportune moment. The US and European markets are on a downturn and looking for ways to cut cost but still make profit, hence they are looking to outsource.






Do feel free to share your thoughts!!

Using tech for crop selection

I strongly advocate usage of technology in food security and firmly believe that it can make a major impact. Do check out my earlier post Usage of ICT in Food Security and IT & Food Security.

Using technology innovatively can take away a lot of misconception and misinformation, and at times ignorance too. And that’s what India’s agri-research body ICAR is aiming to do through their latest project. Using GPS technology, ICAR will provide farmers with exact information on the type of crops they should grow, and fertilizer and water requirements. This will enable the farmers to increase productivity which will in turn be a boon for the nation’s food security.

Interestingly, ICAR has already collected GPS based soil samples across the country. It has and will further look into the nutrient status and acidic reaction of soil in agri-region. The plan is to build a complete database on the appropriate farming methods to be employed for maximum productivity.

As time goes by and the database grows, information will be provided to the farmers over the internet on appropriate farming techniques to be adopted in specific areas. So you see the farmers will not only know the type of crop suitable for their fields, but also the amount of water and fertilizer they should use!

Now this is what I call innovative usage of tech!! What say you?

SMS protection against fake drugs

I am a strong proponent of technology, and support innovative usage of technology to make our life easy. Do check out my earlier posts (Healthcare Apps—Maintain Your Health and Usage of ICT in Food Security) to see the positive impact of tech in our life. Here’s another - soon we will be using our cell phone to protect ourselves from spurious drugs! 

As you must be aware spurious drug business is a big business in some parts of the country and is responsible for the deaths and dangerous after effects. The Indian government is planning to make it mandatory for the pharmaceutical companies in India to install an SMS-activated system to counter fake drugs in the market. As per the plan, every medicine strip will have a unique number which the buyers can SMS to the customer care for verification. This will definitely give a big blow to fake pharma companies and help the consumers.

I am sure we will soon see more such innovative uses of technology in India for the benefits of the general masses.

Do feel free to share with me if you have seen any such interesting usage of technology!