Usage of ICT in Food Security -- Harda Mandi

I am a firm believer and often propagate the usage of Information & Communications Technology (ICT) in Food Security. Do check out my post on IT & Food Security?

But here I would like bring to your notice how the right usage of ICT can enable changes in the systems that people deem as unchangeable and impossible. The usage of ICT at Harda mandi in Madhya Pradesh can be a case study for central as well as for other state governments. The mandi which procures produce from more than 100 farmers have adopted a novel method to cut large lines and long waits for the farmers.

The farmers have to register at the mandi and leave their numbers. The registration is done in first-come-first-serve basis and the farmers get an SMS with the information as to when they can come to the mandi to sell their produce. As you can see this is not about innovative technology but is rather a smart usage of the available technology to come out with innovative solutions. But this effectively and efficiently removes the hurdles that the farmers usually face, facilitate smoother procurement and prevents wastage too.

We have often heard about the problems hampering the government procurement and distribution system, and this kind of news comes as a welcome relief and shows that with the right technology and solutions you can bring in changes.

CIOs need to encourage Media Tablets

A recent report from Gartner emphasize that Media tablets are here to stay, and it would be wise for the CIOs to adopt them or at least create the platform to facilitate its usage. It further pointed out, “Media tablets are presenting a variety of new opportunities for businesses, but they are also requiring a new set of policies, technologies and skills for enterprises”.

A large majority of CIOs has earlier missed the boat for smartphones as they were not able to comprehend its potential. In fact, many CIOs earlier wrote off the smartphone and did not realize its value. Hence, many organizations were late catching up with the smartphones and business advantages that the mobile applications provide.

The scenario is much different now. CIOs today seem to be willing to get away from the control mode and enter the facilitator mode. They are aware of the fast pace Cosumerization and have realized that to stay competitive they should encourage it.

Gartner expects “media tablet shipments to be approximately 69 million in 2011, which is only a small fraction of the total number of application-capable mobile devices, such as smartphones”. But they expect “the impact of the device on other forms of computing is great”. In addition, according to Gartner media tablets are neither "better laptops" nor "better smartphones" but complement both.

Personally, I feel the power of the smartphone would out-shadow the media tablet. Smartphones is outselling other computing devices and will continue doing so. But even then I would implore the CIOs to hitch a ride on the media tablet wagon too so as to be seen and ready as a technology facilitator. My advice to CIOs would be that they should not try to supply, manage and control every device that employees use at work, but should instead facilitate new tech usage and encourage its proliferation within the organizations.

Do check out iPad and Beyond: The Media Tablet in Business for more details on the media tablet market.

The new age CIOs -- A Paradigm Shift

The new age CIOs need to be revolutionaries! !  It’s a great thought that’s doing the round of the industry, more specifically the IT industry. Till recently, CIOs role was being confined to being the steward of business and usherer of technological advancement within the organization. But the main aim was always to make the life easy for business; and making business processes better, faster and more cost effective.

But the things are changing now. Technologies like cloud, social and mobile computing are bringing in a paradigm shift to the way business and technology interact. And the CIOs are in the forefront of this change and in the process are shaking up business models and transforming how business is done. Another vivid change is that the technology agenda is becoming the business agenda, and CIOs are aligning them together. 

Besides technology, the next-generation workforce is also prompting the CIOs to bring in changes which seem quite revolutionary in the workplace. The new workforce demand and require new tools to interact and collaborate together and produce results that enhances the productivity of the organizations. The ways the workers work today have undergone a 360 degree transformation and the CIOs are bound to facilitate those changes.

Hence, the new age CIOs will:

•  Challenge old rules and usher in new changes
•  Adopt technology which might initially seem disruptive (for example, many CIOs are adopting cloud even though there are internal grumblings from the employees comfortable in the traditional mode of computing)
• Give preference to technology over business to bring in organizational transformation
• Facilitate the social and mobile computing proliferation
• Develop centres of excellence
• Encourage innovations
• Enable employees to connect, collaborate and interact in the way they are comfortable and want to
• Revolutionise the organizations and make them future ready

One should remember that CIOs will still look to improve efficiency, deliver on traditional business needs, maintain existing service levels and ensure that relevant information and metrics are present to enable the top management to make better business decisions. But the new age CIOs will go steps further rather than be confined to the traditional role—they will be a strategist, catalyst, revolutionary and visionary!!

Healthcare Apps -- Maintain Your Health

I am amazed by the number and quality of healthcare applications available on the Android and iPhone platform. There are applications for patients, doctors and medical students!! In fact, these healthcare applications are helping doctors and patients to connect and use information in creative and innovative ways.

According to the report “Global Mobile Health Market Report 2010-2015” by research2guidance, health applications will successfully reach out to 500 million of the expected 1.4 billion Smartphone users in 2015. This is one market that I would advise the Indian telecom industry and application developers to be proactively involved.

There are numerous applications in Android and iPhone platform well equipped to keep you healthy. But I will focus on the popular apps to monitor and control the lifestyle diseases (heart disease, diabetes and blood pressure):

• Sensei: My Diabetes Guide: This healthcare application guides diabetes patients on what to do, what to know, what to eat, and what to ask their doctors.
• Morsel suggests simple and daily tasks (that anyone can do) to help you get healthy, one day at a time.

• Instant Heart Rate can be used to optimize your exercise and to track your progress.
• Blood Pressure Log helps you track your blood pressure, pulse and weight readings.
• On Track Diabetes enables you to manage diabetes better by tracking blood glucose, medication and other values. It is an android application to help diabetics manage their diabetes by tracking various items such as blood glucose, food, medication, blood pressure (BP), pulse, exercise and weight.
• HeartWise Blood Pressure Tracker is considered to be the easiest-to-use application for quickly recording and keeping track of your blood pressure, resting heart rate, and weight. 
• My Diet Diary helps you track your food, exercise, weight, water consumption and more to see at any given time whether you are on track to lose weight, gain weight or stay the same, so that you can make the right choices to reach your goal.