Security Market Grows, Trends I see

A recent IDC report caught my eyes - APEJ (Asia/Pacific excluding Japan) security market posts a 7.5% growth in 2010. Additionally, IDC expects the:

• Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Security and Vulnerability Management (SVM) markets to experience the largest growth of 17% and reach US$375 million and US$161 million respectively in 2011.  
• Secure Content and Threat Management (SCTM) market to grow at 13.3% and reach US$1,059 million in 2011.

We definitely cannot deny the fact security threats are a major headache for the enterprises. In fact, the threats are evolving at a fast pace, and at times become difficult for the companies to keep track of all the threats. Moreover, virtualization and cloud is also increasing the worries for security. Based on the report and current scenarios, the trends I foresee are:  

• IT Security threats will no longer be confined to the enterprises, it will impact the customers and partners and to some extent the other connected stakeholders too.
• Security breaches and data loss will happen via social media and network.
• Security attacks will happen via employees personal mobile devices.
• With 3G and 4G enveloping the telecom arena, the number of attacks using smartphones will rise.
• As the enterprises adopts virtualization and moves on to cloud, the security issues will take a whole new dimension.

I see more additional scenarios. In such a situation what should a CIO do?

• For starters, we are in an age of IT Consumerization and it will not be a good idea to ban personal devices or access to the online services and solutions. So it becomes important for the CIOs to draft foolproof security rules and regulations, and implement them.
• CIOs should proactively adopt the latest security solutions, and create a highly secured network.
• Social media activities should be monitored and come under standard guidelines. For examples, denying access to unknown sites.
• Security vendors should be encouraged to develop robust solutions which should be dynamic enough to keep in pace with the changing security threats.

There can be and definitely will be more measures. I do look forward for your views.

NASSCOM to focus on start-ups and small IT companies

You must have read the latest report that NASSCOM will focus on start-ups and small IT companies. This is a major development and is bound to create positive ripples in the Indian IT industry. I have seen many start-ups and small IT companies fold up because the support to sustain was not there. But things will definitely change for good with this stance of NASSCOM.

You might ask- what would be the great shakes if NASSCOM supports the start-ups and small IT companies? Well, one thing you should know-- it was NASSCOM, spearheaded by late Dewang Mehta, which revolutionized the Indian IT industry and acted as a strong catalyst in the emergence of India as an IT powerhouse. This latest development will give further boost to the Indian IT industry and I strongly believe will make the following possible:

• The main difference between the Indian and US IT industry is that we are providing the support whereas they were and are still innovating and are seen as innovators. And that’s one of the major reasons for the world to become so dependent on them. This support from NASSCOM will lead to a spurt of IT companies with innovative solutions. Earlier many start-ups and small companies with great ideas, innovative products and right motive, failed because the support was not there. 
• Our IT acumen is very strong but our entrepreneurial zeal is not that strong. In comparison to the western world, we have very few IT entrepreneurs. The reason varies from lack of support to fear of failure. But this development will encourage many Indians with innovative ideas and solutions to set-up shops. It will truly lead to a spurt of start-ups and small IT companies. 

Although this stance was long due, but it has come at an opportune time as the world is coming out of recession and people are looking for the next big idea or solutions. I foresee some great solutions and products coming out from the Indian IT sector in the near future. Additionally, I strongly feel that we should get together to support and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit lying dormant inside us and come out with companies that continuously innovate. In the IT world of the future—Innovation will be the key to success.

Private Cloud will create jobs and lead to investments

Cloud’s potential and expected benefits just keeps on growing. Organizations and governments are opening to the benefits of the cloud. Now another piece of news comes as music to the proponents of cloud. A study on private cloud space in India conducted by EMC Corporation and Zinnov Management Consulting estimated that the total cloud market in India will reach a market value of $ 4.5 billion by 2015.

 I have always propagated the fact that cloud will be a job generator in India. I feel vindicated by the report on the employment scene- private cloud is expected to create 1 lakh jobs by 2015. I personally feel with the increasing adoption of the cloud, the number of jobs too will further increase.

In fact, in India the private cloud adoption is increasing- though at a slow pace currently. The study pointed out that private cloud adoption will dominate and account for $3.5 billion in revenues, growing at over 60%. Hence, cloud computing is bound to increase and will form a significant part of an organization’s total IT spend.

IT/ITeS, telecom, BFSI, manufacturing and government sectors will contribute largest to the cloud market in India. But the study also mentioned that private cloud deployments will lead to cost optimization in segments like telecom and networking, facilities and fabric, hardware, software, internal labour and external IT services.  

Cloud is definitely the future!!

Google Music - The Game Changer

Have you checked out Google Music? Well, once you start using it; you will forget your files and CDs. You just have to upload your personal music collection to listen anywhere, anytime.

 

You can listen to your favorite songs directly from the web or on any enabled device with the Music app. The best part is that you don’t have to be online to listen to the songs as the songs you've recently played will automatically be available offline.

 

You can create your own customized playlists; and the playlists along with additional changes (that you might have made) will be available everywhere your music is. The playlists are automatically kept in sync.

 

Once you upload your favorite music, it will always be available for you. You no longer have to worry about cables, file transfers or storage space!

Check out the video to learn more about Google Music

Googe Music will change the way we listen to music. The days of CDs/DVDs, file transfers and painstakingly managing your playlists will be things of past. Accessing your music anytime and anywhere, and in any form will be possible now. 

A word of advice for the players in music industry -  it would make complete sense for  you  to join the band-wagon, before your competitors steal the show!!

Cloud for the Consumers

Recently a question was raised to me, “How would the cloud help the consumers?”

Well, first I want to explain that Cloud is definitely a huge opportunity for the large enterprises and the SMB sectors. The cost effective access to applications, platforms and infrastructure via the cloud is really amazing. It lets you do your work at a fraction of the cost. So for all, it’s a win-win situation.

So what the cloud has for the consumers? A lot, I would say.

• You can store your music in the cloud and access it anytime and anywhere you want. You can even allow your near and dear ones to access it.
• You can read innumerable papers and books as they get stored on the cloud. You can upload your digital books, papers etc on the cloud, and read at your own sweet time as well as allow others to read your content and point of view.
• You find it hard to store your video collections? Here too, the cloud can come to your rescue. You can store it and watch it whenever you want—without the fear of ever losing it.
• You can work on the documents simultaneously with your colleagues and friends, if that document is on the cloud. Won’t that make your life easy?

The above examples are just a few of the ways consumers can use the cloud. In fact, the cloud can enable you to store all your digital content at the same place and allow you to access it anytime and anywhere. The cloud has the potential to change your life and the way your work. As we go into the new decade, we will see numerous and newer ways that we can use the cloud to make our life easy and comfortable. I do firmly believe that the cloud will become way of life for us.

Please do feel free to tell me your views on it.

Online India Companies Booming

The internet boom is back in India. Online companies like snapdeal, flipkart, diapers.com and others are doing roaring business. The rapid internet penetration and high growth of mobiles subscribers are prompting retailers and organizations to flock to the online space to attract buyers. And the tremendous business done by the recent online companies have shown that the Indian consumers have come of age.

As a result, the future trends will be:

• Ecommerce will boom in India
• Instead of the ‘touch and feel’ need, Indian consumers’ preferences have changed to the speed of delivery and ease of availability.
• Companies that ensures fast delivery, and high quality services and products will rule the roost
• Majority of the users will shop online. It’s a growing phenomenon, and will soon reach a critical mass.
•  The lessons learnt from burst of the internet bubble in 1990s have enabled the current companies to ensure that they do not make similar mistakes. Hence mature companies with clear cut business models will emerge and sustain.
• Despite the current success scenarios, I don’t foresee Internet companies spouting at the drop of the hat unlike the 1990s scenario.
• Mergers and acquisitions will be rampant among the online companies in future as they try to consolidate their position in the online market space
• The scramble for the online internet space will see many companies closing doors. There are many companies offering similar services, and only the best among them will survive.

The changes are quite encouraging, and the online companies are gaining a major mileage due to the large audience milling the net. The high internet penetration ensures that a captive audience is there to be tapped and the growing number of internet companies show that the online business is on a great high. So I can safely say, in India we are re-building the internet bubble.

What’s your take on it?