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!

Is Android going the Windows Way?

Remember the time when ‘you think of a computer as a body, you think of MS Windows as its soul’. Almost every computer in the world had Windows operating system. Now Android seems to be doing that with its impressive growth as the OS for the Smartphones.

Since its introduction in 2008, Android has been successfully in capturing the market and emerged as the market leader. A recent Gartner report said, “Android in the Smartphone operating system (OS) market doubled to nearly 62 percent in the second quarter of 2011, up from just over 31 percent in the corresponding period of 2010”.

As per my perspective, Android came in at the right time when the market was changing. The scene was changing from the computer to Smartphones. It was able to address the pain-points and the needs of the market. Additionally, it was open and flexible—and gave everyone the option to play and develop. If you look at the apps currently provided by Android market—it’s simply amazing.

The buzz in the market about Android is positive. There are rumors that Google is planning to foray into manufacturing of mobile hardware like Smartphones and tablets. Another step that will likely change the market scenario is the recent buy of Motorola mobility. It gives Google access to 17,000 patents!

But the most significant change would be mobile OS providers teaming up with the handset manufacturers and churning out products that meet the needs of the manufacturers and the customers. You might why is this change or step so significant?

Well, do you remember the major step that ushered in the personal computer revolution? Companies like Microsoft tied up with OEMs and brought in the revolution where Windows became the dominant player. The same revolution will happen in the mobile handset space, and Android will likely become the dominant player (going by the latest reports).

But will Android become as popular as Windows? As of now that it’s hard to say. Personally, I feel the market dynamics will not allow a single player to become as dominant and popular as Windows became in the personal computing space. But let’s wait and see what the future has in store for Android and its competitors?

What are your views on it?

Android on the Roll- Gartner

Google's Android is on the roll. A recent Gartner report showed that Android has soared ahead of its competitors. As per Gartner, "Google and Apple are the obvious winners in the smartphone ecosystem. The combined share of iOS and Android in the smartphone operating system (OS) market doubled to nearly 62 percent in the second quarter of 2011, up from just over 31 percent in the corresponding period of 2010 (see Table 2). Gartner analysts observed that these two OSs have the usability that consumers enjoy, the apps that consumers feel they need, and increasingly a portfolio of services delivered by the platform owner as well".

Though Symbian takes the 2nd spot, it is clearly in a down-slide motion. I feel continuous innovation and amazing apps on Android and iOS are fueling their growth. It is extremely crucial for Nokia to perk up its OS and make it strong enough to compete with Android and iOS. Additionally, the market seems to be getting restless to see what the Nokia-Microsoft partnership brings to the table.

Google and Apple OS will definitely keep growing. And with the latest acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google, Android is bound to have a great run for the next couple of years.

Please do share your views.

Users store sensitive data on Android and iPhone devices

Nowadays, almost all of us use Smartphones to do our work. We download apps, network, watch videos, listen to music and do much more than we did or even imagined a couple of years back.  But more than often, we never care about the security aspect of the device that we use. ViaForensiscs, an innovative digital forensics and security firm, has come out with a rather interesting report Mobile App Security Study which specifically mentioned that sensitive user data stored on Android and iPhone devices.

As per the report and from the conclusions that I have drawn, the following are likely to become trends:

• Data security will stay as a major pain-point for the organizations. The last few years have seen major companies and their customers being affected by security breaches and data loss. Hence, organizations will definitely spend massively on innovative and strong security measures to protect their consumers’ data.
• The large-scale growth and spread of Apple and Google in the Smartphone market has opened up business opportunities. App developers, content providers and other such companies are taking advantage of these platforms to provide services and solutions to the customers. This trend will continue.
• The Smartphone OS providers and app developers will work together to secure the data on their customers’ Smartphones as data security will gain prominence among the consumers.
• As we all know and as report pointed out, “Smartphones today handle a great quantity of private and sensitive data, in a highly portable, network-connected mobile computer. The data stored and transmitted can include security credentials, personal financial information, private communications, sensitive company data and more”. So it will become increasingly important for the services providers, developers and the consumers to work together to prevent the cybercriminals from accessing personal data.
• Financial apps are being used by consumers to do business and banking on their Smartphones. Contrary to popular beliefs financial apps developers are adding encryption to the apps as a security measures. As we use our Smartphones more to do our banking activities, the need from fool-proof security measures will increase.
• As the consumers become aware, they will demand secure apps from their service providers. To meet the growing threats on mobile devices, the ideal outcome is for app providers to develop higher competency in mobile app security.

 Knowledge empowerment among the consumers and demand for secure apps will definitely make the companies provide secured solutions to the consumers. Additionally, preventing breaches and data loss is extremely important for the companies to ensure happy and loyal customers.

What do you say?

Nokia Behind Apple & Samsung in Smartphone category

You must have read the news—both Apple and Samsung have surged past Nokia in the Smartphones category. Nokia was once the undisputed leader not only in the SmartPhone category but also in the overall mobile category. So what does this change signify?

• One thing is pretty clear. Nokia can no longer sit on its past laurel and need to quickly come out with products that are in sync with the latest trends and customer needs. Although it is still a leader in the overall mobile phone category, but competitors are eating into its market-share.   
• The greatest pitfall for Nokia seems to be its Symbian OS. It fell through as Android and iOS raced past it. As others went ahead with innumerable innovative features, Symbian looked a bit off-beat. In fact, as compared to Android and iOS, Symbian seems to be the least preferred OS.
• The market expects Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft to bring in some positive changes. But both Symbian and Windows OS lag behind. Hence, whether the deal will be beneficial—only time can say. Additionally, products born out of the partnership are still to hit the market

Nokia needs to look closely at the market and come out with products to attract the consumers. More than the premium customers, the masses can have a big impact on the market. And that’s exactly what the market leaders have learnt from the success of the non-branded and local low priced products. Nokia made a late entry to the dual sim market too.

Nokia has the potential to become a leader again after all its design and technology has always been great. But the organization needs to understand that the demands of the market are different as compared to say a couple of years back. Today customers look for applications, innovative features, and cost also does make a major difference.

So my advice to Nokia would be:

• Innovate on your OS
• Provide applications that makes the life of the consumers easy
• Give features that are easy to use 
• Introduce products that are cost effective and goes easy on the wallets of the consumers

I welcome your viewpoints.