www.expresscomputeronline.com
edit
CHOOSING THE RIGHTTECHNOLOGY ransformative mobile, social, cloud and big data technologies are providing enterprises with the extraordinary opportunity for reinventing their business models. Yet the same digital technologies can also unleash disruptive change, which, if not managed carefully, can lead to the undermining of growth strategies and loss of competitiveness. Standing still is not an option—it can lead to even greater risk to the enterprise. It is critical to transform the legacy systems and create the environment for taking advantage of the technologies that are most likely to succeed. The path to future growth requires the willingness to act boldly and the ability to accept and manage risks. The key question that the CIOs are asking is not only, “What is the best possible technology?” but also “What are the strategic possibilities of the new technology?” For undertaking a successful digital transformation, the CIO must have a clear 360 degree view of how IT is being managed throughout the enterprise. The CIO can’t work in isolation and the business departments can’t be working in silos. But the leaders in other departments are, at times, lacking in skill, knowledge or even the desire to actively manage the digital change. If everyone in the organisation does not feel the benefits of the digital services, the digital transformation will be short-lived. A significant proportion of the business leaders with whom we interacted for this magazine issue are of the view that the sweeping changes in technology make it vital to ensure that there is integration of silos, maintenance of compliance and governance, and exposure to new technology innovations in every level of the business. The management of digital transformation is the biggest challenge for today’s enterprises, as it is the biggest opportunity. In this issue, we also have the in-depth coverage of the Express BFSI Technology Conclave and the summit on Digital Co-operative Banks in a Digital India. The two events generated several interesting ideas on how the BFSI companies are deploying digital technology to bring efficiency and transparency to their operations and reinvent their products and services.
T
THE MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR TODAY’S ENTERPRISES, AS IT IS THE BIGGEST OPPORTUNITY
anoop.verma@expressindia.com
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
3
contents 8
TRAI’S NEXTPLAN “If the projected demand of telecom services is to be met then additional two lakh towers have to be erected till the year 2020.” R S Sharma, Chairman, TRAI
feature 30
BSE RACES AHEAD WITH TRANSACTIONS IN MICROSECONDS Kersi Tavadia, CIO, BSE
38
22
ADOPTWHATYOU CAN ADAPT V S Parthasarathy, Group CFO, Group CIO, M&M
4
EXPRESS COMPUTER
USING TECHNOLOGY AS THE FOUNDATION FOR ACCELERATING GROWTH Shailesh Joshi, Head Corporate IT & CIO, Godrej Group DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
feature 12
WHERE IT GOES NEXT!
interviews DEEPAK
21 RAVINDRAN Embracing Start-up Culture DEBJANI GHOSH
28 Innovations for Digital India
event 42
EXPRESS TECHNOLOGY BFSI 2015 The Express BFSI Technology Conclave was an invigorating commentary on the technology innovations happening in the BFSI sector. Plenty of surprising, new ideas were germinated at the Conclave, and the older ideas got refined
VICTORIAA.
32 ESPINEL Powering Growth in India’s Software IndustryThrough IPR 40 RAGHU
RAGHURAM
Smart, Cost-efficient & Resilient Cloud 60
DIGITAL CO-OPERATIVE BANKS IN A DIGITAL INDIA The conclave was attended by the ICT practitioners of many leading co-operative banks in Maharashtra
in the news 26
» App for governance related grievance through mobile » Tihar jail enable video chat facility for prisoners » Odisha launches portal for pensioners
column 34
DIGITAL BUSINESS MEANS PLATFORM BUSINESS Dave Aron, Vice President and Gartner Fellow
EXPRESS COMPUTER
» Indian Army unveils the ‘Army Cloud’
» HRD Ministry launches e-pathshala with other apps & platforms
36
» Alibaba to take over China’s YouTube » And more
DECEMBER, 2015
5
MUMBAI Shankar Adaviyar The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division 2nd Floor, Express Tower, Nariman Point Mumbai- 400 021 Board line: 022- 67440000 Ext. 527 Mobile: +91 9323998881 Email Id: shankar.adaviyar@expressindia.com Vol 26. No. 12. December, 2015 Chairman of the Board Viveck Goenka Sr Vice President - BPD Neil Viegas Editor Anoop Verma* Chief of Product Dr. Raghu Pillai Delhi Mohd Ujaley, Ankush Kumar, Rashi Varshney Mumbai Jasmine Desai, Abhishek Raval DESIGN National Art Director Bivash Barua Asst. Art Director Pravin Temble Senior Graphic Designer Rushikesh Konka Layout Vinayak Mestry, Rajesh Jadhav Photo Editor Sandeep Patil MARKETING Regional Heads Harit Mohanty - West and East Prabhas Jha - North Dr. Raghu Pillai - South Marketing Team Shankar Adaviyar Ajanta Sengupta Amit Tiwari Mathen Mathew Circulation Mohan Varadkar Scheduling Ashish Anchan PRODUCTION General Manager B R Tipnis Manager Bhadresh Valia
Branch Offices NEW DELHI Prabhas Jha The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division, Express Buliding, B-1/B Sector 10, Noida 201 301, Dist. Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P.) India. Board No : 0120 6651 500, Ext:270 Direct No : 0120 665 1270 Fax No : 0120 4367 933 Mobile : 91-9899707440 Email id: prabhas.jha@expressindia.com CHENNAI Dr. Raghu Pillai, Mathen Mathew The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division New No. 37/C (Old No. 16/C) 2nd Floor, Whites Road, Royapettah, Chennai- 600 014 Mobile: +91 9886293667 Email id: raghu.pillai@expressindia.com Mathen Mathew Mobile No. +91 9840826366 Email: mathen.mathew@expressindia.com BANGALORE Dr. Raghu Pillai, Amit Kumar Tiwari The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division 502, 5th Floor, Devatha Plaza, Residency road, Bangalore- 560025 Mobile: +91 9886293667 Email id: raghu.pillai@expressindia.com Amit Kumar Tiwari Mobile No. +91 9840826366 Email: amit.tiwari@expressindia.com HYDERABAD Dr. Raghu Pillai The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division 6-3-885/7/B, Ground Floor, VV Mansion, Somaji Guda, Hyderabad – 500 082 Mobile: +91 9886293667 Email id: raghu.pillai@expressindia.com KOLKATTA Ajanta Sengupta The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division
JL No. 29&30, NH-6, Mouza- Prasastha & Ankurhati, Vill & PO- Ankurhati P.S.- Domjur (Nr. Ankurhati Check Bus Stop) Dist. Howrah- 711 409 Mobile: +91 9831182580 Email id: ajanta.sengupta@expressindia.com KOCHI Dr. Raghu Pillai, Mathen Mathew The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Ground Floor, Sankoorikal Building, Kaloor – Kadavanthra Road Kaloor, Kochi – 682 017 Mobile: +91 9886293667 Email id: raghu.pillai@expressindia.com Mathen Mathew Mobile No. +91 9840826366 Email: mathen.mathew@expressindia.com COIMBATORE Dr. Raghu Pillai, Mathen Mathew The Indian Express (P) Ltd. No. 205-B, 2nd Floor, Vivekanand Road, Opp. Rajarathinam Hospital, Ram Nagar Coimbatore- 641 009 Mobile: +91 9886293667 Email id: raghu.pillai@expressindia.com Mathen Mathew Mobile No. +91 9840826366 Email: mathen.mathew@expressindia.com AHMEDABAD Shankar Adaviyar The Indian Express (P) Ltd. 3rd Floor, Sambhav House, Near Judges Bunglows, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad - 380 015 Mobile: +91 9323998881 Email Id: shankar.adaviyar@expressindia.com BHOPAL Prabhas Jha The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division, Express Buliding, B-1/B Sector 10, Noida 201 301, Dist. Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P.) India. Board No : 0120 6651 500, Ext:270 Direct No : 0120 665 1270 Fax No : 0120 4367 933 Mobile : 91-9899707440 Email id: prabhas.jha@expressindia.com JAIPUR Prabhas Jha The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division, Express Buliding, B-1/B Sector 10, Noida 201 301, Dist. Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P.) India. Board No : 0120 6651 500, Ext:270 Direct No : 0120 665 1270 Fax No : 0120 4367 933 Mobile : 91-9899707440 Email id: prabhas.jha@expressindia.com
IMPORTANT Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy, it is not possible to verify its contents. The Indian Express (P) Ltd. cannot be held responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or damages incurred as a result of transactions with companies, associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or publications. We therefore recommend that readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever.
Express Computer® Reg. No. REGD.NO.MCS/066/2015-17, RNI Regn. No. MAHENG/49926/90 Printed for the proprietors, The Indian Express (P) Ltd. by Ms. Vaidehi Thakar at Indigo Press, (India) Pvt. Ltd. Plot No. 1c/716, off Dadoji Konddeo Cross Road, Byculla (E), Mumbai 400027 and Published from Express Towers, 2nd Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400021. (Editorial & Administrative Offices: Express Towers, 1st Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400021) Editor : Anoop Verma (*Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act.) Copyright © 2015 The Indian Express (P) Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.
6
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
INTERVIEW R S SHARMA TRAI
8
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
TRAI’S NEXT PLAN “If the projected demand of telecom services is to be met then additional two lakh towers have to be erected till the year 2020,” says R S Sharma, Chairman, TRAI. In conversation with Express Computer
What steps is TRAI taking to safeguard the interests of the consumers and nurture the growth of telecommunication, broadcasting and cable services? TRAI is the regulator for telecom and broadcasting sectors. At present there is a difference in the structure of the regulatory frameworks for these two sectors. For the telecom sector the regulatory framework is reasonably well defined and stable. For this sector our primary focus is to ensure that the standards of quality of service laid down are adhered to strictly for the consumers. In the telecom sector new challenges keep coming up due to its extremely dynamic nature. Issues like OTTs riding on the telecom infrastructure, IOT or M2M services, regulatory framework for Cloud services, which are the new emerging issues have to be looked at in some detail and seriousness given their importance for our economy, governance and for consumers. Unlike telecom, the regulatory framework for the broadcasting sector has to evolve given the generational changes that are happening in this sector with the digitisation of the cable TV network. Digitisation promises to create a whole new industry in the real sense with the cable TV as we presently know is changing beyond recognition. The regulatory framework for an analogue regime will barely meet the demands and aspirations of consumers in a digital environment. This, of course, is going to throw up immense regulatory challenges which we have to meet in a way, so that the EXPRESS COMPUTER
industry develops quickly and consumers can benefit from the new technologies. Having said that, my vision for the broadcasting sector is to ensure the rapid creation of a well defined, stakeholderfriendly framework by the time digitisation of the cable network is over. Recently TRAI directed the service providers to bring transparency to the broadband services by providing adequate information to the consumers. In your view what steps must the service providers take to improve the quality of broadband in the country? Broadband is the basic platform for delivering a host of services and applications to the citizens. Therefore, spread of broadband in the country is
TRAI has issued advertisements in leading national and regional newspapers for creating awareness in public about benefits of cable digitisation and obtaining set-top-boxes
critical for its development. This is indeed a cornerstone of the Government’s Digital India programme. For people to benefit from the internet and the opportunities of this digital age, a high quality broadband service is no longer a luxury – it is a necessity. It is as essential as the basic necessities of life. India is a country of great diversity. The variation in the level of development in different parts of India is immense. As sector regulator we have to take into consideration the need of all the consumers wherever they are located and whatever are the means at their disposal. It was with this perspective in mind that the recent recommendations on mobile broadband services were issued. Our intention is to protect consumer interests, so that they don’t have to pay huge amounts of money due to inadvertent use of data network. Regarding mobile broadband our present efforts will be to ensure early and orderly rolling out of the mobile data networks offering fair return to the industry - while at the same time ensuring good value for the consumers. For this the telecom operators must make adequate investments in infrastructure and ensure that the quality of service prescribed by TRAI is adhered to. According to the service providers the frequent call drops are mainly due to the lack of sufficient numbers of telecom towers in the country.What steps is TRAI taking to ensure that enough telecom towers can be built in the country to meet the needs of the consumers? DECEMBER, 2015
9
INTERVIEW R S SHARMA TRAI
There can be no mobile telephony without telecom towers. If the projected demand of telecom services is to be met then additional 2 lakh towers have to be erected till the year 2020. This is a huge task. TRAI is aware of the problems being faced by the telecom companies in locating new sites for erection of towers, allowing towers already established to operate unhindered and preventing closure of towers by various agencies, including RWAs. We plan to respond to this problem in different ways. This includes discussions with various agencies to make them aware of the importance of the telecom sector being a critical national infrastructure; the fact that telecom towers are inherently safe for human beings, i.e., they do not pose any health hazard; the fact that there is a stringent monitoring mechanism to ensure that the telecom towers are erected and operate within the norms stipulated by the Government of India; that the Indian standards and norms already have a deep precautionary protection built in by being prescribed at levels that are 1/10th of the international norms that are followed in almost 90% of the countries worldwide and that we as well as the international organisations are monitoring the developments actively. We intend to go out and meet the stakeholders in open house discussions. We intend to educate the student community about these facts and by issuing newspaper advertisements and through other public/ social media platforms. What kind of progress are you seeing in the process of digitisation of cable TV in the country? Also, what steps is TRAI taking to ensure that the consumers of cable TV have access to better quality of services? As you know digitisation of the Cable TV network in India, which was mandated by the Government in 2011 following a recommendation from TRAI, is in its final phases of implementation. All the metros and the big cities were digitised in phases I & II. By the end of this year all urban areas in India—about 7700 additional smaller towns and urban agglomerations—will be digitised. By end 10
EXPRESS COMPUTER
of 2016, it will be sunset for analogue TV signal in India. Digitisation in addition to offering the consumers much improved quality of cable TV services, will also allow a much wider range of related services to be offered such as hi-speed cable broadband internet services – this is very important also from the Digital India perspective. In cable TV services, consumers will have the choice to subscribe only to the specific channels that they want to watch; they will have access to on-demand movies; 3D and high definition content; and they will fully control over their expenditure. The regulatory framework in the analogue era barely suits modern digital network. A digital environment will enable the monitoring of the quality of service parameters by TRAI. However, this will need changing of some of the regulations. We are now in the process of examining the existing regulations comprehensively. This will aid us to create a modern enabling environment that will be simple and user friendly once the digitisation exercise is complete. In establishing the new framework, TRAI will follow its normal work procedure of consultation with all stakeholders i.e., open house discussions, discussions with industry, discussions with the content providers, with consumer groups. Are you taking steps to create awareness amongst the various stakeholders about
TRAI’s recommendations for auction of 831 FM channels in 264 cities,the Government recently concluded the first phase of the auction,offering 135 FM channels in 64 cities and towns
the benefits of digitisation? TRAI has issued advertisements in leading national and regional newspapers for creating awareness in public about benefits of cable digitisation and obtaining set-top-boxes. Consumer Outreach Programmes are being organised in different parts of the country for creating awareness among consumers. TRAI has brought out advertisements/ booklets/ leaflets, etc., on DOs & DONT’s for MSOs and LCOs; FAQs on Broadcasting and Cable TV Services, etc., which cover procedures for connection, disconnection, transfer, shifting, complaint registration and billing for broadcasting services including cable TV services in digitised areas. Such information is also available on TRAI’s website. What is your view of the Television Rating Agencies (TRP) mechanism that we currently have in the country? Is TRAI planning to reform the TRP mechanism so that maladies such as small sample size and lack of transparency that riddle the present system can be removed? TRAI encourages self-regulation by industry to the extent possible so that regulations are widely accepted and implemented in letter and spirit. The TRP is a critical component of the cable TV industry as it determines the popularity of the various channels based on the actual demand for their content amongst the consumers. In keeping with our philosophy of self-regulation to the extent possible TRAI recommended in September 2013 that an industry led body like the Broadcasters Audience Research Council (BARC) be in charge of the rating mechanism. These recommendations also address specifically the issue you raise - TRAI has recommended that the number of panel homes for collecting television viewership data would be a minimum of 20,000; to be set up within 6 months of the guidelines coming into force. It is further recommended that the number of panel homes should be increased by 10,000 every year until Panel Size reaches 50,000. BARC has recently informed TRAI that it has enhanced the panel size to approximately DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
34000 from 22000 earlier, so these recommendations are being implemented.
TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA 14th October, 2015 (www.trai.gov.in) Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data as on 31st August, 2015
What steps is TRAI taking to ensure that the much needed investments can come into the FM radio channel industry? Following TRAI’s recommendations for auction of 831 FM channels in 264 cities, the Government recently concluded the first phase of the auction, offering 135 FM channels in 64 cities and towns. The second phase of auctions will cover the rest of the cities/ towns proposed. This will give the broadcasters a wide area to operate in and be able to serve a much larger population/ client base. Undoubtedly, the quality and variety of services to the consumers will improve. Along with the modalities for the auction, TRAI has also recommended decreasing the channel spacing (frequency gap) between two FM channels from 800Mhz to 400Mhz - this is yet to be implemented, it is still under the Government’s consideration. This will further enhance the number of channels available to consumers in India. TRAI has suggested various measures to improve the operating environment for the broadcasters including increasing the period of the operating permission from 10 to 15 years. This will allow adequate period to the industry to plan the roll out of its services and recover their investments. While on this topic, I would like to direct attention to the fact that the industry must now also look ahead as globally radio is shifting from FM to digital broadcasting. Digital radios do offer far more program options to consumers and allow broadcasters to offer a much wider range of services. In many parts of the country 4G services are now being rolled out, but even today the quality of 3G services is not good enough. What steps are being taken to improve the quality of mobile broadband? 4G is an important part of any modern mobile broadband service, as it is a quantum improvement over the data speeds offered through 3G networks. I am EXPRESS COMPUTER
Particulars Total Telephone Subscribers (Million)
988.69
26.01
Total (Wireless+ Wireline) 1014.70
Net Addition in August, 2015 (Million)
5.48
-0.09
5.39
0.56%
-0.35%
0.53%
570.33
21.20
591.52
Monthly Growth Rate Urban Telephone Subscribers (Million) Net Addition in August, 2015 (Million) Monthly Growth Rate Rural Telephone Subscribers (Million) Net Addition in August, 2015 (Million)
Wireless
Wireline
3.04
-0.04
3.00
0.54%
-0.21%
0.51%
418.36
4.82
423.18
2.44
-0.05
2.39
0.59%
-0.96%
0.57%
Overall Tele-density*
78.37
2.06
80.44
Urban Tele-density*
145.67
5.41
151.09
Monthly Growth Rate
Rural Tele-density*
48.09
0.55
48.64
Share of Urban Subscribers
57.69%
81.48%
58.30%
Share of Rural Subscribers
42.31%
18.52%
41.70%
101.34
16.00
117.34
Broadband Subscribers (Million)
4G is an important part of any modern mobile broadband service,as it is a quantum improvement over the data speeds offered through 3G networks
therefore very happy that the 4G services are being rolled out in India, in a competitive fashion by the various telecom service providers. This is happening all over India and is market driven. At TRAI we are ready to assist in all possible ways to enable the smooth rollout. Regarding spread of mobile
broadband TRAI has already recommended to the Government to make available the 700Mhz spectrum band to the industry. The characteristics of this band are conducive for mobile broadband and will help in its proliferation. The auction modalities are presently being discussed. However, I will certainly like to point out that rolling out of the 4G service does not absolve the telecom operator of his responsibility to ensure good quality basic telecom service, i.e., voice and messaging. As you know at TRAI we are very serious about the strict adherence to quality of service laid down for telecom operators. This includes a periodic independent verification of parameters such as call drop and voice quality. We do this through Drive tests that are conducted in various cities in India. Even with the roll out of 4G services there is no intention of easing up monitoring of implementing the quality of service relating to basic telecom services. DECEMBER, 2015
11
FEATURE
12
EXPRESS COMPUTER
WHERE IT TURNS NEXT
»
DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
The road to better business practices is paved with information technology. The management and the technology leaders are collaborating with each other and taking responsibility for understanding new technologies and developing strategies for digital transformation of their organisations. The enterprises are leveraging IoT, analytics, mobility, cloud computing to achieve their business goals. Turn the page to have a glimpse of the radical plans that technology leaders have for transforming business through Information Technology BY JASMINE DESAI
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
13
FEATURE
WHERE IT TURNS NEXT
» www.expresscomputeronline.com
SANDEEP KARAN
KETAN DOSHI
HEAD - IT SYSTEMS & PROCESSES, L&T TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
MANAGING DIRECTOR, PAY POINT INDIA
E
nterprise IT has two facets – ‘Run the Business’ and ‘Transform the Business’. The first is routine and operational in nature, and essential to keep enterprise up and running. The latter is more strategic and innovative in nature and helps to drive solutions and define business outcomes. Our approach to enterprise technology has been shaped by the genesis of the company and some recent developments. L&T Technology Services was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited by merging various business of L&T that were working in the area of Product Engineering Services. In the year 2014, we entered into a joint venture with a company and later acquired another. This gave rise to a business challenge—the unification and harmonisation of various processes and systems, the implementation of a base ERP System, a program and 14
EXPRESS COMPUTER
project management system, and providing insights into data. Our technology focus in recent times, and particularly in 2015, has been in the areas of Business Intelligence and Analytics, Business Process Management, Information Security, Cloud and Collaboration. Implementation of ERP software and program & project management systems should glean valuable insights from available data to help analyse performance, optimise resources and improve margins for the organisation. Business Intelligence and Analytics, and Enterprise Performance Management are playing an important role in enabling this for our business leaders. Additionally, our initiatives in Business Process Management and Information Security are helping us in our readiness for the coming year. We expect to see, in 2016 and onward, an increase in the device mesh - like mobile devices, wearables, and others and interconnectivity between them. User experience will flow seamlessly across a shifting set of devices and channels of interaction, which will drive enterprises to use enterprise applications and allow employees to work virtually from anywhere. Apart from this, there could be growth in platforms for the Internet of Things (IoT). Our focus will largely be on the following set of areas: Working from Anywhere: Cloud-based Solutions; Mobility Solutions; providing user experience that flows across and exploits different devices. Single Source of Truth: Information models; Business Process Management; Business Intelligence and Analytics as self-service; Predictive Analytics. Performance Management: Collaboration and closed-group social networking; Information Security.
P
ay Point model is based on ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services). So technology is the key enabler. With this technology based services, Pay Point reaches consumers in an efficient manner, which in turn brings them convenience at their doorstep. Pay Point helps the consumers pay for their utility bills and recharges in their neighbourhood stores. With Pay Points online to offline (O2O) platform (and vice versa) whereby, technology is immensely used it has enabled the consumers who are not online. Pay Point does this with its 25,000+ retail touch points which provides an assisted model to the consumer for using these Financial Services. Pay Point India is actively working on the mobile technology and has realised that mobile technology is going to be the future. We are building apps which can be used to Windows, iOS & Android technology. This will increase our reach for every kind of consumer, hence bringing convenience in the hands of the end consumers. DECEMBER, 2015
FEATURE
WHERE IT TURNS NEXT
»
DEBJANI GHOSH VICE PRESIDENT, SALES & MARKETING GROUP, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SOUTH ASIA, INTEL
I
n India one of the focus areas for Intel is to work with the government for improving the scope and reach of education in all parts of the country. Intel has provided a platform for rapid expansion of digital access through the Intel Learn portfolio of programmes including Intel Learn Easy Steps and initiatives like the National Digital Literacy Mission through which close to 5 million citizens have already been impacted with digital literacy skills. Many more will be impacted in 2016. Effective education transformation can help increase student competitiveness, build job skills and competencies, support economic development, and provide social cohesion. Intel’s approach embraces policy, curriculum, professional development, infrastructure and research. In India, Intel has been working with apex bodies and the government on policies and curricula that successfully integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into school and college education, including the most recent endeavor to set up 100 IoT
To encourage growth of e-commerce, taxation on digital transactions should be in the least,at par with the physical world centres across academic institutions in India to align technology curricula with the industry needs and promote research. The Intel Teach Program, the largest, most successful programme of its kind has trained 1.8 million teachers in the country equipping teachers and teacher educators with the training, skills and resources to prepare their students for success in today’s global economy. On the other hand, programmes like the Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) National Fair and Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) provide a platform for school children to showcase their brilliance. Over 100 Indian children have won major awards at ISEF to date and 19 kids have minor planets named after them. Intel promotes innovation and entrepreneurship among students and the youth of the country through a variety of programmes like the Intel & DST Innovate for Digital India Challenge and the Intel India Embedded Challenge that motivate college students and budding entrepreneurs to use technology to unlock ideas and take them to reality. 16
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
R CHANDRASHEKHAR
PARAG ARORA
PRESIDENT, NASSCOM
AREA VICE PRESIDENT & COUNTRY HEAD, INDIA SUB -CONTINENT, CITRIX SYSTEMS
A T
o spur the growth of IT in 2016, we recommend that the government address regulatory and tax challenges for technology start-ups and SMEs, like difficulties in access to funding for low asset based firms, investor difficulties related to regulations and taxations discouraging investors, ambiguous Software product taxation and implementation issues adding to burden. The government should also provide incentives for technology start-ups and SMEs. It should extend provisions on deduction for employment and skill development (Section 80JJAA), R&D credits, there should be new provisions like offsetting manpower training cost, deferred tax credits for start-ups. To encourage growth of e-commerce, taxation on digital transactions should be in the least, at par with the physical world, if not reduced to facilitate adoption and migration to technology
EXPRESS COMPUTER
enabled platforms. This will help government leverage the inherent transparency and traceability of online transactions. We also have certain suggestions towards Make in India initiative as well. In recognition of the transformative impact of IT, extend incentives to the Indian industry for adoption and implementation of IT tools for efficiency enhancement, ensuring sustainability and global competitiveness for the success of the Make in India programme. The government could revoke exclusion of expenses towards software tools for R&D from weighted deduction under the DSIR guidelines to encourage adoption of advanced R&D. Policy revisions/ clarifications are required for expansion of the Industry. In case of Exports– Foreign Tax Credit policy, drawback scheme for services, carry backward of business losses.
s a functional entity, IT is undergoing a tremendous change. At Citrix we are now working through the service provider model. Now we have a very versatile internal app store. So if I am using a thin-client, through the app store I can just select the appropriate application and start working on it. The BYOD policy at Citrix has became very comprehensive in 2015. Now all the employees have their own devices. Our IT team is not responsible for repairing or servicing anyone’s devices, it is the users job to ensure that. The app store at Citrix is mobile friendly. So it is possible for every employee to access the relevant apps through their mobile devices as well. The basic thing is that the role of IT in Citrix has transformed from being reactive to creating services that are necessary for solving certain business problems. By freeing the IT team of the responsibility of managing basic tasks, we have enabled them to use their time on resolving issues that have more direct impact on our business processes. In the quarterly meetings that we have with the management teams, the IT department plays a major role. We have enlightening discussions with our IT teams about how we can be more responsive to our customers. DECEMBER, 2015
17
FEATURE
WHERE IT TURNS NEXT
Âť www.expresscomputeronline.com
V S SHRIDHAR SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL ENTERPRISE SERVICES, TATA COMMUNICATIONS
A
t the beginning of 2015, three trends dominated the global technology sector: cybersecurity, IoT and digital innovation. With a growing tech-savvy workforce, enterprises and mobile network operators are looking at innovative solutions to manage consumer demands. Organisations are looking at solutions that will help them boost customer satisfaction, employee productivity and streamline business processes. Keeping this demand into consideration, Tata Communications recently combined its IZO Private with Azure ExpressRoute for Office 365 which provides enterprises with cloud-based communication and collaboration, ensuring the security and integrity of data. Another sector that is bound to grow exponentially with the aid of technology is media & entertainment. On the back of rapidly evolving technology platforms, consumer viewing
habits are changing, new business models are emerging and more competition is arising from multiple sectors. We at Tata Communications, this year, launched the Media Ecosystem, powered by our leading network and video contribution and cloud services, which provides the flexibility and scale businesses need as they evolve their strategies in response to this changing landscape. Cybersecurity has gained top of mind recall on the back of multiple Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks have the ability to not only cripple business operations but also affect the reputation of the organisation significantly. To ensure that our customers have complete peace of mind we created and deployed Security Solutions and services for them to carry on their business uninterrupted. Tata Communications’ focus has always been on growth, empowering enterprises with custom built
communications solutions, driving efficiencies and evolving the ICT infrastructure which involves network solutions, cloud enablement, managed hosting services, mobility solutions. In 2016, we will continue to improve our offerings in these areas and provide our customers with best-in-class services enabling them to stay ahead of the competition.
decisions regarding their business. We have recently launched BrandAgent, our Marketing Communications Platform. We cannot ignore the fact that India reaches 300 million people through TV, but there are 980 million mobile subscribers and 80% of these subscribers are outside the metros using feature phones, speaking vernacular languages with no internet access. We cannot ignore a medium which reaches three times more people than the mass media. With BrandAgent, we are going to help businesses to run a multitude of marketing campaigns using mobile device as the main medium. It will help them reach a larger audience in a much more effective manner. Our analytics tools will help them to track the return-oninvestment in case of every campaign that a business chooses to launch. We are also reaching out to customers
outside of India and have seen some major success in partnerships. WPP, Worldwide has recently tied up with Ozonetel and 2016 is going to be a year full of promise for Ozonetel.
CSN MURTHY CEO, OZONETEL
A
business has to constantly invest in technology to improve its operational efficiency, customer engagement and grow its revenues. One of the key challenges most businesses face these days is that the business communication is either broken or fragmented. They have manual tools which are not automated. The communication with their customers is not consistent through the life cycle of marketing, sales and support. They lack tools to measure impact on various marketing campaigns and to monitor sales leads. They lack products that can be easily integrated with other systems in their organisation. The absence of real-time analytics further enhances the inability to take informed 18
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
Monitor, manage and secure with GFI WebMonitor速 Online security
Web filtering
Bandwidth management
Find out more and start your FREE trial:
gfi.com/webmonitor Tel: + 91 22 61934858 | email: info@comguard.in | www.comguard.in All products and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
FEATURE
WHERE IT TURNS NEXT
» www.expresscomputeronline.com
NITIN RAINA GLOBAL DIRECTOR, INFORMATION SECURITY FOR THOUGHTWORKS
E
nterprise IT is important for ThoughtWorks. The organisation leverages a mix of open source and ‘closed source’ technologies. This year ThoughtWorks moved it’s Peoplesoft Financial System from an internal hosting structure to an external data centre in Chicago. This move involved use of a lot of enterprise solutions such as VMware for virtualization, Oracle for databases. Also, used were infrastructural components from Cisco for switching and Nimble as the storage platform. The business challenge that ThoughtWorks faced with this migration was in continuing to provide a strong and stable hosting platform for our financial ERP system with very low downtime. Being a professional services and consulting organisation, ThoughtWorks is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to partner with our (current and prospective) clients. This
calls for organisational focus on areas like IoT, analytics, mobile, cloud, data security which requires ThoughtWorks to be in the know of current tech. In the same line of thought, ThoughtWorks’ internal IT structure needs to reflect and keep up with the company’s dynamic structure and business strategies. For instance, in a recent workshop at London, a lot of the senior IT leaders met to discuss one thing in particular - how will ThoughtWorks, with its current business expansion plans, that point to new offices, new geographies, new delivery centers empower it’s teams with the optimum endpoint devices, network, data security and the similar. Our expectations for 2016 is a heavy focus on delivering more value back to the business at an equal or with no increase in spends. Also, we are honing our IT efforts towards demand, building consulting capabilities and nurturing internal leadership potential for ThoughtWorks. One of our key internal IT investments for 2016 will be in identity and access management (IAM). We are working to
simplify our approach towards building effective security models around our endpoint devices and focus on deparameterization. Our current Identity solutions require scaling up to meet new business complexities, hence we will be looking in the direction of cloud solution providers for some smart and innovative solutions in the area.
AJAY KOLLA CEO AND FOUNDER, WISDOM.COM
S
ince its inception in 2010, Wisdom Jobs has been leveraging enterprise technology to streamline operations across its various departments. Being a job portal that deals with exceedingly huge amounts of user data (which gets updated regularly, and is thus dynamic in nature), it is important for us to ensure real-time flow of data from the backend to our Sales, Recruitment and Customer Engagement teams and vice-versa so that day-to-day operations are executed smoothly and efficiently. Being an online hiring platform that integrates unique features like preassessment and voice broadcasting into a job portal’s functionality, and where no department can work in isolation, it is key 20
EXPRESS COMPUTER
for us that IT resources are shared across the organisation. At the same time, monitoring and administering the performance of the IT services that we are receiving is also an important part of our efforts to leverage enterprise technology. In the coming year, our key focus will be on information and data management. The more effectively we are able to manage and correlate the data that is in our system with the information sought by the user, the better will be the user experience we can deliver. To this end, our focus is on efficiently leveraging big data and data science to establish effective and intuitive linkages within our database. DECEMBER, 2015
INTERVIEW DEEPAK RAVINDRAN Lookup
www.expresscomputeronline.com
“The chat interface is becoming an integral part of this modern conversing society and will be the next big thing after mobile apps,” says Deepak Ravindran, Founder & CEO, Lookup. In conversation with Rashi Varshney
Embracing Start-up Culture You have played a role in the development of several start-ups. Tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur? The first start-up that I launched was Innoz. In 2005, when I was a student at the Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Engineering, in Kasaragod, Kerala, I teamed up with three of my classmates and we founded Innoz, which is more popularly known as SMSGyan. This is basically an offline search engine, which allows about 120 million users to text any question and get answers immediately. You don’t even need Internet connected smartphones to use the system. The success that we had with Innoz, inspired me to found Quest, which combines its question-and-answer platform with automatic geotagging to help users find nearby people who can answer questions on the best restaurants to dine, places to see around, and so on. My third venture is Lookup. What kind of services are you providing through Lookup? Lookup is a free app for connecting consumers with the local businesses through chat. With Lookup, buyers and sellers have access to do real-time transactions on more than 800+ million products/services available in their local ecosystem, but not listed online. You can get these products delivered to your doorstep, book appointments, find prices, product/service or make reservations at restaurants and many more with a message. You can even chat with the police. Lookup aims to bring all offline businesses online. One can claim his/her business on Lookup and start engaging with their customer. Lookup provides easy-to-understand analytics and customer experience that allows business owners to take away insights about how their shop is performing and KPIs that help them outperform the competitors. How do you see the state of mobile commerce in India? Despite several years of rapid growth, e-commerce still constitutes well under 2% of the retail market. The remaining 99% of retail is still offline and mostly local, which represents a large business opportunity according to a report. India has 40 million EXPRESS COMPUTER
small urban businesses with less than 10 employees each. It includes everything from coffee shops and groceries to small restaurants. Traditional organised retail shops never really got big in India, because more than 95% of these SMBs don’t have a good digital presence. Our bet is that mobile commerce will leapfrog it and work with mom-n-pops. In your view what are the key challenges that the mobile commerce industry in India faces? It’s a two-sided problem. Shopkeepers will be happy if they have more customers. Customers will be happy if there are more shops. From day one, we were very clear that we would focus on consumer first and using customer support as a major source of responding to their queries. When a customer chats with us, we call the store, find out the information and reply to the customer in real time. Also, we then try to onboard the merchant we are calling. Lookup would constantly place orders on behalf of customers to shops, and these shops noticing these trends would enquire and come on Lookup.
Lookup uses Chat to disrupt local commerce in India which is a $750 billion industry. India has the highest shop density in the world with over 45 million local businesses
Mobile apps have become very popular these days. How do you see the mobile apps business evolving in the future? Chat platforms are not just a medium through which people can interact with others, but also a platform for accomplishing various day to day tasks. One single platform is being explored by startups such as Justdial, Askme, Google, Facebook, Snapdeal and many others, to build their businesses. The thought of connecting the producers to the consumers was very appealing for they could solve the ever existing problems of miscommunication, time lag and several other redundancies through chat. The reason is it’s simplicity. That’s the impact that chat platform has granted to the world. I strongly believe that the chat platform is the way forward to answer people’s queries, albeit with a personal touch. The chat interface is becoming an integral part of this modern conversing society and will be the next big thing after mobile apps. rashi.varshney@expressindia.com
DECEMBER, 2015
21
CIO PROFILE
»
Source: Express photo by Pradip Das
FEATURE
22
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
“At M&M, we recognise the important role that IT can play for improving business efficiency and driving profitability—that is why we are always on the lookout for new systems by which we can ensure that our IT systems and solutions are up-to-date,” says V S Parthasarathy, Group CFO, Group CIO, M&M BY ANKUSH KUMAR
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
23
FEATURE
“
CIO PROFILE
»
W
hen I joined M&M in 2000, I was given the responsibility of organisational transformation,” says V S Parthasarathy. “I was asked by the then president of the Farm Equipment Sector (FES): ‘How will you make this transformation happen?’ I was able to give the right response. Without batting an eyelid, I replied, ‘By using IT.” Parthasarathy informs that in the journey that he has undertaken at M&M, he has been able to contribute his mite in ensuring that the organisation is amply supported by technology in all its business endeavours. He says that he has always been an advocate for using technology to develop efficient business models. A man of varied experience, Parthasarathy has worked his way through several key positions at M&M before becoming the company’s Group CFO, Group CIO, President - Group Finance and M&A. He played a key role in the execution of the large, big bang project called Harmony, which was aimed at establishing a common IT platform across the entire M&M Group. The Harmony project presents a consolidated groupwide view to the top management and has resulted in better decision making for the users in the group. “Technology is an integral part of our life. At M&M, we represent 18 businesses, each one of which requires IT for efficiently delivering products or services,” says Parthasarathy. “The customer is becoming tech-savvy, there is a demand for IT inclusion, and all this is forcing businesses to adopt the latest technologies.”
From Xerox to M&M People generally try to avoid challenges, but Parthasarathy has a different outlook, “I enjoy being thrust into challenging situations, because every new challenge offers me another opportunity to test my own capabilities. This is why I have donned different hats during the course of my career,” he says. After he cleared his CA examination, Parthasarathy joined Modi Xerox, the Indian subsidiary of Xerox. During those days, the company wanted to set-up a branch in Ahmedabad 24
EXPRESS COMPUTER
I enjoy being thrust into challenging situations, because every new challenge offers me another opportunity to test my own capabilities
and was looking to hire a branch CA Head. Initially, inducted as a Management Trainee in April 1986, Parthasarathy achieved a target of more than 100 percent and was awarded the best credit performer in 1987. He was later given the opportunity to expand the operations in Uttar Pradesh. His mandate was to set up offices in Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Dehradun. “This was a very enriching experience. I got a holistic view of the business and I learned how to manage operations on the ground level. In all these places we grew our business and brought in controls,” says Parthasarathy. In 1990, Parthasarathy moved to Kolkata, as the Regional Controller and Operations Head at Xerox. In 1994, he moved to the Xerox head office in Delhi as Controller-Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A). From 1994 to 2000, he continued to be the FP&A head, and was also the CFO for two units of the company. In 2000, while he was still at Modi Xerox, he met KJ Devasia, who was then the President and Executive Director of Farm Equipment Sector (FES) at M&M. “Then I had no plans of moving out of Xerox. But Devasia was persistent in trying to convince me that I should move to M&M,” says Parthasarathy. When Devasia told him that in M&M, Parthasarathy would have the opportunity of ensuring that India’s largest tractor company went on to become the world’s largest manufacturer of tractors, Parthasarathy’s interest was aroused. He made a big move of his career, when he assumed the new role in M&M, where he was now managing performance and IT. In this role his main responsibility was to develop a performance culture that could enable the organisation to achieve its strategic objectives. “This was the kind of leadership role that I had always been seeking,” says Parthasarathy. In 2001, he became instrumental in selecting a Supply Chain solution from SAP that helped the company reduce its inventory in the supply of finished goods, improve order fulfilment rates, and reduce demand fulfilment time. This was SAP’s first supply-chain implementation in the AsiaDECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Pacific region; also M&M was the first company to implement a Business Warehousing Solution.
Enable, Enhance and Engender The year 2004 saw Parthasarathy becoming the head of international operations at M&M. In this new position he was responsible for FES operations worldwide, excluding India. His tenure saw the revenues of the department grow to over $1 billion. “Although many of these roles were very rewarding and enjoyable, as the business grew, we needed to develop our finance function, so I was thrilled to return to finance, initially heading M&A, Treasury and Accounting and now as Group CFO and CIO,” says Parthasarathy. “At M&M, we recognise the important role that IT can play in improving business efficiency and driving profitability—that is why we are always on the look out for the methodologies by which we can ensure that our IT systems and solutions are upto-date?” He informs that at the Mahindra Group, they have a mantra for IT “Healthier-Leaner-Faster-Smarter”. He is of the view that IT should create a ‘strategic competitive advantage’ for the company. “The ‘3E’s – ‘Enable, Enhance and Engender’ will drive the efficiencies and the supporting IT strategy is to ‘run healthier-leaner-faster-smarter’ operations,” he says. He has a strong view on how new innovations in IT can be used for improving business prospects. “Cloud and analytics are already being used in our organisation,” he says. “When it comes to IoT and Big Data, we have taken few small steps, but in these areas too we are now gearing up for the long jump. Once we are able to optimally deploy IoT and Big Data, the social networks will also be used,” he says. Currently M&M has moved to using Office 365 and Azure and a few other cloud service providers. He says that he and his team are currently focusing on IT systems like Cloud, Mobility, Analytics and Connected Enterprise. “In our journey to IoT and Big Data or for that matter any other new technology, I prefer to bank upon my technology council to provide the organisation with some good business cases,” says Parthasarathy. EXPRESS COMPUTER
Current Designation
Group CFO, Group CIO President (Group Finance & M&A) Member of Group Executive Board
Work Experience
14 years in Modi Xerox and 15 + years in M&M
Favourite Books
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Favourite Food
Curd-rice
Favourite Destinations
Exotic beaches of Kerala; Temple destinations of Tamil Nadu; Serenity of Dharmashala
Favourite Gadget for Work
iPad and iPhone
Favourite Gadget for Personal Use
iPhone
Favourite Quote
“In today’s world, whatever can be done will be done.The only question is, will it be done by you or to you?”– Thomas Friedman
“With regard to the automotive sector and the IT driven business-technology, introduction in the car becomes an important prerogative to connect to the customer. More importantly, with IoT coming up, everything that goes into the car would broadcast information and hence the focus is much more on the automotive sector.”
Innovation & Adaptability Parthasarathy is of the view that in today’s VUCA environment (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity), sailing the boat of business is by itself a very complex task. His mantra of taking the organisation forward in the world of VUCA is something that he likes to call “ICE—the new future”. “ICE,” he informs, “stands for—Innovation & Adaptability, Climate Change, and Experiential Commerce.
“The world is in a state of flux. There is big change happening in terms of environment, business and technology. With trends like IoT, which is a purely technology driven initiative, but it is capable of impacting everything ,i.e., environment, businesses and people, IT will be playing a critical role in making the business - future ready.” To explain his success mantra for IT, he quotes Thomas Friedman: “In today’s world, whatever can be done will be done. The only question is, will it be done by you or to you?” He emphasises that IT has today emerged as a major force for driving the business, but only those organisations, which have a culture of innovation, will be able to benefit from IT in today’s competitive environment. ankush.kumar@expressindia.com
DECEMBER, 2015
25
NEWS EGOV
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Indian Army unveils the ‘Army Cloud’ A HIGHLY ENCRYPTED Cloud system of the Indian Army, similar to that of Google, which will store personnel as well as operational data, has been inaugurated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in line with the force’s plan to be a “digital army”. The ‘Army Cloud’ includes a central data centre, a near line data centre, both in Delhi and a disaster recovery site for a replication of its critical data along with virtualised servers and storage in an environmentally controlled complex.
This is similar to ‘Meghraj’, the Cloud system of National Informatics Centre, and will provide all information technology infrastructure, including servers for computing, storage, network security equipment centrally for automation of Indian Army. Another ‘Digital Army Initiative’ which was also inaugurated was ‘Digi-Locker’, which provides a secure and exclusive data storage space to all the units and formation headquarters of the army over its dedicated data network.
App for governance related grievance through mobile PEOPLE CAN NOW register their governance-related grievances through mobile phones. A mobile app for Centralised Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal has been launched by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh in New Delhi. CPGRAMS is a central government portal aimed at providing the citizens
with a platform for redressal of their grievances. The complaints received on this platform are redressed by the ministry, department or state concerned. Singh hoped the common people will make maximum use of the mobile application since the mobile phone has emerged as the easiest way of communication from anywhere across the country.
TIHAR JAIL HAS launched e-Visitor software which will help the jail inmates to meet their families and acquaintances living at far away places in the country through video conferencing facility. “The software will be specially helpful for the poor family members of prisoners, who cannot travel from distant places in the country to Delhi. It will start functioning from the end of this month,” said
Mukesh Prasad, Additional IG of Tihar. The e-Visitor facility will also enable visitors to book their visit with relatives and friends lodged inside the jails of Tihar prison complex, on any two days of the week, except Saturday and Sunday, Prasad said. The visitors can book the meetings with inmates on the toll free numbers 011-28520202, 011-28526971, 1800-110-810, the officer said.
Odisha launches portal for pensioners
TO HELP THOUSANDS of pensioners in the state, Odisha government has launched a portal to facilitate them to create digital life certificates for smooth transaction of their monthly pensions. CM Naveen Patnaik dedicated the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) portal under the Finance department and flagged off the launching of ‘Digital Life Certificate Initiative’, named —Jeevan Pramaan. “I hope, the IFMS will improve governance through better financial management, enhance transparency and accountability by means of ICT. The Digital Life Certificate will enable us to deliver a critical service through ‘Aadhar,” said CM Patnaik.
HRD Ministrylaunches e-pathshala with other Tihar jail enable video chat facilityfor prisoners apps & platforms
26
EXPRESS COMPUTER
HRD MINISTRY HAS launched a number of mobile apps and web-based platforms allowing students to access study material online, and parents to keep a track of the performance and attendance of their children. Elaborating about the initiatives, HRD minister Smriti Irani said through mobile apps and website ‘E-pathshala’ students, parents and teachers can access study material online. DECEMBER, 2015
INTERVIEW DEBJANI GHOSH INTEL
INNOVATIONS FOR DIGITAL INDIA “A lot of electronic manufacturers are willing to manufacture in India and this will definitely fructify if Digital India succeeds and thus the success of Make in India and Digital India are interdependent on each other,” says Debjani Ghosh, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Group, Managing Director, South Asia, Intel. In conversation with Mohd Ujaley government and the industry need to come together and collaborate through robust public private partnerships like never before. The good news is that the industry is extremely willing to play a role and a strong PPP framework with clear expectations will help channelize that energy and enthusiasm into real action. Industry can help not only create the solutions needed for the digitisation of India, but also in building the skill-sets and talent needed to create a sustainable change.
What is your view of the Digital India programme? The digitisation of India is a must for development. India cannot develop without inclusive growth – where every citizen has access to the basics like education, healthcare, financial services, etc. And the only way that can be done is 28
EXPRESS COMPUTER
by digitising India and leveraging technology to close the last mile gap. In my view the Digital India programme is a very bold vision, but it is also a must do for India. However, Digital India cannot become a reality unless there is effective public private partnership. To fully realise the potential of this vision, the
What kind of role is Intel playing in the Digital India programme? Intel has picked up skills and innovation as the two areas where our strengths lie, and where we can contribute effectively towards the realisation of Digital India. Intel has been working with the government to develop solutions for scaling digital literacy throughout the nation under our Digital Skills for India initiative. We are now taking the same public private partnership approach to help increase technology adoption across India. We are collaborating with the Department of Science and Technology (DeitY) to launch the Intel & DST Innovate for Digital India Challenge. The initiative is being supported by Department of Electronics and Information Technology and MyGov. It is being managed by IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship. This challenge will combine Intel’s experience in innovation DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
with the government’s Digital India charter and the entrepreneurship talent in India to create a sustainable technology ecosystem that will develop customised solutions to increase meaningful usage of technology in the country.
Intel has picked up Skills and Innovation as two areas where our strengths lie,and where we can contribute effectively towards the realisation of Digital India
What kind of response did you receive for the Innovate for Digital India Challenge? We received an overwhelming response to this challenge from both the government and the industry with encouragement coming from Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. Over 1900 applications poured in from all over the country and these teams have been shortlisted from Top 50 to Top 20 and will proceed to being shortlisted further to top 10 and top 3. The cumulative prize money for the challenge is about Rs 1.5 crore. Through this entire challenge, not only are we aiming to showcase viable and marketable products and solutions but we want to help create and foster a culture of innovation in India that focuses on solving our real challenges at the grassroots.
commitment in strengthening our offerings year after year. The industry can work actively for transforming the education landscape in the country by collaborating closely with the academia in defining and shaping curriculum development and the research agenda. This will ensure that the education system is geared towards contributing to the nation’s development agenda and it will also create a globally competitive skilled workforce.
Intel has been working with the government on a number of education related projects.Are you satisfied with the progress of these projects? We are very satisfied with the performance of these projects and with the impact that they are having in the country. Education is a powerful tool that we have for unlocking economic opportunity and building a successful future. Since 1999, Intel has been directly involved in providing young people with access to technology and education across India. Aligning with national priorities, Intel has been working towards faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth, by accelerating digital access, promoting quality learning, and advancing innovation and entrepreneurship. This year marks the 15th anniversary of Intel’s education initiatives in India and the success of each of our endeavours in bringing about technology enabled transformation through education has reiterated our
What is your view of the Make in India programme? The ‘Make in India’ programme is steadily working towards transforming India into a global manufacturing hub, but we need to collectively work towards developing the whole ecosystem to accelerate this growth. There have been some remarkable steps towards this direction by the government, from allowing more FDI in various sectors to doing away with the inverted duty structure for several products. The government is continuously working towards opening avenues for manufacturers to invest in the Indian market. However, to accelerate the pace of India’s transformation into a global manufacturing hub, we need to address some basics first. We have to create a culture of driving innovation that’s focused on solving India’s problems. In order for Make in India to succeed, we should equally promote both Design in India and Innovate in India.
EXPRESS COMPUTER
Do you think the electronics manufacturers will be willing to manufacture in India? Absolutely, a lot of electronic manufacturers are willing to manufacture in India and this will definitely fructify if Digital India succeeds and thus the success of Make in India and Digital India are interdependent on each other. Besides that the Government still needs to bring forth some critical tax reforms, increase ease-of-doing business in India and ensure that there are no infrastructural bottlenecks hindering the progress of this transformation. If we can ensure that the positive momentum keeps pace, the industry and the government work together to remove hindrances, we will succeed in making India a global manufacturing hub. What is your advice for companies considering India as a potential investment destination? IMF Chief Christine Lagarde recently said that, among emerging economies, if there is any growth, it is in India. She mentioned that India is among the few bright spots in the global economy. Such positive outlook about India’s economy showcases the trust that the developed economies have in the investment opportunities that India presents to the world. With its favourable banking regulations, affordable skilled labor and a rise in purchasing power, India is fast becoming one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. Conducive government agendas like Digital India and Make in India have also been pivotal in steering investments, infrastructure development, employment generation as well as financial inclusion, thereby emerging as one of the most transformational initiatives to augment India’s economic development. With such encouraging business opportunities, India looks poised to enter a secular growth phase in the coming years. mohd.ujaley@expressindia.com
DECEMBER, 2015
29
FEATURE
TRADE IN MICROSECONDS
»
BSE
RACES AHEAD WITH TRANSACTIONS IN MICROSECONDS
BSE is now using the highly accurate time synchronisation protocol, PTP, for the time synchronisation of the entire trading infrastructure. With PTP it is possible to have time synchronisations in the range of nanoseconds. By Kersi Tavadia, CIO, BSE
30
EXPRESS COMPUTER
T
he Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is the world’s fastest stock exchange. Recently the BSE switched from Network Time Protocol (NTP) to Precision time Protocol (PTP), which is a time protocol for very precise synchronisation of clocks across the network. The PTP is useful for synchronising data at very high accuracy levels. It offers time synchronisation in the range of nanoseconds. Several exchanges across the globe have adopted PTP as their preferred time synchronisation protocol. BSE is the first exchange in India to implement the PTP system, which enables the exchange to process transactions at extremely fast speed. With this implementation, BSE has brought high degree of transparency and fairness for all its stakeholders. BSE is the pioneer in making the measurements available for all the latencies across various stages of order
route from the member server to the exchange and back to member server. These latencies are reported in nanoseconds. The speed of transactions in the BSE platform is 6 microseconds today. With such high speed, the volumes will definitely shoot up. There is no doubt about that. In the trading game, it is the fastest finger that often wins. Co-location facility allows brokers to host servers near the exchange’s trading platform, facilitating faster execution of trades due to low latency in data transmission.
Achieving the 6 microseconds feat In 2014, BSE had launched its equity trading platform software BOLT Plus, which has 200 microseconds response time, and makes use of the Deutsche Borse’s T7 trading architecture based on Linux and MySQL open source technologies. Then the exchange was DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
given a target by Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, BSE, to clock 20 microseconds by 2017. The top of the line systems were giving response time of 60 microseconds in 2014. The NASDAQ implementations in several places like SGX in Singapore were giving such response times. However, in 2014, Ashishkumar Chauhan had the feeling that in a maximum timeframe of 3 years some exchange in the world will be able to achieve 20 microseconds target, as an increase in speed by a factor of three was quite possible in three years. At that time the prospect of achieving 20 microseconds seemed like a distant dream; we were sceptical of our ability to achieve such high speeds. But we were working on many advanced technologies, including Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), etc., which would have increased our speed. However, managing the aspects of connectivity, integration EXPRESS COMPUTER
The new target for the BSE is to achieve transaction speed of 200 nanoseconds. We intend to achieve this in the next 3 years
and reliability that is required for achieving such high speed by third party systems was a challenge. We conducted experiments with few alternative solutions and discovered that it was possible to have very high speed response time of 20 microseconds at scales of 500,000 orders per second on consistent load basis without losing accuracy. Our experiments showed that by further optimising the processes, it was possible for us to beat the 20 microseconds record and have a response time of mere 6 microseconds. However, we were not sure of our ability to consistently achieve such low response time, and the 6 microseconds speed was used only by a few employees within BSE. But as we continued to use the high-speed in the smaller markets we also gained the experience for making similar speeds available for the larger markets. As a result of this BSE began to scale up the system for having 6 microseconds speed in larger markets. At 20 microseconds speed, we were offering transactions at a speed that few other exchanges in the world are able to match, but at 6 microseconds, we have overtaken every other competitor in the world in terms of speed of transactions.
Making the system scalable Before going live with the 6 microsecond transaction speed system, BSE has conducted rigorous tests. Important changes were made at every level including hardware, software applications, database to improve the overall reliability of the system. New processes have been designed to maintain integrity of the systems. Currently we are receiving 50,000 orders per second, but our ability is to handle 500,000 orders per second. In a few months we will be in a position to ensure that the system is able to handle many times more oder within the same response time. The new target for the BSE is to achieve transaction speed of 200 nanoseconds. We intend to achieve this in next 3 years. DECEMBER, 2015
31
INTERVIEW VICTORIA A. ESPINEL BSA | THE SOFTWARE ALLIANCE
POWERING GROWTH IN INDIA’S SOFTWARE INDUSTRY THROUGH IPR “The implementation of policy initiatives such as Digital India signals a rapid change in the internet landscape. The rise of digital products and services will transform the face of India’s digital economy,” says Victoria A. Espinel, President and CEO, BSA | The Software Alliance. In conversation with Ankush Kumar What is your view of the software market in India? The Indian software market has shown the highest growth rate among the BRIC countries in 2014. India registered a growth rate of 8.3 percent in terms of total revenues, according to Gartner. The
software market will be worth $165 billion by the end of next year. Software export revenues for 2016 is also projected to grow by 12 to 14 percent and reach $110-112 billion. The government is placing a lot of emphasis on IT as a result of Digital India, which includes components like the creation of Smart Cities, e-governance, e-literacy, e-commerce, strengthening and expansion of digital infrastructure, and transforming India into an electronic system, design and manufacturing hub. All of this makes India an exciting software market that offers much promise. Do you think that the Digital India initiative will lead to transformation of India’s digital economy? Although only one-fourth of the Indian population has access to the internet, the implementation of policy initiatives such as Digital India signals a rapid change in the internet landscape. The rise of digital products and services will transform the face of India’s digital economy. Key to this growth will be India’s policies focusing on transforming the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy, which is the main goal of the Digital India program. What kind of policies should the Government of India develop to improve the prospects of the software industry in the country?
32
EXPRESS COMPUTER
Firstly, we have to ensure that there is level playing field for all competitors so that businesses and consumers everywhere have access to the best products and services that the world has to offer. The governments should lead by example. They should be fully transparent in their procurement practices and make decisions based on whether a product or service best meets the needs at hand and provides good value for money. Secondly, we must modernise policies to reflect the realities of digital commerce as it is being conducted today. This requires keeping borders open to the free flow of data, and preventing mandates on where IT infrastructure, such as servers or other hardware must be located. Thirdly, we must promote continued progress of technology innovation so that we can capitalise on the opportunities of both today and tomorrow. For this, countries must ensure robust and effective intellectual property protections and encourage the use of voluntary, market-led technology standards. Fourthly, we must implement robust cyber security policies to ensure the promise of today’s interconnected world is not jeopardised by emerging cyber threats. Cyber security policies and implementation frameworks must be stable and clear, but they also must be risk-based and flexible to adjust to evolving threats. DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Why is intellectual property important for software companies,particularly the startups? What could be the risks of using unlicensed software for companies in India? Protection and enforcement of intellectual property specifically for software is supremely important. Lack of effective IPR protection poses significant barriers to the ability of companies to sell and compete in international markets. Particularly for start-ups, intellectual property protection helps drive venture capital funding. When businesses and other organisations use unlicensed software, they expose themselves to a variety of potential security risks that can harm not only their own business interests, but the interests of their customers as well. Widespread use of unlicensed software hampers economic growth, depriving innovative software developers of revenue and government treasuries of precious tax revenue. Additionally, information services companies also suffer from theft of valuable trade secrets, such as confidential information on business processes, designs or other critical data that gives companies and their products a distinct competitive advantage. In India, trade secrets are not recognised as a form of intellectual property. India would benefit from enacting a clear and enforceable Trade Secrets Law, to clarify the rights of trade secrets owners and to send a clear signal that those who would misappropriate others’ valuable commercial information will be punished under the law. What kind of initiatives is BSAplanning in India? BSA works closely with governments across the world to foster education and policy initiatives that facilitate continued technology innovation and creativity. India is well on its way to achieving its aspiration of harnessing technology innovation to become one of the world’s leading knowledge economies. The Government of India has shown great eagerness to collaborate with industry to achieve its goals. And as digital products and services become an increasingly important part of EXPRESS COMPUTER
Establishing an even more effective IP regime will improve confidence in India’s local innovation potential and will also spur interest from foreign investors in India as a worthy market the global trade, it is critical that digital trade rules keep pace to ensure broad development, deployment, and utilisation of cutting-edge technology solutions. BSA and its members will continue to work closely with the Government of India to achieve the goals set forth in the Digital India program. We would welcome the opportunity to further engage with the government, prior to implementing the procurement policy for software and to offer our experiences as a resource for the government as appropriate. What is your view on Make in India? How far it has helped the country in regaining the faith of the global investors? The ‘Make in India’ initiative aims to transform India into a world-class manufacturing hub. Over the past two decades India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world and it is also the third-largest technical and scientific manpower pool in the world, which makes it all the more attractive as an investment destination. The government has announced that it will promote IT manufacturing and exports by setting up Special Economic Zones and by allowing 100 percent foreign direct investment through the automatic route (which does not require prior approval either of the Government or the Reserve Bank of India.) We support efforts to achieve enhanced investment through accelerating economic transformation, eliminating unnecessary laws and regulations, streamlining bureaucratic processes and establishing pro-innovation, pro-innovating policies.
Such efforts will be fundamentally important for implementing this program and for technology and software to play a significant role as India boosts its manufacturing prowess. Establishing an even more effective IP regime will improve confidence in India’s local innovation potential. This will also spur interest from foreign investors in India as a worthy market. You have been handling crucial roles in many global organisations.What qualities do you think is required to become a dynamic leader? In order to be a dynamic leader, you have to believe you will succeed. Your plans and strategy may change along the way, but ultimately, you know that you will meet your goal. Great leaders believe in themselves and their teams, because they hire people who are smarter than they are and know more than they do. A dynamic leader is ambitious yet kind. It is important to be able to push beyond your comfort zone. After all, the only way to grow and learn is to challenge yourself to try new things. Plan for everything but understand that most things will not go according to plan. And always look ahead! How much do you think your past experience has helped you in handling your current roles and responsibilities? My past experiences have helped me immensely. As a trade negotiator for the United States government, I learned a great deal about the governments and priorities of countries around the world. I understand the steps they are taking to move further into the knowledge economy and how the U.S. can support them. That information is important in my role at BSA, where we work with governments all over the world to advocate for the global software industry. As part of my job at White House, I worked with 100,000 employees at 17 different federal agencies. That experience taught me how to bring large groups of people together to work on a common mission together. ankush.kumar@expressindia.com
DECEMBER, 2015
33
COLUMN DAVE ARON GARTNER FELLOW
DIGITALBUSINESS MEANS PLATFORM BUSINESS F According to the Gartner 2016 CIO Agenda survey of 2,994 CIO respondents across 103 countries, CIOs expect digital revenues to grow from 16% to 37% in next five years
rom the world’s first fully robotic hotel in Japan to the world’s largest online grocery retailer, digital business has taken hold in organisations with CIOs saying that they have largely been tapped to lead the charge. According to the Gartner 2016 CIO Agenda survey of 2,994 CIO respondents across 103 countries, the average CIO expects digital revenues to grow from 16 to 37 percent in the next five years. Essentially, we are now knee-deep in the era of digital business, with many companies reimagining their business and operating models based on digital capabilities. But traditional static infrastructures will not take organisations from here to there. Rather, innovative digital businesses look less like fixed systems and more like platforms where resources come together quickly, temporarily or in a fixed way to create value. Take note, this transformation to a flexible structure spans from the technical platform and delivery, right up to talent and leadership.
Gone Digital
Digital visionaries harness platforms to create value through connections and interactions rather than ownership of individual resources 34
EXPRESS COMPUTER
While digitalisation is still quite operational, the potential is much greater. In the Gartner survey, CIOs responded that the top three digital impacts on their businesses are: more revenues from better operations (66%), more business through digital channels (48%) and tighter partnerships (37%). Though fewer CIOs have yet to see the impact on serving new markets or their basis for competition, some digital innovators are paving the way. In one striking example of deep digital progress, Henn-na Hotel, the world’s first “robot hotel,” opened in Japan in July 2015 with the aim of learning about, and ultimately pioneering, low-cost, low-
environment-impact hotels using robotics, alternative energy and other strategies. A humanoid or dinosaur-like robot greets guests at the front desk and helps them check in. A robotic cloakroom helps guests store bags, and a robotic porter takes guest to their rooms where they are admitted by facial recognition. Inside the room, a lamp-size robot answers simple questions, such as the time or weather and controls the lights. This type of deeper digital innovation comes not from the attention-grabbing robots, but rather from the digitally powered vision of a new form of low-cost, low-environmentalimpact hotel that could prove to be a game changer for the industry.
It’s a Platform World For businesses to build and operate digital opportunities, they need to rethink the structures they’ve built for the industrial and information eras. The digital era requires flexible systems and structures that can swap resources in and out and change partners based on shifting priorities. Digital visionaries harness platforms to create value through connections and interactions rather than ownership of individual resources. This creates semi-porous boundaries between the organisation and the resources and components outside of its domain. Ocado, an online-only grocery company, started as a fusion of two businesses – retail and technology. Ocado.com drives innovation and the meeting of customer requirements while the technology business builds solutions that are deployed into the .com retail business and sold as a white-label service to its competitors. Now Ocado is becoming a retail, technology and platform company. DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Turn a Talent Crisis into a Talent Platform According to the CIO Agenda survey, 65 percent of CIOs believe there is a talent crisis, with the biggest gaps in information/analytics and business knowledge/acumen. Yet they indicated surprisingly little talent innovation. Gartner believes that talent must also be treated as a platform. 65 percent of CIOs believe there is a talent crisis. CIOs can apply the filter of semi-porous boundaries to how they think about talent management by tapping into universities and offering courses that deliver skilled talent, performing reverse mentoring, implementing job rotations and holding hack-days. In my view the CIOs must look EXPRESS COMPUTER
at digital talent beyond the boundaries of the IT organisation, and indeed beyond the boundaries of the enterprise. Ocado took a novel approach: Hiring in the U.K. got off to a slow start until Ocado switched its brand from that of a retailer to a tech company.
For businesses to build and operate digital opportunities, they need to rethink the structures they’ve built for the industrial and information eras
Build a Leadership Platform CIOs indicated that they are leading the digital transformation (40 percent) and more than 30 percent are the innovation leaders in their organisations. This spawns the need for them to adapt their leadership styles to exploit platform effects in leadership by building a network of digital leadership inside and outside the enterprise. Overall, without this type of platform approach, enterprises may create bottlenecks across delivery, talent and leadership and risk their customers’ perceptions of how they add value. The author, Dave Aron, is Vice President and Gartner Fellow
DECEMBER, 2015
35
NEWS ENTERPRISE IT
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Alibaba to take over China’s YouTube
Cloud telephonyfirm Exotel acquires Voyce
BILLIONAIRE JACK MA’S Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has announced a multi-billion- dollar deal to take over video streaming service Youku Tudou as it seeks to spread its online empire. Alibaba is snapping up Youku Tudou, China’s equivalent to YouTube, in the latest of a string of acquisitions as it sets its sights far beyond its core eBay-style transactions business. In a “definitive merger agreement”, Alibaba will pay USD 27.60 in
CLOUD TELEPHONY COMPANY Exotel has announced the acquisition of Voyce, a platform that allows businesses to gather customer feedback. The Bengaluru-based company said that it is a move to strengthen the customer service offerings of the business. Before the acquisition, Voyce had worked with over 20 enterprise hospitality chains across the country. “With the acquisition of Voyce, Exotel’s customers will soon be able to collect valuable customer feedback easily with a few clicks,” said Shivakumar Ganesan, CEO, Exotel.
cash per US-traded American depositary share in Youku Tudou, the companies said in a statement, without giving the overall value. Alibaba already owns more than 18 per cent of Youku Tudou, which offers mostly professionally produced video content licensed from copyright holders. The deal, unanmously approved by Youku Tudou’s board, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016 subject to approval by shareholders, the two firms said.
Virtusa aquires majoritystake in Polaris POLARIS CONSULTING AND Services Ltd has entered into a definitive Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Virtusa Corporation whereby a subsidiary of Virtusa will acquire approximately 53% of the paid up share capital of Polaris from certain promoter entities led by Arun Jain and certain other shareholders, including OrbiTech Private Ltd (formerly known as Orbitech Limited). In accordance with the terms and conditions of the SPA, Virtusa will purchase the shares at a price of
approximately INR 220.73 per share, aggregating to approximately INR 1,173 crores.
ESSCI and iQor India join hands to provide skill development THE ELECTRONIC SECTOR Skill Council of India (ESSCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with iQor, a global provider of customer contact solutions and product support services, for electronic sector skill development training of youth in India. The MoU was signed by N.K Mohapatra, CEO, Electronics Sector Skills Council of India and Sanjay Vidyarthi, MD, iQor 36
EXPRESS COMPUTER
India Pvt Ltd. iQor announced an investment of $200 million (around 1,300 crore) over the next three-five years to expand its market in India, which will help in creating 20,000 new jobs all over India. Currently the company, operates depot repair/refurbishment services at facilities in Manesar (Gurgaon), Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore.
Reliance Comm to merge Sistema Shyam Teleservices with itself RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS (RCom) has announced that Sistema Shyam Teleservices, carried on in India under MTS brand will be merged with the Anil Ambani-led company. RCom will acquire around 9 million customers and around Rs 1,500 crore of annual revenues by virtue of the transaction. In addition, RCom will acquire SSTL’s most valuable and superior 800 / 850 MHz band spectrum, ideally suited for 4G LTE services, to complement its own unique nationwide footprint of minimum 5 MHz contiguous 800 / 850 MHz spectrum aggregating 148.75 MHz. This will extend the validity of RCOM’s spectrum in 800 / 850 MHz band in 8 important circles by a period of 12 years from 2021 till 2033 (Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, UP (West) and West Bengal). DECEMBER, 2015
FEATURE
GODREJ GROUP
»
USING TECHNOLOGY
AS THE
FOUNDATION FOR ACCELERATING
GROWTH
Through a mix of operating efficiencies from new technology deployments and inorganic developments, the Godrej Group seeks to achieve its target of 10-fold revenue growth by 2020. Shailesh Joshi of Godrej Group spoke to Abhishek Raval about the business plans of the diversified conglomerate
T
he first thing that strikes you about Shailesh Joshi, Head Corporate IT & CIO, Godrej Group, is the positive outlook that he has on the role that IT can play in enabling Godrej Group to achieve its Vision 2020. It was in 2010 that the organisation projected the Vision 2020 in which the 114-year-old Godrej Industries Ltd (GIL) and its associated companies hope to expand revenue 10 times in the next 10 years to become an Rs 85,000 crore conglomerate. A ten times growth is a mammoth task in a competitive economy like India, but Shailesh Joshi is of the view that the Godrej Group is fully capable of turning it’s Vision 2020 into a reality. According to Shailesh Joshi, the Godrej Group is banking heavily on Godrej Properties to be the driver of growth and enable the entire group to reach the milestones that are there in the Vision 2020. “There are huge tracts of land that are under development currently,” says Shailesh Joshi. With a flourish of his hand, he indicates the large expanse of land that is visible through the large windows of his office. “All this land is also under 38
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
development,” he declares. “We are working for developing premium properties in different parts of the country.” In order to ensure that the company does not face any challenge in acquiring new parcels of land for development, a unique joint venture model has been developed by Godrej Properties. “We usually have an agreement in which the landowners become one of the key stakeholders in the project,” explains Shailesh Joshi. “Technology,” he adds, “has a central role to play in all stages of the development. At every stage of the development process we use technology in innovative ways for bringing efficiency, transparency, and for ensuring timely completion of the projects.”
The Smart City Model Shailesh Joshi is enthusiastic about the Smart City model of development. He informs that the Godrej Group is vigorously pursuing the Smart City model. “Today we have the technology solutions to provide smart energy management, smart parking, smart transportation and other Smart City components,” he says. “We are now implementing these ideas in most of our upcoming projects.” He is strongly in favour of using mobility solutions to provide novel services in the developed areas. “You can keep the people living in an area informed of the latest developments by using mobile apps,” he says. “You can also use the apps to provide any number of services.” He talks of the plans that Godrej Properties has to convert some of their locations into free WiFi hotspots. There are also plans for making facilities like fastfood outlets, coffee shops, grocery stores, etc., part of certain large development projects. “Such facilities matter to the young professionals,” he explains. “People like to live and work in areas where most of the basic facilities are easily available.” The evaluation of land banks has often proved to be a challenging task for most developers in India. But Shailesh Joshi has an innovative solution to the challenge that the developers face. “Now we are planning to use Google Glass to fully capture various aspects of the land banks that we need to develop,” he says. EXPRESS COMPUTER
View From Google Glass & iPad “The business head does not have to visit the land in different states across the country. A team can go to the land banks and capture the area’s topography through Google Glass. The business head can have a real time view of the land through Google Glass. By using this technology, parcels of land can be evaluated for development much more quickly.” He cites a range of use cases for Google Glass. He talks about letting prospective customers have a view of the properties through the medium of Google Glass. “This kind of system is also environment friendly, because if people are viewing the property through digital means, fewer paper brochures will have to be printed,” he says. “That way you save the trees.” In fact, Godrej Properties has already started using iPads to provide their customers with the view of the property that they may be interested in. “The advantage of such digital technologies is that the customer has a real time 360 degree view of the property from his own home or office. He can also have a clear view of the progress happening in the construction work.” “By using digital technologies it is
We are planning to use Google Glass to capture various aspects of the land banks that we need to develop
possible for the business development manager to show properties for sale to potential clients, who may be based out of other cities in the country or even abroad,” he adds. “Also, digital technology has become so advanced that now it is possible for us to use iPad at the residence of a customer to get him to design certain aspects of the property.”
Technology for Better Retail Along with Godrej Properties, the Godrej Group is also looking at Nature’s Basket to drive growth in the organisation. Shailesh Joshi is of the view that modern technology has a major role to play in the retail sector. “For Nature’s Basket, we are exploring new technologies like PoS systems, beacons, NFCs, and few others,” he says. “Our objective is to deploy the best possible technology for enhancing customer experience.” He informs that he is also looking at technologies like telepresence for improving customer experience. “We have already signed an agreement with a major service provider to give us the bandwidth and support for deploying such technologies,” informs Joshi. In future, Shailesh Joshi sees lot of difference being made to the organised retail sector through the usage of wearable technologies. “If there are many people, the store can get crowded and the experience can get time-taking and uncomfortable for some shoppers,” he explains. “Perhaps we will be able to deploy wearable technologies, which give real time view of the shop shelves to the customers, who can use digital methods to select what they want to buy.” abhishek.raval@expressindia.com
DECEMBER, 2015
39
INTERVIEW RAGHU RAGHURAM VMware
SMART, COST-EFFICIENT & RESILIENT CLOUD “In SDDC there is massive efficiency and saving of costs, because all the elements of the infrastructure— compute, storage and networking—are virtualized and delivered as a service,” says Raghu Raghuram, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Software-Defined Data Center Division, VMware. In conversation with Mohd Ujaley
VMware developed the technology for Software Defined Data Centre (SDDC) about 3-4 years ago.What kind of response are you seeing from the market for SDDC? SDDC is now being regarded as one of the most powerful ideas in data centre and cloud infrastructure. It has been received very well by the marketplace. In SDDC there is massive efficiency and saving of costs, because all the elements of the infrastructure—compute, storage and networking—are virtualized and delivered as a service. The security is also much better in SDDC. Due to all these benefits, the customers are showing great interest in SDDC. Over the last couple of years, VMware has introduced all the fundamental building blocks of the SDDC. In fact, we are now deploying the SDDC model for many of our customers. We currently have thousands of customers worldwide who are at various stages of deploying the SDDC. Many of our SDDC customers are in India. What are the key verticals that are driving the demand for SDDC, SDN and NFV? In case of SDN, we are seeing demand from telecom service providers, from high-tech companies that are into offshore development, call centers and BPOs. There is lot of demand from the financial sector. For NFV, the demand is coming from the global network players like Vodafone. There is greater response for these technologies from companies that are at the forefront of the digital revolution and have lot of software 40
EXPRESS COMPUTER
NSXallows you to put a security boundary around each application or each virtual machine in a way that was never possible before developers in the building, but they can’t wait for the infrastructure to come up. Security is also an issue for these companies—they want to have their applications secured and network virtualization is the best way of doing it. The concept of SDDC includes, SDN, NFV, Software Defined Storage and a new layer of automation and orchestration that VMware delivers through its vCloud Suite. In case of SDDC, we are seeing lot of response from telcos, financial services companies and other top end enterprises. With the telcos having spent lot of their funds on spectrum acquisition, don’t you think that they may not be able to spend adequately for network modernisation? There are two interesting things happening with the telcos, from the core IT side and from the network side. The telcos are attracted towards concepts
like NFV, because the virtualization of entire network can bring lot of efficiencies and cut costs. It is possible to save huge costs by moving into the SDDC architecture. My point is that while it is an investment, the telcos can save lot of money by moving into such architecture. Many analysts have been expressing concerns regarding the security of the SDDC architecture.What can be done to dispel such concerns? This is in fact one of the reasons why NSX, our network virtualization technology, is proving to be so popular. Because NSX allows you to put a security boundary around each application or each virtual machine in a way that was never possible before and automatically program it dynamically. So when you bring up the application, you can bring up the security boundary around it or it can be across a group of applications or a group of virtual desktops. Essentially, NSX lets you treat your physical network as a pool of transport capacity, with network and security services attached to VMs with a policy-driven approach. One of the problems that we face with traditional perimeter is that it exists at the entrance of the data centre. Once this is breached, the attackers can freely go inside the data centre and tamper with any application. But in case of NSX we not only have the traditional perimeter, we also have protection for each and every application. Therefore it is much more secure. DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Today there is lot of debate on issues like data sovereignty, privacy and security. In your view what steps can be taken to address these issues? To me it is clear that it is the customer who owns the data. So if you are an end user and you are taking advantage of a service provided by a cloud provider, you still own your data. If any other party has to use your data, your consent must be taken. Similarly, if you are an enterprise, it is the enterprise that owns the data, and not the cloud provider. Most countries are enforcing their data sovereignty policies and data privacy regulations. In case of industries like healthcare or financial services, there are industry specific regulations. As technology providers, our job is to enable our enterprise customers to be in a position to comply with the policies. What kind of response are you seeing for SDDC in India? In case of technology adoption, the challenge lies in awareness, education and the cultural changes that have to happen. India has traditionally been four to five years behind any technology adoption. However, in case of SDDC we are seeing a strong demand. In fact, if we look at some of the use cases of SDDC, then I would say that India is probably not more than 12 months behind much of the developed world. Recently you launched the hyperconverged infrastructure appliance called EVO:RAIL.What kind of response are you seeing from India for this product? We are encouraged by the early uptake. EVO:RAIL combines computer, network, storage and management into a hyperconverged infrastructure appliance to deliver a smart, cost efficient, resilient, allin-one solution. It is a mechanism for simplifying the task of setting up a virtualized cloud infrastructure. As the infrastructure is all software, we have been able to package it in a hardware formfactor and ship it pre-installed to the customer. The customer has to assemble these blocks—he does not have to be a system integrator to do this. We have done the work of system integrator for him. EXPRESS COMPUTER
A lot is being said about the technology trends of mobility, cloud and Big Data.What is your view of these technology trends? Mobility and the cloud are the catalyst for the fundamental architectural transformation that we are having today. The cloud is now the foundation through which the enterprises are providing their services. And when there are billions of mobile devices there is going to be an
explosion of data. In such a scenario, Big Data becomes an important asset. It is critical for the enterprises to deploy Big Data to transform their raw data into knowledge or information that they can use. The work on mobility, cloud and Big Data has barely started and we can expect lot of innovations in the times to come. mohd.ujaley@expressindia.com
DECEMBER, 2015
41
EXPRESS
TECHNOLOGY CONCLAVE FARIYAS RESORT, LONAVALA
October 16-17, 2015
The Express BFSI Technology Conclave was an invigorating commentary on the technology innovations happening in the BFSI sector. Plenty of surprising, new ideas were germinated at the Conclave, and the older ideas got refined
EVENT
DAY - 1
Âť
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
WELCOME ADDRESS Dr Raghu Pillai, Chief of Product - Express Computer & Asst VP, The Indian Express Group
EXPRESS TECHNOLOGY BFSI 2015 Welcome Address Inaugural Address Managing Cyber Security and Risk Framework in Today’s Banking Climate Banking on the Cloud Infrastructure to Power Money Power Panel: Digital Initiatives & Innovations in BFSI Sector that create value Resilient Online Presence for Financial Services Panasonic Cloud Surveillance Solution Power Discussion: BSA | The Software Alliance 44
EXPRESS COMPUTER
Dr Raghu Pillai
I
n his welcome address, Dr Raghu Pillai said that the BFSI sector today stands at the cusp of technological innovation. He emphasised that with the changing dynamics of India leading to surge in the popularity of the Internet and mobile financial systems, it has now become imperative for BFSI companies to start collaborating with telecom and information technology players for the development of a range of new financial services. He expressed the hope that the Express BFSI Technology Conclave will manage to set new benchmarks in BFSI seminars through leadership dialogues, exciting case studies & best practices, peer-to-peer networking opportunities and technology showcases. DECEMBER, 2015
EVENT
DAY - 1
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Inaugural Address N Parthasarathi, IFS (Retd), Former Consul General for India in San Francisco, Secretary General/CEO of FKCCI
N
N Parthasarathi
Parthasarathi began his inaugural address with an analogy, which demonstrated the importance of there being a high-level of connectivity between people. He asked the guests to imagine a scenario where a person is about to give a presentation in front of a large audience. Unfortunately he is unprepared, which makes his blood pressure shoot up. This triggers an alert on his smartphone and his doctor gets automatically informed about his ill health which makes him well prepared for the necessary action which could be taken to save the man’s life. “The world is flat,” said Parthasarathi. “People today have information from many different resources. At times the most critical information is only a mobile
app away.” He said that when people are well informed, they will demand the best possible products. To meet the demands, the Indian banking sector will have to innovate. “Many banks in India have eagerly accepted new technologies,” he said. “But some banks are complacent. They continue to prefer the traditional systems of banking.” He informed the guests that new startups are coming up with disruptive ideas and it will not be cause for surprise if some of these start-ups buy stakes in banks. In such a scenario, a massive transformation in the banking system can be expected. He also emphasised upon the need of having proper cyber security systems for safeguarding the critical data that is being held by the BFSI companies.
Managing Cyber Security and Risk Framework in Today’s Banking Climate Nabankur Sen, CISO, Bandhan Bank
N Nabankur Sen EXPRESS COMPUTER
abankur Sen began his session by reminiscing his long journey through the fast evolving world of computing. “When I started my career in the mid 1970s, I used to work from a computer of just 16 KB memory,” he said. Then in 80’s, PCs came into the market. Now it is being said that by 2020, we will have 50 billion devices and objects connected to the Internet. With the rapid adoption of IoT, there will come a stage when the devices can automatically take decisions with very little human intervention.” “In an interconnected world, it is important that adequate attention is given to security related issues,” Sen added. He
informed that we are not managing the security solutions properly. We immediately deploy firewalls but majority of us leave it to third party. He enumerated many of the most common reasons for vulnerability in the organisations and also spoke about the steps that can be taken for improving security. “We must focus on developing robust incident management processes,” he said. He also emphasised on improving the security of our ATMs. “Many of the ATMs in India have open USB ports, which is a great risk,” he said. “In the past there have been incidents where thieves have managed to extract money by using a smartphone.” DECEMBER, 2015
45
EVENT
DAY - 1
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Banking on the Cloud A S Rajgopal, Managing Director & CEO, NxtGen Datacenter & Cloud Technologies
R
AS Rajgopal
ajgopal began his presentation by stating that between 1997 to 2015 he has visited the physical bank branch only thrice. “I take care of most of my banking needs through the online systems,” he said. He said that the banking industry has been on the forefront of using technology for developing better products and services. He informed the audience that today most of the major companies are using cloud and many are planning to increase their investments in the cloud. He was of the view that the banking sector is preferring hybrid cloud
over public and private cloud. “The players in the banking space believe that cloud services can help them reduce over all costs and build operational agility and scalability,” he said. He gave an in-depth view of the case studies that NxtGen has done in the cloud space and made a number of important points on how the banking sector could benefit through cloud deployment. He also gave an overview of the ways by which NxtGen could help the BFSI companies to take maximum advantage of the innovations in the cloud space.
Infrastructure to Power Money Sanjay Lulla, Country Leader - Storage Systems, India/South Asia, IBM
T
Sanjay Lulla 46
EXPRESS COMPUTER
he focus of the presentation by Sanjay Lulla was on the challenges that are inherent in handling aspects related to the volume, velocity, veracity and variety of data. He said that IBM has designed solutions for handling the problems related to all the four Vs of the data. “We are using software defined storage technology to solve many of the most common issues,” he said. According to Lulla, one of the issues with the four Vs of data is that it leads to the creation of silos. The problem can be solved with efficient and agile infrastructure, which balances the needs of the different workloads. “We need storage systems, which behaved differently in different scenarios,” he said. He gave an overview of the flash system that IBM has developed that have pulled down the IOPS to 200 microsecond. “This enables the
applications to run 30 times faster, which results in savings on power, cooling, etc.,” he said. He asserted that in case of banks, the requirements related to OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) is quite high, and hence the banks have to deploy systems that can work at higher speed. “The solutions from IBM are best suited for meeting the requirements of the banks and other financial services companies,” he said. The standard storage systems are designed for spindles and not flash. However the storage systems made of memory modules can run faster than discs. We have launched a solution, which features deploying thin provisioning; automated tiering, it allows the hot data to be processed on the flash memory and secondary data can reside and processed on SSDs. The solution is based on compression technique. DECEMBER, 2015
EVENT
DAY - 1
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Power Panel: Digital Initiatives & Innovations in BFSI Sector That Create Value
Dr Raghu Pillai (at the podium); [Seated L-R] Nafees Ahmed, CIO, Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd; Dipak Nair, Sr. Vice President - IT, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company; Suresh Shan, Head - Innovation and Future Technology (BITS), Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd; Sanjay Lulla, Country Leader-Storage Systems, India/South Asia, IBM; Ashwin Khorana, CTO, ING Vysya Bank Ltd
T
he panel discussion started with Dr Raghu Pillai expressing the view that the BFSI sector is facing many disruptions due to the proliferation of new technologies and devices. But the digital battleground is also bringing new opportunities to the BFSI industry. He asked the panelists to provide an overview of the digital innovation and transformation that is happening in their organisation. Suresh Shan said that it is important for BFSI organisations to keep upgrading their digital systems to ensure that they can keep pace with the competition. He said, “Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services has introduced a system in which exclusive offers are given to the customers who pay on time.” He explained that in order to have this kind of system, the company must innovate. He said that his company was investing in different technologies, which can be helpful in capturing the buying and billing behaviour pattern of EXPRESS COMPUTER
the customers by the dealers as part of the KYC process. Nafees Ahmed spoke about the digital engagement strategy at Indiabulls. He said that there was a time when having a call center was enough. Time has changed, as people are now more interested in doing communication through mobile and social applications. He said, “Indiabulls has launched mobile apps, which enable the customers to make transactions without having to come to the branch.” “To engage a customer we have created a robust feedback system. We keep on informing the customer about their loans on every stage,” he added. Dipak Nair said that ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company believes in building one-on-one relation, but today the challenge is that the attitude of the people who are at the frontline of the business has changed. “People don’t believe in building relationship for the long term,” he said. “Therefore we need
technology to keep in touch with the customer.” He said that through the social media, it has become much easier to get all kinds of details about a particular person who could be a prospective customer. Ashwin Khurana said that ten years ago the branch manager used to be the key person for all the customers who had their accounts at the branch. “Those were the days when the customers would visit the branch to share their problems with the branch manager, who would take the steps to solve them,” he said. “Today the customers prefer to use the digital means to have information or solve their problems.” Sanjay Lulla said that today every organisation is adopting the digital ways of doing things. “People are using the digital systems for making payments, and doing all kinds of things,” he said. “The digital revolution is enabling us to meet most of our banking and other financial tasks from the comfort of our homes.” DECEMBER, 2015
47
EVENT
DAY - 1
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Resilient Online Presence for Financial Services Sudeep Charles, Product Marketing Manager, Akamai Technologies
S
Sudeep Charles
udeep Charles began his presentation by pointing out that in the age of Internet of Everything and hyperconnectivity, it is a daunting task to restrict cyber crime. He informed the audience that the frequency and the scope of the attacks is increasing. He outlined several strategies that the malicious actors are using to exploit the vulnerabilities that may be there in different organisations. To deal with the myriad security threats, the organisations are looking for solutions, which don’t involve upfront capex and are easily scalable. In case of banks, the security
systems are good, but many banks don’t know what steps they must take when the attacks happen. He talked about the geographical areas where protected websites were coming under sustained attack. He described the Remote File Inclusion (RFI) attack, which allows an attacker to include a file, usually through a script on the web server. He informed the guests that Akamai Technologies is capable of providing foolproof security to lot of data traffic. “Massive numbers of transactions are being executed annually on our platform,” he said. “We are processing close to 40 million IP addresses monthly.”
Panasonic Cloud Surveillance Solution Samrat Kaushik, Head, SSBD, Panasonic India
S
Samrat Kaushik 48
EXPRESS COMPUTER
amrat Kaushik began his presentation by informing the guests that Panasonic India and Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM) have jointly launched a cloud based video surveillance service for enterprises in India. This service is designed to bring advanced surveillance backed by analytics within the easy reach of enterprises. “The biggest advantage of having video surveillance in the cloud is that you have relatively less operational expenditure,” he said. “Other major advantages of the system includes, better video analytics, human detection, people count, heat map of video footage can be accessed on personal computers and mobile devices.” He informed that Panasonic provides a cloud camera with 720 p resolution
that can record both audio and video. The service offers easy scheduling, managing IP cameras in the cloud and advanced cloud video analytics like human detection and tripwire. “While our surveillance service is available only on public clouds as of now, we can setup private cloud for banks in their locations,” said Kaushik. He also described the Cloud Video IntelliSurveillance (CVIS) solution and the iCheckr Solution from Panasonic that can be of great value to BFSI companies. He emphasised that in a world of rising threats the BFSI companies are looking for easy-to-use cloud-based security system that can let them keep an eye on what they want, from wherever they want. DECEMBER, 2015
EVENT
DAY - 1
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Power Discussion: BSA | The Software Alliance
Y
olynd Lobo, Director India, BSA The Software Alliance, began the panel discussion by emphasising the importance of using genuine software and hardware. “The usage of unlicensed software can have a considerable bearing on economies, especially in markets where piracy rates today are highest,” she said. She also said that if the software is unlicensed, there are greater chances of it being infected by malicious elements. She cited from an IDC study, which shows that there are 80% chances of an unlicensed software being malicious. George Ittyerah, Director - Enterprise Security Services, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd, shared his experience of a company that had to face a security related issue. He emphasised that
EXPRESS COMPUTER
companies can face security related challenges if they are not careful about the integrity of the software that they are using. The panelists at the discussion shared their own experiences of being
exposed to malicious software. Suggestions were offered by different members on the best ways by which the security of the organisation could be improved.
DECEMBER, 2015
49
EVENT
DAY - 2
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Preparedness for Digital Innovations and Technology in 2020 Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, Deputy MD & CIO, SBI
EXPRESS TECHNOLOGY BFSI 2015 Preparedness for Digital Innovations and Technology in 2020 Protection against Modern Cyber Security Threats Investing in Digital Disruption: Convergence of Open Source Technologies for Managing Digital Identities Role of Solid State Drives in the BFSI Sector Countering IT Security Risks in the BFSI Sector New Directions in: “In-office Printing Solutions” Cost effective DR Solution on Cloud Power Panel: Cyber Security, Insurance Fraud and Risk Management 50
EXPRESS COMPUTER
Mrutyunjay Mahapatra
M
rutyunjay Mahapatra began his presentation by recognising that the digital world is in a state of flux. However, he was of the view that we need to develop a better definition of the digital paradigm. “If the last ten years were driven by technology vendors, then the next decade will be more about selfdiscovery and self-help,” he said. “This simply means that in the digital world you will have to start small, so that you can learn as you go ahead or grow one step at a time.” He presented an overview of a series of technology concepts and buzzwords that the organisations must take a look at as they prepare themselves for 2020. He emphasised that it is most
important for the organisations to stay agile. “In a volatile business environment, the organisations must have the ability to rollout periodic updates,” he said. He said that DevOps, which is a software development method that emphasises the roles of both software developers and other informationtechnology (IT) professionals, could become more important. He gave an overview of few other technologies and systems that have become popular in organisations. “The Digital is closely related to innovation,” he said. “It is important for us to be innovative in the ways by which we digitise.” Mahapatra offered several ideas for banks to win in the digital age. DECEMBER, 2015
EVENT
DAY - 2
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Protection against Modern Cyber SecurityThreats Ajay Dubey, National Manager - Partners & Alliances, Raytheon | Websense
A
Ajay Dubey
jay Dubey introduced the guests to the rechristened Raytheon Websense, which came into being when Websense acquired Raytheon. “Raytheon Websense is now essentially a cyber security products company,” he said. “Our products provide holistic security solutions to a range of organisations, including the government and the military.” He also informed that the new name of the company is likely to be announced in January 2016. In his presentation, he gave several insights into the cyber security challenges that the government departments, banks and various other organisations are currently facing. “There has been a massive rise in the
number of breaches,” he said. He cited the hacking attack on the US government organisation, Our People and Organisation (OPM), that took place on June 14, 2015. “As a result of this attack close to 14 lakh records of federal employees in USA got stolen,” he said. He informed the guests that BFSI companies are being increasingly targeted by the malicious elements. He cited a Websense survey that shows that the BFSI vertical is three times more vulnerable to cyber attacks as compared to any other business vertical. “33% of the attacks are targeted at financial services,” he said. He also informed about the solutions that Websense has developed for providing holistic security.
Investing in Digital Disruption: Convergence of Open Source Technologies for Managing Digital Identities Ravi Menon, Senior Vice President and Head of Financial Services, HCL Services
R
Ravi Menon EXPRESS COMPUTER
avi Menon began his presentation by describing how the role of IT in banking had evolved over the years. He spoke about Automated Ledger Posting Machines (ALPM), with which the banking industry during the 1980s took the first steps for technology implementation. He was of the view that today, due to the push coming from IT companies and the pull coming from the customers, a new kind of business explosion in BFSI has started happening in the non-metro areas. “Today financial inclusion is on the agenda of every bank,” he said. “In financial inclusion initiatives technology
is being used to bring banking and insurance related services to the rural customers.” He asserted that the traditional ways of conducting the BFSI business is now over. “The needs and aspirations of the modern consumer of BFSI services is different—to cater to the needs of the modern customer, you need modern technology,” he said. He gave an overview of the architecture that has been developed by HCL Services. “Our products enable the organisation in the BFSI sector to overcome all the technology related challenges and gain a 360 degree view of the needs of their customers,” he said. DECEMBER, 2015
51
EVENT
DAY - 2
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Role of Solid State Drives in the BFSI Sector Rohit Trivedi, Product Manager (India) - SSD, Kingston Technology
I
Rohit Trivedi
n his presentation, Rohit Trivedi argued that the SSDs are much better than HDs. “With SSD, you have much higher IOPS and reliability than what you may have from the HDs,” he said. “The SSDs are also ultra durable and they tend to boot-up and restart much faster. The power consumption in SSDs is three times lesser than in HDs. As the SSDs are much lighter than the HDs, it is comparatively easier to transport SSDs from one location to other.” He informed the audience that security of data is critical for the functioning of BFSI sector. “In case of SSDs, the data is stored in the
electromagnetic format, which makes it much more secure,” he said, “whereas in HDs, the data is stored in magnetic form, which is considered to be unsafe.” He also stated that the SSDs make much less sound than the HDs and they also remain cooler for longer periods. “The SSDs can operate even at the temperature of 125 degree celsius,” he said. “With no moving parts, SSDs are also more durable and more reliable than hard drives.” He provided an overview of Kingston V Series SSDs, which make systems more responsive so that it boots quicker, loads applications faster and shuts down faster.
Countering IT Security Risks in the BFSI Sector Vivek Tuljapurkar, VP – R&D, (Enterprise Products), Seqrite
T
Vivek Tuljapurkar 52
EXPRESS COMPUTER
he issue of Information Security was the focus area in the presentation by Vivek Tuljapurkar. During the course of his presentation, he gave a brief outline of all the major areas of information security— points of vulnerability, top security risks, how to counter them and certain hygiene factors that have to be undertaken from a security standpoint. Vivek Tuljapurkar began his presentation by describing the major points of vulnerability that the organisations face. After that he described the ways by which Seqrite’s UTM solution can be the answer to all the security related challenges that are being faced. “Not all the threats can be
stopped at the gateway level, but as the UTM solution is deployed at the desktop level, it acts as an endpoint security,” he said. He said, “Seqrite’s UTM solution is a one-stop solution for every enterprise security need. With the UTM appliance as your first line of defence, your network is secure and your employees can focus solely on productivity and business impact.” He informed that for making secure online payments, a safety vault gets created for conducting transactions—this system is typically called containerisation. He said that mobile banking is also a prime target these days. He was of the view that in interest of their security, the companies should always use licensed applications. DECEMBER, 2015
EVENT
DAY - 2
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
New Directions in: “In-office Printing Solutions” Jairaj Marath, Director, International Business Development, Printec Technologies & Solutions USA
J
Jairaj Marath
airaj Marath began his presentation by informing the audience that a considerable part of the costs incurred by any company, including those in the BFSI sector, was related to printing. He said, “We only make cartridges,” before going on to describe the challenges that his industry was facing due to the presence of unregulated cartridges in the market. He said that the unregulated cartridges generally used are harmful chemicals, which can adversely affect the
health of the users. It can also be harmful to the health of the printer. He informed the audience that Printec is doing good business in India. Through its pan-India network of resellers, the company is offering a total MPS (Managed Printing Services) solution. “We have the most suitable cartridges for an array of printers.” He said that the company makes use of the best possible technology to produce printer cartridges that are of very high quality while also being economical.
Cost effective DR Solution on Cloud Dr Rajeev Papneja,Executive VP & COO, ESDS Software Solution Pvt. Ltd.
D
Dr Rajeev Papneja EXPRESS COMPUTER
r. Rajeev Papneja began his presentation by saying that the BFSI sector faces challenges that are almost similar to what the organisations in other sectors face. “The basic challenges for all players consist of issues like profitability, regulatory compliance, modernisation, customer retention and operational efficiency,” he said. He described the important role that the Data Centre component is playing in the Indian banking industry. “The first thing that people want to know about a data centre is - what is it’s tier?” said Papneja. He informed the audience that the Uptime Institute, a think tank and professional-services organisation based in New York, has defined its own four levels. “It took ESDS Software Solution, 18 months to bring their data center infrastructure to adhere to the standards of the Uptime institute,” he said.
He informed the audience that ESDS believed in the importance of outcomes. “While the processes are important for us, we also believe that it is important to achieve the right outcome,” he said. He said that in many cases SLAs (Service Level Agreements) were not being followed, but ESDS follows the unique model of partnering with the customers to focus on the SLAs. Whenever a particular threshold is crossed, alerts get automatically sent to the customers. The load and IOPS monitoring gets done by the use of the system dashboard, which is also equipped to do network path monitoring. He said that ESDS is also hosting the DR sites on their cloud platform. He informed that the company had recently filed for a patent in USA for its unique technology of Autoscalable eNlight Managed Cloud. DECEMBER, 2015
53
EVENT
DAY - 2
»
EXPRESS BFSI CONCLAVE 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Power Panel: Cyber Security, Insurance Fraud and Risk Management
[L-R] Bharat Panchal, Head - Risk Management, National Payments Corporation Of India; Sanjiv Kumar Dwivedi, Vice President, Investigation and Loss Mitigation, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company; Prashant Maldikar, Head IT-Security, IndusInd Bank; Yagnesh Parikh, EVP-CTO, ICICI Securities; Ankush Kumar, Principal Correspondent, Express Computer
T
he panel discussion began with Sanjiv Kumar Dwivedi presenting an insight on various kinds of frauds that are happening in the BFSI sector. He said, “In any given organisation, there can be internal and/or external frauds. The internal frauds maybe related to data leakage, misappropriation of assets, etc., while the external frauds generally happen due to instances of fraudulent claims, impersonation, etc.” Sanjiv Kumar Dwivedi was of the view that the insurance companies must have a dedicated Investigations team for nabbing fraudsters. They must also have a robust whistleblower policy and they have to provide adequate training to their staff to keep fraudsters at bay. Bharat Panchal stated that as far as
54
EXPRESS COMPUTER
the payment systems are concerned, India is one of the most secure places in the world. “In the area of payment systems, the regulator is doing good work, and all the institutions are adhering to the guidelines,” said Panchal. Ankush Kumar wanted to know about the steps that the institutions were taking for educating their customers about the pitfalls of exaggerating claims. “There is scarcity of talent in the areas of claims investigation,” Dwivedi said. He informed that in Europe the scorecard method is being followed for carrying out the investigation, but such a system is yet to be developed in India. Prashant Maldikar stressed that it was important for every application that is being implemented by the BFSI segment to have a dedicated process for
governance. He informed the audience that the Indus Ind Bank has taken specific steps in this direction. He was also of the view that along with identifying vulnerabilities, the BFSI organisations must also take proactive steps to plug them. Yagnesh Parikh said that security has to be the major focus area of every business that is being hosted on the Internet. “We need to give very high priority to securing our applications,” he said. “The modules must be cleaned and the security loopholes must be plugged before any application is rolled out.” He informed the audience that ICICI Securities had now implemented two factor authentication. He gave an overview of other security solutions that ICICI Securities has in place. DECEMBER, 2015
BUSINESS AVENUES
EXPRESS COMPUTER
www.expresscomputeronline.com
DECEMBER, 2015
55
BUSINESS AVENUES
56
EXPRESS COMPUTER
www.expresscomputeronline.com
DECEMBER, 2015
BUSINESS AVENUES
www.expresscomputeronline.com
R
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
57
BUSINESS AVENUES
EXPRESS COMPUTER
www.expresscomputeronline.com
DECEMBER, 2015
59
EVENT CO-OPERATIVE BANK CONCLAVE
Pune
October 28, 2015
DIGITALCO-OPERATIVE BANKS IN ADIGITALINDIA The conclave was attended by the ICT practitioners of many leading co-operative banks in Maharashtra
60
EXPRESS COMPUTER
DECEMBER, 2015
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Digital Transformation for Co-operative Banks Sriharsha Narasimhan, CTO, Mission Critical Solutions, Enterprise Group – HP Servers, HP Enterprise
I
Sriharsha Narasimhan
n his presentation, Sriharsha Narasimhan emphasised that it is the changes in the customer banking needs, the “Everything Now” aspect that is leading to the need for digital banking. The modern customer is more demanding and aspirational—banks can’t do without adopting modern technology for attracting their customers. “It is important to ensure that the banks don’t get bogged down on their way for implementing new technologies,” he said. “The ledger is still being used in many co-operative banks, but this should not become a bottleneck in the movement towards bringing digital technologies.” He asserted that now it is imperative for the co-operative banks to move towards a new digital way of doing
business. “And as the co-operative banks digitise, they will have to incorporate several security tools for protecting their digital platforms,” he said. “Adequate systems will have to be created to empower the staff at the back-end so that they can access relevant data and gain insights.” He said that the productivity of the employees can be enhanced if they are provided tablets. Instead of filling physical forms, the employees can use their tablets to fill digital forms, which are accurate and easy to process. Narasimhan also gave an overview of the steps that must be taken for developing the digital infrastructure that can modernise the processes at the co-operative banks. He spoke at length about the solution that HP has developed for banks.
TechnologyEnabled Co-operative Banking Services Abir Banerjee, Associate VP, Sify Technologies
I
Abir Banerjee EXPRESS COMPUTER
n his presentation, Abir Banerjee provided an overview of the shared services model from Sify. He also explained why Sify’s model was most suitable for hosting the IT infrastructure of the co-operative banks. He explained the nature of the technology challenges that the co-operative banks are facing as they transition to the next phase of growth. “You may have a good IT infrastructure, but you may still fail to achieve the expected business outcomes,” he said. Abir Banerjee emphasised that Sify’s shared services model, in which multiple banks could come together for hosting their IT infrastructure on Sify’s cloud, can be a hugely advantageous prospect for all
the stakeholders. “Sify’s model will allow the banks to focus on their core banking business, as Sify would handle all the technology related issues,” he asserted. He explained that the Sify’s model not only led to lower cost of transactions and lower cost of overall IT management, it also ensured that the ultimate control over the IT infrastructure remained with the customers. As the IT infrastructure is being managed by Sify, the co-operative banks do not need to re-skill their employees. “The issues related to security are handled by Sify,” said Abir Banerjee. He also gave interesting information about many cooperative banks that are already using Sify’s cloud based infrastructure. DECEMBER, 2015
61
EVENT CO-OPERATIVE BANK CONCLAVE
www.expresscomputeronline.com
Digital Co-operative Banks In A Digital India
(L-R) Rajesh Borde, Head – Enterprise Group Sales, HP Enterprise; Vikrant Ponkshe, MD, Cosmos Bank; Abir Banerjee,Associate VP, Sify Technologies
I
n this panel discussion many interesting ideas about the changes that technology is bringing to the banking industry were presented. The panelists were of the view that the co-operative banking space has been facing rising demands from the customers. These demands can only be met by the adoption of new technologies. The view was expressed that the digital technologies not only ensure better services to the customers at lower costs, they also enabled the banks to take advantage of advanced analytics. Vikrant Ponkshe said, “It is time for the banks to adopt new technology.” He informed the audience that his bank had 62
EXPRESS COMPUTER
adopted CBS in 2002. He also had lot of valuable advise to offer to the vendors who are trying to get their technologies implemented in various banks. “It is important that the solutions of different vendors should be able to talk to each other,” he said. Rajesh Borde said that it is important for the co-operative banks to have the will to transform their business processes. “It is time for the co-operative banking space to start taking the baby steps towards digitisation,” he said. “The biggest push for digitisation was coming from the customers themselves.” He was of the view that as the government’s Digital India Programme gained momentum, the
digital transactions are going to be incentivised. Abir Banerjee, Associate VP, Sify Technologies, spoke about the changing role of IT services players from being a conventional SI to providing an on demand, flexible, elastic model of delivering services through the web. Enabling enterprises to scale up or scale down as per the business demand. All of this is done in a secured environment on a cloud model by offering different financial models. He assured the cooperative banks that the ultimate control of the data and the IT systems remain with the banks, even after bank’s IT systems have been hosted on Sify’s cloud. DECEMBER, 2015
REGD.NO.MCS/066/2015-17, PUBLISHED ON 28TH OF EVERY PERVIOUS MONTH & POSTED AT MUMBAI PATRIKA CHANNEL SORTING OFFICE, DUE DATE 29 & 30 OF EVERY PREVIOUS MONTH, REGD. WITH RNI UNDER NO. MAHENG/49926/90