ITNEXT Magazine Jan 2010

SPECIAL EDITION

IT NEXT

DECEMBER 2010 / RS. 75 VOLUME 01 / ISSUE 11

NEXT 100

MEET THE IT LEADERS OF TOMORROW VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 11

A 9.9 Media Publication

EDITORIAL

Great Expectations The December issue of ITNext reflects the culmination of an intensive six-month process to identify the next generation of IT leaders—people who have the potential to

become CIOs. The editors and staff of this publication drew upon the collective wisdom and skills of many experts to develop a process that would identify these individuals, and the outcome was the Next100.

We are grateful to everyone who contributed to make the maiden episode of Next100 a success—the hundreds of IT managers who diligently went through the various stages of the application process, and the advisory panel members who spent hours poring over thick stacks of documents and debating the nuances of the selection process and scoring process.

While those who were selected to receive the Next100 awards are undoubtedly elated, it is important to note that many applicants, who perhaps had the potential, did not make it to the final list. Some failed to complete the entire application form by the due date—despite reminders.

Others took the case study section lightly. A few did not receive ringing endorsements from their referees or supervisors. For obvious reasons, these applicants did not make the cut. For many other deserving individuals the only consolation is that you lost out by small margin—and that the competition was fierce. We encourage you to try again next year.

For most Next100 awardees, life will change. A few have already informed us that they have been promoted at work, or have received commendations. We are delighted to hear this news, and wish them all success. For others, this is a reminder that that people will now have enhanced expectations from you.

So, what can you do? Set high standards for yourself, so that you can demand the same from others. Polish your written and verbal communication skills—you will need to communicate your expectations to everyone, up and down the line. Become comfortable with ambiguous situations and complex decision-making—the buck will stop with you.

Surround yourself with smart people. Motivate by persuasion rather than intimidation. Give your subordinates and staff the tools necessary to be successful, including training and regular feedback, and then get out of the way. Learn from experiences, both good and bad, listen and respond to feedback. Finally, maintain a high level of personal integrity, and be dignified in all interactions with superiors, subordinates and suppliers. We wish you all good luck, and very successful year ahead.

“ For most NEXT100 awardees, life will change” R GIRIDHAR

Blogs To Watch!

How to Change the World http://blog.guykawasaki.com/ Education Week: Leadership And Management http://www.edweek.org/ Your views and opinion matter to us. Send your feedback on stories and the magazine at r.giridhar@9dot9.in or SMS us at 567678 (type ITNEXT<space>your feedback)

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | ITNEXT

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CONTENT FOR THE L ATEST TECHNOLOGY UPDATES GO TO ITNEXT.IN

DECEMBER 2010

Facebook: http://www.facebook. com/home.php#/group. php?gid=195675030582 Twitter: http://t witter.com/itnext LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/ groups?gid=2261770&trk=myg_ ugrp_ovr

CELEBRATING LEADERS OF TOMORROW SPECIAL EDITION

Two days. Fifteen jury members.

Hundred future CIOs. Equals

to one magical evening!

Page

Unveiling the winners and some memorable moments we shared...

14

INSIGHTS

BOSS TALK

INTERVIEW

52 Cloud Computing To make a successful cloud computing model, one needs to adopt standard exit strategies

54 Systems of Security

C OV ER DES IGN: ANIL T

A few simple steps help simplify ISMS design and implementation and mitigate inherent risks within an enterprise

2

Page

52 ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

04 Aspire to become a good manager | Sudhakar

56 Build a truly connected ecosystem | Sanjay Bansal,

Siddegowda, Director (IT) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fashion Retail, Majid Al Futtaim.

Chairman and Managing Director, Business Octane Solutions

ITNEXT.IN

MANAGEMENT Managing Director: Dr Pramath Raj Sinha Printer & Publisher: Vikas Gupta

EDITORIAL Group Editor: R Giridhar Associate Editor: Shashwat DC Sr Correspondent: Jatinder Singh

Page

54 15-MINUTE MANAGER 61 FACEVALUE | Facebook

is all about the business of connecting - with the right people. and in the right manner

DESIGN Sr. Creative Director: Jayan K Narayanan Art Director: Binesh Sreedharan Associate Art Director: Anil VK Sr. Visualisers: PC Anoop, Santosh Kushwaha Sr. Designers: Prasanth TR, Anil T Suresh Kumar, Joffy Jose & Anoop Verma Designer: Sristi Maurya Chief Photographer: Subhojit Paul Photographer: Jiten Gandhi

OFF THE SHELF 74 Buffallo launches storage solution | A sneak preview

of enterprise products, solutions and services

CUBE CHAT

62 Healthy Living | Your eyes

SALES & MARKETING

are important. Here are the five steps to relieve eye strain

VP Sales & Marketing: Naveen Chand Singh (09971794688) Brand Manager: Siddhant Raizada (09990388390) National Manager-Events & Special Projects: Mahantesh Godi (09880436623) National Manager -Print , Online & Events: Sachin Mhashilkar (09920348755) South: B.N.Raghavendra (09845381683)) North: Deepak Sharma(09811791110) West: Sachin Mhashilkar(09920348755) Assistant Brand Manager: Swati Sharma Ad co-ordination/Scheduling: Kishan Singh

64 Online Shopping | Black

Friday everyday 65 IT Strat | Many people be-

lieve their value is based on what they know—and they don’t want to give that up 66 Training Calender | Career

booster courses for you!

72 Lead with Ideas| “The IT

sector is extremely dynamic; you have to constantly update your skills if you want to excel and grow,” says Subhash Chandra Bagchi of SS Steel

PRODUCTION & LOGISTICS Sr. GM Operations: Shivshankar M Hiremath Production Executive: Vilas Mhatre Logistics: MP Singh, Mohamed Ansari, Shashi Shekhar Singh

REGULARS Editorial _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 01 Industry update_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 06

OFFICE ADDRESS

Open debate _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12

Nine Dot Nine Mediaworx Pvt Ltd A-262 Defence Colony, New Delhi-110024, India

Tech indulge _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 71 My log _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 76

Page

61

ADVERTISER INDEX LG IFC Schneider 05 APC 09 Digilink 11 Blue Coat Gatefold Front IBM Insert (after Pg.24) ALCATEL 25 ALCATEL Advertorial 27 Arkadin 29 CtrlS IBC Canon BC This index is provided as an additional service.The publisher does not assume any liabilities for errors or omissions.

Certain content in this publication is copyright Ziff Davis Enterprise Inc, and has been reprinted under license. eWEEK, Baseline and CIO Insight are registered trademarks of Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings, Inc.

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE AND REMOVE INSERTS BEFORE RECYCLING

Published, Printed and Owned by Nine Dot Nine Mediaworx Private Ltd. Published and printed on their behalf by Vikas Gupta.

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Printed at Silver Point Press Pvt Ltd, D-107, TTC Industrial Area, Shirvane, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400706.

Editor: Vikas Gupta

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM NINE DOT NINE MEDIAWORX PV T LTD IS PROHIBITED.

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | ITNEXT

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BOSS TALK |SUDHAKAR

SIDDEGOWDA

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

Aspiring to be a Good Manager

N

ot too long ago, the world discovered Karaoke. And, so many people became “singers”! Just like many of us considered ourselves to be in-tune, way too many of us (managers) believe that we have what it takes— relevant skills. After all, we’re the boss. We tell people what to do. If they don’t do it, we make them do it. Guess what? It’s not that simple...

There are some good managers out there who instinctively know how to manage; let’s admit it, these guys are gifted. But, for most of us, becoming a good manager takes time, experience and lessons learnt out of difficult fights.

I believe that some of the best lessons that managers can learn come from their own staff.

Who better to judge the management than those being managed? Bottom line—a manager should keep his staff happy and productive. A positive attitude and the aptitude to understand human capital is the key to success.

For all of you who are aspiring managers and for those supposedly-seasoned colleagues, who are honest enough to admit that there’s still more to figure out, here are three relatively critical (not necessarily natural) tips that I’ve learnt by trial and error while trying to deliver business value.

Maturity: Best managers are those individuals who behave like grown ups—read mature adults.

That means being as honest, comfortable and empathetic with your own issues and shortcomings, as you are with your strengths and skills. Only then can you do the same for others. And that’s what good managers do. This definitely helps identify risk, manage resources and measure performance better.

Experience: Work your tail off learning the basics of your trade and industry, while you can— before you are promoted and lose that opportunity.

No matter how smart you are, that’s the only way

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ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

“But, for most of us, becoming a good manager takes time, experience and lessons learnt out of difficult fights. Best managers are those individuals who behave like grown ups” to get hands-on experience, which will earn you the respect of your colleagues. And it will help you make effective management decisions.

SUGGESTION BOX

Skills:

The skills that a good manager should have are: finance, sales, presentation, negotiation and communication.

Finance—That’s how companies are run to make business work.

Sales—To sell your programmes internally you have to learn how to open doors, help constituents and peers make informed decisions and close deals.

Presentation—It’s hard to imagine your career going anywhere unless you can deliver an effective presentation.

Negotiation—This is critical to resolving conflicts, driving consensus among peers and other key constituents and developing your career.

Communication—Great managers are also great communicators. Unfortunately, you don’t learn this in school.

WRITER: JOHN C . MAXWEL PUBLISHER: NELSON BUSINESS PRICE: 1125

The author is Director (IT) – Fashion Retail, Majid Al Futtaim.

Now e-mail using Facebook!

The new tool will eventually allow users to get a Facebook e-mail address

TECH TRENDS | Facebook has started a new e-mail-based messaging

service— Project Titan—for its 500 million users. The service will put Facebook in direct competition with established giants such as Yahoo! and Google.

In a news conference, CEO, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, said: “We don’t think that a modern messaging system is going to be e-mail. We want people to be able to communicate in whatever way they choose: e-mail, text or Facebook message.” The new system is modelled on

S WEB TREND 2.0

Top Social Networking Sites among Indian youth (Figures in percentage / per user)

80 70

65

58

50

SOURCE: TCS YOUTH SURVEY

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Bigadda.com

36

Ibibo.com

0

My space.com

10

Youtube.com

30

Facebook.com

40

20

6

71

60

Orkut.com

Google 85% and Wiki 77% seem to be a way of life for youth to source information

31

TRENDS DEALS PRODUCTS SERVICES PEOPLE

instant messaging and online chat and will allow people to simplify communications regardless of how they choose to do it.

Texts, e-mail or instant messages will all come into one “feed” and users can respond in any way they want.

Zuckerberg said that he was changing Facebook because young people found e-mail to be too much of a “cognitive load”.

The new messaging system isn’t exactly an “e-mail killer”, but would be able to handle e-mail and host of other communicative systems, including instant messaging and SMS text messages. Facebook messages will also eventually allow users to get a Facebook e-mail address (@Facebook.com). “There was a lot of press leading up to this, calling this an ‘e-mail killer’,” Zuckerberg however stated.

“This is not an e-mail killer. The messaging system essentially would take e-mails, IMs and SMS and put them into one blended interface. Users will be able to communicate with each other using whatever medium they prefer, even in real-time. It will track every single message other and be able to prioritise the people that are more important in a user’s life. Unlike traditional e-mail, there will be no subject lines, or CC’ing.”

Zuckerberg adds that by using this tool, messages will be sent when a user simply hits the enter key to send one.

Zuckerberg said it’s an evolution of traditional e-mail, which he said has become too slow, and too formal.

I LLUSTRATIO N: PC ANOOP

UPDATE I N D U S T R Y

FUN WHILE YOU RUN

DOUBLE UP YOUR PC MEMORY

CRUIZER WIRELESS DESKTOP

GN Netcom has launched a new headset, Jabra GO 660, with ‘noise blackout’, which eliminates noise without compromising voice quality. It also simultaneously connects to a PC and mobile phone.

Simmtronics has launched H55 motherboards in India. These support Intel Core i7-800, Core i5 and Core i3 Processors, and is equipped with Integrated HDMI, DVI and VGA Outputs.

Amkette’s Cruizer Desktop automatically activates the ‘sleep mode’, if there is no activity for five seconds and ‘deep sleep’ mode if there is no activity for 60 seconds.

It comes with a threeyear warranty.

Bharti Airtel announces new global identity TECH TIDINGS | Telecom major

Bharti Airtel has announced that it has surpassed 200 million customers. It unveiled a new logo to celebrate the achievement and also launched a new identity—Airtel—replacing the brand Bharti in 19 countries in Asia and Africa.

The telecom major has apparently spent a hefty sum on its rebranding. However, the exact figure has not been disclosed. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, said: “Fifteen years ago, Bharti Airtel started its journey in India.

Today, as we expand on the global stage, this new brand

Crossed 200 million customers, announces the launch of 3G services

identity gives us the opportunity to present a single, powerful and unified face to our customers, stakeholders and partners.

It reinforces our promise to deliver innovative services and a superior brand experience to our

AROUND THE WORLD

200 million customers across Asia and Africa.”

The Airtel signature tune has also been refreshed by A.R. Rahman making it more dynamic—in line with the new visual identity. The official release adds that new tune retains the essence of the original, but uses an inspiring musical style.

Airtel crossed 50 million customers in October 2007 and 100 million in May, 2009.

The company believes that in the next 18 months it will add 100 million customers more— further cementing Airtel’s position as one of world’s leading telecom companies.

For its customers in India, Airtel has announced that it is on the course to launch its 3G services by the end of 2010.

QUICK BYTE

Optical Networking equipment market to reach $20 bn Ovum projected an upbeat long-term forecast for sales of optical networking (ON) equipment, driven by the continuing need for bandwidth. We expect the ON market to reach $20 billion by 2015 with a 5% CAGR. According to the report, the big driver in the region continues to be China. Japan has completely flattened out and has been overtaken

by India. In China, the mobile market is the major investment driver both for cell tower connectivity and the backbone core.

A.RAJA, EX MINISTER OF IT AND TELECOM, INDIA, OVER THE ALLEGED 2G SCAM

“IN ORDER TO AVOID EMBARRASSMENT TO THE GOVT. AND MAINTAIN PEACE AND HARMONY IN PARLIAMENT, MY LEADER (M KARUNANIDHI) HAS ADVISED ME TO RESIGN”

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | ITNEXT

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UPDATE

Enterprise IT Spending to Top $312 bn in APAC TECH TRENDS | Asia Pacific enterprise

again in 2010.

IT spending is expected to rebound in According to Gartner’s forecast, the 2010 with 10.6 per cent growth, folhealthcare sector, followed by utilities lowing a decline of 1.3 per cent in 2009, and education, are the three verticals says a recent Gartner report. that will show the strongest growth in Looking ahead, enterprise IT Asia Pacific until 2014—as the effect spending in the region is forecasted to of government stimulus spending in reach $312.3 billion in 2011, a hike of 7.6 those areas continues to be felt. The per cent. weaker US dollar has significantly “Growth in 2010 has been strong, boosted dollar-valued growth rates in due in part to the pent-up demand the Asia Pacific region in 2010, making following budget freezes in 2009, and the rebound appear stronger. the need to replace ageing hardware,” “Emerging economies continue to be said Peter Sondergaard, the locomotive of enterprise Senior Vice President, Global IT spending, substantially Head of Research, Gartner. outpacing developed After some impact economies,” the report of the global financial stated. of hike in enterprise crisis in 2009, growth in Currently Australia is spending will manufacturing and supply the second largest software be seen chain industries in China market in the Asia Pacific Source: Gartner and India has picked up right after China.

INTERVIEW MANOJ DHINGRA, DIRECTOR, STELLAR INFORMATION SYSTEMS

How critical is backing of data in a day-to-day enterprise work culture?

What should be the approach of an IT manager in case of data loss?

DHINGRA: Regular backup of data is critical for upholding business continuity and data confidentiality. As the saying goes, ‘prevention is better than cure’. It is advisable to be prepared for the worst scenario. IT managers should identify partners or vendors to address two criticalities of business namely—(a) business continuity (b) data confidentiality. They should always keep the source media intact, so that data recovery chances are maximum.

%

7.6%

Juniper acquires Trapeze Networks Belden have entered into a definitive agreement under which Juniper will acquire Trapeze Networks, a technology leader in enterprise wireless local area network (WLAN) systems and management software, in an all cash transaction valued at approximately $152 million. The acquisition is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2010, subject to the customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory reviews.

According to the official statement, the acquisition will make WLAN infrastructure a key part of Juniper’s portfolio.

8

ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

Trapeze will provide the highest levels of WLAN reliability, performance, security and management

Post this acquisition, customers will be able to build new networks based on the company’s end-to-end routing, security, wired and wireless switching infrastructure.

I LLUSTRATIO N: PC ANOOP

M&A | Juniper Networks and

In an environment where freebies on the internet are available, how crucial is to seek the advice of data retrieval experts such as Steller?

Freebies are not trusted tools. Nothing is documented on their engine or the methodology they follow towards recovery, posing a great risk to data, as everything is processed on the source drives. Apart from this, data recovery service from vendors has to be availed, as the storage media is not detected by systems.

By Jatinder Singh

PHOTO GRAPHY: JAYAN K NARAYANAN

To what extent can data be recoverable?

Data can be recovered cent percent, provided that the firm can maintain an environment free from the above mentioned factors, which influence data recovery results.

UPDATE

BSNL adds IT services to its portfolio Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited adds IT-enabled services into its existing portfolio

TECH TIDINGS | Expanding its ser-

vices bouquet from landline, fixed line, managed services, broadband, and mobile to IT-enabled services, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has added IT-enabled services into its existing portfolio.

The hosted services will be supported, managed and provided, by the strategic partner Datacraft Asia.

To enable IT services through datacentres, BSNL will make an investment of INR 200 crore in the first phase of services. The company will set up six data centres and start their offerings in the next six months.

The company has identified six

NEWS @ BLOG

strategic locations for datacenters including Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Ghaziabad and Faridabad. Later on, this will be extended to four other centres, which includes Hyderabad, Trichy, Ranchi and Bengaluru.

In the first phase, Datacraft will offer its one cloud hosted and cloud services, including managed co-location services, dedicated hosting services, particularly for the government and public sector.

“In the next six months, our data centre and IT services will be ready to launch,” said Dilip Kumar, COO, Datacraft Asia.

NEW FEATURES

Business pages @ LinkedIn LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 80 million members worldwide, has announced the launch of company pages to help businesses of all sizes attract new customers using trusted, professional product and service recommendations.

Company Pages help bring a brand to life by showcasing standout products and services on LinkedIn, an environment where millions of professionals turn to their networks for help making critical business decisions every day. By making it easy for customers and employees to become brand ambassadors, Company Pages help grow a company’s business virally through word-ofmouth, the most trusted form of advertising. In addition to product and service endorsements, businesses can display videos, featured product information and targeted ads on their Company Pages to drive sales and interaction.

Company Pages are powered by LinkedIn’s new InPages platform, which in addition to enabling businesses to highlight product and service recommendations, allow them to spotlight star employees on their LinkedIn Careers tabs.

APPLE TAKES A ‘BITE’ AT MOTOROLA; OR IS IT GOOGLE?

According to reports, Apple has filed a suit based on six counts with the patents it holds on ‘smart phones and associated software, including operating systems, user interfaces, and other application software designed for use on’. Motorola had filed a suit against Apple last month as well.

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ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

UPDATE

OPEN DEBATE

BOOK FOR YOU A platform to air your views on latest developments and issues that impact you

MNP: How will it impact enterprises?

RAJESH AGGARWAL MANAGER-IT D P JINDAL GROUP Mobile number becomes an identity for any individual. It becomes very difficult to change his / her mobile number for the sake of good plan offer from other service provider. In this case a user is forced to stay with existing service provider.

By the Implementation of MNP services in India, any individual / company have the flexibility change to any service provider without changing his / her mobile number. In order to give better facilities to its employee, the company can negotiate with service provider for good corporate package and transfer all mobile numbers from one service provider to another.

MANISH SINHA DIRECTOR, ARTINTELLIGENCE LEARNING SYSTEMS It’s difficult to predict if number portability will have any great impact on the end user in the long term. It would give IT heads an option to select quality services and would assist them on utilising the capabilities of operators in a better way, considering their own parameters and benefits. The new and even more critical challenge for Indian telecom companies will be retaining the existing and new subscribers.

We hope to see a new business model where in any given scenerio, the consumer will be the ultimate winner.

RAVISH JHALA SYSTEMS MANAGER TRIDENT Number portability is not as simple as pushing a button. To make it work, there is a lot that has to happen technically.

Let me put it this way, from an operator’s point of view, buying the expensive equipments and logistics on large scale and making strategic plan will be critical in order ensure that they do not lose the current customers . MNP will make Indian telecom market more consumer centric and intensely competitive for operators. This might lead to huge migration of subscribers and few operator winning almost a monopoly status.

Home is where the history is Read it to fall in love with your home PUBLISHER : RANDOM HOUSE AUTHOR : BILL BRYSON PRICE: RS 950

There’s only one guy who can make history sound like a full moon party on Koh Phangan Island - Bill Bryson. One would have to thank Bryson’s state of doldrums (when he’s at home) for his latest masterpiece. Titled ‘At home: A short history of private life’ (it could so easily have been named ‘At a British Home’), the book is a diligent and systematic investigation into the history of whatever constitutes an Englishman’s house. The plot is his house, a former rectory in Norfolk. He goes around with an avid eye for every minute detail. Say, something as innocuous as a staircase. He traces back what made the humankind upgrade from a ladder to a staircase. The book documents some beyond-belief facts from the history about things that are so close to us that we, often, take them for granted. The book is breathtaking in its scope: be it histories of indoors lighting, of the clergy in England, of building materials, of food preservation, of the effects of the Industrial Revolution or of the cornered toilet seat.

REVIEWED BY: ANOOP CHUGH

IT NEXT VERDICT

Your views and opinion matter to us. Send us your feedback on stories and the magazine to the Editor at editor@itnext.in

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ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

The book is recommended to anyone who is intrigued by gentle history and is inquisitive to know reasons behind inventions STAR VALUE:

IL LUSTRATIO N: ANIL T

SPECIAL EDITION

CELEBRATING LEADERS OF TOMORROW

Two days. Fifteen jury members.

Hundred future CIOs. Equals

to one magical evening!

Unveiling the winners and some memorable moments we shared...

PHOTO GRAPHY:

SPECIAL EDITION

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ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

PHOTO GRAPHY: JITE N GAND HI

IMAGING : P C ANOO P

INTRODUCTION â&#x20AC;&#x153;Leaders are born not madeâ&#x20AC;?, is a popular belief held not only in our brick and mortar world but also in the in domain of bits and bytes. But IT Next decided to challenge this perception in the tech domain and launched an exercise in June 2010, which promised to unravel the Next 100 IT managers that were ready to make a cut to the big league, to take on the mantle of CIOs, CTOs or even CEOs. These chosen ones will be the technology leaders of India Inc. in the days to come.

Though the selection process was a bit rigorous, the enthusiasm was exceptional. The culmination of a 6 month exercise happened at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, where these future head honchos debuted in front of the world. Presenting the story of these extraordinary individuals and how they made it to the exclusive club...

N

SPECIAL EDITION

THE GENESIS

METHODOLOGY To ensure that the Next 100 awards were completely fair and unbiased, it was decided at the very onset that the editorial team will play no role in selection or elimination of the awardees. The editors of the magazine were not even involved in the evaluation panel. Thus, in essence, the Next 100 is a truly industry award given by veterans.

The process was kick-started through massmailers and magazine adverts. IT managers were asked to register themselves and fill up a form on a special microsite that was created for the same purpose. Over 1,600 managers registered themselves for the awards.

The registration required 3 things, one was the self-nomination form that had personal and professional details about the applicant. Next was a special leadership test that IT Next had licensed for the survey. This comprehensive test examined the leadership ability of the applicant. And finally, there was a case-study that was provided to the applicant, which was to be solved. The 3 components carried different weightage, with primacy given to the details that were collected from the self nomination form and then the leadership test.

In the meantime, some 40 top Indian CIOs were engaged in the whole process as advisors and they deliberated and decided on what are the steps that need to be taken. Based on these deliberations, the ranking or the marking mechanism was decided upon and thus a single docket for each applicant was created.

To make the exercise objective, each applicant was examined by 3 CIOs and their marks were evened out. Based on these markings, all the IT managers were ranked and the top 100 were selected.

But the process did not end here; once the top 100 were selected, there was a background or reference check done to ensure that the claims made by the manager were indeed true. Once, it was ascertained to be so, the final list was collated and this is how the number â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;100â&#x20AC;&#x2122; was achieved.

1600+ IT MANAGERS REGISTERED THEMSELVES FOR THE AWARDS.

40

TOP INDIAN CIOS WERE ENGAGED IN THE WHOLE PROCESS AS ADVISORS EACH CANDIDATE IS BEING REVIEWED BY

3 CIOs

THE MAMMOTH NEXT 100 exercise, while launched in June 2010, started much earlier. Back in February 2010, on receiving the enthusiastic response to the inaugural issue of the magazine, which spoke about 7 steps to becoming the CIO, the edit team started thinking on how to take the IT managers to the next level, what would be the best approach, the kind of mechanism and other such things.

Over the next few months, various ideas were examined and summarily debunked, some considered to be too early, while others too late.

But through all this lengthy deliberations, there was a consensus building up, that not only should IT Next aid the managers to move up the ladder, there also needs to be a mechanism, wherein the creme-de-la-creme of the managers were given a platform to preen in front of the world. This is how Next 100 came into being.

A select team of editorial advisors, marketing and branding and techies was formulated to work out the nitty-grittys. In the meantime, the creative head was also involved to ensure that the output, while being content rich, was also slick and of high appeal.

No corners were spared to ensure that the exercise reached out to as many managers as possible and it remained fair and just as well. After a few agonizing weeks, the awards were announced and managers were invited for submissions. This was in June 2010, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Next 100 is just not an event; it is something that everyone at IT Next strongly believed about.

The Next 100 awardees will receive special mentorship and other benefits over the course of the year....till a new lot is discovered.

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | ITNEXT

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and the highest age is

BY THE NUMBERS IT MANAGERS REACHED VIA MAILERS

11,929 UNIQUE VISITORS TO THE NEXT100 SITE

1,650

FINISHED ALL FORMALITIES BY AUG 15 DEADLINE

All

20

307

IT Managers who completed application process GIFTED A BOOK ON LEADERSHIP

ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

the lowest age is

27

LAUNCHED IN

June 2010, AWARD ON November 26, 2010

Weekly newsletter sent to

60000 450 IT managers

IT MANAGERS TOOK LEADERSHIP TEST

36

IT MANAGERS REGISTERED ON NEXT100 SITE

307

36

a

b

c

d

a

b

c

d

a

b

c

d

a

b

c

d

EMINENT CIOS AS

JURY MEMBERS

On an average

5,360 man-hours were spent by a team of

10 PEOPLE

behind the whole exercise.

In addition, around

500 HOURS

were spent by the JURY CIOS in the evaluation.

I NFOG RAPHI CS: PRASANTH T R

72,000

53

Average age of ITNext winner is

SPECIAL EDITION

921 OF THE

307 APPLICANTS

13 3 WERE WOMEN AND

CANDIDATE DOSSIERS SENT TO THE

30

CIO MADE IT TO THE WINNERS’ LIST

EACH CANDIDATE IS BEING REVIEWED BY 3 CIOS

JURY MEMBERS

29,843

OVER

4,000

PHONE CALLS MADE DURING NEXT 100 PROJECT

PEOPLE WATCHED THE CEREMONY

LIVE ON THE WEBCAST A GRAND VENUE

20 International films and 40 Indian films can be produced simultaneously in the Ramoji Film complex

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS CERTIFY RAMOJI FILM CITY AS THE WORLD’S LARGEST FILM STUDIO COMPLEX, WHICH MEASURES 1,666 ACRES

93%

OF NEXT 100 WINNERS WERE FROM PRIVATE SECTOR

200,000+ 140

PORTFOLIO SHOOTS DONE BY ACE PHOTOGRAPHERS

ACROSS INDIA

3%

FROM PSUS

EMAILS AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION TO THE NEXT 100 APPLICANTS AND WINNERS

THERE ARE 135 GARDENS, 500 SET LOCATIONS AND OVER 50 SOUND STAGES AT RAMOJI FILM CITY

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SPECIAL EDITION

To be

THE BEST Some of us are born leaders and some of us get there eventually. The question is do you have what it takes?

BY V I S H N U G U PTA

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SPECIAL EDITION

J

ust as we come in all shapes and sizes, each of us have a forte or two and some flaws; what’s right for one may not be right for another. We’re all individualistic and have our own unique personalities.

No one can be you and you really can’t be someone, no matter how hard you try. Bruce Lee once said “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” It is these very personal traits and behaviour that we bring to a workplace, and which sets us apart from the pack.

They are also what make us leaders or followers.

Our experiences shape our personalities and often leave a mark, one way or another. What we experience as children, in school and college, in our first job or our relationships, matter.

That’s what makes some employees better listeners than others or some more optimistic and some who everyone likes to avoid! That is also what makes some bosses autocratic and controlling; while some are warm and kind and get you to open your heart just as effectively as they get the work done.

Being diplomatic and politically correct at work is also an art; not everyone excels in it. But it can mean anything from moving up the ladder, to being gently handed the pink slip or even being booted out, escorted by security for good measure! Some workers love to chat and are always sharing their life along with great ideas;

THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT BOTH PERSONALITY AND WORKPLACE TRAIT PLAY SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN A PERSON’S PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS AND CAREER \ ADVANCEMENT some are reserved and speak only when spoken to but work like beavers. The jury is still out on which is better…

There are some workers who just cannot take criticism even if it is constructive and some who thrive on it. A few are willing to stand up for themselves and others, while others look on or away submissively. Of course, the aforementioned art of diplomacy plays such an important role here. So you see how everything is connected?

There often are only six degrees of

TOP LEADERSHIP TRAITS ASSERTIVENESS CREATIVITY INNOVATION FAIRNESS HUMILITY INTEGRITY OPENNESS

separation between you and the corner office and you and the recruitment firm.

The fact of the matter is that both personality and workplace traits play a significant role in a person’s professional success and career advancement. And no one said it’s easy; when Charlie Brown said “In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back”, he meant it!

And then of course every industry has its share of suck-ups but that really is another story…

So what is it that gets you the corner office and makes you a leader? It’s never too late to learn some new life lessons if it’s going to get you the promotion and the perks… Let’s break that down into four clusters or skills—People Management, Task Management, Self Management and Change Management—and break it down further into extreme traits and skills.

Some traits speak for themselves and hence need no explanation, so you won’t find any mentioned below and while most are clear extremes, some need a balance between the two, rather that one or the other. We’ll get to workplace competencies later…

People Management CONTROLLING VS. INDIFFERENT:

This is the desire, feeling and willingness to control, and is expressed in three distinct ways — desire to control oneself, desire to control others and desire to have a full control on things.

AFFILIATIVE VS. SOLITARY: Some of us seek and offer emotional involve-

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SPECIAL EDITION

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WORK-RELATED PERSONALITY TRAITS THAT PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN JOB PERFORMANCE and associates them with key behavioural skills.

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iv e

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ABOUT THE TEST

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The graph, based upon the results of CTPI test, measures the personality profile of the Next100 awardees with other applicants.

While both groups exhibited high scores on achievent orientation, emotional stability and adapatability; they scored low on individualistic orientation. The two groups diverged on personality attributes like vigilance, self assurance, emotional stability, and foresight.

ment. It is the desire to move towards others in order to seek emotional closeness and connection, and expresses itself in the form of warmth, care, kindness and consideration. This also includes the tendency to empathise, sympathise, to express affection, to share personal feelings and to engage in emotional exchange with others.

LIVELY VS. RESERVED: This refers to the tendency to behave in an enthusiastic, energetic, active manner. Common descriptive words associated with this trait are sparkle, vigour, joie de vivre, dynamism and spirit. Of course, too ‘shiny’ and too ‘happy’ could raise eyebrows too!

DIPLOMATIC VS. ARTLESS: Tactful people can deal with situations (or people) in a socially smart way, without revealing much personal or other important information related to their own area of interest.

ASSERTIVE VS. SUBMISSIVE: A willingness to stand up for yourself, defending your rights, and pushing yourself forward is always appreciated.

It is essentially a desire to resist external pressure of any kind, but strictly doesn’t involve being aggressive or dominating.

VIGILANT VS. TRUSTING: A lot of people have a fundamental mistrust in the surrounding environment (especially in people) unless proved otherwise. Vigilant people focus on error, are critical in their approach, look for potential limitations, and are wary of intentions.

Task Management CONSCIENTIOUS VS. NEGLIGENT:

A conscientious worker’s disposition makes him/her focus on details; they are methodical, organised and systematic. It could imply a preoccupation with detail. People who are conscientious feel a pressing need to do things right (in a proper way), and find it very hard to deal with unpredictability.

TOLERANT VS. RESTLESS: At the workplace one has have the capacity to tolerate differing opinions and unexpected events. The lesser impacted by external pressure you are, the better for you.

I NFOG RAPHI CS: PRASANTH T R

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A comparison of the workplace competencies of the Next100 awardees with other applicants indicates that both groups scored relatively low on factors like visioning, customer focus, integretity and dependability. The competencies on which the Next100 group exhibited a significant difference are entrepreneurial risk taking, managing others, coping with pressure, influencing, intiative, communication, and drive for results.

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69% of business leaders say itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to have a mentor. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;A survey by Grant Thornton

3.Communication: You have to possess the ability to communicate clearly and succinctly. This means adapting the style and content to meet the demands of the situation and audience using well-structured, logical arguments and avoiding unnecessary technical jargon or complex language.

4.Continuous learning: You need to be continually seeking new knowledge and skills, as well as developing existing capabilities. It involves taking advantage of all opportunities for professional development, seeking feedback on both style and performance, learning from others and gaining valuable lessons from successes and mistakes.

5.Coping with pressure: Possessing a positive attitude in stressful situations or following failure is what makes you or breaks you. You need to have the ability to manage your own emotions, a willingness to take on challenging tasks, and the energy to remain focused on those tasks when presented with obstacles.

6.Customer focus: This competency relates to the ability to develop strong relationships with clients by satisfying customer needs and exceeding their expectations. Clients can be inside or outside the organisation.

7.Decision-making: You need to make clear, appropriate decisions even when information is incomplete or ambiguous. An effective decision-making style requires the resilience to make unpopular decisions where necessary, and to take responsibility for the outcomes and impact of those decisions.

8.Dependability: This is a measure of reliability and conscientious behaviour.

You need to willingly follow processes and procedures, rarely miss work or appointments and always warn others in advance if it seems they might fail to meet their commitments.

9.Drive for results: This indicates a strong focus on setting and meeting high standards. People who push for excellent results expect high standards from themselves and others. To ensure this, they will take appropriate steps to monitor the quality of their own work and that of others.

I NFOGRAPHICS : PRASANTH T R

SPECIAL EDITION

SPECIAL EDITION 10.Entrepreneurial risk-taking: Do you

have an entrepreneurial mindset and do you take appropriate risks to start, develop and manage projects and business? It requires risk-taking, perseverance, and positive thinking. People equipped with this competency make better leaders, and demonstrate high capabilities in running businesses.

11.Flexibility: This means you respond well to change. It requires a positive attitude toward change, and a readiness to adapt when presented with new information, new situations, or shifting priorities.

12.Influencing: Influencers balance the need to shape outcomes in the short term with the requirement to maintain successful long-term relationships. This means understanding others, knowing what will motivate and inspire them to achieve common goals, and also what to give and what to hold back in negotiations. It also often requires the use of personal and professional contacts to influence people across teams or organisations.

13.Initiative: People who show initiative are constantly looking for things to do. They are self-confident and proactive, and will generate activity for themselves rather than wait for instructions.

They are also prepared to take risks if they feel there is potential benefit in doing so.

14.Innovation: Can you turn creative ideas into original solutions and produce new or different approaches to current situations and enable this creativity in others? An innovative approach involves both generating ideas and seeing them through to implementation.

15.Integrity and work ethics: People demonstrating integrity will exhibit an ethical approach to their work and relationships. They are discreet with confidential information, whether it is of a personal or professional nature, and treat others fairly. They will also take action when they believe others, or the organisation itself, are acting unethically.

16.Managing others: At all levels, effectively managing others means enabling them to perform. Essential to

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WHAT THEY SAID?

achieving this is setting a clear direction and delegating fairly and appropriately, to give direct reports the means to achieve their goals. Those who manage others effectively will also look for opportunities to develop them by encouraging them to take on greater responsibility and make decisions for themselves.

17.Organising

“BE THE CHANGE THAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD” —M.K GANDHI

“DO NOT WAIT FOR LEADERS. DO IT ALONE, PERSON TO PERSON” —MOTHER TERESA

“GREAT DREAMS OF GREAT DREAMERS ARE ALWAYS TRANSCENDED” —APJ ABDUL KALAM

and

prioritising:

Establishing and prioritising tasks and objectives in order to manage time and resources appropriately is a major plus point. Effective planners will set deadlines based on the time required for each task, and on how each part of their plan affects the others. They will also have backup plans in case the situation changes.

18.Self-confidence: You really need to have a strong belief in your own capabilities, a high sense of self worth and stay composed in the face of difficulty. It requires self-awareness and a high level of tolerance for unfavourable conditions.

19.Teamwork: Can you build supportive relationships within a team, based on trust and respect? It also means being willing to challenge others and to accept challenge as a way of getting the best results from the team.

20.Technological orientation: Some workers exhibit comfort and aptitude using technology in order to reach goals more efficiently, and to a higher standard of quality. People who are strong in this area will use technology appropriately, and will help others appreciate and understand the benefits of using technology.

21.Visioning: You need to consider the long-term goals of your organisation and define all its aspects in a holistic way. You also take into account the environment in which your business operates, and anticipate future changes or challenges for the organisation.

Einstein who knew a bit about life once said, “Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.” And more often than not, talent notwithstanding, it is your personality and workplace competencies that will get you there.

SPECIAL EDITION

INTERACTIVE SESSIONS Before the gala evening, the IT managers and the CIOs converged at the venue to discuss and deliberate on various issues pertaining to leadership and other such subjects, which were:

Understanding the complexities of the new network, by Bisham Kishnani of Juniper Networks.

Data center infrastructure efficiency (DCIE), by Kiran Salian of APC. Technology for instant business performance and efficiency, by Amit Sinha Roy of Tata Communications.

“TO BECOME A LEADER OF THE FUTURE, IT’S IMPORTANT TO APPLY POSITIVE LEARNINGS FROM YOUR FAILURES”

PHOTO GRAPHY: JITE N GAND HI, S UBHO JIT PAUL, NITISH SHARMA

—Dr. B. Muthukumaran, CTO and Chief Consultant, Gemini Communication

“CONSIDERING THE CHANGING BUSINESS DYNAMICS, WE EXPECT IT HEADS GETTING MORE INVOLVED IN DECISIONS ABOUT SELECTION OF VENDORS THAN EVER BEFORE ” —Shripad Bharati, Group Manager, Kale Consultants

“TODAY’S CHALLENGES REQUIRE A NEW LOOK AT THE WAY BUSINESSES USE TECHNOLOGY” —Amit Sinha Roy VP & Head – Strategy & Marketing Global Enterprise Solutions Tata Communications

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SPECIAL EDITION

“1% IMPROVEMENT IN DCIE CORRESPONDS TO 2% REDUCTION IN ELECTRICAL BILLS” —Kiran Salian, National Program Manager, System Integration, APC

“ CUSTOMISATION OF TECHNOLOGY AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF BUSINESSES IS THE ONLY VIABLE SOLUTION FOR ACHIEVING EFFICIENCES” —Vishal Bisht, IT Manager, Marksman Technologies

“ENTERPRISES NEED TO DEVELOP CAPABILITIES TO ADAPT TO THE THREATS OF TOMORROW” —Bisham Kishnani, Sr. Technical Consultant at Juniper Networks

The NEXT100 book, which showcases the work profiles of the top IT managers, was launched amongst much fanfare at the event.

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SPECIAL EDITION

HERE ARE THE WINNERS...

DEEPAK AGGARWAL

BALAJI ALAPILLA

SACHIN ARORA

NAGESH ASWARTHA

AMIT BAJAJ

PAWAN BAKSHI

PARESH BALDHA

ASHISH BANSAL

DEBASISH PRADEEP SHALINI CHATTERJEE CHATTERJEE CHHATWANI

RAVINDRA VALERIO PRASAD FERNANDES ELICHERLA

32

JOSE DANIEL

SHRIPAD BHARATI

RAMACHANDRA REDDY GADI

GIRISH HADKAR

AROON HINGORANI

AYAZ HYDER

BYJU JOSEPH

VINAY JOSHI

RAVI KUMAR KAKUTURU

RAHUL KATHARE

PRITAM GAUTAM

RITIK GOEL

VAMSIKRISHNA HEMANT ITHAMRAJU JHA

SARITHA KAZA

AKSHAY LAMBA

VISHAL ASHISH MAHENDRA BISHT CHAKRABORTY CHANDURKAR

CHANDRESH SUNIL DEDHIA DEORUKHKAR

SEBASTIN RAJA G

ADONI GURURAJA RAO

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SUBHASH SUBHANKAR ANAND BAGCHI BHATTACHARYA BUDHOLIA

CHITRANJAN KESARI

PRITAM DUTTA

RAMESH KESAVAN

VISHAL ANAND GUPTA

RAJEEV GUPTA

RAVISH JHALA

YUSUF ROOPAWALLA

DIGVIJAY JADEJA

RANJITH RADHAKRISHNAN

SPECIAL EDITION JITENDER KHANDUJA

OMESH KHANNA

KAUSHIK KUMAR

PRAVAKAR KUMAR

SANJAY KHARB

DHIRAJ KHURANA

TIRTHADEEP SRIDHAR GAURAV KUNDU MARUPADIGE MARWAHA

JATINKUMAR SANJAY KATHIRVELRAJ MODH PATANKAR NATARAJAN VISHAL P

CHARUDATTA PAWAR (RAJEEV JORAPUR)

RAJSHEKAR PATIL

ARUN KUMAR

RAHUL KUMAR

AANCHAL MISHRA

CHANDRASEKARAN KRISHNAN

MUKESH MISHRA

RAJNIL TEJ PANDEY PANGERKAR

RAVEENDRAN NAGARAJAN

AMIT PHADKE

MILIND RAJHANS

DHANANJAY ROKDE

SOUROV ROY

SAYYAD SALIM

NEERAJ SHARMA

SAREEN SALAM

ABHISHEK SINGH

SANJEEV SANGWAN

BHAVITA SAXENA

ASHISH SHAH

NARESH SHARMA

BALWANT SINGH

MANISH SINHA

LAWRENCE SOOSAI RAJ

ANANTH STP

JAYESH TANK

HURSH TANNA

JIGNESH VANIA

CLAUDE VEIGAS

AJAY VERNEKAR

SHELTON VETHARAJ

BIJU PRAKASH VELAYUDHAN VENKATESH

DEVENDRA THAKKAR

VINAY PRAKASH VERMA

DEEPU PRAVITHA SEETARAMAIAH VIJAYANATH VIJAYKUMAR VISSAPRAGADA

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SPECIAL EDITION

THE WINNERS...

Deepak Aggarwal, Deputy general Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Balaji Alapilla, Program Manager, IBM India Sachin Arora, Head Datacenter, Bharat Business Channel Nagesh Aswartha, Senior Manager, SPML Infra Ltd Subhash Bagchi, Director Information and Technology, SS Steel Anand Budhola, Additional VP, Reliance Infrastructure Amit Bajaj, Deputy Manager IT, LG electronics Pawan Bakshi, Manager IT Infrastructure and ebiz, Amway Paresh Baldha, Manager IT, Gujrat Pipavav Port Ashish Bansal, Sr. Manager Enterprise Computing (ITS) at GENPACT Shripad Bharati, Group Manager, Kale Consultants Subhankar Bhattacharya, Project Manager, Syntel Vishal Bisht, Marksman Technologies Ashish Chakraborty, Location IS head, Mindtree Mahendra Chandurkar, AM/IT head Petroleum Conservation Research Association

PHOTOGRAPHY: JITEN GANDHI, SUBHOJIT PAUL, NITISH SHARMA

JURY

AJAY K. DHIR CIO, JSL LIMITED

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ARUN GUPTA GROUP CTO, SHOPPERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; STOP

ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

DR. B. MUTHUKUMARAN CTO AND CHIEF CONSULTANT, GEMINI COMMUNICATION

C MOHAN CTO, RELIANCE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED

DAYA PRAKASH HEAD IT, LG ELECTRONICS INDIA

DHIREN SAVLA DIRECTOR IT, CRISIL

SPECIAL EDITION

‘‘I AM HONOURED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH AN EXCITING MOMENT OF CELEBRATION. IT MUST BE ORGANISED ANNUALY’’ — SHANTANU SINGH CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, VALUE FIRST

Future CIOs’ laying first hands on Next100 book

As they say, there’s no smoke without fire. ITNEXT 100 was all about fire—in the participants’ hearts to change the game for the better. And we at the team, were more than happy to salute them for their efforts.

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SPECIAL EDITION

THE WINNERS...

Debasish Chatterjee, Manager, Integration Development, McAfee Software India Pvt Ltd Pradeep Chatterjee, Assistant General Manager, Tata Motors Ltd Shalini Chhatwanim, Project Manager, ETP International Pvt Ltd Jose Daniel, Head Operations, Sanblue Enterprises Pvt Ltd Chandresh Dedhia, Senior Manager IT, Fermenta Biotech Ltd Sunil Deorukhkar, Regional Head, Nihilent Technologies Ltd Pritam Dutta, Project Manager, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Ravindra Prasad Elicherla, Program Delivery Manager, Tesco Hindustan Service Center Valerio Fernandes, Head Information Technology, India Continental Automotive Components India Pvt Ltd Sebastin Raja G, Senior Manager, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd Ramachandrareddy Gadi, President, Society for Poverty Alleviation and Community Empowerment (SPACE) Pritam Gautam, Addl. GM ICT, DSC Ltd Ritik Goel, Senior Lead Manager, SKS Microfinance Ltd Vishal Anand Gupta, Deputy Manager System, The Calcutta Medical Research Institute Rajeev Gupta, Chief Technologist, Air One Aviation Pvt Ltd PHOTOGRAPHY: JITEN GANDHI, SUBHOJIT PAUL, NITISH SHARMA

JURY

JAGAT PAL SINGH CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, CYBAGE

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KINSHUK HORA HEAD OF IT, INDIA SUB CONTINENT, GLAXO SMITH KLINE CONSUMER HEALTHCARE

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NANDKISHOR DHOMNE CIO, MANIPAL HEALTH SYSTEMS

NEENA PAHUJA CIO, MAX HEALTHCARE INSTITUTE

RAJEEV JORAPUR HEAD - IT, MERCEDES-BENZ, INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

RAJEEV SEONI CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, ERNST & YOUNG PVT. LTD.

SPECIAL EDITION

Shashwat DC, Associate Editor, IT NEXT, making the audience pledge their support to adopt ‘Best Green Practices’.

CIOs and IT managers leaving their handprints in green ink on a large board, which will be presented to environment minister Jairam Ramesh, reinforcing their committment to ‘go green’.

‘Put your hands up int he air!’.... seems to be the call by the audience, as they take an oath to make the environment clean.

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SPECIAL EDITION

THE WINNERS...

Adoni Gururaja Rao, General Manager, KPIT Cummins Ltd Girish Hadkar, Manager Corporate IT, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Aroon Hingorani, Associate Vice President - Information Technology, Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd Ayaz Hyder, Senior Delivery Manager, OnMobile Global Ltd Vamsikrishna Ithamraju, Senior Lead Manager IT, SKS Microfinance Ltd Hemant Jha, Senior Manager IT, Aircel Ltd Ravish Jhala, Systems Manager, The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts Ltd Byju Joseph, AVP, Future Generali India Life Insurance Co. Ltd Vinay Joshi, Deputy Manager, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Ravi Kumar Kakuturu, Project Manager, Wipro Technologies Rahul Kathare, Manager IT, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Saritha Kaza, Deputy Manager IT, Vijai Electricals Ltd Chitranjan Kesari, Head IT, Advanced Enzyme Technologies Ltd

PHOTOGRAPHY: JITEN GANDHI, SUBHOJIT PAUL, NITISH SHARMA

JURY

RAJESH GARG CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER, NUCLEUS SOFTWARE EXPORTS LTD 38

RAJESH MUNJAL HEAD IT, CARZONRENT INDIA

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RATNAKAR NEMANI CIO, HIMATSINGKA SEIDE LIMITED

SACHIN JAIN HEAD IT, EVALUESERVE

SARABJIT ANAND HEAD INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK

SATISH DAS, CSO, COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGIES

SPECIAL EDITION

Sridhar Marupadige, IT Test Manager, Novartis Healthcare while receiving the NEXT100 award

It was a double delight for Vinay Prakash Verma, Senior Manager, Panasonic AVC Networks. He was promoted to the next level by his current employer when his selection in the elite club of NEXT100 was announced

“I AM SURE THIS EXERCISE OF IDENTIFYING THE NEXT 100 WILL CREATE A HEALTHY AND FAIR COMPETITION AMONG THE PROSPECTS” —Shailesh Joshi CIO, Godrej Properties

“This recognition stands as an unforgettable moment of my life. once again - many thanks & wishing you all best” —Ritik Goel Senior Lead Manager, SKS Microfinance

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SPECIAL EDITION

THE WINNERS...

Jitender Khanduja, Datacenter Lead, JSL Ltd Omesh Khanna, IT Manager, Verint Systems India Pvt Ltd Sanjay Kharb, Assistant Vice President, Makemytrip India Pvt Ltd Dhiraj Khurana, Project Manager, IBM India Pvt Ltd Chandrasekaran Krishnan, Senior Program Manager, Keane Inc Rahul Kumar, HEAD MES & SHOP FLOOR IT SOLUTIONS, Essar Steel Ltd Arun Kumar, Senior Manager IT, GlobalLogic India Pvt Ltd Kaushik Kumar, Project Manager, Orange Business Services (France Telecom) Pravakar Kumar, Deputy Manager (IT), Varun Beverages Ltd Tirthadeep Kundu, Senior Program Manager SAP Practice, ITC Infotech India Ltd Sridhar Marupadige, IT Test Manager, Novartis Healthcare Pvt Ltd Gaurav Marwaha, Senior Manager Engineering, Pitney Bowes Aanchal Mishra, Program Manager, Hewlett Packard India Ltd.

PHOTOGRAPHY: JITEN GANDHI, SUBHOJIT PAUL, NITISH SHARMA

JURY

SC MITTAL SR.ED, MGMT. SERVICES & IT, GROUP CTO, IFFCO

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SHAILESH JOSHI CIO, GODREJ PROPERTIES

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SHANTANU SINGH CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, VALUE FIRST

SHIVA SHANKAR VP & HEAD - IT INFRASTRUCTURE, RELIANCE TECH SERVICES

SIVARAM TADEPALLI CIO, DELHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

SRINIVAS KISHAN ANAPU VICE PRESIDENT -ENTERPRISE INFORMATION SYSTEMS, MAHINDRA SATYAM

SPECIAL EDITION

The innovative and unqiue NEXT 100 logo adorning the greens at the venue.

A glimpse of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s famous Ramoji Film City, with its massive sets where many Bollywood blockbusters have been shot.

The set of the Next 100 event, which dazzled the eyes with its grand design, complementing a very Indian filmy venue!

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SPECIAL EDITION

THE WINNERS...

Jatinkumar Modh, Manager IT, Mettler-Toledo India Pvt Ltd Raveendran Nagarajan, General Manager Enterprisewide Solutions, Sakthi Finance Ltd/ABT Industries Ltd Kathirvelraj Natarajan, IT Manager, Extreme Networks India Pvt Ltd Vishal P, BI Architect, Johnson & Johnson Ltd Tej Pandey, Senior Project Manager, PathPartner Technology Consulting Pvt Ltd Rajnil Pangerkar, Manager IT, Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd Sanjay Patankar, General Manager, Godrej Infotech Ltd Rajshekar Patil, IT Manager, TVS Interconnect Systems Ltd Charudatta Pawar, Senior Program Manager, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India Pvt Ltd Amit Phadke, Senior Manager IT, Bharti AXA Investment Managers Ranjith Radhakrishnan, Assistant General manager, TVS Motor ltd Milind Rajhans, Manager IT, The A.P. Mahesh Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd Dhananjay Rokde, Manager Information & Infrastructure Security (Global), Integreon Managed Solutions Sourov Roy, Asst. Vice President, EXL Service

PHOTOGRAPHY: JITEN GANDHI, SUBHOJIT PAUL, NITISH SHARMA

JURY

SUBHASISH SAHA CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, APEEJAY SURRENDRA GROUP

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S.P. ARYA VICE PRESIDENT CORPORATE(IT), AMTEK

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SUHAS MHASKAR GM, CORPORATE IT, MAHINDRA

SUMANT KELKAR CIO, ESSAR GROUP

SWARANJIT S SONI FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (IS), INDIA OIL CORPORATION

U C DUBEY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ( IT )IFFCO-TOKIO GENERALINSURANCE CO LTD

SPECIAL EDITION

Our magical event was capped off with a stunning fireworks display. Nothing better to warm hearts on a chilly winter evening...

A riot of bright colours—golden and dazzling—lighting up the clear winter sky after the NEXT 100 got over.

Cameras came out, and fast, as the fireworks display continued on ground.

Participants captured the moment on their mobiles and cameras—to share it with their loved ones who couldn’t be there on the joyous evening.

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SPECIAL EDITION

THE WINNERS...

Sareen Salam, Director Global Customer Support, Aspect Software Jatinder Aggarwal Sanjeev Sangwan, Manager - ITS, DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd Bhavita Saxena, DGM Information Systems and Business Solutions, RFCL Ltd Ashish Shah, AVP IT, Future Generali India Life Insurance Co. Ltd Naresh Sharma, DGM IT, RSWM Ltd Neeraj Sharma, Head - IT, Harlal Institute of Management & Technology Balwant Singh, Manager IT, Indo Asian Fusegear Ltd Abhishek Singh, Program Manager, Avaya India Pvt Ltd Manish Sinha, IT Head OnDot Couriers & Cargo Ltd Lawrence Soosai Raj, Sr.Manager, Projects & Delivery Cethar Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd Anant STP, AGM IT, Rain CII Carbon (India) Ltd Jayesh Tank, General Manager IT, Harsha Engineers Ltd Hursh Tanna, Senior Manager IT, Gulbrandsen Technologies (India) Pvt Ltd Devendra Thakkar, Asst. General Manager (IT), Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd

PHOTOGRAPHY: JITEN GANDHI, SUBHOJIT PAUL, NITISH SHARMA

JURY

UMESH JAIN CIO, YES BANK

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VIKAS GADRE CIO, TATA CHEMICALS

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VIKRAM DHANDA VP & HEAD, FOUNDATION INFRASTRUCTURE, RELIANCE ADA

VINAY MEHTA CIO, ESCORTS CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

VISHNU GUPTA CIO, THE CALCUTTA MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

ZOEB ADENWALA CIO, ESSEL GROUP

SPECIAL EDITION

“It’s a fantastic feeling to know that I am joining such an elite group of top hundred future CIOs” —Aanchal Mishra Program Manager, HP India

“I am going to cherish the memories of this wonderful evening throughout my life. I hope IT NEXT will remember us for the second edition as well” —Bhavita Saxena DGM, IS, RFCL

“THE MEMORIES OF THIS EVENT WILL STAY ETCHED IN OUR MINDS FOR YEARS TO COME” —Deepak Aggarwal, Deputy GM, Indian Oil Corporation

“Glad that I am here. I would like to thank all my wellwishers for the support throughout my life. Thank you IT NEXT!” —Saritha Kaza Deputy Manager, IT, Vijai Electricals

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SPECIAL EDITION

THE WINNERS...

Jignesh Vania, Manager, Mundra International Container Pvt Ltd Claude Veigas, Senior Manager IS, Pinstorm Technologies Ltd Biju Velayudhan, Senior Manager IT, GKNM Hospital Prakash Venkatesh, Manager Product Development Sunquest Information Vinay Prakash Verma, Senior Manager, Panasonic AVC Networks India Co. Ltd Ajay Vernekar, Director IT / Head IT Infrastructure, Fullerton India Credit Company Ltd Shelton Vetharaj, Information Management Manager, Madura Coats Pvt Ltd Deepu Vijayanath, Senior Manager IT, Macmillan Publishing Solutions Pvt Ltd Seetaramaiah Vissapragada, General Manager IT, Paradeep Phosphates Ltd

The jury members posing for the shutterbugs with momentos presented to them

by R Giridhar, Group Editor, 9.9 Media

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SPECIAL EDITION

PHOTOGRAPHY: JITEN GANDHI, SUBHOJIT PAUL, NITISH SHARMA

“THIS IS TRULY A SENSATIONAL FEELING. NEXT100 IS GOING TO BE THE FILMFARE O F IT INDUSTRY ” —Manish Sinha Head IT, On Dot Couriers

Vikas Gupta, Publisher, IT Next, presenting momentos to the event sponsors, in appreciation of supporting such a unique and first of its kind ceremony

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SPECIAL EDITION

THE ROAD AHEAD The journey of NEXT100 continues beyond the award ceremony, there is no time to rest Winning, we believe, is not about reaching a destination, it is a journey. After having identified the ready-to-be-CIOs, NEXT100 is back into action with a grooming programme. Yes, you have all the qualities to be the next CIO, but lest you fall short of touching the zenith, we are going to pitch in to mentor and train the awardees to bridge that gap. It goes without saying that to be a successful CIO, one needs to constantly work upon the individual skills, both technical and non-technical. And, we at ITNEXT believe that it would be an incomplete mission to merely identify the CIOs in making.

NEXT100 Club is one such effort in that direction. We propose to initiate programmes that will help the winners prepare themselves for CIO roles. Not only that, these programmes that would be launched over the next five-six months will help you measure your performance and help you triumph in your role.

We will rope in experts from various fields to provide mentorship to the winners and you shall interact with many current CIOs who have volunteered to share their career experiences Here is a list of some of the these initiatives. These programmes will be rolled out soon.

NEXT 100 club will be an exclusive learning platform for the awardees. Here, IT NEXT will facilitate and introduce various programmes in collaboration with some of the premier BSchools and institutes

NEXT 100 ACTIVITIES TO COME

ITNEXT FORUM will holds online meetings between members at which they can discuss on various subjects

NEXT WEBINARS to facilitate online engagements with technology experts, within country and abroad

NEXT SEMINARS to provide â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hands onâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; learning ground to future leaders through multicity events on technology

CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS endorsed by leading universities to help IT leaders raising their professional standards

PRE NEXT 100 A series of multicity events and webinars were organised wherein 500+ NEXT100 participants discussed and debated on various technological and leadership issues with prominent industry experts

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Preparations on in full swing for the Next 100 evening

The audience being entertained by a ‘mock movie’ on the Film City tour

PHOTOGRAPHY: JITEN GANDHI, SUBHOJIT PAU L, NITISH SHAR M A

The future CIOs enjoying themselves on a whirlwind tour of the Ramoji Film city

The Next 100 board welcoming the participants at the Ramoji Film City

It’s party time, as everyone hits the dance floor to shake a leg or two

Discussing the finer points of the event before its start

IT managers seem a happy lot at the amusement park in the Film City

Professional dancers entertaining the crowd with their gravity-defying dance moves

APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT PRINCIPAL PARTNERS

“Smokin event!”....is what the Mask seems to be saying!

The corridor to ‘Dream Valley’, where the event was held.

SUPPORTED BY

IT managers having a look at the various products showcased by the sponsors

INSIGHT | CLOUD COMPUTING

Cloud

Computing NEEDS

Standards - Exit

PHOTO GRAPHY: JAYAN K NARAYANAN

Strategies

CLOUD COMPUTING | INSIGHT

Cloud computing will not reach its full potential until management and contextual standards are fully developed and stable -- so buyers of cloud services need to choose carefully, to avoid any pitfalls at the later stage.

BY STEVE M C D O N A L D

C

loud computing is the latest phenomenon in the IT world. However, the emergence of standards is a sign of market maturity, and it can be a big mistake to commit to products from a market that is not mature. That’s why everyone is asking, “When will we see some cloud standards?”

PHOTO: PH OTOS. CO M

Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer.

The protocol, data format and programinterface standards for using cloud services are mostly in place, which is why the market has been able to grow so fast. But standards for configuration and management of cloud services are not here yet. What’s more, the crucial contextual standards for practices, methods and conceptual frameworks are still evolving.

Cloud computing will not reach its full potential until the management and contextual standards are fully developed and stable. In the meantime, there will be pitfalls, so buyers of cloud services should beware.

Cloud standards start with TCP/ IP. Internet standards were probably the biggest market enablers of all time, even before the cloud markets of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) were added to the voice and data communication services they already supported.

On top of TCP/IP, the cloud uses established standard Web and Web Service data formats and protocols. The

programming interface standards on which Cloud PaaS offerings are based are equally well-established. They include the single-vendor .NET standards and multivendor standards such as Unix, Linux, Java and SQL. This means that companies can use cloud services—and make those services available to their customers—secure in the knowledge that they and their customers can use off-the-shelf products without being locked into a particular cloud vendor by proprietary interfaces.

Then this essential precondition for market growth is fulfilled.

Configuration and Management When it comes to configuration and management, the lack of effective, widely accepted standards is beginning to be felt. Resource and configuration management can vary substantially between cloud suppliers, even for IaaS. This may not seem particularly important but, with a typical pay-per-

WHEN IT COMES TO CONFIGURATION AND MANAGEMENT, THE LACK OF EFFECTIVE, WIDELYA ACCEPTED STANDARDS IS BEGINNING TO BE FELT. THERE ARE AS YET NO WIDELY ACCEPTED FRAMEWORKS

use model, fine-tuning can make a big difference in your monthly bill. While it is unlikely that standards can make it possible for an enterprise to have a single management regime for all its cloud suppliers, it will make it easier to move from one supplier to another.

There are several industry bodies working on cloud configuration and management standards, including the Distributed Management Task Force (www.dmtf.org), the Open Grid Forum (www.ogf.org) and the Storage Networking Industry Association (www.snia.org).

Contextual Cloud Standards The lack of contextual standards is the biggest problem for the cloud. There are as yet no widely accepted frameworks to assist the integration of cloud services into enterprise architectures, to support the transfer of information between different clouds, or to enable swift procurement and contract negotiation.

This is not necessarily a bad thing: A period of experimentation with different practices is needed so that the best ones can be identified. But, during this period, cloud users must put significant effort into deciding how to proceed, and they should be prepared to make changes in light of their experiences and the experiences of others.

Legal Framework The first area in which most users will start to worry is the legal one. For example, if an on-line retailer stores customers’ information in the cloud, can the cloud provider sell that data if the retailer fails to pay its service charges? If so, where does that leave the retailer and its customers?

This is an important part of the context for cloud computing standards.

Steve McDonald, general counsel at the Rhode Island School of Design, identifies 16 legal and quasi-legal issues that can arise in contracts with vendors for cloud computing services (tinyurl.com/2erpewk).

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INSIGHT | INFORMATION SECURITY

T

oday, at a time when an organisation’s business is automated, digitised and online—confidentiality, integrity and availability of data is a concern. Verizon’s 2010 Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR) shows that malware and hacking are the top two threats that an organisation faces. It leads to data breaches and contributes 38 and 40 per cent, respectively, to the total security threat. There is thus that inherent risk in automation and digitisation.

While there is no “silver bullet” for systems security, existence of a healthy and continually-improvised security management system can go a long way in mitigating risks.

Information Security Management System: ISMS is a globally accepted term for design and implementation

of information security controls within an enterprise. For ISMS to be successful, three key phases need to be considered: design, implementation, and maintenance.

The design phase of ISMS can make or break the overall implementation.

However, if firms keep a few factors in mind, success is eminent. Key considerations are as follows: n Set business objectives: Security controls must be designed to support overall business objectives. An upfront clarification of these—across the business—is vital. n Identify information assets: Such as electronic documents, hardware, software, paper, or people. The next step is to identify those key information assets that support business processes.

These will be prioritised for protection. n Secure organisational commitment:

SYSTEMS O F SEC

URI

TY

Continually improvised security management systems play a fundamental role in today’s business world. A few simple steps help simplify ISMS design and implementation, and mitigate inherent risks within an enterprise.

BY A S H I S H T H A PA R

If ISMS is to work, the overall project’s objectives need to be understood and endorsed throughout the organisation.

Cross-functional organisational participation —and, more importantly, m a n age m e nt e n g age m e nt— i s paramount to success. ISMS design documentation must also be endorsed by senior management and stakeholders. n Develop an asset-based risk assessment and risk treatment plan: By prioritising information assets and co-relating against potential threats, an idea of perceived risk can be developed. This idea can support the development of an effective risk management strategy. n Consider compliance requirements (legal, statutory or regulatory) and contractual agreements: External factors, outside the business environment, must be translated into the implementation design.

Compliance requirements such as SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) 404, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) and DPA (Data Protection Act) are common these days. They may be impossible to assimilate if not factored into the early stages of ISMS design. n Engage third-parties and partners: Entities that are involved in business processes need to be advised, monitored and controlled. Too often, security control implementation can be delayed, thanks to third-party ignorance.

A word of caution here— organisations need to ensure that the effort and cost involved in designing and implementing information security controls is commensurate with the value of the information asset being protected.

If not, the risk of failure can increase.

Implementing ISMS is a tough task.

It requires organisations to move from theory to practice. It requires firms to bridge the gap between flexibility and control. Best practices are not always the easiest. Firms often face significant challenges. Especially when trying to implement security controls on legacy

AN C S ISM RALL F O ASE HE OVE ER, IF H P IGN REAK T OWEV S IN S E D THE KE OR B ATION. H FACTOR ENT MA EMENT A FEW S EMIN I IMPL MS KEEPUCCESS FIR IND, S M systems and un-supported platforms.

The question then is how to balance business objectives with business continuity. Organisations need to develop a security exception process that evaluates not only the residual risk of not implementing a security control, but also suggests alternative security controls to reduce this risk. This can be done if the risk strategy has been properly assessed in the design phase.

Common pitfalls of ISMS implementation are as follows: n Lack of management support: Senior management support is of paramount importance for a successful implementation. n Organisational dis-engagement: ISMS implementing is not an IT manager’s job. It’s the responsibility of the organisation as a whole. n Non-prioritisation of tasks: Prioritising tasks is a best practice in taking up any big task. ISMS is no different. An organisation must focus on the “low hanging fruits” to ensure continuous focus and interest. It should also keep the end goal in mind, or key milestones may be missed. n Lack of status checks: It is essential to develop key security metrics and measure these regularly to ensure ongoing improvement.

n Hazy project management tenets: Clear Best practice project management tools will help ensure project success. n Disconnect from business processes: Project leads must remember that information security is meant to help and not hinder the business functions, it’s trying to protect. Security controls should support the realisation of business objectives, in a secure manner.

Last but not the least, hard work done by an organisation is meaningless if the ISMS is not maintained. Organisations should establish an ISMS governance team, as part of information security organisation structure. The team can ensure that the potential impact of changes to business environment, IT infrastructure and compliance landscape, are considered against the firm’s security stature. In that way, ISMS can be reassessed, and if needed, updated to support new goals.

The implementation of effective security management controls has a fundamental role to play in today’s business world. But by following simple steps, organisations can help simplify ISMS implementation and secure their future.

The author is a Principal Consultant of professional services with Verizon Business

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INTERVIEW | SANJAY BANSAL

SANJAY BANSAL | INTERVIEW

“ASPIRE FOR A TRULY CONNECTED ECOSYSTEM” Sanjay Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director, Business Octane, discusses the next generation of telepresence solutions and their advantages, especially, connecting a global enterprise across its offices, with Jatinder Singh

A mid-sized organisation holds monthly sales review meetings at each of its regional offices.

Almost 20 employees from each region attend these meetings: some are sole representatives in their cities, others have a couple of staff. Since company policy dictates that employees cannot travel at night, staff are up in hotels. The next day, the dejected and the triumphant head back to their respective remote locations, only to do this again next month.

Then there are quarterly reviews at the head office where all employees are in attendance.

And let’s not forget the yearly jamboree called the “annual conference” and workshops held through the year.

Obvious here are astronomical expenses, business losses, a large carbon footprint and wasted man-hours.

It may all sound so simplistic!

It doesn’t take a genius to see all of the above. The fact is that many organisations in India have still not invested in teleconferencing, which has been around for quite a while now.

While it’s not cheap, teleconferencing does cut costs, wastes fewer working hours and is eco-friendly. There may be a few offices that have cut costs in the economic downturn and taken it up, but it will take a total overturn of general perception to see teleconferencing as a longterm solution. An alumnus of IIM Lucknow, Sanjay Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director, Business Octane, is on a mission of making a passionate difference to client enterprises by helping them to accelerate collaborations—with colleagues, partners, suppliers and clients—worldwide, by

providing them a truly immersive and interactive experience: better than before. Bansal shares his views over the fast-evolving telepresence market in India with IT NEXT. Excerpts:

The latest technological innovations have altered telepresence solutions market to some extent, as companies are now looking for customised rather than standard solutions.

How do you see it affecting the market that is evolving post recession?

Companies have begun to understand business complexities far better than before. They are now looking for customised solutions designed to meet their specific business requirements. As organisations expand their set-ups across the globe, the importance of telepresence solutions is grad-

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INTERVIEW | SANJAY BANSAL ually gaining new heights. This might be for different reasons: for many, it’s all about reducing costs and time, while others are showing a commitment towards strong green policies.

If we talk about the overall telepresence market and its growth, the Frost&Sullivan report suggests that by 2015 the global market for telepresence solutions will reach $4.7 billion.

The report further projects that the Asia-Pacific region will be the major driver for this uptake, as this is where the major growth will take place. That is expected to account for over a third of the market, i.e. about $1.7 billion in revenues. Another research firm, Zinnov Consultancy, believes that the Indian telepresence market will grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 53 per cent, thereby reaching $40 million by 2012.

If we follow conservative estimates, the market would grow over $3 billion in the next 5-10 years. India as a market has a huge potential.

For our company, we foresee more revenue coming in from immersive telepresence in the subcontinent that will become allpervasive. It will be a ‘real killer’ application in the future.

In terms of technology, we will soon see seamless interoperability across diverse networks, protocols, devices and vendors, which will extend the reach and benefits of telepresence solutions.

Also, with advancements in technology, immersive telepresence will see enhanced adoption across enterprise-wide teams and won’t be restricted to only senior management and leadership teams.

You talked about immersive telepresence. How different is the concept from the already existing telepresence solutions?

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ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

Immersive telepresence solutions are setting a new paradigm in the industry. The technology helps collaboration in enterprises by bringing their management and leadership teams together with all of their nationwide and worldwide teams, without the need to travel.

It is as if all of them are actually sitting in the same room, in front of each other.

With this, it is possible for up to 15 participants from any two locations, or upto 40 locations, or upto 600 participants, to get together and conduct mega management reviews, town halls or strategy sessions, on demand.

Also, enterprises can get their management and leadership teams together with nationwide

“IMMERSIVE TELEPRESENCE SOLUTIONS ARE SETTING A NEW PARADIGM IN INDUSTRY AND HAVE ADOPTION ACROSS ENTERPRISE-WIDE TEAMS RATHER THAN JUST TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT” or worldwide teams, customers, partners and suppliers, in mixed continuous presence, to be able to see everyone at all times or in a mixed room switched mode, on demand—all of this without compromising on the quality of the immersive telepresence experience for telepresence participants.

SANJAY BANSAL | INTERVIEW for every employee, which was not possible before.

What’s more, telepresence promotes a higher application of learning into actual work, higher employee involvement and higher loyalty towards the organisation which further results in lower employee attrition.

Furthermore, these solutions can also help trainees learn on demand from any training programme that has been conducted before, in such a way, that the trainee is able to view both the trainer’s video as well as the synchronised mediarich content that the trainer has used (PPTs, whiteboard notes, documents) from anywhere.

It helps to reduce the dependence of training upon the availability of trainers. Likewise, with learning on demand, the recorded training material can be accessed by students from remote locations as well.

Our immersive telepresence solutions encourage adoption across enterprise-wide teams, with 40 per cent less CAPEX and a one-third bandwidth requirement, to our immersive group telepresence suites.

Additionally, our suites are equipped with a new user interface— SimpliUSE—that incorporates the TeleconnectWIZARD and connects multiple locations with ease of usage without any external help.

It empowers users to collaborate seamlessly with other communication applications.

Meeting participants whether on audio, desktops, and video conferencing sites can seamlessly collaborate with the company’s immersive telepresence solutions.

Also, we are the first in the industry to have developed easy to use solutions, for both trainer and the trainees

The media-rich solution enables participants from any location to share content: from desktops, whiteboards or documents, with all locations.

Which are the key factors, that would compel enterprises and IT Managers to use an immersive telepresence solution, offered by Business Octane?

These solution would empower organisations to realign their ‘once in a year or twice a year’ training sessions for every employee—on account of major travel, hospitality expenses coupled with large work disruptions—to regular training sessions that can be conducted bimonthly, monthly, or fortnightly,

Find other interviews online on the website www.itnext. in/resources/ interviews

But what about Return on Investment (ROI)?

The ROI with our immersive

telepresence suites is so compulsive that companies can start reaping returns within three to six months.

The distance training suites can assist enterprises as well as educational institutes to accelerate the pace of learning to sharpen the competitive edge, without travelling.

For instance, by using our solution, educational institutes can accelerate learning for students by enabling their best faculty to train up to five times faster their nationwide/worldwide students.

How would you rate the IT Managers’ direction in choosing the right conferencing solution?

And what advice would you offer to enterprises and IT Managers who are evaluating new telepresence solutions?

The CIOs and IT Managers’ direction in choosing the right conferencing solution is extremely important.

They should deploy those solutions that are driven by simplicity to foster enhanced usage, which directly connects with ROI. Moreover, to be able to gain the most out of collaboration solutions, one must always choose enterprise-class offerings rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. It is crucial to deploy solutions that are customised to business specific needs to achieve the highest ROI. In addition, IT Managers should ensure that the solutions are flexible and interoperable, so that the benefits and the reach are amplified.

They should look for solutions that empower collaboration across the enterprise and even outside the enterprise with extreme simplicity; to be able to create a truly connected ecosystem is the lynch pin of success in today’s globalised economy.

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15MINUTE MANAGER

TRAINING EDUCATION WORKPLACE COMPENSATION WORKFORCE TRENDS SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

CARING FOR THE EYE PAGE 52

Manage IT Face Value THIS PAGE IT Strat Soft Skills for IT Manager PAGE 55 Online Shopping Black Friday EverydayPAGE 52 Training Calendar Career booster courses PAGE 56

BY SUDISH BALAN

PHOTO GRAPHY: PHOTOS .CO M

S

o we’ve all seen or at least heard of ‘The Social Network’ and we’re left wondering if Mark Zuckerberg really is the cold-blooded, back-stabbing villain he has been made out to be.

But fact remains that he has been a game changer and all of that, way before he hit 40. Not only did he have a good idea but he executed it fabulously as well.

Facebook has changed the meaning of the term ‘connected universe’, redrawn the rules of social bonding, redefined the Web business and spun a huge fortune for its author. Today, few organisations in the world can ignore the world’s premier social networking site; it would mean ignoring almost 500 million potential clients, job seekers, business opportunities and so much more.

In November, Zuckerberg introduced a new unified messaging system for Facebook that allows people to communicate with one another on the Web and on mobile phones, whether they are using e-mail, text messages or online chat services.

Besides channelling all e-mails, text messages and chats through a single point, Facebook Messages will offer users what he called a ‘social in-box’ that

MANAGE IT

FACE VALUE

Facebook is all about the business of connecting - with the right people and in the right manner

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15-MINUTE MANAGER

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ITNEXT | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

HEALTH - EYECARE

5 STEPS TO RELIEVE EYE STRAIN

EYE FACTS

10 million

colors, hues Human eye can detect , but cannot see ultraviolet or infrared light.

Insects can see the ultraviolet light.

For most hours in a day, we are staring at the computer screen, thus eyestrain has become one of the leading office-related health issue.

Here are 5 steps to reduce the strain 1 Use proper lighting: Computer eyestrain is often caused by excessively bright ambient lighting. For the most comfortable computer use, ambient lighting should be about half as bright as that found in most offices.

2 Minimise glare: Glare on walls and finished surfaces as well as reflections on the computer screen can cause eyestrain.

You may want to install an anti-glare screen on your monitor and, if possible, paint bright white walls a darker color with a matte finish.

3 Upgrade your display: Replace your old tube-style monitor (called a cathode ray tube or CRT) with a flat-panel liquid crystal display (LCD), like those on laptop computers. LCD screens are easier on the eyes and usually have an anti-reflective surface.

adjust the display settings on your computer so the brightness of the screen is about the same as your work environment. Also, make sure that the text size and color are optimised for the most comfort.

We blink once or twice at 10 seconds, and a blink lasts 0.3 seconds. In 12 hours, we blink 25 minutes. Infants starts blinking at the age of 6 months.

5

Blink more often: Blinking is very important — it rewets your eyes to keep them moist, comfortable and clear. Studies show that, during computer use, most people blink only about 20% as frequently as they normally do.

PHOTO GRAPHY: PHOTOS .CO M

4 Adjust the brightness and contrast: For more comfortable viewing,

PHOTO GRAPHY: JAYAN K NARAYANAN

will prioritise messages from friends and close acquaintances and make it easier to retrieve all communications with any single person through various channels. This service is by invitationonly at present but will be introduced to all users soon.

So you see how using Facebook to grow your business just grew even more relevant? Here are some ideas on how to leverage the power of Facebook for your company: 1)Facebook Group or Facebook Page: The first dilemma a brand/ company faces when jumping onto the ‘Facebook Bandwagon’ is whether they should have a Company Page or a Company Group.

Pages are created for a long-term relationships with your fans, readers or customers. Groups are more convenient for hosting active ‘private’ discussions.

2) Creating an identity: The page should highlight your brand name, logo and product category, it should have basic information about the brand.

3) Interactive content seeding: Starting from the initial stages of building the Facebook page, you must update it with interesting and informative content. This need not be only about your brand. It could be articles pertaining to your company’s domain or visions. Posts can be smartly laced with screenshots and links to your site. Videos which can disseminate information about your company or particular services that your company offers can also be posted. All these posts help new visitors make a decision about joining your page. It is imperative that the posts are updated regularly so that you are in touch with your followers 4) Net-working: Once the page has been decorated with enough interesting content, suggest the page to people in your ‘friends’ network on Facebook.

You can also write personalised mails to your customers (present and future), vendors and staff inviting them to join your Facebook Page. It helps to be active on your personal profile page and collect as many friends as possible and send invitations to your Page via the ‘Suggest a friend’ option.

15-MINUTE MANAGER

“Identify champions of social media from various other departments and involve them in processes of engagement” —KY Iyer, Head-IT, NDTV

“The shift to the 2.0 enterprise is driven by the new generation consumers, increasingly empowered by a flattening world” —Madhukar Srivastva, Admin-IT, Advance Steel Tubes

THESE ARE THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO: Key Feature

Facebook Page

Facebook Group

Customised URLs

Yes

No

Hosting a discussion

Yes

Yes

Discussion wall, and discussion forum

Yes

Yes

Extra applications added

Yes

No

Messaging to all members

Yes (via updates)

Yes (via PMs)

Visitor statistics Yes (Page Insights)

No

Video and photo public exchange

Yes

Yes

‘Related’ event creation and invitation

Yes

Yes

Promotion with social ads

Yes

No

THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA By 2014, social networking services will replace e-mail as the primary vehicle for interpersonal communications for 20% of business users.

By 2012, over 50% of enterprises will use activity streams that include microblogging, but stand-alone enterprise microblogging will have less than 5%penetration.

Through 2012, over 70% of ITdominated social media initiatives will fail.

Within five years, 70% of collaboration and communications applications designed on PCs will be modeled after user experience lessons from smartphone collaboration applications.

Through 2015, only 25% of enterprises will routinely utilize social network analysis to improve performance and productivity.

By Gartner Research

5) Targeting the audience: Seek out people on Facebook who will find your brand and your updates interesting. Let them know that your company page exists. With the Internet, the new trend of marketing is not to get the people to reach out to your brand; rather the brand has to reach out to the people.

Companies that have understood this important changeover are getting to their target audience and creating lifelong relationships with them through Facebook.

6) Let the page talk: Consumers don’t like to sit and watch the show anymore. Common knowledge says it’s a sin to think your consumer is dumb; the new learning says don’t consider them to be mute too. Internet users are talking everywhere and want to put forth their views, suggestions and complaints. Use this to your advantage; entice them to talk on your fan page.

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15-MINUTE MANAGER

ONLINE SHOPPING

BLACK FRIDAY EVERYDAY

In the US, the day following the Thanksgiving day is celebrated as Black Friday.

On this day, many retailers open very early, as early as 4 am, and offer bargains that have people clamouring over each other. The day is much renowned for the great bargains for gadget hunters looking for a great deal. But, if you weren’t able to make best of Black Friday, here are top 5 online sites in India where, you can buy cool gadgets, everyday. eBay India – Even today eBay.in is the biggest source to purchase electronics, gadgets, Ebaymobiles, Computers & accessories, U.S. based stuff and a lot more. It is very much reliable and offers nearly all stuff at good prices. With payment options like Playseal, there is lot of security involved. Also, nowadays, ebay.in, lets you shop from the US site as well.

1

Gadget Guru – GadgetsGuru is India’s online technology mall offering a huge variety of electronics. Shop Popular Brands, Gadgets & Gizmos for home, office, men, women at cheap price. Things that can be purchased at Gadgetguru include camcorders, cameras, office gadgets, home theater, game gizmos, laptops, LCD & Plasma TV, cell phones, MP3 players, etc.

2

Future Bazaar – An online front chain of the Future Group, Future bazaar offers good range of products at great prices. The store features all types of Genuine products like mobiles, digicams, laptops, DVD players, etc.

3

20 North – This portal lets you shop in the US from India with a big collection of DVDs, videos, electronics, computers, software, tools & hardware, etc.

4

The IT Depot – Is an online portal; where you can buy most of the computer related stuff, hardware, gadgets and accessories. It also delivers laptops, cabinets, speakers, mouse, keyboards, printers, hard drives, etc.

5

P.S. Before you make the purchase, don’t forget to visit consumermate. com, for price comparison and latest offers. It will save a lot of searching. Happy hunting.

Hold discussions on your page either by putting up status posts or using the discussion app. At times they might have to say things you don’t want to hear. But it’s better they say it on your page, where you can respond, and not some other site or page over which you have no control. The discussions and comments can also help you learn how to take your brand further in the market and make it more consumer-friendly.

7) Greed and gratification: Weave contests and special campaigns around your brand and entice followers to participate and reward them with incentives in the form of prizes or special mentions on your page.

8) Tabbed: Facebook pages give you the liberty to create Tabs, which can be used as sub pages. For example if you were a food brand, you could create a recipe tab or a calories tab to add value to your page. Tabs can hold interesting applications which you can build to interact with your followers in a fun way. If you have a Twitter account, you could integrate your Twitter feed in a Twitter Tab. 9) Number crunching: The analytics of the page can be checked by visiting the Facebook insights of your page. The interactions and the demographics of those who are interacting on your page will help you strategise and plan the activities for your page. What is the sex ratio? How many of them commented?

How many people liked a particular post? Questions like these are answered

by Facebook insights.

10) Promote: Endorse your Facebook page on not only your own but also your teams’ email signature. Paste a link on your company website and give it a prominent position. Facebook also provides a widget called FANBOX which you can integrate on your website, and visitors to your website can see the number of fans, view some of the latest posts and ‘like’ your page from the website itself. Let everyone know about your page so that they all can be a part of your community and further fruitful conversations.

The author is business director at Tonic Media

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15-MINUTE MANAGER

IT STRAT

SOFT SKILLS FOR IT MANAGERS Many people believe their value is based on what they know—and they don’t want to give that up

BY E I L E E N F E R E T I C

M

ost of us have, at one time or another, worked with a colleague who hoarded information as if it were gold. And let’s not forget the manager who passed on company information only on a need-to-know basis (kind of like working for the CIA).

This approach to information is frustrating and counterproductive, but understandable. Many people believe their value to the company is based on what they know—and they

don’t want to give up that perceived edge. Their theory is that if they share that knowledge with their co-workers, that will increase the co-workers’ value and diminish their own.

This is a battle that business has been fighting for decades, but it’s heated up during the past few years of ongoing layoffs, when employees are more interested in surviving than collaborating. Ironically, this is happening at a time when knowledge management and collaboration technologies are getting a lot of

attention from business leaders, who understand how these technologies can benefit their organizations.

Learning to share requires a change in perspective. Instead of focusing on what we as individuals are giving up, we need to focus on what we as a team—and a company—are gaining: We are exchanging knowledge, learning new skills, and improving the health and stability of the business.

Taking a long-term view, that means we are all more likely to keep our jobs.

That sounds like common sense.

However, a speaker at the recent World Innovation Forum in New York pointed out that emotions often trump sense. Chip Heath, a professor of organizational behavior in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, noted that individuals find comfort and security in the old ways of working. Analytically, they may know that they need to change, but emotionally, they don’t want to change.

He added, “People hate change because change is hard.”

So what can enterprises do?

Management may understand that knowledge sharing and collaboration

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | ITNEXT

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15-MINUTE MANAGER

TRAINING CALENDAR

Career booster courses for you!

PROGRAMME

VENUE

DATES

Interpersonal Skills at Workplace

Fore School of Management

9-10 Dec, 2010

Tracking Organizational Performance

IIM Ahmedabad

06-09 Dec 2010

Decision Making Techniques for Managers

Fore School of Management

13-14 Dec, 2010

Leadership Excellence

IIM Calcutta

13-15 Dec 2010

Doing Business in India

IIM Bangalore

14-24, Dec 2010

Team Building and Leadership

Fore School of Management

10-12 Jan, 2011

Effective Business Communication

Fore School of Management

17-18 Jan, 2011

Negotiation for Business Success

Fore School of Management

20-21 Jan, 2011

Marketing & Branding - A Three Pronged

IIM Calcutta

04-05 Jan 2011

IIM Indore

21-22,Jan 2011

Strategic Sourcing & Supply Management

IIM Ahmedabad

14-17 Feb 2011

Enhancing Sales Force Performance

IMT Ghaziabad

15-17 Feb 2011

Approach

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can increase productivity and have a positive impact on the bottom line, but they may not know how to get employees to accept a new, collaborative way of working.

That’s clear from the survey Baseline did on knowledge sharing, which combines knowledge management and collaborative technologies. The survey found that better employee information exchange is the respondents’ top goal in both technologies, but one of the leading challenges is employee resistance. It’s No. 5 in knowledge management and No. 4 in collaboration.

Let’s face it: Employee resistance can be a technology killer. Think of the excuses given in the past for stonewalling older technologies: We don’t need that—things are working fine just the way they are. … It will take longer to do it with technology. … It’s just a fad, anyway. … I wouldn’t trust that (list the technology du jour here) as far as I could throw it.

The list goes on.

This kind of misguided attitude is disheartening, but, when it comes to knowledge sharing technologies, we seem to be making some progress.

Among our survey respondent, 75 percent are currently using collaboration technologies, 60 percent are utilizing document management and 58 percent are using knowledge management.

If that’s the case, Heath had some suggestions for a plan to overcome that resistance: Start with small changes so employees don’t get overwhelmed. Then find out what’s working and do more of that. Motivate people by appealing to their emotions.

Give them credit for what they’ve already done and encourage them to do more. Finally, consider the work environment and see whether a different environment would help employees accept change more easily.

Yes, change is hard, but people can— and do—change all the time. They just need a good reason..

The author ia an architect at EMC Consulting.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

THE BIG

HOW TO MANAGE A TEAM WELL? EXPERT PANEL

HEMANT MEHTA VP - IT & SECURIT Y, SPANCO RESPONDEZ BPO & SPANCO BPO

THE SITUATION...

CUT IT FROM HERE

Recently, Sameer had been made the IT Manager of Brindawan Ltd, one of India’s oldest FMCG companies. One Monday morning, as he opened his Notebook, an e-mail marked “high priority” from CIO Anil Sanwat caught Sameer’s eye.

It read: “In view of increased competition, the management feels that there is a need for added internal dynamism; in this regard, a pro-active role from the IT will be appreciated. However, the challenge is to do so quickly, without increasing the budget. Since, we are a large organisation, with more than 2,000 employees, any new deployment will be expensive and time-consuming.

We may need to evaluate a new way of managing the IT infrastructure and leveraging technologies that are low-cost and have a quicker rollout. Can we meet up next Monday at 3:00pm to discuss a workable approach?”

Sameer got his team together to discuss the Your responses count. Log on to www.itnext.in/bigQ to submit your replies. The best entry will be published in the next print edition

CHANDRESH DEDHIA SR. MGR - IT, FERMENTA BIOTECH LTD

SHEEL A GOSAIN ASSOCIATE SOFT WARE ENGINEER, IMPETUS

possibilities. “Why do we have to evaluate something new? I think our existing infrastructure is fine. We are managing it reasonably well,” commented Vinod, an old hand. “Sounds like a great idea! Let’s identify some of the non-missioncritical applications and work out a cloud strategy for those,” said Anjalee, the new recruit. “I guess cloud is still in its early stages in India, but I’ve been hearing a lot about virtualisation. Let’s explore that,” said Kishore, a valuable resource in his team. Sameer soon realised that there was no in-house hands-on capability—possibly because the team had not been exposed to new technologies. But, they were on the other hand competent and if they put their heart into it, there would be no looking back.

However, there was a long learning curve ahead—before solutions could be identified and implemented. That time the company could illafford. Outsourcing would be a good option, but that would upset team morale and cause deeper HR problems in the long run.

Sameer sat down to think...

NEXT

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THE BIG Q

THE BIG QUESTIONS...

WHAT MEASURES COULD SAMEER SUGGEST TO ENSURE THAT THE TASK AT

?

HAND IS COMPLETED IN TIME WITHOUT RESORTING TO OUTSOURCING, AND KEEPING HIS TEAM’S MORALE HIGH?

?

WHAT SHOULD SAMEER DO TO GIVE THE TEAM THE NECESSARY EXPOSURE AND ABILITY TO SUPPORT MORE SUCH BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS FROM THE IT?

HERE ARE THE ANSWERS...

‘PERSONALLY GUIDE A TEAM TO LEARN’ FIRST ANSWER

HEMANG MEHTA VP - IT & Security, Spanco Respondez BPO & Spanco BPO About me: Is a networking specialist with multiple certifications. Has been in the BPO domain for around a decade

Make critical resources understand the business requirement, the importance of learning new concepts, the technologies aligning to business goals and how it can attract other opportunities within the company. Invite a few vendors to present the concept, focusing on how using existing technology and collaborating and adding a few additional components will benefit the organisation, and address business requirements in line with market dynamics and competition. Guide individuals personally, especially those who are resistant to change, and give them the confidence that professional learning and personal security go hand in hand. Personally guiding a team to realise the changing work culture, the market demands and the importance of individuals aligning to IT and business goals, will help them grow professionally and personally.

Build your IT strategy with the team by dividing it into multiple phases and projects, providing them with the required confidence by defining their role in deployment, and thereafter for regular support, to address resistance for change from old timers. Leveraging with existing technology will be key to cost efficiency, in line with the effectiveness of a simplified platform, while considering the existing and futuristic business requirements. IT value add can bring fruitful solutions to business, considering dynamic market conditions.

SECOND ANSWER Sameer should provide a detailed plan on emerging technologies, importance of a process-driven approach and improvement areas based on past and current dynamic business scenarios, to his team.

He should plan ambitious, yet realistic, projects and dispense it to his dynamic team.

The team, on its part, will then bring in the much-needed creative ideas, along with their enthusiasm, to achieve business deliverables. Also, Sameer has to understand the management requirements in detail and share his strategy.

He has to make them (the management) understand how value can be added from IT, addressing the flexibility in adopting new technologies now and in the future, integrate it with other technologies as a way ‘forward’, adding reliability and availability, keeping budget constraints in mind and savings in the long run.

It’s also important to show how integrity and confidentiality will be addressed.

He has to guide colleagues and give them an overall perspective on business strategies and the cost propositions attached to every IT decision or activity, so that they can relate to organisational objectives and their required commitment level towards it.

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THE BIG Q

‘SMALL INITIATIVES BUILD A STRONG IT TEAM’ FIRST ANSWER Sameer should understand his team’s capabilities and their understanding of new technologies. Strengths and weaknesses should be accounted for from past project experiences. Virtualisation can be a boon, as it does not need initial investment; hypervisors offer free versions with limitations and can be upgraded to a full-blown version.

If implemented, Sameer’s team can save upto 40 per cent power consumed by ‘physical servers’ and minimise manageability concerns. A conservative virtualisation ratio can be approx. 1:5 (1 being the physical server required for 5 virtual servers), though this can change with the kind of ‘enterprise applications’ used in each company. The remaining additional physical server can be used later for new enterprise applications, thereby avoiding expensive CAPEX. Alternatively, the server hardware can also be used for a DR strategy if there isn’t any. Servers must be categorised as critical and non-critical. Almost all non-critical servers and most critical servers can be virtualised after considering the limitations of virtualisation. Since the team has a week, they should evaluate the virtualisation software, available in the market; hold discussions and gather information on virtualisation, cloud computing and green technology; and discuss the benefits and results with the CIO.

CHANDRESH DEDHIA Sr. Manager - IT, Fermenta Biotech Ltd About me: Is a tech enthusiast at work and a marathon runner outside of it. In the past has been associated with companies like Jones Lang Lasalle, DIL Ltd in the past. He is also a Next 100 winner.

SECOND ANSWER Hold regular weekly or fortnightly meetings to discuss everyday issues and new technologies. The team should re-evaluate their IT operations and seek new ways to optimise the IT Infrastructure. An important component of the IT budget should be provisioning separate budget for training and events. Yearly training should be mandatory and should be part of their performance and appraisal criteria. This can be mutually decided looking at each member’s ability and how the company could benefit from the knowledge. Members should attend at least two IT events a year, that give insights into the latest in technology. Each quarter, besides regular tasks and projects, the team should evaluate a new product or technology. This will keep them on top of the latest trends.

Small initiatives go a long way in building a strong IT team.

ITY SECUR

NEXT

Percent of companies (by country) that are using the Internet for customer communication more than for internal purposes:

100

93

80

86

75

60

61

60

Japan

Singapore

UK

0

US

20

Denmark

40

SOURCE: TAYLOR NELSON SOFRES (TNS) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

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THE BIG Q

‘NETWORK: INSIDE AND OUTSIDE’ FIRST ANSWER Sameer has to first thoroughly analyse the current infrastructure— consider the size of his organisation and budget. Then, he has to brainstorm virtualisation ideas with his team. He should then approach his CIO, with the suggestion that the firm migrate to virtualisation: as it can be used to reduce power consumption, trim building space and land requirement. Virtualisation also provides high availability for critical applications and streamlines application deployment and migrations, which provide a marginal ROI. With new tools and products, virtualisation is quicker to rollout with minimal infrastructural change. To keep team morale high, he can suggest vendor consultants, who will suffice for the implementation and provide his team with hands-on experience.

SHEELA GOSAIN Associate software engineer, Impetus About me: Is a tech enthusiast and fond of new age gadgets and devices

SECOND ANSWER Sameer should involve his team in technology workshops and learn through product launches. Or, he could schedule a quarterly forum for his team for new technology learning. He should encourage his team to network within and outside the company. This methodology is associated with a particular ‘community of practice’. Such communities reward sharing of ideas and experience with reciprocal benefits that could lead to innovation. Other helpful sources include networking through universities, reading technology weekly or monthly magazines such as IT NEXT and CTO FORUM, and talking with vendors about issues they see at other companies.

NOTES NOTES

MORE RESOURCES

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2011: The Death of Security: http://techbuddha.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/2011-the-death-ofsecurity-as-we-know-it-or-operationalizing-security/

UPDATE

APPLE 21.5 INCH HOT IMAC

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The hottest, coolest and the funkiest next generation gadgets and devices for you

We wish to make you the next gadget guru.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how. Apple 21.5 IMAC will give you the complete picture. Listen closely with Audionote Ongaku. And we give you the mother of all motherboards, BRAG DB10...

Intel Core 13 3.06 processor, 21.5 inch screen size, 4GB RAM, ATI Radeon 4670 GPU PRICE: 74,900

NEW

BRAG DB10 Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5 motherboard, Intel Core i7950@3.07GHz, 6GB DDR3 RAM, OCZ vertex 2 SSD, NZXT Sentry LX fan monitor

CREATIVE ZEN X-FI STYLE 2.4inch 262K colour TFT LCD, Audio Formats: MP3, WMA (DRM9), Audible4, AAC, FLAC, 8GB capacity PRICE: 7,000

NEW AUDIONOTE ONGAKU Silver Wired amplifier, gives deep bass and dynamic compression, 5-line inputs PRICE: 4,27,5000

Like something? Want to share your objects of desire? Send us your wish-list or feedback to editor@itnext.in

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | ITNEXT

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CUBE CHAT | SUBHASH CHANDRA BAGCHI

LEAD WITH IDEAS

“The IT sector is extremely dynamic; you have to constantly update your skills if you want to excel and grow,” says Subhash Chandra Bagchi, Head IT and Infrastructure, SS Steel, Jharkhand

BY JATIN D E R S I N G H

Y MY SUCESS

MANTRA Follow with ideas.

Upgrade your skills

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our life is defined by its opportunities—even ones that you miss.”

The line is from the Hollywood blockbuster, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It pretty much sums up the philosophy that Subhash Chandra Bagchi, Head of IT and Infrastructure at SS Steel, Jharkhand, believes in.

Bagchi also has great faith in the Bhagavad Geeta. He believes that there was a higher force at play, that made him choose and pursue IT as a career, especially since he was offered two different job roles by Tata Steel in 1986.

“I had just finished my masters degree in mathematics. I was exploring several career options. After my interview with Tata Steel, I was given a choice—to either join the general management stream, or IT,” he reminisces.

Keen interest in all things related to information technology, lead the young Bagchi opt for the ever-challenging and exciting world of managing technology. The choice proved to be a rewarding one. He soon got to learn about processes and business dynamics of his constantly-evolving job role. “I have no idea where I would have landed had I chosen the other option. Perhaps, I would have been stuck doing monotonous administration-related work,” he laughs.

Bagchi always seeks to lead by example.

He believes that positive people management skills are important for long-term successes.

He matches the tough expectations that he has from his team by being even tougher on himself. He believes that a worker’s first job and organisation, lays the foundation of one’s

CUBE CHAT

FACT FILE NAME SUBHASH C H A N D R A BAGCHI CURRENT DESIGNAT I O N CIO, SS ST E E L , JHARKHAN D CURRENT R O L E HEAD IT A N D INFRASTR U C T U R E EXPERTIS E SERVICE DELIVERY, R E M OT E INFRASTR U C T U R E MANAGEM E N T, P EO P L E MANAGEM E N T, QUALIT Y P R O C ES S AND PROC E D U R ES , DATA CENT R E AND DR SI T E IMPLEMEN TAT I O N

PHOTOG RA PHY: RAJU

“ONE CANNOT SIMPLY PERFORM WITHOUT BEING NURTURED. SO, IT MAKES SENSE TO STICK WITH THE FIRST ORGANISATION FOR A FEW YEARS AT LEAST” career. Hence, he advises young professionals to choose their first job with care. “One cannot simply perform without being nurtured.

So, it makes sense to stick with the first organisation for a few years at least. Take on new responsibilities without being overly concerned about money or incentives. That is the time to learn,” he asserts.

Bagchi’s biggest achievement, according to him, came when he was asked to lead a project of implementing a “new data centre” for Fluor Daniel India. “It was implemented in a record time of seven weeks. When it was time for its inauguration, I was worried. Because, if anything went wrong almost 1,000 users could be affected. When the data centre began, there was not a single flaw. And, not a single user was affected,” he recalls.

According to him, IT as a profession is dynamic and requires constant development of skills in order to achieve excellence. “In our sector, you need to lead with ideas. It’s just like being a doctor.

If you don’t update your skills for six months, you can be out of the job,” he points out.

Talking about his role model, he says he takes inspiration from his father. “He started working quite early because of my grandfather’s sudden demise. He rose to a leadership position because of his determination and hard work.”

India, he says, has given him so much and he has no qualms in admitting that he is a very traditional person who loves his culture. “Our country has such a rich and varied cultural heritage. I simply love it! And I pledge my devotion to my country and its people,” says Bagchi, signing off on that patriotic note.

AREA OF I N T E R EST TO TEST D R I V E DIFFEREN T C A R S FAVORITE B O O K BHAGAVAD G E E TA FAVORITE Q U OT E “ALL THIN G S A R E DIFFICULT B E FO R E THEY ARE E ASY ” WORK EXP E R I E N C E SEP 2010 - P R ES E N T CIO, SS ST E E L , JHARKHAN D 2008 –2010 IT SERVIC E D E L I V E RY MANAGER, F LU O R DANIEL, I N D I A 2006 –2008 SENIOR M A N AG E R SERVICE D E L I V E RY, HCL COMN E T 2000 –2006 SENIOR TEC H N I C A L EXECUTIV E , I B M , INDIA 1986 -2000 DEPUT Y M A N AG E R , I T, TATA IRON A N D ST E E L

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | ITNEXT

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UPDATE

OFF THE SHELF

A sneak preview of enterprise products, solutions and services

Buffalo Launches Storage Solution This new product makes central storage and backup easy

Cisco Launches E-series Routers NETWORKING | Cisco has announced the launch of its latest Linkys E-series routers in India. According to Cisco, Linkys E-series are a new range of wireless routers designed to connect all home wireless devices easily, offering a range and a speed that addresses all productivity and entertainment needs of today’s consumer.

E-series wireless routers are developed to connect devices such as notebooks, wireless printers, HDTVs and game consoles such as Xbox, Wii and PlayStation.

The new E-series can be set up wirelessly in three simple steps through the Cisco Connect Software that comes with every E-series product—making it a great solution for every household.

KEY FEATURES

the LinkStation Pro LS-VL series network * Make Central storage and storage, which offers instant storage expanbackup easy sion and file access on the user’s home net* Features a 1.6 GHz processor work and over the internet. * Allows users to use free WebAcLinkStation Pro features a fast 1.6 GHz cess service for remote access processor for maximum transfer speeds up to 76 Mbps. The company asserts that the LinkStation Pro makes central storage and backup easy. “Simply plug it into any network Ethernet port, or into the back of your wireless router, and instantly access it on any networked computer in your house,” said Susumu Kobayashi, Country Head, Buffalo Technology.

According to the company, a user can also take the benefit of its web support to access his files over the internet, remotly. Also, t o avail the service on a iPad device, the user can download the free WebAccess iApps from the iTunes store.

The company release adds that the device is available in two capacities—1.0 TB (LS-V1.0TL) priced at INR 12,500, and the 2.0 TB (LS-V2.0TL) priced at INR 16,500 with a warranty of three years.

The Cisco Linksys E1000 is ideal for general wireless internet usage and home office productivity, wirelessly connecting computers and other devices such as HDTVs and Blu-ray players.

The Cisco Linksys E3000 is best suited for streaming video and entertainment content to an Xbox 360, PS3 or other compatible devices from USB-connected storage devices.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS Ideal for general wireless internet usage Can be set up wirelessly Available in three different models PRICE: NOT AVAILABLE

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PHOTO GRAPHY: JAYAN K NARAYANAN

STORAGE | Buffalo Technology has unveiled

The Linksys E-Series routers come in three different models to suit the individual requirements for diverse user needs.

UPDATE Price 1,475

HP’s DreamScreen Enters the Indian Market

Logitech Unveils New Series of HD Webcams ACCESSORIES| Logitech unveiled a new lineup of

FEATURES

Crystal-clear stereo audio high definitions (HD) webcams and announced the launch of Logitech Vid HD—a free and simpler way to make an HD video call.

The Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 boasts of features like HD 720p video calling, full HD 1080p video recording, Logitech Fluid Crystal technology and one-click HD-uploading to Facebook and YouTube.

“With Logitech HD webcams and Vid HD, you have everything you need to share, to connect, to see the people that matter to you in breathtaking detail that far surpasses the quality of embedded webcams,” said Subrotah Biswas, Country Manager-India and South West Asia.

The Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 also features crystal-clear stereo audio with two mics—one on either side of the webcam lens.

Another new product by the company is a portable Logitech HD Webcam C510, which has a fold-and-go design, making it immensely portable. The C510 webcam will fold up and fit in the pocket for easy transport. Plus, the 360-degree fullrotation allows the user to swivel the webcam around and include more people on video calls and recordings.

Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 is expected to be available in India from November onwards for a suggested retail price of INR 7,295. The Logitech HD Webcam C510 (INR 2,995), the Logitech HD Webcam C310 (INR 1,795) and the Logitech HD Webcam C270 (INR 1,695) are also expected to be available in India from November.

MSI’s New G-Series Gaming Laptop

TABLET | HP has announced the launch of its tablet-like device DreamScreen—a new platform in the interactive digital display space—at a price of INR 19,999. India is the first country where DreamScreen has been unveiled. HP took three years to develop the concept, software and user interface for the new device. DreamScreen is a closed device, which is more oriented towards a shared environment.

It’s designed essentially for family use.

The company, therefore, is targeting the Indian families, including the first-time technology users of India.

The product will be available in the market through 700 retail format stores.

Price 1,475

LAPTOP | Micro Star International (MSI) has expanded its line up of Notebook

computers in India, unveiling its latest offering for gaming enthusiasts— GT663.

The new notebook, an addition to MSI’s G-Series (gaming) laptops, comes equipped with GeForce GTX 460M (1.5GB GDDR5), NVidia’s most advanced discrete graphics card to support DirectX 11. The GT 663 provides a crisp and clear display, giving the user an edge-high resolution. The MSI GT663’s is touted to contain an enhanced gaming power with the latest Intel Core i7 quad core CPU, with an Intel Turbo Boost.

It’s being distributed through Neoterique Informatics. The GT663 is available at most of the MSI dealer shops in India and starts at a price of INR 1,49,999.

KEY ADVANTAGES * Turbo Drive technology * 12GB of expandable memory * Embedded with Intel Core i7 quad core CPU

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | ITNEXT

75

MY LOG

DEBASREE DEB Independent writing and editing professional

Preparing for a new beginning Cellular phones have made a major impact on the lives of farmers by helping them to realise their true earning potential

ILLUSTRATION: ANIL T

3 ESSENTIAL

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READS

CUBE CHAT | SUBHASH CHANDRA BAGCHI

CUBE CHAT

LEAD WITH IDEAS

FAC T F I L E NAME S U B H AS H C H A N D R A BAG C H I CURRENT D ES I G N AT I O N C I O, S S ST E E L , JHARKHAND CURRENT ROLE HEAD IT AND I N F R AST R U C T U R E EX P E RT I S E SERVICE D E L I V E RY, R E M OT E I N F R AST R U C T U R E M A N AG E M E N T, P EO P L E M A N AG E M E N T, Q UA L I T Y P R O C ES S A N D P R O C E D U R ES , DATA C E N T R E AND DR SITE I M P L E M E N TAT I O N

“The IT sector is extremely dynamic; you have to constantly update your skills if you want to excel and grow,” says Subhash Chandra Bagchi, Head IT and Infrastructure, SS Steel, Jharkhand

“ONE CANNOT SIMPLY PERFORM WITHOUT BEING NURTURED. SO, IT MAKES SENSE TO STICK WITH THE FIRST ORGANISATION FOR A FEW YEARS AT LEAST”

BY JATINDER SINGH

Y

MY SUCESS

MANTRA Follow with ideas.

Upgrade your skills

72

our life is defined by its opportunities—even ones that you miss.”

The line is from the Hollywood blockbuster, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It pretty much sums up the philosophy that Subhash Chandra Bagchi, Head of IT and Infrastructure at SS Steel, Jharkhand, believes in.

Bagchi also has great faith in the Bhagavad Geeta. He believes that there was a higher force at play, that made him choose and pursue IT as a career, especially since he was offered two different job roles by Tata Steel in 1986.

“I had just finished my masters degree in mathematics. I was exploring several career options. After my interview with Tata Steel, I was given a choice—to either join the general management stream, or IT,” he reminisces.

Keen interest in all things related to information technology, lead the young Bagchi opt for the ever-challenging and exciting world of managing technology. The choice proved to be a rewarding one. He soon got to learn about processes and business dynamics of his constantly-evolving job role. “I have no idea where I would have landed had I chosen the other option. Perhaps, I would have been stuck doing monotonous administration-related work,” he laughs.

Bagchi always seeks to lead by example.

He believes that positive people management skills are important for long-term successes.

He matches the tough expectations that he has from his team by being even tougher on himself. He believes that a worker’s first job and organisation, lays the foundation of one’s

career. Hence, he advises young professionals to choose their first job with care. “One cannot simply perform without being nurtured.

So, it makes sense to stick with the first organisation for a few years at least. Take on new responsibilities without being overly concerned about money or incentives. That is the time to learn,” he asserts.

Bagchi’s biggest achievement, according to him, came when he was asked to lead a project of implementing a “new data centre” for Fluor Daniel India. “It was implemented in a record time of seven weeks. When it was time for its inauguration, I was worried. Because, if anything went wrong almost 1,000 users could be affected. When the data centre began, there was not a single flaw. And, not a single user was affected,” he recalls.

According to him, IT as a profession is dynamic and requires constant development of skills in order to achieve excellence. “In our sector, you need to lead with ideas. It’s just like being a doctor.

If you don’t update your skills for six months, you can be out of the job,” he points out.

Talking about his role model, he says he takes inspiration from his father. “He started working quite early because of my grandfather’s sudden demise. He rose to a leadership position because of his determination and hard work.”

India, he says, has given him so much and he has no qualms in admitting that he is a very traditional person who loves his culture. “Our country has such a rich and varied cultural heritage. I simply love it! And I pledge my devotion to my country and its people,” says Bagchi, signing off on that patriotic note.

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A R E A O F I N T E R EST TO T EST D R I V E DIFFERENT CARS FAVO R I T E B O O K B H AGAVA D G E E TA FAVO R I T E Q U OT E “A L L T H I N G S A R E D I F F I C U LT B E FO R E T H E Y A R E E ASY ” WO R K EX P E R I E N C E S E PT E M B E R 2 0 1 0 TO N OW C I O, S S ST E E L , JHARKHAND 2 0 0 8 – S E PT E M B E R 2010 IT SERVICE D E L I V E RY M A N AG E R , F LU O R DA N I E L I N D I A 2 0 0 6 –2 0 0 8 S E N I O R M A N AG E R S E R V I C E D E L I V E RY, HCL COMNET 2 0 0 0 –2 0 0 6 S E N I O R T EC H N I C A L EX EC U T I V E , I B M , INDIA 1 9 8 6 -2 0 0 0 D E P U T Y M A N AG E R , I T, TATA I R O N A N D ST E E L

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Cube Chat Update your skills constantly to grow,” says Subhash Chandra Bagchi, of SS Steel, Pg 72 INSIGHT | CLOUD COMPUTING

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Cloud computing will not reach its full potential until management and contextual standards are fully developed and stable -- so buyers of cloud services need to choose carefully, to avoid any pitfalls at the later stage.

Cloud

Computing

BY STEVE MCDONALD

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loud computing is the latest phenomenon in the IT world. However, the emergence of standards is a sign of market maturity, and it can be a big mistake to commit to products from a market that is not mature. That’s why everyone is asking, “When will we see some cloud standards?”

NEEDS

Standards - Exit

Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer.

Strategies

P H OTO G R AP H Y: JAYAN K N AR AYAN AN

Achieving food security requires new levels of innovation and ICTs can play a crucial role by enabling and facilitating agricultural innovation systems; providing rapid and efficient means of sharing and accessing information across the entire agriculture value chain.

In such a scenario, many players are stepping in the arena of agri-related services and developing an ecosystem.

In India, information services agency, Reuters, launched it in Maharashtra in the year 2007 and today, they are operational in more than 13 states in the country.

Business leader, Tata, is also venturing with mKRISHI, an interactive platform that promises to provide personalized and integrated services to farmers, developed by its information technology arm – Tata Consultancy Services.

But, with opportunities, there are also challenges to develop a robust revenue model. At present, the cost that a farmer incurs on sending an SMS overweighs the returns heavily. Many players are overly dependent on government machineries for support. Customisation of content is another grey area in a country that is so diverse in nature.

P H OTO : P H OTO S . C O M

Mobile has already redefined innumerable things in the way we conduct our work and business. And today, it is touching the root base of Indian economy i.e, agriculture.

Cellphones have helped Indian farmers to a great extent. For instance, with this small but wonderful tool, farmers can reach to the wholesale agents directly, thereby completely bumping off the need of a middleman. Barack Obama, during his recent trip to India, spelled out how SMS can change the lives of farmers.

Let’s talk about a gri-related SMS services offered by various agencies. These services can be seen gaining momentum across the globe today.

SMS services equip farmers with the latest know-how of their domain, thus preventing any lack of knowledge about the behavior of market prices, information on job opportunities, new seeds and fertilizers, vocational education, health education etc.

Bulk SMS News is also being sent using Free and Open Source software that just needs a computer, a mobile phone and a SIM card. Global statistics indicate that 75% of the world’s poor reside in rural areas, and agriculture remains the largest single contributor to their livelihoods.

The protocol, data format and programinterface standards for using cloud services are mostly in place, which is why the market has been able to grow so fast. But standards for configuration and management of cloud services are not here yet. What’s more, the crucial contextual standards for practices, methods and conceptual frameworks are still evolving.

Cloud computing will not reach its full potential until the management and contextual standards are fully developed and stable. In the meantime, there will be pitfalls, so buyers of cloud services should beware.

Cloud standards start with TCP/ IP. Internet standards were probably the biggest market enablers of all time, even before the cloud markets of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) were added to the voice and data communication services they already supported.

On top of TCP/IP, the cloud uses established standard Web and Web Service data formats and protocols. The

programming interface standards on which Cloud PaaS offerings are based are equally well-established. They include the single-vendor .NET standards and multivendor standards such as Unix, Linux, Java and SQL. This means that companies can use cloud services—and make those services available to their customers—secure in the knowledge that they and their customers can use off-the-shelf products without being locked into a particular cloud vendor by proprietary interfaces.

Then this essential precondition for market growth is fulfilled.

Configuration and Management When it comes to configuration and management, the lack of effective, widely accepted standards is beginning to be felt. Resource and configuration management can vary substantially between cloud suppliers, even for IaaS. This may not seem particularly important but, with a typical pay-per-

WHEN IT COMES TO CONFIGURATION AND MANAGEMENT, THE LACK OF EFFECTIVE, WIDELYA ACCEPTED STANDARDS IS BEGINNING TO BE FELT. THERE ARE AS YET NO WIDELY ACCEPTED FRAMEWORKS

use model, fine-tuning can make a big difference in your monthly bill. While it is unlikely that standards can make it possible for an enterprise to have a single management regime for all its cloud suppliers, it will make it easier to move from one supplier to another.

There are several industry bodies working on cloud configuration and management standards, including the Distributed Management Task Force (www.dmtf.org), the Open Grid Forum (www.ogf.org) and the Storage Networking Industry Association (www.snia.org).

Contextual Cloud Standards The lack of contextual standards is the biggest problem for the cloud. There are as yet no widely accepted frameworks to assist the integration of cloud services into enterprise architectures, to support the transfer of information between different clouds, or to enable swift procurement and contract negotiation.

This is not necessarily a bad thing: A period of experimentation with different practices is needed so that the best ones can be identified. But, during this period, cloud users must put significant effort into deciding how to proceed, and they should be prepared to make changes in light of their experiences and the experiences of others.

Legal Framework The first area in which most users will start to worry is the legal one. For example, if an on-line retailer stores customers’ information in the cloud, can the cloud provider sell that data if the retailer fails to pay its service charges? If so, where does that leave the retailer and its customers?

This is an important part of the context for cloud computing standards.

Steve McDonald, general counsel at the Rhode Island School of Design, identifies 16 legal and quasi-legal issues that can arise in contracts with vendors for cloud computing services (tinyurl.com/2erpewk).

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Cloud Computing needs standard exit strategy to avoid issues at later stage centrally Pg 52 INSIGHT | INFORMATION SECURITY

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oday, at a time when an organisation’s business is automated, digitised and online—confidentiality, integrity and availability of data is a concern. Verizon’s 2010 Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR) shows that malware and hacking are the top two threats that an organisation faces. It leads to data breaches and contributes 38 and 40 per cent, respectively, to the total security threat. There is thus that inherent risk in automation and digitisation.

While there is no “silver bullet” for systems security, existence of a healthy and continually-improvised security management system can go a long way in mitigating risks.

Information Security Management System: ISMS is a globally accepted term for design and implementation

of information security controls within an enterprise. For ISMS to be successful, three key phases need to be considered: design, implementation, and maintenance.

The design phase of ISMS can make or break the overall implementation.

However, if firms keep a few factors in mind, success is eminent. Key considerations are as follows: Set business objectives: Security controls must be designed to support overall business objectives. An upfront clarification of these—across the business—is vital. n Identify information assets: Such as electronic documents, hardware, software, paper, or people. The next step is to identify those key information assets that support business processes.

These will be prioritised for protection. n Secure organisational commitment: n

SYSTEMS OF

SEC

URI

TY

Continually improvised security management systems play a fundamental role in today’s business world. A few simple steps help simplify ISMS design and implementation, and mitigate inherent risks within an enterprise.

BY A SHISH THAPAR

If ISMS is to work, the overall project’s objectives need to be understood and endorsed throughout the organisation.

Cross-functional organisational participation —and, more importantly, m a n age m e nt e n g age m e nt— i s paramount to success. ISMS design documentation must also be endorsed by senior management and stakeholders. n Develop an asset-based risk assessment and risk treatment plan: By prioritising information assets and co-relating against potential threats, an idea of perceived risk can be developed. This idea can support the development of an effective risk management strategy. n Consider compliance requirements (legal, statutory or regulatory) and contractual agreements: External factors, outside the business environment, must be translated into the implementation design.

Compliance requirements such as SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) 404, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) and DPA (Data Protection Act) are common these days. They may be impossible to assimilate if not factored into the early stages of ISMS design. n Engage third-parties and partners: Entities that are involved in business processes need to be advised, monitored and controlled. Too often, security control implementation can be delayed, thanks to third-party ignorance.

A word of caution here— organisations need to ensure that the effort and cost involved in designing and implementing information security controls is commensurate with the value of the information asset being protected.

If not, the risk of failure can increase.

Implementing ISMS is a tough task.

It requires organisations to move from theory to practice. It requires firms to bridge the gap between flexibility and control. Best practices are not always the easiest. Firms often face significant challenges. Especially when trying to implement security controls on legacy

CAN ISMS ALL ASE OF ER R, IF N PH THE OV WEVE S IN DESIG EAK THE KE OR BR TION. HOFACTOR NT MA EMENTA A FEW EMINE IS IMPL MS KEEP CCESS FIR ND, SU MI systems and un-supported platforms.

The question then is how to balance business objectives with business continuity. Organisations need to develop a security exception process that evaluates not only the residual risk of not implementing a security control, but also suggests alternative security controls to reduce this risk. This can be done if the risk strategy has been properly assessed in the design phase.

Common pitfalls of ISMS implementation are as follows: n Lack of management support: Senior management support is of paramount importance for a successful implementation. n Organisational dis-engagement: ISMS implementing is not an IT manager’s job. It’s the responsibility of the organisation as a whole. n Non-prioritisation of tasks: Prioritising tasks is a best practice in taking up any big task. ISMS is no different. An organisation must focus on the “low hanging fruits” to ensure continuous focus and interest. It should also keep the end goal in mind, or key milestones may be missed. n Lack of status checks: It is essential to develop key security metrics and measure these regularly to ensure ongoing improvement.

n Hazy project management tenets: Clear Best practice project management tools will help ensure project success. n Disconnect from business processes: Project leads must remember that information security is meant to help and not hinder the business functions, it’s trying to protect. Security controls should support the realisation of business objectives, in a secure manner.

Last but not the least, hard work done by an organisation is meaningless if the ISMS is not maintained. Organisations should establish an ISMS governance team, as part of information security organisation structure. The team can ensure that the potential impact of changes to business environment, IT infrastructure and compliance landscape, are considered against the firm’s security stature. In that way, ISMS can be reassessed, and if needed, updated to support new goals.

The implementation of effective security management controls has a fundamental role to play in today’s business world. But by following simple steps, organisations can help simplify ISMS implementation and secure their future.

The author is a Principal Consultant of professional services with Verizon Business

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