http://www.appirio.com/blog/2009/01/short-global-sis.php

Appirio is an increasing breed of systems integrators which is focussed on implementing on-demand solutions.

The above article from Appirio gives an interesting perspective on why it is difficult for traditional players to be agile and innovative. 

Offshore was a disruptive concept, which forced many global traditional players to completely adopt the global delivery model. Offshore trumped Onshore and now On-Demand is going to trump Offshore and we will see a new set of players who are going to lead this market. The game has only started and it would be an increasing game to watch, as we are the participants in making this movement happen

It is amazing that Ben comes up with such ideas, which can become viral. He is really good at creating viral communities. His last site  www.ICanHasCheezburger.com  became a  phenomenon because of its viral content. The idea may seem silly, but people used to post photos of felines on this site. Ben hosts a number of successful websites like lolcats, loldogs, lolcelebrities etc.  Ben really knows to how to makes sites viral and knows the pulse of the web-users.

Watch the following video for a good tutorial on viral marketing for websites.

http://www.viddler.com/explore/jpozadzides/videos/109/567.167/

It is amazing how sometimes simple and silly ideas in the online world leads to a successful business model !!!

I think Desktops have outlived the economics of the management and it is best to treat it as a commodity utility.  Enterprises are increasing finding it difficult to manage a complex network of desktops spread across the world and trying to achieve a balance between costs and service levels.

Cloud computing initiatives within the desktop space can be part of the solution for  managing the complexity of desktop infrastructure.  Based on my engagement with desktop engagement deals, I advocate the following steps.

On a conceptual level, an organization should aim to take all non-critical users to a hosted model, while retaining all critical users on a on-premise model.  The segregation between non-critical and critical users is an important parameter to judge, while preparing a business case for destkop management and for achieving balance between operational efficiency, productivity and cost of operations.

Except for the critical users, I believe that all the non-critical users should be provided with thin clients. All the thin clients would be connected to a virtual desktop platform hosted on enterprise data centers. Based on criticality of data, an organization can choose to retain some of the desktop applications inhouse, while the rest can be hosted in a cloud.  All the thin clients can be managed remotely through the network or over the internet through the cloud.

Organizations can go one step ahead and start supporting all the thin clients and also the mobile users purely through the internet. Since internet prices are dropping, enterprises can ask internet service providers to provide access points at their office. All thin clients and mobile users can dial onto the internet instead of the corporate LAN and authenticate themselves to dial into the cloud.

The leverage of internet, virtualization and cloud can be a compelling proposition for a service provider to reduce the cost of managing the desktops. By adopting a hybrid model of on-premise and cloud, organizations can achieve a balance and can also have a back-up in case of any eventuality.

If I have to pick a service provider, who can really pick up cloud computing and make it mass-market, I would tend to look eastwards. The service providers from the east do not have any legacy of cost which is borne by the traditional infrastructure outsourcers.

Hence the service providers from the east are better placed to adopt cloud computing and disrupt the market. Imagine the possibilities of disruption if  cloud computing and a global delivery model can be weaved together as a proposition for cash straved enterprises of today .

•1)      An Italian computer company received advice from a prominent international management consulting firm to restructure to a matrix organization. It did so and failed; the task oriented approach of the matrix structure challenged loyalty to the functional boss. In Italy bosses are like fathers; and you cannot have two fathers.

•2)      Americans tend to be on the expressive side. This is because with so many immigrants and a large country, they have to break down social barriers again and again. This is different from smaller countries like Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway where friendships tend to start early in life and last many years.

•3)      A British manager posted to Nigeria found that it was very effective to raise his voice for important issues. His Nigerian subordinates saw this unexpected explosion by a normally self controlled manager as a sign of extra concern. After his success in Nigeria, he was posted to Malaysia. Shouting there was a loss of face; his colleagues did not take him seriously and he was transferred.

•4)      You have only to note the high hedges and shuttered windows to appreciate French concern for large private spaces. If you are invited in a French home, that invitation extends to the rooms in which that hospitality occurs. If you start wandering around the house, you may offend.

•5)      On one occasion a Dutch and a Belgian manager disagreed on a fiscal issue in politics. The Dutch manager let the disagreement stand, in a separate compartment as he saw it, and tried to get on with other business. But for the Belgian their disagreement colored everything. The Dutch manager could not be a trusted partner if his views on the fiscal issue were so mistaken. The Dutchman’s desire to move on to other business was a slight to the Belgian’s feeling of profound disturbance in their relationship.

•6)      The long Swedish horizon is explained by their long winters. There are only a few months in which you have to plan for the whole year.

•7)      Our time horizon significantly affects how we do business. It is obvious that the relatively long term vision of the Japanese contrasts with the “quarterly thinking” of the Americans. This was shown in a striking way when the Japanese were trying to buy the operations of Yosemite National Park in California. The first thing they submitted was a 250 year business plan. Imagine the reactions of the Californian authorities: “Gosh, that is 1000 quarterly reports”.

Well, so you must have now got the flavor of the book. Next time, when you are on a long flight, don’t forget to carry this book. It is an interesting book, which will keep you occupied and make you look at things in a different perspective.

My learning from this book is that it is never possible to completely understand a different culture. Infact it is difficult to understand even one’s own culture completely. Best approach is to have an open, adaptable and flexible mindset. If one is open and adaptable, managing cultural differences will become easier.

http://www.laga.be/newsroom/legal-news/social-security-agreement-signed-between-belgium-and-the-republic-of-india

In November 2008, the Belgian parliament approved a draft bill to implement the social security agreement between Belgium and India. The agreement, which was signed on 3 November 2006, is considered a landmark agreement as it was the first agreement of its kind ever negotiated by the Indian authorities.
The agreement is expected to enter into force in the first half of 2009. The agreement covers the major Belgian and Indian social security insurance systems. More precisely, the material scope of the Agreement covers:
• The old age pension schemes;
• The invalidity insurance schemes;
• The applicable social security schemes for employees and self-employed persons.

The agreement is applicable to Belgian and Indian nationals, who are or have been subject to the social security legislation of one of the contracting countries. Under the agreement, it will be possible for an employer to assign employees to another contracting state while they remain subject to the legislation of the first contracting state, provided that the expected duration of the assignment to the other state does not exceed 60 months (5 years). Exceptions beyond that duration can be granted after agreement of both contracting states. The agreement does not, however, foresee rules regarding the assignment of self-employed persons.

India also the potential of proving to be an equally and bigger disruptive force in the product and R&D space. The last two decades gave rise to a 40 bn USD Indian services industry, which has attracted some of the best brains. These best brains have gained experience in the IT Industry and will be expected to lead the next wave of dominance.

From a very simplistic perspective, India should aggressively adopt and leverage the  combination of  following three constructs:
1) SAAS
2) Open Source
3) Leverage Global Delivery Model through collboration( Invest or Collaborate)

India has a huge domestic market, which can be used as a trial bed before launching the product in the global market. I would be interested in hearing stories from early stage start up companies who are investing into a combination of  SAAS and Open Source to create market dominating next generation products.  A product which is generated through a combination of open source and SAAS and delivered through a global delivery model can be a REAL DISRUPTOR.

I am sure that the next Google or Facebook will get launched from India.

In hindsight, I see nothing wrong in that. In fact India based companies should look at the silver lining in the Satyam fiasco. It should convert the threat into an opportunity by taking the leadership position in setting benchmarks for corporate governance. The world media caught on to the Satyam fiasco because it was one of the bellwethers of the Indian software industry.  If there is a similar situation with another bellwether within a different sector in India, it is bound to weaken India’s corporate reputation considerably. 

Sadly corporate governance is not about rules and regulations, because it can be circumvented and there is no golden pill. Corporate Governance boils down to our fundamental ideology of living and existence. It boils down to the basic character traits of the corporate leadership. It boils down to our personal choice of deciding between a right and a wrong. It all boils down on an individual level. The corporate leadership of the bellwether organizations within each sector should take a personal stake in pushing the envelope on corporate governance. The existing corporate leadership would do a great service if they lead and propound the good old fashioned values of honesty, trust and accountability by example. Leadership is not about delivering profit on a quarter to quarter basis. It is all about delivering profits in the right and meaningful way.

Today the sentiment within the global business community is on its lowest ebb. The common man has no trust in the corporate set-up and there is a vacuum of ethical leadership. And this is where the Indian corporate leadership has to step in. We need a leader who can personally lead his organization by example. Instead of being defensive, the Indian corporates should aim for Ethical Leadership within the global business community. Ethical leadership will result in increased trust with the customer community, which will ultimately lead to the much needed profits on a quarter to quarter basis.

So far the eastward journey within the IT industry has been scripted by the ADM(Application Development & Maintenance) wave. Global Corporations were slow to take the leap of faith in entrusting the “RUN” part of the business to India based service providers.

But times are changing. India based service providers are increasingly challenging the likes of IBM & HP in every major outsourcing deal.  Global players like HP & IBM are building footprint in India, while service providers like HCL are building footprint in Western Europe & US. Ultimately the twain will meet and converge.

In the Infrastructure Services  industry the leader of tommorow has to innovate and go for aggressive and disruptive collaborative partnerships.  The Eastward service providers has to adopt disruptive collaborative partnerships as part of their cultural DNA.  I reflected on the theme of collaboration in my earlier posts and I am more convinced that this is the path to move forward.

Indian Service Providers need to behave like the automobile industry and act as a service integrator for the Infrastructure Services Industry.  Instead of building a vertically integrated supply chain, it needs to build a virtually integrated supply chain. The focus should shift to project, quality and program management instead of building all the commodity infrastructure inhouse.  Instead of being opportunistic, Indian service providers should concentrate on identifying local partners in various geographies for global onsite support and maintenance.  Asset Transfer is another show-stopper and here Indian companies should show innovation in a Go to Market deal with a financial institution.  People transfer issues should be dealt by creating innovative deal constructs like Service Purpose Vehicles to insulate your existing operations from unforseen liabilities. The supply of hardware and software assets could be managed through a vendor managed inventory model with hardware and software OEM players.

The above are only examples, but the crux is India based service providers need to embrace innovation and disruptive partnerships to race to the top league of Infrastructure Services Industry.  And then the Eastward Journey will truly speed up.

Now this model is fairly prevalent and widespread in sectors like manufacturing and construction.  In a construction industry, a player like Halliburton takes the lead role and subcontracts the specialist jobs to sub-contractors, while retaining overall ownership of the contract and engagement.

The IT Industry has not really warmed up to this model . There have been few large cases notably in UK and mainland Europe, but the subcontractor model has not really matured. In the IT sector, every global player in the TOP 10 tries to do everything. Every player talks of domain specialization, but at the end of the day, it tries to become a vertically integrated unit by aiming to specialize in all domains. Part of the blame lies also on the customers who have never walked this path. 

I strongly believe that the future of the IT Industry will lie in collaboration. Instead of trying to do everything under one roof, the IT leader of the future should aim to build a channel of specialist subcontractors and go to market as a consortium.  The power of compounding will be an unbeatable force to reckon in the market.

Now theoritically, the above model can deem very simplistic to the barren eye, but it demands closer scrutiny.  Infact a related model based on the principles of collaboration and aggregation is being propounded by Ananantara solutions.  In this model , a group of players from different parts of the world collaborate to deliver a rounded solution to its customers.

IT leaders of the future will have to warm up to the idea of collaboration and start practicising it instead of having it as a linguistic peck on the strategy manual.

1) Who are your auditors ? If you say PWC, then expect to hear a smirk and muted sarcasm

2) Is your cash real ?

3) Do you have truly “independent directors” ?

The questions from the customers and analyst community are particulary valid and I can emphatize with their concerns. The competition particularly global players like IBM, HP, Accenture who have been brought on the backfoot by the increasing aggressive onslaught of the India based outsourcing companies have reasons to celebrate. They now possess a viral weapon which can be effectively used to create FUD in the customer decision making process.  The issue of corporate governance within Satyam is being projected as a failure of the Indian outsourcing industry, which I believe is a sweeping statement bereft of any logic.

The Indian IT industry is a 40bn dollar industry, has been created because of a lack of transparency and flexibility shown by existing incumbent players. The Indian players moved in to fill the void and addressed the latent demands of customers via flexibility & cost rationalization. The Indian IT Industry has survived for more than two decades and an isolated incident like Satyam cannot stop its march towards dominance. We can draw parallels for the IT Industry with the existing automobile industry, which is a straight fight between American and Japanese companies with added exhibits of Europe based automobile companies.

If the Indian IT Industry wants to stop this FUD, it has to quickly bring the guilty within Satyam to books.  That will set a strong precedent and serious message to the world community. Secondly, Satyam should not be allowed to collapse. It must be revived and made stronger by merging it with a serious player in the IT Industry.  Lastly Indian companies need to advocate 360 degree of transparency in its operations.  Transparency should become the DNA of an organization and should encompass the entire gamut of stakeholders, investor relations, analysts, customers and employees.  That should be the silver lining.

If the Indian IT companies can practice the above approach, the isolated incident of Satyam will be soon be history and lead to increased confidence and improve sentiments in the marketplace.