Its all about Timing!

India was doing exceptionally wonderful. Fresh engineering/ management graduates from colleges were all excited.
Amazing IT industry trends were the reasons behind the smiles on everyone's face.
I am talking about late 90s.

But the DotCom bubble got burst and scene changed badly.
For many new professionals like me that was the first ever shock and since then we have witnessed so many recession cycles.
Sometimes one recession cycle gets over only to kick-start another one. And sometimes the recessions are “virtual” too, declared by a select few in favor of a select few……. Its strategic sometimes.

But just imagine for a while, the type of “Net Savvy” users we have today if they would have existed during 2000-01? Scene definitely would have been different - all rosy!
Today a large section of the society, comprising mainly of housewives and students, are buying different stuff online.
They get great deals, they get user-friendly displays to assess all aspects of the product before buying it, they get home delivery and they get replace/refund options too!
What else is required?

Entrepreneurs were all willing to offer such advancements 10 years back also.
IT industry was thriving with new technologies at that time too.
Infrastructure was in place. We were lucky to have Internet heroes like Ajit Balakrishnan and IT patrons like Devang Mehta leading the movement.
I have witnessed that period.

But this “net-savvy user base” was missing. Internet speed was missing. Smartphones were missing. 

It takes complete ecosystem to be in place. And it’s all about timing.

IITs - a beautiful SAGA that was!

Many of us have such friends from childhood days who scored even 2nd division i.e. less than 60% marks in class 12th but cleared JEE in first attempt. I remember an odd case, the guy cleared JEE and failed in his class 12th board exams. And I remember many classmates, seniors, juniors who scored amazingly well in their board exams but couldn’t do well in JEE at all.

In short, the type of preparation that is required for scoring great marks in board exams is very different from what JEE requires.
Board exam pattern is more about exploring with-in well-defined syllabus boundaries.
Whereas JEE is all about crossing the boundaries, it’s about thinking unthinkable, it’s about being innovative.

That was the reason JEE papers were set so “typically” or “eccentrically” I would say.
But that eccentricity was actually a wonderful “filtration mechanism” that ensured to take only those guys in who would maintain this never-dying spirit of being innovative.

Now Mr. Sibbal has set class 12th marks as a per-requisite for JEE.

This newly introduced first level filtration would actually not allow the so-called innovative guy even to appear for JEE because he still doesn’t know how to score well in his class 12th exams. He is busy with his own eccentric, innovative ways of exploring the world.

So who reaches IIT? Those who scored well, a few of them might be really deserving but majority would be no-risk taking and set-study pattern guys.
Result would be visible in 4-5 years down the line.

We still would be having students crazy about IIT JEE, many of them still would be crashing IIT gates, we still would be having IIT graduates in the market each year.
But just because the filtration criterion changed, we won’t be getting the so-called “IIT material” reaching IITs and as a result we won’t be able to give to the world the “IIT material” that we were producing till now.

Processing does matter. But Output also depends a lot on the Input that is put under processing.

I am afraid, this processing mechanism slowly would start compromising to align itself with the new type of Inputs it is getting to process.

IITs without their unique “processing mechanism” ? Can you imagine ?

Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water Purifiers and the Water Wastage!

Certainly Reverse Osmosis is a better technology!

It saves us from drinking the badly polluted and untreated water being supplied to our houses by the Municipality Bodies.

But the huge quantity of water being wasted during the Osmosis process is killing. Its criminal!

All those R&D units who are experts in RO technology need to look into this matter and they should provide a solution as soon as possible.

Government must set a time-line for them to come up with a solution.
There are so many NGOs / R&D units working on water-conservation, probably they can advise RO Purifier making firms on how to reuse the water being thrown out by the RO units.

Collectively we are wasting so much of water every day.
This is serious!

I feel so... Do you also agree?

My memory is a reservoir of the beautiful days I spent at my school, college & at my home playing with my friends and lots of cousins. I can look back into the past and literally browse through each day that I lived till I turned 25.

Now since I turned 40 I again manage to steal some time for myself. To summarize what I did during the day. I sit quietly in the evening and talk to myself.

Honestly speaking I don't know where I was lost between 25 and 40.

I did work a lot, I did shoulder responsibilities, I met new faces, built a few precious bonds in my life, I kept moving, I kept breathing.

But that inner buddy who used to be with me all the time and whom I lost at the age of 25, I met that inner buddy again when life turned 40. I feel as if I directly turned 40 after 25. I feel as if I never met myself between 25 to 40.

Understanding "Unified Communication" as a Service

General

I am not tech savvy; as a result I don’t understand “Unified-Communication as a Technology”.

I am a common man with common daily needs; I am always in search of a more organized and smooth life.

I want to be in touch with those who are important to me!
I would like to be accessible to those who need me!

I want to access devices / people without need of first knowing their Accessible-Id.
I want to access them on the basis of the OBVIOUS Information in front of my eye.

When in crisis, I want to reach my dear ones through all possible mediums in one go. I don’t want to follow long procedures and don’t want to remember multiple Ids.

As an Administration-Head I would like to get an alert if there is Fire or if there is a Generator Failure in the Building I am supposed to take care of!

I would like to manage my devices remotely!

I have my own perception…of Unified Communication!

My perception of Unified Communication
I understand Unified-Communication as a Service; I understand that it can facilitate all that I mentioned by putting different blocks together under one Umbrella!

As a common man I am jotting down my expectations from Unified-Communication. UC makes sense to me:

When my elderly parents can reach me just by pressing a single button on a UC Device installed at my place.

• A single button press and I get intimated at my mail-ID / mobile / extension / voice-mail / pager. No need to remember numbers/mail-IDs. No need to follow complete procedure to get connected.
• Similar device can be programmed for reaching local Police / Society Security / Doctor etc.

When the same device in installed besides each patient’s bed inside the ICU of a Hospital.

• It can be programmed for reaching Nurse / Doctor through all instant modes like Mobile / Pager etc.

When I can manage my Phone / Pager using my special password/code from a distance.

• I left it somewhere; beyond the monetary loss I am afraid of losing my data in wrong hands; I would like to lock it by dialing sequence of few digits. Dialing another sequence I should be able to unlock it.
• I left it somewhere; I wish nobody notices it till the time I reach there… but what if it rings and catches somebody’s attention! I would like to Switch-Off my device by dialing sequence of few digits. Dialing another sequence I should be able to switch it on.

When a microscopic UC Device fitted at my door helps me in keeping track of visitors even from a distance.

• Somebody opened the door, got in / went out – send an alert through mail/sms/call/voice-mail.
• Device identifies few guys and displays the name; rests of the people are conveyed as Strangers!

When I can reach a Car Owner/Driver by smsing / calling his Car Number.

• I am in the middle of the road and there is a car at a distance, I would like to take some help from! I should be able to follow some shortcut on my Mobile / Pager to reach that person just by feeding the vehicle number.

When by accessing one single application I can disable/enable all my Cash Cards.

• I just now lost my wallet; it was having N number of cards in it; I don’t remember those long account numbers and card numbers. I would like to have a single application with all my Account details in it which can do multiple Accounts disabling/enabling for me in the time of crisis.

ConclusionThis Service is here to make the world a small and well-connected place; if used positively!
~ A Non-Techie

What IT Entrepreneurs can do for the Indian Society!

During the past 9-10 years I was not just writing C++ code, I have experienced a lot in other areas also. In fact the process of learning new things at different workplaces and from different set of colleagues, has enriched me. Here I would like to share my experiences regarding my very first workplace Databorough India.


Few days after my joining at DBI, I went to attend the convocation ceremony at HBTI Kanpur. It was a warm meeting with old classmates who were also settling down in their new jobs. We shared a lot about the type of Projects we were doing and the Environment in which we worked etc. My classmates were working mainly on Oracle, Powerbuilder (that time Market Hit), Foxpro etc. We discussed about our Salary packets, the expenses of managing a rented household, Onsite possibilities and lots more.


That meeting was an eye-opener for me and I realized the intangible benefits of working with Databorough. I had a clear picture of what many of my classmates/cousins settled at Metros were gettig and what I was getting.


I landed at DBI Lucknow mainly because my late father wanted me to work close to my hometown. During my Project Training at IIT Kanpur one fine day I saw this advertisement in the Lucknow edition of Times Of India – Ascent. First reaction was what the hell a Software Company would be doing at Lucknow??? But there was a dim ray of hope. The content of advertisement talked about all those big words like IBM Business Partners, AS/400, UK office etc. Me and my father read that and we tried to not to appear overwhelmed or excited. Deep down in our hearts we knew that if it materializes and turns out to be "what it is projected as" then life is going to be pretty cool.


And that did happen; in a place like Lucknow I worked with a very capable team, an equally commendable engineering team from UK assisted and guided us. Coming out straight from the labs of HBTI Kanpur heavily loaded with DEC - PDP & VAX machines, DBI was the first place where I got a chance to work on a Windows machine with a colored monitor. Let me quote that it was a privilege! I just didn’t work on any useless Inventory Management application. Lucky enough, as a fresher I worked on Reverse Engineering Tool and Data Browser type of applications residing on AS/400 machine and in real-time communicating with Windows terminals. Microsoft VC++ used to be my weapon and Windows was the battlefield. I enjoyed that period thoroughly and during those three years I was never on bench. None of us used to be on bench as we were a very small team of engineers with quite a handful of assignments.


And the salary part, well I used to feel like Nawab of Lucknow. I had so much of money in my hands and small expenses in a small city. Those were very fulfilling days. I enjoyed my work. I got best opportunities. With not so expensive services and products I maintained a cool lifestyle. Stayed close to my family and was envied by many of my friends who stayed in Metros.


So what is the learning here...  it conveys that a Software Company operating from a remote place can very well do most of the things that another Software Company is doing in Delhi or Bombay. DBI has set an example of reaching out to people who are not willing to get themselves lost in the crowd arriving at Delhi and Bombay stations everyday.


It’s an appeal to Small Software Houses to come ahead and set up their Development Centers, BPO operations in places like Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur etc. Software Engineer is more interested in quality projects than what his base station is going to be.


Such small Ventures make lives easy for so many around us. IT people don't migrate. They stay in the area and earn well there changing the economy of their home towns. It starts from the sabziwala, doodhwala, maids and extends up to growing local markets. We as an Industry can help many people who are bound to leave their villages in search of food. We too leave our native places but with competitive salaries in the IT sector our survival is not difficult. Think about the labour crowd. They come here because they don’t see a ten rupee note in their hometown. No matter whatever they do there are no takers. After reaching here they see a hundred rupee note with little effort. But in metro cities a hundred rupee note is as good as a ten rupee note one has in village. For initial few days they are mesmerized, then they become working machines leaving their kids to join the spoilt crowd on the road sides and if the desires are not yet settling down they slowly turn into criminals. We have newspapers full of such incidents.


In past 10-12 years IT Industry has changed the face of the country. It has delayed the civil war that could have erupted anytime due to the poverty spreading in our society. Now the Industry is mature and there is another possibility of civil war, this time due to the increasing imbalance between the Employed and Unemployed, Rich and Poor, Metros and Villages etc.


We have to avoid this civil war once again and we as an Industry can do that.