There is a big Mobile OS battle running out their. With every mobile phone manufacturers and software providers doing all they can to bring the fastest, sexiest and coolest mobile device out for the consumers. A lot has to do with applications or apps. built around these OS platforms which makes the platform look cool and involves more people and gets them excited.
Google Android Phone - Adobe on 7th January updated about the Flash 10.1 BETA support on google android phone.
Watch Video here
It's a significant advancement that the open handset alliance can rejoice this year and pass on the benefits to the consumers and break Apple's App Store monopoly.
iPhone OSx - Presently, any application built in flash can not directly run on iPhone. And off-course the Jesus Phone has millions of fan following. However, iPhone doesn't allow and doesn't intend to allow to run any flash app to work on iPhone directly, you need to develop it with the MAC SDK provided by Apple. This meant that the app has to be available through the Apple's store and Apple gets 30% of the revenue share in each app download. Sifting through pages on adobe's site, when you land upon adobe flash's support for iPhone, you will be surprised to see that * which says: Delivery through the App Store requires participation in the iPhone Developer Program and approval of the application by Apple. meaning 30% revenue share remains.
However, with Google and HTC and other partners of the open handset alliance coming together and launching the google android based phones and adobe extending their support to them, developers can now easily build content or port existing apps to the mobile devices. Which in a way can hurt Apple's App store downloads. Eg: If I am presently hosting my app at any website then I can just promote that link through Admob and other mobile ad service providers like that and get people to download apps directly without bringing Apple in the middle. 2010 will be a significant growth year for apps on open source and growth of google android and hardware devices based on it.
Nokia Maemo - Interestingly the OPEN source Vs BOX race has more contenders, the big-weight in race, yes the world's biggest manufacturer of mobile phones, nokia, is pushing it's agenda with it's ovi app store and Maemo OS, their linux based open source launch is a solid step towards it. They have been supporting flash from long ago, however, their smart phones just didn't pickup. With Nokia N900 device running on Maemo 5, they wish to change this. Their recent announcement of BETA launch of Qt port for Maemo 5 on 19th Jan which will enhance developers to develop cross-platform applications and GUI.
Hoping for a more OPEN environment in future.
Showing posts with label Business Information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business Information. Show all posts
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Couple of Questions for Eric Schmidt
During Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Orlando 2009, Google's CEO Eric Schmidt spoke to gartner's
Analysts and some of the TOP points that came out and my questions to Eric on the same:
1. Five years from now the internet will be dominated by Chinese-language content.
Question 1 - With the amount of sensorship in China - why do you think "Chinese content will Dominate?" Just the Volume of content or Value of content?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHxub_yQfig
Analysts and some of the TOP points that came out and my questions to Eric on the same:
1. Five years from now the internet will be dominated by Chinese-language content.
Question 1 - With the amount of sensorship in China - why do you think "Chinese content will Dominate?" Just the Volume of content or Value of content?
2. Five years is a factor of ten in Moore's Law, meaning that computers will be capable of far more by that time than they are today.
Good for us!
3. Within five years there will be broadband well above 100MB in performance - and distribution distinctions between TV, radio and the web will go away.
I hope this happens... very optimistic approach from Eric I must say...
4. "We're starting to make significant money off of Youtube", content will move towards more video.
5. "Real time information is just as valuable as all the other information, we want it included in our search results."
6. "We can index real-time info now - but how do we rank it?"
7. It's because of this fundamental shift towards user-generated information that people will listen more to other people than to traditional sources. Learning how to rank that "is the great challenge of the age." Schmidt believes Google can solve that problem.Question 2: "Why do you want to rank that information at all?" If I am following someone and I am going to take a decision based on that individual's recommendation, then I have built my ranking algorithm in my mind...so why do I need google to tell me the rank for the same?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHxub_yQfig
Sunday, August 30, 2009
BOKU.com – Not so Rosy for MOBILE Payments
The rosy picture painted in my previous post about BOKU.com doesn’t seem to be that rosy. Based on reading fine print on BOKU.com’s website and some number crunching and deeper analysis, it might become more expensive to acquire new customers and retain customers if you use BOKU.com unless you get a phenomenal increase in conversions.
Airtel + BOKU can reach a huge user base of mobile customers in India. However, it seems like talktime currency can not be used to make payments. So the overall user reach (especially in smaller regions) reduces tremendously.
Postpaid customers – If postpaid users are going to be charged in their bills then service charge, recovery and fraud management will become an issue.
Broadly there are some more important issues to think of:
1) Customer’s Perspective: In the bill amount the user has to pay ~10% service charge. Which means that if they spent Rs. 100 they actually have spent Rs. 110 which they will realize in their 1st bill.
Merchant’s Perspective
1) Airtel + BOKU is charging some ridiculous amount of 25% – 45% fee to allow such transactions. If we go by industry standards, online payment gateways accepting credit card/debit card/Paymate(mobile), ITZ Cash cards etc… all these guys charge not more than 10%. Which means in the case of BOKU, the merchants will have to compensate nearly 25% to 45% of the cost of payment made by users. Which is ridiculous.
2) Merchant’s Perspective: If BOKU says that these numbers add up and it’s volume game and more conversions will help in driving revenues and break-evens then it means that by adding BOKU your conversions need to go up by atleast 10%(this number varies for various industries) till you break even.
3) After careful consideration and number crunching it looks like your existing customers who are already using credit or debit cards to make online payments should actually NOT move to this Mobile payment option as in the earlier case the merchant is compensating for 10% of the fee, however, with BOKU the compensation increases steeply.
BOKU Vs Merchant VS Telecom Provider
1) Credit period and liquidity – Telecom providers are asking for a credit period of 90 days before they release payments. Which means the merchant’s liquidity will get hit. They are willing to reduce it over a period of time to 30 days or 60 days. However, this is ridiculously high as compared to almost 24 hours time frame provided by Online payment gateways.
2) Money recovery from customers – Recovering money from post paid users for wrong charges on their bills might become an issue as they will have to handle fraud complaints and resolutions.
What BOKU can be helpful in is… converting new users. Making payments for the 1st time when the user is not sure about using their credit cards.
Unless Telecom carrier’s and BOKU’s combined cost doesn’t come down to something similar to other online payment gateways, this looks like a flashy new system to me which will take it’s own sweet n slow route to become what they want to become.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
BOKU.com – NO Plastic – Mobile based online payment system!
BOKU.com, mobile payments made easy, NO Plastic Needed.
Today morning I was munching my breakfast after a solid gym routine and while scanning through my feeds, chanced upon an article on Watblog by Maneesh about mobile payments system by a company called BOKU.com where you DON’T need any credit card, debit card, bank account etc to make a payment.
I just jumped in the air and got glued to this post and quickly pounced to check out this site BOKU.com. And YES, they are offering direct payments through mobile phones without any card plastic / bank account.
If BOKU.com continues to expand their partnerships with more and more service providers like, there is nothing which stops BOKU to become the World’s most trusted and easiest online payment system.
BOKU.com is funded by Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures. VC’s investments includes high-profile start-ups like Infinera, MySQL, OpenTable, PureDigital, Second Life, Tellme, Twitter, Yelp, and Zillow, and franchise companies such as eBay, Juniper Networks and Red Hat.
BOKU.com’s strong management team comes from web, payment and mobile companies like Amazon, AT&T, Apple, Bank of America, GE, Google, mBlox and Paypal.
They claim to have a strong fraud management systems from their strong experience in managing risk in top notch companies like Amazon, PayPal, Google, Bank of America, and FirstUSA and they claim that Mobile phone is a different story as its used by only you… lets hope that’s the case.
This is how the payments work in BOKU.com, citing an example via @watblog a payment test they did in Facebook on Texas Holdem Poker application.
This can be the NEXT big thing to fuel online business growth with over couple of billion handsets across the world. The 3 step easy process just makes it so lucrative for customers to go ahead and make a quick payment.
As a publisher we are up-beat about this service and I personally am very optimiztic that this system will completely revolutionize the online payments in the coming time.
If this is increasingly adopted by more telecom providers, this will basically revolutionize the online payment systems in India as well as worldwide. I had written about one application of such system (to book local train tickets through mobile) on my blog last year. This is super exciting news for many online businesses. However, what would be interesting to note is, how telecom providers cope with managing the Post-Paid customers with bills and recoveries and charge-backs.
Anyways, this is Fantastic, I being in a online games company where we handle daily online payments… this will help us boost our conversions significantly. I think all online publishers will welcome this as a booster for their sales.
Looking forward to a close collaboration with BOKU.com.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Reliance, TATA, Airtel Retarding Broadband Internet growth in India?
Are the three BIGGEST Telecom giants in India who are blinded by their short term company revenues are the real perpetrators of retarding the Growth of Broadband Internet in India?
Premise: Reliance Communication, Bharti Airtel and Tata Indicom all three are offering their wireless datacards for laptops and PCs. These datacards offer various connectivity speeds. However, it's very apparent that the bad wireless infrastructures, poor dataspeeds and over all un-satisfactory customer service is retarding and shooing away the customers from Internet. People get a very poor user experience and the overall confidence in the online media as the main stream media gets distorted completely. Day-by-day poor online experiences just adds to the frustation of new and existing users and end up making people anti-online. What could become as one of the biggest strength of India in uniting and bringing education and more jobs to the country may just go down the drain if appropriate steps are not taken.
A country like India where people plan months ago to buy their next gadget and save money meticulously and buy their dream gadget get fooled by buying such stupid datacards for better Internet connectivity.
The Proof: The Internet by its own nature of bringing the Voice of each customer to one common platform shows the PROOF of pathetic service, speed and connectivity issues which came along with these Wireless Data Cards from Reliance, Airtel and Tata Indicom.
Mouthshut.com an Online user generated content company which provides a platform to Indian users to post their personal experiences in terms of product reviews is just filled with BAD reviews about all these three service providers.
Reviews on Reliance Wireless Data Cards
Reviews on TATA Indicom Wireless Data Cards and USB Modems
Reviews on Bharti Airtel Wireless Data Cards and USB Modems
If this isin't proof enough, do a simple google search and over 50,000 review related search results will show up...mostly people crying out loud at the bad service or drivers or connectivity and bad user experiences.
Strategic Flaw or The Time is not right?
Well a lot of top honchos sitting in those top management plush seats would want to argue that this is not a strategic fault and they do offer Broadband Internet services but people are not ready to take those services up. Well obviously if you produce those stupid Datacards in BULK and push them through a marketing plan, people are bound to get driven. However, it's a SHORT term retarding growth strategy for overall Internet Adoption Strategy for the country. In a way the Datacards and USB modems etc are detrimental to the growth of the Internet adoption and widespread in India. And the best part is both Broadband and datacards are coming from the same Telecom company (Irony Simplified)!
When over 4 Millions users have adopted broadband internet (refer to TRAI report, July-08) there are very few reasons why others wouldn't want to adopt it. The reason (primarily) is high bandwidth cost and lesser education and awareness. Well if you have to shell out Rs 999 per month to get a decent broadband connectivity per month, obviously you are discouraging people from adopting Internet. When Mobile recharges come in small pre-paid values, why don't we allow the users to have low cost flexibility for a LONG Term Internet penetration and growth in country.
Conclusion: The short term revenues of organizations which are blinding them for providing poor infrastructure and bad connectivity should be overcome quickly. The Broadband Internet services should be provided at cheaper rates fueling the Internet demand in India. Improvement of Wireless Broadband, Cost reduction and better infastructure can really contribute to the fast paced growth. Public Private Partnership based Awareness and Education sessions to masses about the benefits of internet should be conducted to help promote the Internet growth in India.
Premise: Reliance Communication, Bharti Airtel and Tata Indicom all three are offering their wireless datacards for laptops and PCs. These datacards offer various connectivity speeds. However, it's very apparent that the bad wireless infrastructures, poor dataspeeds and over all un-satisfactory customer service is retarding and shooing away the customers from Internet. People get a very poor user experience and the overall confidence in the online media as the main stream media gets distorted completely. Day-by-day poor online experiences just adds to the frustation of new and existing users and end up making people anti-online. What could become as one of the biggest strength of India in uniting and bringing education and more jobs to the country may just go down the drain if appropriate steps are not taken.
A country like India where people plan months ago to buy their next gadget and save money meticulously and buy their dream gadget get fooled by buying such stupid datacards for better Internet connectivity.
The Proof: The Internet by its own nature of bringing the Voice of each customer to one common platform shows the PROOF of pathetic service, speed and connectivity issues which came along with these Wireless Data Cards from Reliance, Airtel and Tata Indicom.
Mouthshut.com an Online user generated content company which provides a platform to Indian users to post their personal experiences in terms of product reviews is just filled with BAD reviews about all these three service providers.
Reviews on Reliance Wireless Data Cards
Reviews on TATA Indicom Wireless Data Cards and USB Modems
Reviews on Bharti Airtel Wireless Data Cards and USB Modems
If this isin't proof enough, do a simple google search and over 50,000 review related search results will show up...mostly people crying out loud at the bad service or drivers or connectivity and bad user experiences.
Strategic Flaw or The Time is not right?
Well a lot of top honchos sitting in those top management plush seats would want to argue that this is not a strategic fault and they do offer Broadband Internet services but people are not ready to take those services up. Well obviously if you produce those stupid Datacards in BULK and push them through a marketing plan, people are bound to get driven. However, it's a SHORT term retarding growth strategy for overall Internet Adoption Strategy for the country. In a way the Datacards and USB modems etc are detrimental to the growth of the Internet adoption and widespread in India. And the best part is both Broadband and datacards are coming from the same Telecom company (Irony Simplified)!
When over 4 Millions users have adopted broadband internet (refer to TRAI report, July-08) there are very few reasons why others wouldn't want to adopt it. The reason (primarily) is high bandwidth cost and lesser education and awareness. Well if you have to shell out Rs 999 per month to get a decent broadband connectivity per month, obviously you are discouraging people from adopting Internet. When Mobile recharges come in small pre-paid values, why don't we allow the users to have low cost flexibility for a LONG Term Internet penetration and growth in country.
Conclusion: The short term revenues of organizations which are blinding them for providing poor infrastructure and bad connectivity should be overcome quickly. The Broadband Internet services should be provided at cheaper rates fueling the Internet demand in India. Improvement of Wireless Broadband, Cost reduction and better infastructure can really contribute to the fast paced growth. Public Private Partnership based Awareness and Education sessions to masses about the benefits of internet should be conducted to help promote the Internet growth in India.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Digital Marketing in India - Agencies or In - House?
I would be publishing the blog post on "Digital Marketing in India" - Agencies or In-House where I am going to profile some Top Digital or Interactive marketing Agencies in India.
To get your organization profiled, send me a mail.
With this I will also be publishing the results of the in-house survey on "Internet marketing challenges and opportunities – 2008". To be part of this Global Survey...Click Here.
To get your organization profiled, send me a mail.
With this I will also be publishing the results of the in-house survey on "Internet marketing challenges and opportunities – 2008". To be part of this Global Survey...Click Here.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Online Media - Solution to Crude Oil Price Rise and Real Estate Market in India?
You must be hearing that the crude oil prices worldwide have been rising and it has led to inflation in a lot of economies. Can “Internet” and “Online Media” become a small stepping stone solution to abate the rising Crude Oil and Real Estate prices?
The continuous rise in Crude oil prices worldwide is posing inflationary effects in emerging as well as developed economies. We all understand that Crude oil is a resource which will diminish one day. So the environmentalist, the energy honchos, corporate and governments worldwide are trying to find out solutions to reduce crude oil usage and trying to develop parallel sources of energy like: Bio-Fuel, Nuclear Energy, Water, Wind etc. I am hereby explaining the affect on Real Estate industry in India and how they can recuperate from the same.
What’s the Present Real Estate Industry’s situation in India?
The recent bloodbath in the real estate sector has started taking a toll. Almost all large developers are now facing a severe cash crunch and finding it difficult to complete their ongoing projects. In fact, the situation is so bad that most of them have reported a 50-70% cash shortfall. Industry sources say that the liquidity crunch has forced many developers to pick up cash from the unorganized market at interest rates as high as 35% to 50% annually. The lending rate of banks is between 18% and 20%. The grade A developers which are facing crash crunch include DLF, MGF Emaar, Shobha Developers, Unitech, Omaxe, Parsvnath Developers, Hiranandani Group, Ansal API, BPTP Developers and TDI Group. As a result of the crash crunch many developers have started going slow or even stopped construction of projects which are either in their initial stages of development or which would not affect their bottom line in the near future.
Why it happened?
There are multiple factors (explained in my previous entry) which have led to this situation which can be like:
-Rising Crude Oil Prices
-Inflated Cement and Steel prices
-Recession in US
-Increasing inflation
-Over-hyped prices of properties (for higher gross margins)
-Overspending on Marketing by these developers (tradeshows, marketing collaterals, TV ads, billboards, hoardings etc).
All these reasons put together led to the increasing real estate prices and here we are with cash crunch amongst real estate developers.
What’s the Solution?
Obviously, if people start buying more houses, the real estate developers get more cash. If people start using lesser oil, the consumption will go down and subside the demand and help in reduction of prices. However, with the inflation mounting the cash in hand is reducing for the common man and impacting the purchase cycles of the buyers and sellers. I can’t suggest what can be “ONE” solution to this country wide problem. However, here is one solution which I can think of, and can be helpful from a perspective of a “techno-marketing” professional.
Presently in India the consumption of fuel follows a pattern like this:
· Transport (Petrol, Diesel, CNG, Aviation Fuel) : 51%
· Industry (Petrol, Diesel, Fuel Oil, Naphtha, Natural Gas): 14%
· Commercial & Others : 13%
· Domestic (LPG & Kerosene): 18%
· Agriculture (Diesel): 4%
These numbers clearly show that Automotive Industry is definitely a majority fuel consumer. So if we can help reduce a small amount of automotive fuel consumption, we are surely headed to ease the pressure.
Solution: Leverage the Online Media.
Benefits of using Online Media in solving various issues:
Lower energy requirements.
-Work from home.
-Instead of people traveling for so many meetings all across the city, you can have web conferences and reduce your travel time and cost of traveling. You are saving time, money, oil and gas. Eg: www.webex.com
-You will be more productive while you are meeting people online and you would be able to do more in lesser time.
-Set-up Web cams in your construction sites to show the present construction status.
-Give maps of everything online to help people see the location of your site and many more similar things.
-Less print promotions, lesser expenditures and more ROI
-Lesser marketing expenditures.
-You can do online exhibitions and tradefairs eg: www.unisfair.com
-Spend less on marketing by doing away with billboard, TV and other sort of ridiculous expenses.
Spend money in promoting your websites and driving people to go Online and save money. Lesser use of energy sources which will get depleted one day. More usage of technology which can drive businesses and reduce dependency on oil based energy.
Though I am proposing something which is far fetched, however, things like these take a definite time span to get implemented and early adopters reap the benefits of Brand leadership and differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Also, this is just one small solution which can go a long way in helping to reduce energy requirements and may help the inflationary pressures, public discretion can never be discounted for!
The continuous rise in Crude oil prices worldwide is posing inflationary effects in emerging as well as developed economies. We all understand that Crude oil is a resource which will diminish one day. So the environmentalist, the energy honchos, corporate and governments worldwide are trying to find out solutions to reduce crude oil usage and trying to develop parallel sources of energy like: Bio-Fuel, Nuclear Energy, Water, Wind etc. I am hereby explaining the affect on Real Estate industry in India and how they can recuperate from the same.
What’s the Present Real Estate Industry’s situation in India?
The recent bloodbath in the real estate sector has started taking a toll. Almost all large developers are now facing a severe cash crunch and finding it difficult to complete their ongoing projects. In fact, the situation is so bad that most of them have reported a 50-70% cash shortfall. Industry sources say that the liquidity crunch has forced many developers to pick up cash from the unorganized market at interest rates as high as 35% to 50% annually. The lending rate of banks is between 18% and 20%. The grade A developers which are facing crash crunch include DLF, MGF Emaar, Shobha Developers, Unitech, Omaxe, Parsvnath Developers, Hiranandani Group, Ansal API, BPTP Developers and TDI Group. As a result of the crash crunch many developers have started going slow or even stopped construction of projects which are either in their initial stages of development or which would not affect their bottom line in the near future.
Why it happened?
There are multiple factors (explained in my previous entry) which have led to this situation which can be like:
-Rising Crude Oil Prices
-Inflated Cement and Steel prices
-Recession in US
-Increasing inflation
-Over-hyped prices of properties (for higher gross margins)
-Overspending on Marketing by these developers (tradeshows, marketing collaterals, TV ads, billboards, hoardings etc).
All these reasons put together led to the increasing real estate prices and here we are with cash crunch amongst real estate developers.
What’s the Solution?
Obviously, if people start buying more houses, the real estate developers get more cash. If people start using lesser oil, the consumption will go down and subside the demand and help in reduction of prices. However, with the inflation mounting the cash in hand is reducing for the common man and impacting the purchase cycles of the buyers and sellers. I can’t suggest what can be “ONE” solution to this country wide problem. However, here is one solution which I can think of, and can be helpful from a perspective of a “techno-marketing” professional.
Presently in India the consumption of fuel follows a pattern like this:
· Transport (Petrol, Diesel, CNG, Aviation Fuel) : 51%
· Industry (Petrol, Diesel, Fuel Oil, Naphtha, Natural Gas): 14%
· Commercial & Others : 13%
· Domestic (LPG & Kerosene): 18%
· Agriculture (Diesel): 4%
These numbers clearly show that Automotive Industry is definitely a majority fuel consumer. So if we can help reduce a small amount of automotive fuel consumption, we are surely headed to ease the pressure.
Solution: Leverage the Online Media.
Benefits of using Online Media in solving various issues:
Lower energy requirements.
-Work from home.
-Instead of people traveling for so many meetings all across the city, you can have web conferences and reduce your travel time and cost of traveling. You are saving time, money, oil and gas. Eg: www.webex.com
-You will be more productive while you are meeting people online and you would be able to do more in lesser time.
-Set-up Web cams in your construction sites to show the present construction status.
-Give maps of everything online to help people see the location of your site and many more similar things.
-Less print promotions, lesser expenditures and more ROI
-Lesser marketing expenditures.
-You can do online exhibitions and tradefairs eg: www.unisfair.com
-Spend less on marketing by doing away with billboard, TV and other sort of ridiculous expenses.
Spend money in promoting your websites and driving people to go Online and save money. Lesser use of energy sources which will get depleted one day. More usage of technology which can drive businesses and reduce dependency on oil based energy.
Though I am proposing something which is far fetched, however, things like these take a definite time span to get implemented and early adopters reap the benefits of Brand leadership and differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Also, this is just one small solution which can go a long way in helping to reduce energy requirements and may help the inflationary pressures, public discretion can never be discounted for!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Naseba Announces the Winners of the Indian CIO of the Year Awards
Naseba Announces the Winners of the Indian CIO of the Year Awards
naseba, a leading international business information company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, held the Indian CIO of the year awards ceremony in conjunction with the 2nd Annual CIO Strategies India forum. The ceremony took place on June 9th, 2008, at 7.30 pm at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai.
The Indian CIO of the year awards recognize the leading Indian CIOs. The winners were selected by a jury consisting of Ashwini K Sharma, Former CIO, SBI and Markus Bell, CIO Analyst. This year, there were four categories with five CIOs competing in each category. The winners are:
1.Nirvan Biswas, CTO, Midday Multimedia - New Comer Award
Nirvan was selected based on his ability to implement new technologies integrated in web 2.0 to achieve massive cost savings for the overall company. These approaches are reflected in a new layout to SOA integration, communication products integration with the possibility of waste and lifetime data transmission. He also established himself as a leading business management personality, setting out new benchmarking systems and integrating all business units in the IT Architecture.
2.Navin Chadha, CIO, TATA Teleservices - Innovation Award
Navin has over 18 years experience in the telecommunications sector and in storage solutions and is a member of the advisory council for Sun Microsystems and CME Technology Advisory Group. Navin is very innovative in his approaches in the sector. He implemented Microsystems Configuration Manager 2007 to improve customer services and increase dataflow on an extensive configuration and collection of components to integrate business requirements and the management of IT Infrastructure. He is a pioneer, as this is one of the largest projects that has been carried out and reformed to the needs of business, this will revolutionise customer handling, business integration and IT architecture management over the coming years.
3.Anita Pai, Executive Vice President, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Ltd - Leadership Award
Anita was chosen for her outstanding approach in risk management leadership in implementing new technology in the telecom space and integrating all over team and unit in the process. While leading ICICI Prudential IT, Anita established a vast IT communications system, which guarantees security, compatibility to the system requirements and remote access in a highly secure data sector. Besides the integration of the technology, she established herself not only as an IT manager but also as a CIO, managing training cost calculations and the overall information flow throughout the company.
4.K Radhakrishnan, Head IT, Henkel India Ltd - Lifetime Achievement Award
The choice for this candidate was not only based on his work at Henkel, but also on his innovative approach in production, sales, data management and e-trade alignment integration of customer handling on a national and international scale. By using tools, integrating the business units and achieving an outstanding example of how to manage outsourcing and ERP systems over time, he laid out a perfect example of lean IT. In addition, he integrated training and business information in communication and data management for companies of various industries. Mr Radakrishnan has set an example on how to successfully outsource international companies on the Indian market and advanced the Indian economy by developing production and communication to a new level, giving India a competitive edge over other competing economies.
“I have always kept my focus on “Leveraging on Information Technology to Enable the Enablers”. Having held various offices with top MNC’s in India for over two decades now, I have realized that success starts only when business and IT alignment is well orchestrated, and I just converted the opportunity entrusted to me which has been well realized in all terms, to get to this milestone. With this award, while I have a sense of recognition of the achievement, I do understand the expectation being set of doing more of IT for the time to come. Thanks to the Jury, Naseba and the other partners to the event!,” explained K Radhakrishnan.
“We are proud to have organized and hosted the first edition of Indian CIO of the year Awards during our CIO Strategies India forum this year. The Indian CIO of the year awards ceremony provided awarded CIOs the chance to inform their peers about the technology innovations they used in their projects to achieve greater success for their organization,” concluded Shannon Mackrill, the event producer, naseba.
Please click on the link given below to download the list of nominees.
http://image.exct.net/lib/fefd1271766107/d/1/nominees%20page.pdf
About the CIO Strategies India forum
Working in strategic partnership with Business Wire India, Exchange4media.com, NDTV Profit, Outsourcing 2 India and Smart Techie, the second annual CIO Strategies India forum, organized by naseba, gave the opportunity for up to 100 CIOs from Indian companies to learn about the latest trends in the IT industry, to source customized solutions from leading solution providers as well as to network with their peers.
For more information, please visit www.ciostrategiesin.com
naseba
Established in 2002, naseba produces business platforms focused on re-education, networking and most importantly increasing deal-making opportunities for executive clients. With offices strategically located in five cities around the world, naseba employs over 250 executives from more than 30 nationalities. naseba group went public on the Paris Stock Exchange on October 5th, 2006.
For more information, please visit www.naseba.com
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
CATCH 22 – Rising CRUDE Prices – Inflation in Indian Economy & Real Estate Prices
There is a strange CATCH 22 situation which is developing in India for the Real Estate Market. Due to the increase in the CRUDE Oil prices there is an overall increase in the input cost of production of Cement and Steel. With the increase in Cement and Steel prices, the cost of real estate development is increasing. Due to the increasing prices the cost of real estate is rising, however, due to the increasing inflation rate in India, the money in a common man’s hand is depleting, so they can not afford to buy costlier real estate. This means on one side the increase in real estate prices is becoming inevitable, and on the other hand the decreasing liquidity is making people unable to buy real estate at the increasing costs.
Rising CRUDE Oil Prices
There are difficult days ahead in 2008 for worldwide markets. With the continuous rise in CRUDE oil prices, the worldwide economy is being affected. The recent price hike in Fuel prices across India is the LIVE example where there will be an additional burden on common man:
Petrol prices increased by Rs. 5 / Liter
Diesel prices increased by Rs. 3 / Liter
LPG prices increased by Rs. 50 / Liter
This price hike was inevitable as the Oil marketing companies were facing the liquidity crunch because of global Crude oil price increase taking the price to $125/barrel.
So what does this mean for us now? More Inflation in Indian Economy?
For starters, it means prices for daily use commodities going up, prices for daily commutation going up, prices for raw material for manufacturing going up. In brief, inflation going up and as predicted reaching approx 9.5%. It means everything is going to get more expensive for a common man. So FMCG, Electronics, Automobiles, Aviation etc would be seeing cost hikes and then price hikes.
Real Estate Prices
The real estate prices saw a boom in 2007. However, the steady rise in inflation and probably recessionary trends in US led the Indian economy to see escalating prices of two essential commodities - Steel and Cement. Unfortunately we have not been able to find any substitute for the same. For some mysterious reasons, the government didn’t do much about increasing cement and Steel prices and the Real Estate developers had to bear the brunt of the same.
The increased input costs led to increase in real estate prices coupled with Investors investing in real estate to create a fake increase in prices.
However, now considering the inflation will lead to depletion of household income on a regular basis, the demand for real estate would go down and the only option left with the real estate developers would be to take a hit on the prices of the properties. However, if the real estate developers choose to hold on to the properties, it would affect the new project completions. Also, the developers are holding onto the properties for a future price rise which may or may not happen in the immediate future. A marginal price rise in the apartment price in one years time will have the same NPV as the price today, with the additional impact of affecting present cash-flows.
Therefore, unless a price rise is indicated by strong economic indicators, I believe the prices are being sustained at the current levels purely by the developers holding power (the larger the developer, the longer he can sustain in a falling market) and are soon to be southward bound if the economic conditions persist.
Rising CRUDE Oil Prices
There are difficult days ahead in 2008 for worldwide markets. With the continuous rise in CRUDE oil prices, the worldwide economy is being affected. The recent price hike in Fuel prices across India is the LIVE example where there will be an additional burden on common man:
Petrol prices increased by Rs. 5 / Liter
Diesel prices increased by Rs. 3 / Liter
LPG prices increased by Rs. 50 / Liter
This price hike was inevitable as the Oil marketing companies were facing the liquidity crunch because of global Crude oil price increase taking the price to $125/barrel.
So what does this mean for us now? More Inflation in Indian Economy?
For starters, it means prices for daily use commodities going up, prices for daily commutation going up, prices for raw material for manufacturing going up. In brief, inflation going up and as predicted reaching approx 9.5%. It means everything is going to get more expensive for a common man. So FMCG, Electronics, Automobiles, Aviation etc would be seeing cost hikes and then price hikes.
Real Estate Prices
The real estate prices saw a boom in 2007. However, the steady rise in inflation and probably recessionary trends in US led the Indian economy to see escalating prices of two essential commodities - Steel and Cement. Unfortunately we have not been able to find any substitute for the same. For some mysterious reasons, the government didn’t do much about increasing cement and Steel prices and the Real Estate developers had to bear the brunt of the same.
The increased input costs led to increase in real estate prices coupled with Investors investing in real estate to create a fake increase in prices.
However, now considering the inflation will lead to depletion of household income on a regular basis, the demand for real estate would go down and the only option left with the real estate developers would be to take a hit on the prices of the properties. However, if the real estate developers choose to hold on to the properties, it would affect the new project completions. Also, the developers are holding onto the properties for a future price rise which may or may not happen in the immediate future. A marginal price rise in the apartment price in one years time will have the same NPV as the price today, with the additional impact of affecting present cash-flows.
Therefore, unless a price rise is indicated by strong economic indicators, I believe the prices are being sustained at the current levels purely by the developers holding power (the larger the developer, the longer he can sustain in a falling market) and are soon to be southward bound if the economic conditions persist.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) Route Map and Guide
After all the drama and to and fro amongst the people, governement and BIAL authoritites, Bangalore International Airport BIAL will be operational from today onwards. yet there is no final decision on the HAL airport.
How to reach the new BIAL airport? What all facilities are available at the new bangalore airport? How far is the new airport from the city’s centre? Here is your guide to the BIAL airport.
Download the Passenger Information document here.
Download the Easy access guide here.
Download the shuttle schedule here.
Download the route map here.
Download the Bangalore International Airport Layout.
Let’s see how the things turn out now. Obviously you would notice that there are a lot of services added in the BIAL airport lounges etc, but how much is an average traveler willing to shell out, remains the question?
How to reach the new BIAL airport? What all facilities are available at the new bangalore airport? How far is the new airport from the city’s centre? Here is your guide to the BIAL airport.
Download the Passenger Information document here.
Download the Easy access guide here.
Download the shuttle schedule here.
Download the route map here.
Download the Bangalore International Airport Layout.
Let’s see how the things turn out now. Obviously you would notice that there are a lot of services added in the BIAL airport lounges etc, but how much is an average traveler willing to shell out, remains the question?
Monday, May 05, 2008
CIO Strategies India : Whitepaper on Data-Leakage and Security
CIO Strategies for Emails and Electronically Stored data Do Data-Leakage and Security concern you as the IT Decision maker of your organization? 80% of key IT decision makers have this specific concern. naseba brings you an exclusive 35 page research report by Enterprise Strategy Group on Data-Leakage Prevention.
Key questions addressed in the report:
• How much confidential data do organizations have today? Where is it located? Do organizations classify and track the movement of this data?
• Have organizations experienced data breaches? If so, were these breaches the result of internal or external attacks? Were they malicious in nature?
• What were the business ramifications of these breaches? Did they have any direct financial impact such as a loss of revenue or employee productivity?
• How do organizations detect these breaches? Can they detect malicious activities that may be early warning signs of an impending breach?
Also you can register for CIO Strategies Forum India online here and you can also download the nomination form for CIO India Awards 2008 here.
Key questions addressed in the report:
• How much confidential data do organizations have today? Where is it located? Do organizations classify and track the movement of this data?
• Have organizations experienced data breaches? If so, were these breaches the result of internal or external attacks? Were they malicious in nature?
• What were the business ramifications of these breaches? Did they have any direct financial impact such as a loss of revenue or employee productivity?
• How do organizations detect these breaches? Can they detect malicious activities that may be early warning signs of an impending breach?
Also you can register for CIO Strategies Forum India online here and you can also download the nomination form for CIO India Awards 2008 here.
CIO Strategies for Emails and Electronically Stored data
Here is a special whitepaper download from ZDNET on CIO Strategies for retention of Emails and Electronically stored data.
Over the past two years, major changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the increase in state and federal compliance regulations have created new challenges for companies as they struggle to manage email retention and deletion policies. To successfully maintain compliance and protect business in the event of litigation, companies must understand these changes. Implementing new strategies for email will enable organizations to effectively set and manage email retention and deletion policies, as well as provide robust search and e-discovery capabilities to respond rapidly to litigation. Check out this TechRepublic Webcast, now available on demand, to learn about critical changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and what those changes mean "in plain English" for your business. You'll learn CIO strategies for:
-Determining appropriate retention and discovery requirements for email and electronically stored information.
-Involving stakeholders across your organization to respond to this challenge.
-Ensuring that email is always available and data is never lost. Providing search, discovery and recovery of electronic information.
-Avoiding pitfalls in managing a records retention and data discovery effort.
Over the past two years, major changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the increase in state and federal compliance regulations have created new challenges for companies as they struggle to manage email retention and deletion policies. To successfully maintain compliance and protect business in the event of litigation, companies must understand these changes. Implementing new strategies for email will enable organizations to effectively set and manage email retention and deletion policies, as well as provide robust search and e-discovery capabilities to respond rapidly to litigation. Check out this TechRepublic Webcast, now available on demand, to learn about critical changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and what those changes mean "in plain English" for your business. You'll learn CIO strategies for:
-Determining appropriate retention and discovery requirements for email and electronically stored information.
-Involving stakeholders across your organization to respond to this challenge.
-Ensuring that email is always available and data is never lost. Providing search, discovery and recovery of electronic information.
-Avoiding pitfalls in managing a records retention and data discovery effort.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Mobile Marketing: India Crosses US in telephony subscribers
According to latest release by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory authority of India), the total wireless subscribers base stood at 261.09 million at the end of March 2008, compared to 255 million subscribers in U.S. A total of 10.16 million wireless subscribers have been added in the month of March2008 as against 8.53 million wireless subscribers added in the month of February 2008.
Another landmark that march saw was reaching a total telephone connections to 300 million (wireline+wireless). The overall tele-density is pegged at 26.22% at the end of March 2008 as against 25.31% in February 2008.
Total of 96 million subscribers were added since March last year.
Comparatively, broadband connections have performed dismally with addition of only 1.56 million broadband subscribers since March 2007. The total broadband subscriber base stands at 3.90 million, far from 10 million subscribers that government had predicted by end of 2008.
Some time back I blogged about Why Mobile marketing will work in India. Here are more reasons now why Mobile Marketing will work in India. However, the sad part is the slow broadband growth. I think prices and lack of education are primary reasons for the same. Do share your opinion regarding the same.
Another landmark that march saw was reaching a total telephone connections to 300 million (wireline+wireless). The overall tele-density is pegged at 26.22% at the end of March 2008 as against 25.31% in February 2008.
Total of 96 million subscribers were added since March last year.
Comparatively, broadband connections have performed dismally with addition of only 1.56 million broadband subscribers since March 2007. The total broadband subscriber base stands at 3.90 million, far from 10 million subscribers that government had predicted by end of 2008.
Some time back I blogged about Why Mobile marketing will work in India. Here are more reasons now why Mobile Marketing will work in India. However, the sad part is the slow broadband growth. I think prices and lack of education are primary reasons for the same. Do share your opinion regarding the same.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Innovative Apple iPhone - Half Baked PR and Marketing Genius
I do not doubt the innovation genius behind Apple’s success. However, iphone was launched half baked and the PR and Marketing departments at Apple did the trick.
Apple’s strong brand has been able to drive the initial sales in US and they were able to sell millions. However, tech geeks that follow the mobile markets did not approve of the technical prowess of iPhone. There are 10 times better phones available in market than iPhone (eg LG Viewty) and Apple treated the customers shoddily by introducing the iPhone half baked with low memory options initially and no 3G.
For obvious reasons people in countries like Europe haven’t accepted the “growing” iPhone and UK’s Sunday Times reported potential losses to the stock owners as people are not buying it.
Probably, Steve Jobs did a brilliant job in US while launching it and the PR and marketing teams created a huge hype around the launch of iPhone. The blogs were buzzing, videos were roaming across youtube, newspapers online and offline were talking, Steve himself gave a brilliant on stage launch pitch. Even investors, analysts, technical specialists everyone was kept in the good books.
And then, suddenly the pretty looking, sturdy, touch based gadget which can take pictures, organize and play music and make phone calls too, was launched. Oh within 2 months of launch the prices were slashed along with a special apology from Steve. And then another version with higher memory option was launched and now there is news on anvil that the 3G version would be launched as the analysts were unhappy with 3G missing.
iPhone’s success in US is a clear success story of what PR and Marketing can achieve for you even when your product might not be the best in the industry!
Apple’s strong brand has been able to drive the initial sales in US and they were able to sell millions. However, tech geeks that follow the mobile markets did not approve of the technical prowess of iPhone. There are 10 times better phones available in market than iPhone (eg LG Viewty) and Apple treated the customers shoddily by introducing the iPhone half baked with low memory options initially and no 3G.
For obvious reasons people in countries like Europe haven’t accepted the “growing” iPhone and UK’s Sunday Times reported potential losses to the stock owners as people are not buying it.
Probably, Steve Jobs did a brilliant job in US while launching it and the PR and marketing teams created a huge hype around the launch of iPhone. The blogs were buzzing, videos were roaming across youtube, newspapers online and offline were talking, Steve himself gave a brilliant on stage launch pitch. Even investors, analysts, technical specialists everyone was kept in the good books.
And then, suddenly the pretty looking, sturdy, touch based gadget which can take pictures, organize and play music and make phone calls too, was launched. Oh within 2 months of launch the prices were slashed along with a special apology from Steve. And then another version with higher memory option was launched and now there is news on anvil that the 3G version would be launched as the analysts were unhappy with 3G missing.
iPhone’s success in US is a clear success story of what PR and Marketing can achieve for you even when your product might not be the best in the industry!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
CIO Strategies India Awards 2008 - Call for nominations
CIO India Awards 2008 - Call for nominations
Event Website: http://www.ciostrategiesin.com/
Date: 9th - 10th June 2008
Venue: The Grand Hyatt, Mumbai
CIO India Awards 2008 ceremony is proud to be held in conjunction with the 2nd Annual CIO Strategies India Forum. The Awards ceremony will honour India's Leading CIO’s through Four Categories.
New Comer Award: This award should honor a young and up coming individual who has moved swiftly through the ranks to CIO. He/She must possess strong leadership qualities and above all must be fresh and innovative.
Innovation Award: This individual needs to be a pioneer and a strong leader. He/She must be a risk taker, someone who is prepared to innovate when everyone else would rather follow the norm. Such innovation should be demonstrated by a particular instance or many instances when he/she has saved or made his/her company money through the innovative use of IT.
Leadership Award: The Leadership Award will be earned by the person who is not only an IT Leader and CIO but someone who leads the entire company. He/ She has truly merged business and IT and considers the bottom-line when implementing various IT infrastructures. This individual must be the ultimate leader in all facets of his industry and must add value to his business.
Lifetime Achievement Award: The unofficial ‘TOP’ Award of the evening - this award will honor an individual who has had a long, illustrious career as a CIO and IT Leader. His/her career should speak for itself through various accolades received, successful projects implemented and respect gained by his fellow CIO’s. He/she must possess exceptional leadership skills illustrated by foresight, innovation and a pioneering attitude that encompasses an overall ideal that he/she has built through his/her career as an IT and business professional.
Download the nomination form here...
Top Speakers at CIO Strategies India Forum 2008
Chandershekhar Nene,Vice President & IT Head,Kingfisher Airlines
Nene Probir Mitra,IT Head CIO,TATA Motors
Arvind Tawde,CIO,Mahindra & Mahindra
Vijay Mehra,Group CIO,Essar Group
Ishwar Jha,CEO,Digital Media Convergence
Satish Naralkar,CEO,NSE IT
Daya Prakash,IT Head,LG Electronics India
Vijay Sethi,Vice President / IT Head,Hero Honda Motors
Learn More at CIO Strategies India Forum website or email: enquiries@naseba.com.
Event Produced by : www.naseba.com
CIO Strategies India 2008 - CIO India Awards
India's Most Prestigious CIO Event of the Year
Event Name: CIO Strategies India 2008
Website: www.ciostrategiesin.com
Date: 9th - 10th June 2008
Venue: Grand Hyatt, Mumbai
This June, CIO of the Year 2008, the most prestigious CIO awards ceremony will be held in conjunction with 2nd Annual CIO Strategies Forum, India's premier CIO Forum. The awards ceremony will be highly covered by prestigious media like TIME Magazine, Business Wire India, NDTV Profit, Smart Techie, Outsource 2 India. The awards nomination form can be downloaded online here and registration request is available online here.
Quick Links
•Event website
•Event White Paper
•Registration Enquiry
•Event Agenda
The CIO Strategies Forum Format
•High level workshops
•Ultimate Networking Opportunities
•Interactivity and Problem Solving
•Educational Conference Agenda
Learn more about the event format here.
Top Speakers Include
•Chandrashekar Nene, VP IT, Kingfisher
•Vijay Mehra, Group CIO, Essar Group
•Daya Prakash, IT Head LG
•Probir Mitra, CIO, Tata Motors
•Ishwar Jha, CEO, Digital Media Convergence, Essel Group
•Ashwini Sharma, Former CIO, State Bank of India
•Arwind Tawde, CIO Mahindra and Mahindra
•Satish Naralkar, CEO, NSE IT
•Vijay Sethi, VP IT, Hero Honda
More Speakers and Topics, Event Partners and Sponsors
For more information, please contact: Charan Varghese, Project Director
email: enquiries@naseba.com Tel: +91 80 30280562 - fax: + 91 80 30280555
Event produced by www.naseba.com
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Top Tips in Business Dressing for Men and Women!
What Makes an Organization’s Culture – Business Attire?
So the client rejected the proposal? You had a better service offering than the competitor? Still you lost it? Well you might want to look at OverDress Syndrome or PoorDress Syndrome of your company’s employees.
As simple as it sounds, has its own long lasting consequence. What kind of a organizational culture are you building? Casual or Professional?
Many companies struggle with the Business Attires in their organizations because they have people who are in customer facing role and some employees who are not. It would be anyone’s guess, every company has the same set-up. Obviously there will be some people who will not be in customer facing roles. Can this be taken as an excuse to let go a professional corporate culture and not to have Smart Dressing sense in the company?
The Importance of Proper Attire
Making the best possible impression is paramount. First impressions are made within the first 5 minutes of meeting someone. In other words, if you want to be taken seriously, dress appropriately.
OverDress Syndrome – Many organizations cater to government agencies, research labs etc. When a sales professional from organizations selling some stuff walks into such an organization where the government considers eating peanuts as the main course food and tries to match salaries accordingly, you do not expect flashy business suits. But people are very normally dressed. Though they are sharp in their own way! So if the sales guys walk-in all dressed up, in most probability you might just intimidate the person. And your sales impression right from the 1st meet is going to be “Expensive”.
PoorDress Syndrome – So you were visiting a another organization whose vision is to deliver high quality with world’s best technology to customers or may be the best financial asset management services etc and you went dressed shabbily or in a sloppy manner. You just killed your chance of getting your way across the customer’s heart, why? Coz, you didn’t even match the personality of the organization, personally, how will you match the same with your product or service?
So what should you do?
It’s simple, Learn the Customer's Dress Style
• Looking professional promises you a good first impression. Knowing what's expected takes a little research, a shopping trip, and a full-length mirror!
• Research the culture of the employer. A more conservative employer, e.g. accounting, finance, law, etc., will require more conservative dress.
• Look at the brochures, web sites, and employees of the organization to guide your dress style. What style of clothes is being worn by the people who work there? What image are they projecting with their clothing?
• Trust your instinct when picking your business attire. If you have to ask the question, "Can I wear this?" the answer should always be "no."
• Err on the conservative side when in doubt about what to wear.
• Avoid extremes: heels too high, skirts too short, blouses too low cut, ties or patterns too loud.
• Ask experts at a clothing store about the fit of your suit. You don't want it too loose or too tight.
Cost Vs Quality debate?
You are not expected to be able to afford the same clothing as a corporate CEO. However, everything should be clean, well pressed, and not show wear. Even the nicest khakis after 100 washings may not be your best choice for a reception. Carefully inspect new clothes for tags, and all clothes for dangling threads, etc.
Please someone explain this to me…BUSINESS vs. BUSINESS CASUAL ATTIRE
What is business attire? It is the written or unwritten dress code of an organization. Business attire suggests a formal, conservative dress style. Attention to detail, impeccable grooming, and a well-fitted suit are a must to make a lasting good impression. Business casual is a small step down from the formal business attire, but still business-like, appropriate and presentable in a place of business. Remember that the definition business casual attire should never be interpreted as casual.
Men's Business Attire
The Suit
• Choose suits neutral in color - charcoal, navy, gray, black, conservative stripes all work.
• The pant leg should touch the front of the shoe and fall just above the heel in the back.
• Pants can either have cuffs or not.
• The fabric of the suit should be gabardine or wool. Avoid cotton blends as they wrinkle.
• The suit jacket should be buttoned while standing and unbuttoned to sit. Do not button the bottom button of a three or two-piece suit.
The Dress Shirt
• If possible, have your shirt professionally laundered.
• Always wear a long sleeve shirt.
• The shirt's sleeve should extend beyond the suit jacket sleeves by 1/2 inch.
• Always wear an undershirt, as they give the appearance of a finished look; undershirt should be solid white.
The Tie
• Wear a conservative tie with subtle patterns or solid colors.
• Tie your tie to fall in the middle of your belt.
Socks, Shoes and Belt
• Wing tips or lace up conservative shoes are the most appropriate. Loafers can be used for business casual.
• Shoe color should match your suit or be of a darker color.
• Shoes should be in good condition and polished.
• Socks should match the color of your suit and cover your calves.
• Belts should be in good condition and match the color of your shoes.
Accessories
• Men should limit accessories/jewelry to 3 pieces.
• Accessories include watch, ring, handkerchief, lapel pins, cuff links, and tie tacks.
• Avoid bracelets, necklaces, and visible piercings.
Grooming
• Facial hair should be neatly trimmed (moustache, sideburns).
• Hair should be neat.
• Heavy cologne should be avoided. Soap and deodorant will allow people to remember you- not your scent.
• Nails should be clean and manicured(it's not gay).
Men – Business Casual Attire
• A sports coat creates a pulled together look in a business casual environment and eliminates the need for a tie. Pair up the sports coat with khakis or dark pants.
• Traditional dress slacks, khakis, Dockers, corduroys, wool flannel and linen slacks are appropriate with or without a blazer. Be sure to press them beforehand.
• Casual button-down oxford shirts are a great alternative to dress shirts, with or without a tie. Choose basic white, chambray or pinstripe.
• Oxfords and loafers in brown or black are a good match for khakis or corduroys.
Women's Business Attire
The Suit
• Choose a classic suit avoiding trendy suit styles.
• A skirt suit or pantsuit is considered appropriate attire.
• Skirt hemlines should be knee length or longer. Miniskirts are not appropriate.
• Color does not have to be limited to dark colors.
• Make sure the suit flatters your figure and is a good fit, not too tight or too loose.
• Jacket sleeves should fall 1/2 inch below your wrist.
The Blouse
• Blouses should be updated, but neither low cut nor revealing.
• Do not wear a camisole or see through blouse. (Your company's product/service should get the attention, not you!)
• Blouse should include sleeves.
Shoes and Hose
• Shoes should be pumps, flats or sling backs, do not wear shoes with open toes.
• Shoe color should be darker than your suit.
• Heels should be 1-2 inches; higher heels should be saved for after hours.
• Hosiery should be worn with a skirt to match your skin tone or suit.
Accessories
• Jewelry should be kept minimal and conservative.
Make-up and Grooming
• Makeup should be natural looking. People want to remember you, not your eye shadow.
• Nails should be clean and manicured.
• Nail polish and lip color should not be too trendy or bright.
• Hair should be clean, neat in appearance.
• Perfume should be applied very lightly if at all. A good soap and antiperspirant will allow people to remember you not your scent.
Women – Business Casual Attire
• Pantsuits are a wise choice for a business casual event.
• A classic sheath paired with a cardigan or a blazer in the same fabric and color is a good choice.
• Crisp, cotton shirts added to dress pants, khakis, or skirts make a casual outfit.
• Cardigan twin sets are also an easy way to present a more casual look while still looking professional.
• Jewelry, scarves and other accessories will add a polished finish to an outfit. Remember though, "less is more."
• Shoes should still be well-made and close-toed - no extremes. Flats are appropriate, platform slides are not.
• Hose are not essential for business casual, but recommended for shorter skirts.
• Knee highs or trouser socks are suggested with pants.
ALL - Unacceptable Attire
• Jeans or denim pants, shorts
• Leggings/stretch/stirrup/sweat pants, spandex or other form fitting pants
• Athletic shoes, hiking boots, sandals, slides or flip flops
• Flannel shirts or T-shirts
• Hats/caps
Checklist for Putting it All Together
Regardless of the occasion, dressing appropriately is one of the easiest ways to impress the potential employer.
ô€€¹ Hair: Should be clean and neat.
ô€€¹ Shoes: Should be in polished condition. Make sure heels are not worn.
ô€€¹ Details: No missing buttons, no lint; and don’t forget to remove external tags and tacking stitches from new clothes.
ô€€¹ Hands: Clean fingernails.
ô€€¹ Fit: Clothes should be clean, neatly pressed, and fit properly, neither tight nor baggy.
ô€€¹ Smell: Perfume or cologne should be used sparingly or not at all. No odors on clothes. Don't smell like smoke.
Trust your instinct when picking your business attire.
If you have to ask the question, "Can I wear this?" the answer should always be "no."
So the client rejected the proposal? You had a better service offering than the competitor? Still you lost it? Well you might want to look at OverDress Syndrome or PoorDress Syndrome of your company’s employees.
As simple as it sounds, has its own long lasting consequence. What kind of a organizational culture are you building? Casual or Professional?
Many companies struggle with the Business Attires in their organizations because they have people who are in customer facing role and some employees who are not. It would be anyone’s guess, every company has the same set-up. Obviously there will be some people who will not be in customer facing roles. Can this be taken as an excuse to let go a professional corporate culture and not to have Smart Dressing sense in the company?
The Importance of Proper Attire
Making the best possible impression is paramount. First impressions are made within the first 5 minutes of meeting someone. In other words, if you want to be taken seriously, dress appropriately.
OverDress Syndrome – Many organizations cater to government agencies, research labs etc. When a sales professional from organizations selling some stuff walks into such an organization where the government considers eating peanuts as the main course food and tries to match salaries accordingly, you do not expect flashy business suits. But people are very normally dressed. Though they are sharp in their own way! So if the sales guys walk-in all dressed up, in most probability you might just intimidate the person. And your sales impression right from the 1st meet is going to be “Expensive”.
PoorDress Syndrome – So you were visiting a another organization whose vision is to deliver high quality with world’s best technology to customers or may be the best financial asset management services etc and you went dressed shabbily or in a sloppy manner. You just killed your chance of getting your way across the customer’s heart, why? Coz, you didn’t even match the personality of the organization, personally, how will you match the same with your product or service?
So what should you do?
It’s simple, Learn the Customer's Dress Style
• Looking professional promises you a good first impression. Knowing what's expected takes a little research, a shopping trip, and a full-length mirror!
• Research the culture of the employer. A more conservative employer, e.g. accounting, finance, law, etc., will require more conservative dress.
• Look at the brochures, web sites, and employees of the organization to guide your dress style. What style of clothes is being worn by the people who work there? What image are they projecting with their clothing?
• Trust your instinct when picking your business attire. If you have to ask the question, "Can I wear this?" the answer should always be "no."
• Err on the conservative side when in doubt about what to wear.
• Avoid extremes: heels too high, skirts too short, blouses too low cut, ties or patterns too loud.
• Ask experts at a clothing store about the fit of your suit. You don't want it too loose or too tight.
Cost Vs Quality debate?
You are not expected to be able to afford the same clothing as a corporate CEO. However, everything should be clean, well pressed, and not show wear. Even the nicest khakis after 100 washings may not be your best choice for a reception. Carefully inspect new clothes for tags, and all clothes for dangling threads, etc.
Please someone explain this to me…BUSINESS vs. BUSINESS CASUAL ATTIRE
What is business attire? It is the written or unwritten dress code of an organization. Business attire suggests a formal, conservative dress style. Attention to detail, impeccable grooming, and a well-fitted suit are a must to make a lasting good impression. Business casual is a small step down from the formal business attire, but still business-like, appropriate and presentable in a place of business. Remember that the definition business casual attire should never be interpreted as casual.
Men's Business Attire
The Suit
• Choose suits neutral in color - charcoal, navy, gray, black, conservative stripes all work.
• The pant leg should touch the front of the shoe and fall just above the heel in the back.
• Pants can either have cuffs or not.
• The fabric of the suit should be gabardine or wool. Avoid cotton blends as they wrinkle.
• The suit jacket should be buttoned while standing and unbuttoned to sit. Do not button the bottom button of a three or two-piece suit.
The Dress Shirt
• If possible, have your shirt professionally laundered.
• Always wear a long sleeve shirt.
• The shirt's sleeve should extend beyond the suit jacket sleeves by 1/2 inch.
• Always wear an undershirt, as they give the appearance of a finished look; undershirt should be solid white.
The Tie
• Wear a conservative tie with subtle patterns or solid colors.
• Tie your tie to fall in the middle of your belt.
Socks, Shoes and Belt
• Wing tips or lace up conservative shoes are the most appropriate. Loafers can be used for business casual.
• Shoe color should match your suit or be of a darker color.
• Shoes should be in good condition and polished.
• Socks should match the color of your suit and cover your calves.
• Belts should be in good condition and match the color of your shoes.
Accessories
• Men should limit accessories/jewelry to 3 pieces.
• Accessories include watch, ring, handkerchief, lapel pins, cuff links, and tie tacks.
• Avoid bracelets, necklaces, and visible piercings.
Grooming
• Facial hair should be neatly trimmed (moustache, sideburns).
• Hair should be neat.
• Heavy cologne should be avoided. Soap and deodorant will allow people to remember you- not your scent.
• Nails should be clean and manicured(it's not gay).
Men – Business Casual Attire
• A sports coat creates a pulled together look in a business casual environment and eliminates the need for a tie. Pair up the sports coat with khakis or dark pants.
• Traditional dress slacks, khakis, Dockers, corduroys, wool flannel and linen slacks are appropriate with or without a blazer. Be sure to press them beforehand.
• Casual button-down oxford shirts are a great alternative to dress shirts, with or without a tie. Choose basic white, chambray or pinstripe.
• Oxfords and loafers in brown or black are a good match for khakis or corduroys.
Women's Business Attire
The Suit
• Choose a classic suit avoiding trendy suit styles.
• A skirt suit or pantsuit is considered appropriate attire.
• Skirt hemlines should be knee length or longer. Miniskirts are not appropriate.
• Color does not have to be limited to dark colors.
• Make sure the suit flatters your figure and is a good fit, not too tight or too loose.
• Jacket sleeves should fall 1/2 inch below your wrist.
The Blouse
• Blouses should be updated, but neither low cut nor revealing.
• Do not wear a camisole or see through blouse. (Your company's product/service should get the attention, not you!)
• Blouse should include sleeves.
Shoes and Hose
• Shoes should be pumps, flats or sling backs, do not wear shoes with open toes.
• Shoe color should be darker than your suit.
• Heels should be 1-2 inches; higher heels should be saved for after hours.
• Hosiery should be worn with a skirt to match your skin tone or suit.
Accessories
• Jewelry should be kept minimal and conservative.
Make-up and Grooming
• Makeup should be natural looking. People want to remember you, not your eye shadow.
• Nails should be clean and manicured.
• Nail polish and lip color should not be too trendy or bright.
• Hair should be clean, neat in appearance.
• Perfume should be applied very lightly if at all. A good soap and antiperspirant will allow people to remember you not your scent.
Women – Business Casual Attire
• Pantsuits are a wise choice for a business casual event.
• A classic sheath paired with a cardigan or a blazer in the same fabric and color is a good choice.
• Crisp, cotton shirts added to dress pants, khakis, or skirts make a casual outfit.
• Cardigan twin sets are also an easy way to present a more casual look while still looking professional.
• Jewelry, scarves and other accessories will add a polished finish to an outfit. Remember though, "less is more."
• Shoes should still be well-made and close-toed - no extremes. Flats are appropriate, platform slides are not.
• Hose are not essential for business casual, but recommended for shorter skirts.
• Knee highs or trouser socks are suggested with pants.
ALL - Unacceptable Attire
• Jeans or denim pants, shorts
• Leggings/stretch/stirrup/sweat pants, spandex or other form fitting pants
• Athletic shoes, hiking boots, sandals, slides or flip flops
• Flannel shirts or T-shirts
• Hats/caps
Checklist for Putting it All Together
Regardless of the occasion, dressing appropriately is one of the easiest ways to impress the potential employer.
ô€€¹ Hair: Should be clean and neat.
ô€€¹ Shoes: Should be in polished condition. Make sure heels are not worn.
ô€€¹ Details: No missing buttons, no lint; and don’t forget to remove external tags and tacking stitches from new clothes.
ô€€¹ Hands: Clean fingernails.
ô€€¹ Fit: Clothes should be clean, neatly pressed, and fit properly, neither tight nor baggy.
ô€€¹ Smell: Perfume or cologne should be used sparingly or not at all. No odors on clothes. Don't smell like smoke.
Trust your instinct when picking your business attire.
If you have to ask the question, "Can I wear this?" the answer should always be "no."
Friday, April 04, 2008
10 reasons why IIM Fees hike is justified!
Recently there has been a lot of discussion and rants on the IIM Fee hike. I strongly feel its a welcome step and IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kolkatta and for that matter IITs fees hike is justified. Here are 10 reasons why this fee hike is justified?
- Best Academicians cultivate Best Businessmen
The best professors across the continent can be brought in and retained with better salaries and they will contribute in creation of best businessmen of future! - Infrastructure expansion: Why do you pay higher for your home?
Better infrastructre, more facilities, more research and more credible and authentic content can be created for the benefit of society. The inflation has increased, the prices across the board in Bangalore have risen, why on earth do you pay higher prices to buy Home? If you can expect higher salaries then this hike is definitely justified. - Fewer Subsidies means more capital for primary and secondary education.
Govt. can spend on subsidising PG education and help these institutions become autonomous. More fee will bring in more funds and this can help the government inturn to focus more on primary and secondary education. - Education loans are more freely available.
Today more banks are willing to give education loans, also government has urged to reduce interest rates for education loans. So it's much easier to get loans and pursue education. - Scholarships for needy.
The director of IIM B Pankaj Chandra has also announced the increase in the shcolarship package to 8 Cr to help the needy pay their fees. So it will be much easier for people. - Brand building for IIMs – Expansion to Newer Geos + More revenue.
The Brand IIM can be taken to the other parts of world now and you can see more IIMs opening in other parts of world expanding the IIMs realm and brand and bringing more revenue. - Competing in the International arena.
It will also help in branding exercise of IIMs to take them into multicultureal multi geographic arena. You can see IIMs focussing on expanding it's presence on the international scenario. - Building India Inc education brand as most premium.
Premium brands need advertising and branding not just in a local region but also in international scene. SO obviously increased funds will help in brand building exercises and taking IIMs brand to the next level in turn making BRAND INDIA INC. visible worldwide! - New programs can be started and better learned society.
Newer niche programs can be started, more industry can be supported with better and newer skills. More industry partnerships can be built! This will lead to a better, knowledgable, learned society that India has. - More industry interaction can be brought in.
More industry programs means more industrial revenue. Also more industries will participate in funding and expanding IIM brand to various parts of India and aborad.
This increase in fee has a overall positive effect. Student and aspirants have to be educated more by IIMs and similar society associations on why it's important and how it will be beneficial in turn for them only!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Tradition Marketer? Online media can help your ROI tracking.
My online media evangelism is making me more generous towards the traditional media marketers or you can call it’s a sympathy gesture to myself (for the time I spent in traditional media). Here is a piece of advice for the traditional media marketers to track the ROIs from the offline media campaigns (which is a hard nut to crack otherwise).
Let’s say you are running TV, Radio, Print ads for certain campaign and you wish to track your ROI. Neither this is a fool proof method nor will it give you an accurate tracking, however, it can act as an add-on to your regular media tracking tricks. Assumption made here is that you would be using some call to action in your campaign and tracking it back to your results.
Try to use a “keyword” or a “buzzword” in your campaign as a call to action. Now, much before launching your offline campaign, you can look at the search engine volumes for the specific keyword which you are going to use in your offline campaign.
Identify some popular search engines in your region and start running a fixed time SEM campaign. Buy out certain keywords that you are going to use in your offline campaign and you expect that those keywords will be searched by people in search engines.
Now bid for those keywords and keep a close track on the search engine traffic coming to your website through those keywords before launching the offline campaign. This is the base setup which will work as the platform for you.
Once you start your offline campaign monitor the post campaign increase in search volumes of your keywords and the increased traffic to your website. Determine whether your offline media has a positive ROI impact by evaluating whether this incremental search traffic got you additional searches, enquiries, sales, etc.
Was it worth investment on your offline media initiatives? In case your business is not at all online, and you know, for example, that majority of your business is done by phone or in stores; you could look at increased search volumes when calculating ROI.
This is how Online Media and search engines can help you measure your ROI and track the results a little better than what you might be doing now!
Let’s say you are running TV, Radio, Print ads for certain campaign and you wish to track your ROI. Neither this is a fool proof method nor will it give you an accurate tracking, however, it can act as an add-on to your regular media tracking tricks. Assumption made here is that you would be using some call to action in your campaign and tracking it back to your results.
Try to use a “keyword” or a “buzzword” in your campaign as a call to action. Now, much before launching your offline campaign, you can look at the search engine volumes for the specific keyword which you are going to use in your offline campaign.
Identify some popular search engines in your region and start running a fixed time SEM campaign. Buy out certain keywords that you are going to use in your offline campaign and you expect that those keywords will be searched by people in search engines.
Now bid for those keywords and keep a close track on the search engine traffic coming to your website through those keywords before launching the offline campaign. This is the base setup which will work as the platform for you.
Once you start your offline campaign monitor the post campaign increase in search volumes of your keywords and the increased traffic to your website. Determine whether your offline media has a positive ROI impact by evaluating whether this incremental search traffic got you additional searches, enquiries, sales, etc.
Was it worth investment on your offline media initiatives? In case your business is not at all online, and you know, for example, that majority of your business is done by phone or in stores; you could look at increased search volumes when calculating ROI.
This is how Online Media and search engines can help you measure your ROI and track the results a little better than what you might be doing now!
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