Thursday, 27 March 2014

Mentored Employees Learn Quickly And Effectively; Are Easily Retained

3/27/2014 12:17:00 pm BUSINESS, EDUCATION, JOBS, TECHNOLOGY No comments

Mentored Employees Learn Quickly And Effectively; Are Easily Retained

Employees perform efficiently when trained/mentored well

Vidur Gupta, director, Spectrum Talent Management, in conversation with TimesJobs.com, shares his views around why mentors play a crucial role in building an employee’s career and motivating him/her throughout.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Are good team leaders, also good mentors? Please comment.

Mentoring is an essential leadership skill. In addition to managing and motivating people, it’s also important that you can help others learn, grow and become more effective in their jobs. Good team leaders just don’t tell others what to do; they show them how to do it and why they should do it.

What impact does mentorship have on an employee’s performance?

Mentorship definitely helps improve employee productivity, especially for those who have entered a new position. Mentoring focuses on helping an individual acquire the skills necessary to do their job and possibly further their career development. Mentoring often leads to a more effective on-boarding and accelerated ability to work within a particular organisation’s structures and procedures; things that go beyond basic job knowledge. It has been seen that employees who experience mentoring are retained, learn more quickly and effectively.

These days a lot of organisations even opt for formal mentoring programmes for their employees.

5 things candidates can learn from their mentor at work.

To be modest; i.e. to acknowledge achievements and qualities of others
Positive outlook/optimism
Commitment/dedication
Fresh perspective/out-of-the-box thinking
- Emotional maturity
- Knowledge transfer

Without a mentor, what are the common ways of working on self- improvement?

Define your goals: Ask yourself – do you hope to broaden your business knowledge? Do you better understand the organisation’s culture; get some guidance on your career; develop specific skills?
Don’t limit yourself to one person: You can learn from many different people in many different ways. Remain open to developing learning relationships with a variety of colleagues.
Expand your knowledge: This may mean learning about an unfamiliar functions, such as finance or marketing; or it may mean getting a broader view of the organisation from someone at a higher level.
Own SWOT analysis
Try to take your genuine feedback from your boss/colleagues.
Time management

Do you think employees can become a better judge of performance by having a good mentor? Please explain.

Definitely, a good mentor can help the employee in providing a structured approach to review and analyse performance. Setting expectations, checking deviations and taking corrective measure can be done well in time.

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80% Candidates Prefer A Job They Like, Even If It Pays Less: TimesJobs.com Study

3/27/2014 12:14:00 pm BUSINESS, JOBS, TECHNOLOGY No comments

80% Candidates Prefer A Job They Like, Even If It Pays Less: TimesJobs.com Study

Employees who love their job are more productive than the others. Key corporate factors that get positively affected by happy employees include shareholder ROI, higher customer satisfaction levels, increased revenue/profitability

Nearly 80 per cent candidates have mentioned that they would rather have a job they like with less salary, than a job they don’t like but which pays well, revealed a TimesJobs.com study.

According to Lovleen Bhatia, co-founder and director, Edureka, giving each individual a sense of ‘we at our organisation’ makes a lot of difference to the overall performance and output. “We at Edureka make sure that our employees are always motivated and love the significant role they play as an individual professional.” He added that to do this the organisation has to offer a positive work environment and focus on individuals’ career advancement which is just the beginning of helping employees feel at home.

Instilling feeling of job satisfaction and happiness is not a one-off task; organisations have to initiate the process from the initial hiring stage. Aravind Sankaran, director of global marketing and sales (Far East), Marlabs Inc. elaborates on this…

The interview stage: While there may be exceptions to the rule, matching a job opening with a prospective employees’ interest and career path is foremost! Being candid about the company, its plans, culture and career options will ensure that the surprises are lessened as and when one takes up the role. This way, non-job disturbances will be minimal or eliminated.

The orientation stage: Every company has its own unique culture. Paying serious attention and investing time in ensuring that the employees fit into the organisational culture will help them to start enjoying the environment.

The mentorship stage: Having a serious mentor-mentee plan in organisations is important to ensure that expectations vis-à-vis actual performance is monitored and course corrections are done to ensure employee success. Also, red flags can be observed and necessary actions can be taken.

The incentivising stage: Points 1 through 3 will ensure that employees will proudly wear the brand on their sleeve and become brand ambassadors. Rewarding them for going that extra mile to promote the brand will make them more engaged and connected with the brand.

The continuous engagement stage: It goes without saying that from the time the employee joins till they leave; continuous engagement is a key tool to ensure that they love their company, job and environment. Most importantly, an alumnus promoting the brand betters its strength.

Over the years organisations have understood that if they want their employees to take risks, they have to give them permission to fail. “We don’t have a pink paper policy; we encourage employees to take up challenges and not to challenge their limits,” said Bhatia.

Involving employees in every major decision is crucial. Benefits such as clear and frequent communication on company happenings, individual and department direction, and big-picture company direction, make all the difference in employee happiness. “Companies should consider surveying their own workforce to gauge their satisfaction levels. Insights from employees can point employers in the right direction for shaping a more a positive and creative work environment, and for developing more formal career development programmes,” concluded Bhatia.

CBI may probe Cement Corporation’s

3/27/2014 12:12:00 pm BUSINESS No comments

CBI may probe Cement Corporation’s

NEW DELHI: The selection for the post of chief executive of the state-run Cement Corporation of India (CCI) has triggered a controversy with the Central Bureau of Investigation readying a probe into the issue.

Sources said the CBI has taken note of complaints and is likely to order a probe soon into the manner in which the list of candidates was prepared and the criteria for selection was allegedly changed to include some names at the last minute.

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) issued a list on March 11 with names of 15 candidates, who were shortlisted for the interview. After about a week, the PESB again released a list of 16 candidates, allegedly flouting its own guidelines on the upper limit on the number of candidates. In the second list an external candidate was added, without assigning any reason.The candidate who was seventh on the first list issued by the PESB, suddenly managed to move to the number one position in the second list. And, the only internal candidate was allegedly downgraded to the second position in the second list after being put on top of the league in the first list.

"Question arises as to why there is such a clamour to get the CMD's job at CCIL which is aBIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction) company," asked an official of the company, who did not wish to be identified. The state-run company is under the heavy industries ministry.

PESB issued a list on March 11 with names of 15 candidates shortlisted for the interview. After about a week, it again released a list of 16 candidates, allegedly flouting its own guidelines on the upper limit on the number of candidates.

Air India gets Rs 1,000 crore equity

3/27/2014 12:08:00 pm BUSINESS No comments

Air India gets Rs 1,000 crore equity

Cash-strapped Air India got a breather in the form of Rs 1,000-crore equity infusion from the government on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Cash-strapped Air India got a breather in the form of Rs 1,000-crore equity infusion from the government on Wednesday. The airline's unending financial stress had got worse as the Centre had so far given Rs 6,000 crore instead of the promised Rs 8,500 crore for the fiscal. As a result, AI had to bridge this gap by borrowing money from banks at 11%-12%, which increased its debt servicing burden.

Before Wednesday's infusion, the government had injected Rs 12,200 crore into AI and there was a shortfall in equity to the tune of Rs 3,574 crore — despite the airline meeting most of the milestone-linked equity targets — leading to a liquidity crunch. The airline's aircraft and working capital debt was Rs 26,033 crore and Rs 21,125 crore respectively on December 31, 2013. The airline is expected to lose Rs 3,990 crore this fiscal. "The money which we have received will go towards three pressing requirements — paying oil companies, airports and salaries. The vote on account has made a provision of Rs 5,500 crore for AI and the budget by the next government will decide our finances," said an official.

Both aviation ministry and AI top brass say AI will be one of the biggest headaches for the next government as they will have to decide — fast — how AI survives and in what form. "The airline faces tremendous uncertainty because of its precarious financial condition. While a lot of improvement has taken place, the bottom line is that AI still spends more than what it earns. Add to that the baggage of huge loan, it is going to be a jigsaw for the next government," said a source.

RIL, OIL bag two blocks each in Myanmar

3/27/2014 12:06:00 pm BUSINESS No comments

RIL, OIL bag two blocks each in Myanmar

NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries on Wednesday won two offshore exploration blocks in Myanmar, a development company sources said indicated a renewed overseas focus as its domestic exploration business continued to face rough weather over performance of showcase KG-D6 field and pricing of gas.

"RIL's participation is in line with its strategy of... expanding its international asset base by investing in regimes having attractive internationally competitive terms on offer. The company thus hopes to leverage its organizational capabilities and expertise to create value for the E&P (exploration and production) segment," the company said, announcing the Myanmar auction results.

State-run Oil India also won two concessions in Myanmar's latest round of exploration block auctions, the results of which were announced on Wednesday. Both Reliance and Oil India had separately bid for three blocks each. ONGC Videsh and gas utility GAIL, which have stake in two producing fields in that country, drew a blank. Reliance would be the fourth Indian company and second private firm to foray into Myanmar. The result could be seen as the proverbial silver lining for Reliance, since it comes a day after the Election Commission put on hold the government's June 2013 decision to usher in a new pricing regime from April 1. The new policy would have doubled the price for all domestic producers, including state-run companies.

The blocks given to Reliance have been identified as M17 and M18 in Moattama basin of Myanmar in water depths of up to 3,000 ft, called shallow water in industry parlance. Together, the two blocks encompass an area of 27,600 sq km. Oil India has won the YEB and M-14 blocks, also in shallow water.

Oil India bid in consortium of with Mercator Petroleum and Oilmax Energy. In all, 36 companies submitted 64 proposals for the 30 offshore blocks on offer.

International players Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Statoil and BG picked up most of the blocks on offer.

Airfares in India will be a dog-eat-dog game and we will be the biggest dog: AirAsia India CEO

3/27/2014 12:03:00 pm BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY No comments

Airfares in India will be a dog-eat-dog game and we will be the biggest dog: AirAsia India CEO

Mittu Chandilya, CEO of AirAsia's Indian operations, says he could take flight by end May.

One of the most successful low-fare airlines AirAsia is ready

to take to the skies in India. A day after its global CEO Tony Fernandes accused Indian carriers of ganging up to block its entry here, Mittu Chandilya, the 32-year-old CEO of the airline's Indian operations, says he could start flying by end May. In an interview to Rajesh Chandramouli, he details AirAsia's plans.

Excerpts:

Are you frustrated by this delay? (The original plan was to take off before December 2013.)

No. Frankly, a lot of people didn't expect us to come this far. I feel the government wants us here, but not our competition. Again, which competitor wants another competitor? I see their point of view. I also see the ferocity with which they have come at us. It shows that we mean what we say. We are here to change Indian aviation. When they are coming with that kind of ferocity, we will not disappoint them.

SpiceJet, Indigo and Jet Airways announced lower fares a few weeks ago. Your take?

Everything that is happening now is not really low fare. It is very gimmicky. Spot fares are done to spur demand. To be fair to our competitors, they have done it at the right time for themselves. They needed cash. The challenge for any airline is to see how to keep these fares consistently low. That is truly the low cost/low fare airline. That is what we are aiming to do. We will not have gimmicky fares and then hike up fares.

How cheaper can AirAsia fares be?

At fares of 4,500 announced by airlines in their flash sale, we will be at least 30% cheaper. It again depends on what routes you are going through, seasonality.

What is your initial business plan?

We will operate in every big city other than Mumbai and New Delhi. Mumbai and Delhi are attractive. Costs are not competitive and competition is a lot more. Plus, everybody is going there. Why would I want to go to an already crowded market, which is going to slow down my aircraft turnaround time? We will hit all other tier-I cities and some of the tier-II cities. We are trying to stay pretty much to the south. We will saturate the 12 to 16 southern airports first.

We will run an extremely streamlined operation. We don't have room for errors. Every plane, route, schedule - my room for error is just not there. With a low plane base, a single mistake can wipe out your entire month's profitability.

We are aiming for 8 to 10 planes. A plane a month is the plan. It is an aggressive plan. 16 cities are covered. I will be happy with 60% load factor, but what I am targeting is 110% loads. When we come in, the passenger will benefit. There will be a price war. The just ended ticket sale is pre-emptive. Everyone will start undercutting the other. It is a dog-eat-dog game. We have always turned out to be the biggest dog out there.

I am actually excited that they are bleeding. I can just come in and mop up the floor and take the business from them. This delay in getting approvals has helped us learn from our competitors.

The bleeding balance sheets of your competitors should worry you. Does it?

I am actually excited that they are bleeding. I can just come in and mop up the floor and take the business from them. This delay in getting approvals has helped us learn from our competitors.

What have you learnt from your competitors?

Indigo does a fantastic job of sale and lease back of their planes. They do a good job of maintaining their assets. They dispose off their assets in six years and turn that into profit. They get new assets and maintain them well. They are good in cash management. They can be much better on operational issues, vendor issues etc.

SpiceJet tried to deviate from one fleet type to two to hit tier-II cities. We will never do that. Individually their fleet was efficient, but when you put it together, one pulls the other down. The way the leases are worked out also shows a lot of work needs to be done.

Jet formed a beautiful airline. They came in when Air India was monopoly. It is difficult to learn anything from them as their structure is very different from ours. They spend so much time in training their crew.

What is your view on the Tata-SIA airline?

In India, there is no difference between full service airline and low cost ones. Fares are not different, aircraft are not different. When they come here, they will be another competitor. Our board is entirely different. We don't talk to them at all. That way, its healthy. I am a competitive guy. I believe in win and destroy. There is nothing like win-win situation, unless you top it with an agreement. Here, there is no agreement.

'Moto G sales ramp up in India was one of the fastest in world'

3/27/2014 11:10:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

'Moto G sales ramp up in India was one of the fastest in world'

Motorola Mobility says the ramp up of Moto G sales in India was one of the fastest in the world.

BANGALORE: Motorola Mobility says the ramp up of Moto G sales in India was one of the fastest in the world.

"Our initial plan was aggressive, but what actually happened blew out all our expectations. Moto G has been a phenomenal success for us in India," the company's head of Europe, Apac, Middle East & Africa, Magnus Ahlqvist, told TOI on a visit to Bangalore on Wednesday.

He declined to state specific sales figures. Asked if Moto G customers were mostly those who would otherwise have bought Indian brands like Micromax or Karbonn, Ahlqvist said he was yet to do any detailed analysis, but anecdotal evidence suggested that most customers were coming from other international brands. "Lot of people are saying they were thinking of buying a Rs 20,000 phone, but found in Moto G a better phone at a lower price (it's sold between Rs 12,500 and Rs 14,000). Globally too, it's mostly Apple and Samsung customers who are moving to us," he said.

Moto G was launched globally in November last year, and was introduced in India in early February. It was Motorola Mobility's first phone after the transformation it underwent after it was acquired by Google (Google recently sold it to Lenovo, but that transaction is yet to be approved by regulatory authorities in different regions).

Ahlqvist attributed Moto G's success to Motorola focusing on giving a "clean Android experience" and a focus on what "really, really matters to customers". He said customers want great display, a good build, great design, and they don't want to be stranded in terms of software one year down. "We did not clutter Android with a lot of things on top of it, and we provided all of these things that customers want at a great price point," he said.

Asked about customer disappointment with the low resolution (5MP) rear camera, Ahlqvist said the company had to do some balancing (in order to meet the price point). "But we are looking at feedback, looking at how we can improve the product. We are constantly putting out improvements to specific apps; we are not waiting for the next major maintenance release. Since launch we have already made some 30-35 improvements, including a slide bar in gallery display," he said.

He noted that there were some 9,800 reviews on Flipkart (the sole seller of Motorola Mobility products in India) and the average rating was about 4.6 (on 5). "The complaints are mostly about there not being enough stock," he said.

Ahlqvist said the decision to go solely with an ecommerce player to sell its phones also proved to be hugely successful, and there was no plan to change that model in the foreseeable future. "We were doing this for the first time in the world (to go with a single seller and that too an online seller). Even for Flipkart it was a big decision, as they were also doing it for the first time. We had no idea it would become so successful," he said.

Flipkart enabled Motorola to quickly reach remote locations in India. And where customers complained that Flipkart was not serving them in certain locations, Flipkart expanded to those areas. "The customers in India are really educated and well informed. They are paying attention to what Amazon customers are saying in other countries, what bloggers around the world are saying," he said.

Asked if he anticipated any changes following Lenovo's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, he said he believed Lenovo would retain it as a separate brand and take forward the essence of the changes brought under Google, which was to reduce complexity, have fewer products, but ensure those products make a real difference. "Lenovo can drive scale and global presence. Smartphone manufacturing will require PC manufacturing like capabilities in future, and that's a strength Lenovo will bring," he said.

Asked about the Moto X, a higher end smartphone that has just been launched at Rs 24,000, Ahlqvist said the initial feedback has been very positive. "We have combined simplicity with some great functionality. For instance, you can do a lot of operations without touching the phone, by simply speaking out," he said
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Facebook to buy virtual reality firm Oculus for $2bn

3/27/2014 11:07:00 am BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY No comments

Facebook to buy virtual reality firm Oculus for $2bn

The TOI tried Oculus Rift, a prototype virtual reality headset, at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January and found it to be an impressive piece of engineering that could transform video gaming. (TOI photo by Javed Anwer)

NEW DELHI: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is definitely not finished with his shopping. Barely a month after Facebook spent $19 billion on WhatsApp, the company on Wednesday announced that it was buying Oculus VR, a firm that was working on a virtual reality headset for video gamers.

For Oculus, Facebook is forking out around $2 billion. According to the company, "this includes $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock."

"I'm excited to announce that we've agreed to acquire Oculus VR, the leader in virtual reality technology," Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook. "Virtual reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the internet was also once a dream, and so were computers and smartphones. The future is coming and we have a chance to build it together. I can't wait to start working with the whole team at Oculus to bring this future to the world, and to unlock new worlds for all of us."

While Oculus VR has not yet shipped any product, for the last one and half years it has shown several prototypes that a video gamer can wear to change his or her field of view into a virtual 3D environment. The TOI tried Oculus Rift, a prototype virtual reality headset, at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January and found it to be an impressive piece of engineering that could transform video gaming. Gamers wearing Rift do not see the gaming screen. Instead they see a virtual world made of 3D objects. Essentially, this gives the gamers a feeling that they are inside the game.

While many companies have tried to create virtual gaming environment to make video gaming more immersive, until now only Oculus has come close to provide a solution that works and is viable.

For now it is not clear how Facebook, which is not strictly a gaming company and neither has any known gaming-specific plans, will use Oculus technology. Zuckerberg in his post was vague on why his company was buying the maker of a virtual reality headset.

"Oculus's mission is to enable you to experience the impossible. Their technology opens up the possibility of completely new kinds of experiences," Zuckerberg wrote. "Immersive gaming will be the first, and Oculus already has big plans here that won't be changing and we hope to accelerate. We're going to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games. Oculus will continue operating independently within Facebook to achieve this."

He added, "But this is just the start. After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face — just by putting on goggles in your home."

Oculus VR started working on its virtual reality headset in 2012. While it started small, the company's idea of how virtual reality should be done has steadily gained pace. The prototypes of virtual reality headsets the company created have been received well among game developers. Last year, John Carmack, an influential game developer who single-handedly created the first-person shooter genre with his iconic Doom game in early 1990s, left the company — Id Software — that he founded and joined Oculus as chief technology officer.

Zuckerberg hints that he does not consider Oculus as something that is strictly meant for gaming. Instead, he believes the virtual reality is the next technology platform. "Mobile is the platform of today, and now we're also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow," said Zuckerberg. "Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate."

Other companies are also working to create gadgets that can bring virtual reality to gamers. Sony recently announced Project Morpheus, a headset similar to Oculus Rift that will give PS4 gamers more intense gaming experience
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'Dendroid' virus targeting Android phones in India

3/27/2014 11:05:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

'Dendroid' virus targeting Android phones in India

Indian cybersecurity sleuths have alerted users of Android smartphone about the malicious activities of a virus called 'Dendroid'.

NEW DELHI: Indian cybersecurity sleuths have alerted users of Android smartphone about the malicious activities of a tricky virus called 'Dendroid' whose infection could "completely compromise" their personal phone device.

The virus of the deadly 'Trojan' family, once activated, could change the command and control server of a user's personal Android phone and intercept private SMSes coming in or going out.

"It has been reported that a malicious toolkit called Dendroid is being used to create trojanised applications that infects Android-based smartphones. The malware is created by modifying the required permissions by any clean APK (Android Application Package) with Dendroid RAT functionality that allows detailed management of the infected devices," the Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) said in its latest advisory to Android phone users in the country.

The CERT-In is the nodal agency to combat hacking, phishing and to fortify security-related defences of the Indian Internet domain.

Security experts say the virus is street-smart because it has a striking resemblance to the name Android.

The agency said upon installation of this malicious application, a remote attacker could "completely compromise the affected Android-based smartphone and could control it remotely".

The virus can perform a number of malicious activities. "It can change the command and control server, delete call logs, open web pages, dial any number, record calls and audio, SMS interception, upload images and video to remote location and open an application," the advisory said, categorising the virus as an "attack toolkit".

It said the malware infected "is controlled by the attacker through Dendroid Toolkit. Dendroid is a HTTP RAT, having a sophisticated PHP administration panel and an application APK binder package."

The agency has suggested some countermeasures to thwart the ill-attempts of the latest virus including keeping a check on the overall usage and any unsatisfactory rise in the user's mobile phone bill.

"Do not download and install applications from untrusted sources, install applications downloaded from reputed application market only, run a full system scan on device with mobile security solution or mobile antivirus solution, check for the permissions required by an application before installing,.

"Exercise caution while visiting trusted/untrusted sites for clicking links, install Android updates and patches as and when available from Android device vendors, users are advised to use device encryption or encrypting external SD card feature available with most of the Android OS," the agency said.

Android phone users, the CERT-In said, are also advised to keep an eye on data usage (application-wise usage also) and unusual increase in mobile bills and keep an eye on device battery usage (application-wise usage also).

"Avoid using unsecured and unknown Wi-Fi networks. There may be rogue Wi-Fi access points at public places used for distributing malicious applications and make a practice of taking regular backup of Android device," the advisory said
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In the name of science, Microsoft makes MS-DOS and Word source code public

3/27/2014 11:02:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

In the name of science, Microsoft makes MS-DOS and Word source code public

According to Microsoft, in 1980, IBM approached the company to work on a project codenamed “Chess”. Microsoft then licenced an operating system from Seattle Computer Products which would become the foundation for PC-DOS and MS-DOS.

NEW DELHI: Microsoft, a company that loves to keep its software secrets locked and hidden, has made source code of early versions of MS-DOS and MS Word available to public. The move is part of the company's collaboration with Computer History Museum, which is trying to get hold of software bits and programs that played iconic role in the growth of computers.

"MS-DOS and Word for Windows built the foundation for Microsoft's success in the technology industry," said Roy Levin, distinguished engineer and managing director, Microsoft Research. "By contributing these source codes to the Computer History Museum archives, Microsoft is making these historic systems from the early era of personal computing available to the community for historical and technical scholarship."

However, this doesn't mean Microsoft is releasing the source code of the latest versions of MS-DOS and Word. Microsoft is very specific that it is giving away only "MS-DOS 1.1 and 2.0 and Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1a" and that too only "to help future generations of technologists better understand the roots of personal computing".

"Version 1.1 fits an entire operating system - limited as it was - into only 12K bytes of memory, which is tiny compared to today's software," said Len Shustek, chairman of Computer History Museum.

According to Microsoft, in 1980, IBM approached the company to work on a project codenamed "Chess". Microsoft then licenced an operating system from Seattle Computer Products which would become the foundation for PC-DOS and MS-DOS.

The last version of MS-DOS was released in 2000. It is no longer available on consumer PCs but some companies or organizations running legacy programs still use it. Command Prompt, which is still part of Windows, looks like MS-DOS. But it is actually not an OS even though many users call it MS-DOS.

Even a controlled release of source code is a surprise move from Microsoft, which is known for keeping the code related to its software very secret.

Bill Gates, even though he was part of the hobbyist culture that gave birth to personal computers in 1970s, always held strong views against making the source code or a program available to public. Even in 1976, when many hobbyist ripped off his BASIC program and used it without buying it, he wrote a strongly-worded letter against the practice. "Most directly, the thing you do is theft," Gates wrote in his famous letter titled, "An Open Letter To Hobbyists".

If MS-DOS in early 1980s helped Microsoft take on the Apple, which technically had a better operating system, in the personal computer market, MS Word in the late 1980s helped the company win the enterprise market.

"The 1989 release of Word for Windows became a blockbuster for the company and within four years it was generating over half the revenue of the worldwide word-processing market. Word for Windows was a remarkable engineering and marketing achievement, and we are happy to provide its source code to the museum," Levin wrote on the official Microsoft blog
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Indian IT firms expect revenue boost from US

3/27/2014 10:58:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

Indian IT firms expect revenue boost from US

Indian technology outsourcing companies are expecting a big boost in revenues from their manufacturing clients.

BANGALORE: As more and more American manufacturing companies shift production to the US and reduce their reliance on low-cost labour in China, Indian technology outsourcing companies are expecting a big boost in revenues from their manufacturing clients.

The country's top software providers, which work with the world's largest manufacturing firms, believe these enterprises will spend more on building and maintaining new systems for technology and supply-chain as they move production to the US. "This is an extremely important opportunity as more manufacturing arrives in the US,"said Sanjay Jalona, senior vice -president and global head of manufacturing and engineering services at Infosys, India's No. 2 IT services provider.

A rising number of companies in the US have been rethinking production strategies and this would see them ramping up investments in technology, giving more work to software outsourcing companies such as Infosys, said Jalona, who counts Volkswagen AG's US business as a client. From Apple to General Electric, a growing number of US companies have been moving part or all of their production to the US for reasons including political pressure to bring jobs home. These companies say they no longer see China as a cheap manufacturing hub due to wage inflation and rising real-estate costs.

A survey by The Boston Consulting Group in September last year found that 21 per cent of a sample of 200 executives were relocating manufacturing from China to the US, while 54% said they were planning to do this. Nearly half of the respondents cited rising costs and proximity to end consumers as the primary reason.

GE moved production of some of its washing machines from a factory in China to Kentucky last year, and Apple has been expanding its manufacturing in the US after poor working conditions at Chinese factories drew global attention. Others who brought manufacturing to the US include home-appliance maker Whirlpool, mining equipment maker Caterpillar and auto-major Ford Motor.

Technology industry experts say moving production from China, where most of the IT work is outsourced to state-owned companies, to the US, where working with third-party software companies is a norm, may put pressure on Indian IT firms to hold down their prices.

"There will pressure to price low if the support was being provided from a lowcost location,"said Ben Trowbridge, founder and chairman of Alsbridge, a Texas-based outsourcing advisory firm. Aloke Palsikar, global manufacturing head at Tech Mahindra said two of his top manufacturing customers have started shifting some of their work to the US.

"The opportunities for Indian IT companies will be in areas of shop floor automation, high-end robotics and new generation technologies such as 3D printing, which will take the manufacturing to an entirely different level,"Palsikar said. "Another set of opportunities would be in area of recreating the supply chain back to the US which has been hitherto China centric.
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