Facebook launches Snapchat-rival Slingshot

The app is designed to appeal to fans of Snapchat and other messaging apps that let people send self-destructing messages to friends.

NEW YORK: Facebook is taking another stab at ephemeral mobile messaging with an app called Slingshot.

The app is designed to appeal to fans of Snapchat and other messaging apps that let people send self-destructing messages to friends.

Slingshot draws inevitable comparisons to Snapchat. Facebook even tried to buy Snapchat's maker - for $3 billion, according to published reports. But there are some key differences between the two.

Availability
Facebook began making Slingshot available Tuesday to US users, though the company accidentally released it last week in Apple's App Store, giving some vigilant Facebook watchers an early glimpse before the app was removed from the store. Slingshot works with both Apple and Android devices. A Facebook account isn't required.

How it works
After downloading, you can sign up either with a Facebook account or your mobile phone number. You add contacts based on your Facebook friends and phone contacts.

Opening the app takes you to its camera, which has a 'Shoot' button for taking a snapshot and a 'Selfie' button for, you guessed it, a selfie. After taking a photo, you can type a message of up to 140 characters on it or draw a picture. You can then send it to some or all of your Slingshot contacts.

Unlike Snapchat
On Snapchat, people can see a photo sent to them by tapping on it and holding their finger down until it disappears, always within a few seconds. On Slingshot, you can see a message only if you send one back. Until you do, you'll only see a pixilated preview of what's in store. Facebook product designer Joey Flynn says this gives it a "reciprocal, kind of community feel."

Unlike with Snapchat, there is no time limit on when a message disappears. Once you are done looking at it, you can flick it off to the side and it self-destructs, much the same way you'd reject a potential mate on Tinder's dating app.

Slingshot also allows reaction shots. This splits your screen in half and lets you snap a photo to return to the sender. In this case, the recipient won't have to send back a message to view your response.

Second take
Facebook had a previous Snapchat-like app called Poke, but it never caught on.

Slingshot is the second app to come out of Facebook's Creative Labs, an internal project designed to develop separate apps in a startup-like environment.

The first app from the lab was Paper, a social news reader that came out in February. The effort comes as Facebook seeks to broaden its reach beyond its 1.28 billion users by splintering off some of its functions to separate apps — and creating stand-alone apps for entirely new features and audiences.

Ten people have been working on Slingshot since January. It grew out of a December hackathon at Facebook where people were trying to figure out out "new ways of sharing," Flynn says.

Flynn says he thought of his two brothers, both of whom are "non-technical, they don't live in San Francisco." The three communicate on iMessage, the iPhone's built in-messaging system, and Flynn would often send photos and messages to his brothers to no response other than a 'Seen' receipt. Slingshot, he says, is intended to make sharing stuff more reciprocal.

The prospects

Even Facebook acknowledges that its Creative Labs apps are starting small and might not reach an audience that Facebook itself reaches. The idea is to offer something for everyone.

But with a plethora of social sharing apps out there, Slingshot faces fiery competition — not just from Snapchat but also Instagram, which Facebook owns, and WhatsApp, which Facebook is buying for $19 billion. The challenge will be to show how it's different.

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Binny and other freakish spells

© Getty Images

Sunil Joshi's 5/6 remains the best bowling against South Africa by any bowler in ODIs.

Stuart Binny produced a freakish spell against Bangladesh at Mirpur, where his match figures of 4.4-2-4-6 broke the 21-year old record of the best bowling figures by an Indian in ODIs. Following this sensational effort, gocricket.com looks at other freakish spells that have blown oppositions away in ODIs. Note: The criteria for the bowler in this case will be five wickets or more but less than or equal to 15 runs.

Sunil Joshi (10-6-6-5) v South Africa, Nairobi 1999

South Africa were completely confounded by Sunil Joshi's guile as he ripped through the middle order with his slow left-arm orthodox. His haul of 5/6 still remains the best bowling figures against South Africa by any bowler in ODIs as India notched up a comfortable eight-wicket win.

Courtney Walsh (4.3-3-1-5) v Sri Lanka, Sharjah 1986

It was a devastating display of bowling from Courtney Walsh as Sri Lanka were crushed in Sharjah. Chasing 249 for victory, Walsh ripped through the Sri Lankan lower-middle order as they collapsed from 45/2 to 55 all out, their lowest ever score in ODIs at that time. Out of Walsh's five wickets, four were bowled.

Shahid Afridi (9-3-12-7) v West Indies, Providence 2013

Shahid Afridi was known to be a maverick with the bat. However, on a warm July day in Providence, he put in a bowling display for the ages. He confounded the West Indies batsmen with his straight deliveries and legbreaks as he destroyed them with a haul of 7/12. West Indies were bowled out for 98, their lowest total at home in ODIs and this was the second best haul by a bowler in ODI history.

Ajantha Mendis (8-1-13-6) v India, Karachi 2008

In the final of the Asia Cup, India were confronted with a mystery spinner. They found that they would soon by mystified by Ajantha Mendis. For the first time in the modern era, the world saw the advent of the carrom ball as India were demolished by his accuracy. All Indian batsmen were confounded by his guile as his haul helped Sri Lanka retain the Asia Cup.

Glenn McGrath (7-4-15-7) v Namibia, Potchefstroom 2003

The Metronomic Master unfurled his brilliance and Namibia had no chance as they folded up for 45, which at that time was the second lowest total in World Cups. The 256-run margin of defeat was the highest ever in ODIs at that time.

Anil Kumble (6.1-2-12-6) v West Indies, Kolkata 1993

Eden Gardens witnessed a special demolition by Anil Kumble as he ripped through West Indies' batting to finish with 6/12, the best haul by an Indian bowler at that time. This gave India Hero Cup trophy as they won by 102 runs.

Imran Khan (10-2-14-6) v India, Sharjah 1985

It was a sensational display by Pakistan skipper Imran Khan as India folded up for 125. To his dismay though, the Indian bowlers came back strongly and dismissed Pakistan for 87. However, this haul remained Imran's best in ODIs.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 mini specs, photos leaked

SamMobile has released Samsung Galaxy S5 mini photos that show it will have the same dotted pattern on the back as its older sibling, but feature a smaller screen.

NEW DELHI: With Samsung Galaxy S5, S5 Active and K Zoom already launched, the tech community is now waiting for the launch of the Galaxy S5 mini. The smaller version of flagship model Galaxy S5 has been leaked several times earlier, but the latest leak gives a photo and detailed specifications of the smartphone. 

Technology website SamMobile has released a set of Samsung Galaxy S5 mini photos that show it will have the same dotted pattern on the back as its older sibling, but feature a smaller screen. The report also says that it will have top-end Galaxy S5 features like heart rate monitor and fingerprint sensor. 

Earlier reports have said that the mini variant of the Galaxy S5 will also be water-resistant, but the leaked photos show that the microUSB port will not be covered, making it vulnerable to damage in case it is dropped in water.


In terms of specifications, Galaxy S5 mini is said to have a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display with 720 resolution, 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos chipset, 1.5GB RAM, 8MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera, 16GB internal storage and microSD support. 

The report says that the Android 4.4 (KitKat)-powered Samsung Galaxy S5 mini will have TouchWiz UI on top, complete with new software features like Ultra Power Saving Mode, Private Mode, Kids Mode etc. 

Samsung is hosting an event on June 12, where it is expected to unveil Samsung Galaxy S5 Primeand a range of premium tablets. The word on the tech grapevine now is that Galaxy S5 mini may be announced at the same event as well
.

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Nikon Coolpix AW120 Review: Travelling Tough

If recent industry reports are to be believed, the market for point-and-shoot digital cameras is dwindling year-on-year. This isn't surprising giving the increasing popularity of smartphones, especially ones with more-than-capable cameras. The need of the hour for digital camera manufacturers is to come up with products that can do things smartphones can't, in terms of both, features and image quality.

Some manufacturers have tried to stand apart with rugged or a waterproof cameras which cater to people who enjoy travelling or are into extreme sports. Nikon, an industry veteran, has the Coolpix AW series of point-and-shoot cameras servicing this demographic. Apart from being waterproof, these cameras are also shockproof and could very well be great travel companions.

Nikon unveiled 16 new cameras in its 2014 Spring Series, one of which was the Coolpix AW120 - an upgrade to the AW110. The new model is almost identical to its predecessor except for a slight increase in heft, higher ISO sensitivity, and improved battery life. Let's dive right in (see what we did there?) and find out if the AW120 is worth buying.

Design
No one who has seen the Coolpix AW110 will notice much different with the design of the Coolpix AW120. It has the same toughened plastic enclosure with a protruding lens in the top right corner with the flash to its right. We received the camouflage edition for review, but it It is also available in red, black and blue. The Coolpix AW120 weighs around 213g including the battery and memory card. The problem with the weight is that the camera becomes slightly unwieldy to use with one hand.

A perforated black strip runs around the edges of the camera . On the top are the power and shutter release buttons. The shutter release is ever-so-slightly raised, making it easy to locate, and its tactile feedback is good too. The eyelets for a strap are in the upper right and left corners. The left edge has buttons for the Map and Action functions.

The right edge is probably the most important surface of the camera since this is where you'll find the waterproof cover which protects the battery chamber, memory card slot, Micro-HDMI port and Micro-USB port. This cover has a unique latching mechanism that we found difficult to figure out initially, but got used to later. On the bottom is the tripod socket. One handy feature is that you can charge the AW120's battery just by plugging in a Micro-USB charger; you don't have to take the battery out and use a separate sled.

The back of the camera features a 3-inch OLED monitor. The zoom control to its right is just a bit too small in our opinion, and its mechanism is rather awkward to use. A video record button is right next to it. There are four buttons for functions such as pulling up the scene modes, reviewing pictures, showing the menu, and deleting photos. The four-way navigation controls double up as shortcuts to the self-timer, macro mode, flash options, and exposure selection. All these buttons are rather small and felt a little uncomfortable to use during our time with the camera. Another irritating problem was a slight rattling sound every time we shook the camera, which made us a bit wary of the build quality.

Features and specifications
The Coolpix AW120 is waterproof up to 18m and also freezeproof up to -10 degrees Centigrade. In the sweltering heat of Mumbai there was no way we could test if the camera was freezeproof, but we did dunk it in a bucket of water. The Coolpix AW120 worked flawlessly under water and managed to capture just fine. Moreover, the Coolpix AW120's internal components are shockproof, which means that it should be able to survive drops from a height of 2m. Reluctantly, we dropped it, and found that it didn't sustain even a single scratch. We have to give it two thumbs up in the ruggedness department.

The 16-megapixel Coolpix AW120 has a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, which is similar to the one in the Samsung Galaxy Camera - fairly basic for a digital camera. It is engineered to capture images in the light sensitivity range of ISO 125 to ISO 6400. The lens has a focal length of 4.3-21.5mm. The Coolpix AW120 has a wider aperture of f/2.8 compared to the AW110's f/3.9. In macro mode, this rugged camera can get as close as 1cm to a subject, which is pretty good. It can also capture full-HD (1080p) videos and up to 6.9 still frames per second in burst mode.

The 3-inch OLED screen has an anti-reflective coating which does increases legibility in sunlight. The screen is rather bright and even if it isn't as good as an electronic viewfinder, it at least comes close to showing you what the camera can actually capture.

The camera features built-in Wi-Fi to connect to Android and iOS devices. We tested this feature on both mobile OSes and it just didn't work. There is also a preloaded map of the world, and your GPS location data can be appended to image metadata, which worked fine. The Action button that we mentioned earlier brings up a menu of quick options that can be navigated by tilting the camera, which really doesn't work too well. Otherwise, the software on the camera is easy to navigate and fairly smooth too with no lag.

Performance
The camera took exactly a second to power on - a good number to boast about. It doesn't take too long to focus and capture images either. We recorded an average time of 51ms to capture images under good lighting conditions. In high-quality burst mode the Coolpix AW120 was able to take five images in 7 minutes, 33 seconds which is slightly on the higher side. 

Our ISO test revealed that noise started creeping in at ISO800. Take a look at the top left corner of the image to judge the image quality. The small black speck becomes indistinct at higher settings.

For all practical purposes we expect users to stick to auto settings but in case one wishes to experiment with ISO settings and low-light photography, we advise using a tripod. We used the auto mode - which, weirdly, is the mode that lets you play with all the available controls -  to shoot in low light and found that unless a tripod or a flat surface was used the camera failed to focus properly. Captured images had a yellow tinge to them. As expected, using the flash to create an artificial source of light adds a metallic effect to textures, which feels extremely unnatural. But the flash is really powerful and could light up a 300 sq.ft. room with ease.

There is absolutely no oversaturation in daylight shots, and colour reproduction is close to natural. This might put off some users who want flair in their photographs but we think that it is great for a point-and-shoot digital camera. On the flip side, green leaves on a tree tended to merge into each other, meaning the camera doesn't handle chromatic aberration to well. Moreover, we even noticed that the camera made it look like we were soft-focussing our subjects. 

Videos had natural colours and there was no discernible tearing, though the soft-focus problem was apparent here too. Thus, despite all the wonderful weather-proofing features, the Coolpix AW120 falls slightly short of 'good' in the picture quality department.

One area where the Coolpix AW120 shines is in macro mode. The picture clarity, colour reproduction and overall definition of textures were all really good. The battery is rated to last for 350 shots before dying and we noticed that this was roughly accurate. But please note that if you are using the Wi-Fi and GPS features it will lose charge faster. 

Verdict
Sports and travel enthusiasts who want a no-nonsense compact camera should give the Nikon Coolpix AW120 some serious consideration. Users with a Coolpix AW110 have no reason to spend money to update. Sporting a price tag of Rs. 17,950 (MRP), the Coolpix AW120 is decently priced for the features it offers. But there are some caveats - underwhelming images in low light, and a lack of fine detail even in daylight. You'll have to decide whether the Wi-Fi, GPS, ruggedness, and weatherproofing features are important enough to make it worth settling for less-than-ideal image quality.

Price: Rs. 17,950

Pros

• Truly rugged construction 
• Great macro performance 
• Good battery life 

Cons

• Below par low-light performance
• Added heft 

Ratings (Out of 5)

• Build/Design: 4
• Image Quality: 3
• Video: 3
• Battery Life: 4
• Value For money: 3.5
• Overall: 3.5

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Snapdeal Raises $100 Million Funding at $1 Billion Valuation

Homegrown e-commerce giant Snapdeal has raised $100 million (Rs. 590 crores approximately) in a new round of funding from Temasek, BlackRock Inc, Myriad, Premji Invest and Tybourne. The latest round of funding values the company at $1 billion (Rs. 5,900 crores approximately), WSJ's Digitsreported.

In February, the Delhi-based firm had raised about $133.7 million (about Rs. 830 crore) from its existing investor, eBay and others.

(Also see: Flipkart and Myntra to Merge This Week: Report )

"We manage our funds well and are well-capitalised. This round of funding was more to bring on new partners who can play an important role in the future of the company than just to raise funds," Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl told PTI, declining to comment on the total funds raised so far.

Snapdeal's existing investors include Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Intel Capital and Saama Capital.

"This round of funding is an endorsement of our differentiated strategy and progress as India's largest online marketplace. I am confident that these new partners will contribute to Snapdeal's long-term success," he said.

(Also see: As Amazon Looms, Indian E-Commerce Retailers Strike $400 Million in Deals)

Credit Suisse acted as Snapdeal's exclusive financial advisor and Indus Law acted as legal advisor for financing.

On business growth, Bahl said he is confident that the company would hit the $1 billion revenue mark this year.

"We have seen manifold growth and a lot of it is being driven by mobile. More than 50 percent of our orders are now coming through mobile phones. This year, we should hit the $1 billion milestone," he said.

(Also see: Snapdeal says 50 percent of its sales are through mobile)

The company, which is inspired by Chinese e-Commerce giant Alibaba's marketplace model, today connects over 30,000 sellers with buyers across the country.

"Some of our investors are also investors in Alibaba. We want to continue focusing on creating life changing experiences for the buyers as well as sellers through the Snapdeal ecosystem," Bahl said.

On acquiring firms with the cash on books, he said Snapdeal would look at inorganic growth with tech firms but stay away from e-commerce firms.

"It doesn't make sense for us to acquire another e-commerce firm since the industry is still in its nascent stages. It would destroy value for both companies. What we could look at is tech companies that can help enhance buyer and seller experience," he said without disclosing further details.

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Facebook App to Get Shazam-Style Audio Recognition for Music, Movies, and TV Shows

Facebook on Wednesday said its mobile application will be getting an ear for music, as well as for film or television show sound tracks.

A feature being added in coming weeks to Facebook in the US on smartphones or tablets powered byApple or Android software is intended to recognize songs, shows or movies based on listening, according to product manager Aryeh Selekman.

"When writing a status update - if you choose to turn the feature on - you'll have the option to use your phone's microphone to identify what song is playing or what show or movie is on TV," Selekmansaid in a blog post.

Once activated, the audio feature searches for titles of songs, shows or films matching verses, lines or sound tracks and then lets people add the information to Facebook posts, according to Selekman.

Music shared in a post using the technique will include the option of Facebook friends getting 30-second previews of songs.

Information added to posts about recognized TV shows will include which episode was being watched "so you can avoid spoilers," Selekman said

Publicis Group alliance
Facebook also said it had sealed a partnership with French advertising and public relations giant Publicis Group emphasizing image and video marketing at the leading social network and its smartphone imagery-sharing service Instagram.

"Our work with Publicis will center on bringing clients closer to our products, and creating new planning and measurement tools to make buying easier, more efficient, and ultimately prove out ROI," Facebook global agency director Patrick Harris said in an email response to an AFP inquiry.

Facebook-owned photo sharing service Instagram in March landed its first deal with a major ad agency.

The leading social network wouldn't disclose financial aspects of the alliance with Omnicom, but online reports indicated it could be worth as much as $100 million in ads from clients the agency represents.

Facebook has maintained that Instagram's advertising strategy will involve displaying a limited number of high-quality images or videos from brands that already have a strong presence at Instagram.

Instagram in November began displaying ads as Facebook moved to start making money from the smartphone photo sharing service it bought in a billion-dollar deal in early 2012.

Instagram's opening roster of advertisers included Adidas, Lexus, PayPal, Burberry and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

California-based Facebook is carefully adding magazine-quality photo ads to Instagram as it hopes to bring in revenue from the service without alienating users.

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Flipkart, Myntra Deal Likely to Be Announced on Thursday

Homegrown e-retailer Flipkart is likely to acquire a majority stake in online fashion retailer Myntra in what could be the biggest consolidation in India's e-commerce sector.

According to sources, the deal could be worth about Rs. 2,000 crore. The figure could not be independently verified. The transaction is likely to be announced on Thursday.

Myntra has sent invitations to the media for a conference in Bangalore tomorrow to announce a "strategic development" but did not divulge further details.

(Also see: Flipkart and Myntra to Merge This Week: Report)

The stake acquisition has been in the works for a few months now, with the final details being worked out in the past few weeks.

"We will be unable to comment on market speculation at this stage," a Flipkart spokesperson said.

India's e-commerce market has seen huge growth in the past few years as more people log on to the Internet to shop.

While apparel and electronics are bestsellers for most e-commerce firms, categories such as home decor and household items are also popular.

The industry, estimated to be worth about $3 billion (Rs. 17,700 crores approximately) currently, has firms such as Snapdeal, eBay and Amazon, which follow the marketplace model.

Flipkart started in 2007 as an online bookstore and now sells products across categories, including fashion and electronics. It now also sells white goods and furniture.

Led by increasing Internet penetration and youngsters shopping online, Flipkart's annualised sales crossed $1 billion (over Rs. 5,900 crore) a year ahead of target.

The company planned to reach the billion dollar mark for gross merchandise value by 2015.

It also operates under the marketplace model, which allows retailers to offer products on its platform.

Since its inception, the Bangalore-based firm founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal has raised over $500 million (Rs. 3,000 crores approximately) from investors including Naspers, Tiger Global, Accel Partners, Dragoneer, Morgan Stanley, Sofina and Vulcan Capital.

Last year, it raised $360 million (Rs. 2,100 crores) from private equity firms, one of the largest funding deals in the Indian e-commerce space.

Myntra sells products from over 650 brands like Nike, HRX by Hrithik Roshan, Biba and Steve Madden and clocked revenue of about Rs. 1,000 crore in the previous financial year.

It aims to double its revenue in this financial year as it expands its seller base and adds products.

Myntra has about 100 sellers on board and plans to increase this number to 1,000 by fiscal end.

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As onsite assignments decline, home’s the new world for techies

Software engineer Hisham (name changed to protect identity) was sent by Wipro on a two-year assignment to work ‘onsite’ at a client’s facility in France but was unexpectedly recalled 18 months into the stint.

He resigned from Wipro and joined a European firm because his Indian salary wasn’t enough to repay the loans he had taken based on the expectation that the lucrative onsite assignment would run its full course and there would be more to come.

“For many of us, who had taken loans back home and dreamt of a better lifestyle, things have come to a halt,” said the 28-year old, who is among the thousands of software workers for whom the ‘onsite dream’ is ending.

The promise of working onsite and being paid three or four times the India wage used to be a major draw for those looking to work at IT outsourcing companies. But that attraction is waning as developed markets such as the US and Europe reach saturation and companies move more work offshore to India. “Overseas work opportunities are not happening in the same proportion as earlier of the IT sector population,” said Akhilesh Tuteja, partner and head of the technology practice at consulting firm KPMG.

In the early days of the IT industry, the obsession to work at a client location was driven in part by the possibility of enabling a much better lifestyle in India. The IT dream grew with young engineers returning from onsite to buy a new house, a bigger car, and better living conditions.

“IT companies are becoming much larger so your chances of getting an overseas posting are that much lesser.” said Tuteja, observing that the difficulty in obtaining work visas in the US, increased local hiring and cost-cutting by companies are other reasons for the reduction in onsite assignments.

Infosys, India’s second-largest software provider, has been reducing the number of people it deploys at client facilities in the US and Europe, according to employees. The move is seen as part of chairman NR Narayana Murthy’s attempt to cut costs and improve profit margins after nearly two years of under performance.

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The best career moves of five senior executives

The turning point that planning is an essential part in one’s life needs no reiteration.

But how your career pans out after a point is more about the choices you make and less about abilities. Five senior executives share the defining moves in their careers:

Rajiv Anand, 48 President, retail banking, Axis Bank

Keep it Simple 

Director-category management, Amazon India I moved into my current job as the Head of the Retail Bank of Axis Bank a little over a year ago. This is a world quite unlike anything I have done so far in my career.

The size of the business is large both in terms of breadth and depth. A large distributionnetwork and a diverse set of customers, the affluent at one end of the spectrum and the unbanked at the other, bring a different level of complexity to the job.

Managing this on a day-today basis and at the same time positioning the bank’s services to serve the ever-changing needs of our customers is what makes my day enjoyable.

While I have had a successful career in the MF industry, I do believe my move into the current job has been the most dramatic one that I have made in my career. The most complex part of my job, however, and the most exciting is to make banking simple.

S Raghunandan, 48 CEO, Jyothy Laboratories

Versatility of Experience

The defining moment in my career was when I decided to move out of an MNC and join an Indian company way back in 2002. I worked with HLL for 9 years and this was absolutely brilliant in terms of grounding and learning. But I really got to implement, contribute and deliver strong business results when I joined Dabur India in 2002.

Having worked with Dabur, Paras and now with Jyothy, I have been fortunate to have played a major role in the turning around these companies. I joined these companies when they were just about professionalising the organisation and played a part in organisation building, talent development and creating a strong foundation for the business. The sheer versatility of experience has made me more confident about taking on stiff business challenges.

Building the International business for Dabur, joining Paras – a small organisation – and growing it at 40% CAGR for two years under private equity, selling the Paras business at 6X revenue to Reckitt, joining Jyothy labs and turning around a loss-making Henkel business and making the acquisition work are some of the defining moments in my career.

VS Parthasarathy, 50 CFO, Group CIO, EVP – Group M&A & member of the group executive board, Mahindra & Mahindra

Cut the Rope and Move Forward

At Xerox, I was a financial controller and CFO handling more than just Xerox India. Out of the blue came an offer to join a tractor organisation, the Mahindra Group. I am a finance controller and here was a role of HR transformation and it that had nothing to do with finance. So, that was the kind of career move I made.

One needs to have the courage to cut the rope at the right time and move forward. I did it when I moved from Xerox to M&M. During the first couple of months I was totally out of water.

It made me understand the importance of transformation, HR, and people and how big a role technology can play in a business role. These two facets, along with my business acumen and financial knowledge, then came into play and I said to myself, I can do any role well.

Samir Kumar, 42 Keep it Simple Director-category management, Amazon India

Mentoring Lessons

This was in early 2005. At the time, I was managing the front-end engineering team at Amazon in Seattle and I had only worked in technical roles. I was looking for a career change and had decided to quit and apply for an MBA in finance. At the time, our VP finance advised me to join his team and learn finance on the job rather than joining a B-school. For me, that proved to be one of the best advices because I worked in finance operations for two years and got extensive insights about how the business worked right from reading balance sheets to managing cost-centres in a working environment.

There was another major event. In late 2009, Amazon gave me a rare opportunity to shadow Diego Piacentini, SVP, International Retail. A technical advisor (shadow) role enables an Amazon employee to sit on the bench and observe a senior leader and learn from him. While I was in the shadow role, I not only got to learn immensely from Diego but also from several senior leaders who work with Jeff Bezos directly and understand how they think about the business. Most importantly, I got a lot of important insights about emerging markets, especially China. Those two years of shadowing Diego prepared me to take on a much larger responsibility.

Sonali Dhawan, 38 Marketing Director, P&G India

Learn and Grow

At P&G, I was offered the responsibility of brand manager in my mid-twenties, for one of our regional hair care brands, which gave me a blank canvas to change the game.

Playing this leadership role across the Asean-Australasia-India markets accelerated my learning curve with the challenge of crafting the entire brand proposition from identifying target, developing campaigns to executing it across regions. It enabled me to grow and develop as a P&G marketer with the ability to make business decisions keeping the consumer at the core.

The other more recent opportunity that comes to mind is when I accepted the role of managing director for our pet care business across the Asia and Australasia-New Zealand markets.

Leading a multi-functional leadership team from diverse backgrounds representing eight different nationalities while simultaneously growing a business in a volatile external environment gave me a holistic business understanding, right from the plant to the store. This experience has taught me that in times of business challenge or success, a focus on people will drive change.This move led me to my current role.

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‘BFSI and manufacturing industry will be the largest adopters of cloud services’

Lovleen Bhatia, co-founder and director, Edureka believes that quality of solutions and post-sales service are major drivers to accelerate cloud adoption among SMEs in India…

What are the benefits of “living in the cloud?” The risks?

There are multiple benefits associated with ‘living in the cloud’ which are – low total cost of ownership and reduced on-going and life-cycle costs, an increased availability of resources and data backed by a robust delivery.

Apart from these incidental benefits of the cloud, it is an extremely scalable and flexible model which offers the benefit of pay-as-you-go. While it enables larger collaboration and community computing (which allows for the functioning of a mobile workforce), it also makes way for inexpensive disaster recovery options.

Risks involved are mostly in regard to privacy breaches, identity theft, technical glitches and failures like data corruption, lack of control, particularly with the implementation of BYOD and location centric issues (geographical limitations) to an extent. However, the stakeholders of the cloud market are optimistic of the fact that with the pace at which innovation is evolving; very soon these risks will be en passé.

How are mid-sized organizations adapting to cloud technology and what are the popular applications being put in cloud?

Small and medium-sized businesses are adapting to cloud to give a boost to their overall business growth, saving their time and allowing them time to expand and innovate. The quality of solutions and post-sales service are the major drivers to accelerate cloud adoption among SMEs in India. The total number of channel partners catering to SMEs in India has increased by nearly 10 – 15 percent from the previous year, while the number of cloud channel partners increased by approximately 25-30 percent. This translates to a significant shift in the number of providers offering cloud-based services solutions.

A very good instance would be to talk about small co-operative banks which are using cloud services for hosting core banking solutions which is in a way well setting an example for the SME segment that cloud is the way forward for growth and success.

What is the talent scenario in India for cloud computing?

After personal computers and internet, cloud computing is going to be the most powerful and transformative technology tool for the world. However, companies have started to echo hard about cultivating talents with the right skill set to manage this revolutionary change that the economy is planning to welcome. According to IDC, cloud computing will generate as much as 14 million new jobs worldwide by 2015 and India itself will have over 2 million new job opportunities. These would require personnel with special skills and set of knowledge which we are afraid is not as it will be demanded in future.

What are the roles that will be in demand in 2014?

Roles in demand would be: Cloud architects well versed with private and hybrid cloud models and niche cloud architects with expertise in niche offerings like salesforce.com, Amazon web services (AWS) etc. Experts believe that demand will swell especially for those who can cover all the 9 OSI layers, from Infra to SaaS. Besides, companies will also look for specific stack experts like AWS, Azure, Google or OpeStack, OpenShift, Stackato, VmWare, etc.

For lateral movement what kind of up skilling (certification, courses) is required to move to cloud computing?

Understanding of the basics of cloud computing is important for entering into this market. Professional courses which are at par with global standards are being offered by Indian players at one tenth the cost than the global counterparts and that too with added advantage of 24×7 live web support and post course completion, lifetime support on study materials.

What is the potential of cloud computing in India in the next 5 years?

Financial services and manufacturing industries are and will be the largest adopters of cloud services, having got on the bandwagon early. Communications and technology industries are also leveraging cloud computing in significant volumes and the public sector has begun to explore the potential of cloud services.

What are your current talent challenges?

Industry veterans have often been complaining about a dearth of skilled people, particularly in the fields of Big Data, Analytics and Hadoop. Interestingly, as most of the work centred in these domains is based on Cloud solutions, the lack of talent is drilling down to a broader base of people employed in the area of cloud capability.

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