Time and again this question pops in my head … Is India a Software Leader? .. Indians form a major chunk of the software world and hence one comes to expect that Indians would be working on the latest and the greatest in this field, but to me it seems that we start a year or so after people elsewhere did … we do more of following than leading.
In my past three years in this Industry I have worked with two major software corporations … EMC and SAP, both these companies have several “research and development” centers across the globe, including India, but to me it seems that more of the research happens elsewhere and more of the development happens in India. Judging from the opinions of others I have talked to, this observation seems to be true in many other multinationals as well. I am not placing any blame on the companies though, as I feel that the managements everywhere are trying their best to foster innovation and new ideas, I’m just citing my observation of the current state of affairs.
To start the discussion, do we even know what the latest and greatest is? … I was watching a show on CNBC TV 18 today where they were discussing Convergence of Media … the host of the show seemed so excited about the latest and greatest concept of Web 2.0 … I was amused to see that we are finally talking about it …. web 2.0 is just one example … most buzzwords on the web catch on in the Indian technology circuit a year or more after they actually became buzzwords else where … Web 2.0, AJAX, Semantic Web, RIA, Flex, AIR, Silverlight, User Generated Content … they all seem late to me. If this is true then how can we be leading when we don’t even know what the latest is?
Another reason why I am compelled to think that we are not leading is the lack of Startups. In comparison to elsewhere there seem to very few product based startups in India. At BarCamp last weekend I met Harish Kumar who is in the process of building a startup and he also agreed that the number of startups in India is low and very few companies are focusing on building new products.
Now what should we attribute all this to? There are of course many reasons but some that I have noticed are ….
Inherent nature of the Software Services Industry
Major portion of our industry here in India is based on the Services model. The functioning of this model requires its employees to be “Jacks of all trades” … they are used to moving between multiple projects, learning multiple technologies and platforms …. this adaptability is very hard to develop and very important to be successful as a services provider. On th flip side though it means that these developers never stick to one platform, never become passionate and hence never innovate. Their business is to provide whatever the customer asks for and they don’t need to worry about making the latest innovation. The service oriented firms have been making many process innovations … but the amount of product innovation is very less. These companies adopt technology when a market demand develops for it. It takes about a year form the time a technology/platform became a buzzword in US till the time it starts generating an outsourcing demand … hence my above observation, we use the latest and greatest a year after it was the latest and greatest … we don’t lead we follow.
A disconnect between education and industry
I also feel that our educational institutes have a lot of catching up to do, the syllabus being taught in most Engineering colleges lags a lot in comparison to where the industry is at. Barring a few of the top notch institutes there is very little research orientation in most engineering colleges. Another major problem is the quality of faculty (no disrespect intended) … college professors are paid a lot less than what the software industry can pay and hence most of the knowledgeable people prefer being in the industry over teaching, thus the knowledge of faculty in computer science departments of most engineering colleges is mediocre at best.
No Blogging Culture
Reading and writing Blogs is not popular culture among Indian software technologists. I can confidently say that less that 1% of the software developers in India have technology blogs, a slightly bigger number reads blogs. Most Indians go to the web to get information and not to share it .. look at Flex-India, hundreds come to ask questions… very few stay to answer. The lack of reading and writing blogs means that most people are not in touch is what is the latest and greatest and hence they are not contributing to it.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sony Playstation3 Arrives in India
Looking for a way to spice up the forthcoming weekend? Sony Computer Entertainment is presenting an Expo dedicated exclusively to Playstation, the last word on virtual gaming.
Playstation Experience – Entertainment like never before’ will be a two day long event held at Taj Land’s End on Saturday and Sunday, November 24th and 25th, 2007 from 11 am to 7 pm. It claims to be a perfect mix of gaming and entertainment along with the introduction to the latest star attraction – the Singstar Bollywood.The grand Expo will be spread over 10,000 square feet of space and seven gaming zones including the Sports Zone, Speed Zone, Action Zone, Shooting Range, Gaming Dungeon, Buzz World and the Sing Star Center Stage. Newly launched Sing Star Bollywood is an extension to the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system. The latest addition to the PlayStation2 family will be the prime focus of the event and have a gamut of activities built around it to peak the audience’s interest.
Playstation Experience – Entertainment like never before’ will be a two day long event held at Taj Land’s End on Saturday and Sunday, November 24th and 25th, 2007 from 11 am to 7 pm. It claims to be a perfect mix of gaming and entertainment along with the introduction to the latest star attraction – the Singstar Bollywood.The grand Expo will be spread over 10,000 square feet of space and seven gaming zones including the Sports Zone, Speed Zone, Action Zone, Shooting Range, Gaming Dungeon, Buzz World and the Sing Star Center Stage. Newly launched Sing Star Bollywood is an extension to the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system. The latest addition to the PlayStation2 family will be the prime focus of the event and have a gamut of activities built around it to peak the audience’s interest.
Sataym Computers
Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (NYSE:SAY), a leading global consulting and information technology services provider, announced today that it signed up as FIFA World Cup Sponsor and Official Information Technology (IT) Services Provider to the FIFA World Cup. The relationship covers two event cycles – the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 edition in Brazil – and each cycle includes the FIFA Confederation Cup tournament.
Satyam is one of four FIFA World Cup sponsors announced for the 2010 event and is the sponsor in the IT services category.
“Our sponsorship recognizes the sport’s universal appeal and its tradition of skill, speed, competitiveness and teamwork – attributes that reflect Satyam’s own qualities.” said B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman and founder of Satyam. “Over the last two decades Satyam has become an established global company and this sponsorship will serve to further increase Satyam’s global expansion and accelerate its growth,” he added.
“I am very proud that Satyam has chosen the FIFA World Cup for this historic move. Satyam’s commitment is a testimony to the immense appeal of FIFA as a superior marketing platform for transporting a brand far and wide around the world. It is a big advantage for all those involved in the events to have such an experienced IT service partner on board,” said FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter, who added: “We look forward to working with such a dedicated partner who shares our ideals and mission to use football as a tool to develop the game, touch the world and to build a better future.”
Each FIFA World Cup is the culmination of a two and a half year preliminary competition involving approximately 200 national teams. The 2006 FIFA World Cup broadcast more than 76,000 hours of coverage over 376 channels worldwide, cumulatively reaching more than 26 billion viewers - more than any other sports event in the world.
“This sponsorship represents a long-term, strategic investment by Satyam in its brand and significantly strengthens Satyam’s ability to reach markets across the globe and demonstrate our leading-edge technologies and practices,” said Hari Thalapalli, head of global marketing and communications for Satyam.
As the Official IT Services Provider to the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, Satyam, which already enjoys a business relationship with FIFA, will play a crucial role in developing the core IT event management system for FIFA and its Service Partner for IT, Accommodation and Hospitality - MATCH AG, as well as Local Organizing Committees during the next seven years. With a presence in more than 57 countries, Satyam can fully leverage its global expertise and therefore enable FIFA not only to deliver world-class events but also focus on generating a long-lasting legacy for the host countries through hiring and educating local event staff.
“We are pleased with the confidence that FIFA has placed in Satyam to deliver key, mission-critical business and technology services to the world’s foremost sporting event,” Thalapalli continued.
The sponsorship also builds on Satyam’s fast-growing presence in South Africa and across the region. Satyam’s business in South Africa doubled this past year, and the company will soon be opening offices in Ghana and Kenya. Satyam is a significant investor in South Africa and leads a skills development initiative for South Africans under the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) program. Currently, more than 80 South African students are enrolled in a year-long technical training program at the company’s campus in Hyderabad, India.
“Our involvement with Satyam has proven very strategic. We are encouraged by the shared vision between Satyam and the Republic of South Africa to invest in the people of South Africa,” said Her Excellency Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa. “This kind of partnership is one we wish to have with even more companies wishing to do successful business in South Africa. Satyam have realized that to lead, they have to invest in the most valuable resource: human resource. We congratulate Satyam on being named Official IT Services Provider to the FIFA World Cup and we are confident that Satyam will help deliver the games to the world,” Her Excellency added.
Satyam is one of four FIFA World Cup sponsors announced for the 2010 event and is the sponsor in the IT services category.
“Our sponsorship recognizes the sport’s universal appeal and its tradition of skill, speed, competitiveness and teamwork – attributes that reflect Satyam’s own qualities.” said B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman and founder of Satyam. “Over the last two decades Satyam has become an established global company and this sponsorship will serve to further increase Satyam’s global expansion and accelerate its growth,” he added.
“I am very proud that Satyam has chosen the FIFA World Cup for this historic move. Satyam’s commitment is a testimony to the immense appeal of FIFA as a superior marketing platform for transporting a brand far and wide around the world. It is a big advantage for all those involved in the events to have such an experienced IT service partner on board,” said FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter, who added: “We look forward to working with such a dedicated partner who shares our ideals and mission to use football as a tool to develop the game, touch the world and to build a better future.”
Each FIFA World Cup is the culmination of a two and a half year preliminary competition involving approximately 200 national teams. The 2006 FIFA World Cup broadcast more than 76,000 hours of coverage over 376 channels worldwide, cumulatively reaching more than 26 billion viewers - more than any other sports event in the world.
“This sponsorship represents a long-term, strategic investment by Satyam in its brand and significantly strengthens Satyam’s ability to reach markets across the globe and demonstrate our leading-edge technologies and practices,” said Hari Thalapalli, head of global marketing and communications for Satyam.
As the Official IT Services Provider to the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, Satyam, which already enjoys a business relationship with FIFA, will play a crucial role in developing the core IT event management system for FIFA and its Service Partner for IT, Accommodation and Hospitality - MATCH AG, as well as Local Organizing Committees during the next seven years. With a presence in more than 57 countries, Satyam can fully leverage its global expertise and therefore enable FIFA not only to deliver world-class events but also focus on generating a long-lasting legacy for the host countries through hiring and educating local event staff.
“We are pleased with the confidence that FIFA has placed in Satyam to deliver key, mission-critical business and technology services to the world’s foremost sporting event,” Thalapalli continued.
The sponsorship also builds on Satyam’s fast-growing presence in South Africa and across the region. Satyam’s business in South Africa doubled this past year, and the company will soon be opening offices in Ghana and Kenya. Satyam is a significant investor in South Africa and leads a skills development initiative for South Africans under the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) program. Currently, more than 80 South African students are enrolled in a year-long technical training program at the company’s campus in Hyderabad, India.
“Our involvement with Satyam has proven very strategic. We are encouraged by the shared vision between Satyam and the Republic of South Africa to invest in the people of South Africa,” said Her Excellency Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa. “This kind of partnership is one we wish to have with even more companies wishing to do successful business in South Africa. Satyam have realized that to lead, they have to invest in the most valuable resource: human resource. We congratulate Satyam on being named Official IT Services Provider to the FIFA World Cup and we are confident that Satyam will help deliver the games to the world,” Her Excellency added.
A Fascinating Report
The latest edition of the Economist has a fascinating report on technology in India and China, which is definitely worth checking out if you are interested in the development of the hi-tech industries in these two rapidly emerging global economic powerhouses.
The key argument the report’s author makes is that both countries should focus on driving continuous innovation through the diffusion of technology among their vast populations rather than spending huge amounts of money in attempts to achieve “big bang” inventions in order to leapfrog other economies:
“Besides, firms enjoy great scope for innovation, even if they do not march across the technological frontier. Indian and Chinese firms have a comparative advantage in finding new uses for existing technologies, and combining them in novel ways. This kind of “architectural innovation” may be scientifically modest, but it can nonetheless be commercially significant. This was, after all, how Japan's electronics firms came to dominate their market.
In making this kind of innovation, both countries can draw inspiration from their vast ranks of adventurous consumers, who may be a greater spur to technological creativity than any number of white coats or government exhortations. This is one reason why a nation's technological fortunes rest as much on its powers of adoption as they do on its powers of invention. The shallow penetration of computing in India and the retarded spread of 3G phones in China should trouble their policymakers as much as the number of patents filed or scientific papers cited.”
The key argument the report’s author makes is that both countries should focus on driving continuous innovation through the diffusion of technology among their vast populations rather than spending huge amounts of money in attempts to achieve “big bang” inventions in order to leapfrog other economies:
“Besides, firms enjoy great scope for innovation, even if they do not march across the technological frontier. Indian and Chinese firms have a comparative advantage in finding new uses for existing technologies, and combining them in novel ways. This kind of “architectural innovation” may be scientifically modest, but it can nonetheless be commercially significant. This was, after all, how Japan's electronics firms came to dominate their market.
In making this kind of innovation, both countries can draw inspiration from their vast ranks of adventurous consumers, who may be a greater spur to technological creativity than any number of white coats or government exhortations. This is one reason why a nation's technological fortunes rest as much on its powers of adoption as they do on its powers of invention. The shallow penetration of computing in India and the retarded spread of 3G phones in China should trouble their policymakers as much as the number of patents filed or scientific papers cited.”
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