The technology landscape is fast changing and a lot more is possible today at lower price points than what decision makers expect. TASMAC & Businessgyan brought together experts who are close to technology to give us a peep into what is possible today with technology and how this can be usefully applied in various Businesses.

The Panelists were:

Jayaprakash - General Manager
HCL Info Systems LTD.

S R Prakash - Director
Affordable Business Solutions Pvt Ltd.,

Excerpts of the discussion.

Technology has gone through a transition phase. Ram Kumar said, "Technology has made it easier for small companies to survive better." He was working on a software project and was able to use collaboration management, to get students in engineering collages to work on it.  "When I was in college, I had to go to the companies to get practical experience, but today the industry interface is happening at the college campuses itself."

Earlier solutions were available only after months of waiting but today products are available off the shelf, takes only 2 weeks of efforts to customize it to suit client's requirements. A small company can afford to use open source technology and churn out products very easily.

 
Prakash added that technology has made everything seamless, reducing the overall time of doing things. "It is a major displacement, in the entire lifestyle." A PC or a mobile phone is not a luxury anymore.

Prakash cautioned that "Many organizations, whether small or big have one misconception that the moment you place IT, all problems are solved. Human interface has not changed. The physical process of doing things has to be improved, then technology will help; if they are not in tune with the consumer or market place, you will have problems. The fundamentals of business remain the same understand your customers and provide what he wants. "

Jayaprakash shared his experiences "The real advantage of technology has been enjoyed by the education sector." Earlier a projector was not affordable, today colleges and schools comfortably use video conferencing. Complex topics are now explained through technology."

Ram Kumar said that he was involved in software for E-ticketing. In 3 months the system was up and running. A portal offers online booking of bus tickets. Today, even in the manufacturing industry, everything is integrated. The technology in IT has reached such a level that you need to integrate a few components and you have a solution ready to use in any kind of infrastructure you want.

Have hardware prices reduced as fast as software?

Prakash replied . "India is price sensitive" Prakash adds saying that India is huge consumer market, where consumption continues to grow. "India is competitive in terms of hardware prices. Price points in India are determined by the huge opportunity. Growth in sales of hardware is high, running into double digits, the sector grew by 16% growth last year, whereas internationally it is a mere 4-5%. A laser printer was available for about 50,000 rupees 2 years back, today is 9000 rupees only. In the case of mobiles Nokia is trying to bring down costs by setting up a plant in Chennai. Industries have started adapting technology thanks to hardware, which is an integral part of technology. I know of an NGO (Non Government Organization) which uses inexpensive hand-helds today to capture data on pre-school children. It is a clear example of mobile technology which is affordable and being used very usefully.

Jayprakash claimed that in most of the hardware made today, ¾ th of the cost is due to the software. One cannot clearly differentiate between the two. Every hardware has inbuilt software.

Certain people are not adapted to technology, thus you have on site HR problems. How can this problem be addressed?

"Technology has to make one feel good; so it is important for companies to understand customers' needs better like Microsoft does." counseled Prakash.  The most important factor is to make things easier for the customer continuously.

How will technology benefit the SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises)?

Answering this Prakash said that Businesses are either headed by entrepreneurs who are technocrats or entrepreneurs who own family businesses. Their biggest issues are delegating work. Technology helps to counter lack of efficient manpower. When you have an integrated system like ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) it takes away the pressures from the manager. Implementing software is the simplest job but changing the physical process of doing things is difficult. Soon, the entire business process can be availed on a subscription model, where you pay as you use. You don't have to pay a big down payment. Google is also coming up with something like this. We ourselves use the Subscription model for our ERP platform, our customers like it because they don't have to invest in the IT department. Moreover, it is not their core competence, so they prefer to concentrate on their business.

How is the ROI (Return on Investment) of the ERPs justified?

Prakash said that in software, there are various stages, like the license cost, implementation cost, maintenance cost, online support cost, upgrade cost. Many people don't understand ROI when it comes to software and that's the biggest problem. We should educate them about the ROI. Because License cost can be depreciated, and license typically contributes to about 25% of the cost people sometimes prefer to buy a license and then go for subscription. Some people have this tendency to own things, its psychological and not rational; they prefer a license to a subscription model.

On being asked about their favourite gadgets and technologies, Jayprakash said, he uses the Nokia 9500, which is a one stop solution, as it can be used for making presentations, checking email, use internet on the move and also be used as a phone. It is broader, which enables typing, however it is slightly bulky to carry.

"The tool we are currently using is Webex." said Ramkumar. A person in US can send his presentation to our desktops; you need to make a small payment and it can be shared with anyone in the world provided you have a broadband Internet connection. Other tool we are using is project.net which is an online project management tool. So when I am away from Bangalore, I can still get my reports and updates online. We use these tools to increase productivity.

"Technology is just a tool, whether you want to use it for good or bad, is up to you." said Ramkumar. Laloo Prasad Yadav approached a software company saying that for train journeys he wanted to upgrade a person to a higher class ticket just 4 hours before the departure time.  This could be implemented in a month's time. It was possible as everything was computerized. This is a clear use of technology for the common man's benefit. When Chandrababu Naidu was the CM of Andhra Pradesh, he made all the land records online, this benefited a lot of people. However some uncouth people are using these online records to identify land which they can occupy in an unauthorized fashion.

Nowadays one feels paralyzed and helpless in the absence of computers and technology was clear. 

Compiled by Rohit Gupta

Issue BG66 Sept06

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