The mobility of people in personal and professional life is no longer an advantage, it has become a necessity. Technology that was seen on science fictions and bond movies are available at an affordable price. And not only is the technology available, it is present in so many forms and types that elimination of options and selecting the best fit has become a decision on which specialists are consulted.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Fani Badayun - one of my favorites !!!
"Har nafas umr-e-guzashta ki hai mayyat ''fani''
zindagi naam hai mar mar ke jiye jane ka......"
zindagi naam hai mar mar ke jiye jane ka......"
Oh God, I`m coming !!!
One day at school, the topic of the day was, "What part of your body goes to Heaven first?"Little Johnny raised his hand. The teacher saw this and thought to herself, `Oh no! Johnny always says something bad - I`ll make sure he`s the last one I call on!`
So, instead the teacher calls on Susie.Susie says, "I think your brain goes to Heaven first because you have to be smart to go to Heaven."The teacher congratulated Susie, "That`s very good, Susie!"
Growing business opportunities in SMB segment
The Indian Small and Medium Business segment (SMB) is fast being recognized as a sea of opportunities and newer revenue base by different businesses. Industries are investing in research to understand the needs and buying behavior of businesses in this segment and then creating customized services and products especially modeled to target the requirements of this segment.
The Telecom and IT industry for example have started to believe that SMBs have evolved quiet a bit and are ready to outsource their telecom and IT requirements. Generally large Fortune 500 companies have large IT/ITES spending capability and are able to outsource their requirement. The same appeals now to SMBs as well. The SMB customers if not individually, then in groups can be aggregated to a scale which usually Fortune 500 companies provide. This is also critical when small IT companies grow from say, 1 server to 40 server. With the help of a Managed Service Provider, a company can upgrade without any hassle. And SMBs generally need to upgrade faster as far as their infrastructure is concerned.
There are examples of industry leaders realigning their business strategies to meet the needs and gain wining lead in capturing the SMB business segment.
AIRTEL with a focus on small and medium businesses (SMBs) of India, has entered into an alliance with Nortel to offer comprehensive telecom and networking solutions. Under this initiative, Airtel would provide comprehensive solutions - fixed line, mobile, broadband, long distance, and data and managed services to SMBs. Airtel now have a separate vertical exclusively for the SMB segment. They estimate that Indian SMBs spend over $15 million on IT and telecom requirements every year. Moreover, less than 20 per cent of SMBs that own PCs have access to high speed internet and there is only one telephone line for every 4.7 employees among SMBs in India. This was reason enough for them to roll out special solutions tailor-made for this segment.
MICROSOFT and Bharti Airtel, have also entered into a strategic partnership that will offer a range of software and services for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India. The partnership will begin by offering to Indian SMBs Microsoft Solutions for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration. It will also offer other hosted applications like CRM, Accounting, ERP, Unified Communications and select Microsoft ISV applications.
SAP INDIA is now looking for a greener pasture in India’s small and medium business (SMB) segment. The global major in enterprise wide business suite solutions plans to grow between 2.5-3 times more than the market in the SMB segment with its mySAP All-in-One solutions, according to Mr Srinivas Rao, director sales, small and midsize business. Out of the $50 million ERP software market in India, SMB segment’s contribution is $20 million which is about 40 per cent of the total market, according to industry sources.
NORTEL Networks, a global telecom and communications equipment maker, is bullish on the small and medium size business (SMB) segment in India. Recently it launched Business Communications Manager 50, which is an all-in-one platform for converged voice and data communications for SMBs. The BCM package is designed to give small businesses (with as few as three staff members) low-cost, advanced communication services. This includes Internet telephony and online multimedia applications. The package provides capabilities such as telephony, voice messaging and unified messaging (handling of voice, fax, and regular text messages as objects in a single mailbox that a user can access either with e-mail or by telephone), Internet Protocol (by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet) networking, Internet access, contact centres with skill-based routing and IP telephony.
ORACLE COPR. has its Accelerate partner solution factory is now running at full tilt, with the release of 49 new offerings in the past five months, bringing the total number to 90. Approximately 50 to 60 partners have developed these solutions under the Accelerate program, first introduced in October 2006 as a way of helping partners in Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle’s Network bring industry-focused solutions to small and medium businesses (SMBs) and local governments without cutting corners on functionality. According to Oracle, many of the participating partners have come out with multiple solutions, and there are 200 additional partners currently going through the review process. The group has constituted a research team to understand the need of small businesses and their cost patterns suitable for SMB player’s business model.
The examples are many. And with almost all major players in IT and Telecom business spending sizable amounts to expand their presence in the SMB segment the future looks bright for the businesses. Their interest woyld be better served, focus would force players to provide latest technology to SMB players at affordable rate and competition will sure help to keep price under check. With the support functions getting closer to state of the art solutions available to industry leaders and solutions becoming affordable to these players, their growth path in their core business will have one more reason to grow skyhigh and contribute to the success story of India.
The Telecom and IT industry for example have started to believe that SMBs have evolved quiet a bit and are ready to outsource their telecom and IT requirements. Generally large Fortune 500 companies have large IT/ITES spending capability and are able to outsource their requirement. The same appeals now to SMBs as well. The SMB customers if not individually, then in groups can be aggregated to a scale which usually Fortune 500 companies provide. This is also critical when small IT companies grow from say, 1 server to 40 server. With the help of a Managed Service Provider, a company can upgrade without any hassle. And SMBs generally need to upgrade faster as far as their infrastructure is concerned.
There are examples of industry leaders realigning their business strategies to meet the needs and gain wining lead in capturing the SMB business segment.
AIRTEL with a focus on small and medium businesses (SMBs) of India, has entered into an alliance with Nortel to offer comprehensive telecom and networking solutions. Under this initiative, Airtel would provide comprehensive solutions - fixed line, mobile, broadband, long distance, and data and managed services to SMBs. Airtel now have a separate vertical exclusively for the SMB segment. They estimate that Indian SMBs spend over $15 million on IT and telecom requirements every year. Moreover, less than 20 per cent of SMBs that own PCs have access to high speed internet and there is only one telephone line for every 4.7 employees among SMBs in India. This was reason enough for them to roll out special solutions tailor-made for this segment.
MICROSOFT and Bharti Airtel, have also entered into a strategic partnership that will offer a range of software and services for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India. The partnership will begin by offering to Indian SMBs Microsoft Solutions for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration. It will also offer other hosted applications like CRM, Accounting, ERP, Unified Communications and select Microsoft ISV applications.
SAP INDIA is now looking for a greener pasture in India’s small and medium business (SMB) segment. The global major in enterprise wide business suite solutions plans to grow between 2.5-3 times more than the market in the SMB segment with its mySAP All-in-One solutions, according to Mr Srinivas Rao, director sales, small and midsize business. Out of the $50 million ERP software market in India, SMB segment’s contribution is $20 million which is about 40 per cent of the total market, according to industry sources.
NORTEL Networks, a global telecom and communications equipment maker, is bullish on the small and medium size business (SMB) segment in India. Recently it launched Business Communications Manager 50, which is an all-in-one platform for converged voice and data communications for SMBs. The BCM package is designed to give small businesses (with as few as three staff members) low-cost, advanced communication services. This includes Internet telephony and online multimedia applications. The package provides capabilities such as telephony, voice messaging and unified messaging (handling of voice, fax, and regular text messages as objects in a single mailbox that a user can access either with e-mail or by telephone), Internet Protocol (by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet) networking, Internet access, contact centres with skill-based routing and IP telephony.
ORACLE COPR. has its Accelerate partner solution factory is now running at full tilt, with the release of 49 new offerings in the past five months, bringing the total number to 90. Approximately 50 to 60 partners have developed these solutions under the Accelerate program, first introduced in October 2006 as a way of helping partners in Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle’s Network bring industry-focused solutions to small and medium businesses (SMBs) and local governments without cutting corners on functionality. According to Oracle, many of the participating partners have come out with multiple solutions, and there are 200 additional partners currently going through the review process. The group has constituted a research team to understand the need of small businesses and their cost patterns suitable for SMB player’s business model.
The examples are many. And with almost all major players in IT and Telecom business spending sizable amounts to expand their presence in the SMB segment the future looks bright for the businesses. Their interest woyld be better served, focus would force players to provide latest technology to SMB players at affordable rate and competition will sure help to keep price under check. With the support functions getting closer to state of the art solutions available to industry leaders and solutions becoming affordable to these players, their growth path in their core business will have one more reason to grow skyhigh and contribute to the success story of India.
Pushed it in
Little Johnny comes home from catholic school with a black eye. His father sees it and says, "Johnny, how many times do I have to tell you not to fight with the other boys?""But Dad, it wasn`t my fault. We were all in church saying our prayers. We all stood up and my teacher in front of me had her dress in the crack of her butt. I reached over and pulled it out. That`s when she hit me!"
"Johnny," the father said. "You don`t do those kind of things to women."
Sure enough, the very next day Johnny came home with the other eye black and blue.Johnny`s father said, "Johnny, I thought we had a talk!"
"But Dad," Johnny said, "It wasn`t my fault. There we were in church saying our prayers. We all stood up and my teacher in front of us had her dress in the crack of her butt. Then Bob, who was sitting next to me saw it and he reached over and pulled it out. Now I know she doesn`t like this, so I pushed it back in!"
Software as a Service
Value-added resellers are worried that Software as a Service (SaaS) will cut into their bottom line. But by accepting that SaaS is here to stay, VARs can adapt to the trend and provide important services.
The advent of Software as a Service (SaaS) has created plenty of apprehension among value-added resellers, who are concerned about being "disintermediated" by this new generation of Web-based services that can be delivered directly by software vendors. For many years, VARs made a lucrative living deploying and maintaining complex applications and the system infrastructures that support them. In fact, many VARs generated fees that far exceeded the original software price over the lifetime of the application.
But that dynamic is changing. Research has shown that customers are increasingly interested in and are rapidly adopting SaaS solutions to meet their business needs. A survey of over 100 IT professionals worldwide found approximately one-third are already using SaaS solutions and another 40% are considering SaaS alternatives. Of those companies that are using SaaS solutions, more than 80% are happy with these Web-based applications, plan to increase use of SaaS, and would recommend SaaS to others.
So it's not surprising that VARs are afraid that SaaS will undercut their traditional business model. And while there is no question that SaaS poses a threat, there are still plenty of opportunities for VARs to play a useful and profitable role in this brave new world.
The advent of Software as a Service (SaaS) has created plenty of apprehension among value-added resellers, who are concerned about being "disintermediated" by this new generation of Web-based services that can be delivered directly by software vendors. For many years, VARs made a lucrative living deploying and maintaining complex applications and the system infrastructures that support them. In fact, many VARs generated fees that far exceeded the original software price over the lifetime of the application.
But that dynamic is changing. Research has shown that customers are increasingly interested in and are rapidly adopting SaaS solutions to meet their business needs. A survey of over 100 IT professionals worldwide found approximately one-third are already using SaaS solutions and another 40% are considering SaaS alternatives. Of those companies that are using SaaS solutions, more than 80% are happy with these Web-based applications, plan to increase use of SaaS, and would recommend SaaS to others.
So it's not surprising that VARs are afraid that SaaS will undercut their traditional business model. And while there is no question that SaaS poses a threat, there are still plenty of opportunities for VARs to play a useful and profitable role in this brave new world.
It's not always what it seems
A boy in the eigth grade comes home after school one day.
His mother notices that he`s got a big smile on his face.She asks, "Did anything special happen at school today?""Yes, Mom. I had sex with my English teacher!"
The mother is stunned. "You`re going to talk about this with your father when he gets home."Well, when dad comes home and hears the news he is pleased as punch. Beaming with pride, he walks over to his son and says, "Son, I hear you had sex with your English teacher.""That`s right, Dad.""Well, you became a man today - this is cause for celebration. Let`s head out for some ice cream, and then I`ll buy that new bike you`ve been asking for."
"That sounds great, Dad, but can I have a football instead? My ass is killing me."
His mother notices that he`s got a big smile on his face.She asks, "Did anything special happen at school today?""Yes, Mom. I had sex with my English teacher!"
The mother is stunned. "You`re going to talk about this with your father when he gets home."Well, when dad comes home and hears the news he is pleased as punch. Beaming with pride, he walks over to his son and says, "Son, I hear you had sex with your English teacher.""That`s right, Dad.""Well, you became a man today - this is cause for celebration. Let`s head out for some ice cream, and then I`ll buy that new bike you`ve been asking for."
"That sounds great, Dad, but can I have a football instead? My ass is killing me."
Managed Service Provider
A managed service provider provides delivery and management of network-based services, applications, and equipment to enterprises, residences, or other service providers. Managed service providers can be hosting companies or access providers that offer services that can include fully outsourced network management arrangements, including advanced features like IP telephony, messaging and call center, virtual private network, managed firewalls, and monitoring/reporting of network servers.
Common services provided by MSPs include remote network, desktop and security monitoring, patch management and remote data back-up, as well as technical assistance. Most of these services can be performed from outside a company's internal network with a special emphasis placed on integration and certification of Internet security for applications and content. MSPs serve as outsourcing agents for companies, especially other service providers like ISPs, that don't have the resources to constantly upgrade or maintain faster and faster computer networks.
Recently, a managed service provider is a company that manages information technology services for other companies via the Internet. An MSP is a "company that offers continuous outsourcing of an IT function -- it works on a recurring revenue model; it monitors and fixes things proactively; and it does all this over the Internet, rather than having to work hands-on at a client's office."
In addition to such basic communication service as leased line wide area network and frame relay service, an MSP can manage and integrate a range of activities associated with enterprise networks. The range of outsourcing services includes basic transport and access, managed premises, web hostings, VPN, unified messaging, video networking, or other more sophisticated services. The market for managed services is forecast to grow about 20 percent annually, according to The Yankee Group, due largely to the need for enterprises to be more flexible and timely in getting to market and communicating with customers. Managed service providers sometimes are referred to as management service providers, which also manage information technology services for companies. However, some industry experts say managed service providers provide a broader range of services than management service providers, which tend to limit themselves to monitoring services for servers, routers, firewalls, and other applications. Management service providers typically deliver infrastructure management services on a subscription basis, similar to the model used by application service providers. They most commonly offer network- and application-monitoring services to e-businesses.
Common services provided by MSPs include remote network, desktop and security monitoring, patch management and remote data back-up, as well as technical assistance. Most of these services can be performed from outside a company's internal network with a special emphasis placed on integration and certification of Internet security for applications and content. MSPs serve as outsourcing agents for companies, especially other service providers like ISPs, that don't have the resources to constantly upgrade or maintain faster and faster computer networks.
Recently, a managed service provider is a company that manages information technology services for other companies via the Internet. An MSP is a "company that offers continuous outsourcing of an IT function -- it works on a recurring revenue model; it monitors and fixes things proactively; and it does all this over the Internet, rather than having to work hands-on at a client's office."
In addition to such basic communication service as leased line wide area network and frame relay service, an MSP can manage and integrate a range of activities associated with enterprise networks. The range of outsourcing services includes basic transport and access, managed premises, web hostings, VPN, unified messaging, video networking, or other more sophisticated services. The market for managed services is forecast to grow about 20 percent annually, according to The Yankee Group, due largely to the need for enterprises to be more flexible and timely in getting to market and communicating with customers. Managed service providers sometimes are referred to as management service providers, which also manage information technology services for companies. However, some industry experts say managed service providers provide a broader range of services than management service providers, which tend to limit themselves to monitoring services for servers, routers, firewalls, and other applications. Management service providers typically deliver infrastructure management services on a subscription basis, similar to the model used by application service providers. They most commonly offer network- and application-monitoring services to e-businesses.
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