Puneet Mehrotra
Published HindustanTimes.com: March 07, 2012

Around 30 years ago the only seriously considered companies were in oil, steel and maybe banking amongst others. There was an odd IBM but it was more in terms of storage etc. Information technology did exist but it was just at that. Nobody really thought in terms of air, water, toothpaste, Google, gravity, Windows, Facebook, sky. At that time nobody talked about Microsoft getting to the top. It would have almost meant predicting Sri Lanka to become the next economic superpower of the world. 15 years hence it wasn’t BP, it wasn’t Bank of America, it wasn’t General Electric, it wasn’t GM, it was a software company called Microsoft that became the wealthiest company in the world.
Fast forward 10 years hence. A company named Google whose assets included a website which is a search engine and some other online stuff, suddenly became the biggest threat to the world’s biggest company. In the good old days a Yellow Pages company suddenly becoming a threat to lets say GE or GM would have have almost meant Nepal becoming the biggest economic threat to US.

The Reward of Change: $75 billion in six years
Five years ago who would have thought a social networking site, Facebook, would have the world share their personal stuff online. Nobody in their right mind would have ever imagined some social networking business named Facebook would be worth $75 billion in 2012. Nor would anyone have ever imagined a company with 13 employees and zero revenue would get bought for $1 billion 18 months from the time it started.
According to the The New York Times the deal is is roughly 30 percent cash and 70 percent stock, which would value Facebook at more than $75 billion. Some analysts are projecting this figure at $100 billion.

Google’s net worth is around $200 billion, our very own Sunil Airtel Mittal is worth $9 billion and India’s largest private company Reliance Industries is worth around $35 billion. Based on the euphoria of the Facebook-Instagram analysts are busy projecting deals between companies such as Linkedin, Groupon, Branchout.

The Last Word
The Kodak moment exists, yet Kodak is gone, it couldn’t manage change. A marriage between Instagram and Kodak may have clicked. Change is constant, mind fears change preferring what exists and the safety of the projection what maybe in future based on the eyes of what is. (I often wonder if Edison thought the same way he would have invented a better lantern not a light bulb). We are in an era where the lifecycle of change has become smaller, bigger and better. If the erstwhile powers ruled for centuries, the industrial giants scored maybe half centuries. The newer business giants ruled for a decade or two and now we are in an era where the lifecycle is probably half a decade. Instagram managed $1 billion in 18 months. Pity it takes a Canon to click a Kodak moment today!

Puneet Mehrotra is a columnist on business and technology www.HindustanTimes.com puneet@tbe.in

Not a long time time ago money was mostly in alloy and paper. Let’s say an amount of Rs.5 lacs could only fit in a suitcase. A rectangular piece of plastic changed it all. The credit card became the new face of money. Rs. 5 lacs or even Rs.10 lacs or even more fit in that little piece of plastic less than weighing less than 10 gms that fits in the wallet. Technological innovations are fascinating. Somehow they head for the wallet! The latest to head for the wallet is memory.

Memory that started from the good old days of tape drives. Many innovations later came the hard disc. Suddenly someone decided he wanted to carry the load of memories wherever he went, without the burden of course! Out came a Flash Drive. Man always wants the best of both worlds i.e. memory without the burden of carrying it. A Flash Drive also meant a load, even if it was just maybe 100 gms. Now out comes India’s first ‘credit card-shaped’ USB Flash Drive by Moser Baer, weighing more of less the same as a credit card.

The Specifics

Launched last week, Moser Baer Zap pocket flash drive comes with 4 GB memory, measures 84.15 X 52.83 sq. mm and weighs just 10.25 gms. It fits in the wallet easily and can easily be mistaken for a credit card. With USB 2.0 interface (direct plug-n-play), it is compatible with Win 2000/XP/ME/Vista/7, Mac OS 9.0 or later versions and Linux Kernel 2.4.0 and higher versions.

The Good and the Bad

Price – Priced at MRP Rs. 1,100 the price is super high. In comparison an ordinary pen drive like Transcend JetFlash 500 4 GB comes for just Rs.255 at Flipkart.com and San Disk at around the same price of under Rs.300. Moser Baer may argue it has size on its side but even that argument goes void when you already have Transcend Jet Flash V90C 4 GB Pen Drive priced at Rs. 397 or a PNY Lovely Attache 4 GB Pen Drive (Blue) that comes at Rs.233 on Flipkart.com.

Ofcourse Moser Baer Zap has looks, aesthetics and convenience but even then Rs.1,100 is very high even if it is being charged for the novelty of being like a credit card. Having said that Apple charges a bomb for its aesthetics. So its a personal decision for the buyer on what he chooses, the functionality or aesthetics or a combination of both. However the good news is the product is available at http://shop.moserbaer.in (at a special introductory price of INR 399/. At Rs.399/- it maybe worth it.

Convenience – Convenience wise Moser Baer Zap is super good. It fits it easily in the wallet. Even the USB interface is made in a way that it is as thick as a credit card
Storage – At 4 GB, its a decent option. It means suppose you have pictures taken from a 5 mega pixel camera you can carry around 3000 pictures in this credit card pocket drive

Aesthetics
The aesthetics are good. It looks like a credit card. Interestingly the credit card shape gives the much needed safety feature to the USB interface and keeps it safe when folded. Moser Baer says Zap is rugged in design, design wise yes but insertion wise it needs to be handled with care .

Warranty – It has been introduced with a warranty of 2 years. However what needs more clarification is the safety of data. For example when you buy a San Disk pen drive there is a certain reliability you get with the brand. Moser Baer capabilities so far lie in optical storage media like CDs and DVDs . Hopefully the same reliability will come in its new line of products.

The Last Word
Google used scarcity to create demand (remember Gmail only by invitation) and it was a success. However the same strategy didn’t work for its newer launches. Same is with dual pricing. This system of dual pricing Rs.1,100 as printed price and “introductory” at Rs.399/- I wonder if it is taken seriously by customers. Anyways these days it matters less what is printed on the pack. The Flipkarts and Infibeams of the world will anyway level the pricing right. Overall a convenient product. Moser Baer Zap at Rs.399 maybe worth it, at Rs.1,100 it is not.

Puneet Mehrotra is a columnist on business and technology for HindustanTimes.com email puneet@tbe.in

When performance becomes a problem they run for size. Size has nothing to do with performance its proven again and again. Yet size matters to the ego, the bigger the better. Success has nothing to do with size either, yet this obsession with size. Google is the latest to add an extra size to add to its sex or is it ex-appeal, considering they don’t have anything to boast of for quite some time, their appeal is sagging. After Micosoft’s cover up job Mircosoft’s Underwear costs $8.5 billion its time for its closest competitor Google to tone up to a Plus with its latest launch Google Plus.

What is Google Plus?
Google plus is the latest attempt of technology giant, Microsoft closest enemy, Google, to take on the social networking scene dominated by Facebook. Google Plus lets its users post photographs, videos, comments and messages (nothing new about that) but also “real world interactions” and “real life sharing” (remember Microsoft’s Lync doing something similar even though vaguely).

WWW Evolution and the Deadly Sins

Till men exist on earth so will sin. Facebook got it right. It focuses on one of the deadliest sin of humans – the EGO. The need for approval prompts free content sharing. Users are happy getting approval venting out their creative skills, moods swings, photographs and much more. Facebook is happy getting the best and the probably THE most precise target market demographically, geographically, interest-graphically etc. The perfect happy-happy and win-win picture. Now that’s exact what Google doesn’t like. Reason is the cash cow of Google – advertising.

Why Facebook is Google’s Thorn in the Flesh?

The war saga between Google and Microsoft we all know of. Guess who supplies the monetary assistance to Google for its ammunition to fight the mightiest software company on this planet, Microsoft? It is the advertiser. Google monetizes content through Adsense. The guerrilla attacks on Microsoft by launching free versions of what’s cash cow for Microsoft i.e. Operating systems, Word processors and Office tools are all financed by the advertiser.

Everything good here. No one even came close to Google in terms of advertising. Google literally became a advertising Mogul. Problem is now Facebook is a far far superior platform for advertising. Reason is profiling of users. Based on Geography, Interests, Demographics and the minutest detail no one comes even close to Facebook. “Plus” they have the mass.

Time and again Google has tried to get into the Social networking bandwagon. Orkut is there but comes nowhere close to Facebook. Facebook is literally a hole in Google advertising revenue pocket today. The figures on who is where maybe judged by these comScore figures published today in New York Times. “But Google+ may already be too late. In May, 180 million people visited Google sites, including YouTube, compared with 157.2 million on Facebook, according to comScore. But Facebook users looked at 103 billion pages and spent an average of 375 minutes on the site, while Google users viewed 46.3 billion pages and spent 231 minutes.”

The Last Word

Interestingly when Google started and took on Microsoft in areas Microsoft didn’t know existed, Google didn’t have size. Google in those good old days was just Google. The real sense of being, the real Google. It was a non-monopolistic entity then (read my 2 year old story Why Google sucks on its monopolistic designs).

It was innovation combined with driving the Internet mass to a discovery which was unique. Google then had brains that worked. The neuro pathways of Google that time were clear and thoughts travelled at speeds that were unheard of driving products in the market that were truly great. Gmail, Google search, News just to name a few. Probably that’s why it was able to change the rules of the game. Taking advertising to a new level. Creating revenue models where none existed. Taking email to a level no one ever thought was possible. It was not greedy then and probably that’s the reason it won the approval of most, the users, the academics, the open source, the “not” open source, and just everyone which Microsoft has still not even able to win.

Microsoft needed a $8.5 billion underwear for its coverup. Google is adding a size to become a Plus now. It will be fun to watch their new antics.

Puneet Mehrotra is a columnist on Business and Technology for HindustanTimes

May 6th, 2008 in Hindustan Times print edition
Puneet Mehrotra

There was a time when you saw a movie in a hall with a modest-sized 35 mm screen. Then the screens got larger with 70 mm. Then came stereophonic sound and surround sound and later new techniques like the Circle Vision that used nine huge screens arranged in a circle.

For the moviegoer, the increasing richness brought the experience of watching a film closer to life – and in fact, often, larger than life.

In home viewing, the CRT (cathode ray tube) has given way to LCD and Plasma TV sets, and the screens are getting flatter, larger and cheaper by the day. Home theatres are redefining the way families watch movies in the drawing room.

On the other hand broadband, Internet messaging and chat make it possible for us to share songs and videos with remote friends. Computers are getting smarter, software applications savvier and presentations richer.

What could all this lead to in a globalised world where companies work across farflung geographical locations, and yet working on common projects or for shared goals?

It leads to rich video-conference facilities that get closer to real life. Welcome to the world of Telepresence and Virtual Presence.

“The Web is a virtual space of millions of virtual places,” says an introductory note on a specialist Web site (www.virtual-presence.org). “While we are there at a virtual location, there are other people present at the same location at the same time. Virtual presence shows people who are at the same Web site at the same time…Virtual presence transfers the behaviour from the real world to the virtual space.”

Telepresence refers to a set of technologies that allow a person to feel as if he or she was present at a location other than the true location. Telepresence refers to a user interacting with another live and is distinct from virtual presence in which the user is given the impression of being in a simulated environment.

Even for individuals, virtual presence is becoming a reality. For instance, if you download the free Google Talk, it has a “chatback” badge that will let visitors to your Web page chat with you as long as you are signed in. Both telepresence and virtual presence rely on similar user-interface equipment. As a combination, they can be deadly.

Imagine a corporate world in which geography really is history. While your marketing offices maybe in the Europe or the US, the manufacturing base could be in China, and customer support or software development operations in India. Virtual presence with rich video-conferencing can change the way companies work. In fact, it is happening already on a smaller scale in many companies through audio and video conferencing and Internet chats but the scale and scope are improving dramatically.

Large video screens, electronic projectors and interactive whiteboards to help collaborative discussions while viewing common pages or documents can dramatically alter workflows. These, in industry jargon, together constitute the world of “virtual solutions.”

Industry research firm Frost & Sullivan says India’s video conferencing market in 2005-06 touched Rs.65.6 crore and is likely to grow at a compounded annual rate of about 25 per cent until 2011. Worldwide, telepresence is already a big business. Worth $64 million in 2006, it will top the $1 billion mark in 2011, according to an IDC research estimate.

Perhaps that explains the reason some of the biggest names in technology like Cisco, HP, Polycom, Microsoft and Adobe are in this field.

Like in many industries, the market is getting segregated on the basis of affordability, with differing features and quality levels.

The top-end has high-definition video, true-to-life images, surround sound and other finer details. The major players in this segment are Cisco with a service branded TelePresence, Polycom with Realpresence and HP with Halo.

Polycom’s offering resembles a science-fiction scene, complete with furnishings, studio lighting and walls, a bit like a five-star experience. Far-end meeting participants appear to be sitting just across the boardroom table. Everything is virtual including the table and the background wall and furnishings.. For this, the prize starts at $2,00,000 (Rs. 80 lakh).

Cisco’s TelePresence is similar. In the words of Cisco executive Ranajoy Punja, “Unlike video conferencing which needs an IT executive to set up the call, TelePresence can be launched at the touch of a single button. Employees can make presentations with TelePresence by plugging their laptop into the system.” The base price is $300,000 – that is Rs. 1.2 crore.

Microsoft, true to its tradition of focusing on small and medium businesses, has an affordable, stripped-down version. Microsoft’s Vibhu Ranjan says “Our product is about value.”

Compared to Cisco’s TelePresence Roundtable lacks some of the features like sensor-generated movements but it does have some really cool features. For example, it offers a video-conferencing system featuring 360° panoramic views powered by its 5 built-in cameras. Its ability to zoom in the active speaker in a meeting and its plug-and-play functionality and full integration with its Office Live Meeting software make the set-up and use simple. The affordability factor is clearly in Roundtable’s favour. It could cost as low as Rs. 2 lakh for a simple version – that is a fraction of what the big labels are offering.

Lower-end offerings constitute basic cameras attached to PC monitors. Adobe’s Brio is a Web meeting service designed for small groups. With Brio, you can instantly collaborate through an easy-to-use online personal meeting room. Three participants can attend a meeting including the host. As the host, you will need to download a small Brio add-in in order to share your screen. There is no need to schedule meetings in advance. There is no charge for the service but long-distance phone charges may apply.

Virtual presence and telepresence solutions aren’t just limited to the boardroom. For a country the size of India it may just be the next big thing to happen after the mobile boom. From healthcare to e-governance to education,virtual and telepresence can be of great help.

Imagine being able to be give your job interview without having to travel. Or being able to consult the city doctor without having to travel all the way to the city.

Telemedicine is already a reality today in certain parts of rural India. Cheaper telepresence will only hasten the process.

Puneet Mehrotra is a technology columnist

Appeared in BusinessWeek on 8th November 2009

Call it a case of heated competition but a company once known for its packaged software is evaporating to a cloud quite literally this time. On a macro level what may look like the Googlization of Microsoft, the Indian consumer has all the reasons to cheer. What would till lately cost a few lacs will now be available for single digit currency. That’s the magic of cloud computing and this week marked Microsoft foray into cloud computing.

This week Microsoft India announced commercial availability of Microsoft Online Services in India. Offering at very attractive prices starting $2 (sadly only in $) per user per month. This will allow SMBs and enterprise customers to access Microsoft’s popular e-mail, collaboration, conferencing and productivity capabilities online. The users will simply pay use-based monthly subscription fee different from the previous model of installation of share point server and managing, storing and retrieving information on their own. HCL Infosystems, Infosys and Wipro are amongst leading partners to market and offer value added services around the Microsoft Online Services. According to Microsoft this helps reduce IT-related costs by 10 – 50%.

Stephen Elop, President, Microsoft Business Group was in India to announce this. In a conversation Stephen revealed more about the service offerings and Microsoft’s foray in Cloud Computing. Software as a service model has been applicable worldwide for a few years now. Microsoft calls it software plus which it says aims to provide flexibility and choice of accessing and using software in a flexible model, i.e. both on premise and off the Internet or as a combination of both. Says Stephen Elop “In today’s competitive global market businesses need cost effective technology that allows flexibility and adds value to their organizations. The alternative delivery model of Microsoft Online Services will give businesses streamlined communication with high availability, comprehensive security and simplified IT management.”
One of the crucial questions is around data security especially on an enterprise level data residing in a cloud, is it really safe for an enterprise? Stephen said some of the biggest Telecommunication and Pharmaceuticals giants are using this service and Microsoft provides better data security than if the companies were to manage it themselves.
Cloud computing is the new niche IT companies see profits and customers in. Call it a case of win-win where the customer saves huge installation costs and other IT costs and pays only on a subscription per user basis and the service providers does what it is best at, providing the service. Noteworthy is companies like Salesforce and Google have had this model for years and have been very successful at it too.