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With a focus on driving business outcomes and customer experience by way of leveraging analytical services and products, the National Association of Software and Services Companies [NASSCOM] inaugurated the fourth edition of its Big Data & Analytics Summit 2016 in Hyderabad. Growing at 8 times the current levels, the analytics industry is expected to reach USD 16 billion from the current level of USD 2 billion.

Over 600+ analytical firms in India, out of which approximately 400 are start-ups, are positioning India as an emerging hub for analytics solutions for industries across the globe. The big data and analytics industry is witnessing a rapid growth driven by increased demand for cloud-based [SaaS] and predictive analytics solutions by industries such as BFSI, Retail, Telecom and Healthcare.

Exponential growth of the number of devices, paired with the deluge of unstructured data – in the form of social media interactions, video or text – has ensured that. Being able to tap into this data and act on the insights, is a key differentiator between digital attackers and the laggards. The key to the future in leveraging big data technologies lies in the ability to harness its use in addressing complex problems.

This rapid rise of analytics is reflecting in job creation across verticals and functions with skills from analytics, business and technology. With over 90,000 analytics professionals in India across HR, marketing, risk & security, healthcare, and verticals like retail and finance, the industry is witnessing the emergence of specialised roles like data architect,data strategist, data visualization analyst and change manager etc.

Speaking at the occasion, KS Viswanathan, VP, NASSCOM mentioned

India is today amongst the top 10 destination for analytics and our aspiration is to be amongst the top 3 in the world by 2025. NASSCOM is partnering with its members to build a multi-pronged approach that encompasses-skill development, thought leadership, products and platforms to realise this vision.

Artificial Intelligence & Deep learning algorithms have advanced rapidly to enable the development of machines that can now do tasks that require deep expertise and skill. The best companies today are realizing the power of Artificial Intelligence [AI] and investing in utilizing these algorithms in all aspects of their business. Industry will start exploring artificial intelligence and deep learning algorithms for analytics and radically change product delivery to create new markets and engagement models.

BVR Mohan Reddy, Former Chairman, NASSCOM & Founder and Executive Chairman at Cyient, added

Multiple opportunities are emerging across business verticals and are opening up large opportunities for companies in data, infrastructure, software and analytics. Of special importance is emergence of custom visualisation software, development of algorithms for predictive analytics, cloud based services and Machine to Machine Learning. The growth trajectory shows that India will soon emerge as big data and analytics hub of the world.

About NASSCOM

NASSCOM is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-BPM industry in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 1800 members, which includes both Indian and multinational companies that have a presence in India. NASSCOM’s member and associate member companies are broadly in the business of software development, software services, software products, consulting services, BPM, e-commerce and web services, engineering services and animation and gaming. NASSCOM’s membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in India and employs about 3.5 million professionals.

|In: e-commerce|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Expert members within IEEE, the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, believe that a shoppers’ eyes & heart will be a window to their wallet. Retailers will begin to harness eye-tracking technology and heart rate monitors for brick and mortar stores in order to gain a better understanding of their customers’ shopping preferences.

Eye-tracking technology will allow retailers to identify where their customers’s eyes go in certain aisles or departments within the store, which will better inform them on where to merchandise certain products. In addition, heart rate monitors could help retailers recognize the level of customer excitement towards a product. Retailers can monitor which products are causing the most excitement, and, if leading to sales, can have a better understanding of which products they should more-heavily promote.

Christopher James, IEEE Senior Member said

Changing heart rates in a retail setting can usually be linked to changes in emotion, with an increased heart rate being indicative of excitement. In order to monitor changes in heart rate properly, the customer would really have to ‘connect’ with the merchandise to show changes that are discernible beyond normally physiologic fluctuations associated with day-to-day life.

3-D Printing: Reinventing the Way we Shop

IEEE experts also believe there are vast opportunities for 3-D printing. As this technology becomes more advanced, customers will no longer need to go to physical stores to buy an item. Customers will be able to buy an item directly on a company’s website, as usual, but once the transaction is confirmed, the company will send a file or barcode allowing the customer to print the product directly from their personal 3-D printer. Products could include clothing accessories, automotive parts or musical instruments, just to name a few.

George K. Thiruvathukal, IEEE member and professor of computer science at Loyola University, Chicago. said

3-D printing is becoming more applicable for a range of products and will continue to push the boundaries for a number of industries, including retail. We are still in the early stages of 3-D printing and although there are still many barriers to mainstream consumer adoption, there are great opportunities that this technology could lend towards education and the Do it Yourself [DIY)] movement, such as promoting the ability to create and innovate.

M&M: Mobility and Merchandise

Electronic payment technology is quickly becoming a preferred option for purchasing items. Technology companies are making it easier for customers to make electronic payments through their cell phones, which are beginning to be integrated by major retailers.

Kevin Curran, IEEE Senior Member and reader in computer science at the University of Ulster, Ireland said

Many components that enable NFC-smartphone electronic payments have been steadily falling into place. Millions of consumers are becoming familiar with the idea of electronic payments and now it is becoming a common use case for individuals to use their phone’s fingerprint authentication sensor to make payments – the phone really is becoming the modern wallet. As near field communication [NFC] technology becomes standard in more phones, so will the availability of electronic payments with retailers.

Your [Purchase is] Only a Day Away…

Until consumers are able to print their own products on a regular basis, one-day delivery will become commonplace. The market is still in its infancy with companies currently testing and developing processes. Receiving purchased products via the Internet will become even more streamlined, with more major retailers being able to accommodate deliveries within a few hours. Based on data about shopping habits, retailers will be able to gauge which products are purchased most often by region and can secure inventories appropriately so that delivery time can be optimized.

Tom Coughlin, IEEE Senior Member and founder of Coughlin Associates stated

Top online retail companies have pioneered the use of flying autonomous drones to deliver products to customers. Although this technology is still in the development phase, drone deliveries could allow fast delivery of time-critical items to remote locations. Greater use of unmanned aerial vehicles will depend upon resolving safety concerns, and will likely cost more than delivery through conventional channels.

IEEE Future of Retail Interactive Infographic

IEEE developed an interactive info-graphic, which includes the technologies listed above as well as further considerations, to showcase what the future of retail will look like both physically and digitally over the next few years. You can view the info-graphic by visiting IEEE Transmitter. 

[Image Credit* – IEEE]

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CAMTech INDIA —a new United States Agency for International Development [USAID, India] funded public-private partnership to accelerate medical technology innovation for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) in India—announced its first medical technology hack-a-thon in Bangalore on July 18-20, 2014. This inaugural hack-a-thon is being organized in partnership with Glocal Healthcare and hosted by GE Healthcare India.

About Jugaad-a-thon

“The Jugaad-a-thon is a new way of elevating the experience & know-how of local experts, and using strategies from not just engineering, but also public health and business, to develop new tools to improve health,” said Elizabeth Bailey, Director of the Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech) at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Global Health. “We’re focused on finding impactful, marketable, and innovative ways to provide care to women and children in India.”

Event highlights

CAMTech INDIA’s inaugural Jugaad-a-thon [derived from the Hindi word jugaad meaning an innovative fix or work-around] will be a 48-hour event where 250 clinicians, engineers and entrepreneurs collaborate on disruptive, new solutions for unsolved clinical problems.

Cross-disciplinary teams addressing specific clinical challenges will work late into the night to develop functional prototypes and explore new business models to commercialize their innovations. Teams present their innovations to a panel of judges at the end of the event, and will be awarded a variety of prizes to help take their innovations forward.

Applications for the July 18-20 Jugaad-a-thon are due by July 7, 2014.

For more information, please log on to Jugaad-a-thon website or hop on to their Facebook Page

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The Power of Ideas, India’s largest entrepreneurship development initiative from The Economic Times is back. Bigger and better than ever before. The Power of Ideas seeks to encourage anyone & everyone with a business idea to realize his entrepreneurial dream. It is a platform where ideas will be polished and nurtured with personalized guidance from mentors before being taken forward to investors for funding. This ET initiative is in partnership with the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India and IIM-Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship.

For more information

About the program : http://www.ideas.economictimes.com/pgme

Eligibility criteria for participation : http://www.ideas.economictimes.com/tc

To participate in the programme :  http://www.ideas.economictimes.com/participate

[The deadline for submission of the Business Summary Format is June 25, 6pm.]

Queries: If you still have a specific query/feedback about the programme, share it with ET at: etideas@indiatimes.com

Start-up Sessions: With the twin objectives of taking those with an idea through the nuances of starting up & guiding them through the process of filling the Business Summary Format, which is the participation form for the initiative, ET has organized a series of learning sessions called ‘Start-up Sessions’. To know more about these sessions & participate in them log onto http://www.ideas.economictimes.com/sup

Social: To participate in exciting contests, have fun with cool trivia etc., follow “ET-Power Of Ideas” on:

Nominate a friend: If you know a friend who has a business idea or is running a start-up, but is not able to take it forward/scale up, connect him to “ET-Power Of Ideas” by SMS ETNF<space>your name<space>his name and his email id to 58888

Partnership: In case you seek to partner with “ET – The Power of Ideas” programme as a mentor/investor/sponsor, drop them a line at etquery@indiatimes.com

** Image Credit : ET Power Of Ideas FB Page

|In: Ecosystem|Last Updated: | 12 Comments
Whenever there is a discussion around startups, you would find all the jargons around it like:

1. Great Idea.
2. Great Team.
3. Bootstrapping / Venture Funding.
4. Time to market.
5. Potential customers.
6. Marketing and ……………

As I have mentioned in the previous article, IMHO execution would always be the key; whether you are a startup guy or work for a startup.Also,when we think about Startups, the first comparison that always comes to our mind is The Silicon Valley, but many times, we tend to forget that Indian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem is different from that in the US.May be it would still be many years when a college dropout like Mark Zuckerberg or a whiz-kid like Anshul Samar of Elementio would be accepted in our ecosystem.

In this article, I would like to focus on the Cobweb of Myths[termed Myth-Web] around Indian Startups , which when dusted off, may lead to a better ecosystem.

Note:
The views in this article are my personal views and it would be nice, if someone corrects me wherever required neutral.

1. Ecosystem = IIT(s) / IIM(s)
There is no point in mentioning how much impression premier institutions like Indian Institute Of Technology[IIT] or Indian Institute of Management[IIM] bring in our minds. For sure, they bring the best of the minds together under one roof, but Startups are not only restrained to them.In fact, an attempt should be made to take the IIT culture to the normal colleges(like mine) so, that there is an entrepreneurial ecosystem developed there as well.We need to get rid of the pre-made impression that “Entrepreneurs can only come from IIT’s”. IMHO, if we limit ourselves to only premier institutions, we won’t be able to find our future Mark(s) or Anshul(s) sad

2. Venture Funding = Success
Funding always holds a major aspect for any startup but many times, people feel that – More the funding, more successful is the Startup.Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot has a very nice article on the same when His Startup raised $12 million in series B funding.
Money is always important in any business and each one of us understand the same but that alone does not materialize into success.This is an impression that is prevelant everywhere and hence, Hubspot[though not an Indian startup] was taken as an example.

3. Media = Success
With media not only restrained to mass media, so called Media Coverage has become somewhat simpler. Media may be coverage on blogs, websites … But there is always a downside to the coverage in the media.Many startups(may not mention the name here) try to be in the news(in Magazines and other media) and this coverage is many times wrongly treated as Success .And it becomes difficult to digest this success.
With Web 2.0, media(except print media) has completely changed so, “Being in the media at the right time may lead to wonders else things may crumble” sad

4. Startups can be built in isolation
Why Bangalore is so famous in India is because it has a Brand Image attached to it and the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem is by far the best in India.But it is not the same elsewhere.Many of us forget that the Ecosystem is a crucial factor in any startup and to bring a change , we need to be a part of that ecosystem.
I have spoken to few entrepreneurs from other cities(apart from Mumbai / Chennai / other metros) and the importance of Ecosystem is not yet penetrated there….Startups need all the support they can and hence, they can be built in isolation for some period [after which they have to join the change to make the change].

5. Why should I attend Unconferences?
This is just from a small conversation which I had with a friend of mine who works in a startup.The founder of that startup was very active at Unconferences like BarCamp, BlogCamp, etc ….. until one day they got funded.I asked my friend that your CEO is no longer seen in unconferences and the answer was : “We got angel funded and hence, he does not feel a need to come to Unconferences”.The answer was shocking rolleyes
IMHO, Unconferences is the most prospective place where you can find your cofounder/prospective employees or even a new idea for a venture.Though this incident was personal, Unconference is one place which may work wonders for your startup since, it has been instrumental in shaping up my career wink.

Note:
If you can think of some more points , do leave them in the comments section and I would be grateful to add them with the article.

Reader’s Contribution:
Alok Padhi – An inspiring story of a A waiter who would be an IAS Officer

|In: Ecosystem|Last Updated: | 2 Comments
Products v/s Services is one of the most talked about topics everywhere , be it a Conference, Unconference, companies or any other space that even has a slightest relation with IT. With a handful of experience in a product based company, one thing is quite evident : “Be whatever is the complication of the product, there is a fundamental difference between a service and product , the consumer. Consumer decides the fate of any product , which is very different than developing a software solution for a customer. A simple example is Microsoft Zune , the IPod clone which failed miserably and speaks out all the story sad

In a conversation with a founder of one of the product startups in Bangalore, he mentioned that “Working in Startups is like a marriage(since products always have a bigger life cycle than services) and entering/working in a product startup is always riskier than a services startup hence,many people tend to stay away from the same. So , recruitment always becomes a problem for product startups“

IMHO, for anyone to speak/write on “Why there is no product ecosystem in India”, there would be many points that we can note down, but my decision was to focus on ‘What the industry experts are saying about the subject – Why there are not much product startups in India’ , let’s look into the same.

Tejas Networks (Optical Networking) :
In one of the interviews by Sanjay Nayak, CEO of Tejas Networks; following are key factors that he mentioned to build a product ecosystem in India:

  1. Close proximity to a vibrant market that acts as the breeding ground of new product ideas. It is very difficult for companies to be in India and develop products that are initially targeted for customers in the US & Europe.
  2. Availability of critical pool of domain specific talent, both technical as well as managerial .
  3. Access to adequate funding — both early as well as late-stage venture capital.
  4. As a new product company, it is crucial to stay focused on a specific domain and try to be the best in it, rather than diluting the limited resources in multiple areas.
  5. Success stories (especially in capital markets ) for product companies that entrepreneurs can look up to as role models.

Read the complete article here

Yahoo, India (Internet) :
Below are a list of 5 recommendations made by Sharad Sharma, (CEO of Yahoo,R&D) to make better product ecosystem in India.

  1. NASSCOM to take leadership to separate out the kaizen ecosystem from the Silicon Valley ecosystem, so that each may develop and thrive in its own right.
  2. NASSCOM and TiE to join in a project to grow the number of product managers, product architects and product release managers, by getting universities involved in the process and by nurturing special communities for practitioners.
  3. NASSCOM can launch a mission to multiply TeNeT type partnerships across the country.
  4. Industry collaborates with academic institutions, regulatory bodies and government agencies to create standards for emerging local markets
  5. NASSCOM lobbies to open up defense related technology work for local companies

Read the complete article here

These were some of the thoughts from the industry experts from established companies(but from diversified fields).But IMHO, with more & more unconferences , things are looking bright at the grass root level biggrin . When I had passed out from college, things were much different but now lots of fresh passouts(non IIT) are also looking at opportunities in startups, which in itself is an indication of “Shining side of Indian IT”!!! Hopefully, very soon we should be able to see another Google or Microsoft being born out of India exclaim