One of the biggest kept secrets in Delhi is the economics of auto. After all everyone wants to know how much that auto costs and how much is the cost of running that auto. And to hear it from the horse’s mouth, well nothing can beat that. And I must admit what I heard was really surprising.
While driving on the road sometimes you feel you are very rich and all esp. when you see the people driving the autos and in the autos. Now here are some facts to ponder over.
What do you think is the cost of an auto? Well, you can say to begin with it is about Rs 1lakh. But this is the cost only to begin with. It is available only in black market or in the black market way. Then you take loan for it which is paid with interest obviously. So once all these factors are accounted for the on-road price of an auto is approx 5 lakhs, which is higher than cost of all the popular cars viz. Santro, Alto, Spark and all their cousins.
So, next time while riding a car remember on thing, the guy driving that auto is handling a vehicle that costs more than yours. So if that auto brushes past your car look at the situation in this new light where your cheaper vehicle has left scratch on a costlier one and not the other way around.
Another interesting thing that was told to me by an auto-driver was the cost per km of riding an auto. If I use all the information given to me in this regard by different drivers the safest conclusion that can be drawn is that for every 100 rupees that you are charged the cost that is incurred is less than 20 rupees.
Further, the driver if not the owner, which happened only 20% of times with drivers I interacted with, pays around 250 rupees to the owner. And at the end of the month, if he is working for 25 days his income is around 20000 rupees. Not a bad bargain after all. You’ll find this income more amusing if you are aware of the maximum possible entry level salary of a govt. employee.
Now, here is one tip that can come handy to us riders. The other day while enjoying the ‘august auto’ ride in Delhi I met this auto driver who surprised me, again. When hiring the auto I tried to prefix the rent for the journey with him and he told me one interesting thing. He said never let that be your first move because the driver is basically looking for that mode only and by offering him that option you yourself are killing your chances of going by ‘meter’. Why encourage this kind of behavior which actually doesn’t suit you. These were is more or less exact words. Again, some wise words from the horse’s mouth.
After whatever experiences I am going through with these autos I must confess I am getting to know a lot about people and esp. these similar yet so different auto drivers. Hope you are adding something to your knowledge as well.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Marooned Bihar village cries for help
Flood situation in Bihar is not a natural calamity; I would rather say it is political calamity. Flood is there every year in north Bihar and it will be there year after year. It is not that its coming all of sudden and surprise. Its 61 years of our independence and we are not able to built dam and barrage to control it. Is this nature to blame for it? I think no! Our politician should be blamed for this.
Bihar Govt is asking one thousand crores for flood victim, give them hundreds thousands crores and it not make any difference. After flood there will be tender to repair dam and all that and all this tender will be given to ruling party politician (whatever party rule is) or their close relative. Repair and embankment will made on paper and then wait for another flood in coming year. So this is the situation of our country in this era when we are talking of globalization. Alas!!!!
Every year after the flood our leaders talk to have some sort of agreement with Nepal. What the hell they are doing for last 61 years. Whether it UPA or NDA Govt. in center, Bihar always has major chunk of ministers. But these ministers are good for nothing. They just inaugurate different projects with much fun fare with their shining name plate. But these never get completed. All ‘big’ Bihari leaders are busy in doing aerial survey as if this is first time for Bihar and they are not aware of its devastation.
Raj Thakre and his likes may be wrong kicking out Bihari from their state, but what our Bihar govt doing to give job to Bihar in their own state. Till recently Bihar was the richest state in term minerals. This is the fate Bihari because of their corrupt politician. Its heart touching to see innocent faces crying for help in flood affected area.
Manmohan Singh announced a relief package of 228 million dollars and 125,000 tonnes of grain for those affected when a monsoon-swollen river changed course, flooding huge swathes of the country's impoverished Bihar state. But is that sufficient? What about those thousands of people who have lost their lives, their relatives, their homes. Flood has devastated everything. Be it their livelihood, family and support.
Shouldn’t we stand up and curse the government for this devastation and huge loss to mankind? Should n’t the government look forward to completely eradicate this menace? Shouldn’t government take some more measure to safeguard the health and living conditions of the country?
I have expressed my feelings through this blog, now would you like to say something……
Written by: Neha Gupta
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
i phone finally launched in India
http://www.techdigest.tv/apple-iphone-in-hand-thumb.jpg
After a long wait eventually iPhone was launched in India last week. The wait has been the longest for the Indians as iPhone appeared on almost all the major markets world over before it finally landed in India. But the question is, has it been really worth the wait?
Going by the price it carries in US, if you were to buy it in India you'll end up paying close to three times more as upfront cost. Well, it's true that the way it is offered in US with service provider's related schemes and all may eventually bring the cost of owning an iPhone at almost the same level in US and India.
But what is interesting is the fact that people in India are more comfortable paying in smaller installments than in big down payments. Still people who launched iPhone seem to think differently. May be they are right may be not. Only time will tell. But one of the reasons behind the exceptional surge in growth of white goods' industry market in India has been the easy payment options.
Even if we concentrate only on the mobile market, most of the high end models became popular in terms of sales only after the prices were lowered. So, it's any body's guess where things might be headed.
Yes, one thing is for sure. If they want it to be some thing of an exclusive gadget for the rich and powerful only, than they have hit the jackpot (only limited, of course). And may be the plan is to subsequently lower the prices as is always done with new technology and products. In such a scenario it might happen that eventually you can get a cheaper iPhone in India than anywhere else.
And of course, there are many big mobile players in India which can't be expected to sit quietly. After all high end or low end, it's their market and they have been the rulers here. And signs are already there with many new models being launched by all and sundry to take on iPhone. But I guess they have a disadvantage vis-à-vis iPhone, I mean people want to buy it 'cause it is iPhone and can there product beat that.
The last but not the least issue is, ok fine the iPhone is out. Now what about the services that it actually was designed to offer its owners? It’s a 3G phone but we don’t have those services in India. To me the best way to judge the success of iPhone would be in terms of better services to customers. As the situation is in Indian telecom market, well it leaves a lot to be desired. All I can say to the proud owners on iPhone in India is, 'Happy iPhoning' and to the rest, just keep your fingers crossed.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
6 ways to hold yourself accountable to a fitness routine
A lot of good things can be said about motivation when it comes to sticking to a regular fitness routine. Motivation makes us feel mentally pumped-up; it energizes; it's about seeing physical results and wanting to go even harder and faster. But motivation is impossible to sustain 24 hours a day, every day. When your alarm goes off before the sun rises and the very last thing you want to do is get out from your bed.
Accountability is what gets you out of bed at 5am for a morning run when you know your friend is waiting for you. It causes you to do things like fill out exercise and nutrition logs, so you can go back and look at your progress and make sure you’re staying on track with your goals.
People are much more likely to stick with something if they hold themselves accountable in some way. For some it can be as simple as making a decision and telling a friend they're serious about sticking to it -- but could that friend please check in once in a while, just to make sure they're staying on track? Other people need something more structured. Me? I can go both ways, depending on the goal. With certain things, I have no problem sticking to my plan -- but with other things I do much better if I have backup.
A good example of something I need to hold myself accountable to is my 101 Things list. (Maybe because it's a long-term goal, and not something I work on every day or a certain amount of time per week?) I hold myself accountable to completing the things on my list by writing monthly updates, no matter what.
Here are 6 ways to hold yourself accountable:
1. Use a website or a journel to track your exercise and food. It’s convenient and easy to use. It’s also helpful to see changes made over time.
2.Keep a running calendar on your wall, as it gives a great motivation and checks your daily routine as you would hate to see blank spots so it motivates you to have none
3. Hire a personal trainer
Knowing that someone is going to meet you at a particular time, kick your butt, and you’re paying them to do it? Sounds like a great way to hold yourself accountable!
4. Sign up for a class/camp. Trying an aerobics camp for 6 weeks, or an 8-week dancing class?
5. Work out with a friend or partner. There are certain situations where it’s nice to have company.
6. Establish your own fitness rules according to your preference and availabilty, whether its cycling, running, jogging, playing with weights etc.
Written by: Neha Gupta
Accountability is what gets you out of bed at 5am for a morning run when you know your friend is waiting for you. It causes you to do things like fill out exercise and nutrition logs, so you can go back and look at your progress and make sure you’re staying on track with your goals.
People are much more likely to stick with something if they hold themselves accountable in some way. For some it can be as simple as making a decision and telling a friend they're serious about sticking to it -- but could that friend please check in once in a while, just to make sure they're staying on track? Other people need something more structured. Me? I can go both ways, depending on the goal. With certain things, I have no problem sticking to my plan -- but with other things I do much better if I have backup.
A good example of something I need to hold myself accountable to is my 101 Things list. (Maybe because it's a long-term goal, and not something I work on every day or a certain amount of time per week?) I hold myself accountable to completing the things on my list by writing monthly updates, no matter what.
Here are 6 ways to hold yourself accountable:
1. Use a website or a journel to track your exercise and food. It’s convenient and easy to use. It’s also helpful to see changes made over time.
2.Keep a running calendar on your wall, as it gives a great motivation and checks your daily routine as you would hate to see blank spots so it motivates you to have none
3. Hire a personal trainer
Knowing that someone is going to meet you at a particular time, kick your butt, and you’re paying them to do it? Sounds like a great way to hold yourself accountable!
4. Sign up for a class/camp. Trying an aerobics camp for 6 weeks, or an 8-week dancing class?
5. Work out with a friend or partner. There are certain situations where it’s nice to have company.
6. Establish your own fitness rules according to your preference and availabilty, whether its cycling, running, jogging, playing with weights etc.
Written by: Neha Gupta
Friday, August 22, 2008
Why does India win so few Olympic medals?
Here’s an interesting fact: despite a population of more than 1 billion, India has won a grand total of 18 Olympic medals which are mostly in field hockey.There are many obvious hypotheses, all of which may be partially right, yet one would think these apply to zillions of other countries that nevertheless have non-trivial Olympic presences.
So what is it?
My guess would be lack of government subsidies, combined with the possibility that non-democratic, authoritarian governments feel greater need to prove themselves on the international stage and to their people at home. The subsidies matter for the infrastructure as much as for the athletes. Throw in low social mobility, nutrition problems, and the relative lack of TV to inspire the young 'uns and you've got my answer. the mentality of Indians or lack of spirit for sports.
The population explosion has increased the opportunity cost of pursuing sports as a career. To excel at any sport, it is necessary to dedicate yourself to it for years. If today, a kid decides to pursue a sport full time, down the line he/ she will not have the opportunity to catch up with the other kids who have been busy studying advanced math etc that would train them to be doctors or engineers. It is only the best of the lot that end up having well paying jobs. India has abt 50 million people who are unemployed right now. It is more than likely that he/ she will end up working a job that barely pays enough to support a family.
In India, sports is not given any chance. It is culture , i think. When a kid shows some interest in sports, parents stop him "Hey, only if you study well, u can earn lot". Cricket is the only "paying" sport right now in India and i see lot of parents encourage cricket "interest" in children. Other sports don't have bright future in India.Also, for many individuals, it is a question of survival. The population has made the race to the top extremely competitive and the criteria for measurement is the kid's aptitude in math/sciences for the most part. Sports are meant only for recreation - that too if you have some time left over from studying.
People will invariably argue that China has been excelling at Olympics despite its population being larger than India's. They should not forget the emphasis that the Government of China places on good showing at that stage. This is severely lacking in India.
Population is an important reason for the poor showing, but hardly the only one.
If a nation struggles to feed its people on a daily basis, lacks proper roads and sanitation, training an Olympic-caliber athlete in any sport becomes more challenging than the actual Games.
We're culturally obsessed with a lot of things, but nobody I've ever met is so obsessed with everything. Some do love sports, where sometimes people make headlines for their obsession. But the same happens when people become obsessed with money, drugs or even religion to some degree. People will always be around to criticize the hobbies of others, but isn't that the right attitude.
Written by: Neha Gupta
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Musharraf's roller coaster ride
One of the most prominent faces in the media over last decade or so has been the man with multiple roles, Pervez Musharraf. The reason why he was every where in media was perhaps his own doing or his reaction to events around him or it was the need of the circumstances to put him there, this is something to be debated over and over again. Perhaps it was the love of media or hatred or they were just doing their job but for sure he remained in the limelight all through the decade.
He had been naughty and adventures always. I don’t think many people know that during his days in army, as a matter of fact it was during his initial training he came very close to being shunted out of the army. Just imagine if that had happened how different things would have been today in Pakistan. But that was not to be.
Having followed world affairs in general and Indian in particular, I have quite closely kept track of Musharraf’s rollercoaster ride.
It is very interesting that the man who made Musharraf the Army Chief was the one he ousted in the famous bloodless coup of 1999. It’s even more amusing that the same man is closely involved in Musharraf’s ouster now.
For Indians Musharraf became a household name after our Kargil victory. After that he has managed to stay in the news come what may. And as things turned out in Afghanistan first and Iraq later, Pakistan surprising became an important alley in the ‘war against terrorism’ and Musharraf the darling of America. It goes to his credit that he used the circumstances to his advantage and turned himself from an army chief to CEO (very interesting) and later President (sometimes all simultaneously).
But like they say ‘only thing constant in this world is change’ and they don’t say it just for fun. The circumstances changed world over and in Pakistan. He himself allowed, as the events demanded, two ex PM’s to return back and took some nasty decisions including sacking the judges and the Red Mosque fiasco.
The end result was he had to quit, something he must have never thought he’ll end up doing. The darling of America all of sudden became an internal matter of Pakistan for US. In any case in a rollercoaster ride there are ups and down and eventually you come down and usually at the same spot where you had started.
Musharraf after a decade in headlines may be lost in oblivion. One thing still left to be seen is that many in Pakistan and the world don’t think of him as anything more than a dictator. Will he meet the same fate as others before him or future has something else in store for him. Well, all that we can do is wait and watch.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Shopping Madness
I love to shop. Always have. I’m not sure where I get it from, because no one in my family is a shopping spree. But somehow I inherited the shopping gene. Unfortunately, that gene is at odds with a small budget so frequently the joy of shopping is pared with the guilt of spending money. But no longer! Over this summer ie the time when I started working the first time in my life and did’t get paid regularly, but still I shopped like a mad. I checked out all the malls near my apartment. One is not so good, but the other, oh it’s awesome. I spend hours in the Shipra Mall this weekend, most of it the 1st floor where shoppers stop, Meena Bazaar, Globus and CTC are. They have the most amazing selection of dress material I’ve ever seen at a store. Ohh! these are the perks of living in a brainy city and so cheap as sale is at its peak.
I have been the one to hit the mall and shopping store the day after Independence day. Its all about the craziness. It always made way more sense to wait until a more reasonable time to shop. I know there are some great deals for those willing to shop early in the morning before10 am, but I also know good deals can be found year 'round if you know where to look. For example, smart shoppers buy the branded items in the sale season to find the best bargains.
After having done with my shopping, I then noticed the line of people wanting to enter the mall as the queue was just before the mall entrance. As I walked out of the mall, I was amazed to see the line continue back further and further. I reached towards the end and the line continued, making a curve to the right in order to accomodate more people.
There were at LEAST 75 people waiting in line, perhaps with the number being closer to 200 or more. They were clutching DVDs, laptop, computers, home theaters and free-after-rebate recordable cd-roms. Certainly, they felt they had landed deals worth waiting for.
Hey, this is India, and I am glad to see our economy alive and kicking. You folks who braved the early morning hours and long lines are to be applauded!
But I came upon this story and was saddened by the lengths that some people will go to get that "great offer".
I have nothing more to say about it. Your comments?
Written by: Neha Gupta
Monday, August 18, 2008
IT Services and Mobile Market- The Growth Story
I just laid my hands on one of my most awaited magazines of the fortnight, Data Quest. And just leafing through it I felt quite elated. Some of the things I read seemed obvious where as some were totally unexpected. Overall it all adds up to a very strong present and a very positive future. Let’s concentrate on two things, one that affects the sector I work in (IT consultancy) and the other that affects us all (mobile market).
The first thing that struck me was that the growth rate of IT domestic market has been higher than exports. For many years one thing that has plagued our country’s economy has been the approach of looking for an export led growth. Though sound economics demands that it should be GDP led exports and not the other way around. Thankfully in one sector we can proudly claim that the growth is leading the exports and that actually points towards a great future for the IT market. But yes, my sincere hope is that this is not a one time aberration in IT market and it spreads to other sectors as well.
What is even more heartening is that within domestic market there are more than half a dozen deals each worth Rs 100 crores or more. Another good thing is that most of these deals are for the Govt and Public sector firms, which implies that we can expect to see better efficiency in services offered by one segment that affects us all, Govt services.
Though the most notable buy out of last year was Wipro buying Infocrossing, there have been many other M&A’s which obviously were not as big as this one but were no less significant. Though what is less surprising is that almost all these deals involve US market, which considering its size and importance seems like the most sensible thing to do.
Above all the sweetest music to our ears i.e. my company (as you know we are IT strategic consultants specializing in IMS), is the fact that within IT services exports the fastest growing segment is Infrastructure Services with a growth rate of more than 125%. But to be honest, having been in the business of offering IT strategic consultancy for 4 years now, for us it’s more like a restatement of a fact that we have been well aware of all along. It’s but obvious that couple of deals in IMS sector have been signed which would be worth more than $1b each.
But something that affects more people, at least directly, and is closer to everyone’s heart is the mobile phones. There also great news awaits the service providers as well as the end users. A survey sometime back showed that when it comes to talking on the phone Indians spend maximum time per month talking on a cell. And the good news for telecoms is that mobile phone penetration has crossed 250mn mark. Just imagine with the number of cells in use and the untapped market still waiting to be explored, when this would combine with the time people spend talking on cell phones where would the profit of telecom firms go!
The good news for users here is that bigger market would throw in more players, better services and better deals for consumers. Also with 3G services expected to be started anytime soon and expected launch of iPhone next week, users can really look forward to an early Diwali.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
The first thing that struck me was that the growth rate of IT domestic market has been higher than exports. For many years one thing that has plagued our country’s economy has been the approach of looking for an export led growth. Though sound economics demands that it should be GDP led exports and not the other way around. Thankfully in one sector we can proudly claim that the growth is leading the exports and that actually points towards a great future for the IT market. But yes, my sincere hope is that this is not a one time aberration in IT market and it spreads to other sectors as well.
What is even more heartening is that within domestic market there are more than half a dozen deals each worth Rs 100 crores or more. Another good thing is that most of these deals are for the Govt and Public sector firms, which implies that we can expect to see better efficiency in services offered by one segment that affects us all, Govt services.
Though the most notable buy out of last year was Wipro buying Infocrossing, there have been many other M&A’s which obviously were not as big as this one but were no less significant. Though what is less surprising is that almost all these deals involve US market, which considering its size and importance seems like the most sensible thing to do.
Above all the sweetest music to our ears i.e. my company (as you know we are IT strategic consultants specializing in IMS), is the fact that within IT services exports the fastest growing segment is Infrastructure Services with a growth rate of more than 125%. But to be honest, having been in the business of offering IT strategic consultancy for 4 years now, for us it’s more like a restatement of a fact that we have been well aware of all along. It’s but obvious that couple of deals in IMS sector have been signed which would be worth more than $1b each.
But something that affects more people, at least directly, and is closer to everyone’s heart is the mobile phones. There also great news awaits the service providers as well as the end users. A survey sometime back showed that when it comes to talking on the phone Indians spend maximum time per month talking on a cell. And the good news for telecoms is that mobile phone penetration has crossed 250mn mark. Just imagine with the number of cells in use and the untapped market still waiting to be explored, when this would combine with the time people spend talking on cell phones where would the profit of telecom firms go!
The good news for users here is that bigger market would throw in more players, better services and better deals for consumers. Also with 3G services expected to be started anytime soon and expected launch of iPhone next week, users can really look forward to an early Diwali.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Beijing Olympics have been most expensive so far
The Beijing Olympics is slated to define the future moments for China as its been the most expensive Olympics so far in the world. It would be a lesson for India, which is gearing up to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Both the emerging economies, India and China, compete with each other, having a population of over one billion. The political systems are different in the two counties, with India having a multi-party democracy and China having a one-party rule. The direction of the change in China was clear from the XXIX Olympics Games in Beijing. China wants to wed its past glory with its modern achievements.
At the opening ceremony of the Olympics at the Bird’s Nest Stadium on August 8, an army of 2,008 drummers chanted Confucius’s sayings—“Friends have come from a far, how happy we are”. The time chosen for inauguration was 8.08 pm Chinese time, as Chinese consider number eight to be auspicious, which brings wealth, prosperity and fortune.
China has invested over $45 billion on the event. According to some estimates it would be $70 billion, making Beijing Olympics the costliest so far. In the last Olympics in Athens in 2004, Greece invested $15 billion.
The inauguration witnessed 29,000 traditional fireworks and dance performances depicting ancient Chinese maritime adventure, silk-route trade and martial art by about 14,000 performers, including school children. With about seven million tickets sold, the event has a participation of 10,500 athletes from 204 countries in 308 disciplines from 38 sports.
The most spectacular scientific achievement came to the fore when the Chinese government fired a volley of rockets in the sky to disperse rain-causing clouds on Saturday—the largest such operation in China and first such operation in an Olympic event so far.
Written by: Neha Gupta
Both the emerging economies, India and China, compete with each other, having a population of over one billion. The political systems are different in the two counties, with India having a multi-party democracy and China having a one-party rule. The direction of the change in China was clear from the XXIX Olympics Games in Beijing. China wants to wed its past glory with its modern achievements.
At the opening ceremony of the Olympics at the Bird’s Nest Stadium on August 8, an army of 2,008 drummers chanted Confucius’s sayings—“Friends have come from a far, how happy we are”. The time chosen for inauguration was 8.08 pm Chinese time, as Chinese consider number eight to be auspicious, which brings wealth, prosperity and fortune.
China has invested over $45 billion on the event. According to some estimates it would be $70 billion, making Beijing Olympics the costliest so far. In the last Olympics in Athens in 2004, Greece invested $15 billion.
The inauguration witnessed 29,000 traditional fireworks and dance performances depicting ancient Chinese maritime adventure, silk-route trade and martial art by about 14,000 performers, including school children. With about seven million tickets sold, the event has a participation of 10,500 athletes from 204 countries in 308 disciplines from 38 sports.
The most spectacular scientific achievement came to the fore when the Chinese government fired a volley of rockets in the sky to disperse rain-causing clouds on Saturday—the largest such operation in China and first such operation in an Olympic event so far.
Written by: Neha Gupta
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Riding an Auto rickshaw in Delhi - My Experiences
Once you are out of the phase where the main concern is about getting an auto, fare negotiations, traffic hassles and the like, you enter a phase where you start appreciating the fact that you are in the company of a person you hardly care to know but someone who still teaches you a lot. Over the last couple of months I have started spending my auto travel time in observing the drivers. And what I have deciphered is something I find very amusing. I am definitely not trying to be judgmental or anything, I am incapable of passing judgment on others. I am only trying to jot down the events as they were.
There are numerous types of auto drivers. Let’s begin to understand them and their idiosyncrasies. And then we can move on to particular interesting cases.
One of the rare types is the absolute quiet ones. You tell them your destination, they just start their meter, you reach your destination, you pay the fare and he is gone. These are the silent journeys. All you get to know about the guy is that you don’t know anything him.
Then there are some who talk a lot. They are so happy and preoccupied talking that they don’t even care if anyone is listening. For them more important is to speak their heart out without wondering where the monologue is headed. Journey with them is not very enjoyable or at least is not for the whole path. Even if they have something interesting to share it is lost in the excess information they are providing.
Then there are others who lie somewhere in between these two. Some are closer to former and some to latter.
Among the rest what is fascinating is not how much they talk but it’s what they talk about. Some are political commentators, some cricket enthusiasts, some socially concerned, some indifferent towards everything, and some, well they are of every possible type. So let me take you through some of the very interesting ones I have met.
One of the most interesting ones I met, an incident that to some extent gave me the idea of sharing my experiences, was a person who has lived the history in Delhi. He has been driving the auto for like always. He shared his experiences with me that included being there to pay homage to Pt Nehru when he passed away. He vividly remembered standing just next to Indira Gandhi and crying that day.
He started driving an auto when there were less than 100 autos in whole of Delhi. We all know about the fare related problems with autos. But look at the world as it was then. He once took a passenger from ISBT Kashmere Gate to Khanpur then. The fare was only 3 rupees. Now very few people used autos then and once he reached Khanpur the passenger gave him Rs 5 saying that he knew he won’t get any passenger back. Can that happen today?
There is a temple on Shankar Road (SR) which looks quite new from the looks of it. But to my utter surprise that temple is more than 40 years old; of course it has been redone now.
People used to avoid using SR late at night then as people do today not because of traffic as is the case now but because what is New Rajinder Nagar now was a thick jungle full of wild animals and the road used to be pitch dark.
He talked about so many things. He felt so happy when he remembered those times of very few vehicles, no traffic jams, and of helping and trusting people. He had memories of Asian Games to share and of leaders & politicians of high stature he had listened to addressing rallies. He has seen face of Delhi getting done and redone and changing to a figure he can hardly recognize. But still he looked at all those changes in a very positive manner; he believed strongly that we are moving forward.
To me that ride was very enriching experience. Listening to a man talk so passionately about all those things, well the rides in autos in Delhi are definitely a worthwhile experience.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
There are numerous types of auto drivers. Let’s begin to understand them and their idiosyncrasies. And then we can move on to particular interesting cases.
One of the rare types is the absolute quiet ones. You tell them your destination, they just start their meter, you reach your destination, you pay the fare and he is gone. These are the silent journeys. All you get to know about the guy is that you don’t know anything him.
Then there are some who talk a lot. They are so happy and preoccupied talking that they don’t even care if anyone is listening. For them more important is to speak their heart out without wondering where the monologue is headed. Journey with them is not very enjoyable or at least is not for the whole path. Even if they have something interesting to share it is lost in the excess information they are providing.
Then there are others who lie somewhere in between these two. Some are closer to former and some to latter.
Among the rest what is fascinating is not how much they talk but it’s what they talk about. Some are political commentators, some cricket enthusiasts, some socially concerned, some indifferent towards everything, and some, well they are of every possible type. So let me take you through some of the very interesting ones I have met.
One of the most interesting ones I met, an incident that to some extent gave me the idea of sharing my experiences, was a person who has lived the history in Delhi. He has been driving the auto for like always. He shared his experiences with me that included being there to pay homage to Pt Nehru when he passed away. He vividly remembered standing just next to Indira Gandhi and crying that day.
He started driving an auto when there were less than 100 autos in whole of Delhi. We all know about the fare related problems with autos. But look at the world as it was then. He once took a passenger from ISBT Kashmere Gate to Khanpur then. The fare was only 3 rupees. Now very few people used autos then and once he reached Khanpur the passenger gave him Rs 5 saying that he knew he won’t get any passenger back. Can that happen today?
There is a temple on Shankar Road (SR) which looks quite new from the looks of it. But to my utter surprise that temple is more than 40 years old; of course it has been redone now.
People used to avoid using SR late at night then as people do today not because of traffic as is the case now but because what is New Rajinder Nagar now was a thick jungle full of wild animals and the road used to be pitch dark.
He talked about so many things. He felt so happy when he remembered those times of very few vehicles, no traffic jams, and of helping and trusting people. He had memories of Asian Games to share and of leaders & politicians of high stature he had listened to addressing rallies. He has seen face of Delhi getting done and redone and changing to a figure he can hardly recognize. But still he looked at all those changes in a very positive manner; he believed strongly that we are moving forward.
To me that ride was very enriching experience. Listening to a man talk so passionately about all those things, well the rides in autos in Delhi are definitely a worthwhile experience.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sing is Kinng- a piece of trash
What would you expect from a film whose story is derived from the title instead the other way round? Well, since Akshaya Kumar is there, I expected it to be a good comedy. Instead, it is a no brainer movie. The movie doesn't have a script at all and the entire cast and crew looked confused about what they wanted to show to the audience. Sometimes, it seems like a comedy, sometimes a movie with a message, but in the end it turns out to be a big joke on you.
Singh is Kinng has the disgrace of not having a single reedeming element in the entire 2hrs 10min of its screen time. The movie starts with Lucky Singh ie King (of Australian underworld) being attacked on his birthday and Lucky played by Sonu Sood catching the killer by performing a gravity defying stunt. The scene is shifted to Punjab where Happy Singh (Akshay) is making everyone's life miserable by trying to help them. All the villagers decide to get rid of Happy by sending him on a mission to bring Lucky back to his home. Happy on his mission to bring lucky back meets Sonia (Katrina) and ends up becoming the new King.
Entire movie is full of crap except only a couple of good scenes (which actually made me laugh) in the entire 2 hrs runtime. Most of the scenes don't even make sense like why Puneet's father resembled Mika (King's brother), sudden change in every character in the King's gang, well there are plenty such loopholes.
There is no story in the movie to talk about. In the end, when it comes to making movies, script is King and not Singh, in this case there is no king only a bunch of Jokers. This movie does not deserve anything and I think Rs 200 is huge price to pay to watch silly jokes. It's not a fair deal. Singh is Kinng is a worthless piece of trash that is so pathetic even by Bollywood’s contemptible standards.
Written by: Neha Gupta
Monday, August 11, 2008
My experiences of riding an auto rickshaw in Delhi
Commuting to office for many people in Delhi involves encounters with autos and auto drivers daily. It’s a whole lot of different and interesting experience in itself. I really enjoy meeting a different person everyday doing the same job but in his own way. Well, I only get to meet one driver because I use auto only to go to the office. On my journey back I use the combo of infamous Blueline buses and famous Delhi Metro. Still that adds up to more than 20 different persons every month that drive me to office.
Before I go specifically into idiosyncrasies of drivers only, lets enjoy the overall phenomenon of daily commuting by auto.
Stage I:
My daily journey begins with its own share of excitement on most of the days and a little frustration on some of the days. I first have to place myself tactically to get the auto at the earliest considering I take the auto from a road as busy as Shankar Road and from a station like Old Rajinder Nagar from where many working class people hire auto for the office at the same time. And I feel everyone there knows everyone else who is going to hire an auto. It’s a fun to watch every one judging for oneself where to stand to outsmart the other. The off day here is when I keep standing there for a long time (more than 10 mins) without being able to beat my fellow riders to an early auto.
Stage II:
Now the time comes when an auto driver stops his auto right in front of u. After having outsmarted the people I don’t even know for real, I find myself at the mercy of the person that changes everyday. First grace that he does to me is agreeing to take me to my destination, i.e Kailash Colony.
The next thing is something all auto commuters in Delhi get charged up on, the FARE. One good thing here is that though the auto drivers of Delhi are very much disliked when it comes to ‘pre-deciding’ the fare or going by ‘meter’ yet when they see a person in formals, looking like someone going to office, well no questions asked. They just start their meter and I m on my way.
Stage III:
The next issue is about the exact road that will be taken to get to the destination. Those who use this mode of transport in Delhi know very well that how harassing that can be. But that again is not a problem with me because they understand that I must know the way as I m a daily commuter. But one thing that does surprise them is that the path that I ask them to follow is not the shortest one. Well, I have my reasons for that. We’ll come to that later. Here the way the driver drives decides whether it would be a day of excitement or of frustration for me.
Stage IV:
The drive from my residence to office is more than 15 kms and the time taken is approx 35 mins in auto. And that’s a sizable duration in the sense that besides the people I otherwise come in contact with daily, viz. my roomie, couple of friends and colleagues, the auto driver is the only one that I interact with on a daily basis and that too with a new guy everyday.
Though all these stages are enjoyable but are routine phenomena, the one that’s most interesting is the variety of personalities (drivers) that I get the opportunity to interact with. They all are similar in the sense that they are doing the same job, have had more or less the similar experiences, and I m assuming have similar life style, etc but still there are marked differences, and that all shows every morning when I m coming to the office. When I’ll share my experiences while riding an auto in Delhi, I m sure you’ll agree that how interesting their experiences, insights, attitudes, outlook and everything else are.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
Before I go specifically into idiosyncrasies of drivers only, lets enjoy the overall phenomenon of daily commuting by auto.
Stage I:
My daily journey begins with its own share of excitement on most of the days and a little frustration on some of the days. I first have to place myself tactically to get the auto at the earliest considering I take the auto from a road as busy as Shankar Road and from a station like Old Rajinder Nagar from where many working class people hire auto for the office at the same time. And I feel everyone there knows everyone else who is going to hire an auto. It’s a fun to watch every one judging for oneself where to stand to outsmart the other. The off day here is when I keep standing there for a long time (more than 10 mins) without being able to beat my fellow riders to an early auto.
Stage II:
Now the time comes when an auto driver stops his auto right in front of u. After having outsmarted the people I don’t even know for real, I find myself at the mercy of the person that changes everyday. First grace that he does to me is agreeing to take me to my destination, i.e Kailash Colony.
The next thing is something all auto commuters in Delhi get charged up on, the FARE. One good thing here is that though the auto drivers of Delhi are very much disliked when it comes to ‘pre-deciding’ the fare or going by ‘meter’ yet when they see a person in formals, looking like someone going to office, well no questions asked. They just start their meter and I m on my way.
Stage III:
The next issue is about the exact road that will be taken to get to the destination. Those who use this mode of transport in Delhi know very well that how harassing that can be. But that again is not a problem with me because they understand that I must know the way as I m a daily commuter. But one thing that does surprise them is that the path that I ask them to follow is not the shortest one. Well, I have my reasons for that. We’ll come to that later. Here the way the driver drives decides whether it would be a day of excitement or of frustration for me.
Stage IV:
The drive from my residence to office is more than 15 kms and the time taken is approx 35 mins in auto. And that’s a sizable duration in the sense that besides the people I otherwise come in contact with daily, viz. my roomie, couple of friends and colleagues, the auto driver is the only one that I interact with on a daily basis and that too with a new guy everyday.
Though all these stages are enjoyable but are routine phenomena, the one that’s most interesting is the variety of personalities (drivers) that I get the opportunity to interact with. They all are similar in the sense that they are doing the same job, have had more or less the similar experiences, and I m assuming have similar life style, etc but still there are marked differences, and that all shows every morning when I m coming to the office. When I’ll share my experiences while riding an auto in Delhi, I m sure you’ll agree that how interesting their experiences, insights, attitudes, outlook and everything else are.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
Friday, August 08, 2008
Money Flashing in Parliament- the Real Issues
The sight of money being flashed in the Parliament generated varied emotions among the masses and political commentators. New ebb in the democracy; mockery of the political system; was this the dream of our freedom fighters? so on and so forth. But honestly, do we really care? Aren’t we the same people who have voted those 500+ wise men to be there, to do what they were doing that day. Would we not vote most of them back as and when we’ll be obliged to?
And to be frank except for the newness of putting forth the fact that our politicians are by and large corrupt what else does it signify? Definitely not, that we as a nation have failed ourselves.
Well as far as I am concerned, fortunately or unfortunately, I was more or less unmoved by the fact that ‘politicians flashed bundles of bribe money in parliament’ supposedly given to them to cross vote. What bothered me was something else. Numerically, the numbers that parties have, the whips they had issued and the side they said they were on didn’t show in the final vote. Money or no money, we have a system where parties have MPs sent to Parliament who don’t agree to their party’s stand on such crucial issues. And I don’t want to enter into the debate on democracy and freedom of speech of MPs.
Whether this nuclear deal will solve our energy problems or not is not the issue I want to go into right now. And to be frank, I personally believe this deal in not just about the energy needs or the like, but that’s not the thing to be talked of as of now.
There are significant other issues involved here. First the MPs who were offered bribe what should have been their duty, bring the money to the august house to flash it or inform the police about the bribe giver. What they did, does that amount to having accepted the bribe? Second even more disturbing to me was whether the senior party leaders of those MPs’ aware of the whole show. If yes, God save us! For those people would be the decision makers for the whole country and not just the party- a job they don’t seem to be very good at.
If they weren’t, then again its serious issue as they have people in their ranks who can do this kind of drama without even bothering to inform them. It seems that perhaps their party MPs don’t believe that they are capable of taking the right call in an issue as important as this was.
Or, may be their MPs don’t give a damn.
Fortunately and as the conventions demand, a committee has been formed and has got into action already and very soon we’ll know the real picture. But would we ever get to know the role played by senior party leaders in whole money flashing episode? Would our political parties ever base their judgment on what’s best for the country and the people instead of, well only God knows what? And would our leaders rise above party politics and put nation before them?
Well, I know I am getting carried away too far and am asking for too much. It’s been six decades now. So, may be I’ll do what we are all used to doing, keep my fingers crossed with a prayer on the lips waiting to see how things unfold and stare into future and eventually do, well…. Do you have any workable solution for all of us??? I am still clueless.
Wtritten by: Rohit Mishra
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Irony of the English football
Finally, after 44 years of long drought, Spain won something big. The UEFA EURO 2008 Championships!! 16 nations fought hard to declare their supremacy at Europe’s biggest stage. It was not a surprise when Spain came out on top by some scintillating display of attractive & breathtaking football. The surprises were teams like Russia & Turkey who reached the last four stage surpassing teams like Italy, Netherlands, France, Croatia, etc. But perhaps the biggest surprise was the absence of England from the championship. Or was it?
If we look at the last four years of club football, it has been dominated by English clubs. In 2005, Liverpool won the Champions League by beating AC Milan in one of the best matches ever played at a night which no football fan will ever forget. Then in 2006, Arsenal reached the finals but eventually losing to the winners, Barcelona. 2007 saw three teams from England reach the semi-finals stage. In 2008, all the four clubs reached the quarter-final stage. But in spite of all this English domination in Europe, the national team didn’t qualify for Euro 2008.
So why is it that a nation so powerful in the UEFA Champions League can only be spectator in Euro 2008? Why can't they qualify when they have so many world class players and managers in their league? The answer lies within the nationality of those world class players and managers. Take a look at the nationality compositions of the 4 clubs that made it through the quarter final, how many of them can be defined as "English"? They had 4 clubs and none of them was managed by an England manager, the closest thing that comes to an England manager is Alex Ferguson and he is Scottish by nationality. Theo Walcott is the only top English player in the Arsenal squad, and he even doesn't have a regular first team football. Liverpool only has 2 English players as regular starters: Steven Gerrard and Jammie Carragher, the same for Chelsea.
With so many foreigners, I don't think it's fair to say that those who were involved in the quarter final can be called as "English team", they should be called a "Global and EU teams who use England as their base" team!!
The EPL always claim themselves as the best league in the world, both in the aspect of quality of play and business which is something I agree about. The EPL always perform quite high quality level every week with fans spread throughout the world. League competition is a way to produce a strong national team, a team that can bring joy and dignity to every it's citizen. The FA should do more evaluation about their system of competition. What's the point of having the so called best league in the world when you don't have a strong national team?
Written by: Digvijay Singh
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Gay Marriages on the rise in India
The number of gays entering into wedlock in Goa is on the rise and groups working for homosexual rights are demanding legal cover for such marriages.
"It's heartening to note that gays are getting acceptance from their families... this is happening for the first time in the state which saw first gay marriage three years back," Vishant Chodankar, trustee, Humsaath Trust, a non government organisation working for gays. "Fearing social stigma and discrimination, we had to conduct all these marriages in a clandestine manner," he said.
A few years ago, a renowned male fashion designer based in Goa solemnised his marriage to his male partner. It was recorded as the first gay marriage in India. Chodankar, who is himself married to a male partner, feels loyalty in gay marriages is much more than in conventional marriages.
"They are ready to come out in public with their relationship if there is social acceptance," Chodankar said.
The NGO is the only body working for gay rights. It is worried about high susceptibility to sexually-transmitted diseases among gays. Referring to the demand for legalising gay marriages, he said, "Gay couples cut across the age group of 18 to 50 years. We need the government's help to legalise such an institution," he added. Gay marriages in India, which hitherto lack social acceptance are now getting support from unexpected quarters -- respective families.
Social conservatives and others who oppose same-sex unions assert that marriage between a man and a woman is the bedrock of a healthy society because it leads to stable families and, ultimately, to children who grow up to be productive adults. Allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed, they argue, will radically redefine marriage and further weaken it at a time when the institution is already in deep trouble due to high divorce rates and the significant number of out-of-wedlock births. Moreover, they predict, giving gay couples the right to marry will ultimately lead to granting people in polygamous and other nontraditional relationships the right to marry as well.
Written by: Neha Gupta
Monday, August 04, 2008
How Important is Virtualization?
Virtualization may seem like a technology coming into vague for last few years only, but in reality has been used in some form or the other since 1960s. It was in that very decade when IBM started working on virtualization. And since then it has expanded to different aspects of IT in varying degrees.
Virtualization basically is a framework/methodology of dividing the different resources of a computer system into multiple execution environments. For a common man the term may sound confusing or intimidating at times. But what every user doesn’t realize is that in a very crude form we all have been using virtualization on our work stations. Take the example of partitioning the hard disk into multiple drives/sectors. Another easy example would be a technology that allows you to run a number of operating systems on a system, simultaneously. It’s nothing but virtualization at work. But of course it’s not that simple always.
Virtualization may make a single resource look like many or may make multiple resources look like a single resource. The good thing is that it ensures that every piece of hardware can be made to work to the best of its capabilities.
Virtualization at times is used synonymously with server virtualization as servers are the components where it has been used most extensively so far. Server virtualization has in fact become very wide spread. Though initially it was being applied on main frames only but of late it has entered the domain of SME’s also.
But virtualization is not something that can and should be confined to single component i.e. servers only. It can and is being used in different components like storage, desktop, applications, etc. Numerous studies have shown that best results of virtualization are obtained when server virtualization is coupled with storage virtualization. And this fact has gained a lot of currency in the market. The market is now flooded with solutions for not just server virtualization but also storage and desktop virtualization.
But if everyone is talking about virtualization and adopting it then there must be strong reasons behind it. And that’s precisely the case. Virtualization when applied to IT components offers vast variety of benefits to the CIO’s. To list a few, it results to:
· Lowered TCO
· Quick ROI
· Better utilization of existing resources
· Reduced number of servers
· Better storage management
· Increased DR/BC capabilities
· Improved power efficiency
The list can go on and on but the main point is that virtualization has offered a near panacea to many problems a CIO faces today. It offers the CIO a way out of the financial constraints and performance issues. And if we look closely it’s obvious that virtualization is not useful to the IT operations and services only but is a boon to the whole business line that at some level makes use of the IT services.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
Virtualization basically is a framework/methodology of dividing the different resources of a computer system into multiple execution environments. For a common man the term may sound confusing or intimidating at times. But what every user doesn’t realize is that in a very crude form we all have been using virtualization on our work stations. Take the example of partitioning the hard disk into multiple drives/sectors. Another easy example would be a technology that allows you to run a number of operating systems on a system, simultaneously. It’s nothing but virtualization at work. But of course it’s not that simple always.
Virtualization may make a single resource look like many or may make multiple resources look like a single resource. The good thing is that it ensures that every piece of hardware can be made to work to the best of its capabilities.
Virtualization at times is used synonymously with server virtualization as servers are the components where it has been used most extensively so far. Server virtualization has in fact become very wide spread. Though initially it was being applied on main frames only but of late it has entered the domain of SME’s also.
But virtualization is not something that can and should be confined to single component i.e. servers only. It can and is being used in different components like storage, desktop, applications, etc. Numerous studies have shown that best results of virtualization are obtained when server virtualization is coupled with storage virtualization. And this fact has gained a lot of currency in the market. The market is now flooded with solutions for not just server virtualization but also storage and desktop virtualization.
But if everyone is talking about virtualization and adopting it then there must be strong reasons behind it. And that’s precisely the case. Virtualization when applied to IT components offers vast variety of benefits to the CIO’s. To list a few, it results to:
· Lowered TCO
· Quick ROI
· Better utilization of existing resources
· Reduced number of servers
· Better storage management
· Increased DR/BC capabilities
· Improved power efficiency
The list can go on and on but the main point is that virtualization has offered a near panacea to many problems a CIO faces today. It offers the CIO a way out of the financial constraints and performance issues. And if we look closely it’s obvious that virtualization is not useful to the IT operations and services only but is a boon to the whole business line that at some level makes use of the IT services.
Written by: Rohit Mishra
Friday, August 01, 2008
The elusive infrastructure management goal
Business decision-makers today not only expect, but also demand consistent service level guarantees for key applications or services across the whole enterprise. Large-scale automation has taken place, or is set to happen in key functions of organizations. Enterprises are heavily dependent on these automation applications across functions.
If we were to critically consider options available to automate processes, we’ll find applications encompassing every function. There are ERP systems, sales and distribution modules, CRM, SCM, and a host of standard applications available to critically evaluate and implement in their respective functions. This creates an ecosystem of enterprise applications across the company.
The critical responsibility
The most important and critical responsibility of the ownership of these enterprise applications is the IT department of the organization. And within the IT function, the IT infrastructure is the most critical component due to the dependencies on the applications for each function.
An interesting part of all this is that management of the IT infrastructure is the only area which does not have a standard application available to handle processes or bring about elements of intelligence.
The available applications/tools are only point tools. But in order to manage a large IT setup, one needs to integrate multiple tools which many IT teams avoid due to the complexities of implementing and running such tools. The only way the IT teams today cope with it is by outsourcing the IT infrastructure to a third party.
Human interference
There are various infrastructure management models currently available, but these require human interference. Manual interference and the lack of consistent service management processes is still the number one source of incidents resulting in end-user downtime.
The biggest challenge
The biggest challenge for IT infrastructure managers today is unplanned and untested infrastructure change. Let’s face it: humans are not very good at repetitive tasks, so this cries out for automation.
Over the last year during my interaction with some of the top IT infrastructure managers, I was able to get an idea about the key challenges in running corporate IT infrastructure, in a country like ours with a diverse business environment. These challenges make IT infrastructure management elusive. They are:
• Multiple technologies, protocols, and vendors
• Diverse geographies and users
• Greater business demands and Moore’s Law
• A daunting environment
Increased complexities
Today, even small IT environments have many inter-related components. Complexity arises from the inter-dependencies among these components, which increase exponentially as business demands the addition of hardware and software to IT architectures.
It may be necessary to add network elements such as servers, networks, storage systems, and management systems. The organization may need to upgrade its facilities and expand the scope of processes and organizational structures.
Management and control become critical to business as the IT environment becomes more complex. With millions of inter-dependencies, many are difficult to identify, some are difficult to understand, and others are outside our domain of control. IT infrastructure management is a formidable undertaking if we can’t understand and control the inter-dependencies.
Multiple technologies, protocols and vendors
Not long ago, mission-critical systems all ran on mainframe technology. With the advent of the PC, LANs, and related technologies many business applications moved from the protected realm of the mainframe data centre to the free-flowing desktops of users.
Today’s hottest gadgets include Blackberrys, pocket PCs, Palm PCs, and other devices that connect to networks, allowing users to carry data with them.
When dealing with the architecture or systems deployment strategy, no longer are IT managers bound to use host-based configurations where a large, powerful central computer does all the processing, and users interact via dumb terminals.
In today’s client/server architectures, each computing resource can be a client, a server, or both at various times. With this architecture, the mainframe is regarded as a fat server, and the dumb terminal becomes a thin client.
Alternatively, IT managers can choose a fat client (a powerful PC) that communicates with a thin server, or a newer Web-centred or n-tier architecture. Each of these approaches present unique deployment, management, and availability challenges.
The IT industry is an apt example of a democracy. Enterprises can buy from scores of vendors whose products implement the same popular technologies and standards, and safely assume that your products will work—most of the time, at least.
But freedom can be abused, and even in the best case, it creates enormous challenges for IT professionals, who are called upon to get multi-vendor products to work together with mission-critical reliability.
Today, even small IT environments have many inter-related components. Complexity arises from the inter-dependencies among these components, which increase exponentially as business demands the addition of hardware and software to IT architectures
Diverse geographies and users
Technology is a great enabler and empowers individuals to perform equally well wherever they are. Gone are the days when all requests for computations or data manipulation would have to be submitted to the EDP. Today, nearly everyone in the organization has access to some form of computing resource.
With the growth of networks comes the challenge of managing computing resources that are physically distant from each other. In the 1960s, the IT organisation only needed to worry about its ‘glass house’—the room where its giant mainframe was protected.
Today, you must provide extensive remote-user access. Given the telecom reach today users can connect to your system via the public telephone network, rent leased lines to remote departments or offices and also connect to the Internet. Users want to work from their homes, or from wherever their jobs take them.
Managing all the varied users is a big challenge. As a result, IT professionals must ensure that their systems consider the skills, experience, and languaReaderwarege of a wider range of users than ever before.
Greater business demands and Moore’s Law
Information technology is no longer a matter of competitive advantage—it’s a matter of survival. Customers now routinely demand what were once ‘extra’ features and capabilities.
They ask questions such as, what’s your web address so I can get more information about your products? Do you have an e-mail address where I can send information about my problems or concerns? Can I do business with you electronically, and do away with all these paper forms? Can I access my bank account from the Internet?
Anybody who follows the IT industry can attest to the fact that the rate of new product developments is growing exponentially. Businesses once went several months without new product announcements. Now, not only do businesses introduce new products (or versions of their products) more often, but many more businesses are involved.
In addition to this, the biggest factor driving this industry is Moore’s law and with possibilities of technology deployment increasing manifold the challenges to manage it are also growing exponentially.
A daunting environment
To summarize, IT infrastructure professionals are living in a world where they have to use a service-led model as there is no single tool available to cater to their needs; and build a process-based governance layer to manage their roles better.
Written by: Nitin C Paul
If we were to critically consider options available to automate processes, we’ll find applications encompassing every function. There are ERP systems, sales and distribution modules, CRM, SCM, and a host of standard applications available to critically evaluate and implement in their respective functions. This creates an ecosystem of enterprise applications across the company.
The critical responsibility
The most important and critical responsibility of the ownership of these enterprise applications is the IT department of the organization. And within the IT function, the IT infrastructure is the most critical component due to the dependencies on the applications for each function.
An interesting part of all this is that management of the IT infrastructure is the only area which does not have a standard application available to handle processes or bring about elements of intelligence.
The available applications/tools are only point tools. But in order to manage a large IT setup, one needs to integrate multiple tools which many IT teams avoid due to the complexities of implementing and running such tools. The only way the IT teams today cope with it is by outsourcing the IT infrastructure to a third party.
Human interference
There are various infrastructure management models currently available, but these require human interference. Manual interference and the lack of consistent service management processes is still the number one source of incidents resulting in end-user downtime.
The biggest challenge
The biggest challenge for IT infrastructure managers today is unplanned and untested infrastructure change. Let’s face it: humans are not very good at repetitive tasks, so this cries out for automation.
Over the last year during my interaction with some of the top IT infrastructure managers, I was able to get an idea about the key challenges in running corporate IT infrastructure, in a country like ours with a diverse business environment. These challenges make IT infrastructure management elusive. They are:
• Multiple technologies, protocols, and vendors
• Diverse geographies and users
• Greater business demands and Moore’s Law
• A daunting environment
Increased complexities
Today, even small IT environments have many inter-related components. Complexity arises from the inter-dependencies among these components, which increase exponentially as business demands the addition of hardware and software to IT architectures.
It may be necessary to add network elements such as servers, networks, storage systems, and management systems. The organization may need to upgrade its facilities and expand the scope of processes and organizational structures.
Management and control become critical to business as the IT environment becomes more complex. With millions of inter-dependencies, many are difficult to identify, some are difficult to understand, and others are outside our domain of control. IT infrastructure management is a formidable undertaking if we can’t understand and control the inter-dependencies.
Multiple technologies, protocols and vendors
Not long ago, mission-critical systems all ran on mainframe technology. With the advent of the PC, LANs, and related technologies many business applications moved from the protected realm of the mainframe data centre to the free-flowing desktops of users.
Today’s hottest gadgets include Blackberrys, pocket PCs, Palm PCs, and other devices that connect to networks, allowing users to carry data with them.
When dealing with the architecture or systems deployment strategy, no longer are IT managers bound to use host-based configurations where a large, powerful central computer does all the processing, and users interact via dumb terminals.
In today’s client/server architectures, each computing resource can be a client, a server, or both at various times. With this architecture, the mainframe is regarded as a fat server, and the dumb terminal becomes a thin client.
Alternatively, IT managers can choose a fat client (a powerful PC) that communicates with a thin server, or a newer Web-centred or n-tier architecture. Each of these approaches present unique deployment, management, and availability challenges.
The IT industry is an apt example of a democracy. Enterprises can buy from scores of vendors whose products implement the same popular technologies and standards, and safely assume that your products will work—most of the time, at least.
But freedom can be abused, and even in the best case, it creates enormous challenges for IT professionals, who are called upon to get multi-vendor products to work together with mission-critical reliability.
Today, even small IT environments have many inter-related components. Complexity arises from the inter-dependencies among these components, which increase exponentially as business demands the addition of hardware and software to IT architectures
Diverse geographies and users
Technology is a great enabler and empowers individuals to perform equally well wherever they are. Gone are the days when all requests for computations or data manipulation would have to be submitted to the EDP. Today, nearly everyone in the organization has access to some form of computing resource.
With the growth of networks comes the challenge of managing computing resources that are physically distant from each other. In the 1960s, the IT organisation only needed to worry about its ‘glass house’—the room where its giant mainframe was protected.
Today, you must provide extensive remote-user access. Given the telecom reach today users can connect to your system via the public telephone network, rent leased lines to remote departments or offices and also connect to the Internet. Users want to work from their homes, or from wherever their jobs take them.
Managing all the varied users is a big challenge. As a result, IT professionals must ensure that their systems consider the skills, experience, and languaReaderwarege of a wider range of users than ever before.
Greater business demands and Moore’s Law
Information technology is no longer a matter of competitive advantage—it’s a matter of survival. Customers now routinely demand what were once ‘extra’ features and capabilities.
They ask questions such as, what’s your web address so I can get more information about your products? Do you have an e-mail address where I can send information about my problems or concerns? Can I do business with you electronically, and do away with all these paper forms? Can I access my bank account from the Internet?
Anybody who follows the IT industry can attest to the fact that the rate of new product developments is growing exponentially. Businesses once went several months without new product announcements. Now, not only do businesses introduce new products (or versions of their products) more often, but many more businesses are involved.
In addition to this, the biggest factor driving this industry is Moore’s law and with possibilities of technology deployment increasing manifold the challenges to manage it are also growing exponentially.
A daunting environment
To summarize, IT infrastructure professionals are living in a world where they have to use a service-led model as there is no single tool available to cater to their needs; and build a process-based governance layer to manage their roles better.
Written by: Nitin C Paul
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