Outsourcing, Web 2.0 and other cool stuff

New Blog Site

2007-06-16T12:12:00.000-05:00

All blogs from Jun 12th 2007 onwards are posted at www.kaujalgi.net

Does Web 2.0 matter?

2007-06-12T09:54:00.000-05:00

At the Interop conference in Las Vegas, Cisco CEO John Chambers talks about the need for businesses to increase productivity by implementing Web 2.0 tools such as wikis, mashups, and virtual conferencing. He also explains how Cisco used Web 2.0 principles in its $7 billion acquisition of Scientific Atlanta.

Opensource Products for everybody

2007-06-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

We use a lot of opensource/"free" software and services at Collabor - not just because they are free (which is cool in itself), but also because they are pretty good. Opensource has classically been associated with Linux and the famous LAMP platform - and a lot of people still think of it as a developer's toolset. Well the developers have.....well.... developed quite a few products which merit serious consideration.

At Collabor and our group companies this is what we use in addition to the development platform/ Here is our list:

Feel free to add or share your list

My travails with Ubuntu 7.04 - Feisty Fawn

2007-06-10T10:14:00.000-05:00

The fawn has indeed been feisty for me.

You see, I have a home PC which I no longer am best friends with. Well, its old and slow and still has Windows 98, has blown its power supply once - so you can imagine keeping the friendship going is a little tough. I am now with new Vista friends. Ya, I know I am mean. Its kind of like real life, where I am hardly in contact with friends from high school, but still close to guys from the MBA days and of course closest to guys who i worked with most recently.

Anyways, I thought of giving my old PC a new lease of life and loading Ubuntu 7.04 and scrapping the Win98 from the system. Kind of like "Extreme Makeover" on abc.

So I visit the Ubuntu site and download 7.04 desktop from my closest server at Northeastern U. I get a .iso file and burn a CD. When I try to install - NO GO.

Since I could not figure out the problem immediately, I downloaded the Ubuntu 6.06 version after a couple of weeks and read the installation manual (by the way, very tough to find the thing on the site). I found the part where they ask you to match the checksums to make sure the download was clean. Well the check sums did not match.

A month went by, and I downloaded 7.04 again. The checksums again don't match. What is going on, I say to myself. I am 8 weeks into this download thingy and still cannot download a clean version - I probably could have requested free CDs and got them by now. Maybe I will do that now.

So my old friend the Win98 home PC languishes in the closet, while I chum up with my 2 other laptops running Xp and Vista.

New Websites at Collabor

2007-06-06T11:07:00.000-05:00

At Collabor, the company I founded and am Chairman & CEO of, we have refreshed our web presence for the Corporate website at www.collabor.com; a new blog at www.collabor.com/blog and for www.gizmorank.com - our gizmos and gadgets ranking site.

Also launched for public beta is our site www.birbal.in - our social community wrapped around comparison shopping focused on the Indian Market.

Have a look, and let us know what you think

The Firefox Bus

2007-06-01T15:42:00.000-05:00

There was a blog entry about a Firefox bus about an year ago, but that site (kalyan.livejournal.com/204212.html) is always down. So I decided to upload some here.

I am not sure if these are from the site mentioned above - these are not mine. Also enclosed is a link to a Flickr Album with other photos of firefox buses in India. Apparently, this is way popular in India.

Hmmn, Never heard of an IE bus

Mumbai's Dabbawalas get their due in NY Times

2007-05-30T10:49:00.000-05:00

NY Times report here

The dabbawalas have been well known in Mumbai and around India and have been case studies in MBA schools across India. They really got noticed a couple of years ago when their business model was discussed as a case study at the Harvard Business School. Last December, students at Stanford GSB met them as part of their India Study trip. Forbes magazine, in 1998, gave this service the highest quality rating of Six Sigma.

Check out a video report here -

and here is their site - My Dabbawala.com

Eric Schmidt at Web 2.0 Expo April 17, 2007

2007-05-29T10:30:00.000-05:00

The Ultimate Web 2.0 Video using ..... well Web 2.0

2007-05-22T14:01:00.000-05:00

Prof Wesch and his class at Kansas State University have created a fascinating video called "The Machine is Us/ing Us" . Absolutely Awesome and not to be missed. Start your speakers

Ahh! The sweet smell of Auto Industry innovation is in the air ...

2007-05-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

Auto Industry Innovation is an oxy moron.

Model T 1908 - Average Mileage 25 mpg

Today's average car mileage - 24 mpg (pushed up significantly by the Prius)
2001 average car mileage - 21 mpg

My car (Nissan Muran0) - 18.3 mpg

Here are some of my alternative taglines for our car makers on the occassion of this 100th year

Toyota: "moving backward" - a little harsh considering the Prius

Honda: "the power of dreams" is not working

GM: "An American Revolution" - god what an insult

Chrysler: "Engineered Beautifully", just needs a "little" gas to run

Ford: "bold doesn't move" but "Old Moves" - go back a 100 years and figure it out

Nissan: "Shift" you assess and get me more mpg

Day in the life of

2007-05-22T10:44:00.001-05:00

I have the pleasure of being in a role which merges 2 phenomena which have transformed life in their respective countries - Offshore services in India and the Web 2.0 revolution in the US.

With one leg in Boston and the other in Hyderabad this is what a day in my life looks like.....
- 6 AM wake up to the radio going off on NPR Morning edition. cannot belive these folks are on from 4 AM. that sucks. snooze
- 6.07 AM second alarm. snooze. now can hear a little more of NPR as it pokes through my sleepy haze
- 6.14 AM wife wakes up. be generous and let her use the bathroom first. go off to sleep
- 6.30 AM wake up. seriously
- 6.45 AM downstairs watching the news and having the only real cup of tea that I will have in the day. Brooke Bond Natural Care, brewed and with milk and sugar like back home in India
- 7.00 AM tired of the news people going on and on about some trivial nonesense like Imus or Anna Nicole or American Idol and other innane things, while people die in darfur and iraq, the temp of the world rises and new orleans still a mess. run and get ready, check blackberry and reply to emails and delete yesterday's junk mail. My god so many companies with FDA approvals in my email. good for them.
- 7.30 AM India calls. Juggle blackberry under the ear (can't find my bluetooth headset for the past 2 weeks), bag on the other shoulder, keys, lunch, and get into car and head for work
- 8.00 AM At the desk, still talking to India
- 8.30 AM still talking to India
- 9.00 AM read nyt and start NPR on the PC.
- 9.30 AM finish to do list from yesterday night
- 11.30 AM second call with India. When do they sleep
- 12.30 PM finish call, lunch. Coke Zero is pretty good
- 2.00 PM meetings, calls, check the birbal.in beta, review and feedback
- 4.00 PM ready with to do list for myself and India
- 6.00 PM home. hope there are no events in the evening
- 6.30 PM cycling or squash
- 8.00 PM dinner with wife. wife's cooking awesome. tv junk. Wife 1, TV 0 - again
- 8.01 PM fire up the laptop, fire up the home PC - why am i not able to load Ubuntu, Oh check sums don't match. will have to download again. will do it tomorrow
- 10.30 PM first call from wife. shutoff the laptop
- 11.00 PM second call
- 11.30 PM maybe I should call India - its 9 AM there.

Call India - Sleep at 1 AM
Don't Call India - Sleep at 11.31 PM

Seriously 24x5.5, but when can I get some work done

More on Project Management

2007-05-18T10:09:00.001-05:00

How is your latest offshore project coming along?

2007-05-18T09:51:00.001-05:00

Are you attending TiECON East? Save on registration fee using my Code

2007-05-07T13:42:00.000-05:00

TiECON East will be held in Boston from Jun 14-16th and you should attend. Use my name and code CMTC07 and save $50 from the registration fees. If you are or wish to be an entrepreneur you should know this:

1) TiE is the world’s largest non-profit for innovation
2) TiE members raise 5% of US venture capital;
3) TiE members have created over $250 Billion in value;
4) You can hear Ram Shriram (Board Member, Google); Deval Patrick (Governor of MA.); Reed Hundt (Board Member, Intel) and others talk/network for a fee thousands less than other conferences.

Register here: www.tieconeast.org

Google overtakes Microsoft in Total Web Traffic

2007-04-25T08:50:00.000-05:00

Google announced that their Unique Visitor traffic to all their sites combined in March 2007 was 528 Million. 1 Million more than Microsoft.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/25/GOOGLE.TMP&feed=rss.news

China & India: The Race is On; By Nicholas Kirstof

2007-04-24T12:03:00.000-05:00

In Its Match With China, India Penalizes Its Own Team
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: April 24, 2007, NYT

Until India’s economic boom becomes much more broadly based, the country won’t achieve a fraction of what it should.

You can watch the video at this link: http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=111c852f7c4c8dfef62dca3a791df9a4aa9ba49d

To read the column or post a comment, you need to be a NYT TimesSelect subscriber http://select.nytimes.com/pages/timesselect/index.html?mkt=tstdytb

ये Web 2.0 Web 2.0 क्या है?

2007-04-18T09:22:00.000-05:00

As a Web 2.0 (huh?) company, I am frequently asked by people what Web 2.0 is all about. The people in India ask me in Hindi (as in the title of this post).

Web 2.0 is many things - the second coming of "the web" after the fascinating "no revenue, lot of funding" bust of 2001, a platform , a connected network of applications that on their own and collectively transform how we do what we do - and none of these things.

Perhaps the most comprehensive and satisfying (ahh) explanation is Tim O'Reilly's from his Web 2.0 conference in 2004.

Here is a Link - http://www.oreilly.com/lpt/a/6228

TiE Boston's new Special Interest Group

2007-04-10T07:30:00.000-05:00

TiE Boston is creating a new Special Interest Group (SIG) to focus on Outsourcing, Offshoring, IT Services and BPO. The official announcement will be made in a week.

Yours truly will chair the SIG, and we hope to create some interesting networking, education and thought sharing forums under this SIG. Watch this space

India outsourcing moves to the fore

2007-04-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

by Anand Giridharadas, in The International Herald Tribune of April 3, 2007

An Absolute Must Read for everybody who wants to see where ITO/BPO and the Offshore movement is headed

BANGALORE, India: Outsourcing is breaking out of the back office. Until recently, the migration of service industry jobs from the West to places like India seemed to obey an unwritten law: Low-skill clerical and programming tasks would leave the developed economies, while high-end careers requiring graduate degrees and commanding six-figure salaries would stay behind.

While call centers and software houses closed in the West, often leaving their workers scrounging for employment, professionals in fields like aeronautical engineering, investment banking and drug research likely believed they had nothing to worry about.

Quietly, but steadily, that is changing. High-skilled jobs in those very fields, which once epitomized the competitiveness of Western economies, are flowing to India. The pool of jobs once thought to be impossible to outsource is gradually evaporating.

Boeing and Airbus now employ hundreds of Indians on critical tasks, including the design of next-generation cockpits and systems to prevent airborne collisions. For about one-fifth the cost, investment banks like Morgan Stanley are hiring Indians to analyze U.S. stocks, a job that can pay $200,000 a year or more on Wall Street

Eli Lilly, the U.S. drug maker, recently handed over a promising molecule it discovered to an Indian company, Nicholas Piramal, which will be paid $500,000 to $1.5 million a year per scientist for at least two years of work readying the drug for commercial use.

And with multinationals employing tens of thousands of Indians, some are beginning to treat the country like a second headquarters, sending senior executives with global responsibilities to work from India.

Cisco Systems, a maker of communications equipment, has mandated that 20 percent of its top talent be in India within five years. The company recently moved one of its five highest-ranking executives, Wim Elfrink, to Bangalore as its chief globalization officer.

"There is no job that is done in Cisco that a guy in India can't do," said Samu Devarajan, a Cisco managing director in Bangalore. "If this theater becomes successful and grows the way we want it to grow, I see no reason why the CEO of Cisco couldn't sit in India."

Accenture, the global consulting giant, has its worldwide head of business-process outsourcing in Bangalore. By December, it will have more employees in India than in the United States.

.... continue to read the rest of the article here

NYT: Guidelines for Using a Cellphone Abroad

2007-03-16T09:15:00.000-05:00

A must read for people travelling abroad from the US and want to use their cellphones. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/technology/15basics.html?em&ex=1174190400&en=9913a4480bfb4ce1&ei=5087%0A

In India, the cellular phone system used is GSM. You can get a temporary (for the duration of your stay) SIM card which will work with your unlocked GSM cellphone - of course, you will get a new Indian phone number with the card, which you will need to communicate back home. To arrange for this SIM card, you can get one at most India international airports in the arrival area, or ask for your hotel or host in India to arrange for one.

Out due to Personal Reason

2007-03-16T09:14:00.000-05:00

I will be out due to personal reasons from Feb 5th to March 15th

India projected to join China in surpassing size of the U.S. economy by 2050

2007-01-26T07:29:00.000-05:00

India projected to join China in surpassing size of the U.S. economy by 2050
By Anand Giridharadas, Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The Indian economy will join that of China in surpassing the size of the U.S. economy by 2050 to become a motor of global growth, according to a new forecast by Goldman Sachs, the investment bank.

The United States is currently the world's largest economy. Goldman forecasts that the Chinese economy will pass that of the United States around 2035, while India will do the same about a decade later.

India has moved onto a much faster growth trajectory than the bank had previously expected, fueled by strong and steady productivity gains in its legions of new factories, which are producing everything from brassieres to cars.

The rise of India will lead to increasing global competition for resources and more pressure on the environment, Goldman said.

Goldman now expects the Indian economy to grow at 8 percent a year through 2020, higher than the 5.7 percent rate it predicted in 2003. Indian trade has been growing at 25 percent a year since 2003.

That year it published what is now widely known as the BRICs report, on the rise of Brazil, Russia, India and China. That report helped to galvanize global interest in developing economies and was often cited by investors during the 2006 bullish market in emerging- country stocks.
Goldman put out a research paper arguing that "India's influence on the world economy will be bigger and quicker than implied" in 2003.

For more info please go to the original International Herald Tribune article

The world's engineers, but not the architects !

2007-01-24T09:59:00.000-05:00

Where exactly is India innovating? Services, sure. Put products/original content, questionable?

And YES, there are significant innovations happening on a small to medium level in many areas.
But I am talking about the global game changers. The big kahuna, the mother of all inventions, the next best thing. ..... Okay, cool down.

Apart from the Offshore Services Industry - when looked at from a macro economic level - a true game changer, not much has happened, has it? Oh the questions this raises (and I will keep it confined to technology innovations)

Why hasn't India produced an internationally recognizable Apple or Yahoo or Google or a Microsoft?
Why are some of the most celebrated movies in India usually a hotch potch (uncredited) copies of foreign movies, and even more so the music? And this is an industry all about creativity.
Why isn't there a Indian cellphone company a la Nokia, Samsung or Motorola?
Why was VoIP not invented in India?
..... YouTube, Skype, Blogging......
At a more granular level - Java/J2EE, Ruby on Rails, Linux, ......

Why are we so proud of India as the world's back office? Why not the Front Office? Why are we not the architects of tomorrow - why do we remain the engineers?

The IMF says India will become the 3rd largest economy in the world in 2007 by PPP . Since PPP is a relative index, let me propose one more. Where would India stand if measured by an Innovation index ?

I promise more on this subject in future posts

Reading Material : Check out these series of articles by Arindam Banerji on Indian Innovation - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 & Part 4. You may or may not agree with his viewpoints, but he was onto something and he has compiled quite a list of Indian innovations at all levels.

IP Protection in India

2007-01-24T09:32:00.000-05:00

While researching IP protection for a Proposal we made to a recent client, I came across this excellent page at the website of the Indian Embassy. This is the link : http://www.indianembassy.org/policy/ipr/ipr_2000.htm

For those who want to read it right here, the page is reproduced below

Intellectual Property Rights in India

There is a well-established statutory, administrative and judicial framework to safeguard intellectual property rights in India, whether they relate to patents, trademarks, copyright or industrial designs. Well-known international trademarks have been protected in India even when they were not registered in India. The Indian Trademarks Law has been extended through court decisions to service marks in addition to trade marks for goods. Computer software companies have successfully curtailed piracy through court orders. Computer databases have been protected. The courts, under the doctrine of breach of confidentiality, accorded an extensive protection of trade secrets. Right to privacy, which is not protected even in some developed countries, has been recognized in India.

Protection of intellectual property rights in India continues to be strengthened further. The year 1999 witnessed the consideration and passage of major legislation with regard to protection of intellectual property rights in harmony with international practices and in compliance with India's obligations under TRIPS. These include:

The Patents (Amendment) Act, 1999 passed by the Indian Parliament on March 10, 1999 to amend the Patents Act of 1970 that provides for establishment of a mail box system to file patents and accords exclusive marketing rights for 5 years.
The Trade Marks Bill, 1999 which repeals and replaces the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 passed by the Indian Parliament in the Winter Session that concluded on December 23, 1999.
The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1999 passed by both houses of the Indian Parliament, and signed by the President of India on December 30, 1999.
A sui generis legislation for the protection of geographical indications called the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Bill, 1999 approved by both houses of the Indian Parliament on December 23, 1999.
The Industrial Designs Bill, 1999 which replaces the Designs Act, 1911 was passed in the Upper House of the Indian Parliament in the Winter Session which concluded on December 23, 1999 and is presently before the Lower House for its consideration.
The Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999 to further amend the Patents Act, 1970 and make it TRIPS compliant was introduced in the Upper House of Indian Parliament on December 20, 1999.

In addition to the above legislative changes, the Government of India has taken several measures to streamline and strengthen the intellectual property administration system in the country. Projects relating to the modernization of patent information services and trademarks registry have been implemented with help from WIPO/UNDP. The Government of India is implementing a project for modernization of patent offices at a cost of Rs.756 million incorporating several components such as human resource development, recruiting additional examiners, infrastructure support and strengthening by way of computerization and re-engineering work practices, and elimination of backlog of patent applications. An amendment to the Patent Rules was notified on June 2, 1999 to simplify the procedural aspects.

The Trade Marks Registry is also proposed to be further strengthened and modernized. A project for modernization was earlier implemented during 1993-96. Further strengthening of the Registry is being taken up at a cost of Rs.86 million. The main thrust now is to strengthen the infrastructure of the Trade Marks Registry and the early removal of backlog of pending applications, transfer of records to CD-ROM’s, re-engineering of work processes, appointment of additional examiners, etc.

As regards the aspect enforcement, Indian enforcement agencies are now working very effectively and there has been a notable decline in the levels of piracy in India. In addition to intensifying raids against copyright infringers, the Government has taken a number of measures to strengthen the enforcement of copyright law. Special cells for copyright enforcement have been set up in 23 States and Union Territories. In addition, for collective administration of copyright, copyright societies have been set up for different classes of works.

Concerns expressed over IPR protection & India’s response
It has been alleged that there is absence of effective patent protection in the pharmaceutical sector. India does provide for patents in the pharmaceutical sector. However, in terms of Section 5 of the Patents Act, the patents are presently restricted to the methods or process of manufacture and not extended to the substances/products themselves. In terms of the TRIPS Agreement, India has time till January 1, 2005 to extend patent protection to this area. The ten year transition period available for providing product patents to pharmaceutical products is within WTO rules.

It has been further alleged that India has failed to meet its current obligations required under Articles 70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement by implementing appropriate, conforming mailbox and exclusive marketing rights procedures. However, the Government of India has taken the following steps to meet its obligations under Articles 70.8 and 70.9:

On December 31, 1994, Government of India promulgated an Ordinance to provide a means to receive product patent applications in the fields of pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products and also for grant of exclusive marketing rights. Pursuant to this measure the Indian Patent Office has been receiving product patent applications in those fields.
India has established a mail box system through administrative instructions. Numerous applications have already been filed in this mail box system, and many of them have been filed by US companies;
India has also made changes to its Patents Act to put in place a machinery for implementation of Articles 70.8 and 70.9 by providing for establishment of a mail box system to file patents and according exclusive marketing rights for 5 years. This provision was made in the Patents (Amendment) Act of 1999.

Concern has also been expressed over the compulsory licensing provision in the Patents (Amendment) Act, 1999. It may be noted that as per the provisions of Section 84 of Patents Act, 1970 and Clause 35 of Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999, a compulsory license may be granted in case the patented invention has not met the reasonable requirement of the public at a reasonable price. This provision is intended to provide for necessary and adequate safeguard for the protection of public interest taking in to account the specific needs of a developing country like India.

This fact is supported by the US Health GAP Coalition. In their submission to the USTR, they have drawn attention to the announcement by President Clinton on December 1, 1999, that the US would henceforth take health concerns into account when formulating trade policies. They state that overly restrictive intellectual property regimes can - and have - lead to situations in which patent holders price commodities above levels at which they can feasibly be purchased in the developing world. When this happens with pharmaceuticals, a public health crisis ensues. Health GAP Coalition, therefore, requests USTR to view IPR decisions made by foreign governments in the context of their health concerns, especially those countries that are simply trying to ensure that their citizens have adequate access to medicines.

Furthermore, the compulsory licensing system has been in place since the inception of the Patents Act, 1970 in India. It is noteworthy that not a single case of misuse of this provision has been observed during the last 30 years. An application for compulsory license may be granted only after the applicant has approached the patentee prior to the application with an offer to grant license on reasonable terms and conditions (as per Clause 36 of Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999). In determining whether or not to grant a compulsory license, the Controller of Patents is required to take in to account, the nature of the invention, the time that has elapsed since the sealing of the patent and the measures already taken by the patentee or any licensee to make full use of the invention (Section 85 of Patents Act, 1970). In settling terms of a compulsory license, the Controller of Patents is required to secure that the articles manufactured under the patent shall be available to the public at the lowest prices consistent with the patentees deriving a reasonable advantage from their patent rights (Section 97(1)(ii)). These provisions substantiate the extant of a non-discriminatory administration of compulsory licenses.

In addition, the Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999 has provided for an appeals process, before an Appellate Board, on any decisions by the Controller of Patents including a grant of compulsory license (Clause 54) before approaching the Indian Courts. The Patents Law provides for compulsory license to avoid misuse of an Exclusive Marketing Right by the right holder. This provision meets a larger public interest, keeping in mind the specific Indian conditions and are in compliance with Article 31 of TRIPS.

The Indian Patent laws are neutral in their application to domestic or foreign inventions. Any disqualification, compulsory licensing, and exclusion from patentability, are provided for only in the larger interest to provide therein necessary and adequate safeguards for the protection of public interest, national security, bio-diversity, traditional knowledge, etc. These provisions are within the sphere allowed under Article 27, 30 and 31 of TRIPS.

It is to be noted that 1999 has been a year of great coherence of political will, resulting in the passage of major IPR laws and work toward the establishment of an effective administration mechanism.

Copyright protection in India
India has one of the most modern copyright protection laws in the world. Major development in the area of copyright during 1999 was the amendment to the Copyright Act of 1957 to make it fully compatible with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. Called the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1999, this amendment was signed by the President of India on December 30, 1999 and came into force on January 15, 2000.

The earlier 1994 amendment to the Copyright Act of 1957 had provided protection to all original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematography, films and sound recordings. It also brought sectors such as satellite broadcasting, computer software and digital technology under Indian copyright protection.

The Copyright Act is now in full conformity with the TRIPS obligations.

The other important development during 1999 was the issuance of the International Copyright Order, 1999 extending the provisions of the Copyright Act to nationals of all World Trade Organization (WTO) Member countries.

Concern has been expressed about the allegedly slow judicial system in India and the procedural issues involved in trial and conviction. The Indian judiciary is handling cases as expeditiously as possible. The year that has gone by has again witnessed the versatility of the impartial and independent Indian judiciary when it comes to the issue of protection of intellectual property rights, amplified by the encouraging trends with Indian courts plugging in gaps in the statute with the common sense of the common law.

The Copyright Act, 1957 prescribes mandatory punishment for piracy of copyrighted matter commensurate with the gravity of the offense with an effect to deter infringement, in compliance with the TRIPS Agreement. Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957 provides that an offense of infringement of copyright or other rights conferred by the Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees (Rs. 200,000).

Section 63A provides for enhanced penalty on second or subsequent convictions, i.e. imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees (Rs. 100,000) and which may extend up to two lakh rupees (Rs. 200,000). Section 63B provides that any person who knowingly makes use on a computer an infringing copy of a computer program shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven days but which may extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees (Rs. 200,000).

For India where the per capita income at current prices is Rs.14,682/- or US $349, the quantum of the fines, which works out to be 14 times the per capita income, is quite a burden on an individual and would act as a strong deterrent.

As regards the reported requirement that actual knowledge be proved in criminal cases, the expressions “knowingly infringes or abets infringement” in Section 63 and “knowingly makes use” in Section 63B are included to protect bona fide users. It may be noted that the expression “knowingly” was there even in the analogous Section 7 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1914. Bringing the principle of “ignoratia juris reminem excusat” may not be appropriate in the case of copyright as there are quite a large number of works which are in the public domain that a person can use freely, and it is natural for many to presume that such works are outside the copyright regime. Copyright is a special right created by law to protect certain rights of authors while keeping a balance of the interest of the society. It will be too much to expect an ordinary user to sit in judgment like a court of law as to every single aspect of the right which may or may not be applicable to a work before using the same.

So far as Article 41 and 61 of the TRIPS Agreement are concerned, India has a modern and efficient judicial system that fits in with the general obligations provided in Article 41. Article 61 of the TRIP Agreement provides that remedies available shall include imprisonment or monetary fines sufficient to provide a deterrent consistent with the level of penalties applied for a crime of corresponding gravity. The Indian Copyright Act, provides for both imprisonment and fine which in the Indian context would be a sufficient deterrent.

Civil proceedings against piracy have been quite effective - a result unique in the global enforcement against copyright piracy. For instance, in 1999, the Motion Pictures Association (MPA), filed 3 civil actions against 3 Indian cable networks and obtained injunctive relief covering 45 cities and 8 million cable homes. MPA has estimated that by these injunctions alone, cable piracy has been brought down by 50%.

Further, provisional measures, such as injunctions and ‘Anton Piller’ orders, are available through the Indian courts to stop infringement and to contain any damages. Both foreign and domestic IPR holders are treated equally under Indian law.

Indian enforcement agencies are working effectively and there is a decline in the levels of piracy in India. In addition to intensifying raids against copyright infringers, the Government has taken a number of measures to strengthen the enforcement of copyright law. A summary of these measures is given below:

During the year the government continued to stress the need for strict enforcement of the Copyright Act and Rules. State governments and other Ministries were regularly requested to lay special attention to ensuring copyright protection in their functioning. Instructions were issued to officers in the government requesting them to ensure copyright protection, particularly of software, in their work situation.
The Government also brought out A Handbook of Copyright Law to create awareness about copyright amongst the stakeholders, enforcement agencies, professional users like the scientific and academic communities and members of the public. Copies of the Handbook were circulated free of cost to the state and central government officials and police personnel and also provided to participants in various seminars and workshops on IPR matters held during the year.
National Police Academy, Hyderabad and National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics conducted several training programs on copyright for the police and customs officers. Modules on copyright have been included in their regular training programs.
The Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has initiated several measures in the past for strengthening the enforcement of copyrights that include constitution of a Copyright Enforcement Advisory Council (CEAC), creation of separate cells in state police headquarters, encouraging setting up of collective administration societies and organization of seminars and workshops to create greater awareness about copyright law among the enforcement personnel and the general public.
The CEAC is reconstituted from time to time to review periodically the progress of enforcement of the Copyright Act and to advise the government on measures for improving the enforcement. Additional Secretary, Department of Education is the chairman of the CEAC. The CEAC members include representatives of copyright industry organizations and chiefs of state police forces. The CEAC meets at least twice every year. It discusses in detail issues of enforcement, piracy, etc.
Special cells for copyright enforcement have so far been set up in 23 States and Union Territories, i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal. States have also been advised to designate a nodal officer for copyright enforcement to facilitate easy interaction by copyright industry organizations and copyright owners.
For collective administration of copyright, copyright societies have been set up for different classes of works. At present there are three registered copyright societies. These are the Society for Copyright Regulations of Indian Producers of Films & Television (SCRIPT) for cinematography films, Indian Performing Rights Society Limited (IPRS) for musical works and Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) for sound recordings. These societies, particularly the PPL and the IPRS, have been quite active in anti-piracy work. The PPL has even set up a special anti-piracy cell under a retired Director General of Police, and this cell has been working in tandem with the police.
The Government also initiates a number of seminars/workshops on copyright issues. The participants in these seminars include enforcement personnel like the police as well as representatives of industry organizations.
Several other measures to create general awareness about copyright and for encouraging study of intellectual property rights in the educational system, besides modernizing the Copyright Office, are on the anvil.

Consequent to the number of measures initiated by the government, there has been more activity in the enforcement of copyright laws in the country during the last year compared to previous years. As per the data relating to copyright offenses available with the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of copyright cases registered has gone up from 479 in 1997 to 802 in 1998. The number of persons arrested has increased from 794 in 1997 to 980 in 1998. The value of seizures has gone up from Rs.2.88 crore (28.8 million) in 1997 to Rs.7.48 crore (74.8 million) in 1998. These figures reflect the general improvement in the enforcement of the copyright law.

Long Delay in Posting

2007-01-20T09:40:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the long delays in posting new content. I am just back from an extended holiday and business visit to India

Medical Outsourcing

2006-12-12T00:16:00.000-05:00

I am being asked more and more about the opportunity in India in medical outsourcing. We have to look at two very different activities which are being clubbed under the medical outsourcing term

1. Healthcare outsourcing : This has been the traditional IT/BPO outsourcing model, wherein healthcare companies in the US - Providers & Payors have been outsourcing IT and BPO work like Medical Transcription, Insurance Billing, etc to Indian firms. Wipro made a big splash a few years ago when the announced the outsourcing by Mass General Hospital of their radiology reading to Bangalore.

2. Medical Tourism: Increasingly, there is talk of medical tourism to India, given the high cost of healthcare in the US, Japan and the long waits for treatment in more socialist healthcare countries like UK, Canada and others in mainland Europe. We are seeing two types of companies emerging from India to cater to this market. The packagers - in essence these companies tie-up with hospitals as well as leisure travel providers and can offer a patient, say a heart transplant in Mumbai followed by a 2 week recuperation period in Goa. The other type is the hospitals themselves which offer high quality medical and surgical services.

Will this trend catch on? Are a significant number of people going to travel to India to get these services? What is the entry barrier against similar activities propping up say, in the Caribbean? What is India's competitive advantage?

Let us explore this in some detail

In favor of India:

For one, most of the developed world has experience with Indian doctors in their own countries and these doctors have on average, been of a very high quality
Secondly, Indian hospital chains, especially Apollo, Fortis & Max are really stepping up their infrastructure, equipment and talent quality as well as their presence all around the country.
There have been good experiences by patients from all over the world and the cost of surgical services could be as low as 1/10th of that in the US or Japan.
The Indian government has created a Medical Visit Visa for one year duration, signaling that the bureaucracy will not be an obstacle in this business model
Thailand has been attracting 1 million plus medical tourists per year, and has been in Medical Tourism for much longer than India.

Against India:

Healthcare is not always a price sensitive decision and patients don't always want to visit a beach after a heart bypass surgery.
The reputation of India is not as a healthcare hub, in fact rich Indians have been traveling outside of India for healthcare for a long time
Just improving hospitals is not enough, the public infrastructure needs to improve as well
Patients could have anxiety of their doctor not performing their surgery or being involved in post operative care.
Patients will not be governed by their country laws in case of problems with their procedures. And problems do happen
India needs to go up against more established players like Thailand & Malaysia

In my judgment, we will see this catch on to some extent for now - but it will be more hype than volume. The true inflection point will be when employers, health insurance companies and/or hospitals in the developed world make India a part of their activities. They need to educate patients, encourage and provide insurance cover for procedures in India.

Here is some more stuff to read:

The Offshore "Value Add" Problem

2006-12-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

In my view, the offshore business has a "value add" problem. By that I mean, there is a problem that adequate value is not being added.

In a recent conference where I was a panelist, Rajesh Hukku of iFlex compared the Indian Offshore Model to Bollywood story lines. He said, very accurately, that there were, but a handful of story lines in Bollywood - the lost brothers, the rich girl meets poor boy; the rich boy meets poor girl, etc - and that as soon as any one of them became a successful movie, all the other production houses rushed to create a movie with the same story. He added that the Indian Offshore Model was the same - there were in essence a handful of story lines.

About 10 years ago the offshore model's sales story went like this

we can do it in India where there are abundant resources,
we can do it faster taking advantage of the time zone differences and running 2/3 shifts in a 24 hour day,
we can do it cheaper because of the cost arbitration, and
we can do it better with the ISO/CMM/6 Sigma certifications.

The offshore model's story today is...., you guessed it - almost the same. More services (like BPO) & service lines (QA, etc) have been added, but the fundamental basis remains the same for most companies. While the top 5-6 companies have been able to climb up the value chain either to business consulting or organizing their services vertically, the bulk of the offshore companies are still hawking the same story.

The offshore model has gained tremendous acceptance, very fast and most companies are scrambling to hire fast enough to deliver their projects. One thought hence could be - we are obviously adding some value; why change what is not broken.

This argument will stand the big players in good steed - the TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, etc. They have an established base, a critical mass, a repeat clientele from where they make 90% plus of their yearly revenue. But it will not hold good for the small and medium sized companies, as other companies and countries replicate their current "value".

The small and medium companies cannot be content with being a clone of the big players. They need to innovate into untested areas and create their own niches and/or open up new markets.

Where are these opportunities? Let us explore that for a moment.

While the offshore model has been successful in pulling the rug from under CSC, Cambridge Technology, Sapient, (ineffect, forcing them to join them), it has not been able to make a dent in the business models of services companies like Convergys, ADP and others.

Convergys is a leading telecom billing services company, while ADP is predominantly an employer services company. These companies have domain expertise in specific industry segments around which they built proprietary technology around which they wrap their services (think something like Quickbooks). This is a value add driven from Intellectual Property and has more sustainability. It has sustainability beyond cost arbitration, beyond process certifications, beyond hiring resources.

Indian Offshore companies need to acquire or build IP in specific industry segments areas and then wrap their IT and BPO services around this. This will propel the small and medium offshore companies into their own.

The Offshore Economics - Negotiating with the Vendor

2006-11-29T15:42:00.000-05:00

Let me try and see if I can explain the offshore cost structure.

1 - THE BOTTOM UP CALCULATIONS
Nasscom reports that the average median annual salary for a software engineer in India increased from $6,313 in 2004 to $ 7,010 in 2005 - an increase of 11%.

Nasscom has also reported a 12% salary increase in 2006 over 2005 and this will bring the annual median to around $7,850.

Customers should be careful to use these numbers and divide them to calculate the cost of a person to their offshore vendors. The number that most companies use is cost to company or CTC. The CTC is usually an additional 15 - 20% of salary - so let's say the average median CTC for 2006 will be $ 9,420. To this are added the Infrastructure & SGA expenses

2 - THE TOP DOWN CALCULATIONS
Now let's look at this from the other side. Your offshore vendor is making roughly 20 - 30% EBITDA. That is the profit from operations - before any financial adjustments like interest, taxes or depreciation.

What it also tells us is that between what you are charged per hour and what it costs your vendor per hour is a margin of around 20 - 30%.

So, it is not as high as you may think, but there may be some scope for negotiations

3 - THE NEGOTIATIONS
Weigh the other aspects of what the offshore vendor brings to you

Milestones based delivery
Absorbing salary increases for a period of time
Hard to find skillsets or resources
Process, Domain, Experience, etc, etc

and then create your negotiation strategy

Using Altman Z Scores for Vendor Evaluation

2006-11-21T21:56:00.000-05:00

Recently a prospect used the Altman Z score as a part of their evaluation of our company. The Altman Z score is an insolvency score and is a combination of 5 weighted financial ratios which determine the financial health of a company.

The 5 financial ratios in the Altman Z-Score and their respective weight factor is as follows:

A. EBIT/Total Assets
B. Net Sales /Total Assets
C. Market Value of Equity/Total Liabilities
D. Working Capital/Total Assets
E. Retained Earnings/Total Assets

These ratios are multiplied by the weightage as below, and the results are added together.

Z-Score = A x 3.3 + B x 0.99 + C x 0.6 + D x 1.2 + E x 1.4

The Interpretation of Z Score:

Z-SCORE ABOVE 3.0 -The company is safe based on these financial figures only.
Z-SCORE BETWEEN 2.7 and 2.99 - On Alert. This zone is an area where one should exercise caution.
Z-SCORE BETWEEN 1.8 and 2.7 - Good chances of the company going bankrupt within 2 years of operations from the date of financial figures given.
Z-SCORE BELOW 1.80- Probability of Financial embarassment is very high.

Our score was above 20, so we did well on this indicator.

Tips for Travelers

2006-11-21T21:47:00.000-05:00

Electricity Converters – India uses 220V, 50 Hz AC Electric Current. Converters may be purchased in the U.S. for use with laptops, hair dryers, etc. A power converter/mini multi way adapter can be useful.

Luggage Locks – You might want to consider using a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved combination luggage lock as opposed to a lock that might have to be cut off while your bag is being checked through the airport. These types of locks are available on-line and at many luggage dealers.

Tipping – Restaurants usually add a service charge, but it is customary to tip taxi drivers, porters and other service providers, and it is always appreciated.

Office Dress Code - The dress code is informal/semi-casual throughout the year.

Be sure to bring…

Extra eyewear (glasses/contacts)
Prescriptions – carry them on the plane with you plus 1-week worth of extra prescriptions. It is also wise to carry copies of any critical prescriptions. You don’t want to put them in your luggage and not have them if your luggage is delayed or lost. Bring 1 weeks more of your prescriptions than you need, just in case. Most US medicines will have an Indian equivalent, however the brand names are not the same.
Sunscreen with Deet
A roll of Toilet Tissues for every week in India

Staying Connected while in India

2006-11-21T09:04:00.000-05:00

Computer Connections
While in your vendor's offices, you will be able to connect to the internet and access your email. Wireless connections for laptops are available in hotels.

International Phone Dialing Codes
The following information will assist your family or friends in reaching you in India as well as guide you in calling back to the U.S.

From anywhere in the US to Bangalore, India – Example Dial: 011-91-80-xxxx-xxxx

011 is the international prefix used to dial anywhere outside of the U.S.A
91 is the international code used to dial to India.
80 is the local area or city code used to dial to Bangalore.
xxxx-xxxx - a local number in Bangalore.

From Bangalore, India to Boston, MA – Example Dial: 00-1-617-xxx-xxxx

00 is the international prefix used to dial outside of India.
1 is the international code used to dial to U.S.A.
617 is the local area or city code used to dial Boston, MA.
xxx-xxxx your local number in Boston

Getting to India and traveling within India

2006-11-21T08:37:00.000-05:00

Flights and Travel Information
Your travel department or agent will book your flight for you. A typical flight route from the U.S East coast will take you via Europe into India. Flights from the west coast may fly over the Pacific into India. The length of your trip will vary depending on your flight arrangements. Actual flight time typically takes 20 hours, not including layovers.

Please confirm that you have either a paper ticket or a print out of your electronic ticket itinerary for each leg of your trip to and from India before you leave for India.

Arranging Accommodations
You can arrange for your Hotel Stay with your travel agent or through the internet. You can also contact your vendor representative for recommendations to one of the local hotels near their offices.

You can stay at any of the five star hotels in India and experience legendary service. While a few international hotel chains like the Marriott and Intercontinental have hotels in a few cities in India, the hotel chains with the largest network are: The Taj, Welcomgroup and Oberoi.

The hotel will be billed directly to you. You will need to present a credit card upon check-in to cover your stay. All major credit cards are accepted in Indian hotels including American Express, Visa, Diners Club and Mastercard. Discover Card is not accepted in India.

Transportation in India
Because driving is very different and potentially dangerous in India I do not recommend visitors to drive while in India. Your vendor's India office can help arrange for a rental car with driver for your stay in India. You can avail of this transportation to and from the office and to local sights, restaurants, etc.

In addition, taxies and auto-rickshaws are readily available. Most drivers prefer to agree on a fixed price, or a fixed amount above the final meter reading.

Money Matters
Most U.S. banks allow you to use your personal ATM card to withdraw rupees from Indian ATMs, which are located in most hotels and in many places throughout most cities, just as in the U.S.

Check with your bank to make sure that your bank belongs to a network of ATMs in India and does not charge an extra fee.

Currency Exchange agents charge a higher fee for conversion than banks and can be used if required. In an emergency, your hotel will assist you in exchanging currency.

It is always advisable to carry some amount of cash while traveling in India. It may be advisable to carry your cash in the form of traveler’s checks.

The Indian Rupee
Please see this currency converter to conver from US dollars (USD) to Indian Rupees (INR).

The Indian Rupee written as INR or Rs. is made of 100 paise (pronunciation key: pay-say). Notes are in denominations of INR1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, and 5. Coins are in denominations of INR 5, 2 and 1, and 50, 25, and 10 paise.

Indian Rupees are not fully convertible outside India and it is advisable to convert them when you leave India into your choice of currency. Approved currency exchange counters are available at all international airports.

Phones
Not all US phones work enroute to India or in India. Some US cellular service providers have roaming arrangements with cell phone service providers in India. However this may be a very expensive proposition. In most cases, you need to contact your cellular service provider to check the rates and availability and/or activate the international roaming service.

Your vendor's Indian office can arrange for an Indian cellular phone for use during your visit in India.

Business Travel Accident Insurance
As with any Business Travel outside the US, you may choose to purchase Business Travel Accident Insurance at your discretion.

Medical Coverage
Please contact your medical insurance company to check if coverage is available in India. In most cases, even where coverage is available, you will have to incur the expenses in India and then file your claims back in the US.

Please take with you in your carry-on luggage:

Your insurance I.D. cards
A current copy of the prescription orders for any necessary medication
Extra prescriptions (Indian drugs are not the same brands as in the US)
Your Inoculation Card, which has been signed by your doctor, as you may need to prove that you have the proper inoculations and that they are current.

Traveling to India

2006-11-21T01:29:00.000-05:00

Preparing for your Trip
Preparation for a journey to India will take some time. Below is a list of things that you will need to do before you depart for India. You will make most arrangements through your Travel Department or Agent. A preparation checklist can be found later in this chapter.

Passport
If you don’t already have a passport, you will need to obtain one. You will need to make sure that you have your passport in hand at least 4 weeks prior to travel, as your passport is required for the Visa approval process. It will typically take 6 weeks to obtain a passport. Start this process as far in advance as possible.

If you already have a valid passport, that passport must be valid for 6 months past your return date on your flight itinerary; otherwise you will need to apply for a new passport. Passports are valid for 10 years. Most US post offices can assist you if you do not currently have a passport.

Visa
Your travel agent will assist you with the visa process, which should be started immediately. Your vendor contact can send you an invitation letter to use when submitting you visa application.

The Indian Embassy is in Washington, DC and has Consulates in 4 other cities in the US and all of them issue visas.

Listed below are the homepages of the Indian Embassy and the four Consulate websites for more information on the Visa process. Please apply for a visa to the Consulate which has jurisdiction over your state

Embassy of India, Washington, DC(Consular Jurisdiction: Bermuda, Delaware, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia
Consulate General of India - New York(Consular Jurisdiction: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virgin Islands)
Consulate General of India - San Francisco(Consular Jurisdiction: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming)
Consulate General of India - Chicago(Consular Jurisdiction: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin)
Consulate General of India - Houston(Consular Jurisdiction: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas)

Inoculations
Any recommended inoculations should begin around 6-8 weeks prior to travel. Please schedule an appointment as soon as possible with your personal physician. Your doctor will know which inoculations are required and will often have the vaccines available in their office for immediate use.

If you plan on visiting the jungle or other malaria prone areas during your time in India, or if you plan on visiting any other countries during your trip, please inform your doctor as you may require additional inoculations.

The doctor will give you an inoculation health card, which you should take with you when you travel in order to prove that you have had the proper inoculations. For the most current information on inoculations see the Center for Disease Control web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/indianrg.htm

Visiting India

2006-11-20T16:07:00.000-05:00

A lot of professionals regularly visit India around their offshorcing initiatives. This may include to evaluate vendors, to meet and manage their exisiting partners, or to gather information on setting up their own Captive Center.

The most common go-to place for seeking information on how to travel to India and the "business" best practices, has been the offshore vendor or travel agents (online and offline) or other colleagues who have done the gig before. None of these on their own will completely prepare you. Remember, India can be shocking for the first time visitor and can continue to surprise repeat visitors.

I thought of putting in place a continuing series under the label "Visiting India". I am breaking this series into 2 broad categories - Traveling to India and While in India.

So keep looking for the updates and do share your experiences

Outsourcing vs Offshoring

2006-11-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

Just some definitions to avoid confusions with these two often (wrongly) interchanged words.

Outsourcing is the activity in which a company gets any of its business activities done from another company. It could be a small law firm getting color presentations printed at FedEx Kinkos or a large Fortune 500 using an Indian or US company to get its IT or Business processes executed.

Offshoring is the specific instance where you send the activity outside of your shores (country's boundaries). These could be any activity (not necessarily limited to IT or BPO), ergo - Offshore oil drilling, Offshore tax havens or Offshore sailing.

Offshore Outsourcing is the most commonly used terminology for when companies in the US and Europe send work outside their shores, with a special focus on IT Services and BPO. This terminology has also been used more frequently with respect to sending work to India.

TiE-Boston Global Sourcing Workshop

2006-11-19T15:00:00.000-05:00

The event was held in the Behrakis Center at Northeastern University, Boston on Nov 18, 2006. The all day event was keynote"d" by James Champy (http://www.perotsystems.com/about/James_Champy.htm), most famous for his path breaking book Reengineering the Corporation.

As a member of the panel on Software Development and IT Outsourcing, I joined other speakers to discuss with a modest audience the hows, the whys and the dos and don'ts of outsourcing. The discussion tended to focus on how to choose the right model and vendor to outsource or offshore with.

Visit TiE Boston for more information or other upcoming events (http://boston.tie.org/)

Eller College of Management, University of Arizona

2006-10-24T14:32:00.000-05:00

I had to cancel my scheduled visit and talk on "International Management" at Eller College due to some personal issues. This talk will be rescheduled to later in the semester or to the next one.

Investing in India: A 20/20 Perspective

2006-05-01T14:03:00.000-05:00

I was a member of the panel on "Corporate Success Strategies" at this event which was conducted at Columbia Business School on April 14, 2006.

I got to share the stage with such experienced professionals as: Rajesh Hukku, Chairman and MD of iflex Solutions; David Good, Chief Representative Tata Group, Dinyar Devitre, CFO of Altria Group and was moderated by Prof. Amarnath Bhide, Lawrence Glaubinger Professor of Business at the Columbia Business School.

This was a very well attended and covered event and included Sam Pitroda as the morning keynote speaker; and Kanwal Rekhi as the afternoon keynote speaker.

If you don't know who Sam Pitroda and Kanwal Rekhi are, you are in the wrong blog.

About Me

2006-04-30T17:04:00.000-05:00

I am the CEO of Collabor. Collabor is an interactive technologies company and We build businesses online as well as help other companies build their businesses online.

But, we are not a web design shop. We work on the convergence of Telecom, Internet, Media & Entertainment (or TIME). We help create communities of influence, circles of trust and a online place to make things happen.

The path to Collabor took me through India, Germany and the US. This included stints at Siemens, Siemens Nixdorf, Infosys, Virtusa and Syntel.

My last stint was as President & CEO of i-Vantage Inc, a company dedicated to building captive centers for US & European clients in India.

I am also a Charter Member of TiE Boston, and an Advisor to Virtus Global Partners an M&A firm and a Strategic Advisor to a few US based IT Outsourcing companies.

This is a place for me to blog on about Outsourcing and Web 2.0, the two areas close to my heart (and the only areas that I can claim some expertise). This blog links to my flickr album as well as to all the Collabor sites.

Other stuff I write is at our Corporate blog.

I live in the Boston Area.