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| Thanks to technology |
(An article by N Kumar, Vice Chairman, the Sanmar
Group, reproduced with permission from
The Hindu Business Line) |
| The Internet centre at Changi Airport attracts
more customers than the duty free shops… and is cheaper too!
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| I remember in 1966, when my brother
was studying in the US, my mother booked a call and waited
for hours to be connected. She even taped the call to
play it back, uncertain about the next time she could
speak to him. If she wrote letters, she had to wait for
about seven days for them to reach and an equal period
for a reply. |
| Compare this to a mother of today who
e-mails, chats sends SMS messages or sees her children
on the PC and even conservative mothers are comfortable
about sending their daughters abroad because they can
keep an eye on them using a Web-cam. Today, as in business,
in personal life too, we have now got over managing the
environment to managing people. Thanks to technology. |
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| Dramatic changes have taken place in lifestyles
and the communication revolution has definitely been at the
bottom of it. Let me share views and happenings on this subject,
which we take for granted in our daily life. A dozen things
which come to mind that we would not have thought of 10 years
ago are: |
| Mobile phones, Lap-tops, Palm-tops, SMS, Video
Conferencing, Google, Voice Recognition, Amazon.com, Wi-Fi,
Online education, Handwriting recognition (Tablet PC), Online
Auction, Convergence, Connectivity, and Anytime-Anywhere—are
not just slogans but are becoming a way of life. Improvement
in technology has accelerated over the last few years, ensuring
that our life today is very different and more comfortable than
what it was a few years ago. |
| The Internet and GSM (Wireless—sorry Reliance)
have changed our ways of thinking—whether you SMS your office,
get cricket scores or stock quotes on your mobile or call your
driver to the terminal when you arrive at the airport, life
has definitely changed. The Internet and wireless have shrunk
time and distance. |
| Another new phenomenon is that you don’t have
to be in office to be at work. A male or female executive, whether
at home, holiday, on tour, or whatever, is always connected
either through the voice or through Internet. The busiest place
at an airport these days is the Internet centre. One only has
to go the Changi Airport in Singapore to see how effectively
the wireless Web operates. Take a PC—and pooooof, you are connected.
It attracts more people than the duty-free shops (and is cheaper
too)! However, it has one downside too… a lot of people are
no longer on a real holiday because they are connected all the
time! |
| Another new phenomenon is that you don’t have
to be in office to be at work. A male or female executive, whether
at home, holiday, on tour, or whatever, is always connected
either through the voice or through Internet. The busiest place
at an airport these days is the Internet centre. One only has
to go the Changi Airport in Singapore to see how effectively
the wireless Web operates. Take a PC—and pooooof, you are connected.
It attracts more people than the duty-free shops (and is cheaper
too)! However, it has one downside too… a lot of people are
no longer on a real holiday because they are connected all the
time! |
| More changes, more technologies are on their
way. One need not bother to carry one’s laptop on short journeys:
all you need is a USB memory disc (smaller than your key chain).
This particular technology not only saves space, but, more importantly,
facilitates presentation without the trouble for CII to worry
about compatibility. |
| New ways of doing business on the Net have
come up and not only for the Infosyses and the Wipros, but also
for regular companies involved in manufacturing and similar
businesses. Nowadays a good percentage of the business, especially
exports, and information and customer satisfaction is generated
through the web. The old ways have changed and a new word, “disintermediation”
is gaining ground resulting in redefining the work of agents
in industries such as Travel, Insurance and Banks. ATM usage,
online ticket booking and hotel booking are popular and becoming
a way of life. |
| Recently, when one of our companies wanted
to find the best deal for a health insurance package they used
Baazee.com (an auction site) and reduced more than 50 per cent
of its premium fee in addition to getting better coverage. This
is real and the savings add to the bottom-line. This way of
business was never even thought of 10 years ago. |
| Coming back to letters, we have forgotten
the days of Registered Post, Telex, Faxes and we take instant
messaging and e-mail for granted. When I need a speech or an
article written, it is delivered to me by e-mail, which I can
print at home and then send it at the place where it is required.
Weddings are now broadcast and CDs sent across the world, as
one does not have to worry about PAL or NTSC. The conducting
of marriages in traditional Indian style is also helped by the
Internet. Many parents can tell us how horoscopes are exchanged
and how the boy and girl meet virtually on the Web—“Marriages
are now fixed in Cyber space”. Similarly more people are now
writing books (and articles), as it is easier to compose, edit
and archive. |
| It is therefore a new world in which we live
in brought about by the Internet and communication changes,
not to forget the cable and satellite. China and India, two
large countries, which used to be many, many years behind advanced
western countries, are now keeping pace and in fact proving
a point—most of the wireless gizmos originate from China and
the software for it from India! |
| Another interesting area in which life has
been transformed is the way we read newspapers and magazines.
While it may still be better to read the print, for quick and
immediate reading, you can log on to the website to read the
articles and if need be, take a print out!—Welcome Samachar.com.
Also, news on your palm can be downloaded from Avantgo and even
online cricket scores! |
| Buying books has also become simpler. While
we may still like to go to Landmark in Chennai or other bookstores
to spend time, we can resort to conveniently buying books on
the Web after reading a brief write-up about the books that
interest us. Changes in the foreign exchange rules and regulations
have also helped Indians to use the “Amazon” advantage to buy
difficult and rare books. |
| Education is yet another field truly transformed
by technology. Computer education itself has become a reality
and we find students at a very young age learning computers
and becoming better at programming than many of the elders.
But, more significantly, you can register for courses on the
Web, even Post Graduate for example, in Wireless networking
with a recognized US university. While the fee is quite high,
you can take advantage of all the lectures, notes on the Web
and even complete the exams on the Net. Video streaming is now
a reality and with improving bandwidth we are able to hear the
lecturer or the guest speaker at home as they deliver the lecture
in the university. This brings to my mind what Bill Gates said;
in the new Internet world you only need one excellent teacher
in mathematics, who could be paid millions of dollars to write
the program on the Web and a number of teachers to use that
and teach students across the world. Another amazing feature
that will happen in the future is that education will become
standardized across the globe. |
| I recall a time when we spent a lot of time
and money in printing brochures, product literatures and booklets.
Now companies have very informative websites providing updated
information about their products or services. In fact, they
use their websites to publicise their quarterly results and
policies, and because of this printing of brochures is reduced
to the barest minimum. Further, many approvals are taken over
the e-mail and the paperless office is starting to become a
reality. I understand that Infosys does all its travel arrangement
around the globe through PAYANA, an end-to-end travel intranet
system. |
| Net hiring is yet another phenomenon that
is becoming very prevalent—sites such as Jobsdb.com, Naukri.com
are making a living out of this and today, most job seekers
can now apply on the Web. |
| The Net does not belong to the young alone.
My father who is 84 years old now uses the Web to do pooja in
the morning. When he gets into the office he logs in to Saranam.com
and listens to slokas and does pooja. He is also a very keen
user of the Mayo Clinic site and more importantly shares the
information with all of his friends and his children too. |
| We must realise that all these technology
advances are but catalysts meant to improve the way we do business
or run our lives but cannot replace business or life by itself.
Just like a mother of yesterday or today, who still wants to
talk to her children—technology is only helping her to do this
in a faster and easier way. |
| The more life changes, the more it remains
the same! |
| Issue dated February 15, 2003. |
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