Get smarter,with smartphones!

Mobile technology has evolved famously in recent times. Until a few years ago, a mobile and a PDA were always two distinct gadgets,but no longer. Rama Sivaraman, senior vice president and head, corporate quality, Polaris Software Lab Ltd, indicates the marriage of mobile technology with an array of PDA features as her candidate for the most disruptive technology. She says, "When the Sony Ericsson P810 hit the market, it brought about a major change in the way people worked. For the first time, the 'smartphone' was used not only for messages but for e-mails and appointments too. It was a different experience for high-powered users to be able to access Office applications through a mobile. Prior to the P810, the Nokia Communicator had been launched in the market, but without a camera."
She shares her experience, and increasing dependence on these gizmos, as she reveals, "I picked up a P800 in 2003 when it was new to the market. Here was one gadget that allowed me to synchronise my calendar with my office mail system. I could listen to music. I could record and play back. I could view MS Office files, as well as type messages fast using the stylus. It also had a camera that I could use on my frequent travels. Its only problem was the dependency it caused. More recently, we have the P990i mobile,this facilitates the reinstallation of software from the Web, which means I am no longer inconvenienced by having to turn in my mobile to a service centre for software reinstallation!"

Delivering anywhere, anytime!

Alok Singh, head, Strategy, Planning & M&A, Microland, says that the network delivery model was the first thing that crossed his mind when he read The Innovator's Dilemma. This business model, now adopted by the entire Indian IT industry, facilitates the delivery of consulting, IT and IT-enabled services of global standards and methodologies, to clients across the globe from a service centre located miles away, across the Net. Simply speaking, the IT and ITES boom that we have witnessed in India would not have happened, if Indian IT industry majors had not shown that we can render these services to any corner of the world, while sitting in India. Incidentally, Christensen was the first one to 'recognise' the disruption caused by this network delivery model.

According to Singh, "It is not just about delivery of services over the Net. It is about de-constructing the IT services delivery process, 'processizing' the same, ensuring that the right skill level (also a proxy of the right cost) is used for the right job and then delivering these services over the Net."

Interestingly, Singh points out, "This model would have been more successful than the incumbent one even if it were to be adopted within the US (read buyers' geography) and delivered from there. Basically, this would entail splitting up IT services into various categories based on the skills required at each level, and having the work done by people just sufficiently qualified for the particular job, as opposed to a specialist. This method is drastically different to what IT giants like Accenture were applying in the US, say, twenty years ago." Fortunately for us, the Indian IT industry adopted it, and the fruits are being enjoyed by thousands of Indians!Undoubtedly, we all have our own perceptions about technology,what makes it disruptive, whether disruptive technologies are good, bad, or somewhere in-between, and which technologies we identify as falling into this category. What is certain, though, is that in the field of IT, there have been a number of storms that have caused existing IT products and practices to be usurped by new entrants. What is still more certain is that as the global IT race heats up, we will see a lot more technologies enter our lives. Whether these make it to this niche list or not is up to us!