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IT NEXT
INSIGHT: Securing
the enterprise from
28 INTERVIEW: Dave 34
Evans warns against the
IT STRAT: Providing
tech support to
49 THE BIG Q
How to switch to
internal threats oncoming tech avalanche VIP users the cloud? Pg.53
6 PRACTICAL WAYS TO GO GREEN
6
g
PRACTICAL
WAYS TO
O
REEN
A how-to
guide for the
enterprising
IT manager
VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 06
Make A
Difference
The unusually warm weather this year
has once again highlighted the impact of
electrical energy on our lifestyles—and the
woeful lack of this valuable commodity in India.
Bereft of it, modern commerce and industry comes to a “Focus on how to
halt. This is the principal reason why we are compelled to outfit our offices repair, recycle, re-use,
and data centres with expensive UPSs and generator sets. While these
pieces of equipment require substantial investments to install, maintain and reduce the use of
and operate, they do little good for the environment.
So, the practical challenge for IT managers is to identify ways to
equipment.”
minimize energy consumption and reduce the deleterious impact of IT on R GIRIDHAR
the environment—even while ensuring higher service quality, enhanced
infrastructure availability and lower costs. This is a tough balancing act.
Thankfully, you have some help from the plethora of innovations that are
being spurred by worldwide green movement—from operating systems
and apps that enable sophisticated power management, to energy efficient
hardware, better infrastructure management solutions, and improved
sources of non-renewable energy.
There are also other things that you can do as a manager to inculcate and
develop the culture of green within the organization. For instance, consider
the complete lifecycle of IT products, and focus on how to repair, recycle,
re-use, and reduce the use of equipment. From monitors to printers, servers
to storage—there is probably enough potential to rationalize and simplify.
Don’t limit yourself to optimizing IT sub-systems, consider the whole. You
may be overlooking opportunities to make substantial savings in other
places. Educate users to conserve paper, ink and other consumables—and Blogs To Watch!
enforce policies where feasible. Encourage and facilitate the use of solutions Investment Option in Green:
http://www.blueplanetgreenliv-
like phone and video conferencing, intranets and portals to cut travel and
ing.com/2010/05/27/investment-
communication costs. in-greentech
As an IT manager, there are many areas where you have little control but Greentech Enterprise: http://www.
greentechmedia.com/articles/
a lot of influence. Help business executives understand the implications
read/automation-is-new-key-in-
of making (or not making) specific investments in technology and green-it
equipment. While you may need to do the background research to ensure
Your views and opinion matter
that the proposed solution supports corporate objectives, the satisfaction of
to us. Send your feedback
contributing to the overall corporate good while saving the environment is on stories and the magazine at
r.giridhar@9dot9.in or SMS us at
too good to pass up. Are you ready to take up the challenge? Write in, and
567678 (type ITNEXT<space>your
let us know what you are doing to make a difference. feedback)
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 1
CONTENT
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http://www.facebook.
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php?gid=195675030582
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http://www.linkedin.com/
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FOR THE L ATEST TECHNOLOGY UPDATES GO TO ITNEXT.IN J U N E 2 0 1 0 VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 06 ugrp_ovr
A handbook on
how to green
the enterprise.
Page
16
INSIGHTS BOSS TALK INTERVIEW
24 Giving Teeth to Mobility
Mobile access to enterprise- wide applications will get a shot in the
arm with 3G technology
C OV ER DES IGN: CHANDE R SHE KH AR; ILLUSTRATIO N: ANO OP PC
2 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
BACKBONES
MANAGEMENT
Managing Director: Dr Pramath Raj Sinha
THAT
Printer & Publisher: Vikas Gupta
EDITORIAL
Group Editor: R Giridhar
Page STRUCTURED CABLING | In view of the ex- Associate Editor: Shashwat DC
38
ponential data growth leading to high-density data Sr Correspondent: Jatinder Singh
centres, cabling standards that match up are a must
DESIGN
Sr Creative Director: Jayan K Narayanan
OPINION THE BIG Q Art Director: Binesh Sreedharan
08 Money Wise: The Money 53 How to switch to the Associate Art Director: Anil VK
side of IT|By Ajay Seth, Chief Cloud? | Ensure that the migra- Manager Design: Chander Shekhar
Financial Officer, Maruti Su- tion is smooth Sr Visualisers: Anoop PC, Santosh Kushwaha
zuki Sr Graphic Designer: Suresh Kumar
CUBE CHAT Sr Designers: Prasanth TR & Anil T
10 Tech Talk: Keep it selec- 58 Simply Honest | “I’ve learnt Chief Photographer: Subhojit paul
tively social | by Preetham something new and positive
Venkky, Chief Catalyst, Catalyst from every rough phase”, says SALES & MARKETING
Labs SK Rudra, IT Manager for Usha VP Sales & Marketing: Naveen Chand Singh
Martin Group (09971794688)
15-MINUTE Brand Manager: Siddhant Raizada (09990388390)
MANAGER OFF THE SHELF National Manager-Events & Special Projects:
47 Lead with Fortitude|Good Mahantesh Godi (09880436623)
governance makes an organisa- National Manager Online: Nitin Walia
tion more effective and efficient (09811772466)
48 Healthy Living | How to
GM South: Vinodh Kaliappan(09740714817)
Bust Stress!
GM North: Pranav Saran(09312685289)
49 Chartered Service | Provid-
GM West: Sachin N Mhashilkar(09920348755)
ing tech support to VIP users 60 LG Unveils Green Projec-
Assistant Brand Manager: Arpita Ganguli
50 Office 2010| 5 Things to look tors | The new portable projec-
Ad co-ordination/Scheduling: Kishan Singh
out for tors are based on LED-based
52 Training Calendar | A list digital light source
PRODUCTION & LOGISTICS
of career booster courses
Sr. GM Operations: Shivshankar M Hiremath
47
IBM IBC REMOVE
INSERTS
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN
Cannon BC BEFORE
PART WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM NINE DOT NINE
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J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 3
it next
may 2010 / Rs. 150
Volume 01 / Issue 05
20 42 24 the big q
issue.
IFRS: Gear up for telecom: Getting BI & Ba: How to
the new accounting more juice from strategic analyse the business How to live with a lost
regime now outsourcing information right? Blackberry? Pg.53
NEHA MAKKAR,
voluMe 01 | iSSue 05
Even with the ‘digital’ odds stacked against it, the gritty
tape manages to hold ground. The big
question is -- How long?
4 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
BOSS TALK | HARDIK BHATT
LEADERSHIP
Be double
barrelled
Y
ou need the two of you to be an
effective CIO--think from both
left and right brains, see both the
sides of a coin, listen to disparate
tones in a chatter, and make two
simultaneous moves at a time. That’s a CIO’s life.
A CIO needs to be a strategic thinker while
being a fire-fighter. You need to have an eye on
the long term while producing short-term wins.
If you spend too much time on putting
together a long-term strategy and focus on “If you keep having short-term wins, the
executing it, you will lose your executive team
quickly. While the executive team appreciates
executive team will be patient with your
your long-term thinking, they also want to see long-term plan”
quick results of their investment in you. That
comes with your other eye on short-term wins. most of the existing investment. Both ways, a
These short-term wins can come in many disaster awaits you. Staying in the centre keeps
ways. Figure out where you can save. Can you you safe and sound.
move some strategic architectural components Both your brains need to be at work
to open source? Figure out how you can start simultaneously. While one is thinking about a
using cheap aka free mainstream technologies robust technology infrastructure, another needs
effectively without compromising your to understand the business.
enterprise set-up. Can you use Facebook to SUGGESTION BOX Talking about suppliers, you need to
connect with your customers? Can you build an constantly think when you treat them as
iPhone application for your sales team? partners and when you treat them as vendors.
If you keep producing these short-term If you always treat them as vendors and keep
wins, the executive team will be patient with them on their toes, they will not step up to help
your long-term plan and at the same time, you you over and above their SLAs when you need
will start winning your business colleagues’ them to. On the same token, if you constantly
confidence. treat them as equal partners, you will have a
Another place where a two-pronged approach tough time enforcing SLAs and in turn, you will
is necessary is in IT investments. You have to alienate your business colleagues for being too
ensure that your existing investment is secure The book tells why lenient on your vendors.
and efficient while making a new investment. some companies Last but not the least, it’s important to make
PHOTO GRAPHY: S UBHOJI T PAUL
Sometimes, if you are promoted within the IT last longer than oth- sure that you stay connected with the outside
organization, your focus tends to be more on ers, namely, due to world. While you can be a rock star inside your
existing investment because you have been leadership and inno- organisation, people outside should also know and
dealing with those for a long time. In such a vation. A must read appreciate what you are doing. Good luck!
situation, you are in the danger of losing sight for IT managers.
of possibilities of new efficiencies. Similarly, if WRITER: JIM COLLINS
The author is Chief Information Officer
PUBLISHER: HARPER BUSINESS
you move to a new organisation, you may ignore PRICE: INR 626.00 of the city of Chicago, USA
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 5
MONEY WISE
OPINION AJAY SETH
Chief Financial Officer, Maruti Suzuki
of IT
Internal rate of return: the
evaluation method measures the cash
returns (in %) generated by the project
considering the time value of money.
I
It is easy to interpret but complex to
t is important to evaluate IT calculate. The method ignores risk
investments in terms of their involved in the project and may generate
business benefits. However, very multiple outcomes.
often these benefits themselves Net present value / discounted
are not quantifiable and at times cash flow: The method takes into
decisions are made more on hunch than account the discounted cash flows
on business linkage. based on an assumed rate of interest. It
It is also important to note that IT measures whether a project generates
investments not only entail start-up positive or negative net cash flows
investment, but have recurring costs (net of cash outflow/ inflow) within
in terms of maintenance, resources a defined time period. The method is
and upgrades. Organisations need complex to calculate and is subjective
to understand the value impact of to the assumed rate of Interest. In case
such investments. There also needs of projects with different durations it
to be a quantification of return on IT is not conclusive in determining the
investments. priority of projects. However, it takes
IT managers must evaluate projects
based on costs, savings, strategic
“An evaluation based into account the risk involved in the
project.
benefits and risks, in order to determine on costs, savings, Economic value added: The
the most advantageous initiatives for
the enterprise. Boards will want to
risks and benefits will method measures the value generated
by a project in comparison to the cost.
know which projects will contribute help determine the It takes into account the opportunity
how much to the strategic and tactical
business goals.
most advantageous value of money and is in line with
shareholders value.
There are various methods for initiatives” It is important for organisations to
evaluating IT projects. It is important understand the value and impact of
to determine the appropriate method technology investments, as well what
for a given project, as the deliverables of subsequent impact in cost reduction those investments imply for effective
each project will vary. While some can and improvement in productivity management.
be quantified straight away, others may n Cycle time reduction While it is generally agreed that IT
have more notional or indirect benefits. n Internal controls conveys value to the business, there
Let us take the example of investment in This example is illustrative. For some are a number of factors that firms must
an ERP project. The benefits will have to project, there can be more tangible or carefully consider when deciding how
be quantified in terms of the following: intangible benefits, so each IT project best to procure and utilise IT resources.
n Eliminating non value adding needs careful evaluation and use of one Organisations must fully understand
PHOTO GRAPHY: S UBHOJI T PAUL
8 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
TECH TALK
OPINION PREETHAM VENKKY
Chief Catalyst, Catalyst Labs
social
is privy to source codes, access can be
allocated to social media sites that cor-
respond to a department’s functionality.
So allow the HR department to
M
access LinkedIn and let the internal
y biggest challenge, communications team access Facebook
both professionally and Twitter while blog access can be for
and personally, has the sales and marketing teams.
been to convince
IT and IT-related Best practices
service companies to openly embrace The next step after allocation is to estab-
social media. That it has been hard to lish a set of best practices. While its
do so is ironic, considering that these planning and training may require you
are IT companies. to hire a social media consultant, estab-
The last time I checked, productivity lishing this process in the early stages
for India-based IT companies would will go a long way in mitigating risks
stoop to zero if access to Google and associated with managing your online
developer blogs was restricted. So, why reputation.
is the scenario the way it is? Let’s try and I believe any best practices you
understand what social media really is. establish for your organisation should
In simple terms, any digital medium incorporate the following seven
that allows for social interaction among
users can be broadly defined as social
“Allow HR to access attributes:
Transparency: In terms of both
media. And the philosophy that guides LinkedIn and let intention and identity of the user.
social media is its unmoderated flow of
information. While at last count there
corpcom access Commitment: In terms of resources,
time and expertise.
were over 250 social media channels Facebook while blog Understanding: Users should have
available on the Internet, Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube are
access can be for in-depth understanding of the social
media channel or tool they use.
the leading ones, enabling social sales and marketing“ Listening: What the customers and
conversations in their respective other stake holders are saying online.
domains. website because there were unsavoury Participation: Participation on
comments about their management matters and issues related to the
Corporate communism and its functioning. Despite the site organisation, directly or indirectly.
The no. 1 reason why companies being blocked at the office premises, Contribution: Users should be able
restrict access to social media sites there were more than 1,300 reads for to contribute to the online conversations
is that they believe them to be time- a company of 800 employees. The cat at large with their views and opinions.
wasters. While this argument is valid, was out of the bag and the company’s Value addition: Conscious and
an all-out ban is clearly not the solution. management learnt, the hard way, that a honest attempt should be made to add
With the rise of smart-phones, blockage was not the answer. It’s better value to the social media channel.
(available for Rs 5,000 onwards) to stop hiding behind firewalls and They key aspect in using social
employees anyways have unrestricted learn to defend your brand wherever media is to keep the conversation alive,
access to social sites. What stops them and whenever required. kicking and relevant. We as human
from wasting company time by using beings are community driven and can
their hand-held devices? Allocated access collectively achieve goals faster and
Recently, a leading IT company The key is to find a middle path, more efficiently. It’s better to be tuned
restricted access to MouthShut’s between an all-out ban and unrestricted into this conversation than not.
10 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
UPDATE
UPDATE
I N D U S T R Y
TRENDS
DEALS
PRODUCTS
SERVICES
PEOPLE
2010 15.4
iPhone
10
has not been explored in the real
6.8 9.6
0 business environment.
12 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
SAFEGUARD YOUR DATA THE SMALL GENIUS SPLIT YOUR FILES WITH EASE
Transcend has launched JetFlash 620 Inspan has announced the launch of Steller has launched a
USB Flash Drive. The device Genius ScrollToo 200 Mouse. Being PST File Splitter that can
comes up with the memory touted as value for be used to split a single
of up to 32GB and comes money, the mouse is or multiple file(s). It is
with inbuilt 256-bit Advanced priced at Rs489 and priced at Rs. 2100 for single
Encryption Standard (AES) carries a 3 year war- license and is
security. ranty. Windows 7 compatible.
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 13
UPDATE
management solution
ment methodology and thereby demanding
a change in the testing process. Cloud com-
puting and virtualisation helps to do things
in an effective manner. The cloud now
TECH TIDINGS | Verizon has unveiled a According to the company, businesses provides a common platform for developers
new cloud-based service to help work- can configure employees’ portable and testers to share.
ers quickly, and securely, access their computers to select the appropriate
Mobile apps is a growing area? How
corporate networks, while making it network, including Wi-Fi, Ethernet,
do you see it evolving?
easier for IT managers to manage a mobile broadband and virtual private
global mobile workforce. network services, to help increase With hundreds of commercial and free
The new offering, enterprise worker adoption while reducing the applications available for everything from
PHOTO GRAPHY: JAYAN K NARAYANAN
mobility as a service, uses advanced need for IT training and technical maps, organisers, e-mail to social network-
software and an intuitive user support. ing, it becomes extremely important to test
interface to enable employee laptops The Enterprise Mobility solution these across the phone platforms. In addi-
and netbooks to detect and connect will be available by next month in 30 tion, the licensing of the 3G spectrum will
to the best network service at a given countries and territories in Europe, open up a whole new space of rich media,
time and place – for example, the Asia-Pacific and the Americas, with TV and real time video applications, making
network with the strongest signal, local billing, currency and support testing a challenging and complex task.
or the one with the lowest charges. options available.
By Nilabh Jha
14 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
ARE YOU
INDIA’S FUTURE CIOs
TO FIND OUT GO TO on21st
WWW.ITNEXT.IN JUNE
THE NEXT CIO? 2010
UPDATE
Google
in virtual environments Apps to add
increased
The software
helps map re- connectivity
altime energy Google Apps already had great
consumption connectivity with Gmail, docs,
within the chat, video, calendar, and groups.
enterprise Now, Google has said that it will
be expanding that connectivity to
Reader, AdWords, news, finance,
Picasa, and other services,
thereby allowing users a more
unified approach to their work,
that does not requiire them to
switch between personal and
work accounts to use .
Google said that nine out of the
TECH TIDINGS | McAfee is currently existing virtualised architectures to top 20 product suggestions for
developing a platform and application significantly reduce the overhead of Google Apps request for just this
programming interface to provide a protecting individual machines, said expansion of connectivity, with
framework that will accelerate and George Kurtz, CTO, McAfee. Security thousands of users wanting their
address the specific needs of security within virtualized environments is Google App accounts to work in
for virtualised environments. Accord- one of our customers’ main concerns. synchronisation with the other
ing to the company, the new platform, We believe that enhancing the overall services from Google. The new
McAfee Management for Optimized protection of these environments will functionalities will roll out as a
Virtual Environments (MOVE) plat- lead to increased adoption of virtual new interface later in 2010 by the
form, is designed to provide a common machines with significant costs month of August or September
way to develop across the hypervisor savings. and will be available for all Google
vendors, offload resource intensive McAfee plans to provide open Apps customers. The company
actions like security policy check- source to its partners for security also said that those “customers
ing outside of the individual virtual innovation, accelerating future who would like more control over
machines, and optimise scheduling of virtual-adaptive offerings for the the timing of this change will be
these actions based on the overall state enterprise market. Utilising the MOVE able to make the switch voluntarily
of the hypervisor. platform, McAfee intends to release during the summer.”
McAfee MOVE will provide the A/V Offloading as its first product for
platform for leveraging new and customers.
NEWS @
BLOG
GOOGLE SEARCHES NEW HORIZONS ON TV
THE GOOGLE TV BOX could be a very cool and hopefully inexpensive gaming console | Billionnaire entreprenu-
er and chairman of HDNet, Mark Cuban, thumbs his support for Google TV in his blog | http://bit.ly/itnnewsblogjune10
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 15
6
COVER STORY | GREEN IT
PRACTICAL
WAYS TO
gO
16 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
Cover Story-new.indd 16
REEN
A handbook on how to green
the enterprise.
BY SHASHWAT DC
ILLUSTRATI ON: ANOO P P C
6/3/2010 9:16:21 PM
GREEN IT | COVER STORY
F
or the past few years there has been an immense
buzz around green, with the growing realisation
that our current way of living cannot be sustain-
able in the long run, every action – be it positive
or negative – has become very critical in the grand
battle of climate change. Much like the proverbial
Butterfly Effect, the outcomes and repercussions
of our every day actions can be manifold. Thus
it is not altogether surprising that ICT sector –
including personal computers (PCs) and periph-
erals, telecoms networks and devices and data centres – that accounts for
over 2% of total emissions from human activity is also looking at green in
a serious way.
The green debate raises two questions: How does an enterprise go green?
And more importantly, why should the IT manager be concerned?
First, from an enterprise perspective, green is not merely about
environment but more about economics. Considering the ever increasing
costs of power, green is more a necessity than a privilege for companies.
And, indeed there is a lot that can be done on that front, right from swapping
incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs to moving into
a green building. By the way, according to the Smart 2020 report, in 2002,
the global data centre footprint, including equipment use and embodied
carbon, was 76 MtCO2e and this is expected to more than triple by 2020 to
259 MtCO2e – making it the fastest-growing contributor to the ICT sector’s
carbon footprint, at 7% pa in relative terms. Hence, there is a range of things
from micro to macro that can be achieved through such measures.
Coming to the IT manager part; going ahead as green becomes more
and more mainstream, it will pose as a challenge and opportunity for the
IT manager. Challenge, as they have to bring down the costs continuously
to ensure higher productivity. And then, as the IT manager aspires to
taken on a executive role, a green hue can be of much help and would add
well to the profile.
To start off, we present a simple 6 step guide to green that covers almost
all the areas. Based on a pan-India enterprise survey (IT Next Green Survey
2010) in which over 130 senior IT managers participated and shared their
views, in which the best practices in green were mapped on an enterprise
scale. Culled from the numerous interactions, here is a handbook on how
to implement green. So, go right ahead, and start greening your company.
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 17
SERVER CONSOLIDATION
VIRTUALISE TO
CONSOLIDATE
Through virtualisation IT managers can
reduce the number of servers in an energy-
efficient way
UPGRADE OR RECON-
FIGURE DATACENTER
In plain-speak, data centres are noth-
COOLING footprint is a little complex, and requires
INFRASTRUCTURE?
ing less than an energy-guzzling power much diligence and application. Of the
monsters. Within a typical enterprise, many ways, virtualisation is gaining
the datacenter can account for anything Never immense ground over the past few
0.7%
from 15% to as much as 50% of power years. In a typical scenario, enterprises
usage of the IT function. Hence, reduc- will have a host of servers, often one for
ing the energy consumption within every enterprise-wide application, or
23.7%
the datacenter is quite an essential and Intend To racks and racks of storage containing
important aspect of going green. And Yes archaic information. Virtualisation
the truth is, it is not that hard either of servers and software can be of
58.2%
Source: IT NEXT Green Survey 2010
17.2%
as since quite a few years, it has been No immense help as companies can then
on the energy map of the industry and consolidate their infrastructure. In fact,
scores of solutions are readily available. a virtualisation device or a software
Greening the datacenter involves application can track the server space
two aspects, namely, reducing the IT managers are indeed looking at and remap applications to different
computing energy map and also the ways to cool the datacenter, with the physical locations as necessary. With
ancillary energy consumption. The use of new cooling technologies virtualisation, information can be
need to pay attention to ancillary made location-independent and can be
infrastructure is important because redirected across multiple I/O
cooling infrastructure consume much “BETWEEN 30-60% devices and platforms.
energy, according to some estimates as POWER IN DATA CENTRE It is much easier to go in for a
much as 60%of the power consumed.
IS WASTED. INTEGRATED green datacenter when you go in
PLANNING CAN REDUCE
Reducing the computing energy POWER CONSUMPTION for a new one, but even the existing
BY 50-80% ” one can be ‘greened’ with a little
RAZAUDDIN SHAIKH, HEAD planning. Server consolidation
IT, ANI MEDIA through virtualisation could be a
good starting point. Next up can be
4
“BY VIRTUALISATION software/application consolidation
WE REDUCED ENERGY which will help in reducing the hardware
COSTS PER SERVER BY infrastructure. Cloud is also emerging as
50%. SO, EVEN AFTER WE
a green datacenter option, with the ability
DOUBLED THE NUMBER
OF SERVERS, KILOWATT- to host remotely and efficiently.
tonnes
HOURS USAGE DROPPED
BY APPROX 25% ”
STEP GUIDE
AMIT BHASIN, MANAGER -
DC, DLF PRAMERICA LIFE of CO2 are emitted annually n Measure energy footprint of the differ-
ent equipment in the datacenter
INSURANCE
per server across the globe n Reduce ancillary power consumption
n Go for virtualisation
n Consolidate software and applications
18 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
DESKTOP VIRTUALISATION
GO THIN TO TRIM
POWER “WE SENT A
NOTIFICATION TO
USERS ASKING TO
To save big time on energy consumption, SWITCH OFF THE
MONITORS IN BREAK
youcan replace heavy-duty desktops TIME OR KEEPING
THE LAPTOPS
and monitors with thin clients and LCDs IN LOW-POWER
CONSUMING MODE”
DAYA PRAKASH, HEAD
IT, LG
INSTALLED PC POWER
MANAGEMENT
SOFTWARE?
10
IT, PVR
on the configuration. Also, thin clients used in conjunction
But the biggest concern is not when with desktop virtualisation allows
the desktop runs, but when the desktop simpler provisioning of new desktops,
sleeps. It is estimated that close to 60% reduced downtime and lower cost of
of enterprise users do not switch off deploying new applications.
their machines regularly, resulting that
the desktop goes into sleep mode and
consumes electricity even when it is STEP GUIDE
non-operational. The best way to plug times the weight of a PC in n Install power management software
the gap is to install software on it which fossil fuel and chemicals is n Replace CRT with TFTs or LCDs
n Use thin clients in conjunction with
configure the machine in such a way that used to manufacture one PC desktop virtualisation
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 19
VIDEOCONFERENCING
CUT DOWN ON
TRAVEL
Videoconferencing is a great way to
save inter-office travel, saving money
as well as carbon footprint.
IS YOUR COMPANY
ACTIVELY ENGAGED Previous conservative estimates have
IN REDUCING COST suggested that tele- and VC could replace
By and large it is the finance func-
THROUGH VIDEO- between 5-20% of global business
CONFERENCING?
tion within the company that frets and travel. Advanced VC applications in the
fumes over inter-office travel. Keep- Don’t Know early stage of adoption could have a very
ing in mind, the high costs of air travel 3.3% significant impact in highly distributed
and hospitality, these concerns are not service industry environments in both
altogether unjustified. But such costs the private and public sectors. VC is
should also be the IT manager’s concern being used heavily by every sector of
because of the environmental impact 29.8% business, education, medicine and
No
due to the huge carbon footprint associ- Yes government. These days tele-presence is
ated with it. As most top executives in
66.8% quite popular among the big corporates,
Source: IT NEXT Green Survey 2010
any organisation are frequently on the evident from the TP (or tele-presence)
move from one office to another. Thus, rooms that can be found in many.
as an organisation assesses the need Yet, don’t be bogged down by the
and invest in collaborative tools that Many IT managers professed their grandiosity of VC and it’s benefits.
will reduce the need for such travel. faith in video conferencing as a way Besides the high-grade solutions, there
to reduce costs. Almost as many
And this is where videoconferencing are many low cost versions that are
mentioned that they are also look-
(VC) and other solutions come into play. ing at telecommuting as an option freely available. For instance, Skype
By efficient communication, the need and Google Video Chat can be a
for constant travel can be reduced to a “ADOPTION OF good starting point for VC. And
large scale and thus bringing down the VIDEOCONFERENCING there is a word of caution as well,
carbon footprint as well. HAS NOT ONLY CUT DOWN while VC might be great for the
COST OF TRAVELLING finance department’s wallet, it
BETWEEN OUR OFFICES, is not so good for an enterprise
BUT ALSO HELPED SAVE
MUCH TIME” networking bandwidth. So, pay
close attention to who is allowed
JACOB LIVINGSTONE,
MANAGER IT, BEC to VC and who is not. The best way
would be to draft a policy of the same
20%
“WE CONDUCTED 3
INTERNATIONAL AND 15 Upto that clearly defines all the issues.
DOMESTIC MEETINGS IN
YEAR 2008 & CONDUCTED
31 INTERNATIONAL AND
102 DOMESTIC MEETINGS
IN YEAR 2009 THROUGH
VIDEO CONFERENCING, STEP GUIDE
LEADING TO IMMENSE n Evaluate conventional travel costs
COST SAVINGS” versus VC solutions
BASANT CHATURVEDI, HEAD of global business travel n Test waters with free or low cost ver-
sions like Skype and Google Video Chat
IT, PERFETTI VAN MELLE
INDIA
can be replaced by n Pay attention to the bandwidth usage
by VC
videoconferencing. n Go for Tele-presence
20 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
SPREAD THE
MESSAGE “USER BUY IN IS
VERY ESSENTIAL.
Your green efforts will not bear fruits WE MOTIVATE
USER TO MINIMIZE
unless you market the whole idea and PRINTING OF
DOCUMENTS, TO USE
action points across the organisation EMAIL INSTEAD OF
SENDING MANUAL
PAPERS “
EMPLOYEES AND RAJESH AGARWAL,
MANAGER IT, DP
STAFF ARE PROUD OF JINDAL GROUP
THE ORGANISATION’S
STANCE ON GREEN?
Disagree
2% Strongly Disagree
Don’t Know 0.6%
powering off a PC to printing on dual
4.6%
side.
The way to go about creating such
21.3%
a policy document would be to create
Agree an advisory council that sits and
Strongly
Agree
47.3% deliberates on the various issues and
also looks at ways and means to educate
Source: IT NEXT Green Survey 2010
2%
MARICO
organisation. indiscriminate printouts and then not
The ideal way to start is to create a collect them at all.
green policy document that list down
the dos and don’ts prominently. Like
those corporate mission, vision, value, STEP GUIDE
statements, it is much advisable to n Frame a Green Policy Document
n Put together a multi-faceted advisory
frame a green mission statement. council
This statement can and should be n Use various media, like posters,
now plastered across the company to of the total CO2 emissions emails, tea coasters, etc. to spread the
word on green
remind all n sundry about the need of human activity were done n Create a separate page on Facebook
or Intranet where employees can par-
to be conscious in every action, from by the ICT sector ticipate
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 21
GREEN PRODUCTS
BUY ONLY
GREEN
Insisting on purchasing environment-
friendly equipment is the best way to
support your green policy
IS YOUR COMPANY
ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN
PURCHASING ENERGY
It is often said that if you believe in
STAR CERTIFIED
PRODUCTS?
something, then wear it on your sleeve.
Similarly you can show your commit- You could bring about the green
ment to green by taking oath to propa- Don’t Know in all the enterprise purchases as
16.1%
gate and buy green only. Thus, buy well. So next time, before sending out
green should be the new mantra. So, a RFP, make sure it has some green
whenever a new hardware purchase parameters in it as well that need to
is made, it should be as green as pos- 16.2% be adhered with. The best way would
No
sible. To start off, be sure to look at the Yes be to ask the vendor to provide all the
energy conservation merits of the prod-
67.7% relevant energy profile of the product.
Source: IT NEXT Green Survey 2010
uct before making a purchase deci- Also, you should insist on a take
sion. Look for certifications and labels, back policy that is being offered by
for instance Energy Star or Electronic bigger vendors, like Dell, HP, IBM, etc.
Product Environmental Assessment wherein they will take back the product
Tool (EPEAT) is a recognised standard Sensitivity towards green products at the end of the lifecycle.
within the industry for displaying an is fairly high as most managers Green power or renewable energy is
admit that they prefer Star rated
energy efficient hardware. These days products over others
the next big frontier for the enterprises.
almost all equipment be it a router or a While, green power might not really
laptop, each come with a star rating, so be a reality as of now thanks to
make sure that you are well aware of the “WE USE SCANNED the exorbitant costs, the shift
same. SOFT COPIES FOR is taking place steadily. Many
MOST TRANSACTIONS enterprises are looking at green
WHICH REDUCES THE
CONSUMPTION OF PAPER power, namely solar for succour
AS WELL AS TONER.” as India being a tropic country,
MALAY NANDY, MANAGER IT, there is always an abundance of
ADANI AGRI LOGISTICS sunshine. Similarly, green buildings
are a big hit as well, they help
50%
“WE INTEND TO companies to not only reduce the
SWITCH 5% OF OUR consumption of energy but also earn
EXISTING IT POWER money in terms of certified emission
REQUIREMENTS TO
reductions (CERs).
RENEWABLE ENERGY;
WE PLAN TO INSTALL
SOLAR PANELS BY
2010-2011.”
STEP GUIDE
CHANDRESH DEDHIA,
SR IT MANAGER, of power used by desktop is n Buy only energy rated products
n Ask for energy related information at
FERMENTA BIOTECH
wasted as heat jettisoned by RFP stage
n Implement renewable energy mea-
the fans of power supply sures
22 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
THE 3R
MAGIC WAND “WE ALIGNED
When it comes to going green, following WITH SOME
SCHOOLS FOR
the triple policy can do wonders for the DONATION OF OLD
COMPUTERS AFTER
enterprise UPGRADATION
SOLVING TWO
ISSUES: LESS
IS YOUR COMPANY E-WASTE AND CSR”
ACTIVELY ENGAGED YASHPAL SONI, HEAD
IN RECYCLING IT, SECURE METERS
DECOMMISSIONED IT
EQUIPMENT?
Don’t Know
9.9%
only carries the IT specs but also the
manufacturing and the approximate
end date. By doing this you can track the
Yes
entire infrastructure more effectively.
47.8%
42.3% Also these days many hardware
No vendors are also serious about the
Source: IT NEXT Green Survey 2010
41mw
add to it by selling your old PCs Remember, that recycle is not a solution
to the neighbourhood junkyard. The but a process and that needs to be
ideal way is to try and extend the life imbued on an enterprise level.
of your equipment as much as possible
and also look at collaborating with local
companies that recycle hardware. As
an IT manager it is important for you STEP GUIDE
to look at the end of lifecycle scenario n Create a Product Lifecycle Docket for
for all your assets. The ideal way to do of energy or 2 barrels of all infrastructure
n Recycle old equipment through vendor
it would be to create lifecycle docket for equivalent oil can be saved purchases or by tying up with NGOs
n Reduce usage of paper and related
all the servers and the desktop, that not by just recycling one ton of products across the enterprise
paper
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 23
GIVING
mobility
TEETH TO
technology
BY JAT I N D E R S I N G H
24 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
READY FOR THE
INDIA’s FUTURE CIOs
TO FIND OUT GO TO on21st
WWW.ITNEXT.IN JUNE
CHALLENGE? 2010
3G | INSIGHT
230
in leveraging e-commerce at substantial give live demos over live IP instantly, India will have
level. It will enable them to offer new and service engineers can be connected
channels to reach out to customers in an to the back office support team to
effective way, without any geographical download any upgrade patch or fault
constraint. resolution,” says Nikhil Jain, COO,
No wonder then, many IT managers Elitecore Technologies.
are busy testing and evaluating mobile The high-speed connectivity
devices to understand the technology and will also support more demanding
its usage in a better and realistic way. multimedia applications, such as million 3G Subscribers
According to Ashwini Yadav, Vice video conferencing, VoIP, full-motion by 2013
President - IT at IDBI Fortis Life video and music streaming, while also
Source : Qualcomm
Insurance, “3G by definition will allow offering faster web browsing and file
for more bandwidth on the mobile downloads.
handsets. If used correctly, it will be According to Dr. R Venkateswaran,
a big boost to the financial inclusion CTO and Head, Telecom Business Unit,
roadmaps drawn by regulators in
India. In addition, if it is made available
Persistent Systems,“With everything
moving onto the cloud and the
How 3G can help
to rural India, it will create countless development of third-party applications you
opportunities in agriculture, education on the rise, 3G might be a great asset
Field service technicians can easily
and banking.” to collaborate and share and help
access reference materials to assist
companies reduce their travel expenses
in equipment repairs, including large
Demystifying new on a large scale”.
manuals as well as product sche-
applications However, he cautions that the success
matics, in addition to capturing and
Driven by growing competition, Indian of the technology will largely depend
transmitting photos that document
enterprises today understand the neces- on the innovative applications and
conditions
sity of having a mobile workforce to initiatives from service providers.
ensure that the business priorities are 3G has other takers as well. For First responders in the police and fire
taken care of even if an employee walks example, leading car manufacturer department can easily view, capture
out of the office premises. Maruti Suzuki is planning to provide and transmit photos and video footage
According to experts, with 3G, Internet access in the premium- (Adapted from White Paper on 2G and 3G cellular
users will be able to experience segment cars. And LG Electronics networks by Motorola)
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 25
INSIGHT | 3G
n Ascertain if it is important to create an aggressive plan n Availability of network and vendor agnostic OSS/BSS solutions: In
to migrate to 3G mobile devices today a 3G ecosystem, there can be a number of content providers and part-
ners with whom the operator has to interface. The OSS/BSS system
n Determine which all services are required to help
should be able to integrate seamlessly with third-party systems.
businesses function in a smoother way
n Ensuring multiple service deliveries over a common platform:
n Check with your integrator and estimate the
Operators need to have convergent service delivery platforms
RoI before moving to the new technology
over which multiple services can be offered to consumers in at-
n Every new technology requires some initial in- tractive bundles
vestment to gain long-term benefits. Make sure that
n On-demand services: Customers should be able to launch and retire
adequate security policies are in place before testing 3G
any service at will. It will reduce the number of calls made to cus-
n Ensure that firewalls are strong enough to keep out tomer care centres and cut the cost of servicing existing customers.
foreign parties and malicious users while allowing legiti-
n Time to market: Mobile operators have to take risks, both in technol-
mate users
ogy and marketing, and innovate to keep ahead of the competition.
n In cases where third-party enterprise applications are They have to be first to make profits from any new service.
used they should be able to demonstrate isolation from
other corporate users By Nikhil Jain, COO, Elitecore Technologies
26 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
READY FOR GREATER
INDIA’s FUTURE CIOs
TO FIND OUT GO TO on21st
WWW.ITNEXT.IN JUNE
RESPONSIBILITIES? 2010
3G | INSIGHT
REALISED THAT MOBILITY DOES usage pattern will depend on the kind
of requirements an organisation has,
NOT END AT PROVIDING AN E-MAIL adaptability of the devices and the
SOLUTION TO EMPLOYEES.
kind of money one can pour in for new
devices.
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 27
INSIGHT | MANAGE IT
FATAL
THE
As an IT manager, you have deployed the best position to misuse it. They are the ones who have
firewall; perhaps even dual firewalls from differ- been provided the IT facilities by you, misuse
ent vendors in series, intrusion prevention and of which could lead to a legal suit against your
detection systems, and have even got somebody organisation. They are the ones you trust with
70
to constantly monitor the audit logs. the data and the IT facilities, or can you? Well,
Excellent! Your corporate data is safe, right? they are the weakest link!
%
Wrong! So, can you protect your data from the ones
Sorry to burst the bubble, but by deploying who have been entrusted with the same? Can you
these technologies, you’ve merely secured your protect your organisation from legal action as a
corporate data from 50% of the threat -- the result of employees’ misuse of an IT facility?
external hackers, who would have to bypass the No system in this world is 100% secure, but
of data theft security systems to play havoc on your network. yes, you can take steps to mitigate the risk.
PHOTO GRAPHY: PHOTOS .CO M
28 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
MANAGE IT | INSIGHT
SALIENT POINTS TO
REMEMBER
n Don’t ignore the weakest link in the IT
Security Chain – your employees!
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 29
INSIGHT | MANAGE IT
the payroll of your competitor and may corporate email facility could result in and essential steps for the success of
be getting paid for siphoning your data legal action against the organisation. the policies and guarding the corporate
and trade secrets. Use of the corporate network’s Internet data against any misuse.
The IT manager needs to be and Wi-Fi facility to illegally access One important step is scheduled,
sceptical and at times even paranoid another organisation’s network can periodic training. All employees,
in identifying the risks to gauge the invite serious legal actions against the irrespective of their designation, need
magnitude of possible damage. How organisation. to be trained in all aspects of security
can they misuse corporate email? Can As stated earlier, policies should as that form part of the policy. Failure to
they take confidential hard copies of far as possible address each security do so may result in an employee either
the data outside the office? What about loophole. Senior management support forgetting what he has signed for, or not
the Internet? Blackberry is available to for the implementation of these policies understanding what a particular point
them for accessing corporate emails and is very crucial and cannot be stressed in the policy means.
loss of this could also result in leakage upon enough. The policy document So who conducts this training? If
of data. Also, USB is an excellent mode itself should be signed by the top a senior executive volunteers or is
of siphoning off data. management. convinced to conduct this training for
So what can you do? How can you Also, creation of policies is the employees with the help of the IT
address the risks? fine, but what about when these manager, it will have a much greater
Implementation of technical controls policies are violated, intentionally impact. However, if the IT manager
makes the presentation, then it is a
good idea that a senior executive of
THE SOLUTION LIES NOT JUST IN the company at least introduces the
IT manager and stresses upon the
30 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
4 Edu Tech December 2009
INSIGHT | USB 3.0
KEY SPECIFICATIONS
n Offers higher data transfer speeds of
DATA TRANSFER up to 4.8Gbps
SPEEDOMETER
n It's bi-directional: Unlike previous ver-
5Gbps sions where data would only be piped
in one direction at a time, USB 3.0 can
480 Mbps read and write data, simultaneously
3.0 n New power management features that
USB 2.0 USB
assure better power utilisation
NEED FOR
n Offers increased bus power and allows
for more power supply to devices
n Backward compatibility: USB 2.0 gear
work on version 3.0 ports and vice
SPEED
versa
n Better power management over USB
2.0
n Increased maximum bus power and
device current draw accommodate
better power-hungry devices
USB 3.0 offers fast data transfer Vishal Tripathi, Principal Research
speeds to consumers, but there are Analyst at Gartner says that USB
3.0 achieves its high transfer rates
a number of roadblocks that have to by using four additional wires in the
data cable for a total of six wires. It
be removed before the technology can supports full-duplex communication,
or the ability to send and receive data
become mainstream simultaneously, and is power efficient.
Most importantly, it is backwards
BY CHARU K H E R A compatible with USB 2.0 devices,
wherein the new cable dramatically
improves throughput speed.
G i g a by t e (P55A series
As per an IDC report, the amount of digital data created worldwide could hit motherboards), Asus, Seagate, Fujitsu,
988 billion gigabytes by 2010. With such tremendous increase in data, users Buffalo Technologies, etc are some of
have to spend too much time waiting for large files to transfer between a com- the early adopters to incorporate these
puter and an external hard drive. USB 2.0 (the current standard used in all interfaces in their line of products.
USB/flash drives that helps in the transfer of data) offers a maximum speed
of 480 Mbps. Moreover, one can easily find a USB pen drive that is 64GB in Market trends
size. Now, even cell phone and PDAs are available with a couple of GB internal The increasing quest for higher transfer
storage. With 480Mbps data transfer speed currently offered by USB 2.0 today, speed will be the key growth driver for
people are left complaining about the time they have to wait to transfer large the USB 3.0. Industry watchers believe
files. This is where the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 can play a major role. that USB 3.0 can be popularly be called
USB 3.0 offers maximum transfer speed of 5Gbps per second, which the next generation interface for trans-
is almost 10 times faster than USB 2.0. The high transfer speed offered ferring data. A tremendous surge in its
by USB 3.0 can allow users to transfer heavy files, as heavy as 20GB, in adoption is expected in the next couple
a few seconds. Explaining the technological concept behind the device, of years. “Customers today want faster
32 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
transfer of data. Thus if they will get an As per some recent media reports, Nvidia
option for USB 3.0 (i.e. much faster data has confirmed that no Intel chipsets will
transfer), they will automatically want support USB 3.0 standard until 2011.
to have the latest technology,” believes However, Intel has said that it will have
Shivratan Agarwal, Branch Head, Rashi its own USB 3.0 host controller (later in
Peripherals, Ahmedabad. He further says 2010), but that controller will not be part
that although there aren’t a large number of its chipsets. Also, there has been a lack
of products available today with USB of support from Microsoft too (Windows
3.0 interface, many are expected to be 7 too does not provide support to the USB
launched soon, like USB 3.0 flash drives, 3.0 interface).
portable HDDs, etc. “Ultimately, most The high cost of USB 3.0 is another
storage products will see this transition factor that is expected to restrict large scale
and USB 3.0 would certainly replace USB adoption among masses; but industry “THOUGH USB 3.0
2.0 over a period of time,” he elaborates. watchers believe that the scenario will AS A TECHNOLOGY
Most data storage hardware change and the reduction in its prices over IS EXPENSIVE AS
manufacturers have announced their a period of time would make its adoption
plans to incorporate the technology in much faster, easier and extensive. OF NOW, THIS IS
their upcoming product portfolio. Harikrishnan PK explains, “Though HOW NORMALLY
Moreover, many of the high-bandwidth USB 3.0, as a technology is expensive as TECHNOLOGY GETS
devices are expected to migrate to the of now (mainly motherboards), this is
new interface and SSDs/HDD devices how technology gets established in the ESTABLISHED WELL
will benefit the most from the boost in market. However, there would not be a IN THE MARKET.”
transfer speed offered by USB 3.0. Gulbir need to create awareness about USB 3.0 as —Harikrishnan PK, Alltime
Singh Bhatia, Managing Director, Prime a technology, as USB 2.0 is quite popular Power Technologies
ABGB, Mumbai adds that in future, there among the masses. All that vendors would
will be a lot of video-based devices like have to do is to explain to users that USB
cameras and media players, which will 3.0 is 10 times faster than USB 2.0. Over
come with USB 3.0 interface. “The future a period of time, every storage products
of USB 3.0 is good as all new external is expected to have a USB 3.0 interface.”
devices for video and audio need faster Currently, not many USB 3.0 products
communication,” he says. are readily available in the market.
Tripathy affirms that there are According to Sandeep Parasrampuria,
motherboards available today with Director, iBall India, only a few
SATA 6Gbps interfaces, which have a manufacturers like Asus and Gigabyte
PCIe card to provide USB 3.0 capabilities. have launched some motherboards with
“Moreover, in the future, the interface will USB 3.0 ports, but devices with USB 3.0
even be incorporated in domains such as are not yet available. He adds that iBall
high-resolution webcams, Blu-Ray drives, will be launching some USB 3.0 hubs
motherboards, LCD monitors and digital
cameras,” he says.
within the next few months.
Though most vendors are constantly
“ONLY A FEW
On the same lines, Harikrishnan trying to upgrade their hardware that MANUFACTURERS
PK, Alltime Power Technologies, can support the new 3.0 interface and LIKE ASUS AND
Cochin, says that there are a host of
motherboards available today with USB
deliver the speed boosts expected from it,
industry watchers believe that it will be a
GIGABYTE HAVE
3.0. Some external hard disks interfaces while before they would be able to match LAUNCHED SOME
have also been announced with USB up to the potential levels of speed that MOTHERBOARDS
3.0, though the products are yet to hit
the Indian market. External devices like
these interfaces promise.
In the end, though one can easily believe
WITH USB 3.0
HDDs, modem, and, wireless products that it will be some time before USB 3.0 PORTS, BUT
will also gain from USB 3.0. as a technology will become mainstream DEVICES WITH USB
Roadblocks
and ubiquitous like USB 2.0 in the Indian
market, but with time, it is expected to sell
3.0 ARE NOT YET
Anyone who would be tracking USB 3.0 like hot cakes as different products hit the AVAILABLE.”
would have a lot of speculations regard- shelf. Like all other technologies, USB 3.0 —Sandeep Parasrampuria,
ing USB 3.0 and Intel’s involvement in it. seems to be an inevitable upgrade. Director, iBall India
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 33
34 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 35
DAVE'S TOP 5
PREDICTIONS
By 2029, 11 petabytes of
1 storage will be available
for $100—equivalent to 600+
years of continuous, 24-hour-
per-day, DVD-quality video.
36 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 37
BUILD
BACKBONES
THAT
BEAR IT
In view of the exponential data growth leading
to high-density data centres, cabling standards that
match up are a must
BY K E N N Y G O U N D E R , I L LU ST R AT I O N BY P R ASA N T H T R
22
CAGR of structured
cabling market in India
% 32 %
of the structured cabling business in
India comes from data centres
SOURCE: SYSTIMAX SOLUTIONS SOURCE: AMI
38 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
STRUCTURED CABLING | INSIGHT
High density can mean multiple on the horizon. Enterprises need to enable easier upgrades tomorrow
things: high computation density, high have a closer look at how this density can also significantly reduce TCO for
power density, high application den- aspect can be dealt with effectively and enterprises.
sity, high user density, high cabling proactively from the structured cabling Merchant of Extreme Networks says,
density or all of these. Most data cen- point of view. “Structured cabling plays an important
tres incorporate some elements of all To keep pace with growing data role in managing high-density
these factors, and they are all poten- transmission and application needs, data centres. To give an example, if
tially inter-related. When technologies data centres today are experiencing enterprises have 40 1RU servers in a
like 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre increased bandwidth and server rack, each with say four 1Gig Ethernet
Channel over Ethernet, IP convergence requirements. Dileep Kumar, Director ports, they can have 160 Ethernet
and server virtualisation are becoming – Product Management, ADC India, cables in a single rack. In many cases,
real, and managing these aspects of data says, “The industry is responding to data center architects make design and
center assumes much more significance these needs with advancements like 40 planning decisions around cabling to
now than ever, enterprises essentially and 100 Gbps Ethernet (GbE), Fibre make sure that the constraining factor
need to prepare themselves for this Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), server does not become cabling.”
trend to run their businesses smoothly virtualisation and IP convergence. Different techniques exist for
and cost-efficiently. These new technologies also have addressing these types of problems. For
Properly managing a high-density implications for the data centre example, using MRJ21 cables to connect
data centre means making it more bandwidth performance, and there is a into high fan out modules in the network
efficient and reducing the total cost of need for enhanced reliability, flexibility aggregation/distribution layer can
ownership. And it is precisely for this and scalability. Fortunately, focused simplify the cabling issues as well as cut
reason that manageability assumes solutions and strategies are available down tiers of switches in the network.
significance. Shehzad Merchant - today that can help data centre managers This solution leads to lower cabling cost,
Senior Director of Data Centre Strategy, prepare while simultaneously lowering simplifies cabling challenges and leads
Extreme Networks, says, “Unless the TCO.” to a scalable network architecture with
managed properly, the benefits gained The need to reduce TCO is at the less oversubscription and less latency.
from one dimension of high density can forefront of concerns among today’s Fortunately, there are solutions
be lost in other dimensions since they businesses. Over the life cycle of a available in the market to manage
are interrelated. If managed properly, all typical enterprise, operational costs today’s complex high density data
dimensions can lead to a more efficient alone can account for 50% of total centres, and it would be wise for
operation of the data centre.” costs. By making operations more your data center manager to consider
Managing a high-density data efficient, that cost can be significantly available solutions and strategies to
centre is important as lot of elements reduced. Retrofit costs take up another better support next-data generation
are getting in, particularly with 40 25% of life cycle costs. Therefore, centre technologies when they are
GB and 100 GB cabling adoptions having solutions in place today that needed.
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 39
INSIGHT | STRUCTURED CABLING
40 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
ARE YOU
INDIA’S FUTURE CIOs
TO FIND OUT GO TO on21st
WWW.ITNEXT.IN JUNE
A SHINING STAR? 2010
approximately the same size as a one diameters of cables play a critical more performance in less space within
SC-style fibre connector, they offer the role in facilitating higher densities their data center environments while
highest density for maximising space in cable management and pathways. meeting power consumption objectives,
savings and managing higher port Preterminated MPO multi-fibre Tyco has developed focused product
counts that come with IP convergence as cables are a small, round loose-tube sets for these environments that meet
also the increasing number of network configuration that includes 12 fibres in a the design objectives of guaranteed
devices and equipment. 3mm jacket, which is only slightly larger high-density performance, seamless
than traditional 2-fibre cables in a 1.7 to migration and user flexibility at a
Ease the airflow 2mm jacket. Round loose-tube cables reduced power level.
When managing a high-density data are also easier to manage and route Thin diameter cabling and reduced
centre from a structured cabling point through pathways than traditional size in data centres means saving real
of view, care must be taken to manage multi-fibre ribbon cables.” ADC AirES estate costs as well. From an aesthetic
cable routing and cable management, conductor insulation technology makes aspect too, diameter of the cabling
which have much influence on air- the copper cable 28-32% thinner. This solutions is important.
flow and cooling efforts. Mylaraiah JN, helps reduce cable blockage in cabinets,
says, “If cabling management is done allowing improved airflow in and High bandwidth
properly, airflow design efficiency will around the equipment for optimum solutions
strongly be affected. This applies to cooling and less energy consumption. As per various studies, data transmis-
individual racks that house the active When considering the operational sion is expected to be six times higher
devices/servers as well as to the path- cost benefit of a system, a holistic in 2012 than it was in 2007. Overall
ways covering the overall data centre approach is required. By the usage IP traffic is expected to grow to over
design. Improper management or rout- of Tyco’s Zero U cable management 45,000 petabytes (PB) per month by
ing of the cables can result in equip- solution like HI-D angled panels, rack 2012—that’s more than 46 billion giga-
ment failures by disturbing the cooling density increases by 35%. Professional bytes of data.
design.” cable routing improves airflow and This data explosion and several
Today’s switching equipments in cooling concepts. Plug-and-play imminent technologies in the domain of
the market have either front-to-back or approach, reusable products, and faster information transport system warrant
side-to-side ventilation concepts. For MACs mean lower operational costs. higher-bandwidth cabling and precise
managing high-density cabling systems Cabling vendors offer targeted performance. With this in view, leading
within high-density data centres, solutions for high-density data centres. cabling vendors are offering 10 GbE
Tyco offers AMP HI-D systems (high- Tyco offers AMP Hi-D which is a copper and fibre cabling solutions,
density systems), which support both cabling platform for enterprises’ IT which is the minimum required for
the cooling methods and increase the infrastructure. The platform embraces FCoE.
reliability and airflow efficiency of the different kinds of products and features Kumar of ADC says, “40 GbE and
equipment by keeping the cables away designed for future IT infrastructures 100 GbE will require reduced insertion
from the ventilation pathways. requiring high-density solutions. In line loss and delay skew to ensure that
Kumar of ADC says, “Smaller with organisations’ needs to provide signals in each optical fibre arrive at
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 41
INSIGHT | STRUCTURED CABLING
very precise intervals relative to each connectors and cables without affecting partner who is trained and certified by
other. ADC’s patented fibre technology adjacent circuits or ports, and physical the vendor is crucial in order to ensure
ensures minimal loss and delays skew protection for cables, patch cords, and that high quality of the installation is
for precise performance.” jumpers. Without end-to-end cable maintained.
management, cables can pile up in According to experts, the best
Low TCO mantra raceways, maximum bend radius can approach to build today’s data center
Proper cable management means a lot be exceeded, connector access can be is being proactive that is better than
for enterprises in terms of data centre difficult, and it can take hours to trace reactive. Preparing the data centre today
efficiency and cost effectiveness. It cables, all of which impacts the ability to itself for the future high-bandwidth
helps in maintaining reliability, flex- support and deploy new technologies in technologies like 40 GbE, 100 GbE,
ibility and scalability of cabling and the data centre. FCoE is an important strategy, as it
connections in the data centre. This ensures saving much cost.
helps to lower the TCO by enabling Final words Data centre managers should
proper flow of cool air into and out of Structured cabling vendors advocate consider the above aspects whether
the cabinet, improves the life cycle of that enterprises build networks that doing a green field data centre
the equipment and reduces the need are future proof and avoid unnecessary deployment or upgrading their
for fans and additional cooling that downtime due to cabling problems. This existing data centres. Things like MPO
increase energy consumption. is achievable though today’s plug-and- solutions, high-density solutions,
Kumar of ADC notes that while play solutions available for both copper higher bandwidth cabling, and cable
performing these cable management and fibre media. management that ensures reliability,
activities, due care needs to be taken to As far as possible, enterprise flexibility and scalability are the
ensure proper bend radius protection. IT managers need to use modular essential building blocks. These will
This is to reduce signal attenuation, components within their data centre ensure cost-effective, higher-efficiency
maintain fibre performance, establish environment that are pre-terminated and high-density data centres that are
well-defined cable routing paths, and and factory-tested prior to shipment. low on power consumption and have
to provide accessibility for working on Besides this, selecting the installation reduced life-cycle costs.
MODULAR SOLUTION FEATURES REUSABLE CASSETTES AND CABLES, AND MPO ASSEMBLIES
10 GB/S OVER COPPER WITHOUT ANY ANEXT TESTING AND EMC CONSIDERATION
SAVING PATHWAY SPACE WITH IMPROVED AIRFLOW COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL CABLE BUNDLES
PRE-TERMINATED CABLES
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WIRED FOR
FAST PACED
GROWTH The need for robust infrastructure among
enterprises is expected to drive growth in the
structured cabling market
BY S O M A TA H
The adverse economic conditions in including structured cabling and pas- telecom infrastructure in the country,
2008-09 took a bite out of cabling ven- sive components. government focus on increasing
dors’ profits, but that has not flattened A study by Springboard Research broadband penetration and lack of basic
the growth curves of the networking says that the market for enterprise infrastructure in many areas,” says
infrastructure market in 2010. In fact, networking equipment in India is Nupur Singh Andley, senior research
analysts predict strong demand and estimated to grow from $1 billion in analyst-connectivity, Springboard
investment for infrastructure upgrades 2008 to $1.7 billion by 2012, recording Research.
in the New Year, both in the enterprise a compounded annual growth rate
segment and in greenfield projects. (CAGR) of 15 percent during this period. Growth curve
Since the network is the backbone of “There is tremendous potential for Though structured cabling was con-
any IT infrastructure, there will be great the growth of enterprise networking in sidered to be a good riddance from the
demand for networking equipment, India, given the current low standard of cabling mess businesses had to face ear-
PHOTO GRAPHY: JAYAN K NARAYANAN
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 43
INSIGHT | STRUCTURED CABLING
No vendor lock-in: Structured cabling is compatible with multiple vendor integrations and gives the flexibility to support various
applications and hardware from different vendors.
Cost-effectiveness: Offers excellent ROI. The cabling system accounts for only five percent of an organization’s total networking
expenditure, but outlives most of the components in the network. The upgrading costs are also cheaper.
Scalability: Upgrading is much easier with standardized components. System upgrades also do not require modifications in cabling
infrastructure.
lier; enterprises have gradually started and Cat6A. According to IDC’s India To wire or to be wireless
to understand the role of robust cabling Structured Cabling Solutions Market While some fear that wireless networks
infrastructure in reducing network Study last year, the Cat6 cable segment will eventually displace all physically
downtime. is expected to clock a CAGR of around structured cabling system networks,
The growth of structured cabling is 22 per cent, growing from Rs 365 crore most vendors believe that wired and
mainly driven by an unprecedented in 2008 to Rs 977 crore in 2013. Cat6 wireless networks will complement
growth in the volume of organizational is expected to, thus, remain the biggest each other. Though a number of busi-
data. There is a need to store market segment throughout the five- ness and technology trends are creating
voluminous data, as well as to have real year forecast period, mainly for high a new set of requirements for wireless
time access to that data, which requires bandwidth requirements and high- networks that can deliver increased
the connectivity to be fast and efficient. speed data transmissions across data value to the enterprises, unfortunately,
The cabling infrastructure also needs to centres and other enterprise environ- the current WLAN architectures are not
be robust enough to support increased ments. equipped to enable optimum benefits
bandwidth usage, which is resulting in India is also witnessing the for enterprises. There is no functional,
considerable growth in the networking deployment of latest technologies such performance or economic advantage
infrastructure market. as Cat6A and Cat7 in niche segments. that wireless networks provide over
In fact, UK-based research firm Cat6A cabling is mainly used for physically cabled networks. That is why
BSRIA reported India’s emergence as data centre applications. Cat7 is yet wireless today does not pose any poten-
one of the fastest growing structured to gain momentum, since there is no tial threat to wired networks, believe
cabling markets, with an increase widespread preparedness or demand many industry watchers.
of 33.6 per cent by value in 2008. for Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) and
The mounting pressure on the data foil screened twisted pair (FTP) cables Intelligent cabling
centre environment, with companies in India. Reports also state that there The advent of intelligent cabling has
increasingly hosting their mission- has been a very slow uptake on the 10G added a new dimension to the conven-
critical applications in third-party data front. tional cabling infrastructure by provid-
centres, is also a key growth vector in While the debate on fibre versus ing greater visibility into the network.
this aspect. copper continues, fibre has some It can reduce the manpower and down-
Besides data centres, growing advantages over standard copper coaxial times cost considerably, while increasing
demand from the expansion cables, in terms of data transmission, network efficiency and network security
programmes in banking, government, extended coverage, resistance to a great deal. Though real-time monitoring
IT and ITeS sector, business process interference and robustness and better and troubleshooting become very simple
PHOTO GRAPHY: JAYAN K NARAYANAN
outsourcing (BPO) units, and upcoming security, which make it a smart choice with intelligent cabling, it can be expen-
townships are also fuelling the growth for enterprises. However, the cost of the sive to deploy a full intelligent cabling
of this market segment in India. supporting equipment poses a deterrent solution within an organization – in some
in the mass adoption of fibre; leading to cases, a mid-size organization may not be
Technology trends growth in adoption of copper. Power- able to afford that. This is where patch-
On the technology front, vendors over-Ethernet (PoE) will also continue ing technology comes in, which can take
continue to deploy accepted and to make people invest in copper in the a lot of pain out of the cable management
proven solutions, such as Cat5, Cat6, coming days. process.
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AROUND 22 PER CENT, GROWING cabling can adversely affect even the
quality of the bandwidth the network
FROM RS 365 CRORE IN 2008 TO RS delivers.
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 45
4 Edu Tech December 2009
15MINUTE
TRAINING
EDUCATION
WORKPLACE
BUSTING
STRESS
PAGE 48
Leadership Lead with fortitude THIS PAGE
IT Strat Chartered Service PAGE 49
MANAGER
BY A N A N D K U M A R
PA D M A N A BA N
T
he recent economic slow-
down has shown that we
are more reactive than
proactive in terms of dem-
onstrating courage. Best-of-
breed leaders know and understand the
nuances of demonstrating courage on a
consistent basis, and individuals look
up to leadership for guidance.
When issues become political
or controversial, many leaders get
intimidated instead of energised to
stand tall and demonstrate courage.
Effective leaders do what is right, not
what they think people want. They
don’t run away from a controversy but
instead, clarify their credentials and
what they represent.
Demonstrating honesty and
LEADERSHIP
LEAD WITH
internalising it inside an organisation
is more difficult than it sounds. It will
be very difficult for organisational
leadership to be honest with the
FORTITUDE
community and the public stakeholders
if they cannot be honest with
themselves.
Organisational transparency and
I MAGING : PHOTOS .CO M
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 47
15-MINUTE MANAGER
48 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
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unit once told me that he always leads to contrived remarks and a feeling Whether it’s about speaking to
wanted to hear the bad news first, that different values apply to different a team member on the individual’s
as senior leadership needed to know people. When you acknowledge your performance, bringing up an idea that
more critically what was not working mistake as a leader, this gives everyone may not be popular, being honest about
than what was working well. Create around you the permission and the something you see happening that you
organisational conditions for people to courage to do the same. don’t think is ethical, being genuine
be demonstrate courage and be factual Become a trust architect: Today’s and demonstrating the courage of your
about it. organisations place a lot of emphasis convictions, earns you respect in the
Demonstrate and practice crucial on skills and knowledge and do not look workplace. When your words and your
conversations: Practice having critical closely at building trust relationships. actions reflect each other, you build
and inconvenient conversations. The top At a time when workforces are looking trust.
leaders learn how to deliver bad news towards leadership and searching for By broadening the perspectives
kindly so that individuals understand meaning, trust and connection within that leaders consider, demonstrating
the context and do not take it personally. the organisations they work for, one of courage deters a lot of the noise that is
I have personally seen cultural issues the most important roles of a leader is prevalent in organisations. But the real
playing a role in this, but we need to get to become a trust architect. It is through value of courage and transparency is
over that hurdle. individual personal action and fostering that it keeps leaders of organisations
There is a great book around crucial relationships that leaders develop honest to their stakeholders and
conversations by a well known author trust and gain commitment from the perhaps more importantly, honest to
which comes with a workbook, and workforce. themselves.
can be used to teach the art of having Demonstrating leadership courage Web 2.0, the Internet and
crucial conversations. I personally means taking calculated risks and organisational intranets are upping the
think this is an area where most of putting yourself in the forefront. ante in terms of increasing the risk of
us struggle and we tend to sugar coat It’s about walking the talk. I used to misinformation, but used proactively,
critical conversations, which corrupts counsel and mentor a few individuals technology can help harness crucial
the message for the receiver. at work and in one such meeting where information and insights from all levels
Demonstrate Mea Culpa: True we were discussing business ethics, in the organisation. Sure, there are some
leaders admit their mistakes and are the individuals came up with many inconvenient aspects about courage and
open and honest about it. They convey suggestions for improvement, some of transparency that leaders simply have
to the team that mistakes can be made which would require some changes in to learn to live with, but which lead to
and that is ok as long as the learning how the senior leaders interacted with huge organisational efficiencies and
happens and the mistake is not repeated. employees. When I asked how we would effectiveness.
On the contrary, what I have seen go forward, everybody was silent due to
happen many a times is that the leaders the risk of belling the cat. This is where The author is CEO of SurgeForth Technologies
and specialises in HR analytics
don’t acknowledge their mistake, which demonstrating courage is difficult.
O
ne common question
IT STRAT that keeps coming up in
CHARTERED
IT circles is: who is a VIP
user?
Is he a person who
SERVICE
is from the top management or is he
someone critical to the organisation?
For me, a VIP user is normally a
person who is not part of operations
VIP support is about going beyond the and whose computer downtime
will lead to huge losses for the
routines and aiming for what is best organisation. The promoters of
the organisation, close group
termed as customer delight members of promoters, and senior
professionals who are more into
BY SAT I S H M A H A JA N strategic decision making on the
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 49
15-MINUTE MANAGER
50 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
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Ask the user to describe the problem couple of possibilities. It is important to one at a time, so that if something goes
to the best of his or her understanding. keep an open mind when dealing with wrong, you will be able to undo your
What were they doing when the problem computer problems. With all the hard- changes easily.
occurred? Did they change any settings ware and software installed on a PC, the
recently? Did they install any new appli- possibility of conflict between all the TEST AND TEST AGAIN
cations or patches on the computer? components is pretty staggering.
8 Did I say test? Test again! Some-
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 51
15-MINUTE MANAGER
TRAINING
also have broken other part of the user’s
system, so you need to test everything
extensively to be sure that everything is
STANDBY INVENTORY
10 Always ensure to have sufficient
Program Venue Dates standby inventory so as to minimise
downtime in case of hardware failures.
In a normal scenario, we have 10%
Finance for Non finance spares available with the support team.
FORE School, Delhi June 9-11, 2010
Executives For VIP users, the spare percentage
can go up to 100%. It is like keeping a
helicopter with dual engines instead of
Marketing: Winning Concepts a single engine for the air travel of the
FORE School, Delhi June 24-25, 2010
and Practices Prime Minister to avoid problems in
case one engine fails. The cost should
not matter when addressing the IT
Leadership and Decision
XLRI, Jamshedpur July 02 - 04, 2010 problem for a VIP user. The time and
Making loss due to non-availability of the
service is what matters.
Managing Change and Conflict The needs of VIP users are more
IIM Indore July 05 - 07, 2010 consumer-like, where they look
at the Work Place
for trust, consistency and quick
resolution. The engineer with proper
Management of Creativity and communication and technical skills
IIMC, Delhi July 05 - 09, 2010 also wins the trust of the VIP user as he
Innovation
handles critical data on the desktop or
the laptop of the user.
Effective Communication for The list is surely not exhaustive. One
IIML, Noida July 12-14, 2010
Managerial Success may add more points on addressing VIP
support. These dos and don’ts will help
form the VIP service standards over time.
Building and Leading Teams IIM, Indore July 14 - 16, 2010 What can best describe these
standards? SLAs? No, we need to see
Managing Across Cultures IIMC, Delhi July 14 - 16, 2010 the concept as something beyond SLAs.
The term used here would be “customer
delight”. Normally, in a service function,
Understanding and Analysis of every user is important. But, VIP users
IMI, Delhi July 16-17, 2010
Financial Statements are different from important users. The IT
support service is to be customised to suit
the needs of an individual VIP user.
Developing a Culture of
IMI, Delhi July 26-27, 2010
Working Together The author is the Head – Infrastructure,
Raymonds
52 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
CLOUD COMPUTING
HOW TO
THE MAKE THE
SWITCH?
BIG EXPERT PANEL
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 53
THE BIG Q
? HOW CAN RAVI ENSURE THAT THE SHIFT TO CLOUD DELIVERS ALL THE
GOODS THAT IT PROMISES, NAMELY, COST SAVINGS, OPERATIONAL EASE,
PRODUCTIVITY GAINS, ETC.?
FIRST ANSWER
Cloud computing is probably the next inflection point such as the
internet and is likely to be as or more disruptive than the internet
itself since its going to take the enterprise boundaries sans frontiers.
As any disruptive models/technology does, this too, comes with the
mixed bag of benefits and what if’s. A company has to make certain
decisions/choices based on their own assessment of their business
needs, technology maturity, organisational capability in deciding
whether they wish to embrace the cloud? And if so, whether they
wish to start with Iaas, PaaS, Saas? Whether they should be setting
up a private cloud (suitable for organisations with a big IT footprint)
of their own, or leverage a public cloud that is already out there, or
a hybrid?
RAMESH Public cloud computing carries with it, its own unique risks
SHANMUGANATHAN regarding the privacy, confidentiality, and security of business
information, which companies must fully assess before migrating
EVP/Group CIO, John to the cloud. Once this assessment is made whatever one plans to put on the Public
Keells Holdings
cloud needs to be assessed with an appropriate legal compliance and risk‐management
About me: A multi- strategy—and strong, fully negotiated contractual protections—companies should be
faceted professional able to safely transfer their data and applications to the cloud. Cloud Service Agreements
with over 20 years of
experience in the ICT (CSAs) entered into should clearly describe the services provided, guarantees,
industry, both in Sri warranties, limitations, liabilities, and the responsibilities and rights of each party.
Lanka and USA
Proper due diligence requires inquiry into the following categories of concern: data
security, performance, limitations of service, data migration, government and third‐
party litigation access, handling of trade secrets/confidential information, exit plan, etc.
SECOND ANSWER
It’s important to have a base-lining exercise done to assess the current operating model
vis-à-vis costs and benefits as well as the pros and cons. Once this is done, you would
have well defined measures/KPIs to assess alternatives in a more meaningful way since
you will ensure that your evaluation of cloud as an option gives you a better ROI and
lower TCO and more agile/nimble platform for you to leverage your business and change
the competitive landscape.
It’s also crucial that these measures/KPIs and the necessary business flexibility, as
required, is mapped into the CSA, which would be the ultimate and enforceable docu-
ment between the two parties. Once this is established ensuring that the defined mea-
sures/KPIs are monitored on a continuous basis to ensure that the basic parameters/
measure are met is essential. It’s also important to have a steering committee, comprising
all stakeholders, to provide the required leadership and to handle exceptions during the
course of the contract.
54 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT! 2010
THE BIG Q
FIRST ANSWER
First and foremost this question has to be tempered with what is the
size and position of the organisation in the competitive landscape
within the market segment . The question of size establishes extent
of “digitisation” and the size of existing IT infrastructure, business
value and utility oriented application portfolio. And the geographical
spread of IT resources including data centers.
As we are aware, that cloud computing is a model for enabling
convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of
configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage,
applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and
released with minimal management effort or service provider
interaction.. Thus it is important that any organisation migrating to
cloud should consider the key business gains it might get from cloud ANWER
and to what level it would like to leverage its organisation working BAGDADI
on cloud platform.
CEO, Kashif Technology
SECOND ANSWER:
About me: An industry
In the above case, it is obvious GemPro want its logistic business to benefit from singular veteran with over 30
code of business operations across all customers and reduce the cost of infrastructure years of experience.
Had been associated
across geography and customer locations. with Epicenter, Lawkim,
As already mentioned cloud brings massive scale of infrastructure resource with Godrej-GE Appliances,
CFC India in leadership
better utilisation of computing power & storage (through virtualisation), ensure high positions in the past
availability and Uptime by rapid assigning and deassigning resources. Software as a
service (SaaS) converts the model from Capex to usage based and thus reduces the cost
in a major way. Wherever there is development of software for specific usage within a
vertical by internal team, the deployment would be easy as same would be applicable
across the cloud. But there are challenges for the SaaS model from version control and
applicability of same at various geographical levels. Thus it is important for GemPro
to choose the right application for deployment. There are excellent market oriented
software products available like Zoho, Saleforce.com and even Google Apps to name few
which are well proven and hence quite reliable. Ravi can leverage these service providers
for cost benefits, operational ease and productivity gain by opting for cloud. NEXT
CLOUD
Obstacles in monitoring cloud-related services
S OURCE: ENTERPRI SE MANAGE ME NT ASS O CIATES
70
60
65
50
Unique API requirements
Security Vulnerabilities
49
Business Collaboration
Overall lack of control
47
Lack of accountability
40
47 44
Lack of unified SLAs
30 40
Lack of visibility
35
20
10
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 55
THE BIG Q
NOTES
NOTES
56 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
4 Edu Tech December 2009
CUBE CHAT | SUBHA K RUDRA
SIMPLY
HONEST
“I’ve learnt something new and positive
from every rough phase,” says SK Rudra,
IT Manager for Usha Martin Group
BY JATIN D E R S I N G H
A
job is something we do for every time as during every bad phase, I learnt
money; work is something we something new and positive,” he says, reflecting.
do for love!” says SK Rudra, IT What gave him the strength and the
Manager for Usha Martin Group inspiration? “Had I not had such supportive and
who is happy to be in a profes- encouraging parents, I doubt whether I could
sion that has been his passion. have achieved a fraction of what I have today,”
A simple human being, Rudra always knew he says,
that IT was the only thing he wanted to do in life. And what is his idea of a successful IT
“I knew that I hardly love anything like IT. I enjoy manager? “Well”, says Rudra, “Besides
MY SUCESS every bit of it. And I always try to do complete having sound technical knowledge, a good IT
MANTRA justice to the duties that I have been assigned, manager, should have proper understanding
with all sincerity, dedication and honesty,” says of the business part of the organisation, so
Honesty is a critical
Rudra very humbly. as to contribute and deliver in line with the
factor in the long-term
Not that Rudra’s professional journey been organisation’s business objectives”
success, so put absolute
without its share of ups and downs. “Like Given the kind of complexities any IT
honesty, dedication and
any other individual, I faced hard times, went manager faces in day-to-day work, it is extremely
integrity in whatever
through those bleak phases, but took them in important to have a cool head to solve the
you do
my stride. And I believe I came out stronger technical puzzles properly, he stresses.
58 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
CUBE CHAT
FACT FILE
NAME
SUBHA K RUDRA
CURRENT DESIGN AT I O N
MANAGER (IT), U S H A
MARTIN GROUP
CURRENT ROLE
MANAGING THE E N T I R E
IT INFRASTRUCT U R E O F
THE GROUP.
EXPERTISE
SETTING UP NEW I T
INFRASTRUCTUR E ;
MANAGING IT
INFRASTRUCTUR E ,
WORK EXPERIEN C E
“An IT manager should be able to remain loves to compose and play his own pieces. 2004 -PRESENT
composed during times of crisis and be An atheist all through his life, Rudra MANAGER-IT, US H A
MARTIN GROUP
able to take up challenges with positive considers humanity as the biggest religion.
frame of mind, work towards the solution “I believe the account of our acts get 2001-2004
honestly and dedicatedly, inviting active squared off before we leave this world. Thus PROJECT MANAG E R , P C S
user participation,” Rudra explains. more than God, we should be afraid of our TECHNOLOGY
Noting that honesty is a critical factor in deeds and take care not to end up hurting
1998 -2001
the long-term success of an individual’s life, someone without any reason,” he said. CUSTOMER SERV I C E
he categorises dedication and integrity in On the the career front, Rudra has a ENGINEER, AGCO N
whatever he does as the other major factors very clear and healthy outlook. “Definitely,
EDUCATION
responsible for the success he has today. I look forward to going higher up the
2003 -2006
His pet peeve? It irritates him when professional ladder, but I do not have BA (ENGLISH HO N O U R S ) ,
people show lack of logical reasoning and targets like becoming a CIO in the next five
PHOTO GRAPHY: D RIS HTI
NSOU
talk like idiots. years. Instead, I set targets for my projects.
1995 -1998
Apart from IT, music has always been I believe in doing my job with sincerity,
DIPLOMA IN
a passion for Rudra. And this is not just honesty and dignity, and if recognition is to ELECTRONICS &
limited to his interests as an avid listener. come my way, it will,” he signs off with a TELECOMMUNIC AT I O N
The IT guy is quite a guitar strummer and smile. ENGINEERING, G T T I
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 59
UPDATE
LG unveils Green
projectors
The new portable projectors are based on
LED-based digital light source Kobian launches
Mercury Elite 650
PRO UPS
Price Kobian has announced the availabil-
HS201G ity of its new Mercury 650 PRO UPS
Rs 48000 in India. According to the company,
HX301G the new UPS is designed not only to
Rs 71000 protect the personal computers and
electrical equipments but also give
them a new life.
60 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0
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2010
UPDATE
NComputing
D-Link launches Green launches U170
Ethernet Switch Desktop
NComputing has launched the new
USB Virtual Desktop (model 170)
in India. The solution will meet the
needs of small businesses, schools
and home users. The product,,
according to the company, is
simple to install and set up, has
full USB support,
and sparkles on
D-Link has unveiled the new Ethernet switch KEY ADVANTAGES high-resolution
DGS-3200-24 which claims to reduce power * Reduce power consumption and full-screen
consumption by detecting device link status. by detecting device link status video. The
Besides this, the switch also boasts of advanced * Advanced security features U170 comes
security features and smart fan enabling users * Supports both IPv4 and IPv6 in a single
to operate in temperatures up to 50 degree Cen- protocols station kit
tigrade and in non A/C environment especially and with plug-
suitable for Indian climate. and-play simplicity for
According to Jayesh Kotak, VP-Product Marketing, D-Link (India), “D-Link up to 10 users per PC. With
DGS-3200-24 is a compact device that not only helps customers lower their this high performance product,
operating expenses by cutting down on electricity consumption, but also reduces NComputing U 170 kit enables
the capital expenditure on power backup investments.” users to cut computing costs by
The DGS-3200-24 supports both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols to meet the ever- sharing the untapped power of
increasing demand of larger address space. IPv6 simplifies, streamlines network existing computers and efficiently
configuration and also reduces costs of deployment. The company has a dedicated harnessing the computing capacity
website, www.dlinkGreen.com that outlines the company’s Green initiatives, such by enabling multiple users to
as conserving energy, protecting the environment from harmful substances and share a single machine. The cost
reducing waste by using recyclable packaging. of the product is RS. 5000.
Data Centre
* Loop cooling technology
* Green alternative for power
hungry datacentres
Elliptical Mobile Solutions (EMS) has launched data centre-in-a-box products.
According to the company, the Data Centre-in-a-Box technology provides more
than 50% savings in data centre cooling costs due to the closed loop cooling tech-
nology that the product has, thus enabling users to substantially reduce their
overall energy consumption. The products include the R.A.S.E.R.,a full-height
(42U) MMDC, the C3.S.P.E.A.R., a half height (24U) MMDC and the S.P.E.A.R
also a half-height, armoured (22U) MMDC. A recent study by McKinsey Group
says that the data centre industry is the fourth largest producer of carbon dioxide
emissions accounting for three percent of global pollution. According to Gartner,
the total data centre capacity in India is expected to reach 5.1 million square feet
by 2012 and is projected to grow 31% from 2007 to 2012.
J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 61
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J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 63
VISHWAJEET SINGH
MY LOG National Manager IT,
FCm Travel Solutions
Things I learnt
at IIM-A
A personal account of a strategic
program at India’s premier
management institute N :A
N IL
T
IO
AT
STR
ILLU
It was a nice Sunday morning when I coordinator, appeared and we all formally
reached the land that produces most of introduced each other. His first question:
the highly paid management executives in “How many of you have actually read the
India. I was really thrilled at the thought of case studies?” There was a mixed reply, 3 ESSENTIAL
becoming a part of that elite league – even as no one thought they would actually be READS
if for only six days. asked about it on the first day. But the best INSIGHT | 3G
READY FOR THE
CHALLENGE?
INDIA’s FUTURE CIOs
2010
TO FIND OUT GO TO
WWW.ITNEXT.IN
on21st
JUNE
3G | INSIGHT
APPLICATIONS TO
I was greeted well and given an IIM bag part came next: “We are much disciplined
With over Rs 67,000 crore at stake, true broadband speeds over mobile
the recently concluded 3G auction was which will completely change the
undoubtedly the biggest draw of its game. 3G dongles plugged into the WATCH OUT FOR…
kind to have happened in the IBL a.k.a PCs will provide network speeds
Real-time videoconferencing: Simi-
Indian business league. superior to those available in many
lar to videoconferencing on desktop
The battle for licences was fought offices in India.
computers, but now available on a
fiercely by service providers, with “It will foster an era of cloud-based
device.
the aim of getting significantly large computing that has already spread
Video-on-demand: Where a provider
number of consumers, as well as throughout the western world, allowing
can send a movie to a subscriber’s
enterprise customers, for sustainable IT departments to reduce costly
phone, or a sales rep might send
survival of their businesses. internal infrastructure and rely on
and my room keys. The room was decently and we will always start sharp at 8:45 AM
a corporate video to a client, for
For enterprises, 3G networks are secure external third-party resources
example.
the next step in their quest for higher- for CRM and many other enterprise
Tele-medicine: In which a medical
speed connectivity and streaming applications,” says Tim Daniels,
provider can monitor or diagnose a
of videos on mobile devices. For Product Marketing Manager, Telesoft
patient who’s in another location.
instance, the benefits of a truly “FAT” Technologies India.
pipe to the employees are tremendous. IT managers today have realised that Location-based services (LBS):
Information can be truly at employee mobility does not end at providing an It’s another interesting feature that
fingertips wherever they are and e-mail solution to employees. And one will enable organisations, in areas like
sophisticated database applications needs to look beyond to meet the specific transportation, to track the devices
that were only ever in-house can requirements of individual businesses. and objects on a real-time basis.
maintained and had everything that could everyday – but the discipline ends there
now be streamed anywhere within “3G will see a huge uptake by the
India’s 22 mobile circles. Moreover, the enterprise to enable their sales team
technology is likely to help enterprises on the field. It can equip sales team to
230
in leveraging e-commerce at substantial give live demos over live IP instantly, India will have
level. It will enable them to offer new and service engineers can be connected
channels to reach out to customers in an to the back office support team to
effective way, without any geographical download any upgrade patch or fault
GIVING
constraint. resolution,” says Nikhil Jain, COO,
No wonder then, many IT managers Elitecore Technologies.
are busy testing and evaluating mobile The high-speed connectivity
devices to understand the technology and will also support more demanding
make you feel that you were here to learn. because there is no end time!”
its usage in a better and realistic way. multimedia applications, such as million 3G Subscribers
According to Ashwini Yadav, Vice video conferencing, VoIP, full-motion by 2013
mobility
President - IT at IDBI Fortis Life video and music streaming, while also
Source : Qualcomm
Insurance, “3G by definition will allow offering faster web browsing and file
TEETH TO
for more bandwidth on the mobile downloads.
handsets. If used correctly, it will be According to Dr. R Venkateswaran,
a big boost to the financial inclusion CTO and Head, Telecom Business Unit,
roadmaps drawn by regulators in
India. In addition, if it is made available
Persistent Systems,“With everything
moving onto the cloud and the
How 3G can help
to rural India, it will create countless development of third-party applications you
opportunities in agriculture, education on the rise, 3G might be a great asset
As for the bag, besides some stationery, it Day one ended with the relief that we
Field service technicians can easily
and banking.” to collaborate and share and help
access reference materials to assist
companies reduce their travel expenses
in equipment repairs, including large
Demystifying new on a large scale”.
manuals as well as product sche-
applications However, he cautions that the success
matics, in addition to capturing and
Driven by growing competition, Indian of the technology will largely depend
transmitting photos that document
enterprises today understand the neces- on the innovative applications and
Mobile access to enterprise- wide sity of having a mobile workforce to initiatives from service providers.
conditions
applications will get a shot in the arm with 3G ensure that the business priorities are 3G has other takers as well. For
P H OTO : P H OTO S . C O M
First responders in the police and fire
taken care of even if an employee walks example, leading car manufacturer department can easily view, capture
technology out of the office premises. Maruti Suzuki is planning to provide and transmit photos and video footage
had a thick folder with hundreds of pages managed and would now go relax till
According to experts, with 3G, Internet access in the premium- (Adapted from White Paper on 2G and 3G cellular
BY JATINDER SINGH users will be able to experience segment cars. And LG Electronics networks by Motorola)
24 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0 J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 25
- all case studies! I was supposed to read tomorrow. But it was all wishful thinking. 3G Enterprise Applications are
We were to have group discussion for set to change the way business will
three case studies for the first day and the
be conducted in the future Pg 24
reporting time next morning was 8:45. next day’s case studies. So after changing
When I went out to have lunch in the clothes and having dinner, we met again
ARE YOU
INDIA’S FUTURE CIOs
TO FIND OUT GO TO on21st
WWW.ITNEXT.IN JUNE
AN ACHIEVER? 2010
transfer of data. Thus if they will get an As per some recent media reports, Nvidia
option for USB 3.0 (i.e. much faster data has confirmed that no Intel chipsets will
transfer), they will automatically want support USB 3.0 standard until 2011.
to have the latest technology,” believes However, Intel has said that it will have
Shivratan Agarwal, Branch Head, Rashi its own USB 3.0 host controller (later in
SPEED
Moreover, many of the high-bandwidth USB 3.0, as a technology is expensive as
versa devices are expected to migrate to the of now (mainly motherboards), this is
Better power management over USB new interface and SSDs/HDD devices how technology gets established in the ESTABLISHED WELL
2.0 will benefit the most from the boost in market. However, there would not be a IN THE MARKET.”
Increased maximum bus power and transfer speed offered by USB 3.0. Gulbir need to create awareness about USB 3.0 as —Harikrishnan PK, Alltime
device current draw accommodate Singh Bhatia, Managing Director, Prime a technology, as USB 2.0 is quite popular Power Technologies
better power-hungry devices ABGB, Mumbai adds that in future, there among the masses. All that vendors would
will be a lot of video-based devices like have to do is to explain to users that USB
gentleman coming to my side with his plate, would usually meet around 9:30 PM to
cameras and media players, which will 3.0 is 10 times faster than USB 2.0. Over
come with USB 3.0 interface. “The future a period of time, every storage products
USB 3.0 offers fast data transfer Vishal Tripathi, Principal Research of USB 3.0 is good as all new external is expected to have a USB 3.0 interface.”
speeds to consumers, but there are Analyst at Gartner says that USB
3.0 achieves its high transfer rates
devices for video and audio need faster
communication,” he says.
Currently, not many USB 3.0 products
are readily available in the market.
a number of roadblocks that have to by using four additional wires in the
data cable for a total of six wires. It
Tripathy affirms that there are
motherboards available today with
According to Sandeep Parasrampuria,
Director, iBall India, only a few
be removed before the technology can supports full-duplex communication, SATA 6Gbps interfaces, which have a manufacturers like Asus and Gigabyte
or the ability to send and receive data PCIe card to provide USB 3.0 capabilities. have launched some motherboards with
become mainstream simultaneously, and is power efficient. “Moreover, in the future, the interface will USB 3.0 ports, but devices with USB 3.0
Most importantly, it is backwards even be incorporated in domains such as are not yet available. He adds that iBall
each other and I discovered that he was carry on till midnight. But there was one
size. Now, even cell phone and PDAs are available with a couple of GB internal The increasing quest for higher transfer the Indian market. External devices like In the end, though one can easily believe
storage. With 480Mbps data transfer speed currently offered by USB 2.0 today, speed will be the key growth driver for HDDs, modem, and, wireless products that it will be some time before USB 3.0 PORTS, BUT
people are left complaining about the time they have to wait to transfer large the USB 3.0. Industry watchers believe will also gain from USB 3.0. as a technology will become mainstream DEVICES WITH USB
and ubiquitous like USB 2.0 in the Indian
files. This is where the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 can play a major role.
USB 3.0 offers maximum transfer speed of 5Gbps per second, which
that USB 3.0 can be popularly be called
the next generation interface for trans- Roadblocks market, but with time, it is expected to sell
3.0 ARE NOT YET
is almost 10 times faster than USB 2.0. The high transfer speed offered ferring data. A tremendous surge in its Anyone who would be tracking USB 3.0 like hot cakes as different products hit the AVAILABLE.”
by USB 3.0 can allow users to transfer heavy files, as heavy as 20GB, in adoption is expected in the next couple would have a lot of speculations regard- shelf. Like all other technologies, USB 3.0 —Sandeep Parasrampuria,
a few seconds. Explaining the technological concept behind the device, of years. “Customers today want faster ing USB 3.0 and Intel’s involvement in it. seems to be an inevitable upgrade. Director, iBall India
a colonel from the Indian Army. He was thing we admired and which seems to have
32 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0 J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 33
into the dining hall, which was full of see your professor sitting with you at 11 in High density can mean multiple
things: high computation density, high
on the horizon. Enterprises need to
have a closer look at how this density
enable easier upgrades tomorrow
can also significantly reduce TCO for
BUILD
power density, high application den- aspect can be dealt with effectively and enterprises.
sity, high user density, high cabling proactively from the structured cabling Merchant of Extreme Networks says,
density or all of these. Most data cen- point of view. “Structured cabling plays an important
tres incorporate some elements of all To keep pace with growing data role in managing high-density
these factors, and they are all poten- transmission and application needs, data centres. To give an example, if
tially inter-related. When technologies data centres today are experiencing enterprises have 40 1RU servers in a
THAT
now than ever, enterprises essentially and 100 Gbps Ethernet (GbE), Fibre make sure that the constraining factor
need to prepare themselves for this Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), server does not become cabling.”
trend to run their businesses smoothly virtualisation and IP convergence. Different techniques exist for
and cost-efficiently. These new technologies also have addressing these types of problems. For
Properly managing a high-density implications for the data centre example, using MRJ21 cables to connect
data centre means making it more bandwidth performance, and there is a into high fan out modules in the network
and organizations – all with the simple his help, offering his advice and sharing BEAR IT
efficient and reducing the total cost of need for enhanced reliability, flexibility aggregation/distribution layer can
ownership. And it is precisely for this and scalability. Fortunately, focused simplify the cabling issues as well as cut
reason that manageability assumes solutions and strategies are available down tiers of switches in the network.
significance. Shehzad Merchant - today that can help data centre managers This solution leads to lower cabling cost,
Senior Director of Data Centre Strategy, prepare while simultaneously lowering simplifies cabling challenges and leads
Extreme Networks, says, “Unless the TCO.” to a scalable network architecture with
managed properly, the benefits gained The need to reduce TCO is at the less oversubscription and less latency.
from one dimension of high density can forefront of concerns among today’s Fortunately, there are solutions
be lost in other dimensions since they businesses. Over the life cycle of a available in the market to manage
are interrelated. If managed properly, all typical enterprise, operational costs today’s complex high density data
dimensions can lead to a more efficient alone can account for 50% of total centres, and it would be wise for
Next morning during breakfast, I met We also realized that the IIMs start 22
CAGR of structured
cabling market in India
% 32 %
of the structured cabling business in
India comes from data centres
SOURCE: SYSTIMAX SOLUTIONS SOURCE: AMI
my course batch mates, and we went to thinking from the point where most of 38 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0 J U N E 2 0 1 0 | IT NEXT 39
the class room at 8:45 as scheduled. A few us almost give up. What’s more, they add Cabling standards require to rea-
seconds later Professor Verma, our course more efficiency in your efforts. lign with new HD data centres Pg 38
64 IT NEXT | J U N E 2 0 1 0