Articles 1 to 10 of 33
LatentView’s Venkat Viswanathan: Getting the Signal from the Noise
The negative aspect of the information age is data overload. If properly used, however, big data can give a competitive advantage, according to Venkat Viswanathan, CEO of the LatentView, which has offices in New Jersey and California, and a global delivery center in Chennai, India. Viswanathan talked to India Knowledge@Wharton about the myriad ways that analytics can be used in the business realm.
India's Education Sector: Moving Toward a Digital Future
Indian schools are getting a makeover. Technology is increasingly becoming an important part of the teaching-learning process. The current market size for digitized educational solutions in the country is estimated to be around US$500 million. This is expected to cross US$2 billion by 2020, and industry players are gearing up to tap this opportunity. Analysts point out that technology can only be an enabler, and what is required is an integrated approach.
Connected Universities: Much Greater Than the Sum of Their Parts
With over 13 million students enrolled in higher education, India is the third largest country behind China and the U.S. in student enrollments. However, that reflects a Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) of only 13% compared to the global average of 26%. While the government is taking baby steps, one of the country’s premier private universities -- BITS Pilani -- has taken a lead in addressing the challenges head-on through its BITSConnect 2.0 program. In an interview with India Knowledge@Wharton, vice-chancellor Bijendra Nath Jain describes the genesis of BITSConnect 2.0 and the university’s aggressive plans to leverage technology to improve learning outcomes for its students and researchers.
Google India's Rajan Anandan: 'India Is a High Growth and High Potential Market'
Rajan Anandan, who recently took over as managing director and vice president for sales and operations at Google India, has inherited one of the few profitable Internet operations in the country. But profits are not the primary focus for Anandan at the moment. Large parts of India are still virgin territory for the Internet, and Google India has to be an evangelist, a developer and, finally, a profitable business, Anandan told India Knowledge@Wharton.
Global Semiconductor Companies Turn to India for Growth
Global semiconductor firms came to India for the engineering talent and the labor arbitrage it offered. They are now excited by the country's potential as a market for their products. As India transitions from an emerging market to a developed economy, technology infrastructure and semiconductors will play a vital role, industry leaders and experts say. India is one of the fastest-growing semiconductor markets, and global firms are betting on it to fuel their growth.
FINO Shows a Low-cost Way Out of India's Microfinance Mess
India's microfinance industry is facing severe criticism today because of the high interest rates -- as much as 26% to 28% -- that lenders charge poor borrowers. Microfinance firms blame that on the costs of reaching borrowers, especially in rural India. Financial Inclusion Network and Operations (FINO), a provider of electronic technology services, says it has a cheaper way of reaching those borrowers using a network of "human ATMs" armed with electronic banking devices that allow customers to access services via smartcards. Will the idea work?
'Aadhaar' and India's Brave, New, ID-Armed Market
An estimated US$20 billion worth of business opportunities over the next decade have begun rolling out in India with the launch of a program to issue 600 million unique identification cards to residents over the next four years. Led by Infosys Technologies co-founder Nandan Nilekani, the program -- named "Aadhaar" -- will enable hundreds of millions of underprivileged residents to open bank accounts, get expanded access to jobs, health insurance, mobile phone services, micro loans and reengineered public services. India Knowledge@Wharton sizes up the emerging opportunities for vendors of equipment, software and consulting services. (Also see India Knowledge@Wharton's interview with Nilekani about Aadhaar in this issue.)
NIIT Technologies' Arvind Thakur: 'The Basic Theme Was More for Less'
Like other Indian IT companies, NIIT Technologies felt the impact of the recession in the West, its major market. The company's approach was not to cut rates, but to enhance service levels. Future growth for the firm, however, is expected to come from Asia, says CEO Arvind Thakur, in an interview with India Knowledge@Wharton.
India's Mobile Providers: Competing for Calls at the Bottom of the Pyramid
India's rural areas are expected to be the next frontier for expanding the country's mobile phone market. Both local brands and multinational corporations are trying to build customer awareness and market share in India's hinterland, offering devices at lower price points and with features that address the specific challenges facing those living outside India's cities. Emerging as the victor in this race, however, will depend on innovation at every level of the process -- from product development to after-sale customer service, experts say.
India's 3G Wireless Play: An Economic Engine -- or Out of Bandwidth?
A mix of excitement and concern surrounds India's latest auction of spectrum licenses for third-generation (3G) and broadband wireless services. A new era awaits India's 584 million mobile phone users, with a faster and more robust Internet and better access to data services including e-commerce, social networking and telemedicine. But industry observers worry about the "winner's curse" of successful bidders paying too much for the licenses, which ultimately could decrease margins and dampen future investment.
