Lock Down - Day 7 of losing my mind!

March 31st, 2020

So, today is Day 7 of the twenty day lock down period in India. For the uninitiated (really?), this is on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has taken me a criminally long time to restart this blog. I was not an avid blogger by any stretch of imagination. Netflix and Amazon Prime had gotten the better of  my writing habit. Lately, I have been a bit jittery. Have started a fair amount of series, but have left all of them half way.

Better late than never, I guess!

Coming back to the lock down. Mundane life, as I knew it, has come to a stop. By that I mean, no going to work, no complaints about traffic, dust, heat, general lack of common sense, et al. The normal has changed. THIS IS THE NEW NORMAL. I have always been an outdoorsy type - not adventure sort and all. Just outdoor - walking, having tea at the local tea shop, etc. Prolonged stretches of being at home, in any case, was difficult for me. However, this present stage, is a whole new level of difficult.

I have been reading a lot on social media about how this situation has given us an opportunity to re-connect, to enjoy being at home and the good stuff. Wish, I could feel like that. My hunch, once this is all over, we will go back to our old ways. Of traffic snarls, of complaining about the heat and the dust, of wishing to stay back at home, etc. Don't get me wrong - I am thankful that I have a home, my loved ones are safe, etc. Guess, my point is there is something called as too much of a good thing.

Work has been normal. I have been reading a bit. Have been eating a fair bit - home food. Have not had a drink for over a month now. Wish I could say the same about smoking!

My house is in a state of flux. The interior work got completed on March 21st. And then the lock down started. So, as of now, my house is nothing but 4 walls, a ceiling, a functional kitchen and a few wardrobes. Don't know when we will be able to move to our house.

And by the way, for someone who smokes a pack a day, I am running out of cigarettes!

Reminiscence

The light has gone out. The bastards have finally disconnected his line. He checks the electricity bill -'3 months past' due it says. He looks forlornly at his dancing reflection on the other framed photograph of his parents hung on the other wall, cast by the flame of the flickering kerosene lamp. Ironic, he thinks. For that is what he is now-a mere reflection of his former self. The once handsome, ambitious and capable boy, has been replaced by a pot bellied, balding middle aged man. His nails and teeth bear nicotine stains. Too many beedis, he thinks.Got to cut down on smoking. The skin has crumpled around his eyes. A salary of 15000 rupees does not provide him with enough to keep his vanity intact. It's his birthday today. He turns 42. 42 long years of mediocrity. It seems aeons ago when as a graduating student of the batch of '70, he was ready to take on the world, ready to go places where his father or his father's father had not dared to go. He wanted to write and change the world, one book at a time. He had genuinely believed in the cliched saying of 'Pen is mightier than the sword' or as they say in the 70s Calcutta, the revolver. He had chickened out - for he found more comfort in his fish and rice and his 10'*10' room than in the graffiti laden streets of Calcutta His eyes get moist. He wants to cry out loud. The self respecting man in him wants to rise up and do things that he never could, never dared. He reminisces - of a life that could have been.

He is woken out of his stupor by a smell. He knows the smell although he cannot quite place it at this moment.

Ah! it is his favorite incense stick burning infront of his 4'×6' framed photograph.His wife, dabs her moist eyes with the end of her cheap cotton saree and wishes him Happy Birthday!

No more Sreesanths please!

I remember the time in late 1999/early 2000 when the match fixing news about the involvement of top Indian players viz. Md. Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and others had surfaced. The fans were angry – very angry. There was a lot of cynicism about the game and every close finish was scrutinized keenly by the fans. The fans had a common thought process about every match in which India snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The answer was simple – it is a fixed match.

Then came along the, now highly decorated, Indian team of the 2000s. Sourav Ganguly was elected captain of a team that had virtuous players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Javagal Srinath etc. Ganguly and Dravid were relative new comers having debuted 4 years ago. There was a lot of young talent like Sehwag, Zaheer, Yuvraj and Kaif that were being drafted into the team. It is now that the Indian team played some of its best cricket. The point is that this team was as vulnerable to the lure of easy money as any other team. Product endorsements by cricketers had just started and by any means the money in cricket was not as much as it is today. However, these were good men.

The advent of this team meant that we again did what we do really well – forget. We shoved the doubts under the pillow and enjoyed the success. Most importantly the Indian team could once again lose a close match without its integrity being questioned. And that is the way it should be, isn’t it. You win some and you lose some. For close to a decade, the ugly saga of match fixing did not fully rear its head. Yes there were the odd incidents that happened, but the Indian cricket remained largely unscathed.

It was now time for cricket to take on a hip hop avatar after remaining classical and semi-classical since its inception. T20 cricket and IPL had burst onto the scene. For IPL it was pretty much a case of veni, vidi, vici. The success of the format was that it resonated not only with the fast food generation but also managed to woo the mothers, mother-in-laws, aunts and sisters. It did well as there was instant gratification – something we are so used to these days. This meant that there were also opportunities – good and bad. While IPL giving a great platform to the young Indian players has been well documented, what it did was that it also brought instant stardom to players, hitherto, unheard of. Paul Valthaty, Swapnil Asnodkar etc became famous. With so much money being pumped into the tournament, the focus almost entirely shifted to the economics of the game. In the bargain, the sport took a backseat. Yes there were good cricket matches but the ethics part of it slipped under the scanner.

So, what is it about young Indian cricketers that make them susceptible to the virus of fixing matches? In a fascinating address to young management students, Harsha Bhogle had spoken about talent and attitude. We are country that place talent on the highest podium – as we should. However, what we achieve in talent, we squander in our attitude. This is true not only for sport but in all other aspects as well. Attitude translates into performance – a known fact. What we fail to understand is that in a media savvy sport like cricket, it is imperative to hold on to that attitude even off field. It is important to have the right kind of heroes to look upto and borrow from. This begs the question that whether the captain or a leader of a team looks after his protégés even off field or does his role begin and end when the team enters and leaves the park? Indian cricket is at a cross road now. It must protect its young talents like Sanju Samson and Karan Sharma. Let them play cricket and facilitate all the arrangements to instill the right kind of attitude in them. While it is true that fixing matches is largely an individual decision, can systems be put in place to try to prevent cricketers from going down that road.

Else, we will have many more Santhakumaran Sreesanths – prodigious talent lost to bad attitude!

Data – The New Voice of Mobile in India

As per a leading IT Research and Consulting firm's study on smartphones, the smartphone penetration in India is close to 65%. Additionally, according to a report by GSMA, a global telecom body, penetration of unique mobile subscribers in India is at 25%. The report also notes that 2.2 SIM cards per user is the average in India, whereas the worldwide average is 1.85 SIM cards per person. The implication of this is that the ARPU (Average Revenue per User) per operator is actually fairly low.

Recently, I was a part of a study on the voice and data market in the country. In this capacity, I interviewed the functional head of a leading telecom operator in India. He agreed that voice is quickly becoming a tired medium of generating revenues for Indian telecommunication companies. Currently, voice services account for a majority of ARPU. However, this scenario is changing from the dependency on voice services and moving to greater emphasis on MVAS (Mobile Value Added Services). MVAS is a non core service (all services beyond standard voice call services) that is provided by telecommunication companies. The components of MVAS include: mobile Internet, color ring back tone, and other allied services (horoscopes, score updates, etc.).

The question to be answered is: what is fueling the growth of mobile data? There are multiple factors behind this surge of growth. First, the mobile handset market is in the middle of a home run, where local players (Micromax, Karbonn, etc.) have given the big guys (Samsung, Apple, Nokia etc) a run for their money. Secondly, smartphones are no longer an aspirational product for the middle class in India. Aggressive pricing and robust distribution has ensured that smartphones and tablets are within the reach of masses. Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, as well as rural areas are fueling much of this growth. The penetration of smartphones is steadily on the rise among smaller towns and the Internet penetration in rural areas is surging. A significant proportion of rural India has access to the Internet and many are gaining access through their mobile devices. This has resulted in an increase in the adoption of non voice services by the business in the rural areas. The MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) which is the principal governing body for SMEs in India has also played an important role here. A significant amount of data is being used by the SMEs in the smaller towns. Small organizations are now slowly developing their own websites and marketing over the social media is on the focus list of many small businesses.

The contribution of data to the total revenue of the leading telecommunication companies has been increasing steadily. According to a study by a leading financial newspaper, the average user spend on MVAS was 27% of the ARPU in 2012, versus just 11% in 2010-11. There is more focus given to data, as it has emerged as an important source of revenue, especially in the wake of falling contribution from voice plans. Low cost data packs and the availability of regional language content have caused the maturity of the users to develop in a way that makes data a more popular option. People are now more open towards trying out various things, such as live cricket updates, caller back tunes, and more on the mobile platform.

The most popular components of MVAS in India are: live scores, horoscopes, video streaming and social networking. ‘Face booking’ – a term that has rapidly caught on with the youth in the country contributes a good chunk of mobile data. FoMo (Fear of Missing Out) is a phenomenon among youths that has catapulted social networking via Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites to soaring new heights. Another important component in a cricket crazy country like India is the ability to have score updates live. Various sites like cricinfo.com have launched mobile friendly versions of their websites. I feel that the young people population of India has also contributed in a big way in making the mobile population more data friendly.

Earlier, consumers resisted adoption of mobile Internet because they found it difficult to download and install apps, or to use browsers. The fear of high costs was also a prohibitive factor. Being told that the cost is 10 paise per 10 KB of data transfer did not mean anything to users – more so for those in smaller towns and rural areas. Additionally, novices were wary of using the internet for fear of accidentally ending up using more than their quota. Today, a novice would find it easier to access the Internet through his handheld device as the plans are simpler, more transparent, and the content is highly localized. As more and more content is being delivered over the Internet that is being accessed through smartphones. Interesting apps on education and entertainment are also playing a very important role in making data a crucial part in the wheel of mobile technology in India. This has also opened up interesting avenues for data usage by businesses. More number of people are now accessing data – especially through mobile devices. The surge in BYOD policies have made it easier for mobile/remote employees to stay connected and conduct BAU (Business as Usual) on the go.

So, what is the scope of data services or that of MVAS? I believe, we have barely scratched the surface. The telecom player I mentioned interviewing earlier opines that, “The falling prices of smartphones, in conjunction with cheaper and user friendly data packs will drive a huge amount of data usage–especially via handheld devices of smartphones and tablets. The average Indian mobile user is moving up the maturity curve. He is now more open to trying out various smartphone functions like accessing Facebook through his smartphone”.

The BYOD (bring-your-own-device) phenomenon has also contributed in a big way. Employees are now accessing mails and other content through the Internet through their mobile devices at their workplace and data usage through mobile devices has increased significantly. The business needs of the more traditional service providers such as banks have also undergone a change. In fact, for banking the effort is to now reduce the number of walk-ins to a branch. More and more applications are being delivered to consumers over mobile devices – e.g. SMS banking, transaction alerts, and more. I believe this is a trend that is here to stay. It will, in due time, run its course, but until then " In God we trust, everything else is data"!

Bridging the Intellectual Gap Through Technology in India

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow” – John Dewey The education sector is one of the most important sectors in India with 1.3 million schools. In the Union Budget of 2011-2012, Rs 52,057 crores ($9.7 Billion USD) was allocated for this sector alone. The spending on education is very large, with the spending on IT (information technology) within this segment also rising quickly. The government is encouraging private and public partnership in this sector with sizable investments being made by major corporate houses of the country. Given its growth potential and critical value, this sector has been on the watch list of almost every IT vendor for quite some time now. It is a known fact that the heart of India encompasses small towns and rural areas. Technology has made a difference in the way education is imparted, particularly in the way it reaches the heart of India, where nearly 70% of the country’s population lives there. A recent report from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) indicates that the number of rural Internet users has increased from 29 million as on December 2011 to 38 million at the end of June 2012. The growth is expected continue to reach 45 million by the end of December this year. Also from the IAMAI report, almost 80% of rural Internet users go online mainly for educational and entertainment purposes. Interestingly, mobile Internet is seen as a driver of rural Internet penetration. The demand for mobile Internet via smartphones is rapidly catching up in the smaller cities and rural areas. The growth of the demand has mainly been driven by the abundance of low-cost data packs, local language content, and affordable smartphones. All these factors present exciting opportunities for the education sector because content can now be delivered by technology. Two of the fastest growing areas within this segment are soft skill and vocational training. These courses are mainly taken up by the Tier 2 and 3 cities (smaller cities). Education is a key sector in many small cities like Kota (Tier 3 city). Currently in places such as these, content is already being delivered over the web through various platforms such as video sharing sites like YouTube and many others. Many interesting developments are happening in the technology for education space. For example, a leading broadband service provider has been testing a product that has the capability to replace PCs for accessing broadband. The product can be attached directly to a television where the user would have complete PC functionality. Furthermore, low cost computers, priced very reasonably- at less than Rs 5000 (approximately $93 USD) will soon be made available in India and will go a long way to make the rural and low income population embrace information technology. Akash has recently launched an updated version of its tablet at under Rs 2000 ($37 USD). The tablet is aimed specifically at the student community. Another recent trend is that schools in smaller cities (tier 2 and 3) are increasingly adopting the latest technology. Schools in these smaller cities realize that it is difficult for their students to the same amount of exposure as their counterparts in the bigger cities; however, they are taking the help of technology to place their students on an equal footing. So, how much of a role can technology really play presently in India’s education sector? I believe a huge role, especially in terms of how technology is utilized to deliver education. There are four parts to learning: lectures, library, laboratory, and life, according to Mr. S. Sadagopan, the director at the International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore. He says, “Technology plays a critical role in all these”. Sadagopan cities an example from the laboratories: “Frog dissection is completely gone…. many expensive instruments can be made available to school children in less endowed places through technology”. The smaller towns and rural areas of India will fuel the growth of technology used in education for many years to come. In a country where access to information is a challenge, technology will go a long way in making information available to people when they need it.

Advertisements for Technology Products–Relevant or Redundant?

The right media vehicle helps make advertising more relevant “Advertising is the life of trade” – Calvin Coolidge Consumerization of IT has emerged as the latest buzz word, as vendors, partners, and service providers try to understand the changing dynamics among purchase influencers in technology. Microsoft defines Consumerization of IT as “the increasing influence that our technology experiences, as consumers, — both hardware and applications—have on the technology that we expect to use at work”. The definition implies that awareness and knowledge of IT (information technology) products and solutions has gone beyond the few elite who understand technology to consumers. Now, consumers are savvy enough to try IT solutions on their own, get comfortable with them, and then decide whether to keep using such solutions further. According to NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies), the average consumer in India is moving up the IT maturity curve. An important issue reaches the fore front: how to reach these consumers and how to make them buy more —the classic dilemma of any marketer. Advertising in both print and audio/video, as we know, are important tools in reaching the target audience. These days we see a slew of ads on television as well as print media trying to sell us a wide variety of gadgets. While this strategy clearly works for any other consumer product, an important question that begs to be answered is whether or not advertisements are equally effective for technology products. First, getting the target audience right is absolutely critical. It is exceptionally true for an IT product because there are multiple layers within the products. Additionally, it is worth mentioning here that different sets of audiences need different media vehicles in order to be reached effectively. As a result, the sources of information vary in its quality according to the complexity of the product and the timeline for the purchase decision. The ‘low level of involvement’ products like smartphones can be publicized on mass media platforms such as television and radio. However, more complex products such as high capacity servers have a ‘high level of technical involvement’, which requires a different media vehicle. According to a study on India SMBs, mass media ads influence the IT brand selection of small businesses (SBs), defined as having between 1-99 employees, in a big way. This is primarily because the IT needs of SBs are small and relatively less complex. As organizations grow in size and complexity, their IT decision process also becomes complex. According to the study, more than three-fourths of medium businesses (MBs) depend upon personal recommendations and product demonstrations for their IT purchases. This is the second phase in the brand selection process. The first critical phase is to be present in the brand consideration set of the relevant decision maker. The appropriate ads need to be placed in the most relevant media vehicles such as IT oriented print media, technology journals, etc. in order to gain mind share among the target audience. Demonstrations and peer recommendations act as the last mile in the purchase cycle to help the decision maker in finalizing the brand. However, in order to get to that stage, the brands must first make it to the consideration set of the decision maker. A new wave of media, social media, has found equal acceptance among both SBs and MBs (businesses having 100-999 employees).Studies further indicate that more than three-fourths of the SMBs actively refer to social media platforms in their purchase process. Peer review blogs and social networking platforms like Facebook play a very important role in spreading awareness and feedback about a product. It is not surprisingly, several IT vendors are very actively making use of these social platforms to promote their products. Typically, these vendors are showcasing their brands, adding authentic customer stories and using the social media to go viral. Brands such as Dell are using the social platform to generate serious revenues. As early as 2009, Dell was making $9 million a year, globally, in revenues from sales generated by Facebook and other social media platforms. The question that I set out to answer was whether or not advertisements are relevant for technology products? The answer to that is a triumphant yes. However, the trick is to choose the right media vehicle to cut across the clutter to reach the desired audience. Furthermore, advertisements are part of the big picture in building a brand. For an advertisement to be effective in cutting across clutter, it is imperative to understand the desired audience and to know their media habits. The traditional chaos of advertisements, such as television and print ads needs to be shed. Greater investment should be made in generating word of mouth publicity – through blogs, technology review forums, and more. TV is now a ‘tired’ medium, while traditional print does not have the same wide appeal as television advertisements, and radio is still evolving in India. Moving forward, it is clearly a mix of the traditional and new forms of media vehicles, such as social media, that will be effective in reaching a wider audience and ultimately sell more!

Who wants to disembark first?

I am just back from a very pleasant but hectic official trip to Khandala. Mumbai is a little less hot, the traffic is still the same, I somehow still prefer the Old Western Express Highway to the New one and Mumbai, as a city, has become faster.However, these are besides the point. There is a 'in-flight' phenomenon which I have noticed before, but somehow it did not register enough for me to write a post..

The 'phenomena' that I am referring to is very commonplace in flights. Anyone who has flown more than once would have realized this. Upon touchdown, the air hostess or the lead cabin attendant very politely and with a very bored expression goes through the routine of telling us the outside temperature, that we should remain seated with the safety belt on till the aircraft comes to a complete halt, etc etc, and that too in multiple languages...However, we just turn deaf and carry on switching our mobile phones off, pacing up and down the aisle, opening the overhead bunks for our luggage. All this to suggest as if switching the mobile on after a couple of minutes will make us miss an appointment that will decide our life and death.We are all in a hurry to reach for the aircraft door first and possibly jump off, as if we are all sitting on a ticking time bomb and we are looking to save our backside from being blown off!!!I mean how much time do we waste by just waiting that extra minute to get off comfortably...I am saying these at the cost of being touted as a being regressive. However, I am sure there are many like me who like their own space and do certain things by their own watch.

Very recently, Reliance (Broadband Services)has captured this 'slice of life' beautifully in their ad. It shows the exact same phenomena and then goes on to add that since everybody is in a hurry, they should use Reliance as it is fast, etc,etc.

Today, everybody is in a hurry. Everybody wants to come first as if to say that coming second best is shameful. I am nor sermonizing ala Rancho of 3 Idiots. We earn to earn more, we spend to spend more, we compete to compete more. It is about scoring more always. Are we not in this process distancing ourselves from the little joys of life...

Are we living to LIVE MORE????