Leading Asian and Bahrain technology businesses sign MoU at one of Middle East's key ICT conferences

It was announced today that Ospyn, an Indian Singaporean firm with a proven track record in major e-governance projects, has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the conference with Openinside, a Bahrain ICT provider. The signing took place at MEET ICT BAHRAIN 2012, organised by Gulf Future Business and launched today at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The MoU is focused around working together to support the provision and utilisation of open-source technologies, ahead of a potential joint venture being established in the future. 

Commenting on the signing of the MoU, Prasadu Varghese, MD and CEO, Ospyn said: "Bahrain has long been a leader in supporting technology investment and innovation, which encouraged us to seek a Bahrain partner to expand our MENA region operations and specifically target expansion of open-source technology in the region. We are delighted to have found a likeminded and committed partner in Openinside, and we look forward to a long and successful relationship.

"We are also thankful to the team at Bahrain Economic Development Board, who supported us during the whole process, facilitated the initial meeting with Openinside during the Gitex exhibition in October, and have continued to support both firms as we've worked towards the agreement announced today."

Kamal bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and Acting Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), who attended and spoke at the official opening of the conference, commented: "This announcement is testament to how events such as MEET ICT provide a great opportunity for local, regional and international companies to meet and explore potential partnerships, as well as providing a platform to view the strong infrastructure we have in Bahrain and recent developments that have been made in this sector."

At the conference, key industry professionals, government officials and high-level decision makers are discussing the major issues concerning the ICT sector in the Middle East. The theme of this year's conference, "Leading Business Growth, Through ICT Advancements", is being covered through the various sessions and panel discussions, looking at the gaps in the market for new supply, the requirements of the Gulf market in general, and Bahrain in particular, and how to meet the needs of these markets.

The line-up of leading international participants at the conference includes Microsoft, Oracle, and Cisco, in addition to more than 35 Bahraini, Arab and international speakers, who all have outstanding contributions in the industry. Government representatives from BISTA, eGOV, Mumtalakat, EDB and TRA also attended many of the sessions and roundtables of the conference.

Sigtech develops system to monitor coastal security

A Kerala-based company has come out with a wireless solution which it claims can help authorities deal with a variety of offshore emergencies.

It is called Comprehensive Vessel Monitoring and Security System (CVMS), developed by Sigtech Wireless Technologies based in Technopark here.

The system is designed to identify the location of incoming ships and warn fishing vessels in proximity, says Vimal Gracian, director, Sigtech.

INTEROPERABLE SYSTEM

It is also interoperable with the ship’s communication system to contact it either from the vessel or through shore station in case of a warning detection.

The warning detection is automatically generated by the software and sent to the concerned vessel, Gracian said.

CVMS supports passport identification process by which a security agency vessel can query the identity of ships in the vicinity and ascertain whether they are authorised to operate in that area.

This helps the agency assess the security threat, if any, from an inbound vessel on its radar system. The system may be integrated with the existing radar system to enhance monitoring.

The command and control can issue directions to a fishing vessel to identify passports of nearby vessels and report it back.

‘GEO FENCING’

This can be done without the intervention of the mobile operator in the fishing vessel. The system supports what Gracian calls ‘geo fencing’ by virtue of which a ship can be warned if it operates in areas not allocated to it.

Geo fencing can work within a group or on an individual vessel. The geo fencing location can also be set dynamically.

These and other facilities can be used to communicate with ships to avoid accidental collisions and other such incidents, Gracian said.

The network administrator is enabled to track vessels. Each vessel can be identified by the unique id supplied by the agency in charge of the network.

The system is designed to generate automatic distress call signalling between vessels and to the shore.

INFAMOUS EPISODES

Vulnerabilities in the country’s coastal security regime have come to be exposed glaringly on more than one occasion in the recent past.

The western seaboard alone witnessed two infamous episodes with distinctly varied implications for life and property in the neighbourhood.

While armed guards on Italian vessel Enrica Lexie shot at and killed two fishermen in the Kerala waters, seaborne terrorists from across the border perpetrated carnage in Mumbai.

Leading the way

GTech, the Group of Technology Companies, a strategic grouping of IT firms in Kerala, starts a focus group for Corporate Social Responsibility activities

CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility is almost a byword at Technopark, with most IT firms, if not all of them, actively involved in lending a helping hand to those in need. And over the years we have heard of a multitude of CSR activities initiated by the companies, especially by the larger ones who seem to have more resources and/or man power. These activities range from blood donation drives (a regular event on campus), to organising meals and supplying necessary material comforts to the needy or simply chipping in with cash. Most of these efforts are, however, independent efforts by individual companies.

Now, GTech, the Group of Technology Companies, a strategic grouping of over 175 IT and IT enabled services companies in Kerala, has come up with a plan to start a focus group solely for CSR; a decision arrived at during its last annual general body meeting held at Technopark recently. “Since it was started in 2000, GTech has been quite successful in gaining respectability as a group and has won a place in the good books of the government for its pro-active, collective effort in initiating, steering and implementing many a project that has been beneficial to the IT community, be it business development or employee development. Now we feel it’s the time to look beyond Technopark and work towards some tangible results that bridge the gap between the people within the wall and people outside the wall. Hence, the CSR forum,” says Anoop Ambika, chief executive officer (CEO) of Kreara Solutions and secretary of GTech.

“Besides, there is this misconception that all of us who populate Technopark are rich stuff ups in suits who don’t have a care for society! For several months now, we’ve been looking at the possibility of a core group that would focus on CSR; one that could bridge the digital divide,” adds Anoop.

Notably, GTech’s earlier attempt at bridging the digital divide –the establishment of Natana, a cultural club started with the objective to “nurture the artistic talents and creative aspirations” of techies in Technopark, has “met with much success”. GTech is, of course, already involved in a number of CSR activities – buying clothes, books, sewing machines, and the like; their latest was an Ona sadya, organised in association with Abhaya, an NGO – but it had hitherto never engaged in any continuous effort at CSR.

GTech’s new CSR focus group is being spearheaded by P. Vijayakumar, CEO of Testhouse India Pvt. Ltd, who in the words of GTech’s former CEO Binu Sankar “is passionate about CSR; someone willing to spend time and resources for various CSR projects”. Says Vijayakumar: “GTech is a community of over 40,000 techies and just by sheer number alone it has the potential to do CSR activities on a scale that has never been done before in Kerala. The objective of such a focus group is to synergise all our available resources and skills to make a lasting impact and also to do something that involves a huge amount of employee engagement – something that each techie in each member company can contribute towards.”

The focus group is still in the early stages of planning but as a preliminary step it is already in talks with the Vazhuthacaud-based Coin A Day Child Care Foundation as one of its primary beneficiaries. Founded in 2009, the NGO focusses on ‘supporting talented young girls from single parent or orphaned families who have the desire and drive to achieve a better future’. “These girls, currently there are 22, are among the most vulnerable in society. But all of them have ambitious plans for the future,” says Vijaykumar.

And unlike most stop gap CSR activities, Vijaykumar says that GTech has plans for a “long term strategy” to lend a helping hand to Coin A Day. “We’re planning a direct mentoring relationship with the children – tutoring them in English, math, science, computers…,” says Vijayakumar, as Anoop adds: “Using our skills at project management and entrepreneurship, we plan to take Coin A Day and at a later stage, other similar self-help groups, to the next level. Ultimately, we want to make these organisations self-sufficient.”

A new ‘era’ in wired research administration

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 5: 

Are Indian research organisations/universities ready to enter the new ‘era’ of electronic research administration (ERA)?

Probably yes, if fast-paced developments in the development and evolution of ERA are any indication.

NICHE SPACE

ERA is the process through which the administrative and business side of research funds/grant activity is automated via electronic communication.

This is a niche space purveyed by specialist engineers, programmers and developers.

ERA drives government-funded research projects in the US where the system is well developed, says Sabari Nair, technical architect to Coeus, a cradle-to-grave award management tool.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) owns the intellectual property rights over Coeus.

“If it can work in the US, there is no reason why it shouldn’t here as well,” says Boston-based Nair, who runs Polus Software specialising in Coeus implementation, customisation and hosting.

It has development centres in Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram.

RINGS A BELL

Sabari Nair says ERA might just ring a bell in contemporary Indian context; e-governance programmes initiated here could be surprise beneficiaries.

The suitably rich workflow associated with the system could be easily tweaked to support the e-governance programme, he says.

Institutions such as Indian Space Research Organisation, Indian Institute of Science and other seats of research could also benefit.

For instance, they can use the system to support student management or even take care of routing of funds/grant for research.

But why should this rules-based and compliance-enforcer system evolved in the US research/grant ecosystem largely for local consumption be of any appeal to India?

OPEN SOURCE

This has to do with the release on June 1 this year of Kuali-Coeus, a combine of pedigree products as open source software and therefore available free.

Kuali is a foundation formed by a group of US universities, including MIT, Indiana University and Cornell University, among others, while MIT and the Coeus consortium developed predecessor Coeus. At least 75 universities have licensed the product from MIT.

“Over the next 18 months, we are looking at moving all these schools to Kuali-Coeus,” Sabari said. “We plan to rollout Kuali-Coeus to non-US markets as well, including India.”.

While Sabari Nair was the technical architect of Coeus, Polus Solutions that he founded is already a Kuali commercial affiliate and works closely with the Kuali Foundation.

Helping parents to keep tabs on mobile

Few gifts evoke so much excitement in a teenager as a smartphone with the latest features. But it could turn out to be a nightmare for the parents and children, if the number of cyber crimes involving the misuse of mobile phones is any indication.


Cyber crime specialists say that children are especially vulnerable to malicious texting, cyber stalking, and harassment using mobiles. Technology, however, promises to resolve the problem it has unleashed.

Attinad software, a company based on the Technopark campus here, has developed a mobile parental control system that enables parents to keep a tab on the use of their children’s phone.

The mobile application can track the location of the gadget, monitor calls, and block or filter the content that can be viewed from the phone. The system named Concord Mobile Parental Control issues automatic alerts if there is an attempt to access blocked content..“It has proved to be a big hit in the U.S. and the Middle East. We are planning to roll it out in India soon,” says Mohammed Rijas, CEO of the company.

The company is talking to the government of Kerala about promoting a mobile app for blood donation. Designed for health officials, hospitals and blood banks, the product can be used to register blood donors, announce requirements, and carry out donation campaigns. It can issue mobile alerts for requirement of blood and guide potential donors to the location of the needy person.

Mr. Rijas and five co-founders of Attinad had left Infosys to float the new company. “To leave a secure job and venture out on our own was fraught with risks. But we had a strong desire to do something for society,” recalls Mr. Rijas.

Attinad has developed a tablet-based database management system for cancer screening and diagnosis. The system can record the data generated by periodic screening of people for different types of cancer. “Our automated database makes patient information and analysis easy and manageable. The system has offline capability to handle data in remote areas without connectivity,” says Mr. Rijas.

The company made a breakthrough in the Middle East market with its software to improve safety in the oil and gas sector. “Opening a valve on an oil rig or gas meter reading involves a series of permit-to-work decisions made at different levels, all based on paperwork, and accidents are common. Our middleware leaves an electronic trail of the decisions taken by key persons, ensuring smooth process control and accountability.”

Attinad’s plans for Kerala include a centralised electronic medical records system that can be accessed by the patient. “The patient can get it subsidised by insurers. We are talking to hospitals and insurers to build up a network,” says Mr. Rijas.

The company’s flagship product is the Concord Mobility Platform which extends business critical applications to mobile devices, providing real time information for officials on the go.Attinad has been selected by IBM and Microsoft for their global entrepreneurship programme, under which it will receive free software and guidance on investment and product development.

Bavarian business team to visit state

Bavaria’s Minister for International Affairs Emilia Muller is expected to a lead a team of industrialists and businessmen to Kerala in September as part of efforts by the south-east German State to explore possibilities of improved business, industry, and cultural relations with India.

The team from Bavaria will visit Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram and expects to forge a strong relationship with Kerala as it has with Karnataka, with which it has a partnership agreement.

The partnership agreement, signed in 2007, specifies areas of cooperation such as industry, education, and cultural affairs, said executive director of the India office of the State of Bavaria John Kottayil.

He said that the partnership agreement resulted in substantially improved business-to-business and people-to-people contact between the two States, educational exchanges being a key area and a highlight of the relationship.

Bavaria, the ninth largest economy in the European Union and the most prosperous State in Germany, is home to multinational companies such as Siemens, Adidas, and BMW, which have their presence in India

There are around 80 Indian companies that operate out of Bavaria and Indian investors in the State include the Kochi-based NeST group of companies, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Dr. Reddy’s, and HCL.

India-Bavaria trade is worth three billion euros annually

Ireland seeks tie up in life sciences, technology sectors

With the focus on technology and life sciences and a growth-oriented industrial ecosystem, Ireland could be a gateway for Indian business to the European market, according to Feilim McLaughlin, Ambassador of Ireland to India.

During a visit to The Hindu office here on Monday, Mr. McLaughlin, who is leading an official delegation to Kerala, said his mission was to raise awareness of Ireland as a good place for Indian business to invest.

“In many ways, we have quite a lot in common; not the least in terms of the focus on high technology and the proactive way the government here has tried to promote those technologies through industries. It is very similar to the approach the Irish government has taken.”

Mr. McLaughlin said the familiarity with English language and the industrial ecosystem were obvious reasons for promoting better ties between the two countries. “The focus on technology and life sciences is common to Ireland and India. The cluster-based industrial growth model is also similar to that in India.”

Explaining the model, he said, “Clusters have developed in Ireland in particular sectors. The best example is in medical devices. The clusters are based around universities or institutes of technology.”

Investment destination

Mr. McLaughlin said, “In the next stage, we are trying to move up the value chain. The government's intention is to make Ireland the best small country in the world to do business in.”

On bilateral links with India, he said, “We want to see improvement in government-to-government links in terms of frequency and intensity of the relationship that the two countries have. It is not just government, not just business, academia or sports. There is a whole range of areas in which we see the relationship developing.”

Areas of collaboration

The Irish delegation is participating in an event organised by the Group of Technology Companies (GTech) here on Monday to identify areas of collaboration between companies in Ireland and Kerala.

“We are looking at a clutch of Kerala-based tech companies. Because Ireland is very strong in technology, we are trying to see how we can link that together,” said Minakshi Batra, Director India, Investment and Development Agency (IDA), Ireland, a member of the delegation.

Patrick O'Riordan, commercial counsellor, Embassy of Ireland, New Delhi, who is also part of the delegation, said the medical devices and precision engineering industries could open up opportunities for collaboration. “There are huge capabilities in Ireland in these areas. Indian companies could use Irish expertise to innovate.”

IT Sector eyes new overseas markets

T. NANDAKUMAR

·  

The IT industry in Kerala is turning to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) for fresh business opportunities.

The Group of Technology Companies (GTech), the industry body of software companies in the State, is preparing to send a business delegation to the six countries to scout for new markets and work out partnership deals with compatible enterprises.

‘Market connect'

The decision to engage new stakeholders is part of a ‘market connect' strategy, aimed at helping domestic companies, especially small and medium enterprises, to touch base with new business partners and reduce the dependence on the US market. The Benelux countries are seen as a springboard to the lucrative European market.

GTech is working closely with trade promotion bodies like Invest in Luxembourg, Brussels Invest and Export, Australian Trade Commission and the Netherlands business office in Chennai as well as the Canadian High Commission to organise the delegations.

“We have had three separate delegations from Canada this year, one headed by a minister, and another by an MP. They showed keen interest in doing business with Kerala. Also, during the Emerging Kerala road show in Delhi, we had the maximum attendance from the Canadian mission”, says V.K. Mathews, chairman, GTech.

“The Canadians probably feel they could have a better connect with Kerala than other states because of our social and political awareness and cleanliness. Lobbying by Canadian MPs of Kerala origin and other Malayalis in good positions has also helped,” Mr. Mathews said.

Nordic region

Anoop Ambika, secretary, GTech said the visit to the Benelux countries would be a follow up of a scouting trip to the Nordic region last year by a delegation from Kerala. The Nordic region comprises the Scandinavian countries, namely Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. GTech had zeroed in on the Scandinavian countries primarily because of their outward looking economies that are not wary of the outsourcing model of doing business. Last year, GTech had sent a delegation to Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Union Budget 2012 misses big ticket economic reforms: GTech

Group of Technology companies (GTech) representing the IT / ITeS industry in Kerala has expressed the view that Union budget 2012-13 presented by the Finance Minister missed the opportunity to make bold economic reforms. However, GTech welcomes moves like reduction in customs duty on a host of items, larger outlay for agriculture, incentives for the aviation industry and increased emphasis on the usage of IT for effective service delivery.

Interacting with the media after a Budget viewing session organised by CII Trivandrum Zone, V K Mathews, Chairman, GTech and Executive Chairman, IBS Group, who is also the Chairman, CII Kerala Chapter, said, “The political compulsions seem to have held the Finance Minister from making big ticket announcements. While the steps towards financial consolidation are appreciable, no corrective action on Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) for SEZ has been taken. We must remember that MAT destroyed the SEZ scheme and STPI benefits were stopped. Tax concession on R & D is definitely a step in the right direction and should benefit the IT industry. Also surprising is that no requests from Nasscom have been addressed in this budget.”

Meanwhile in a release, Anoop Ambika, Secretary, GTech said, “It is good to note that the current rates of corporate taxes have been maintained. What is disappointing is that the Finance Ministry seems to be in a mute mode on some of the major issues that is troubling the IT industry such as transfer pricing, taxation on packaged / downloaded software, double taxation, etc. Also there seems to be no incentive for investors looking at the Tier II / III cities for their further expansion”.

“GTech recommends that the State government in its budget sets up an SPV under the Kerala State IT Mission to make use of central funds and augment entrepreneurship in the State”, added Anoop.

Budget lacks bold steps for reforms: GTech

The Group of Technology Companies (GTech) representing the IT/ITeS industry in Kerala has expressed the view that the Union Budget for 2012-13 has missed the opportunity to make bold economic reforms. “Political compulsions seem to have held the Finance Minister from making big ticket announcements. While the steps towards financial consolidation are appreciable, no corrective action on Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) for Special Economic Zones (SEZ) has been taken.

Tax concession on Research and Development is definitely a step in the right direction and should benefit the IT industry,” says V.K. Mathews, chairman, GTech, and executive chairman, IBS Group, here on Friday. Anoop Ambika, secretary, GTech, said, “It is good to note that the current rates of corporate taxes have been maintained. The Finance Ministry seems to be mute on major issues troubling the IT industry.”

It is disappointment for IT industry

The Information Technology (IT) industry is aghast at the perceived neglect meted out to it in the Union Budget presented on Friday.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the premier industry body for IT and ITeS companies in the country, is all set to take up the issue with the Union government. “Though the budget has been presented, we hope to bring about some changes in it before it is passed,” V.K. Mathews, executive council member, Nasscom, told The Hindu .

He said the budget is disappointing and not at all favourable to the IT industry. The Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) which diluted the very essence of the concept of Special Economic Zones (MAT) should have been changed. The tax regimen should have been streamlined to avoid proliferation of tax litigations, eliminating the possibility of sending out a message that the country is not fit for doing business.

Anoop P. Ambika, secretary of the Group of Technology Companies (GTech), said the Finance Ministry has maintained silence on some of the major issues troubling the industry, such as transfer pricing, MAT for SEZs, taxation on packaged or downloaded software, double taxation, etc., that will trouble the industry even more when the domestic market eventually matures for IT products and services. “Also, there seems to be no incentive for investors looking at tier-II and tier-III cities for their further expansion,” he said.

The only highlights seem to be the opportunities presented to the industry by the move to computerise the public distribution system and UID-based payments. Also, the small and medium sector will greatly benefit from the Rs.5,000-crore fund that has been set up for micro, small, and medium enterprises. The price rise caused by increased service tax and excise duty will take its toll on the industry by way of payroll expenses.

Joseph C. Mathew, IT adviser to former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, said the Finance Minister should not have completely neglected the industry. “Difference in taxes for the old Software Technology Parks of India units and the ones operating in SEZ is absolutely unacceptable considering that often the same products are exported from these units. Pressing issues of the industry like this should have been addressed in the budget. Also, an alternative for the STPI is also long overdue,” he said.

Infopark Chief Executive Office Gigo Joseph hoped that the IT industry may benefit from the budgetary allocation of Rs.50 lakh crore for the infrastructure sector.

Ospyn Technologies opens shop in Singapore

Technopark-based Ospyn Technologies, specialised in building enterprise scale applications, employing open source tools and technologies, has expanded their operations to Singapore.
Ospyn Technologies has opened an office in Singapore with an aim to strengthen its position in the South East Asian market. Ospyn Technologies is looking forward to tap the emerging opportunities in South East Asia by using Singapore as a spring board. South East Asia is emerging as a new economic growth centreand is witnessing high technology adoptions.
Ospyn plans to launch their software products like Hrapps (Human Resource applications) and Case desk (Online Complaint management system) to tap the South East Asian market.

Ospyn Technologies, set up in March 2009 in Technopark, plans to build a strong technology team in Singapore to roll out technology solutions for the region.

In a press release, Kishore Kumar, director, Ospyn Technologies, said that the company envisages a robust growth in the South East Asian market and opening an office in Singapore underlines the importance of local presence in optimally serving the customers.

Prasadu Varghese, managing director, Ospyn Technologies said: “Proximity to customers is an aspect that underscores our commitment to superior service standards and shortened decision-making cycle. Our presence in Singapore would help in assisting our customers in South East Asia to stay technologically competitive.”

London beckons Kerala IT Companies

London & Partners, the official promotional organisation for London, in association with UK Trade & Investment and GTech, the Group of Technology Companies based out IT parks in Kerala, recently organised an interactive discussion on ‘London: The world Capital of Business’ in Trivandrum. About 50 senior management executives from 40 IT companies in Kerala attended the session which was aimed at reaching out to the ICT sector companies operating in Trivandrum & Kochi.

Gautam Sehgal, Chief Representative - India & VP, London & Partners said, “Given the strengths and expertise of ICT companies in Kerala, London is an ideal location for companies to look at especially with the Tech City proposition that has been added over the last few years. While London is an expensive city, independent research has proven that it offers highest return on Investment for any city in Europe. One of our core objectives is also to help companies minimise their setup and operational costs when they plan their London operations”. He also mentioned about the Touchdown London facility where office space is being offered to International SME’s at zero rental for the first 12 months of operations.

London & Partners has a presence in India since 2007 (Think London) and has assisted over 175 Indian companies towards their expansion into UK. Some of these companies include Wipro, Polaris, 3i Infotech, Inmobi, GMR, ICICI Bank, Microland, Aspire Systems, including Kerala based Muthoot Finance, and Forefront Consultancies. London & Partners is a not-for-profit public private partnership, funded by the Mayor of London and our network of commercial partners.

In terms of services, London & Partners provide assistance in making a strong business case for UK, assistance with all practical steps required to establish a company in London including company registration, property, banking, legal and regulatory issues and help expand your network and provide ongoing support for London operations.

The session also saw a discussion on Tech City, London’s Growing Tech Cluster. Originally a small cluster of high-tech firms, Tech City has grown dramatically to become the capital’s leading destination for digital, creative and high-technology companies. In just three years, it has expanded naturally from around 15 companies to over 300. Alongside the numerous start-ups and small medium-sized businesses who have built their success within Tech City’s unique environment, the area is host to many of the world’s leading technology companies.

The London & Partners team from Mumbai and the UK Trade & Investment representative from the British Deputy High Commission in Chennai visited Technopark, earlier in the day and spent time interacting with the officials and companies there.

Kerala IT News

Schogini brings chess to iPhone, iPad

Schogini has partnered with chess engine creators Mr Don Dailey and veteran Grandmaster Larry Kaufman.

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb.12:

Technopark-based Schogini Systems has entered the artificial intelligence gaming industry to create iPhone and iPad chess games.

For this, the company has been working with world chess champions and grand masters, a spokesman said here.

KOMODO ENGINE

Schogini has partnered with two of the leading Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based chess engine creators Mr Don Dailey and veteran Grandmaster Larry Kaufman.

The partnership has brought out the deep-thinking intelligence of chess engine Komodo 4 to the mobile and Facebook platforms. Komodo 4 is currently rated as one the top two chess engines.

This will unleash the playing power of grandmasters to the social media for the benefit of active chess enthusiasts and players as well as budding ones.

Schogini has also joined hands with a chess-like but easier-to-learn game called Khet 2.0.

KHET GAME

This is a laser beam-powered physical game for which Schogini Systems partnered with inventor Mr Luke Hooper of Innovention Toys of the US to provide the Khet game on the mobile and Facebook platforms.

Khet's boxed physical game will be made available across toy shops in India through Schogini's auspices, the spokesman said.

Schogini has also collaborated with Mr Don Dailey to build the Khet AI Engine to power the mobile and Facebook versions of the Khet App.

EMERGENCY APP

Schogini has plans to build products that can nurture the learning and thinking abilities of kids on all platforms in the coming months.

Recently, the British Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron, had feted a Schogini employee for developing an emergency app on Android which had earlier won the ‘Best App' award at ‘Silicon Valley Comes to the UK Appathon,' 2011.

Mr N. Sreeprakash is the founder and the managing director of Schogini

Schogini Systems unveils 2 ipad App games

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the chess-like laser powered-game ‘Khet’ became popular in the US, its founder Luke Hopper was looking for its mobile version. Finally, Hopper found the answer in a group of vibrant and young developers at Technopark here. Technopark-based IT firm Schogini Systems Private Limited had made a foray into intelligent gaming by developing The Laser Game: Khet 2.0 and Komodo 4, mobile app games of Khet and Chess respectively. The games are compatible in ipad, iphone and Android phones.

Schogini Services, which began operations in 1997, has joined hands with Don Dailey and Larry Kaufman, lead creators of Artificial Intelligence- based Chess engines. Larry Kaufman is a veteran world chess champion. Komodo 4 is currently rated as the top two chess engines in the world. Dom Dailey also associates with Schogini to build Khet artificial intelligence to power the mobile and facebook versions of the Khet app.

Unveiling the ipad app games, N Sreeprakash, CEO of Schogini Systems, said it is time to turn kids towards thinking games.

‘’Kids are addicted to dumb games. Khet is a thinking game. Komodo 4 will help in bringing up more Vishwanathan Anands from our society,’’ he said.

Schogini, which developed more than 200 apps for iphones and more than 100 apps for Android, has many innovative apps to its credit. More than 30,000 apps of Schogini are being downloaded daily.

An application recently developed by an intern in Schogini’s UK office won ‘Silicon Valley comes to UK November 2011’ award.

British Prime Minister David Cameron personally congratulated Unmesh, the intern of Schogini. The main feature of the app was an ‘Emergency Button’ which when pressed, tracks the location of the user in time of emergency situation such as theft, accident, abduction etc.

Daily Eco Alert, an application developed by Schogini, has a VIP fan. US President Barack Obama liked this application in facebook which sends personalised eco-friendly messages to the user.

Schogini has developed around 30 teaching apps. ‘’Recently, we have developed English-Hindi dictionary. Similar applications on 50 different languages are in the offing,’’ Sreepraksh said. Currently, the company is in touch with the state Revenue officials to develop apps that helps in disaster management.

Grow innovation as culture: Pitroda

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan. 25:

Young leaders, entrepreneurs and students should work to grow innovation as a culture, according to Dr Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Prime Minister of India on public information infrastructure and innovation.

Delivering a lecture on ‘Leadership and innovation: Ideas for India' at the Technopark here on Wednesday, he said a single-minded focus on innovation is what the country needs to drive itself toward greatness.

EXCITING TIMES

The lecture was organised jointly by the Aspen Institute India and Group of Technology Companies in Kerala (GTECH).

“We are living in very exciting times when evolution of Internet has changed the world like it has never been,” Dr Pitroda said.

Today the Internet is bringing the entire global community together and this offers very different ways of looking at challenges that stare at us.

We must look at meeting these challenges in an innovative manner. The spirit of innovation also facilitates the unique opportunity to change the very paradigm of conventional development.

The Government has been trying to bring innovation to the way it conducts itself, Dr Pitroda said.

The seed for the same has already been sown as becomes clear in the several new initiatives proposed in the various areas of e-governance, banking, health and education.

Dr Pitroda called for the need to bring about new innovation even as we dispensed with the old systems of governance. People with great ideas will definitely have the opportunity to pursue them to fruition with the right funding.

But he felt that the country has a dearth of domain expertise, which was posing was a major challenge to the growth of its economy.

“We have been growing at over eight per cent and have over 550 million youngsters below the age of 25.

DOMAIN EXPERTISE

We also have lot of interesting technologies at our disposal that could offer unique ways of addressing various situations and concerns,” Dr Pitroda said.

As a nation, India has got what it takes to build a great power of itself; all what is needed of our leaders is the statesmanship of a high order to ensure that various pieces of the nation-building puzzle fall in the right places.

Mr Shaffi Mather, Fellow, Aspen India Leadership Initiative; Advocate, Supreme Court of India; a public policy analyst and entrepreneur; and Mr. V. K. Mathews, President, Group of Technology Companies, also participated in the discussion.

Meanwhile, speaking to newspersons separately, Dr Pitroda once again sought to dismiss reports of his having recommended a hike in railway passenger fares in the capacity as Chairman of a high-level committee on Railways.

These are speculative bits and pieces of information being pushed by interested parties and lack any concrete base, he added.

Earlier this week, reports had suggested that the expert committee had recommended a 25 per cent hike in railway passenger fares. It had also wanted to index railway fares to inflation.

NO PROPOSAL YET

Dr Pitroda said the committee is still some days away from submitting its recommendations, which would be publicised then and there. He denied having taken any decision on proposing a hike in railway fares.

The expert committee was set up last September to recommend modernisation of the Railways with a view to improving overall efficiency and safety.

Aspen Institute, GTECH to host Sam Pitroda

The Aspen Institute India and Group of Technology Companies (GTECH) will jointly host Mr Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations here.

Mr Sam Pitroda, who is visiting the State Capital on January 25, would address young leaders, entrepreneurs and students on ‘Leadership and Innovation: Ideas for India,' a spokesman for the organisers said.

The session will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Travancore Hall, Technopark. Mr Pitroda's talk would highlight how leadership could be the catalyst for and source of creativity and innovation. In a country of one billion, driving growth and improving competitiveness is not possible without motivated leadership.

Innovation in the 21st century offers a unique opportunity to change the paradigm of conventional development.

So, the session would deal with the question of how future leaders could establish an environment conducive to build a nation that encourages creativity and innovation to propel growth.

The other speakers include Mr Shaffi Mather, Fellow, Aspen India Leadership Initiative, who is an advocate with the Supreme Court apart from being a public policy analyst and an entrepreneur, and Mr V. K. Mathews, President, GTECH.

vinson@thehindu.co.in

Map earth from ‘cloud', get carbon credits cheap

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 2:

DES Mapping Solutions, a Singapore-based company, is bringing to India cloud-based ‘data appliance' product that helps clients develop and own carbon credits.

Announcing this to the Hindu Group of Newspapers, Mr Ajith Menon, Chief Executive Officer, DES, said that the company has already opened an office in New Delhi.

Mr Menon, whose venture has been funded by the Singapore Government, was here to network with the Group of Technology Companies (GTECH) in Kerala.

NICHE SPACE

He offered hand-holding facilities for companies here looking to set up business in the city-nation, a regional hub for IT, finance and banking business. He was accompanied by Mr Binu Shankar, Chief Executive Officer, GTECH.

Mr Menon said that the ‘data appliance' sits somewhere between the cloud and the normal server-based IT infrastructure on ground.

“We seek to offer the best of both worlds at a fraction of the costs that the specific data (mainly satellite images) would otherwise cost,” he added.

Explaining the niche space his company occupies, Mr Menon said there's a discussion going on in Indonesia whether to preserve the tropical forests or promote the logging industry, though at a huge environmental cost.

But there is also increasing realisation that keeping the forests is much more valuable, because 5,000 sq km of forests can create $30-$40 million worth of carbon credits.

BASE DATA

The company deals in satellite images and other base data used for city and infrastructure planning. It also finds traction as a finder of natural resources as in forests and mines.

According to Mr Menon, the per-sq km of data made available by US companies costs around $30. The whole of India is 2.1 million sq km, so it would cost $60 million, if a company wants to purchase the data outright.

The company would also need to do a lot of customising job of the data through sizing of the hardware, buy software and develop applications. It will cost an additional $10-15 million.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

“What our data appliance, the ‘black box,' will do is… we have a back-to-back link with the data supplier in the US.

“We put this data in this black box. The client cannot take out the data, but can use it for their application for an annual fee.

“Subscription cost for one year is $1 million. So the cost gets cut from $30 to just $1 per sq km. That's the kind of costs benefit the client company is going to enjoy.”

DES APPLIANCE

DES offers to productise 70-80 per cent of ones requirements into this data appliance. It also provides required data, hardware and software.

The ‘black box,' sits behind the company's firewall. It can subscribe to this black box and use it. The costs are reduced because it is only subscribing to it, not purchasing them.

The ‘black box' is named DES Appliance, Mr Menon said. It's getting good traction not just in India but in other countries such as Brazil and Indonesia also.

Software product start-ups rely on smaller cities

Even as the Indian IT services industry has not been able to make much inroads into the tier-2 and tier-3 cities, many software product development companies incorporated in recent years are banking on smaller cities to minimise operational costs.

By operating out of smaller cities, most of these software product start-ups — led mostly by first-generation entrepreneurs — want to minimise their cost of operation during initial days. This helps them significantly, as the gestation period for product companies are considerably higher when compared with the IT services companies. Besides, these companies manage to attract good talents in these towns at a comparatively lower price, according to industry analysts.

According to various industry reports, the start-up activity in Indian IT space has witnessed rapid growth with more than 1,100 start-ups being incorporated in the past five years. The studies say that of these, over 330 companies are based out of tier-2 and 3 cities such as Belgaum, Madurai, Coimbatore and Thiruvanthapuram.

IBS notes that there are “lots of innovations” happening in smaller towns and the sustainability rates in these towns are higher than the bigger cities.

“The main reason is the cost advantage which will help them to pass through the gestation phase,” notes V K Mathews, founder and executive chairman of the product company located in Thiruvanthapuram.

Take for example the case of Vayavya Labs, an embedded software tool developer. Founded in 2006 by a team of four engineers, the firm counts technology companies like Trident, Synopsys, NDS and Electra Plc as its customers. Technopark, an IT park based out of the Kerala capital, houses around 70-75 software product companies. Located across 360 acres, Techno Park houses a total of over 230 companies.

Smaller cities adopting the product route than the traditional services route is an advantage, notes Sharad Sharma, Chairman of Nasscom product forum.

“The problems they see and the way they try to solve it is real innovation. This will help the growth of product ecosystem in smaller towns. This will create clusters in the country.”

He is confident that, slowly, with various steps taken by the industry, more companies like Fusion Chart, Zoho and IBS will evolve from smaller towns. The software product market in India is estimated to be worth $2 billion (approximately Rs 10,500 crore). There are about 2,400 software product companies in India.

Some of the challenges that small companies face are finding right customer and marketing. However, the great advantages of smaller towns are that most of the companies are located closely and act as a cluster to develop the location.

“There was a notion that smaller companies located in small cities are finding it difficult to market their products,” recalls Kathir Kamanathan, CEO of Chella Software, a Madurai-based company that develops software products for capital markets.

“But with the availability of various technologies, we can now reach any part of the globe.”