Pune - November 1, 2007 – Saama Technologies in association with MCCIA organized a stimulating panel discussion aptly titled “East Meets West for IT’s Best” at Le Meridien , Pune on 29th October’ 07. Prof. K.K. Aggarwal, National President of Computer Society of India and Vice Chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University graced the occasion as Chief Guest for the event. Mr.Anant Sardeshmukh, Add.D.G. MCCIA and Mr.Mukesh Malhotra, V.P, MCCIA were present on the dais as hosts from MCCIA.
The eminent panel comprised of Saama’s board of directors (William Binch, Alok Mohan and Yorgen Edholm) and Suresh Katta. Deepak Shikarpur, Chairman IT Sub Committee, MCCIA was the moderator for the evening. The topics for discussion included Trends in Business Intelligence, Venture capitalist funding, Mergers & Acquisitions, Global competition, Human Resource policies and requisite skills to move up the value chain. The event was attended by eminent industrialists, educationists and socialites from the city who actively participated in the discussions.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Aggarwal said that the title for the panel discussion “East Meets West for IT’s Best” reiterates the philosophy of synthesis and convergence. Impressed by Saama’s Intelligence Distillery which involves synthesis of Business acumen and Information Technology, he stressed on the need for synthesis and convergence of academic subjects. Single subject knowledge is not enough in today’s competitive environment. Industry and academia interaction is a must. He applauded the efforts and contributions of the Technology sector in the last decade in making information accessible to remote parts of the country.
Suresh Katta, who was the Keynote speaker for the evening traced the growth of Technology over the years and the present day requirements of prediction analytics from the various transactional systems available. He stated that Companies are struggling with terabytes of data and finding it very difficult to separate micro needles of information from the digital haystack. Business Intelligence services provide right information to the right people at the right time.
William Binch spoke on the status of Venture Capitalists in U.S and its impact on entrepreneurs in India. He said that money is plentiful and the marketing departments of top V.C firms in U.S are trying to find proper customers to give it away. Investors expect a minimum 3:1 return on investments with in the next 3-5 years. He said that Indian entrepreneurs should develop Software as Service (SAS) business model which has recurring revenues rather than the perpetual licensing model while looking for Venture investments
Alok Mohan spoke on global competition and stressed on moving up the value chain. He mentioned that the battlefield is shifting towards creativity and innovation. To be successful in the competitive world students should think out of the box transcending all rules and regulations.
Yorgen Edholm was at his entertaining best and intrigued the interactive audience with his comments on the existing education and value systems in India. He spoke exclusively on how India is producing only good engineers and not great engineers. These engineers are not good problem solvers. People are scared to make mistakes .Engineering schools in India should train students to be better managers and go beyond the realm of textbooks in producing great engineers who sometimes think like great scientists and are not afraid of making mistakes.
Answering the question on consolidations in the BI market space, Suresh Katta said that Industry consolidations are good for innovating and deserving companies. Innovations are not feasible on a larger ship. We are sure to have a new Microsoft or SAP in the future with consolidations
An observation was made by one of the members of the audience that India’s strength lies in following the rules. Trying to break the rules might result in loosing that position. Alok Mohan answered by saying that Rules based work is going to continue. The ability to think out of the box is a layer above following rules and thinking out of the box is an added advantage and a prerequisite to move up the value chain.
The discussions continued through the cocktails and dinner with press and audience interacting with the accomplished global leaders.
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