amazing new applications

BYOD is an applications strategy, not just a purchasing policy

As companies find bring your own device (BYOD) policy to be imperative, there are others who still don’t know where and how to begin this whole process. According to Gartner, BYOD is not just a purchasing policy, but needs to be approached with applications and strategies. It also says that the key decision about BYOD is one of applications architecture and solutions design. 

"Designing your applications to meet the demands of BYOD is not the same as setting usage policies or having strategic sourcing plans that mandate a particular platform," says Darryl Carlton, research director at Gartner. 

Most organisations have diverse workforces, made up of full-time staff, external contracting agencies, independent professionals, and part-time staff. "The community of users has expanded to include suppliers, customers, employees and a very broad range of stakeholders," says Carlton. "We are no longer developing applications for deployment to an exclusive user base over which we exert standards and control,” he says.

Cisco: No plans to manufacture in India

US networks gear-maker Cisco Systems has invested over $1 billion in India, which it calls its second global headquarters and spawning ground for a multitude of technology innovations. But it has no plans to manufacture flagship networking products like routers, switches or telepresence systems in India in the "absence of an enabling" environment. Speaking to ET's Kalyan Parbat, Jeff White, president, India & Saarc, Cisco Systems , gives a sense of the company's global manufacturing strategy and the reasons why India does not yet figure in Cisco's radar as a potential manufacturing hub. Edited excerpts: 

Cisco chairman & CEO Chambers had announced plans to set up a manufacturing unit in India back in 2006. Why hasn't that happened yet, given that over 60% of mobile networks in India ride on Cisco's infrastructure?

There are no plans to manufacture in India from a Cisco standpoint. It all comes down to economics when you look at a manufacturing node. There's got to be the right incentive for us to manufacture here, the right cost basis. We're not going to go down a path that forces us to take a profitability hit. Since we are competing on a global scale, Cisco has to look at the cost basis, the incentives , the prevailing ecosystem, and the ability to be able to sustain manufacturing in a way that makes it competitive for the manufacturer. 

What sort of manufacturing-related enablers is Cisco looking for in India?

Decisions on factors that drive cost, the infrastructure within the country, the landed cost, tax incentives, things that contribute positively to a manufacturing decision. That's been the crux of our conversations with the Indian government . Cisco's objective globally is to manufacture only for the right reasons. India must think about creating an ecosystem on a global scale that encourages telecom product manufacturing for export markets without focusing on the local market alone. 

Is it much cheaper for Cisco to manufacture in China, Thailand, Malaysia or Brazil? Some global vendors claim China offers a 22.5% cost advantage over India?

I don't have the exact numbers but the dynamics of China versus Malaysia versus India are different. We're always looking on a global basis for an optimal place to be directing our manufacturing, and we do that with our contract manufacturers . For our business model to work, we have to build an ecosystem, and that can only happen if the right incentives are in place. 

Don't those challenges also hold for global handset makers like Nokia who have set up large manufacturing lines in India?

Cisco's manufacturing requirement is different from a handset maker where there isn't a need to build a deep manufacturing capability around just a handset. If you look at the complexity and embedded intelligence of high-end products and solutions we bring, they require complex manufacturing processes , a large ecosystem involving multiple component suppliers for every product we manufacture. In our case, the ecosystem follows the manufacturer . In other words, if we tell our contract manufacturers that we want to be in Thailand, they follow us into Thailand. 

Are Cisco's contract manufacturers not keen to come to India?

No. Some of our contract manufacturers — like Flextronics — who also work with other companies are already in India. The decision not to manufacture in India is entirely Cisco's . 

How big is the challenge for a networks gear vendor like Cisco to serve telco customers in India amid the twin challenges of a surging appetite for data services and a spectrum deficit?

More spectrum would make life easier. But we believe that the opportunity lies in figuring out how to operate in the Indian environment as it is. Today, we're trying to help telco clients make the transition amid a shift away from traditional voice, with growth coming in from data services along with a shift to IP-based technologies. Telcos want us to solve their problems as there's so much inefficiency in their networks. But these problems can be taken out through powerful technologies like small cells, where you can self-optimise mobile networks by distributing load and enhance customer experience, by way of reduced call drops.

US tech giants like Google, Microsoft launch campaign for NSA reforms

Setting aside their differences, eight top US technology companies including Google, Facebook and Microsoft, have joined hands to press the Obama administration and the Congress to reform the secretive National Security Agency. 

The agency is in controversy following the leak of classified documents by fugitive CIA operative Edward Snowden, revealing that it indulged in massive telephone and internet surveillance both inside and outside the US, at times sneaking into people's private communications, compromising the security settings of these technology giants. 

"This summer's revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide," the firms wrote in an open letter to the US President and members of the Congress in national print advertisements today. 

Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo, AOL and LinkedIn wrote the letter calling for a global reform of state-led spying. 

"The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favour of the state and away from the rights of the individual -- rights that are enshrined in our Constitution. This undermines the freedoms we all cherish. It's time for a change," the letter said. 

As such, technology giants urged the US to take the lead and make reforms that ensure that government surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law, proportionate to the risks, transparent and subject to independent oversight. 

"We are focused on keeping user's data secure -- deploying the latest encryption technology to prevent unauthorised surveillance on our networks and by pushing back on government requests to ensure that they are legal and reasonable in scope," the letter said. 

It said US surveillance programs shouldn't keep American tech companies from operating internationally, including in countries that oppose US access to their citizens' data. 

"People won't use technology they don't trust," said Microsoft's Brad Smith. "Governments have put this trust at risk, and governments need to help restore it." 

"Protecting the privacy of our users is incredibly important to Yahoo. Recent revelations about government surveillance activities have shaken the trust of our users, and it is time for the US to act to restore the confidence of citizens around the world," said Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. 

"The security of users' data is critical, which is why we've invested so much in encryption and fight for transparency around government requests for information," said Google CEO Larry Page.