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interviewrarajeoNtelematicsbeyondnavigationindiA-sAudi ArAbiAold ties,New opportuNitiesasia-pacificwww.biztechreport.comApril 2010Vol. 2, No. 4reportAmericAn entrepreneurashokraoThe First Indian-American to take aTechnology Company Public on NASDAQGl bAlentrepreneurshipw8,500, $8.00AP-11 copy.indd 13/25/10 8:28:29 AM

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indiaaN iNdustry-FrieNdly iNdia:bAlAnced budGet/bAlAnced GrowthBy rajaNi BaBurajaNthe 2010-11 unionBudget is significantfor india in manyways. a fast-emergingeconomy, india is oneof the countries thatshowed the first signs of economicrecovery from the global recessionthat struck in 2008. this year, indiais hosting several internationalsports events, so it is preparing toget the infrastructure and resourcesready to showcase these extravaganzas.however, india is facing anincreasing number of challengeslike population, security issues,price increases and carbon emissions.the 2010-11 budget has specialsignificance because it shouldstrike a balance between the country’sgrowth targets and the livelihoodof the common man.“Finance Minister pranab Mukherjee has done a finebalancing act” was the immediate reaction from industryorganizations. the 2010 budget underscores the focuson development, especially on infrastructure, ruraldevelopment, urbanization and social welfare, aidingindia’s development and further stimulating the vitalindustrial sectors, say experts from the iCt industry.anil Chanana, CFo of hCl technologies, said, “thebudget has been successful in reigning in the fiscal deficitwhile at the same time focusing on inclusive growth.with the enhanced spending on infrastructure, this budgetwill help stimulate domestic demand for it productsand services.”however, the industry expressed disappointment atthe hike in the Minimum alternative tax (Mat) and exciseduties. this year, the government has increased theMat from 15 percent to 18 percent, while the industrywas demanding a cut down to 10 percent. according toindustry experts, the Mat will be a burden on small andmedium businesses that are still struggling with the impactof the global recession.surjeet singh, CFo of patni, a leading Bpo company,said, “an increase in the Mat from 15 percent to 18 percenton book profits would result in a higher outflow ofcash in the short term and would affect indian corporationsadversely.” however, singh says, this impact hasbeen cushioned to a large extent by the lowering of thecorporate surcharge from 10.0 percent to 7.5 percent.singh also appreciated the support offered for inhouser&d. “we welcome a higher percentage of weighteddeduction on in-house r&d, which has been increasedto 200 percent from 150 percent, as it will incentivize itcompanies’ innovation focus,” singh added.the measures adopted by the government to boostskill development will help nurture a workforce of ahigh caliber. it will have a positive impact on the Bpoindustry, which is people intensive.10 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 103/25/10 8:29:37 AM

Bhasin - NassCoMGuruswamy - FreescaleAghi - steria“overall, the budget was wellbalanced and responsible,” said ajaiChowdhry, Ceo and chairman ofhCl infosystems limited. “Variousprojects and schemes announcedby the government will see an increasedrole for information technologyas an enabler towards moreinclusive growth.”the National association of softwareand service Companies (Nass-CoM) termed the 2010-11 budgetproposals as progressive, long-termand providing the right thrust on socialsector development, education,infrastructure, managing the fiscaldeficit, the simplification of policiesand convergence towards gst anddirect tax Code.pramod Bhasin, chairman ofNassCoM, said, “the announcementof the technology advisorygroup under Nandan Nilekani, theautomation of central excise, gstand commercial taxes will enablethe vision of citizen-centric governance.our industry will partnerwith the government to drive inclusivegrowth within india, whilecontinuing to be the leader aroundthe world in it and business processsolutions.”the removal of the anomaly insection 10aa of the sez act and theFinance Minister’s reaffirmation onthe importance of sezs will help theindustry move forward with its sezplans across the country, NassCoMofficials said.“while overall the budget is positive,we are disappointed with theincrease in the Mat, which will be aburden on small and medium-sizedbusinesses that are still strugglingwith the impact of the global recession,”said som Mittal, NassCoMpresident, in a statement.“there was also no move towardsannouncing parity of incentives betweenthe stpi and the sez scheme,which is again necessary for smallcompanies and the development oftier-2 and tier-3 cities. in line withour recommendation, the it taskforceformed by the department oftechnology (dit) had also stronglyrecommended that the stpis bebrought to par with the sezs.”the reduction in personal incometax is good news to the industry, asemployees in the industry will benefitfrom the extra savings on theirearnings amidst price increases.however, the decision to increasethe excise and customs duty on petroleumproducts will result in asharp rise in petrol and diesel prices,further aggravating the situation.the stimulus announced by thegovernment has helped the manufacturingsector perform well. withcontinued support from the governmenton stimulating the economicrecovery, the industry will be ableto strengthen itself further, says andrewhorne, managing director ofXerox india.“the reduction of customs duty,central excise duty and special additionalduty on certain goods andcommodities critical to sMes andsMBs will be beneficial to the indianhousehold,” horne added. “the taxslab for personal income and investmentwill also give a boost to the averagemid-level income group.”banking and e-initiativesthis year, the Finance Ministerhas acted promptly to offer appropriatebanking facilities to habitationshaving a population in excessof 2,000. it is also proposed to extendinsurance and other servicesto the targeted beneficiaries. theseservices will be provided using theBusiness Correspondent and othermodels with appropriate technologyback up. By this arrangement, itis proposed to cover 60,000 habitations.in 2007-08 the government setup a Financial inclusion Fund and aFinancial inclusion technology Fundin NaBard, to bring banking servicesto the underserved areas. to givemomentum to the pace of financialinclusion, the government proposedan augmentation of rs.100 crore foreach of these funds, which shall becontributed by the government ofindia, rBi and NaBard.this move, according to ComvivaCeo Manoranjan Mohapatra, aleading provider of value added servicesfor mobile operators, is highlywelcome as it would enhance bankingfacilities in rural areas so as toprovide financial services to the unbanked.Companies like Comvivasee great potential in the emergingmobile banking market in india.“with over 500 million mobilephones in the country and growingrapidly, the mobile phone offers theideal platform to deliver bankingand financial services to the underservedsections of society,” Mohapatrasaid. in this scenario, Comvivaurges the government to adopt furthermeasures to extend the reach ofmobile commerce in the country inorder to realize the goal of financialinclusion of the masses in the shortesttimeframe.infrastructural boostthis year, the government hasgiven great focus on infrastructuraldevelopment – both rural and urban.the it industry has welcomedthe allocation of 1.73 lakh crore forinfrastructure development, as itcontinuEd on PaGE 16APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 11AP-11 copy.indd 113/25/10 8:29:39 AM

north koreaNorth korea:difficult QuestionshArd diplomAcyBy doNald kirkyou would have to believein miracles tothink that North koreawould ever giveup its nuclear weaponsprogram. that’sthe view of a distinguished professorfrom China who talks with anair of authority that seems to reflectan insider’s understanding ofwhat’s really going on in the Northkorean capital of pyongyang.wang jisi of Beijing university may not speak forhis government, the Chinese Communist party or hiscountry, but his opinion of efforts to get North koreato give up its nuclear program provides a startling noteof realism that seems to have escaped non-Chinese negotiators.“the dprk” – the democratic people’s republicof korea, or simply North korea – “will keep goingnuclear period,” he told a small audience in seoulrecently. “there is no other ‘endgame,’ at least frompyongyang’s point of view.” that’s the kind of bluntdeclaration that u.s. and south korean nuclear envoysdo not seem capable of making or even thinking, tojudge from their public utterances.the u.s. envoy, stephen Bosworth, on a swingthrough the region, repeated the mantra of urgingNorth korea to return to six-party talks on its nukesand promising all topics would be open for discussion.south korea’s negotiator, wi sun-lac, meeting Bosworthafter both of them had conferred with China’snegotiator, wu dawei in Beijing, spoke of “the need forthe parties to resume six-party talks.” Both the americansand south koreans acknowledged, however, thatthe whole process remains stuck on North korea’s insistenceon conditions that have no immediate chanceof acceptance. these include the demand for a korean12 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 123/25/10 8:29:39 AM

war peace treaty – a deal the Northcouples with withdrawal of the remaining28,500 u.s. troops from thesouth – and an end to uN sanctionsimposed after its long-range missiletest and its subsequent nuclear testlast april and May.just in case anyone doubted theNorth’s position, the North koreanmilitary came out with an appropriatelytough statement warningof the consequences of joint u.s.-south korea war games in March. itwas one thing to vow to “mercilesslydestroy the bulwark of aggression,”as the korea people’s army warned,but another to promise “all the offensiveand defensive means includingnuclear deterrent.” ok, nobodyexpects North korea to drop anyatomic bombs from its decrepit fleetof Mig fighters or attach a nucleardevice to one of its vaunted missiles.in fact, it’s quite uncertain whetherNorth korean engineers and scientistshave actually figured out howto “deliver” the fearful warhead.Nonetheless, the statement wouldseem to leave one point indeliblyclear: North korea intends to remaina nuclear power.wang jisi made his remarks ina paper delivered at a forum on theNorth korean nuclear problem heldat the asan institute for policy studies,a think tank financed in largemeasure by hyundai money and ledby han sung-joo, a former foreignminister noted for his moderatelyconservative views. wang’s realisticoutlook seemed difficult to disputein the face of the wishful thinking ofu.s. and south korean negotiators.he did not have to refer specificallyto Bosworth’s mission to pyongyangin december to get across the futilityof it all. From all that’s gone before,he said, “it is hard to imagineany genuine progress on denuclearization– even if the North koreau.s.contact were upgraded or thesix-party talks were to be resumedsoon.”wang did not claim any real insideknowledge of whatever Northkorean leader kim jong-il talksabout in meetings with the generalshe commands as chairman of thenational defense commission, thecenter of power in pyongyang. Forthat matter, he did not let us knowif kim talks to his generals at all. Forall anyone knows, maybe the dearleader just tells them what to doand think, they bow in assent, andthat’s it. “it is almost impossible foroutsiders to know whether therewere any debates within the Northkorean leadership about the prosand cons of going nuclear,” he said.“why bother?” was the rhetoricalimplication. “even if there had beenany doubts and hesitations,” he said,clearly “the perseverance to attainnuclear weapons is serving the leaders’interests very well.”the logic was simple fromwang’s perspective, and the pricewas right. “achievement of nucleararms should help consolidate theirposition at home and increase diplomaticleverage,” he said. “they feellittle increased military pressurewhile they know how to take onestep forward in nuclearization and“there isno other‘endgame,’at least frompyongyang’spoint of view.”then pause to show an ostensiblereadiness to negotiate over denuclearization.all the while, humanitarianaid and economic assistance continueto flow into the North.”the degree to which wang reflectsthe outlook of wu dawei andothers in Beijing is not exactly clear,but it seems more than likely that hegets to lecture at home and abroadas both analyst and a messenger ofhigh-level thinking. looked at thatway, wang’s pessimism about Northkorea’s giving up its nukes comesacross as a sign of what Beijing seesas a higher priority, that is, proppingup the North korean regime againstthe danger of collapse and chaos.wang got that point across too witha candor that’s not readily apparentin narrowly official pronouncementsfrom Beijing.“unlike other partners,” he said,in a dig at the americans and possiblythe south koreans, “Beijingwould look at a possible politicalimplosion in North korea in mostnegative terms.” For that reason hisgovernment “would never try to destabilizethat country or join others”in attempting “to do so.” indeed,he added for good measure, it was“a consensus among many observersin China that the pyongyanggovernment, with the social orderit maintains, may survive for a longtime to come” in view of “traditionalfriendship” between Beijing andpyongyang, a not-too-subtle allusionto Beijing’s rescue of North korea inthe korean war, as well as “sharedinterests.”Not that China is supportingwhatever North korea does. reportspersist that China is anxious somehowto tamp down North korea’snuclear ambitions, to discouragethe North from another nuclear testthat many observers here are predictingwill happen this year – and,of course, to engage in serious, effectiveeconomic reform.japan’s influential national daily,asahi shimbun, for instance, citeddiplomatic sources in Beijing as sayingthat China had responded with“an unexpectedly harsh reaction” tothe North’s nuclear test of May 25last year. “the Communist party ofChina told North korea to reformand open up its economy, end itshereditary succession of politicalpower and abandon its nuclear developmentprograms,” said asahi,attributing those sweeping demandsto party sources. it was against thisbackground, said the article, thatkim jong-il’s third son, kim jong-un,visited Beijing while his father easedup on disastrous economic reforms.the japanese may be the toughestof all when it comes to belief in afirm approach toward North korea.hitoshi tanaka of the japan Centerfor international exchange, atthe same asan institute gathering,seemed extremely ambivalent aboutthe future of the u.s.-japan relationship,but absolute in his convictionsabout North korea. “it is no secretthat the new government in tokyohas expressed a desire to develop amore ‘equal’ relationship with theunited states,” he said, citing controversyover “the realignment ofu.s. military bases in japan,” notablyin okinawa, as “the major irritantin the alliance.” Nonetheless,he said, “japan seeks to strengthencontinuEd on PaGE 17APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 13AP-11 copy.indd 133/25/10 8:29:40 AM

usinessiNterViewiNg tipsto lAnd yourdreAm JobBy aNiisu k. Verghesethis week i have beeninterviewing communicatorsfor an internalcommunicationsrole. i wanted to jotdown my impressionsfrom talking to a set of talentedpeople, share do’s and don’ts andwhat i look for when it comes tohiring someone for a communicationsjob. these ideas and recommendationsi believe can apply toany profile and role.at the time of publishing this post the position isstill open and the selection process is underway.although the role has a mix of recruitment marketingcommunication and internal communication duties,it will require the individual to work closely with internalstakeholders to develop, synchronize, disseminateand measure messages.here is what i did before conducting the interviews.First, i did my due diligence by reading the CVs carefullyto understand how the individual structured his orher profile and highlighted the key words. i made notesof the elements of experience, learning opportunitiesand array of roles played within the communicationportfolio.i sought writing samples from the candidates aheadof the interview since i firmly believe creating contentand key messages are essentials for any communicationposition. i sifted through the samples to gauge the maturityof the writing and the ability to express ideas succinctly.surprisingly, none of the profiles i reviewed includedany element of social media to a) reference their backgroundand, b) showcase their work.when i called each of the candidates i ensured i providedthe context, explained my role in the selectionprocess and checked if they had clarity on the job description.strangely, only one of them had taken the troubleto find out more about the role and how it correlated tothe candidate’s experience. interestingly, one asked mefor feedback at the end of the interview – which to medemonstrated interest in growing and improving. i wasasked what i look for when i interview a candidate forsuch a profile. i mulled it over and here is what came tomy mind:it boils down to what i call the ‘3ds’ – is the individualdriven, direct and distinguished?driven – is the candidate showing enough evidence ofinitiative and commitment?direct – is the candidate talking to the point? if youcan’t explain your point crisply, how can you communicatewidely with your internal and external stakeholders?distinguished – has the candidate proved his or herworth in the domain?14 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 143/25/10 8:29:40 AM

if you have just started your career, you may arguethat you don’t have enough reasons and opportunities tomake a mark. i disagree. if you are keen to make a markand be recognized in your field of work, you should havebegun early. Nothing stops you from building your portfolioof work even as a freelancer, enrolling in courses,joining a communication body, gaining experience withsay, an Ngo (without pay), penning articles for your localnewspaper, writing a blog, hosting a photo feature,showcasing your video skills, demonstrating your leadershipskills at a college event or building your personalbrand online.Now, to the questions i prefer to ask during an interview.i try to holistically gauge the candidate at thefollowing levels:• personal (education, interests, hobbies, etc.)• team (how they fit into the current scheme ofthings, how they engage with their team, whomthey look to for insights and learning, whomthey report to, how they manage work)• organization (how they are making an impacton their organization, how they know if they aredoing so)• career (expectations, understanding and awarenessof opportunities available, industry trends,focus areas, impact)• learning (what investment have they taken togrow, what they are doing to continuously learnmore, who are their mentors)• personal attributes (confidence, clarity ofthought, ethics)• community (what they are doing to improvethings around them in everyday life, what stepsthey have taken to make a difference)at this point, let me share some pointers on whatone should avoid when applying and interviewing fora position.1. Stating an incorrect designation and role: inoticed one CV that changed the current designationand role to suit the profile applied for. ionly discovered this when i probed further andfound that the candidate didn’t have the relevantexperience.2. Never bad mouth your current firm: when iasked one prospective employee what wouldmake them want to switch companies, the answersi got shocked me. the candidate usedphrases like ‘lax attitude,’ ‘not going anywherehere no matter how long i stay,’ and ‘nothingwill change.’ which organization would want tohire someone who has such an attitude? even ifyou are getting a raw deal in your current workplace,be thankful for the opportunities you geteveryday to influence people and do the workyou do.3. Unclear about what the industry wants: if youare keen on making a mark in your area of work,you should positively know what is going on inyour industry and the impact of regulations andgovernmental interventions. i made it a point toask every candidate about recent trends they observedand i never got any convincing answers.if you don’t know of recent shifts in the waycommunication is evolving, how do you plan tovalue-add to how communication is done in yourrole?4. Lack of clarity on career progression: it is thecandidate’s responsibility to find career pathsand opportunities that exist in different organizationsfrom literature that is available. thereare tons of materials that one can refer to.5. Beating around the bush: if you don’t know ananswer, say so. No one is expected to know everything,but the least i would expect is that thecandidate tells me that he or she would find out,get my contact information and let me know.when the expectation is to give simple, directanswers, nothing can be more frustrating thanlistening to a candidate beat around the bush.6. Wanting to do other jobs within the company:while candor is appreciated, if you know therole does not suit you, explain it and drop off. icame across a candidate who wanted to play toher strengths in pr when the job clearly didn’texpect her to do so. you first need to prove yourworth with what you are asked to do and thenmove to other domains if you get the opportunity.7. Lack of interest in learning more: i was takenaback when candidates told me that they had absolutelyno idea where to seek information oncorporate communication or internal communication.it may have been excusable 10-15 yearsago when the understanding of communicationwas nascent. today with a wide spectrum of optionsto source information from it is foolish tomention that one has no context. even a simplegoogle search will get you all the content youneed for a lifetime.8. Do not place content in your CV that you can’texplain: if you mention ‘objectives’ or ‘strengths’in your CV, be prepared for questions related tothem. For example, one candidate included ‘networkingskills’ and i probed further for an example.unfortunately, the candidate wasn’t ableto give me a good example of a networking skillshe leveraged to improve her standing. My recommendationis to drop these elements, whichbloat your CV length. strengths will be discoveredduring the course of a conversation.9. Don’t miss out on your manners: if you are ina place with a lot of background noise, excuseyourself and buy more time or do the call later.also, ensure you thank the interviewer for his orher time before signing off. Find out if you cancontinue keeping the relationship going in thefuture or if the interviewer would be willing tomentor you if you are convinced about his or hercredentials.By understanding the mindset of interviewers youcan approach interviews differently and prepare better.taking a lot more interest in the organization and roleyou are applying for can go a long way in improvingyour chances of landing that job.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 15AP-11 copy.indd 153/25/10 8:29:40 AM

indiaChowdhry - hCl infosystemsMahalingam - tCs Wadhwa - Cisco Singh - patniaN iNdustry-FrieNdly iNdia:bAlAnced budGet/bAlAnced GrowthFrom PaGE 11will expand their businessin tier-2 and tier-3 cities.social welfare has beenon the priority list. the industryviews this as a positivemove towards achievingindia’s goal to become aworld power in the comingyears. a significant movethat is well appreciated isthe ‘National Clean energyFund,’ which sponsorsresearch and innovativeprojects in clean energytechnology. the fund willbe financed by coal. Bothindian and imported coalwill be taxed at the rate ofrs. 50 per ton.president and CountryManager of Cisco india andsaarC Naresh wadhwasaid, “the National Cleanenergy Fund will positionindia as a leading force infinding ways to combat theimminent energy crisis. itwill also simultaneouslyencourage research andtechnology projects in theclean energy space.”wadhwa also said theproposed provision to simplifythe foreign direct investmentmodel in india isalso a welcome measure.“with the noble intentionof spurring r&d across16 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010sectors, this budget pavesthe way for tax reforms onin-house r&d expenses,and also on contributionsmade towards scientific researchto associations, colleges,universities and otherinstitutions,” wadhwasaid. “while research anddevelopment gets a leg-up,higher education and corporatetax reform waits forits turn. the uida took thelead among e-infrastructureinitiatives, and broadbandroll-out and majore-governance projects stillneeds to be addressed.”amar Babu, managingdirector of lenovo india,shares a similar view. hethinks the budget concentrateson the sustainedgrowth and momentum inthe industry, so it is welcomingto the industry.“the attention on e-governance with the uidproject and the technologyadvisory group indicatesthe government’s continuedmove to leverage informationtechnology in criticalprojects,” Babu said. “itis also setting an exampleby generating thrust inthe renewable energy sector.Funds allocation in thesMe sector is welcome, asthat will allow for the sectorto invest in it for productivityand competency.assigning gst will helpclarify pricing norms andduty structures across theboard.”the heavy stimuluspackage provided to theagricultural, infrastructureand energy sectors clearlyindicates that developmentis a priority to the government.however, these goalscan be achieved only if thegovernment is able to tacklebottlenecks like infrastructure,government systemsand corruption. accordingto s. Mahalingam, CFo oftCs, an increased thrust inkey areas like primary education,health, infrastructure,rural developmentand financial inclusionwould fuel broad-basedgrowth and development.“an enhanced focus onsezs to drive growth andemployment and clarityon the tax regime is welcome,”Mahalingam said.“this would aid the recoveryfor the it industry.social transformation andtechnology-enabled governancewill gain momentumand this is good newsfor the country.”ganesh guruswamy,vice president and countrymanager of Freescalesemiconductor india, said,“india’s broad-based counter-cyclicpolicy packageto respond to the negativefallout of the global slowdownhas worked wondersin controlling the fallinggdp. today, sectors likeautomotive and manufacturinghave already showndouble digit growth, whichshould propel other alliedindustries to grow as well.liberalization of the pricingand payment of thetechnology transfer feeand trademark will boostthe foreign investment environment.”overall, the 2010-11union Budget is a pragmatic,forward-looking budgetthat provides clarity tobusiness. in the words ofMukesh aghi, chariman &Ceo of steria india, a europeanit-enabled businessservices provider, “it is aprogressive budget, withfocus on urban and rural infrastructuredevelopment,education and healthcare,to help create a climate forbalanced growth. initiativesfor leveraging technologyas a tool for accountabilityand better governance arecommendable.”the budget reflects thestrong flavor of social inclusionsignaled by the focuson development fundingand the allocation forthe education segment.with greater focus on infrastructurespending, thisbudget would help stimulatedomestic demand forit products and services.it also increases disposableincome in the hands of theemployees, which is beneficialto the it industryin view of its high humancapitalintensity.AP-11 copy.indd 163/25/10 8:29:41 AM

north koreaNorth korea:difficult QuestionshArd diplomAcyFrom PaGE 13existing security arrangements inthe region as a hedge against uncertainty.”tanaka pinned his hopes onan unlikely trilateral relationship ofjapan, China and the united statesthat he recommended engage in“strategic dialogue” for the sake of“confidence-building” and “militaryand strategic transparency.”the notion of japan and the unitedstates, bound in alliance underthe u.s.-japan security treaty signedhalf a century ago, working togetherwith China might seem preposterousconsidering China’s role in savingthe North in the korean war.tanaka preferred to ignore that detailin his passion for unity vis-à-visNorth korea. “in order to have anyhope of success in the six-party talks,the international community’sapproach to this issue musthenceforth obey five guidingprinciples” that seemed to reflecttop-level japanese thinkingjust as professor wang’sremarks might be seen as anexpression of China’s leaders.“North korea,” said tanaka,“must never be recognized asa nuclear state… policy consistenceamong and within thefive nations is essential… contingencyplanning is imperative…a comprehensive, negotiatedsettlement is the only practical wayforward… the six-party process mustcontinue with informal negotiationsbefore the talks resume.” like professorwang, tanaka believed that“North korea’s recent movementshave raised serious doubts aboutwhether its leaders have any intentionof negotiating with the internationalcommunity in good faith.”the real reason for espousing thefive principles, he said, was “to ensurea soft landing” – that is, to worktogether to avoid bloodshed and chaosin case of the total collapse of theNorth korean ruling structure.tanaka advanced from that generalidea to the concept of an “eastasia security Forum” – a term thatsounded very much like a de factoalliance, but without actually suggestingmilitary cooperation. rather,he said, “japan should work withthe united states, China and otherpartners in the region to establishan east asia security Forum as thecore component of a new multilateralsecurity architecture focusedon inclusive, action-oriented andfunctional cooperation.” in the end,he said, such a forum’s “primarymandate deals with transnationaland nontraditional security issues”and “would serve as a complementto more traditional security frameworksin the region, in particularthe ‘hub and spoke’ system of bilateralsecurity arrangements withtanaka advancedfrom thatgeneral idea tothe concept of an“east Asiasecurity forum.”the united states.” in other words,an east asia forum might eventuallytake precedence over washington’sbilateral alliances with japan andsouth korea – though tanaka avoidedthe suggestion that these alliancesmight sooner or later seem irrelevant.the forum, he said, “would bemost effective” if membership werelimited to aseaN, the association ofsoutheast asian Nations, plus China,south korea, japan, australia, Newzealand and the united states.that kind of talk, however, maynot have convinced influential Northkorea watchers in the united states.evans revere, president of the koreasociety in New york and a formerdiplomat with a long backgroundin korea, japan and China, warnedthat “China could be forced to makehard choices between traditionalsupport for its ally/partner and anew approach.” the North koreanuclear issue had reached “a criticalinflection point,” he said, “posing anobstacle to efforts to create a stableand predictable Northeast asia securityarchitecture.” Very soon, reverebelieved, North korea’s “actions andrhetoric” would “make clear thepath we are on.” under the circumstances,he said, such actions “mayrequire fundamental reassessment”by the united states, south korea,japan and China of how to “managethe whole issue.Nor was revere entirely happyabout the outlook of south korea’sgovernment. he did not seem allthat impressed by president leeMyung-bak’s repeated declarationsthat North korea must give up itsnuclear program as a preconditionfor the aid the North was accustomedto receiving in the decade ofthe sunshine policy of reconciliationinitiated by the late president kimdae-jung in 1998. the south“will need to decide whether itmust now get tougher,” said revere,while the North “must askitself whether intransigencerisks sowing the seeds of evenfurther isolation.”revere posed difficultquestions without necessarilyproviding answers. it was“important to ask,” he said,whether “core dprk positionshad changed for better orworse.” and was it conceivable,he wanted to know, that “thedprk has made a ‘strategic decision’– but not the one we had hoped for?”revere doubted “strategic patience”would really be enough “in light ofproliferation concerns.” rather, hesaid, there was a need for “a proactivestrategy, and one that takesinto account both changing internaldynamics” of North korea and the“likelihood that pyongyang is notinclined to give up its nuclear weapons.”that pessimistic view jibedwith the outlook of the Chinese andjapanese experts -- no matter howmuch they might otherwise disagreeon how to bring North koreato terms on its nukes.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 17AP-11 copy.indd 173/25/10 8:29:42 AM

itenhancinghealthcare withtelemedicineBy aNuradha shuklahealthcare for all isa major concernfor every organizationfrom governmentsto smallcompanies. Forgovernments, it is not only a pollissue, it also helps them run theshow more effectively by portrayingthem as people-friendly. smallcompanies also need to implementhealthcare initiatives to help theiremployees at times of need and tomotivate them to serve the organizationoptimally.however, providing healthcare properly to the entirepopulation is not easy due to the widely dispersednature of people, especially in remote villages, and therough terrain often separating them. again, all kinds ofspecialties may not be available even in metropolitancities. expertise in a particular medical case may be toofar away to reach and the timely arrival of help may notbe possible in most cases.the advent of telemedicine is a big boon to society.telemedicine is the use of communication networksfor the exchange of healthcare information to enableclinical care according to popular definition. the toolbecomes more effective and efficient in providinghealthcare in the presence of a modern broadband telecommunicationsinfrastructure.real time telemedicine application actually provides“virtual transportation,” allowing the patient and doctorto stay where they are. Medical care can be offeredremotely, even in critical situations, saving many a lifealong with improving the quality of life of the people.For poor countries, this comes as a boon as telemedicinelinks patients, doctors and hospitals by using technologieslike isdN and pots lines. developing countrieswill also benefit a lot from this exchange of clinical information.in several asian countries, healthcare services faceproblems like inadequate infrastructure and the presenceof experienced doctors especially in rural areas.although cities are well equipped, the population theyserve is smaller. this forces people from towns and villagesto travel to cities or even across the country forgood medical care.what is teLeMediCine?when a doctor feels that he needs a second opinionon the next course of action to take with respect to apatients’ case, he can opt to consult a specialist via telemedicinein case the other doctor is located elsewhere.software for consolidating medical records is used tomake an electronic patient record or epr. the epr willbe uploaded to the specialist’s computer and will beused by the doctors for tele-consultation.the specialist can check the clinical information andthen advise accordingly. For making the process morefoolproof, the doctors can have a videoconference to18 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 183/25/10 8:29:43 AM

make the diagnosis more accurateand decide on an appropriate courseof treatment. the informationshared between the doctors may bein the form of live bidirectional audioor video, recorded audio or videosent after the conference, medicalrecords, medical images, sounds oroutput from medical devices suchas pulmonary function instruments,electrocardiographs or ultrasounddevices.some medical services seem to bewell suited for telemedicine as theyenable an easy exchange of information.radiology reports need onlylow bandwidth messaging systemsand remote psychiatric counselingto mentally ill patients is possiblethrough videoconferencing alone.echocardiograms, ultrasonographicimages and electrocardiograms canbe readily transmitted electronicallyin cases of heart ailments.Many cases have been reportedwhere successful surgeries have beenconducted by doctors using audioguidance from specialists who cansee the patient by video conferencingtechnologies. even infants separatedfrom parents and kept in specialtycare centers can be monitoredby parents. telemedicine is also usedto impart proper training via videoconferencing to patients regardingasthma treatment and others.in developed countries, medicalcare providers are able to remotelymonitor patients, especially the elderly,for their pulmonary functionor glucose concentration. if theyfind anything amiss they can immediatelycontact the patient or a familymember by telephone, computeror tV to take remedial action.the advancements in wirelesstechnology have given the worldwearable biomedical sensors, whichallow remote monitoring of patientswho can be mobile during the process.this helps detect early signsof health complications by offeringdoctors real time physiological data.this helps in the delivery of timelymedical attention to terminally illpatients and the elderly.hurdles in the way oftelemedicine implementationwireless technologies like gprsare not evolved enough to take ontelemedicine services deployment.the costs of linking satellites andmobile devices are too prohibitive.the availability of secure connectivityalso stands in the way of e-healthservices. again, insufficient trainingand exposure to such technologiespose problems for most asian countriesunlike the west. the realizationthat telemedicine reduces thecarbon footprint by avoiding medicaltravels is yet to gain ground.telemedicine data encompassesvideo, audio and conversational datafrom videoconferences. the datamay be transmitted in real time ornot. this necessitates a communicationinfrastructure that caters to allof the various types of applications.wiMaX (worldwide interoperabilityfor Microwave access) technologieshave been found to be suitablefor the delivery of voice, video,eCg signals and medical scan information.it allows data transmissionin various ways like point-to-point,point-to-multipoint and full mobilecellular access.telemedicine service providersin developing countries like indiaprefer point-to-multipoint access,as it has Non-line-of-site (Nlos) capabilityand is cost effective. themultiplexing technology also allowsthe transmission and reception ofdata simultaneously. this enhancestelemonitoring and telemedicineimplementations. the high bandwidth,interoperability, scalability,compatibility, portability, reliabilityand support for various classes ofservice make wiMaX suitable fortelemedicine operations.telemedicine in developingnations of the eastwith a large population living inrural areas in this region the selectionof a proper technology becomesimperative. wiMaX technologieshave been adopted by countries likeindia, as it helps in telemonitoringand is useful for telecardiology applications.Video conferencing withgood communication systems enhancemedical services in rural areasin emerging economies.during the pacific science Congressheld in japan in 2007 an asiapacific telemedicine initiative waslaunched. the goal was to implemente-health services in developingnations to prevent child mortality,fight diseases and improvethe quality of life. the participatingcountries decided to collaborate inthe exchange of expertise and reduceobstacles in the form of timeand distance in providing optimumhealthcare to their populations.Bhutan, Fiji, germany, india,indonesia, japan, korea, Nepal,pakistan, the philippines, the russianFederation, thailand, Vietnam,ukraine and the united states wererepresented in the discussion pertainingto e-health services andsolutions. Collaboration betweenhealthcare and telecommunicationservice providers is a must forimplementing e-health services ortelemedicine. regional cooperationfurther enhances the service as it allowsmedicos in different countriesto combine their expertise in deliveringmedical care.initiatives have been takento promote regional cooperationamong the pacific rim countriesby bringing together government,public, private, national and internationalagencies. efforts are beingtaken by international and regionalorganizations to impart necessarytraining and educational programsfor healthcare-professionals. examplesof some such courses are theitu telemedicine expert trainingCourse conducted at tokaiuniversity; courses in the schoolof telemedicine & Biomedical informaticsat sgpgiMs, lucknow, india;and the telemedicine course at holyFamily hospital in pakistan.aid agencies like usaid, japan’soda and ausaid are working onmaking telemedicine a success. also,ethical, political and copyright andpatent issues are being resolved byinternational telecommunicationagencies as technologies and softwarehave to be used in making thedeliverance of telemedicine smoothin developing countries.even small countries like Nepalhave begun investing in telemedicineas the solution of the future toreach remote areas on mountains,etc., where there is only one doctorper 6,000 people. Nepal launched aproject to study the feasibility of telemedicinein pathology, dermatologyContinued on PaGe 33APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 19AP-11 copy.indd 193/25/10 8:29:44 AM

itimportance of databackup and restorationBy ViNti VaidComputers and datastorage have come along way since computerswere invented.data is generatedin huge volumes byinnumerable individuals and companies.it is not always possible tomake hard copies of all that goeson in a computer. a backup of allthe data, whether it is from banks,utilities, educational institutions,businesses or personal work, isimperative. on a small scale, datacan be backed up on Cds and flashdrives apart from the hard diskdrives. these are far more evolvedthan the punch cards, magnetictapes and floppy disks used someyears back. however, magnetictape backup is still in use today.importance of backupBackup does not mean just making a copy of the dataand ignoring it. Backup is important because it makesthe data available for continued use. More than makinga backup of all data, the method to restore them to usabilityis critical. also, backups have to be made consistently– not one-half of the database now and the otherhalf later. Backing up large volumes of data and restoringthem takes considerable time.organizations need to have a database administratorwhose sole responsibility is to make a backup of all dataand image files. it helps to make copies of entire harddrives by compressing the data and storing it. this providesarchiving, but may hamper speedy restoration.when disaster strikes, data recovery from the serveror an entire data center may have to be done on the samesite or at a different location. the backup method is consideredgood if it retrieves data in less time and fully inaddition to providing a physically protected storage system.Methods of data backupdata backup may be of different types such as fullbackup, differential backup/incremental backup or agentbasedbackup. off-site data backup is another option tokeep data safe in the eventuality of floods, fire and othernatural disasters. off-site backup serves as insurance, preventingcomplete loss of data.Most backup technologies that have been used untilnow are no longer sufficient. technological advances inagents and optimized network transmissions are still notadvanced enough to bring the data back into production.Copying data does not ensure restoring the data.the uncertainties and disadvantages enumeratedabove will give a picture of what we actually need in aback up solution. the method of making whole-serverbackups has become quite popular now. servers are ofdifferent types, namely file servers, print servers, directoryservers and web servers.New technologies even take care of files that are constantlyin use and hence, open, such as the windowsregistry, active directory’s database and some os files.as these are open and constantly changing, they do notoffer a complete file to be backed up. a technique availablein backing up such files is locked File Backup (lFB).the lFB logic may be embedded in the os and it waitsfor a pause according to a preset time. during the pause,the lFB makes a copy to the backup application. anothertechnique is the Volume shadow Copy (VsC) servicefrom windows. this keeps a local, on-volume backup ofchanged files. this will offer the previous version of thefiles to the backup application rather than the currentversion, which is open to change.VsC is a native os-level feature that allows administratorsto specify the maximum amount of storage fora shadow cache. the service then automatically makesshadow files and will offer multiple old versions of a file.windows Backup server and Ntbackup support VsC.windows server 2008 features windows server Backup,which can natively schedule backups and connect toremote servers and manage backups. the ui is optimizedand it works on a file-by-file basis, although it makes abackup of entire volumes.Based on different environments, companies canchoose a technology like inter-site data replication, datarewinding and virtualization. traditional backup-andrestoresolutions are also preferred by many companies.20 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 203/25/10 8:29:45 AM

as a company grows, the problembecomes complicated and so a centralizedrecovery management systemhas to be put in place. the toolsshould integrate alert and notificationso that data protection issues canbe dealt with in a timely manner.however, the latest in data backupand recovery is the use of virtualizationtechniques. Virtualizationis used in server consolidation and insimplifying server management. thisalso helps in recovery managementand disaster recovery. the techniqueallows standby sites to accommodatemore systems while also maintainingstandby separation between the systems.Multiple virtual servers are runon a single host computer, therebyreducing costs involved in heating,power, racking hardware and networkhardware. server deploymentis simplified with a reduction in thedeployment time.Backup sets will contain completecopies of organizational data and sothey have to be protected by using thesame security principles and layeredsecurity provided for the main server.also, backup media will be portableand can be carried away easily. thereshould be an understanding of whowill back up and restore data andwho will authorize the process.only successful restoration ensuresthat the data was backed up optimally.so restore processes shouldbe scheduled periodically to checkthe efficacy of the backup process.this will ensure that disaster recoveryreally works.data backup in asiasafeComs Network security Consultingin thailand offers data backupsolutions. organizations can outsourcedata to such companies afterverifying the degree of confidentiality,risk of disclosure and loss of data.data loss can be avoided by properencryption and secure storage methods.using the services of such databackup providers also eases the workof the organization’s employees whoare already burdened enough.“the problem facing most inhouseit staff,” says safeComs CeoBernard Collin, “is that given achoice between fixing an immediateproblem that’s preventing a userfrom working right now and doinga scheduled backup, the immediateproblem wins every time.”this goes to show that in spite ofbacking up being important, it doesnot get done on time. scheduled backupsand restoration plans may not beattended to. to avoid such scenariosit is best to outsource the backup job.Backup providers take care of dailybackup schedules and maintain thesafety of all backed up data.safecoms has developed a backupsystem called safeBox. it incorporatesan operating system, two hard drivesand an uninterrupted power supply.data gets stored in a sealed drive duringthe day and at night the data iscompressed, encrypted and stored ina second drive. periodically the seconddrive is removed and stored ina secure, fireproof storage locationoffsite.such an automatic system withminimum human intervention andwell-maintained records is a fittingbackup solution for organizations.Not just companies, but individualusers are susceptible to data lossdue to hard drive crashes or otherreasons. hong kong based acronis recentlylaunched the acronis true imagehome 2010 plus pack as an addonsolution. it gives advanced homeusers an easy way to restore theirfiles, applications and operating systemsto dissimilar hardware.the universal restore componentensures that if the machine is lost orstolen or in case a user wants to useanother machine, the data and applicationscan be replicated to a physicalor virtual machine. users can restoredynamic volumes onto bare-metaldisks or existing disks. the solutionthat supports winpe allows users toinstall the latest Microsoft drivers,customized scripts, applications andplug-ins.when users boot from their rescuemedia with acronis true imagehome 2010, they are able to use morehardware than the existing one, andperform customized execution.“acronis has lately extended itsconsumer portfolio in order to meetspecific home-user needs. the powerfulfeatures in this enhanced solutioncater to home users seeking advancedbackup and recovery capabilities, deliveredin an easy to use format,” saidjason donahue, president and Ceo ofacronis.universal restore ensures that alldata is protected even if the user’smachine is lost or stolen.data de-duplication is anotherway to achieve data backup. duplicatesof data are made while storingdata. this technique results in themaking of multiple duplicates, whichrequires more storage. the redundantduplicate data can be removedby data de-duplication or single-instancestorage. only one copy of datais left, provided with data indexing,as it may have to be restored at somepoint in time.in asia, there is a significantgrowth in backup and recovery markets.data de-duplication solutionsare considered dependable, scalableand inexpensive as they reduce coolingand power requirements. in avirtual environment, data de-duplicationis very useful, said VivekanandVenugopal, Vp, solutions, productsand services, asia-pacific region forhitachi data systems.kim wang, of esg-sino, enterprisestorage group’s greater Chinaoperations, said that the low-endbackup market will expand, as thereis a significant increase in awarenessfor backup systems. Companies aretrying to implement them to reducedata de-duplication problems. Manycompanies like iBM, dell, hp andFalconstor are looking towards thelucrative asian market in this sector.the presence of data domains isgrowing in the asian storage marketespecially in the financial and telecomindustries. Major markets areChina, hong kong, taiwan, southkorea, singapore and india. there ismore awareness regarding disasterrecovery and planning for businesscontinuity. this has resulted in demandfor backup by data de-duplication,use of disaster recovery andplanning for its implementation.the asian market is fast adoptingdata backup implementationsin spite of the economic downturn.they are striving to run their companiesmore efficiently and in real-time,making better use of their resourcesand optimizing the storage environment.it budgets now include storagevirtualization, tiered storage anddata de-duplication. this will witnessa growing demand for suitable datastorage solutions in asia.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 21AP-11 copy.indd 213/25/10 8:29:45 AM

itLights Goingout for korean,asian online MonocultureBy Matthew weigaNdsouth korea is one of themost internet-wiredcountries, and also basesmuch of its economyon the latest technologies.however, approximately99 percent of the country iscompletely reliant on a decade-oldbit of software that is beginningto seriously hold the country’s internetculture back. internet explorer6 (ie6), released in 2001, isa requirement for doing anythingwith a korean bank, online shoppingmall or social networking site.however, the ancient technology isalso a rusty sieve, and an internethacker’s dream of un-patched securityvulnerabilities. it must die.ie6 will also soon stop being supported by Microsoftwhen the company drops support for windows Xp,which means that the browser’s problems will never befixed. google docs and youtube officially stopped supportingie6 in March of this year, and it is expected thatother sites will soon follow. some, such as Facebook anddigg, have been advising users to upgrade since early2009. Microsoft itself has said that ie6 should be deadand gone, and has supported efforts to upgrade to internetexplorer 8. this leaves korea with the prospectof being left behind, in the technological internet backroom, with the lights soon to go out.But it is not just korea that has this problem. ie6is still the most popular browser in China, india, othercountries in asia, and most of africa as well. in China,the country’s green dam censorship software only censorsweb sites accessed with ie6. China’s banking andonline shopping sites also have the same activeX lockinproblems that korea does. in india, ie6 numbers aredropping steadily in favor of Firefox and google Chrome,but they have not yet reached a majority.ancient historyin korea, it all started in 1998 – ancient history inthe internet age. the 128-bit ssl protocol had beenbanned from being exported out of the united statesand was not available until december 1999. the onlyother ssl encryption option was a 40-bit protocol, butsouth korean legislation did not allow it. Because thedemand for 128-bit encryption was so strong, the koreaninformation security agency funded developmentof a block cipher called seed. the only way to ensurethat client computers would support seed encryptionwas to force them to download a seed plugin, in eitheractiveX control form for ie users, or Nsplugin form forNetscape Navigator users. these plugins required a certificateissued by a korean government authority. whenNetscape declined in popularity, the activeX plugin forsecurity became the only way for korean internet usersto use encryption. and by the time 128-bit ssl encryptionwas cleared for export outside of the united states,korean companies had already standardized everythingbased on their unique seed cipher. seed and government-issuedsecurity certificates are still in use today,and of course only in korea.outside of korea, ie6 has been becoming less popular.in the united states, it is used less than 10 percent ofthe time now. however, its global average is 20 percent,because it is used much more often in asia. in Chinaalone, the decade-old browser has a 50 percent marketshare. the market share of all version of ie in korea iseven higher, at 99 percent. But outside of asia, in 2010,many internet users are actively looking forward tothe death of ie6. a denver-based company called atendesign group has created a web site ie6funeral.comto celebrate the imminent death of the browser. theweb site stated that the browser died of a workplace22 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 223/25/10 8:29:47 AM

injury at google headquarters, andannounced a date and time for thefuneral. web developers have longdisliked ie 6 because of its peculiaritiesin interpreting htMl and Csscommands.unfixable Flawswhat’s so bad about ie6 anyway?the problem is activeX. activeX isa set of commands that ie6 acceptswhich allow web pages to interactwith normal executable programson a computer’s machine. the protocolis designed to allow web pagesto do more than htMl allows. unfortunately,this “do more” functionalityincludes hundreds of things thatmalicious web site creators can useto introduce viruses to computersthat visit their web pages, and hasbeen a constant source of problemsfor literally hundreds of millions ofpeople.activeX has been widely criticizedin security circles since itsinception, and hundreds of vulnerabilitiesusing it have been found inthe 10 years since ie6 was released.Many of them have been patched,but according to the security companysecunia, ie6 still has 24 known,un-patched vulnerabilities. the specificvulnerabilities are all closelyrelated, and can be summarized asactiveX having too much power. usingactiveX, a web site designer canmake all visitors to its web site automaticallydownload and run anyexecutable file. this means that theweb site designer is completely incontrol of a visitor’s computer. ie7and 8 changed activeX to make themsafer. they required user agreementbefore the files would be downloadedand run. this is marginally safer,but it initially broke the functionalityof many korean web sites. overthe past few years, most of themhave become compatible with ie7,but it has been a slow process.hackers used security vulnerabilitiesin ie6 during two famous cyberattacks in 2009. the first was a massivedistributed denial-of-service attackagainst korean and u.s. governmentand financial web sites, whichwas executed by an army of compromisedcomputer systems. Most ofthe systems involved in the attackwere located in south korea, and thesystems were compromised using avulnerability in ie6 and a popularfile-distribution system, webhard,which is dependent on activeX controls.despite the press generatedby the attack, no lasting damage occurredother than some companiesbeing forced to take down their websites for a few days.the second attack in december2009 was much more malicious. it issuspected that China-based hackersexploited a flaw in ie6 and adobe acrobatdocuments to steal proprietaryinformation from dozens of internationalcompanies working in China,including google. also, the flawswere used to target emails of humanrights activists inside and outside ofChina. google issued a statement lettingthe cat out of the bag and othercompanies followed suit, admittingthat their computer systems had alsobeen compromised. google also saidin the same statement that it was nolonger willing to cooperate with theChinese government in censorshipof its search engine within China becauseof those attacks, although thatissue is still up in the air.ie6 has also always had problemswith rendering htMl in astandards-compliant way. it onlyever partially supported Css 1.0,which means that web sites havealways looked different in ie6 andother web browsers. web developershave either adapted to write difficultand hard-to-understand fixes for ie6peculiarities, or have given up supportingother platforms and writtenall of their web designs for ie6 only.the browser also does not supportthe partial transparency of the pNgimage format, hampering its growthand popularity in web design. thebrowser is also notoriously unstable.single lines of htMl code insertedin a web site can cause it to crash,and have been well documented.March of Progressuntil recently, these problemshave been overlooked or toleratedin the korean internet world. ie6, 7,and 8 were all free, and they workedperfectly fine for most people. thefact that many korean computer userswere familiar with the inevitabledegradation of a computer system,which led to an unavoidable reinstallof the os was shocking to outsideobservers such as this reporter,but it is par for the course. the dissatisfactionstarted when the iphonewas finally cleared for sale by koreangovernment regulations. koreatelecom has sold more than 200,000iphones since the end of November2009. savvy korean technology usersbegan complaining that their bankingservices did not include iphonesupport, due to the culture of relyingon activeX for security. this relianceis mandated by the Financialsupervisory service’s (Fss) guidelinesfor financial services providedon smartphones, which decided injanuary of this year to subject smartphone financial services to the sameregulations that govern online transactionson personal computers. thismeans public key certificates issuedby the government. and that meansactiveX. the iphone simply does notsupport activeX, or ie at all. it usesthe safari web browser.the growing popularity of otherweb browsers such as safari,Chrome and Firefox is another trendthat cannot be ignored. each of thebrowsers has advantages and disadvantages,but they all have one thingthat ie6 does not – full support forall the latest web standards. Makinga web site using strict web standardsis something that works great intheory, and in the other three browsers,but not ie6. also, the newest versionof htMl, htMl5, will eventuallycome out. the particulars of thelanguage are being worked out now,and it is already partially supportedby safari, Chrome and Firefox. thelanguage is expected to enter “recommendation”stage in 2012. thereis absolutely no chance that ie6 willbe able to support htMl5. the onlyie-based browser that will do so willbe internet explorer 9.korea Must upgradein this case the solution is simpleand clear. korea’s various financial institutions,online marketplaces, socialnetworks and government agenciesmust upgrade to browser-independentsolutions for their various onlineContinued on PaGe 33APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 23AP-11 copy.indd 233/25/10 8:29:48 AM

itLeveraging workforceManagement softwareBy aNuradha shuklawo rkforcemanagementhelpsorganizationsdealwith problemsarising in companies, especiallycall centers, whether big orsmall. Call center workforce managementdeals with issues such ashow to exceed service levels whileat the same time controlling payrollcosts.Forecasting, scheduling and real-time compliancewill make daily workforce management more effective.this also helps avoid over or under staffing and improvesservice levels by making sure that agents are putting intheir best efforts when needed.workforce management software or solutions can beleveraged by small to large companies in a wide rangeof industries and verticals. the suites of applications includeall or some of the following features: quality assuranceand recording, speech analytics, surveying, performancemanagement and e-learning.organizations will be able to enhance call center operationalefficiencies and customer service. these systemsfeature advanced analytical capabilities, which arefast and simple too. Call center managers will be ableto forecast accurately the number of agents that will berequired to man a shift. By calculating the call volumefrom the historical data captured, workforce managementsolutions help decide on the number of agents thatwill be required to serve customers most efficiently.advantages of workforce Management softwareirrespective of the size of the call center, workforcemanagement is a challenge. organizations may wantto evolve from spreadsheets to a web-based workforcemanagement systems. the web-based system will needcomputers and an internet connection and the softwareis also available on a subscription basis for small companies,eliminating the need for downloads.it is imperative to correlate the number of agents inthe call center with the call volume, otherwise there mayarise a situation where there are more agents and fewercalls or more calls and an insufficient number of agents.Both give rise to monetary loss owing to customer dissatisfactiondue to longer hold times or idle agents.workforce management software can work for smallcompanies too. Fewer agents does not mean easy schedulingand it has been proven to be more difficult to optimallyschedule with fewer agents. the call center performancewill be affected greatly as even the absence ofone agent makes a big difference when the total numbersare less.Most call centers function as multi-channel contactcenters, as they handle e-mail and web chat besidesphone calls. in a small call center, only two or three willbe trained for specialty services. if one of them is absentit creates a void in delivering services to the customer’ssatisfaction. such shortcomings prove beyond a doubtthat workforce management software is essential forsmall organizations as well.here, also, the software leverages the historical datacollected to predict and forecast the volume for eachchannel for each shift and will recommend the numberof agents who have to be scheduled for that particularshift with accuracy.Managers in call centers have to make sure thatagents stick to their schedules, otherwise there will ariseproblems like customer dissatisfaction due to agent inefficiency.agents should also be encouraged to followtime, whether in reporting for work or while leaving.other activities like training and coaching should alsobe scheduled from time to time and agents must alsofollow those schedules diligently.with the recession fading in some parts of the worldand still going strong in others, managers should knowhow to derive maximum benefit from the resourcesthey may have. with cost cutting comes a reduction inthe number of employees/agents in a call center. Needlessto say, this translates into more work for those whowere fortunate enough to remain. But this may lead tofatigue owing to an increased workload.to avoid such a scenario, cross-training agents is amust. all of the agents are trained to handle more thanone contact type including web chat, e-mail and phone.Mixing up the tasks each agent is responsible for helpsthem overcome burnout or boredom and also helps inenhancing individual performance. this reduces thedrudgery of monotony and increases productivity.in successful models, agents are made to deal with24 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 243/25/10 8:29:49 AM

even unrelated tasks such as checkingorder invoices, packing ordersand others, depending on the typeof company the call center serves.this uses the free time during lowcall volume and improves efficiencies.the process of scheduling agentsfor different activities without affectingthe service levels for any ofthe channels is accomplished byusing workforce management systems.these can help ensure accuratescheduling of cross-trained staffcovering the whole day, effectivelycutting down on agent burnout andincreasing productivity as a whole.the management software iscapable of finding out how manyagents are required for a particularshift by integrating with the callcenter database and the company’sCrM system.the workforce management systemcan forecast call volume fromhistorical call volume patterns, timeof season and past customer activity.the software is flexible enough toaccommodate external or internalevents that will impact call volumelike a recently launched marketingcampaign or other activities both insideand outside of the company.also, in case an agent fails toswitchover to the next task accordingto the recommendation of theworkforce management software,an alert is raised which will informthe manager so he or she can takeimmediate action to rectify the situation.in previous methods whenspreadsheets were used, it was notpossible to detect such a flaw until itwas too late.Mobile workforce Managementhaving a mobile solution integratedwith scheduling offers realtime,ongoing optimization of whatis going on in the field when the mobileworkforce is on duty. real-timedecision making is facilitated as engineersin the field can give feedbackregarding on-the-ground realities.this shows that workforce managementsoftware is not only for a callcenter-type of environment.service managers will have greatervisibility of the field force and itwill ensure higher levels of resourceutilization. also, field personnel canbe assigned one or two jobs at a timeinstead of giving all the jobs he hasto complete that day in one go. themanager will know if a job is takinga longer time than scheduled orif the job has been completed earlyand the engineer on duty has morecapacity or time left.Cloud-based workforceManagement solutionsMany companies are in favorof “on-demand” solutions such ascloud-based call center software.outsourcing workforce managementhas its advantages such as easyand rapid implementation, simpleintegration and less risk.such software-as-a-service (saas)or cloud-based call center solutionshelp companies reduce the time andcosts involved, as the vendor willtake care of the hardware, networkinfrastructure and performance ofthe system.other advantages include greaterscalability and better integration.Call centers will benefit from theadvanced solutions which will beautomatically implemented by thevendor. this eliminates the need forperiodic upgrades and expenses onnew software. as such services aremade available on a subscription basis,companies can trial the softwareand check out its suitability for theirpurposes. if suitable, it can continuewith the solution or else go for another.dMg Consulting released a reporton the future of the call center softwaresolutions’ market saying that itwill grow by 35 percent in 2010 and20 percent in 2011. the reason givenwas the recession, which has drivencompanies to leverage cloud-basedcall center solutions to economicallymake use of the latest technology.Besides reducing call center operatingcosts these saass or cloudbasedsolutions help managers increaseschedule adherence, reduceshrinkage, increase agent satisfactionand also improve performanceand productivity along with the regularscheduling capabilities.Companies in asia-Pacificrostima asia sdn. Bhd. in Malaysiadevelops and supplies enterpriseworkforce management solutions.these solutions help organizationsto optimize their staff schedules bymatching workload to staff resourcesso as to increase operational efficiency,reduce staff costs, improveservice levels and retain staff. rostimaprovides unique algorithms thathelp transport companies find theoptimal plan and roster while meetingworkplace rules cost-effectively.rostima caters to the gaming,ports, aviation, transportation, retailand service sectors. the company leveragesthe services of business professionalswith operational experiencein planning and managementand uses their practical experienceto serve customers optimally. thesolutions are designed to offer realand tangible financial savings andbenefits from the implementationof enterprise workforce managementsolutions.indian company ramco humanCapital Management’s workforcemanagement consists of a centralrepository for employee information.this self-service capabilityprovides a portal for employees tomanage personal information. thecomponents of the system includesemployee information, hr administration,employee assets, grievancesand disciplinary action.VQ alert is a workforce managementsolution developed by sydneybasedCall design. aspect, a unifiedcommunications solutions provider,and Call design, a contact centerprovider, are marketing VQ alert.this is an agent adherence solution,which, along with aspect’sworkforce management capabilities,provides call-center agents withreal-time notifications of changes inwork schedules.these alerts are programmableand can be sent to agents or agentgroups, creating a positive workculture in the call center. VQ alertis being leveraged in call centers inthe asia-pacific region by americanexpress and st. george Bank.all over the world, workforcemanagement solutions are beingused increasingly to tackle laborproblems. it helps companies arriveat actual required labor strength sothat they are not understaffed andso all workers are fully engaged.Besides helping organizations optimizeoutput from all employees, theworkforce management solutionalso prevents employee burnout.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 25AP-11 copy.indd 253/25/10 8:29:49 AM

Special SectiongrowiNgindiA-sAudi ArAbiAtiesBy Matthew weigaNdFor the first time in almost 30 years, the prime Minister ofindia visited saudi arabia from Feb. 27 to March 1. primeMinister Manmohan singh spoke at length with king abdullahbin abdul aziz about security, economic, energy anddefense issues. By the end of the visit, they had signed 10different agreements. this is the result of negotiations thatbegan with the king’s visit to india in 2006, where he spoke about creatingcomprehensive ties between the two countries and was honoredas the chief guest at the republic day parade in New delhi. with primeMinister singh’s visit, the ties are realized. as an added bonus, Manmohansingh received an honorary doctorate from king saud university.“as a result of our interaction, we have agreed to upgrade the quality ofour relationship to that of a strategic partnership,” singh said when hereturned to india.26 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 263/25/10 8:29:52 AM

prime minister manmohan singhking abdullah bin abdul azizthe strategic partnership between the two countriescovers economic, trade and investment issues.also, the agreement covers energy security, research& development investment in renewable energy resourcesand mutual investment in the upstream anddownstream energy activities of both nations. theagreement also includes a pledge for both countries touse space for only peaceful purposes. Finally, the agreementaddresses cooperation in dealing with securityand terrorism issues. the fact that the agreement wascompleted at all is a signifier of a new era in southasian politics.the prime minister was accompanied by a delegationof ministers, officials and businessmen, who werealso busy. there were reports of two private sectoragreements reached during the three-day event.energy needs, againsaudi arabia supplies a full 30 percent of india’scrude oil each year. india’s steady growth will no doubtrequire more energy in the future. india is voraciouslyreaching out for all forms of energy from nuclearto solar, and will maintain a healthy diet of oil as itseconomy expands. securing a steady supply from saudiarabia is essential for india’s future growth.the joint declaration signed by both parties, beingcalled the riyadh declaration, speaks a lot about complementaryneeds and interdependence, which meansboth countries should invest in each other’s energy infrastructure.there are also some vague references todeveloping alternative sources of renewable energy.new political eradespite the two countries’ ancient historical ties,india and saudi arabia have found themselves separatedby the 20th century’s political climate. Now, however,as circumstances change in the 21st century, bothcountries find themselves with similar interests andgoals. and, as always, one of the most important goalsis bilateral trade. india’s post-liberalization, bilateraltrade sharply shot up, especially after 2000, and stoodat us$25 billion in 2008-09.india is now the fourth largest investor in saudiarabia, ahead of japan. indian investments are booming,amounting to $2 billion in 2009. indian companieshave also established more than 500 joint ventures insaudi arabia. From management and consultancy services,information technology, construction and telecommunications,to pharmaceuticals, there are manynew businesses popping up in the kingdom. there areAPRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 27AP-11 copy.indd 273/25/10 8:29:58 AM

Special SectionindiA-sAudi ArAbiAalso joint ventures between companies in design, consultancy,financial services and software development.even before the agreement was signed, indian companiessaw major opportunities in almost all sectors of thesaudi economy, including higher education and technicaleducation. indian it companies have already been involvedwith a growing number of saudi companies thatare outsourcing their it requirements.prime Minister singh addressed the Council of saudiChambers of Commerce and industry, inviting saudientrepreneurs and investors to return the favor and investin “construction, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals,health, agriculture, energy, telecommunications, biotechnology,tourism and other service sectors.”security and terrorismBoth india and saudi arabia find themselves the targetsof terrorism. the attacks against Mumbai last yearand continuing violence vaguely associated with pakistanworries indian leaders, while saudi arabia is still atarget of al Qaeda for its ties to western powers.prime Minister singh saidthat he spoke with king abdullahabout pakistani terrorism, mentioningthat he asked the king totry to influence pakistan to tone itdown a bit. this has sparked somecontroversy in india itself, becausethe government’s policy so far hasbeen to not resort to third partieson this issue. however, it remains to be seen what willdevelop on that front.another security-related issue is an extradition treatysigned by both parties. the two countries agreed tocooperate in stopping criminal activities like moneylaundering, narcotics, arms trafficking and human trafficking.india is one of the first countries outside of theMiddle east region with which saudi arabia has signedan extradition treaty.scientific cooperationthe exchange of scientific personnel and technologyis one of the more overlooked aspects of this new agreement,but it has great potential. dignitaries from scientificorganizations of both countries signed their ownagreements during the visit. the result of one of thoseagreements is to set up an india-saudi arabia Center ofexcellence in iCt in saudi arabia, at the king abdulazizCity for science and technology (kaCst). there will bethree major activities at the center: r&d, it consultationand training on the use of information technology.this center will be used to help saudi arabia take agreater advantage of it, from the individual to the organizationallevel. there is talk of building five more nationalinstitutes of science in saudi arabia with indiancooperation.india is now the fourthlargest investor insaudi Arabia,ahead of Japan.it just makes sensesimilar to the Cepa between india and korea thatwent into effect at the beginning of this year, india’sagreements with saudi arabia just makes sense. theCepa with korea is about technological trade, economicsand energy. the agreement with saudi arabia is verysimilar, with an extra emphasis on security. india isgrowing, india’s economy is hungry, and india is reachingout to those countries around it that are able to feedits growth.Nobody has been able to ignore the fact that theglobal financial crisis pretty much passed india by.while the rest of the world was moaning in pain andtalking of bailouts, india had steady 8 percent economicgrowth and plenty of investmentmoney to spread around.indian companies specificallyhave a lot of investment alreadyin saudi arabia, and the primeminister gave a speech invitingmore saudi investment into itsown economy. the extremelylarge size of india makes themnearly infinite in term of opportunities for investment,and the country’s steady growth means that those opportunitieswill become greater in the future.saudi arabia is the latest payoff of what is rapidlybecoming a signature move on india’s part – the republicday diplomacy Move. invite a foreign leader over forrepublic day, give him the spot of honor, and in a fewmonths or years you have increased relations. the pastfew years of republic day celebration, the list of guestshave read like a shopping list of countries that india isinterested in. and that’s not a bad thing, since there isno better way to attract business than by throwing lotsof parties.india is not only reaching out to the southeast asiannations and east asian nations like korea and japan, butit is also reaching west to the Middle east. all of thecountries surrounding india are becoming more deeplyinvolved in its economy. this is actually reminiscent ofthe united states at the beginning of the 20th century– coming out of a long, introspective time and looking28 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 283/25/10 8:30:01 AM

for more trade relations with countries far and wide.however, the united states chose to exercise gunboatdiplomacy in the early 1900s, whereas india is practicingrepublic day diplomacy. let us hope that india isnot interrupted in this move in the same way that twoworld wars interrupted the u.s.this is also the latest chapter in india’s whirlpool,which i have spoken about in previous articles. india isbeginning to draw more resources to itself, possibly divertingthem from other end users. with increased tieswith saudi arabia, what saudi oil will be sent to indiaand diverted away from other markets? will this increasethe cost of the country’s oil with good consequences forits competition and bad for its customers? saudi arabiahas a long history of close cooperation with the unitedstates – will the new thrill of india’s attentions draw thecountry away from its old lover to the new? the implicationscould be world altering.For a student of history, this move by both countriesis significant by the fact that it happened at all. For thepast 50-odd years, india and saudi arabia found themselveson different sides of a global divide. saudi arabiahad been very close to the united states, while india,with its geographical location, found itself giving atleast appeasement to russia and China. while neitherside were directly involved in the Cold war, they foundthat political necessity kept them apart. their increasedties in 2010 show that there is now no obstacle left fortheir cooperation, and that the Cold war is truly dead.india is able to shift the global balance of power to moreheavily rely on itself rather than being influenced byone sphere or another. it is a new developing paradigmin international power.another significant aspect of this event is the commentsmade by the prime minister that king abdullahmight help speak to pakistan on india’s behalf. this isa controversial issue in india, because apparently somepoliticians believe that india and pakistan should takecare of their differences without outside interference.But despite this political opposition, the prime ministeris reaching out to other countries for political aid. thisis a sign that india is once again looking outwards morethan it ever has since its independence.there is one major difference between the indiakoreaagreement tone and the india-saudi agreementtone, which is the talk of technology. korea and indiaboth have strong it industries that complement eachother – india has a strong software sector and korea hasa strong hardware sector. saudi arabia is not known foreither a strong hardware or software sector, and thereforeis looking to import both of those. with ampleenergy resources the country should have no problemfunding such knowledge imports and, in fact, it has extensiveplans to build new technology institutes aroundthe country. south korea has shown some interest inbeing involved in this project as well. so it is possiblethat south korea, india and saudi arabia could create atechnological alliance to further shift the global balanceof power, given enough time.Basically, there should be no big surprise over thenew cooperation between india and saudi arabia, justlike there is no real big surprise for india’s Cepa withsouth korea. in all cases, the parties just have what theother needs, and the governments are simply followingpopular trends set up by private business already. indiais a rising star, and saudi arabia simply recognizes it.Conversely, saudi arabia is a wealthy, energy-rich country,and india wants both the finances and the energy tocontinue to fuel its growth. once again, it seems to be asimple match, founded on solid principles, with almostlimitless potential. it is also something to look forwardto seeing developed.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 29AP-11 copy.indd 293/25/10 8:30:02 AM

Special SectionindiA-sAudi ArAbiAa New era oFstrAteGicpArtnershipBy dr. Mezyad alterkawiFor a long time, the kingdomof saudi arabia hasbeen a strategic partnerfor india in the Middleeast. the recent visit ofthe indian prime ministerfurther strengthened ties betweenthe two at many levels, oneof the most important being to improvethe economic relationshipbetween the two nations. accordingto recent saudi arabian Monetaryagency (saMa) reports, saudiimports of indian goods stood atsr18 billion (us$4.86 billion), makingindia the sixth-largest source ofsaudi imports, accounting for 12.4percent of the kingdom’s total importsfrom asia in 2008. saudi arabiacomes fourth after China, theunited states and the united arabemirates as india’s most importanttrading partner globally.the presence of three senior ministers, top officialsand several Ceos made the visit a very prestigious oneindeed, coming four years after the historic visit of kingabdullah bin abdulaziz of saudi arabia to india in 2006.the king’s visit resulted in saudi arabia replacing theuae as india’s number one crude oil resource, with exportsjumping from $500 million to $23bn in 2008. asindia’s largest supplier of crude oil, saudi arabia is sureto benefit from increasing energy demand for one of theworld’s largest economies.the balance of trade between the two states has consistentlyswung in favor of the kingdom, its trade surplusstanding at sr67.3 billion ($18.2 billion) in 2008.indian prime Minister Manmohan singh was confidentthat india’s gdp will grow at 9 to 10 percent annuallyover the next 25 years and has sought saudi investmentin sectors ranging from infrastructure to hospitality. thetwo leaders emphasized “the importance of strengtheningthe strategic energy partnership based on complementarityand interdependence, as outlined in the delhideclaration (of 2006), including meeting india’s increasingrequirement of crude oil supplies, and identifyingand implementing specific projects for cooperation includingin the areas of new and renewable energy.”Both leaders also directed the joint working groupon energy to continue adopting all appropriate meansto achieve the same, the riyadh declaration said. kingabdullah later said that, “prime Minister Manmohansingh’s visit and the signing of a number of agreementsand memorandums of understanding reflect a new eraof strategic partnership between the two countries.”the prime minister was also conferred an honorary doctoraldegree from king saud university presented by theuniversity rector abdullah al-othman. later, the indianexternal affairs Minister, s.M. krishna, called the visit“highly successful.”Dr. Mez Alterkawi is an associate professor in the Departmentof Urban & Regional Planning at the College ofArchitecture & Planning, King Saud University.30 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 303/25/10 8:30:11 AM

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itincubator FirmFailure or Graduation– the role ofuniversity LinksBy staFF reportertechnology incubatorsare a special form ofbusiness incubator.they focus on newenterprises whoseoperations are basedon novel technological ideas thatare likely to lead to a marketablenew product. they provide commonservices as well as financial,legal and business support to thesenewly formed enterprises. the incubationprocess ends after a limitedperiod of time, either with the“graduation” of successful start-upsthat move outside the incubator, orwith the termination of incubationarrangements for one reason or another.technology incubators are a growing part of the institutionalinfrastructure for university-industry technologytransfer, and indeed practitioner publicationstout the benefits of incubation for technology commercialization.research shows that university-linked incubatorhave a greater edge when compared to incubators thatare not university linked. one of the most importantbenefits is the availability of experts (mentors) who areequipped with the latest research in specific fields andcan provide consulting advice on a product. other importantfactors include access to specialized laboratoriesand facilities, access to knowledge based assets that areoften needed for technology-based start-ups and intellectualproperty rights.the involvement of a university faculty member asan advisor to a startup firm or as part of its managingteam reduces the chances of a firm’s failure. on the otherhand, a faculty member’s engagement with a firm sometimesslows down the firm’s graduation process due tothe faculty member’s dual roles; one as a researcher in auniversity and the other as a member of a startup firm.entrepreneurs and incubator managers need to beaware of the trade-off they might encounter when incubatinga new venture that relies on a strong universitylink either through a technology license and/or havingone or more university faculty members as part of themanagement team.incubators that are linked to science parks have amajor advantage in creating an image and credibilitywith customers and suppliers. thus, the incubators thathave strong links with universities and are located withinscience parks are likely to get the most benefits.32 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 323/25/10 8:30:18 AM

enhancinghealthcare withtelemedicineFroM PaGe 19and radiology some years back.local healthcare workers were brought under thescheme to develop and operate telemedicine projects.Nepalese living in Butwal, jhapa and Bhaktapur are beingserved by telemedicine projects. health professionalsat healthNet Nepal and the Ministry of health cametogether to make this project a success.dr. alok roy, Chairman & Managing director ofMedica synergie pvt. ltd., was instrumental in conceptualizingand implementing the integrated telemedicineand telehealth project or ittp, asia’s telemedicineinitiative. according to him, telemedicine not onlytakes medical care to far flung places by eliminatingimpediments like time and distance, but it also helpsin critical care treatment. the timely intervention of aspecialist many miles away may help save a preciouslife. specialists can keep themselves informed about acase and provide medical guidance to the patient andthe doctor attending to him/her without any of themleaving their towns.according to sajeesh kumar, phd (telemedicine),from the Centre of excellence in e-Medicine, universityof western australia, for telemedicine to see moresuccess in the asia-pacific region, local skills and infrastructurehave to be leveraged based on local demand.technology management, staff development and theeducation of concerned people are important requirements.in the asia-pacific region, most specialists livein capital cities and rural areas remain underserved.there is a tremendous growth in telecommunicationchannels and internet in this region, making telemedicinea viable solution to enhance medical care. propercoordination between the telecom and health care industrieswill increase consumer confidence and promotee-health.telemedicine has been found to be successful inproviding wound care remedies with better healing.patients are also satisfied, as this means less time spentwaiting and traveling to far off hospitals. doctors canmonitor and help in the treatment of patients by examiningthe patient by video conference and guide anurse or doctor to take proper action all from a remotelocation. telemedicine also increases collaboration betweenspecialists and helps arrive at treatments for newmaladies and enables them to attempt new methods oftreatment based on consultations and deliberations.Lights Goingout for korean,asian onlineMonocultureFroM PaGe 23offerings. But it is easier said than done. the reasonthat they do not do so already is because governmentregulations require that they support activeX.this is a bureaucracy problem.the korean government, in its many differentministry incarnations, has done a lot to help thehardware technology industry for the last 40 years.it can arguably be said that the korean governmentbuilt its high-tech hardware industry fromthe ground up, practically forcing companies likesamsung and lg to stop producing non-technologyrelatedgoods and making them make radios withthe threat of large fines. later, it was tVs, then computercomponents. in this hardware industry, theheavy hand of government had been exactly whatwas required.But in the software industry, or the internet, theheavy hand of government has only been keepingthe country back. there is very little internet innovationwithin korea. in fact, most internet-relatedstartups in korea look overseas for both their usersand their inspiration. korea’s internet culture istrapped by government bureaucracy. it is trappedin the last decade, at the mercy of even the leastskilled hackers and the most powerful viruses. itis trapped away from innovative paths of development,by outdated regulations and outmodedforms of security. in the case of the internet, thekorean government should simply step back andlet it evolve on its own. internet trends are just toofast to regulate, and any attempt will simply stiflethe development to the detriment of the countriesinvolved.this is not going to be easy, but the first crackshave already been created. the korean governmentregulations for smart phones to include anoutdated wireless internet platform for interoperability(wipi) functionality that is only required inkorea were bent in order to let the iphone into thecountry, and the result was 200,000 smartphonesfree from outdated government requirements.there will be a second crack in the bureaucracy,and then more and more. No one knows how muchnew technology it will take to push korea, kickingand screaming, into the 21st century, but the newtechnology is not letting up. eventually they willhave to cave.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 33AP-11 copy.indd 333/25/10 8:30:19 AM

itteLeMatiCsbeyondnavigationBy rajaNi BaBurajaNtelematics, in the broad sense, refers to sending andreceiving information via a telecommunications device.this machine-to-machine (M2M) technology is widelyused in vehicles today, and so telematics today refers tothe application of the technology in vehicles. telematicsin vehicles provides drivers with real-time informationregarding automobile accidents or theft detection, routeguidance, traffic or daily living information, games ande-mail services by applying mobile telecommunicationsand global positioning system (gps) technology. Commercialvehicle telematics (CVt) is emerging as one ofthe fastest growing areas in the telecommunicationsthe telematics try in China, southindus-korea and japan ismoving beyond thetraditional navigationservices to explorenew opportunities on the commercialfront. Commercial vehicle telematicsfinds applications in vehicletracking, location based services,fleet management and more.sector today.avehicle telematics system consists of a gps receiverand an ssM/gprs modem installed in each vehicle. thetechnology is primarily used to track vehicles. expertssay that CVt, though in its infancy in the asia-pacificregion, would give rise to a number of functions rangingfrom “vehicle and passenger safety to the ultimateluxury of sinful comfort and convenience features.”Bizacumen, in its recent report on CVt, says thattelematics technology has the potential to add the crucialfunctionality imperative for various emerging automotivesystem capabilities.applicationstelematics applications can be broadly classified intofour areas: Navigation service, safety and security, informationand m-Commerce, and wireless internet services.Navigation Service: this is one of the most popularapplications of telematics. the technology helps driversand vehicle owners get real-time traffic information andmap directions. the gps-enabled vehicle telematics providesround-the-clock information about road and trafficconditions, enabling them to make wise decisionswhile on the road.Vehicle Diagnosis and Control: Vehicle diagnosisand control service allows users to check gear performance,engine, brakes and get fuel-related information.it enables them to control various parts and componentsincluding the doors, trunk, headlights and taillights.Safety and Security: telematics can be used in emergencyrescue applications. Vehicles fitted with a remote34 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 343/25/10 8:30:24 AM

control for automobile diagnosis areless prone to accidents due to mechanicalfailure. an automatic crashsensor is another important applicationof telematics for ensuringsafety while driving. the safety andsecurity service also enables vehiclemonitoring and tracking in case oftheft.Information and m-Commerce:telematics enables location Basedservice (lBs) on vehicles to provideinformation about places of interestto people. this may include detailsof restaurants, movie theaters,shops and more. lBs is emerging asone of the most lucrative marketingopportunities for such businesses.in the form of m-Commerce,telematics can be beneficial to bothbusinesses and customers alike. thetechnology can be used to providehotel/air/train reservation and logisticsservices.another important application oftelematics is fleet management. thisis important when there is largescalemovement of goods from oneplace to another. telematics helpsmanufacturers save money and timewhile transporting goods from oneplace to another. the technology alsohelps on-site service personnel communicatewith each other and managetheir fleet effectively. instantcommunication among personneldeployed at different locations helpsthe company save significant timeand travel costs associated with suchservices.entertainment: telematics empowersvehicle owners with the abilityto play music or video in the carwithout having to download it frommobile handsets, with the help ofphone-automobile synchronizationtechnologies via wireless networkssuch as wCdMa, wlaN and Bluetooth.Commercial telematicsin south koreaCommercial telematics was introducedto south korea in 2003.since then, the industry has maturedenough to attract investors and customers.user expectations and technologieshave been clearly definedover the past few years. a key factorthat drives this growth is the popularityof gps-enabled phones. theyhave helped small and medium enterprisesmaximize fleet efficienciesand minimize operating costs. theavailability of lBs via mobile phoneshas enabled many service providersand hardware manufacturers to extendlBs applications to commercialfleets.in 2003, sk telecom, a leadingservice provider in the country, enteredinto the telematics market inkorea with the introduction of Natedrive. Based on the advantages ofwireless internet services and operationalknow-how, Nate drive is theworld’s first handset-based telematicsservice, the company said.south korea has also initiated amajor telematics project – jeju telematicsmodel city construction project– with an aim to energize thetelematics industry in the countryand create synergy effects betweenassociated industries. a consortiumof companies, led by sk telecom,was designated as the operator forthis telematics project initiated bythe Ministry of information andCommunications.the korean government, ambitiousto make the country the marketleader in it, has announced telematicsas one of the nine new engines ofeconomic growth. this move givesa strong positive signal to investorsand global players interested in thetelematics business in korea. withmaturing business models and ahighly developed value chain, koreais on track to becoming a majortelematics player by the end of thedecade. domestic wireless operatorsand automakers are keen to rake inthe profits from this highly prospectivemarket opportunity.korea telematics Business association(kotBa) is a non-profitorganization established to encouragetelematics in korea. establishedin 2003, kotBa aims to standardizetelematics technologies and services.kotBa has about 60 membersincluding automakers, telecommunicationcompanies, terminal manufacturers,content providers andother telematics-related companies,research centers and universities activein the telematics industry.according to research and Markets,the low penetration of telematicsin korea, one of the top six passengercar manufacturing countriesin the world, has created greaterinterest among key players in the region.the market expects explosivegrowth over the coming few years,the agency thinks. the telematicsmarket in korea will be spurred byits robust infrastructure, especiallyits world-class wireless communicationtechnology and an extremely efficientand high-speed internet.korea boasts one of the highestbroadband and 3g penetration ratesin the world. as a leader in communications,korea also surpasses severalsuperior countries in convergence oftechnologies, voice recognition systemsand remote care diagnostics.service providers could also takeadvantage of these advanced technologiesto design and offer uniqueservices for their customers.aBi research expects that commercialtelematics in korea willshow very strong growth, accountingfor a high Cagr of between 38percent to 42 percent in subscribers,hardware shipments, and marketvalues.telematics industry in ChinaFollowing in the footsteps of thedeveloped countries, China steppedin to telematics services in 2009with the introduction of gM onstarand toyota g-Book. the industry ishopeful about the entry of the twomainstream auto brands in the telematicsmarket in China. however,the market is likely to witness toughcompetition in the coming years asmore players enter. to succeed inthis market, the automakers haveto seek local partners, apply newrules to the game and try innovativebusiness models. telematics will geta boost in the form of governmentsupport as it complies with the Chinesegovernment policy that mandatesgps devices on every publicand special-purpose vehicle.however, there are a number ofchallenges facing telematics in China.the country, with its varying economicand cultural conditions, poses agreat challenge to international playersentering the market. they have yetto identify the potential service areasthat would appeal to the mass marketin China. wireless carriers can play aContinued on PaGe 40APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 35AP-11 copy.indd 353/25/10 8:30:28 AM

itGreen teLeCoMis it socially beneficial?By N.k. Mathurwhat is Green telecom?all of us would like to stay close to nature, see greeneryaround us, feel freshness pervading our neighborhood.and how nice it would be to help nature comecloser to us. the telecom sector, or the iCt sector as awhole, should naturally play a role since iCt-dependentappliances are very close to us in our households aswell as in the workplace. this is where ‘green’ telecomsteps in. it implies that starting from the building to theequipment, machinery and the end product, not forgettingthe ancillaries, everything should be as ‘green’ asis feasible through our present state of knowledge. wecan be sure of one more aspect: our capabilities will certainlykeep on evolving and improving. it should also beappreciated at the outset that telecommunication andrelated industries play a vital role in two main streamsof our activity – in introducing carbon-reduction technologiesand in monitoring global warming. thus, wesee that telecom and the environment are interdependentand can work to assist each other.on the international Frontthe international telecommunication union (itu)has been emphasizing the need for the introductionof eco-friendly elements in all telecom and iCt-relatedequipment and services. a recent symposium on iCtsand climate change in Quito, ecuador, in july 2009, recommendedthat global efforts to combat climate changewould facilitate economic and social growth and alsothat the iCt sector must limit its own carbon footprint.it naturally follows that the increased use of ‘green’construction materials, renewable energy coupled with‘green’ purchasing policies and methodologies can providetangible assistance towards achieving the objectiveof ‘green telecom.’it is therefore necessary to call upon public and privateentities at the national as well as international levelto include in their activities and projects the analysisand study of the impact that telecommunications andiCts have on climate change.establishing ‘Green’ telecom systemsgoing by itu reports, the iCt sector contributes 2-2.5percent of the total global warming effects. these figureswould be much more important for countries likeindia and China where the iCt sector is becoming an integralpart of the economic development and, moreover,its growth is unprecedented.in india, as in many other neighboring countries, thetelecom networks are expanding in a phenomenal manner.urban and rural teledensity of 100 percent and 30percent respectively has been achieved in india with over500 million subscribers; the government is taking actionon several fronts to further increase the teledensityand penetration of broadband. it is expected that indiawill have 900 million mobile and 40 million broadbandsubscribers by the year 2012. similar action is afoot inmany other neighboring countries, correspondingly resultingin the exponential growth of telecom networksin the region.a holistic view shows that development and managementof green telecom systems should aim at makingthe following components green or as green as possiblewith today’s and tomorrow’s technologies:- materials and substances- operational cycle- waste disposal- r&d activitiesMaterials and substanceslet us look at building materials. the ‘green buildings’movement has already been going on for the pastfew years with the objective of some components beingdesigned as ‘net zero’ structures. the same philosophyis being adopted for telecom components with a specialemphasis being placed on achieving low heat dissipation.the trend is towards designing systems that do not needmuch cooling, air conditioning or heating and can operateat ambient temperatures. also, heating and coolingsystems are being designed to run on eco-friendly energysources. lighting has also undergone a sea change,with the arrival of CFl, liquid crystals and leds, whichconsume 1/10 of the energy of conventional systems.the energy Frontlet us look at the energy front, which is emerging as36 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 363/25/10 8:30:29 AM

the most important aspect to tack-le. it is obvious that the larger theequipment, the greater the energyrequirement. today, such energy– in excess of 1 kilowatt – is beingprovided by diesel generators, whichleave a large carbon footprint. More-over, the health hazards are consid-erable and these pervade the humanas well as animal kingdom. withthe awareness of our environmentgradually taking a firm hold in ourthinking, it follows that we must de-vise telecommunication systems insub-sets of a smaller size – spatiallyseparated – so that it is able to servea large area or a large population,and yet requires less energy than,say, 1 kilowatt at each location.the question of eco-friendly energysources has been under intenseconsideration by telecom professionalsall over the world. apart fromthe development of energy-efficienttechnology, power has been a majorproblem for rural telecommunicationsin india. recently, the departmentof telecommunications hasdecided to offer financial supportfrom the universal services obligationFund to telecom players usingrenewable sources of energy to powertheir base stations in rural areas.under certain conditions, it will givers 5 million per installation for mobiletowers running on solar or windor some other type of renewableenergy. Notwithstanding the usualgovernmental approach, this moveindicates the government’s thrusttowards providing affordable telecomfacilities in rural india. similarefforts are being made at variousfronts in neighboring asia-pacificcountries.the following eight approacheshave been considered in the past:1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.solar energywind energytidal / lunar energyscattered electromagneticenergy (Nokia is reported tohave utilized this for certainhandsets)pico hydelBiomassFuel cellother new technologiesthat might be developed infutureanother area of concern is theuse of the diesel engine-alternatorsets for running mobile systems particularlyin rural areas where commercialpower is available only for apart of the day. this naturally causesan enormous degradation of the environment.according to one estimate,india would require more than3,00,000 towers by the end of 2010,out of which about 80 percent wouldbe installed in rural areas. these willmount antennas and other associatedequipment for nearly 750,000base stations which are estimatedto consume about 16 billion litersof diesel a year. the annual carbonemission as a result thereof wouldbe about 40 million tons. in view ofthe explosive growth of mobile telephonyin india, by 2015 these figuresare likely to double. Climate changehas become a major policy issueglobally, because the rate at whichgreenhouse gas emissions are risingis exceeding the worst-case scenariosof environmental scientists. therefore,telecom policy should make itincumbent on rural operators to employclean energy sources.waste disposalhere it needs to be acknowledgedthat e-waste is a growing problem.efforts must be made to dispose ofmobile phones, computers, etc., inan environment-friendly mannerand to reduce and avoid the use oftoxic materials in the productionstage. the re-use of iCt equipmentalso needs to be encouraged. somemanufacturers have started invitingtheir consumers to deposit discardedpieces at specified locations,which is a healthy trend. and suchmeasures would also enable re-usein the most efficient manner.r&d activitiessome private operators in indiahave developed microcellular systemsrun by solar power. recently,the effort of one such company hasgained international recognition byreceiving “the wall street journaltechnology innovation award 2009.”such developments are likely takingplace in other neighboring countries,too. governments should supportsuch efforts so that india andthe region becomes an exporter ofclean technologies and thus contributesto the global efforts of reducingcarbon emissions, without affectingeconomic development. there arereports of energy-efficient enginealternators being developed for ruralareas. lightweight base stationarrays have been designed for ruralapplications.some emerging action Pointsin order to take care of the climateissues and arrive at green solutionsfor telecom systems, it wouldthus be necessary to initiate certainactions. First of all, the design ofthe rural network needs to be engineeredin such a way that energyrequirements are minimized. andfurthermore, the systems themselvesshould be eco-friendly alongthe lines indicated earlier. Networksdesigned for urban applications cannotbe retrofitted.Furthermore, insofar as rural areasare concerned, care should betaken to tailor the networks for thespecific needs of such areas. the ruralcustomer has, broadly speaking,two types of requirements. he needsto be in mobile contact all the timeand at home he needs to be able toget from his tV set, that is, in audiovisualformat, the information thathe needs for his business and entertainmentfor his family whereliteracy level might be a limitingfactor. we have to find eco-friendlysolutions to provide him with thesefacilities without contributing muchto the global carbon footprint. theelectronics installed in rural areasmust not require air conditioning,and suitable design features to improveenergy efficiency should beintroduced.there is a need for stringentnorms for energy efficiency, emissionsand carbon footprint, not onlyfor manufacturers, but also for operators.the type of approach mentionedin this article requires actionswhich are quite achievable and cansoon result in green telecommunications,with the least resource wastageand minimum environmentalimpact. such would be the conceptof a telecom professional who hasan eco friendly temperament.N.K. Mathur is a former adviser foroperations to the Telecom Commissionof India.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 37AP-11 copy.indd 373/25/10 8:30:30 AM

itBy arpaN BaNerjeeoday’s students aregrowing up in a digitalworld that utilizesa variety of hi-techtools, from computersand video gamesto increasingly sophisticated mobiledevices. schools and universitiesare following suit, integratinga range of technologies both in andoutside the classroom. let us lookat some exciting trends in today’seducation sector.Globalizationthe demand for higher education globally has increasedand will continue to grow. New campuses arebeing built and existing campuses are expanding. universitiesare competing internationally for resources,faculty, the best students and education funding.overseas expansion creates opportunities for studentsand faculty in terms of exchange programs andexpanded campus environments. China, india and theMiddle east have quickly become key areas for widespreadcampus growth. the learning model varies bycountry and institution, ranging from replicating thehome campus, to building local capacity, to participatingin faculty exchanges.these global learning environments give studentsan opportunity to expand their portfolios to include experiencethat is valued in today’s workforce. universities,in turn, use their foreign campuses to attract topresearch talent and build international relationships,establishing a global presence and helping develop localcapacity.information Literacyenhancing technical literacy and creating a culturethat encourages faculty to use computers, smart devicesand other innovative tools in their curricula is becominga top priority for colleges. From the perspective ofstudents, while they are device-savvy, they may not necessarilybe information savvy. in spite of growing upwith technology, many students have not learned howto use technology for academic purposes. universitiesare addressing this through a variety of methods andare creating a technology culture through a variety ofprograms such as support desks and student employmentprograms. the bottom-line is to ensure that studentsare viable candidates and are competitive in theglobal workplace.internet branding today is a viable way to market academicprograms to prospective students while enhancingthe school’s brand. universities are also establishingonline parties and networking websites for newly-admittedfreshmen, allowing them to interact virtuallywith campus services and the campus community beforethey start school. the presence of schools in virtualonline communities such as second life helps enhancethe brand. youtube’s education channels and itunes uare effective not only for teaching and learning, but alsofor marketing a university. to attract students, universitiesdevelop student-blogger programs, where currentstudents blog about their life at the university. someuniversities also have “fan pages” on Facebook to enablecommunications with incoming freshmen.38 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 383/25/10 8:30:32 AM

Mobilitystudents depend heavily on theirmobile phones and pdas these days.with the proliferation of mobilephones on campus, colleges everywhereare compelled to capitalize onfeature-rich phones that are capableof much more than just voice calls.adoption of the BlackBerry, iphoneand other smart devices that haveinternet access allows students andfaculty to perform a wide range ofassignments. tasks like administration,sharing class notes, downloadinglectures, instant messaging, etc.,are possible anywhere cell phoneservice is available.Mobile phones are also beingused to access computer files fromremote locations. with services likesoonr, students who have forgottento bring an assignment to class canuse their cell phone to access thecompleted work on their home computerand show it to the professor.Mobile applications such as twitterand Citysense help students schedulemeetings or study dates remotely.Mobile learning that uses pdasand smartphones to deliver courseware,field data, short tutorials andclassroom polls is also on the rise.new technology adoption – atrend in itselfsome of the biggest trends of todayinclude the emergence of web2.0 and social networking phenomenasuch as blogs and wikis, as wellas new online video repository anddelivery websites such as youtube,itunes u and Big think. the emergenceof smartphones such as theiphone and other intelligent deviceshas enhanced mobile learning(referred to as m-learning). thesetechnologies create new channelsfor content delivery, online videoexpansion and podcasting. also, theadoption of virtual reality websitessuch as second life has providedhigher-education institutions withnew venues for class gatherings andlearning.some popular web 2.0 tools are:Blogs: short for ‘web log,’ a blogis an online journal, which has awriter/creator and readers who serveas contributors and commentatorsthat help shape the dialogue. a typicalblog combines text, images andlinks to other blogs, web pages andother media related to its topic.Wikis: the best way to describe awiki is by giving the classic exampleof wikipedia, which is an online encyclopediathat is generated, validatedand maintained by users.Podcasts: series of digital mediafiles, which can be both audio and/or video.Mashups: similar to a portal, amashup is a newer, loosely-definedweb 2.0 technique for content aggregation.examples of popular consumermashups are google mapsand diggs.Social networking and communities:popular social networks likeFacebook, orkut, linkedin, used tobuild an online community of userswho share similar interests and/oractivities.a combination of these tools istransforming the traditional learningenvironment into somethingmore social and personalized. whiletraditional learning Managementsystems (lMs) like Blackboard orweb Ct are course-centered anddriven by faculty, the new approachis to create a ‘learner-centric’ system.universities continue to examineways in which they can integratethese tools to further enhance thecampus and learning experience andimprove productivity through flexiblelearning environments. Manyuniversities view technology as akey asset that helps them create anintellectually vibrant and relevantcampus to attract the best studentsand faculty.Learning and collaborationthe education process hasevolved over a period of time to collaborativelearning. web 2.0 and socialnetworking tools such as blogsand wikis and online social gatheringwebsites such as Flickr are enhancingand facilitating collaborativelearning and are being used widelyon many campuses. the delivery ofcontent has evolved dramatically, asmany professors opt to post all classmaterial including complete audioand/or video recordings of lectureson sites like itunes u and youtube.open source course-managementsystems such as Moodle and similarsystems on Facebook are some applicationsto support more content andstudent collaboration.Virtual meeting place tools likewebex, dimdim and gotomeetingare efficient web-based collaborationsolutions that help improveproductivity and decrease the needfor face-to-face communication andtravel. these tools simulate the visualcommunications that occur betweenstudents and teachers in thetraditional classroom setting.education and entertainmenthigher-education content and entertainment(edutainment) are sharinga common footprint these days.teachers are combining the twousing various videos that containboth educational and entertainmentvalue in podcasts and posting coursecontent on education channels. televisionbroadcasting companies suchas the BBC, MtV, NBC, and aBC arequickly developing methods to integratebroadcast media with highereducation. this trend supports themarked increase in the use of multimediadevices on college campuseswhere content is accessible notonly through computers, but alsothrough tVs and smartphones.in conclusion, technology willplay an increasing role in highereducation this century. the learningtechnology of today is being shapedwith the help of tools to create asocial, highly collaborative and personalizedenvironment. institutionswill adopt innovative solutions thatwill change the way students learn,communicate, produce, collaborateand study both on and off campus.Creating innovative services fromcur¬rent and future technologies requiresa powerful, reliable, expandableand secure it infrastructurethat has adequate bandwidth, qualityof service and storage. Many collegesand universities have alreadydeveloped plans to ensure successin meeting their current and futureneeds. educators, management andadministrators who are proactive inembracing the trends with the helpof the right technology partner arein a position to create significantcompetitive advantages.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 39AP-11 copy.indd 393/25/10 8:30:33 AM

ittelematicsbeyondnavigationFroM PaGe 35leading role in the Chinese telematicsmarket. in the coming years, theindustry will be active with partnershipsand investments.recently, korean telecommunicationsprovider sk telecom introducedthe Mobile in Vehicle (MiV)service in shanghai. the technologyenables the remote control ofvehicles via mobile phones. Comparedto traditional telematics services,MiV offers a lot of advantages.with MiV, telematics offers mobiletelecommunications technology,platform and content, representinga new concept of convergence serviceswhere customers can use theirmobile phones to diagnose andcontrol their cars, and use variousmultimedia services. the service iscompatible with both smart phonesand non-smart phones.sung-Chul hong, executive vicepresident and head of next internetbusiness division of sk telecomsaid, “the telematics service providedin the form of a package – offeringmobile telecommunicationstechnology, platform and contents– is promising. it can be used viaboth smart phones and non-smartphones, thereby making it highlycompatible with all types andbrands of automobiles worldwide.”sk telecom expects the promisingconvergence service marketworldwide, which combines informationand communicationstechnology with the automobile industry,to reach us$15.4 billion by2010. in 2007, sk telecom acquireda 65 percent stake in shenzhen e-eye high tech, a gps service companyin China for $15.21 million. thecompany initially plans to implementthe MiV-based security serviceon three or four kinds of automobilemade by toyota and honda andthen expand MiV to other brandsas well. More MiV services includ-ing remote vehicle diagnosis, shortcutintroduction based on real-timetraffic information, and playingmusic and video on mobile phonesvia the vehicle a/V system, will beintroduced successively, companyofficials said.telematics in Japanin japan, the government hasinitiated an intelligent transportsystem (its) to solve transportationproblems such as traffic accidentsand congestion through the use ofvehicle telematics technology. theNational police agency, the Ministryof international trade & industry,the Ministry of transport, theMinistry of posts & telecommunicationsand the Ministry of Constructionare working together toachieve the goals of its.one of the key focus areas of itsis Vehicle information and Communicationsystems (ViCs). under this,the one that immediately precededactual deployment is electronic tollCollection (etC) technology. etCenables vehicles to pass throughtollgates without stopping to paythe toll and without getting stuck inthe congestion at the tollgate. tollsare paid through credit cards. theservice is now available at almostall of the tollgates across japan.its is beneficial to the nation inmany ways. By providing up-to-theminuteinformation and alertingdrivers about possible hazards, ithelps reduce traffic and accidentson the road. additionally, it enablesdrivers to drive efficiently, eliminatingunnecessary accelerationand deceleration. all of these featureswill result in a reduction infuel consumption and carbon emissions,and ultimately significantcost savings. japan is aggressivelypreparing to complete the entirebasic infrastructure by 2010.aBi research had forecast thatin 2011 the aggregate japanesecommercial telematics marketwill reach $267 million, up froma 2006 level of just over $120 million,amounting to a Cagr of 17percent.telematics ChallengesCurrently in the nascent form,the telematics industry faces a numberof challenges, the most crucialamong them being the integrationof various data such as road andtraffic information, location-basedbusinesses, and other informationof particular interest to users. astandard infrastructure is essentialto provide the information via a singleand efficient source. the industryurgently needs private and publicsector investments to drive downthe costs of data accumulation andmanagement. they should organizewell to garner support from thegovernment to set up adequate telematicsinfrastructure including livetraffic information, antenna andcamera systems. telematics companiesalso have the responsibilityto educate end-users about the newtechnology and the added featuresthat provide them with safety, securityand emergency assistance. theyneed to train and recruit sales personnelto inform new vehicle buyerson the benefits of telematics.awareness created through thesemeans would drastically affect buyers’decisions.Looking Forwardgoing forward, telematics willspread to more areas like fleet management,emergency services andpublic utilities. with intense competitionin the logistics environment,freight carriers in japan, korea andChina are facing huge challenges inrelation to vehicle allocation andoperational management of trucks.Fleet management systems allowcarriers to achieve more efficientvehicle allocation and lower distributioncosts. Commercial telematicsmay also develop by includingemergency medical services (eMs),public transportation, car rentalsand municipal fleets.emerging telecommunicationstechnologies such as wiMaX andlte will further accelerate thegrowth of telematics in the asiapacificregion.40 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 403/25/10 8:30:34 AM

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My personal take is that such sessions need to bemanaged and run in-house since the internal communicatorhas a lot more context, better relationships andinsight into messages and key internal information.there are broadly three levels of content that employeesare interested in knowing – company, office and team.therefore, the content and approach needs to addressthe company’s plans and strategy, the office updates andteam events such as recognitions and performance updates.knowing how to conduct such sessions is a science,and i can safely say that i am still learning the ropes.however, based on my experiences with conductingsuch sessions at various indian and multinational organizations,what follows are some best practices that i amable to distill and share.recently, i was closely involved in championing a seriesof such sessions that aimed at getting powerful contentfused with even more compelling presentations.it is clear that any such exercise needs leadership maturityand the commitment of time and effort in orderto make a substantial impact. it takes a lot more energyand drive to inspire people to focus on the brand, theorganizational goals and how each one can partner tomake it successful.these sessions are coordinated to time with publicfacingand client-specific announcements. senior leadersfrom across locations deliver content real-time, enbusinessthe scienceof town hAllsAnd employeeAliGnmentBy aNiisu k. Verghese“town halls” or “allhands” sessions, if doneconsistently, are powerfulinternal communicationplatforms for organizationsto connect withemployees, share plans, engage inconversations and gauge feedback.some organizations invest a lotof time and attention into gettingthese interactions right and involveadvertising and event managementagencies to package the sessions as‘events,’ thereby creating a ‘wow’effect that will help audiences retainthe message.42 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 423/25/10 8:30:35 AM

Get feedback to get better at townhalls: i am a firm believer in gettingfeedback on the content, presentersand format of the sessions.suring everyone is on board withhow to go forward.i managed and witnessed numeroussuch sessions in my previousworkplaces, but nothing comparesto the passion and drive seen whenpeople rally together, speak thesame language and align to the samevision.here are my top recommendationswhile planning and executingthese sessions. one caveat – townhalls or leadership-employee interactionsare not a one-off exerciseand requires the commitment of theleadership to ensure continuity andconsistency.First the basics, then the jazz:always get the ‘who, what, when,where and how’ of communicationclarified up front. it is safer to setup a pre-event call and run a highlevel plan by senior leaders on theprocess of rollout. one of the commonmistakes i have observed isthat internal communication teamsinvest too much time in ‘creating’or ‘hyping’ the session as an eventrather than focusing on the contentand delivery. Finally, what matters iscontent and how employees perceiveit. a town hall or an all-hands is not“show-time,” but an opportunity fordialogue. remember, your employeesare sparing their valuable timeto come and listen to you – make itcount.what you say is what you mean:Very often (and unfortunately), i noticethe attention paid to developingkey messages is probably only about5 percent of the overall effort of runningtown halls. to me, it shouldideally take over 75 percent of yourtime to get the message right. ratherthan ‘recall’ your messages, itmakes more sense to get them rightthe first time. in key messages development,it important to understandcultural nuances so as to suit all geographies,locations and languages.in this specific rollout, effort takento include india-specific content andcase studies helped employees relatebetter. work out the ‘what’s in it forme’ perspective in every communication.plan your town hall strategy:planning is the most critical elementof successful town halls. Fromthe timing (avoiding sessions aroundholidays or close to long weekends)to the frequency (having one largesession or multiple sessions dependingon the nature of the content), itis essential to think through the processof running a town hall. just likethe way appropriate channels arecritical to reaching your audiences,similarly, it helps to place the rightpresenter with the relevant teamsyou are targeting. From my experience,i have found that employeesare able to relate to speakers whodirectly or indirectly affect theircareers, growth and performance.also, people are able to speak morefreely in smaller, close-knit groupsthey are familiar with.aligning your presenters: onceyour content package is ready, it isimportant to select speakers whocan deliver the messages and rallyemployees. while a single round ofsessions may only be the ‘start’ ofany conversation, understandingthe personalities of each presenteris useful. usually, a preparation callor meeting is driven by the internalcommunication team, briefing thepresenter or presenters on possiblequestions that employees may askalong with suitable talking points.packing a punch with your content:Create and make presentationmaterial and videos available forpresenters. they need all the ammunitionpossible to make an impact.From my experience, interspersingvideo content with slides adds themuch-needed stimulus and also allowsfor informed conversations.timing your communication:employees need sufficient lead-timeto plan their work and be preparedwith questions to ask. therefore,ensure the calendar invites are sentat least a week prior to the sessions.Be sure to tell employees that thetown hall schedules and venues maychange while the team continuesmapping the speakers’ and venue’savailability. if there is a possibility ofreleasing marketing-facing messages,ensure that you share them firstwith your employees before they hitthe press.Murphy’s law and other factors:Conducting town halls involves people,technology and communication.while we can control most of theseelements, factor in situations whereyour tools and resources may notfunction as planned. have suitableback-ups for presenters, equipmentand venues. invest time to test andverify that the systems work beforeyou engage your audiences. Most often,compatibility issues with projectors,microphones, sound systemsand laptops can cause a lot of hiccupsunless you test the set-up. on d-day,have a process for sending out the announcementsand reminders, trackingsession completion, conductingan exit poll and capturing questionsthat employees ask.get feedback to get better attown halls: i am a firm believer ingetting feedback on the content,presenters and format of the sessions.also, get feedback almost instantaneouslyso that your audiencecan recollect their thoughts easily.poll the presenters to understandwhat worked well and what neededfixing. this feedback enables internalcommunications to revisit theirplans, restructure content and includepositive changes for improvedcommunication.share your plans with your stakeholders:depending on the contentshared during your sessions, there isa possibility that other stakeholdersincluding new hires, partners, clients,agencies and alumni may needto be informed. again, to be consistent,the internal communicatorneeds to work with relevant stakeholdersto have suitable content forpresentations, websites, portals andinduction programs.Aniisu K. Verghese has over 11 years of experiencein the evolving internal communication arena,online media and corporate communications. Hecurrently works as an internal communication expertfor a global customer experience company,where he oversees employee communication for Indiaand the EU.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 43AP-11 copy.indd 433/25/10 8:30:36 AM

GreenCarbonarbitrationin KoreaBy aMaNda MiN ChuNg haNas carbon becomessynonymous withcash, more andmore carbon emissionsrelated projectsare launchedand announced. as you might expect,disputes over carbon emissionsprojects are also growing.recently, there was a very significant case in korea.it was the first arbitration case about carbon emissionstrade and caught the attention of lawyers and businesspeople alike. as of February 2010, there were no casesin litigation in korea.the incident traces back to 2004 when daegu City,korea district heating Corporation and taegu energy& environment Co. decided to work together to reusemethane gas from one of the largest landfills in korea,in Bangcheon-ri, a small town in daegu City.daegu had been troubled by the smells coming fromthe Bangcheon-ri landfill. residents continuously complainedabout the stink. the city badly needed to makea decision. the methane gas was the key – if the gas wasgone, the smell would also be gone. the city searchedfor a private company that would invest money to buildand operate a landfill gas-to-energy plant. the subsidiaryof daesung group, taegu energy & environment,signed the contract then constructed the plant by september2006 for a 23 billion won (us$20 million) investment.daegu City and taegu energy & environmentalso signed a contract on the supply of landfill methanegas with korea district heating Corporation. sincethe Bangcheon-ri landfill plant began commercial operationsin october 2006, the complaints from residentshave completely ended.the basic mechanism of the project is very simple.the plant captures and refines the methane gas fromthe landfill. daegu gets an annual payment for the useof the methane from taegu energy & environment.then, taegu energy & environment sells the refined gasto korea district heating Corporation, which uses thegas as fuel.this project was successful both economically andenvironmentally. Capturing and recycling methane gashas multiple benefits. as well as yielding energy andmoney, it also prevents a malodorous greenhouse gasfrom being released into the air.in 2008, taegu energy & environment sold 49 millioncubic meters of refined methane gas to korea districtheating Corporation, as well as generated 28 thousandskilowatts of electricity for a total of 6.3 billion won inannual sales, up from 5.9 billion won in 2007. daeguCity also got paid 512 million won from taegu energy &environment for the use of the methane. korea districtheating Corporation supplied heating to 10,000 householdsthrough methane gas instead of oil. that causedthe effect of saving 29,000 tons of fossil fuel.however, the honeymoon period was over when theplant was registered as a Clean development Mechanism(CdM) project with the united Nations Framework Conventionon Climate Change (uNFCCC) in august 2007. itwas the first case in which a korean local governmentregistered a CdM project. the uNFCCC issued Certifiedemission reductions (Cers) to daegu City, which assumedabout 11.7 billion korean won net profit for 21years when it applies the price of the Cers at 11 euro44 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 443/25/10 8:31:22 AM

per ton and an exchange rate 1,700 won per 1 euro. theuNFCCC issued 2.2 million tons of Cers and is likely toissue an additional 2.8 million tons of Cers to daeguCity.ironically, this big fortune led to disputes among thethree parties over the distribution proportion of the Cers.each party wanted to have a bigger portion of the annualCers, while daegu City insisted the majority of the Cerswere its own. however, daegu, which controls the project,confirmed only 1.15 percent for korea district heatingCorporation and 0.76 percent for taegu energy & environmentfor the cost of equipment and labor.korea district heating corporation insisted on receiving50 percent of the amount of Cers’ sales while taeguenergy & environment was asking for 30 percent ofthe sales. there was no precedent to use as a guidelineto judge the proportion. they tried to figure out whatwould be the best solution for all parties with less costand time. they agreed to file for arbitration rather thanlitigation, which is pricey and can take up to a few yearsdepending on the case.arbitration is an alternative way of producing impartialand fair resolutions to business disputes. But unlikelitigation, parties select their own place of arbitration,their own adjudicators and even their own arbitrationprocedure based on their specific needs as long as eachparty agrees to the procedure. arbitration is most commonlyused for the resolution of commercial disputes,particularly in the context of international commercialtransactions.each party, korea district heating Corporation, taeguenergy & environment and daegu City appointedkim & Chang, yulchon and Min & partners, respectively,as legal representatives. there were four hearings andthe arbitration proceedings lasted only four monthsuntil February 2010. the korean Commercial arbitrationBoard (kCaB) concluded that korea district heatingCorporation would receive 10.33 percent of the Cers,taegu energy & environment would get 1.16 percent,and daegu City 88.51 percent. kCaB appreciated an additional5 percent as an invisible contribution to koreadistrict heating Corporation because it constructed themethane gas boiler and hot water tanks as well as themethane gas recycling plant. taegu energy was recognizedfor its additional investment into the equipmentfor acquiring the Cers.even though the three parties were not fully satisfiedwith the result, they still agreed to accept the decision.Mr. seo jung-kil, an official at the environmentand greenery Bureau of daegu City said, “it was thefirst case over carbon emissions disputes. there were noprecedents to consider as a guideline.” he added, “sinceit was a joint venture, we wanted to find a reasonablesolution that could satisfy all of us. that is why we optedfor arbitration.”the public relations spokesperson for taegu energy& environment said, “as the leader of the landfill gas-toenergybusiness, we hope to contribute to utilize landfillgas economically and efficiently. also, we do our bestto reduce environmental pollution and to manage andoperate an environmentally friendly landfill.”according to the arbitration decision, korea districtheating Corporation took 10.33 percent of the annual400,000 ton of Cers, or about 41,000 tons annually. thecorporation expects an annual 550 million won in additionalprofit, or a total of 11.7 billion won for the 21years of the project. it also plans to invest the profit intogreenhouse gas reduction and renewable energy projects.Mr. roh tae-woo, public relations officer of koreadistrict heating Corporation said, “Besides this project,currently we plan to apply to register two more projectsas CdM projects. one project is using nematodeinfectedpine trees as a fuel for a cogeneration plant,which aims to reduce 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide peryear. another one is an lNg thermal power generationproject in hwaseong City. the corporation will do ourbest to reduce the greenhouse gases we emit as well asto live up to the korean government’s low-carbon, greengrowth policy.”Mr. ahn gun-hyung, an officer of the kCaB, explained,“Following the first case over carbon emissions,other parties have recently sought arbitration. i thinkdisputes between parties over carbon issues will increaseas carbon related projects grow.”Considering the new trend, the korean Carbon lawsociety (kCls) was established on Feb. 25, 2010. it wasan approach designed to meet the needs for new regulationto cover carbon emissions-related issues. professorkim sung-su of yonsei university’s school of law was appointedthe first chairman of the kCls. prof. kim saidat the inaugural meeting, “the conventional laws couldnot cover the issues of climate change, greenhouse gasesand carbon emissions. we need to study laws and regulationsfor environment, natural resources and energy.”a detailed legal approach to the current carbon emissionsissues was delivered at the meeting. according tothe presentation, different methods are used to settledisputes over carbon emissions trading globally. theemission reduction purchase agreement (erpa) of theworld Bank, widely used as a model contract for carbonemissions trading, states that disputes should be settledfollowing the rules of english law and uNCitral (unitedNations Commission on international trade law) arbitrationrules. if two parties fail to agree to a venueof arbitration, the place should be the united kingdomunder erpa.But the CdM erpa of the international emissionstrading association (ieta) doesn’t specify a governinglaw, so it is understood the disputing parties can choosethe law they wish. it also states the venue of arbitrationshould be at permanent Court arbitration.the kCaB’s ahn explained that there are no specificlaws or regulations that govern carbon emissions or carbontrading disputes as of yet. he added that as internationalcarbon trade and commerce increases amongthe nations of the world, it is an inevitable fact that disputeswill rise as well. as these transactions grow morecomplex, it becomes increasingly important to resolvedisputes and conflicts as quickly, efficiently and formativelyas possible.“however, litigation can be costly, time-consumingand lead to a permanent breakdown in business relationships.i strongly believe that arbitration can be thebest alternative to litigation over carbon trading relatedissues. arbitration is the most commonly used form ofdispute resolution in business transactions as well,” ahnsaid.APRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 45AP-11 copy.indd 453/25/10 8:31:45 AM

interviewrara jeonThe following is an interview between Asia-Pacific Business andTechnology Report and Rara Jeon, CEO of Barnet & Company.Question: can you please tell us know alittle bit about your company, such as a briefhistory, for the benefit of our readers?answer: Barnet & Company, exhibition & Convention,was founded in 2005, and provides export marketing,consulting, trade services, and education servicesas a knowledge services specialist company. in otherwords, we provide overseas network services for smalland medium-sized companies so that they can go intooverseas markets. we help them meet overseas buyersby providing planning and consulting, and offer informationabout variousspecialized internationalexhibitions. we help companieswith trade supportservices, bridging domesticand foreign businessesfor international trade.in addition, we provideemployment-related educationand job retrainingfor workers by offeringvarious training programsand certificate programs.For example, comparedto a manufacturer thatusually needs 5-8 employeesto make one millionwon in sales annually, mycompany, a knowledgeservice provider, needsto hire 20-30 employees.Barnet & Company can offermore employment opportunitiesto people whowant to have a job. Now,the korean government islooking at diverse ways tocreate more jobs becausethe unemployment rate isa serious issue in korea.that is why i might say mycompany is significantlycontributing to society as a knowledge service provider.Q: what is your business philosophy? whoare your main business role models?a: i often hear some business owners say that theywant to do “a business that can make some money”when someone asks what kind of business they want todo. it is a joke, but it could be an honest answer for anybusinessperson. i also have to worry about the company’soperating costs and many things. however, i alwaystry to keep in mind the fact that i will run a businessthat not only can create profits, but also contribute toand serve society.i see some Ceos run their business with a philosophythat i want to follow. one would be sung-joo kim,the Chairwoman and Ceo of sungjoo group and MCMholdings ag. she is known for her active involvementin non-profit charities and cultural organizations forsupporting humanitarian causes. the other would beCostco’s Ceo james d. sinegal. Costco’s stock keepsgoing up and revenues of the company continue togrow. however, Ceo jamesd. sinegal wears a plainnametag, answers his ownphone and has an officeat the company headquarterswithout walls. the examplesof two Ceos showmany things about theirbusiness philosophy withoutmany words.Q: what are the coreareas of business ofyour company? whatimportant areas are youplanning to add in thefuture?a: our company’s coretechnology is how to trainand create brains, a workforce,for the near future.the brains will predictupcoming industry, createprofessional plansfor international conventionsand help companiesengage in internationaltrade.i would say that it / Bt/ Nt / et / st / gt (greentechnology) are hot areasin the industry, but soonpeople technology (pt) will lead the industry. all aspectsof industry such as the design of merchandise andlifestyles are more focused on humans than anythingelse. korea, especially poor in natural resources, has tofocus on human resources. Barnet & Company createda joint venture with a company from india, a countrywith powerful brains and technologies.the Comprehensive economic partnership agreement(Cepa) between korea and india became effectiveon january 1, 2010. it will create a strategic trading partnerrelationship between korea and india. it will also46 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 463/25/10 8:31:47 AM

some scientists who specialize in the future say therewill be a time when women will lead the world soon.women are very detail-oriented. i think it will helpto better understand 21st century consumers.create more business opportunities for Barnet & Company.the first and best way to become a global company isto secure global talents. Barnet & Company opened thedoor for that and will help other companies do globalbusinesses.Q: korea is emerging as a global hub ofbusiness. in this changing scenario, what isthe future of global marketing and networking?a: south korea has more applied technologies thanthe core technologies. korea uses the resources, energyand technology from other countries and createsa whole new product that can surprise the world. theconcept of a global village has been known for a longtime, but there are only a few companies applying itto business and taking advantage of it. if you comparethe apple iphone and the samsung smart phone, youwill know the difference. the apple iphone’s success ismade not by the people working at apple, but by applicationdevelopers from all over the world because thedevelopers create the applications for the iphone andthe applications make the phone successful. Meanwhile,even though samsung’s smart phone is a great pieceof technology, it was only created by the employees atsamsung. that makes a huge difference. a company ora country can perform better when it cooperates withother companies or countries. we need to go see andwork with the experts of the world. For example, mobilephones can be designed in israel, get hardware fromtaiwan and software from the united states and obtainthe applications from the world. global sourcing will bemore important for business in the future.Q: please also let us know about your exhibition& convention business area. what arethe important conferences and seminars youhave organized in the past? what are the importantconferences you’re planning to organizein the near future?a: i have been working in the field of conventions andexhibitions for over 10 years. i think i have made the rightcareer choice for myself. i have had many chances to travelaround the world and i earned experience and knowledgeacross multiple industries. working in conventions and exhibitionsis not limited to simply organizing the event, butAPRIL 2010 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | 47AP-11 copy.indd 473/25/10 8:31:52 AM

it includes communicatingwith companies tohelp them go to foreignmarkets, overseas exhibitionsand trade meetings.without having theknowledge and informationabout the worldmarket and business, itis really difficult to workin the convention andexhibition business.to help small andmedium-sized companiesexpand their overseasoperations, Barnett & Company introduces worldrenownedinternational exhibitions to the companiesand helps them to participate in the exhibitions. wehave partnerships with the convention organizers, sowe can better support the companies. in addition, Forkorean exporters that want to have business meetingswith overseas buyers, we do convention planning andconvention operation by creating consultation meeting,corporate visits and company ir.Barnet & Company offered consultations to many domesticcompanies and helped them exhibit at the shanghaiit road show, uae ubiquitous Conference, tokyo Biotechnologyindustry trade Meeting and the Magic Fashionshow in las Vegas. the companies had opportunities tomeet with overseas buyers and to make deals.during the international-india Film Festival scheduledin june as well as the g-20 summit scheduled forNovember, we will try to organize some other eventsthat can create a synergy effect. the two events could begreat opportunities for the MiCe industry to emerge andgrow. to organize and hold large-scale summits like theg20 or other global conventions in korea, the governmentneeds to build national competitiveness and thecompanies in the convention sector have to steadily developtheir capabilities.Q: your company has a special relationshipwith india. what are your plans for the indianmarket?a: a company should be insightful and have a vision.Barnet & Company is aiming for the indian market withover 1.2 billion people. Barnet & Company will promotethe trade in human resources and materials betweenkorea and india. the indian international Film Festivalscheduled for june will be a great opportunity not onlyfor the film industries of korea and india, but also forthe travel industry and others. we are planning manyevents and conventions related to the film festival.Q: your companies have partnerships withcompanies from all over the world. please tellus about your business partnerships in otherparts of the world and what kinds of businessthey are doing.a: Barnet & Company has had global partnershipswith leading international companies including the capitalfinance group samper Ventures in the united states,the trading company js global in the united states thatdoes exhibition, convention, marketing and trading,and our arab partnerin the Middle east for ajV project in the past.Q: korea is amale-dominatedsociety. as a youngkorean woman entrepreneur,whatare the main problemsyou have toface in doing businessin korea?a: i often get similarquestions when i aminterviewed. i can’t say that there is no prejudice or difficultiesfor a businesswoman in korea. however, if i hada chance to be born one more time, i would still wantto be a businesswoman. if i go to a business meetingor conference, usually there are relatively fewer womenthan men. when a businesswoman says something, itgets more attention and has more impact on the audience.i think that could be one of my advantages as abusinesswoman.some scientists who specialize in the future say therewill be a time when women will lead the world soon.women are very detail-oriented. i think it will help tobetter understand 21st century consumers. the significantpart of decision making in daily consumptionis done by women. For example, women decide whichclothes, car, house and even movie tickets to buy. womenwill play a more critical role not only as consumers,but also as producers in society.Q: what important steps would you like tosuggest the korean government take to improvethe working environment for koreanwomen entrepreneurs and those working inthe corporate sector?a: i don’t want to ask for a special benefit for womenentrepreneurs. however, i’d like to see more social facilitiesthat provide services for all married women, sothat they can give birth to a child and raise the child ina more comfortable situation.Q: what is your take on the future of thekorean economy and what are the importantissues that the korean economy is facing today?a: the low birthrate and the aging population arebecoming huge social problems in the near future. researcherswho study the future predict that the populationof korea could be only 500,000 in the year 2300.we will need a young workforce to lead economic activityin the near future. Not only the government, buteveryone in korea should consider the importance ofhaving children. even though the current governmentencourages families to have more children by offeringmaternity subsidies and other benefits when a newbaby is born, we need to come up with more practicaland useful ways to promote more births. i’d like to emphasizeagain the importance of raising the birthratefor the future of korea.48 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 483/25/10 8:32:06 AM

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By rajiV kuMarlast month i wentback to seoul after26 years. the city istransformed and so is theeconomy.Lessons from Koreathe Government And businesses of indiAstill do not seem to work toGethertowArds A common nAtionAl purposein 1984,when i visitedthe export processingzones,Masan and iricontributed atleast 60 percentof southkorea’s totalexports. pos-Co had beenestablishedas a public sector company to takeon established global giants and, despitehaving to import 100 percentof its raw materials, out-competedall of them by relying on the latesttechnology, economies of scale andabove all, sheer, hard work and dedication.at the same time, korea wasreaching full employment levels byfuriously expanding labor-intensiveexports. the question arose in mymind, “if korea could successfullycombine the latest technology withlarge-scale employment generation,could we do it as well?”the most striking memory from26 years ago is of having lunch withthe president of the Federation ofkorean industries, the organizationof the korean chaebols, who, like thejapanese zaibatsus, worked closelywith their respective governmentsto create industrial juggernauts. iasked the president, a wise old man,most gracious in his hospitality toa young researcher, what the mainlessons were for india from the koreanexperience in industrialization.he gave me three nuggets that haveremained with me since.First, he said, countries and/or their firms cannot succeed in afiercely competitive global economy(this was in 1984) unless industryand government worked closely togetherto achieve national goals.second, developing countriesshould not be unduly concernedabout national pride and nationalbrands as long as they can generatethe necessary employment fora young workforce by successfullyattracting the necessary technologyand foreign direct investment (Fdi).But they should not forget that bothregaining national pride and buildingnational brands are worthy goalsto be achieved over time. the koreansin their pragmatism had handedover Masan largely to firms fromjapan, a country that had colonizedkorea not so long before and hadbroken down the gate of their emperor’spalace so that it did not facein an auspicious direction. (Quiterightly, the koreans are restoring itto its original location ahead of theg-20 summit in November.)third, remember that any countryis only as good as its humancapital. he cited with approval theefforts of his friend prof. Choi, thefounder of the korea advanced instituteof science and technology (nowkaist) to bring korean researchersback from the united states by payingthem higher salaries than werebeing paid at that time either to seniorbureaucrats or corporate managers.and as we know, prof. Choisucceeded brilliantly. korea hasemerged as a leader in several frontlinetechnologies and now competesthrough product innovation and nolonger as a low-cost producer.have we learned these simplelessons in india? i am afraid not. thegovernment and industry, thoughnot mutually suspicious anymore,still do not seem to work togetherwith a common national purpose.For example, maximizing employmentgeneration can be a commongoal for the government and industry.in this case, special economiczones, which have already generatedlarge-scale employment, willhopefully not remain controversial.the criterion for making landavailable on a priority basis shouldthen become a minimum numberof jobs generated per unit of land.all restrictions, except on strategicgrounds, would be removed on Fdiwhen it is seen to generate employment.there is, of course, give and takebetween the government and industry.But it is often non-transparentand perceived to be largely for private,not national, purposes. thiscan change if industry decides tomake the government accountableand not continue to act as a supplicantseeking favors. But for that,industry has to achieve even greatersocial legitimacy by paying its taxeshonestly, not cutting regulatory corners,and generating employmentand lowering prices when it can.it has to be seen by the people asworking for national goals and notonly for maximizing personal consumptionand ostentation.unlike korea, we have still notrecognized the importance of attractingback our human capital. instead,we celebrate whenever a person ofindian origin earns global recognition.this is a loser’s pride! giventhat indian higher education systemis hardly producing any globallycomparableresearchers, the onlyway forward is to attract talent backfrom abroad as seed capital. indianindustry can play a major role byletting charity begin at home ratherthan donating millions of dollars toforeign universities.Moreover, it should be recognizedby all those concerned that talentwill not be attracted only becauseof a love for the motherland or fora possible entry into policymaking,as increasingly difficult as it is. researchersneed living and workingconditions comparable to the onesthey are giving up. it is time we paidattention to these issues. For once,we can learn from pakistan, wherein 2006, the government announcededucation pay scales that, in purchasingpower parity terms, are betterthan those obtained in most advancedeconomies.Rajiv Kumar is director & CE of ICRIER, NewDelhi, India. These are his personnel views.Acknowledgment: This column was first printedin ‘Mint,’ a newspaper in India, and is being reproducedhere with the permission of the author.50 | A-P BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY REPORT | APRIL 2010AP-11 copy.indd 503/25/10 8:32:27 AM

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