CIO & LEADER-Issue-01-April 2018 (1)

EDITORIAL
Shyamanuja Das
shyamanuja.das@9dot9.in
What
makes
them
tango?
T
“A real big
factor—and
arguably what
has changed
the game—is
the hyperscale
cloud providers
like Amazon,
Microsoft and
IBM bringing in
their partners."
The cover story this time focuses on how the
Indian corporates are working with start-ups
to derive business value, resulting in a winwin
for both.
But before you go to the hows, it is not a bad
idea to start with the whys—the imperatives of
what has made this change—being talked
about for long; but finally happening on the
ground only now.
So, why are large Indian companies putting
that extra effort to work with the start-ups now?
It is fashionable. Well, do not get shocked I
put it first. While it may not be the No 1 reason
while taking the final decision on a start-up collaborative
journey, it is often the No 1 reason to
get interested. Being part of the community, you
know quite well that this community is quite
hype driven. And start-ups are the current
hype. My apologies if this sounds
really mean. Let us go to some more
‘logical’ reasons.
Only start-ups can offer some of
the emerging technologies. Like it or
not, many of the new technologies such
as AI, machine learning, advanced
analytics, IoT and their applications
to specific verticals are available only
with the start-ups.
Start-ups are willing to walk that
extra mile. For a large enterprise user,
start-ups are keen to do the tweaking to
their solutions based on the actual need.
Both from business and reference point of view, it
makes tremendous business sense.
The cloud platforms are felicitating it. Another
real big factor—and arguably what has changed the
game—is the hyperscale cloud providers like Amazon,
Micosoft and IBM bringing in their partners.
Cloud has impacted the game in more ways than
one. It has ensured that a start-up focuses on its core
innovation and quickly plugs in horizontal APIs like
UX, security, analytics, even AI-based bots, already
available on the same cloud. So, go-to-market for the
solution is quicker and easier.
Cloud has minimized the needs of integration.
Earlier, a stand-alone solution required a lot of integration
services around itself, which was often not
available easily.
Finally, a cloud-based solution comes with the backing
of a big name. That gives a feeling of assurance.
Yet, the collaboration that is happening is still in
an experimental stage. If Indian enterprises accelerate
their transformation journey, they will continue
to need the start-ups. If that slows down for some
reason, the partnerships may be impacted too
April 2018 | CIO&LEADER
1