Systems Continuum:
The theme of the event was 'The Evolution of IT in the Changing Macroeconomic Scenario' and was attended by executives from companies like Google, Yahoo, eBay, BMC software, Alcatel-Lucent, Virtusa and Headstrong.
The event started with an inaugural speech by Prof Ms Karuna Jain, HOD, SJMSOM. This was followed by a key note address by Mr Prasad Ram, head of R&D; at Google India on 'Role of Innovation in IT'. He spoke about building an innovative organisation by hiring the best and focusing on users not competition and illustrated the same by several innovations like the personalized iGoogle homepage in India, Gmail basic html page for bandwidth starved India, transliteration and Google maps, amongst others. He stressed on the importance of the 20% rule at Google which led to the development of products like Google News and Google Scholar.
Mr Pankaj Dhume, VP Global Practices, BMC Software spoke on the 'Future of India based R&D; captive centres'. He spoke on how innovation is the key to the future of R&D; units and that India offers immense opportunities for innovation. This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Prof NL Sarda, Dept of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Bombay and had Mr. Pankaj Dhume, VP Global Practices, BMC Software, Mr. Akhil Agarwal, Vice President, Virtusa (India), Mr. Anurag Singh, VP Headstrong as panelists. The topic of discussion was 'Maintaining Competitive advantage amidst challenges from other technology destinations'.
The post lunch session saw a talk by Mr Rajan Mehra, country manager of eBay India. He spoke on 'Leveraging international e-business strategies for Indian customers'. He specifically mentioned GenY which has radically different preferences on the net and the sudden explosion of the touch points in the form of mobile and desktop applications which reach the living room. Keyword search is no longer the exclusive form of search. With the dawn of the video age, communication and to some extent even buying is happening through video; however the biggest challenge is the low Broadband penetration in India which is inhibiting the extensive use of video. He ended by saying that trends indicate more media and retail companies would get into e-commerce.
This was followed by Mr Pranesh Anthapur, COO, Yahoo! India speaking on the topic of 'Impact of Rupee appreciation on Indian IT and new business drivers in the current scenario'. He spoke on how to negate the impact of the rising rupee in the short and long-term.
The event ended with a talk by Mr Vivek Mohan, Country Head, Alcatel-Lucent India. Mr Vivek Mohan quelled any fears of an IT crisis in India in the wake of the dollar depreciation. Contrary to popular belief, he questioned the validity of the business model of cost arbitrage, and a talented pool of sharp people who could quickly pickup the support of a project from an on-site location. That model, though successful for some time, has now started to break down. He said that a new business model focusing on the domestic market will be the next step for IT companies in India.
Consulting Continuum:
The theme of the event was 'The restructuring of organizations to make the most of India's current growth scenario'. This continuum was attended by consultants from Accenture, Protiviti, Strategic Decision Group, Technopak and KPMG. Along with the students of SJMSOM, the event was attended by about 40 participants from six business schools around Mumbai.
The event started with an address by Prof. Atanu Ghosh of Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, who introduced the topic and explained to the student how consultants practice the teaching of SJMSOM, to solve real life problems and explaining the lure of the consulting. Following that was the introductory speech by Mr Sadeesh Raghavan, Managing Partner Accenture Business Consulting. He stressed on the role companies in emerging economies, something he specializes in, and how today's world is not a cluster of discrete islands but a multi polar world. Going deeper into the topic he explained the traditional approach to restructuring and also on the M & A route of growth and restructuring. He also shared the insights into the culture at Accenture and how a consultant's life, which seems to be filled with CEO meets and field visits, actually requires immense homework.
The next speaker was Mr Adithya Bhat, Director of Protiviti Consulting. He said that when it comes to comparing India and China, India is lesser exposed to global recession than the latter because India has bigger consumer base at home and is relatively less export driven. Citing his personal experience of the merger of Arthur Anderson and E &Y;, he elaborated on the role of consultants in a restructuring deal.
The next talk was delivered by Mr Manish Chheda, Associate Director, Strategic Decisions Group. Mr. Chheda spoke on the restructuring needs of organizations from the top management's perspective
Post Lunch saw a presentation from Amol Deshpande, Associate Director, Technopak. He explained the role of a consultant by playing a small game. He stressed on the point that a consultant is not just one who shows the direction but also partners the company. Starting from the contemporary business cycle, he explained the impact of various decisions taken by a consultant on the future of the company. Later taking the case of retail industry, he gave great insights into the recent retail phenomenon. Last speaker for the day was Mr. Shaswat Sharma, Associate Director, KPMG. Mr. Sharma, stressed on the importance of approach that a consultant should dwell upon. He said that the most difficult and important task is to ask the right questions.
Next was a panel discussion with the panelist as Mr Sadeesh Raghvan, Mr. amol Deshpande and Mr. Shaswat Sharma and moderated by Prof. Atanu Ghosh. In the panel discussion the audience was asked to shoot questions straight away. Last in the day, was a case study workshop conducted by Prof Atanu Ghosh. This workshop attracted a lot of participation from the whole audience.
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