There was a time when Disaster Recovery was mostly for companies running extremely mission critical applications like banks and stock exchanges. But then every business needs to have a DR strategy in place. As we've seen in recent years, natural disasters can lead to long-term downtime. Because earthquakes, hurricanes, snow storms, or other events can put datacenters and other corporate facilities out of commission for a while, it's vital that companies have in place a comprehensive disaster recovery (DR) plan.Unfortunately, current DR services come either at a very high cost or with weak guarantees about the amount of data lost and time required in restarting operations after a failure. However, with cloud computing and virtualisation opening up a plethora of opportunities, business enterprises are discovering that a lot of applications can be availed as services, DR being no exception.This has resulted in the emerging model of delivering Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) or DR as a cloud service or DR on demand. DRaaS as a model is gaining popularity among enterprises mainly due to its pay-as-you-go pricing model that can lower costs, and use of automated virtual platforms that can minimize the recovery time after a failure.According to a recent IDC survey, data center managers are expected to allocate nearly 50 per cent of their budgets to running services in the cloud (public and private) by 2013. As a result cloud revolution continues, it's also becoming increasingly clear that more and more applications will be delivered "as a service.A recent report on Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service also highlighted the negative impact of downtime on mid-sized companies and how DRaaS can be of any help to them. It also reported that Mid - sized enterprises have the highest number of downtime events as compared to other enterprises, about twice the number when compared to small enterprises and about 17% greater than large enterprises. Mid-sized organizations appeared to be gaining the IT complexity of large enterprises but don't have the financial and staffing resources of large companies to manage it.Today, cloud-based DR is poised to shake up legacy approaches and has offered IT infrastructure and operations professionals a compelling alternative. Writing and testing a disaster recovery plan is one of the key elements of business continuity management. Traditionally business continuity and disaster recovery (DR) planning have always been separated between the business and the information technology department. It has long been recognised that this 'divide' creates more problems than it solvesBusiness continuity involves planning for keeping all aspects of a business functioning in the midst of disruptive events, disaster recovery mainly focuses on the IT or technology systems that support business functions. IT systems have become increasingly critical to the smooth operation of a company, and arguably the economy as a whole, the importance of ensuring the continued operation of those systems, and their rapid recovery, has increased.Today, organizations may elect to use an outsourced disaster recovery provider to provide a stand-by site and systems rather than using their own remote facilities, increasingly via cloud computing. With cloud computing and virtualization opening up a plethora of opportunities, business enterprises are discovering that a lot of applications can be availed as services, DR being no exception. Although the concept - and some of the products and services - of cloud-based disaster recovery (DR) is still nascent, some companies, especially smaller or mid-sized organisations, are discovering and starting to leverage cloud services for DR. Cloud based DR can be an attractive alternative for companies that are strapped for IT resources because the usage-based cost of cloud services is well suited for DR where the secondary infrastructure is parked and idling most of the time. Having DR sites in the cloud reduces the need for data center space, IT infrastructure and IT resources, which leads to significant cost reductions, enabling smaller companies to deploy disaster recovery options that were previously only found in larger enterprises.The Benefits of Cloud-based DR can facilitate disaster recovery by significantly lowering costs, cloud resources can quickly be added with fine granularity and have costs that scale smoothly without requiring large upfront investments. The cloud platform manages and maintains the DR servers and storage devices, lowering IT costs and reducing the impact of failures at the disaster site.The cloud's pay-as-you go pricing model significantly lowers costs due to the different level of resources required before and during a disaster. While evaluating disaster recovery as a service, there are some aspects which a company should check internally, as well as other factors which it should check with the service provider such asRedundant Internet Connections: The service provider must ensure that there are multiple network feeds from multiple carriers to maximum uptime with no single-point data transmission bottlenecks to or from the data centre.Business Continuity: All the data from primary data centres must be mirrored, replicated and synchronized in the secondary data centre.Continuous Monitoring: The Data Centre infrastructure must employ numerous intrusion detection systems (IDS) to identify malicious traffic attempting to access its networks.Backup Power Systems: The tier IV data center facility offers clients' uninterrupted power from two different power plants.This ensures that a problem from one plant does not affect the functioning of your business.Sunil Dara, VP - Information Technology, EMKOR Solutions Limited
Read More
We live in times where you need to do very little to be accused of a serious crime. For example, if you are one of the overwhelming majority of jet set corporate hot shots who cut-copy-paste to save time as they move the decision making process through the corporate jungle, the chances are pretty good that you have infringed on someone’s copyright. The real questions are these: when is this cut-copy-paste artistry illegal and what consequences flow from doing it. To get a sense of perspective into this, I will answer the second question first. The consequence can be severe. If you cause the owner of the copyright to lose money, you have to compensate him for it. In countries where damages are awarded to make an example out of the law breaker and long prison sentences are imposed, this is a huge deal. To understand how huge, recall the case of Aaron Swartz who was arrested by MIT police because he downloaded academic articles from the JSTOR digital library and then got hit with charges carrying a cumulative maximum penalty of a million dollars in fines and 35 years in prison. Two years after his arrest, on Jan 11, 2013, he hanged himself. When you cut copy paste, you don’t know whose copyright you are infringing. What happens to you on your next trip to America may come as a surprise to you.In India, no one cares half a rat’s hind about civil cases because courts only compensate for actual damage caused which is likely to be limited at best. The criminal law consequence is more serious. If you knowingly infringe or abet the infringement of a copyright in a work, you can be punished with jail for a period not less than six months but for as much as three years and you could also be ordered to pay a file of between Rs. 50k up to 2 lakhs.Okay, now that I hopefully have your attention, let’s talk about what is an infringement of a copyright! Short answer is this: it is illegal to copy anyone’s copyright material at all except when it constitutes what is, in law, called “fair use”. It’s a simple principle. If you take my book and quote something in it on Facebook (please do!), clearly, you are fairly using it. If instead, you extract an entire paragraph and use it in another article you are writing, so long as you acknowledge my authorship, that is okay too. But if you photocopy entire chapters and start circulating them to your friends, you are skating on very thin ice. How many of us have photocopied entire reports from experts and used them as supporting material for presentations to boards, in training workshops, or as reference material for an upcoming event? Maybe you have done this at an event that had a participation fee: like a conference you were addressing to build your brand. Do you think that you have no problem because you are just the talking head and it’s the organiser that is collecting participation fees? Houston, do we have a problem?Ask poor old Rameshwari Photocopy Services because he thought he had the bases covered. This guy was licensed by the Delhi School of Economics to photocopy “course packs” which included selected chapters from a number of copyrighted textbooks. The Universities Presses of Oxford and Cambridge was not amused at all because their customers were buying these packs, not their text books. Rameshwari tried to hide behind his D School license. D School in turn threw Rameshwari to the wolves, saying maybe they made a mistake but they are really good guys and never intended to violate any laws. Lost in all this was any right that students may have to get a decent education at a half decent price. Unfortunately, this kind of argument doesn’t fly for a corporate honcho projecting himself to his superiors, colleagues or community so I will kiss it goodbye right here. But there is data here you could use. This case was last heard on May 8th, 2013. The copyright owners have argued that Rameshwari needs to take out a reprographics license from the Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation (IRRO), a body of publishers, which is generally computed as a percentage of revenue. You could do this too, in which case, you can photocopy upto ten per cent of a text book. There are a bunch of other limitations attached to this license so you have to figure if you can take advantage of this or not. I would doubt that you can: the corporate environment doesn’t give you time to get licenses so it’s back to fair use for you.I will summarise fair use law for your reference. If you are caught copying someone else’s work, the court is basically going to ask three questions: (a) what was the purpose and character of the use, (b) how much of the copyrighted work did you use? and (c) what is the impact of your activity on the potential market where this work is sells. These are subjective tests: results vary with the personality of the court hearing the case, but on one subject, we can all be clear: if you copy parts of my book to sell its chapters to someone else, the knives are out for your throat. No, I need to qualify that. There is an exception. In the 2011 decision of the Delhi High Court in Super Cassette Industries, the Delhi High Court said that commercial use of a copyrighted work does not itself make it unfair. There’s has to be more. That more is substance.The truth is that many cases of copyright violations are what lawyers call deminimus which is gobbledygook for “the minimum”. When you make photocopies of a cartoon and distribute it to friends at the Old Boys School meet, or when you burn a DVD of “Gangs of Wassaypur” and give it to a friend, or when you take a picture of AtulBakshi’s next glass installation and use it as a wall paper on your sexy new mobile, it’s not that you are not violating the owners copyright. You are, but the law still won’t come looking for you because of the de Minimus principle. The maxim basically means that some violations are chickenfeed and the law will not resolve petty disputes.In recent years, with the rising cases of copyright violations, this principle is acquiring huge importance. Courts nowl test the facts against five criterion to decide whether your actions are de minimus or not: (a) what was the size and type of the harm, (b) what is the cost of adjudicating it, (c) what is the purpose of the violated legal obligation, (d) what is the effect on the legal rights of third parties, and (e) what did you intend when you violated this copyright. For sure, we are back in subjective country so being careful is the smart play in town.Rajshree Chandra, author of the seminal work ‘Knowledge as Property” and one of India’s leading conscience keeps in the IPR space has, in the context, drawn attention to the larger philosophical issue blowing in the wind. She believes that laws are always open to moral disputes but she argues that laws must serve both private interest and the purpose of social justice. In her view, when the right to private Intellectual property (and bear in mind that property is at best a very weak right in India) is used to defeat social good as in health and education, the balance every society should achieve between private and public interest is tilted too far over. What is the social utility of IPR protection when it prevents the dissemination of knowledge? She argues that if IPR laws do not answer this basic question, they abdicate all moral responsibility. The answer seems simpler when you look at poor students thirsting for a realistically priced education. What would you say when you look instead at corporate hotshots preparing presentations?Frankly, I don’t see the distinction too well. We have been so indoctrinated into the absolutely inviolable sanctity of IPR that we don’t stop to ask basic questions; questions about the ever greening of patents so that companies can rip of terminally ill patients; questions about movies that want five rupees fromeach impoverished farmers to provide a couple of hours of escapist fare so that producers can pay Crores to artists who star in them; questions about being forced to buy ten songs in a compact disc because you want just one.We should ask such questions, whatever our answers. India needs trained manpower. If you take someone’s course book and photocopy part of it to train up a couple of hundred youngsters so that they can contribute to a growing economy, you would be entitled to ask the law to weigh the youngsters’ right to this education against the loss to the owner instead of protecting the owner and the devil take the rest. But that is not where the law is today. Given where the world is headed, that’s not where the law will be tomorrow either. Where does that leave you with your 'cut copy pasting'? Not in a very good place methinks. If you are making marginal use of a small proportion of material to benefit a small audience in a more or less private clubby environment, I’d say that you are pretty okay. When you take the same material and start to train up rather larger batches of kids within your organisation, I’d say you were running close to the edge. But when you take more than a little of the same material and start to hand it out at paid conferences and workshops, I’d say you had better run and take cover.(The author is managing partner of the Gurgaon-based corporate law firm N South. He is the author of “Winning Legal Wars” and “Bullshit Quotient: Decoding India’s corporate, social and legal Fine Print”. He can be contacted at rcd@nsouthlaw.com).
Read More
The mood in Africa is changing for the better. This was palpable at the World Economic Forum summit on Africa at Cape Town. For years policy makers and business leaders have underlined the need for investing in infrastructure of African countries. This thought overshadowed the deceades old strategy of extracting from Africa but not giving back. The conversation has now moved to the next level. Nobody argues about the need for infrastructure. Debates are now about what to do and how to do it. The WEF on Africa saw intense discussions on identifying the nuts and bolts of building economic and social infrastructure.This was an enriching experience since many global corporations shared their experiences on what works and what doesn't in Africa. Experiences and experiments of launching projects is now helping policy makers revise their framework. New models of financing and structuring projects are being evaluated. For instance, the role of local funds and government support is now seen as a critical element of financing a project. So far, multilateral institutions would give grants or aid for projects. Many of these did not see light of day since local leaders were not agnostic to the success. The money lost in the project did not hurt leaders of the countries. The involvement of local funds and government finance means that regional communities have a stake in the success of the projects. So the success rate of projects is increasing. It also helps that the new political leadership in most African countries is focussing on development like never before. Some countries like South Africa and Nigeria have evolved to a new level of maturity. Instead of focussing on individual projects, they are launching development programmes that include scores of individual projects. South Africa has a National Infrastructure Plan that consists of 18 Strategic integrated projects which on their part include more than 150 individual projects. So the focus on one plan ensures that many projects are implemented. For governments, it is easier to track one programme and not many individual projects. Over $93 billion of investment is needed for infrastructure. Thankfully a lot of private funds are pouring in but there is a still a gap of about $34 billion. More money will come once new financing and implementation plans are formulated. Many new initiatives involve policy collaboration between global, private and government agencies. For instance African Development Bank along with WEF and African Union Commission have developed methodology for governments to engage private enterprise for infrastructure. Such efforts will enhance capability within government to prioritise and implement projects with higher efficiency and lower costs. Expect a speedy ramp up of infrastructure soon. (Pranjal Sharma is a senior business writer. He can be contacted at pranjalx@gmail.com)
Read More
It is estimated that there are as many as 4,500 Indian companies present in Singapore whoo have invested $ 14.11 billion between 2008-09 and 2011-12 in Singapore, according to the RBI. As the International Director (Asia Pacific) of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Lee Eng Keat oversees EDB's engagement of companies in the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and Oceania (central islands of the Pacific Ocean). In an email interview with BW| Businessworld Online's Alokita Datta, Keat talks about why India Inc can benefit from establishing a corporate head office in Singapore, cementing trade links between the two countries, the fillip to R&D activity in pharma and biotechnology as well as the possible investment opportunities where Indian companies should cash in . What are the competitive advantages Singapore offers (as opposed to other countries in the region) to an Indian company setting up their Asian headquarter?Singapore offers a pro-business trusted environment from which Indian companies can manage their international business. It provides the necessary financial infrastructure to manage Indian companies' international financing requirements. The business environment is built upon policy transparency and a strong legal framework. Finally, its location, strong air and sea links and extensive network of double taxation avoidance agreements and free trade agreements facilitates Asian companies accessing global markets and vice versa. As an international financial hub, Singapore offers sophisticated financing solutions, backed by strong financial infrastructure that allows fund raising and support from international banks. Singapore is AAA rated which in turn lowers the cost of trade financingRecently, the Singapore branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has been appointed as a clearing house for renminbi (RMB). Singapore is therefore the 2nd clearing centre for the Renminbi, This will enable Singapore's financial centre to play a useful role in facilitating greater use of the RMB for trade and investment in the region. As Indian companies seek to tap the Chinese market, Singapore will be a gateway to facilitate their investments.Singapore is also seen as a neutral location for arbitration (an estimated 25 per cent of disputes heard by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre are between 2 companies of Indian origin), which is why companies from around the region are willing to use Singapore as the seat of arbitration for the contracts that they sign.With respect to business connectivity, Singapore's vast treaty network of 69 DTAs, 35 IGAs and 18 FTAs (with 6 upcoming) benefits companies. This encourages companies to use the country as a hub for trading their goods and services. It also serves as a base to hold and manage their international investments.While many Indian firms continue to be present in Singapore, how many of them focus R&D activities in Singapore? Indian IT companies partner their clients and Singapore research institutions and universities to establish R&D teams that develop globally-exportable solutions. These companies invest in new technology areas, for instance, big data, analytics and mobility or build up vertical domain expertise in Singapore to differentiate themselves globally. Some examples include: Tata Consultancy Services'(TCS) has their Asia-Pacific HQ (which employs 500 people), Banking Technology Centre of Excellence and a partnership with SMU for an (intelligent city) iCity lab to develop new standards for urban development. HCL Technologies set up its Global Enterprise Mobility Lab in Singapore, doubling its headcount in 18 months.L&T Infotech had opened its Wealth Management CoE to develop new technologies for its BFSI clients.In the pharmaceuticals and biotech sector, companies can partner Singapore institutions for innovative development of new medicines, formulation capabilities and drug delivery mechanisms. Singapore has invested heavily in Asia-prevalent diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, gastric cancer and dengue (these include 5 translational clinical research flagship programmes of S$25 million each over 5 years). As some of these diseases have a high incidence in Indians, leading Indian pharmaceutical companies have expressed interest to work with Singapore clinical institutions to develop new drugs for these diseases.Would you then say that pharmaceutical and healthcare is one of the major new sectors attracting investment from India in Singapore?Increasingly, as Indian pharmaceutical and biomedical companies seek to develop innovative or branded medicines, and to penetrate new global markets, Singapore's track record of manufacturing high quality medicines, having a pool of global R&D talent located in world-class research infrastructure, and a strong IP regime to protect key R&D outcomes, gives companies the confidence to internationalise through Singapore. The booming growth of the Asian markets has also encouraged global pharmaceutical and consumer business companies to look towards Singapore as a location to develop and manufacture products for Asian markets. Some global examples include: Amgen's $ 200 million biologics manufacturing plant, pioneering state-of-the-art disposables production technology and its first plant in Asia, Novartis' $ 500 million biologics production site based on cell culture technology and GlaxoSmithKline-A*STAR collaboration on evidence-based formulations -medicines for emerging markets. Bilcare, a Pune-based pharmaceutical packaging company, also conducts R&D for micro- and nano-based smart tags in Singapore.How successful have Indian companies been in establishing trade links with Asian countries operating from Singapore?The Indian business community here adds to the diverse cosmopolitan business network in Singapore. It facilitates greater investment and trade links between India and Singapore. They are the largest foreign business community in Singapore. Singapore-India total bilateral trade reached S$29.8 billion in 2012. Singapore is the second largest investor in India while India was Singapore's 10th largest trading partner in 2012. Singapore is India's largest trading partner in ASEAN. It accounts for one-third of the total trade between ASEAN and India.Singapore's investments in India are mainly in services, petroleum and natural gas, computer software & hardware and telecoms sectors. Conversely, India's FDI into Singapore reached S$23.8 billion (2011), mainly in financial services, manufacturing and telecoms services. India is one of SG's top 10th largest investors. As at December 2011, there are over 5,000 registered Indian companies in Singapore, spanning diverse clusters from IT services to manufacturing. They form one of the largest foreign corporate contingents in Singapore. The business relationship between India and Singapore took on a new dimension after the signing of India's first ever Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore (CECA) in June 2005.Many Indian companies have grown their business in Singapore through M&A Activity. How successful a strategy has that been in your opinion?Mergers and acquisitions, if well executed, help companies shorten the time required to acquire new markets, assets and / or technology. Some companies such as Tata Steel, Punj Lloyd and Ramky have been able to undertake successful M&As. In light of the M&A trend, not just in Singapore but in the region, EDB offers the Mergers & Acquisitions Scheme, providing an allowance of 5 per cent of the value of acquisition, subject to a maximum of $5 million for each year of assessment. It also provides deductibility of transaction costs and stamp duty relief. EDB's approval is required for the waiver of the condition that the ultimate holding company for the group must be incorporated and tax resident in Singapore. Coupled with the availability of financial assistance and a strong legal infrastructure, Singapore has become a choice location both for orchestrating M&A activities as well as for M&A targets.Through acquisition, Indian companies have tapped on Singapore businesses to access new markets, especially Asia, such as: Marico's acquisition of Singapore-based skin care solutions company Derma-Rx to expand its product portfolio and network and Wipro's acquisition of LD Waxson Group for US$144M to access its skincare and healthcare products in Asia.How has the presence of Indian companies in Singapore helped in local recruitment and innovation?In Singapore, Companies can recruit a diverse pool of global and Asian talent such as Chinese engineers, Indian infocom professionals and Filipino creative designers and integrate their diverse strengths or deploy out of Singapore. In the last 7-8 years, we have deliberately built up Singapore as a Home for Talent, attracting the leading quality educational institutions such as INSEAD Business School and ESSEC to set up a presence hereWhich are some of the major countries (besides India) to have set up operations in Singapore over the last 5 years or so? Are there many countries from Asia doing so as well?Singapore's inbound FDI increased to S$672.0 billion (2011) from S$629.8 billion (2010). In 2011, the US made the record investment of S$77.9 billion this year followed by Netherlands ($66.3 billion), the UK ($55.9 billion) and Japan ($52.5 billion).Investments from Asia Pacific have also gone up in 2011 as companies choose Singapore to be an ideal platform to expand their footprints in the global. Investment from rest of Asia in Singapore has gone up to S$161.9 billion (2011) from S$153.3 billion (2010). After Japan, which invested S$52.5 billion (2011), India was the largest FDI contributor at S$23.8 billion (2011).In your opinion, which are some of the sectors where Indian companies should think of investing in Singapore in the near future?Singapore is traditionally an IT and telecom hub, where companies value Singapore's talent pool and good infrastructure — such as data centres, data management hubs and high speeds of connectivity around the region — strong competencies in areas such as mobility, enterprise and analytics.In addition, urbanisation and the rise in income of the middle class has boosted the growth of this sector in the region and this is motivating global leaders such as P&G and Unilever to build up their presence in Singapore to access the Asian markets. On top of this, the government is also investing to build pan-Asian consumer insights capabilities to support the creation of new products for these growing markets through detailed analysis of trends and consumption patterns (e.g. through the newly-inaugurated Institute of Asian Consumer Insights). Many Indian companies are venturing overseas to secure upstream resources such as coal mines as well as plantations. Given Singapore's Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements with a number of resource rich countries in Asia, many of use Singapore as a base to invest and manage these upstream resources. These companies are also tapping Singapore's financial infrastructure to facilitate their international trade and project financing requirements.
Read More
Amir Kassaei fought as a child soldier in the Iran-Iraq war, before taking refuge in Austria. Now as the worldwide chief creative officer for advertising giant DDB, Kassaei sits in the hallowed precincts of Madison Avenue in a cabin that old timers say is still inhabited by the ghost of advertising legend Bill Bernbach.For more than seven decades, ad agency Leo Burnett has been the driving force behind many of the world’s strongest creative ideas. But the agency’s current worldwide chairman and CEO Tom Bernardin believes that his job is, “to ensure that we never think we’ve ‘arrived,’ that we keep reinventing ourselves and, in today’s world, that we all know there is no time to rest”.Both Bernardin and Kassaei were in India recently for Goafest 2013, the country’s primary advertising festival. In an exclusive session moderated by BW Businessworld's Prasad Sangameshwaran, two of the greatest advertising minds interview each other for Businessworld. Excerpts:Tom Bernardin: I Have been fortunate in my career to work with extremely talented creatives. What is the most valuable thing you look for in a partnership with the account management team?Amir Kassaei: at the end of the day if you define creativity in the right way, everybody in theKassaei: Looking at where technology is heading will be a big challengeagency should be creative. In terms of coming up with the right solutions for their client’s business, even people who are working in the account management should see themselves as an equal partner in terms of creativity. Then, as you say, the job of account management guys is changing a lot. Looking at the challenges the industry is facing, they should transform themselves to be business consultants. What I mean is, their understanding of the client’s business should be deeper to enable them to come up with insights and perspectives to help the client’s business. This is kind of a mix between a planner and an account guy. That would be a big transformation, but that has to happen if the ad agency has to make a comeback as an equal partner for its clients. A lot of great account people have a mix of all the qualities – they are great creatives, great motivators, great salesmen and they are great clients because they have to anticipate a lot of stuff. So at the end of the day, creativity is a team sport. It’s becoming more of a team sport because we have to collaborate with a lot of people outside the industry. Looking at where technology is heading will be a big challenge, because as an industry we are not used to that. We are still like everything inside the agency is great. We are not quite getting what happens outside. You cannot have all the experts and all the expertise under one roof. That could challenge us also as an industry.Amir Kassaei: What are the challenges for industry in the upcoming years?Tom Bernardin: You know what I am going to say probably. The quest for getting the best talent is the biggest challenge. Today more than ever there has never been a higher value based on creativity. But now they are all after the same thing which is talent. That’s one of the biggest challenges, because not only we have to reach for each other’s talent, our clients are after our talent too. We are losing our people to other industries, we are trying to grab people from other industries and bring them to our industry.Tom Bernardin: How would you address the challenge that we all face together, the pressure from clients they want more from less, faster cheaper. That puts more pressure on us on how to go after talent. Do you have a magic answer for that?Amir Kassaei: No. I don’t. But I think our challenge is also about how we are regarded as the truthful and valuable partners who are adding value to their business and can be measured for what we are doing. If we do that it will change the way we do business where we will be paid for our ideas and innovation that we are adding to the client’s business. That will help to invest into our talent. But for that we have a lot of homework to do as an industry to gain back this reputation which was there when giants like Bill Bernbach and Leo Burnett ran the business several decades back. I would not say we lost it.Amir Kassaei: Big Data is the next big buzzword that everyone in the industry is talking about. What’s your point of view on that?Bernardin: Data fuels creativityTom Bernardin: Data, and all the definitions of that, used to be a scary negative term in a creative business like ours. All that data now means something. What data means in its simplest form is how to get a better connect with people on a one-to-one basis. Data fuels creativity.Amir Kassei: If you were to start all over again would you still consider gettinginto the advertising industry?Tom Bernardin: I wouldAmir Kassei: And why?Tom Bernardin:: Because it’s fun. It’s an industry that opens up doors to so many different kinds of experiences. So many different kinds of cultures, brands and products. It’s different every single day. and that’s what I love about it. I lover interacting with people, I love helping people match their talents with what they are good at.Tom Bernardin: And you?Amir Kassei: Yes, I think so. I started as a client. I would do advertising all over again for exactly the same reasons that you mentioned. Advertising is a fascinating industry. You are starting every day as a new day. Even if you are twenty or thirty years in the business, you will still have to learn, every day.
Read More
Organisations are not homogenous in terms of their existence. A range of social forces, including increasing social responsibility within business, mutual trust emerging as a form of economic efficiency, and a diversification of lifestyles and ambitions, driven by globalisation, increasing choice, an ageing population, and the decline of old allegiances to religion, politics and class are all affecting the shape of modern organisations. Traditional selection criteria, based on the experience of markets, strategies or technologies will always be relevant to what companies seek from their leaders and will drive pay structures and levels. However, the ability of companies and remuneration committees to understand the particular context of their organisation, their executives, and their environment will increasingly become of preeminent importance.Executive compensation is not just about data analytics, but there are contextual factors involved, such as markets, strategy, culture, and ambitions that are important determinants of executive pay. While analysing top executives' compensation data, we ran a regression between the Hay Level (proxy for job contour in terms of scope, scale, size, complexity, etc.) and Total Cost To Company (total compensation), across 158 companies. We wanted to investigate the one-size-fits-all philosophy: As the Hay Level increases; will there be a commensurate pay increase?We found a co-relation of 0.26, which indicates that besides organisation contour and scope, there are other factors that drive CEO compensation.If different company environments require different leaders, then it may be necessary to tailor pay packages too. We have identified the business contexts in 5 themes, based on the India report and our global research on executive compensation.Context 1: The CarersCompanies that operate in an environment of 'social capitalism', offer the opportunity to use social and environmental consciousness to create a powerful employee and customer brand. The ideal executives in these enterprises will be values-driven communicators. They will understand that their brand must face both the consumer and employment markets and use ethical principles as a source of competitive advantage in both.In addition, they will offer both customers and employees a sense of belonging by extending their trust and building a distinctly co-operative culture. Their underlying philosophy is that "the company exists to boost the community and the economy". The Tata Group or the Godrej Group would be present-day exemplars. Pay in this environment needs to reflect the ideals of the organization. Simple metrics such as EPS growth add value for owners but long-term value is delivered through a more complex variety of factors than earnings growth alone. Short-term pay in particular needs to contain 'soft measures' that corporate governance gurus may find challenging.Context 2: The ContractorsCompanies that operate in an environment of contractors and fluid alliances, where the goal is to make the most of professional expertise and ensure that it skips to their tune. The ideal executives will be corporate fixers. They will have a practical - sometimes cynical - insight into people's motivations, combined with a hard edge, to extract maximum value from contracts and to terminate them when required. Their basic philosophy is "I know a man who can". A good present-day example would be the selection of the CEO of Welspun Corp by private equity firm Apollo Management. The focus was on the value the CEO will bring and monetizing the same while defining CEO compensation. (Source: mydigitalfc.com, August 22, 2012)Pay in this environment needs to be focussed on the much longer-term than is normal; thus private equity style arrangements in a listed environment can work here.Context 3: The InternationalistsCompanies that operate in an environment of global commerce, where only true multinationals can play. The ideal executives for these enterprises will be chameleons - comfortable with complexity and masters of responsiveness to cultures, trends, and markets. They will leverage their brands, operational strength, and global networks to keep their organizations ahead of the game. They believe, simply, that there are "the quick and the dead". CEOs of MNCs such as Unilever, HSBC, etc. are examples of CEOs operating in this context. Pay in this environment needs to be truly global, highly focussed and to reward for acquisitions and disposals. Big strategies need big pay ideas. Context 4: The FundamentalistsCompanies that operate in what was once a secure environment of stability populated by large, successful companies that have learnt to innovate while retaining a sense of continuity. The ideal executives for this environment will be corporate conservationists. The will have a strong sense of their organization's history and evolution and recognize the risks of radical change. They will embrace sustainable change and innovation but never at the cost of the company's identity. Their philosophy is to "grow the new in the presence of the old".Marico is a good example. The focus of Marico is innovation in the beauty and wellness space and driving growth, fundamentally by leveraging on the company's legacy. Legacy is not a bad word here.Pay in this environment needs to achieve a balance between the short- and long-term. Short-term earnings are important, as their rate of growth will drive share price, but the importance of growth in new territories or areas of business must also command attention.Context 5: The CultivatorsCompanies that operate in an environment of start-ups and transient enterprises. This is an environment dominated by ideas and the choreography of talent. The ideal executives in these enterprises will be corporate storytellers. They will have a golden idea and spin a compelling story to investors, the media, and employees, inspiring them with their energy and willingness to take risks. Their underlying philosophy is "go big or go home". India's first no-frills airline entrepreneur; as well as current CEOs of the online selling portals: Flipkart, Jabong, and Quikr are good examples of cultivators.Pay in this environment needs to be dynamic, it needs to be at risk, and it needs to reward at levels that the current corporate governance environment might frown on.The above five contexts explain our premise that businesses are different, strategies differ, and CEOs and their teams are rarely the same from company to company; therefore, executive compensation cannot have a "one-size-fits-all" approach. As a result, defining the top executives' compensation philosophy and quantum should be a combination of data as well as contexts and the environment. Essentially, context/environment plus data analytics equals business-aligned and robust top executive pay decisions.The author is director and rewards practice leader in Hay Group India
Read More
Russell Adams, VP-Commercial Operations and Cricket Academy, Royal Challengers Bangalore, speaks on marketing strategies and social media plans for IPL 2013What kind of marketing strategies have you put in place for IPL 6? How is it any different from the previous IPL seasons? It is not different but further enhanced. Organic digital marketing focus through Royalchallengers.com, Liveinstyle.com and a radio tie up with Fever FM in Bangalore. Our Green campaign continues to be a huge success and we will join forces (excuse the pun) with our Sahara Force India Formula One drivers. How are you recreating the buzz in a format that's facing the risk of looking a bit tired... falling TRPs being just one indicator? IPL buzz is primarily driven by marketing actions of the broadcaster and the title sponsor / central sponsors. This year the buzz is being generated through the marketing campaign launched by Sony ('Sirf Dekhna Nahi') and the Title sponsor Pepsi. Further after five years we are beginning to see team loyalty being built, this along-with close finishes and the quality of cricket will drive viewership and buzz. In this respect, IPL has does amazingly well when compared to other leagues in the world. As far as RCB is concerned, we are happy to reinvent, challenge and promote our all year round life style positioning of the brand. RCB is not only about IPL. We go beyond cricket through various group initiatives throughout the year and therefore the buzz remains for all our loyal fans. Could you elaborate a bit on your advertising strategies as well? As a team our focus is on delivering on field performance, and fulfilling sponsorship commitments. Further, we are seeking to build ticket and merchandising revenue by focussing on the consumer buying experience online and improving consumer experience in stadium. For a sports team building revenues is about addressing two drivers (1) fan loyalty (especially amongst the right socio economic strata) and (2) building service capabilities to deliver consumer and sponsor delight. Reach of the team is driven through the broadcast and our sponsors. Our expectation for IPL 6 is to play great cricket (The RCB Way) and to keep our fans updated and informed in real time. Tell us abut the the social media initiatives and strategies planned for your team? How do you plan to go up the next level in order to increase your fan growth rate? Social Media is only one aspect of our digital strategy. In RCB, we focus on web presence optimisation (WPO) with the underlying thought that content is critical for any fan engagement and this content is consumed across multiple platforms. RCB already has a large following and it is growing daily organically and through interactive content blocks. I believe it is because we have a passionate chairman, a squad of quality players and their performance on and off the field excites our fans. We will continue to raise the bar though through cutting edge new initiatives. We recently launched RCB Diva. A campaign conducted by RCB women for women. Our players all sport twitter handles and this is showcased through our green match. Our stadiums are wi-fi enabled so that fans can upload content directly into our RCB Live Stream on the website.Also, this season our tickets are enriched with AR codes to enhance user experience – he/she can see a 3D model of the stadium with rich interactive features. A first-of-a-kind initiative by any IPL team. Gate collections have always been the frontrunner revenue generator for a team. How have you distributed the price structure for every level of audience? We spent time listening to our supporters/fans and value their feedback. This season we implemented a revised centralised ticketing infrastructure model. We offer very affordable pricing at entry level (Rs 385) and very affordable hospitality level pricing starting from Rs 3,300 to Rs 33,000. Furthermore, our tickets are easily available through various retail outlets (Reebok, Shoppers Stop, 1MG/Garuda malls etc) in the city. What are the main revenue channels that you would be focusing on? What is the main stream of branding for your team? Ticket sales and merchandising. However, we also began a process last year where we opened our inventory to external partners for the first time. RCB are able to offer potential partners great value because we are an all-year-round lifestyle brand. You will notice that major brands like Pepsi, Axe, Flying Machine, Reebok are part of the RCB family. We also have licensing opportunities and wonderful brands like Washington Apples, TK Sports and Figureactive have seen value in being associated with RCB. How many advertising spots have you assigned to your team uniforms? Could you also name them? We have 10 spots on our playing kit. I am delighted to say that all the spots are sold for 2013. McDowell's No 1 Soda takes pride of place on the front of the jersey and our headwear (side and back) with Royal Challenge Sports Gear on the top right chest position and at the back of the jersey. Axe and White Mischief Beachwear are on the non-lead arm and Kingfisher Mineral Water on the lead arm. Pepsi is on the leading trouser leg position and Flying Machine on the non-lead leg.businessworldonline (at) gmail (dot) com
Read More
The proposed corporate social responsibility (CSR) clauses and disclosure norms meant for greater transparency and accountability in the new Companies Bill may be a matter of debate for the Indian corporate, but over 200 companies registered in the country have pledged solidarity with a global initiative meant to bring about sustainable and responsible business practices among companies and governments.The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), a policy platform and a practical framework for companies that are committed to such practices, in a meeting convened in New Delhi on April 9, have asked its members to collaborate with the governments to curb corruption and establish good governance practices. The grouping has more than 7,000 corporate signatories, including 299 Indian entities, as its members.The “global call to action” launched by UNGC seeks mobilisation of the private sector against corruption. “In order for global development efforts to benefit the poor as well as empower ethical players, business leaders are asked to urge governments to promote anti-corruption measures and to establish systems of good governance worldwide”, UNGC stated.“As the Millennium Development Goals 2015 deadline approaches, the United Nations is working to develop a new global development framework, and business has a central role to play. Corruption presents the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development around the world, by placing considerable and costly impacts on the private sector. To prevent future development priorities from being undermined by corruption, it is critical to integrate good governance and anti-corruption into the Post-2015 Development Agenda”, it said.The call to action to governments from the private sector on anti-corruption and the Post-2015 development agenda targets Global Compact business participants to join forces with governments and to encourage them to create enabling environments for more robust disclosure, transparency and enforcement mechanisms that contribute to sustainable development – particularly in the area of public procurement. As part of a year-long global campaign, the Call to Action seeks to showcase the private sector’s commitment to transparency and anti-corruption as new global development priorities are established.Global Compact Local Networks in India, Nigeria, Egypt, and Germany – many of which are already engaged in anti-corruption collective action projects – expressed support for the Call to Action and are helping to galvanise business leaders in favour of ethical corporate practices.“Corruption distorts markets, undermines development and makes business unsustainable. It is time for businesses to showcase their commitment to bring this critical global challenge into the centre of global development debates.”UNGC seeks to align business operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals. With more than 7,000 corporate signatories in over 140 countries, it is the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative.Of the 299 Indian signatories, close to 50 have not updated their latest activities towards this larger goal and hence is in the “non communicative” list of the agency.Indian corporates that are active include companies like Infosys, Indian Oil Corporation, several Tata Group entities and Sterlite Industries, academic institutions such as Birla Institute of Management and Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode and trade bodies lilke CII and Ficci.
Read More
