Force Motors, the Pune based automaker has finally launched its much awaited sports utility vehicle (SUV), Force One, at a price tag of Rs 10.65 lakh (ex showroom Delhi). This is the first time that the company forayed into the SUV segment. Based on a 2.2 litre Mercedes diesel engine, the SUV is built with 70-75 per cent local content. "We plan to sell 4,000 units in the first year and 8,000-9000 units in the second year," says managing director, Prasan Firodia, Force Motors at the conference.Force One will be position between Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari and will be available for sale from 1 September in the country. At present the company has 22 dealerships across the country and it will further expand its dealership network to 44 by mid-2012. The automaker also has plans to introduce two more variants of the Force One SUV by end of 2012. The Force One will be produced in the company's Pithampur plant in Madhya Pradesh. The company has so far invested Rs 150 crore to build the manufacturing facility. At present the plant has an annual capacity of 12,000 units, it could be further expanded to 18,000-20,000 units. The automaker plans to spend another Rs 40 crore for developing a sales and backup network and promotional activities. Force Motors has also roped in Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan as their brand ambassador. The company is otherwise selling brands such as Traveller, Trump and Trax in the light commercial vehicle segment. It also has a joint venture with Germany's MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG to make heavy trucks.The company plans to introduce a multi-purpose vehicle in 2012 and a second SUV in 2013. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the number of utility vehicles sales rose to 107,518 units for the period April-July this year from 99,705 units last year - an 8 per cent jump.
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Japan's Kyocera Mita Corp says its India subsidiary will buy copier division of Kilburn Office Automation Ltd (KOAL) in an all cash deal for an undisclosed amount. The transaction, which is expected to be completed by August 31, will help Kyocera enhance its national presence by taking over Kilburn's 100 dealers and 15 offices across the country. Kyocera India currently has 4 offices in India.Kilburn, which markets and services photocopier, multi-functional products and printers in India, has been a distributor for Kyocera for the last 18-19 years. Given the strong competition from established players in this domain; Kilburn's copier business had failed to show a healthy growth. So the company decided to sell it off so as to focus on its other businesses."This (copier) is an area where Kyocera's growth plans and our growth plans did not really match because we are competing against all multinationals whether Ricoh, Canon or Xerox," said S. K. Jalan of KOAL. "Copier is a product where you don't make money on the hardware but on the repeat sales. There is a lag in terms of returns so if you have to meet the expectation there is a lot of investment required and we are a relatively small company," Jalan added.According to KOAL, it was unable to meet Kyocera's growth plans in India. Kilburn posted revenue of about Rs 60 crore last financial of which 55 per cent came from its copier segment. However, the margins were pretty low in the segment and the competition was fierce, according to the company.Kilburn now plans to focus on its banking and mailing segment where it has reasonably higher market share. Also as the migration from traditional old machines to digital machines takes place in the mailing business, Kilburn sees good opportunity for itself in the space.Kilburn which went through a rough patch in last 8-10 years has about Rs 16 crore of debt in its books and plans to repay a part of it from the money it receives from this sale.Kyocera expects the acquisition to help achieve its aim of reaching the top in India's printers and multifunctional printers industry.Kyocera plans to triple its current sales by 2014 (FY 2013) in China, India, Korea and ASEAN countries, said M Higuchi, President, Kyocera Mita Asia.Kyocera Mita India too plans to enhance its revenue by 5 times by 2016. The company currently has Rs 70 crore of revenue.
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In a study —"New Waves of Growth in India: Unlocking Opportunities"—Accenture identifies three key trends that hold enormous promise for India in the decade ahead. These are the emerging-markets surge, the rise of new technologies and the burgeoning resource economy. Paul Gosling, Managing Director of Accenture's Management Consulting growth platform, Asia Pacific talks to Businessworld's Anup Jayaram about India's opportunity to position itself as an international hub of investment, human capital and innovation. Excerpts:India is pushing ahead in investment, human capital and innovations. Do Indian business models have a market in other countries?India is at the forefront of the surge in emerging-markets. Over the last decade, India's exports to emerging markets as a share of total exports has risen from 35 per cent in 2000 to 52 per cent in 2010. According to our research and analysis, the emerging-markets surge could add about 28.2 million jobs in India by 2020. In addition, services, low-cost business models, infrastructure development, focus on middle classes and medical tourism could enhance India's GDP by Rs 7 trillion ($15.4 billion) by 2020, an increase of 4.9 per cent above the current trajectory. From manufacturing the cheapest car in the world to providing low-cost mobile handsets, India has emerged as a laboratory. A number of Indian companies are using their knowledge to strengthen operations in other emerging countries. Bajaj Auto trained roadside mechanics in Angola to fix their bikes, because many parts of Angola could not support a proper dealer and service-centre network. To develop and sell products in emerging economies, Indian companies are adopting local approaches to product development and marketing. When Dabur International was set up in 2001, the objective was to get closer to its Indian-origin customers in the Middle East. Today, almost 90 per cent of Dabur's customers are locals-not the Indian diaspora. The company's proximity to non-Indian consumers enabled it to adapt its products to locals' needs and aspirations. The company not only modified existing products' formulations, it also created new products exclusively for these markets.Do you see opportunities for India in emerging markets? Which countries and sectors should India focus on? There are enormous opportunities for Indian businesses in other emerging markets. As these markets grow, so do their middle classes and their consumption of goods and services. It is estimated that the number of households in emerging markets with annual incomes above $5,000 is set to rise from 320 million in 2009 to 400 million by 2014. Buoyed by robust growth in consumer and government spending as well as domestic investment, demand from emerging markets is opening up opportunities across sectors. In services, India has proved its mettle with the sector contributing about 55.2 per cent to the country's GDP. Today, Indian companies are ready to extend their reach to emerging markets in Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific in information technology, telecommunication, financial services and education. The growth in emerging markets will mean huge infrastructure upgrades. The total urban population in the developing world is expected to touch 5.3 billion by 2050. Some Indian infrastructure companies are seizing advantage of this opportunity-scaling up their operations, acquiring design skills and building strong balance sheets to support projects in other emerging markets. GMR Group became the first Indian company to operate an airport abroad, with the opening of the new terminal at Istanbul Sabia Gokcen International Airport. The emerging middle class not only provides competition for labour and resources, but also enormous potential for global consumer markets. In 2000, developing countries were home to 56 percent of the global middle class, but by 2030 that figure is expected to reach 93 per cent. India is gaining popularity as a destination for medical tourism as the amount of spent on treatment is between half and one-third that in neighbouring destinations such as Singapore and Thailand.Your report suggests that three key trends hold enormous promise for India in the decade ahead. Can you elaborate on the trends and the opportunities that are open for India? Accenture's "New Waves of Growth for India" identifies three key trends-emerging markets surge, multi-technology future and the resource economy-that hold enormous promise for India in the decade ahead. Our findings are based on extensive discussions with experts representing business, academia, government and the non-profit sector and a deep analysis of extensive secondary data and Oxford Economics' econometric modeling. The growing prominence of emerging markets as engines of economic growth is what we term as the emerging markets surge. Indian companies that ignore trade with emerging markets not only lose a valuable business opportunity but also miss out on the potential to increase their own country's long-term growth prospects. India's increasing integration with emerging markets will open new opportunities in services, consumer goods, infrastructure and medical tourism.Technology is central to economic progress and the improvement of living standards in India. New technologies have the potential to mobilise communities, enable innovation and increase productivity. Next-generation technologies like mobility solutions, cloud computing and analytics will create new sources of demand in India. They will also give birth to whole new business models for providing education, finance and healthcare to India's massive rural markets, which have lain outside their reach owing to poor infrastructure and connectivity.The battle for resources is growing fiercer across the globe, driven by rising demand coupled with rapidly dwindling energy sources. This widening demand-supply gap is creating an urgent need to exploit alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, hydropower, geo-thermal and nuclear. With global warming fast becoming a reality, the need for a low-carbon economy will accelerate the demand for intelligent energy solutions such as smart grids, green infrastructure, alternate fuels and hybrid vehicles. The Indian economy has the potential to grow by 8.7 per cent per year, instead of 8 percent in the current trajectory, over the next decade. This equates to an extra Rs 11 trillion ($244.4 billion) of GDP by 2020 and 37.5 million additional jobs, over and above what India would otherwise achieve. Three quarters of these jobs would arise from India's exports to other emerging markets; one-quarter, from the green and high-tech sectors. The report lays out key actions that policymakers and business leaders can take to leverage these trends and stimulate renewed growth in the Indian economy.Companies are looking at entering unexplored markets 'non-traditional' markets. Can you tell us more about it? Emerging markets provide growth opportunities across sectors. An increasing number of business leaders in India are recognizing this potential and are looking beyond the traditional emerging markets such as Brazil and China and placing strategic bets in countries such as Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, South Africa and Argentina. The tried and tested Indian business models that could be replicated in similar economies is giving Indian companies the confidence to make bold moves. Africa is emerging as one of the top choices of Indian companies. In shops across the continent, there are a plethora of India products available. Emami's 'Fair and Handsome' fairness cream for men and Dabur hair care products vie for space on shop shelves with drugs by Lupin, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Ranbaxy. Bajaj-made bikes, NIIT training classes, Lava mobile phones and Godrej soaps are increasingly in demand in several countries in the continent. There are other opportunities in Africa in which Indian businesses are uniquely placed to take advantage of their home knowledge in India. Healthcare is one such area. Infant mortality in Sierra Leone is as high as 123 per 1,000 births and average life expectancy in Zimbabwe is just 45 years. For many Indian companies Africa could be the emerging India market equivalent in pharmaceuticals in the next decade. break-page-breakWhat are some of the key issues/main business problems that clients are coming to you for? We see many issues that are of interest to our clients. One is business models. Unlike some of the business agendas in Europe and America focused constituencies and optimising models, in Asia there is much greater focus on growth. Therefore, the favourite topics of our clients are business models that they need to employ in their businesses in order to manage dramatic growth. We do a lot of work with clients in Korea, China and Japan who are interested in expanding their businesses in South East Asia or the Middle East. They want to know how they can be successful in overseas markets. How are companies de-risking businesses? We have been working very closely with clients to improve their risk management capabilities and help drive better business outcomes. Executives understand that the challenges facing their organizations have never been greater. They are increasingly looking to risk management leaders to provide guidance. As a result, depending on your vantage point, it is either a great time or a stressful time to be a risk professional. What we are witnessing is a maturation of risk management capabilities across all industries. There are clear signs that risk management capabilities are more critical, more connected, more strategic and overall more valuable to enterprises as they execute their business plans. Therefore, companies are spending more time and effort advancing their risk management capabilities as a business priority. What are some of the trends that will pave the way for the next phase of growth in M&A? An M&A rebound will pave the way for the next phase of growth. Perceptions of a new and emerging India have been given credence by the success of Indian businesses on the global stage and rising Indian investments abroad. Successful takeover of global brands by India Inc. have often been cited to predict that the country would become a dominant power in the 21st century. Indian activities in M&A have increased manifold over the last decade. According to India Brand Equity Foundation, outward investment to the tune of $80 billion has been made between 2000 and 2010; the UK and the US have emerged as favoured destinations. A CII survey-based report shows that Indian companies actually helped save and create thousands of jobs in the US through acquisitions of local firms there. It says that since 2005, nearly 65 percent of the Indian companies operating in the US have added jobs to their operations; more than 80 percent of the hiring was local. Deal-making in Asia got off to a strong start in 2011, with cashed-up companies tapping investment opportunities in sectors from energy to industrials, and bankers say the transaction pipeline for the rest of the year looks healthy.Do you see areas such as alternative energy and food processing providing answers to the need for resource security in India? As grow scarce, India is facing an uphill battle to secure its pipeline of all kind of resources? energy, food, minerals. Yet, the quest for resource efficiency can become an important source of economic growth and job creation. Accenture research shows that, with appropriate regulation, skills development, investment incentives and technology spillovers, this sector could raise India's GDP by Rs 458 billion ($10 billion) by 2020, 0.3 per cent above the current trajectory. This could help generate 821,000 additional jobs by 2020. To harness this potential, India needs to explore alternative resources, source traditional resources from new locations and leverage efficiency-enhancing technologies. Alternative energy sources such as wind power, hydro-power, bio-energy and next-generation solar power can create new markets and export opportunities as well as provide an impetus to domestic manufacturing. The Indian government is working to expand supplies of alternative energy sources, while overhauling the country's energy infrastructure. Alternate fuels will help reduce dependency on scarce, high-priced conventional fuels and can turn India's energy situation into a position of surplus. More futuristic technologies, particularly hybrid cars, can play a critical role in reducing dependence on oil. Intelligent-energy solutions will promote India's low-carbon agenda while also addressing its inefficient power supply. At present, energy losses during transmission and distribution in India exceed 30 percent, one of the highest in the world. The advent of a low-carbon economy will accelerate the growth in smart grids, carbon capture and storage, remote sensors and meters.We know technology has played a role in diminishing borders. Has it given birth to new business and service models? The maturation and convergence of a range of technologies is enabling a new wave of technology-driven growth. Information technology has revolutionized the way people interact with companies. They have transformed customer relationships, supplier relationships and entire business models. The rapid spread of mobile phones to help farmers and fishermen become more efficient and improve their livelihoods is just one example. Technology is bringing to life whole new business models that previously would not have been profitable-or even possible. Rising incomes and increasing consumer awareness are driving demand for digital goods and services across India. Gartner estimates that notebook sales will outgrow desktop PC sales in India by 2012, with most of the demand coming from consumers as well as small and medium enterprises. Growth possibilities springing out of the core technologies, such as analytics based on extensive use of data and statistical analysis to guide management decision making, and cyber security to safeguard increasingly complex information flows across networks. India has a billion-plus consumers, and very little is known about the consumption patterns of most of them. This makes business intelligence and analytics critical for companies in sectors such as retail, healthcare, telecom and financial services.
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I was shaken out of my Independence Day slumber with the news that the Big G will be buying up Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Usually, I'm averse to the cliche' "Only time will tell." As one of my bosses used to say: Then go read Time.But in this case it really is time that will tell what Google will do with Motorola. Google CEO Larry Page says now that Googlers and Motorolans have become one big happy family, they can get down to "supercharge" Android. That could mean anything. I'm also none the wiser after Senior VP of Mobile Andy Rubin's statement about the new combination breaking new ground for the Android ecosystem.At this point, how Google-Motorola will impact the smartphone landscape isn't clear - and nor will it be until next year. Regulatory approval hasn't even happened yet. Right now Google has only "agreed" (what, at gunpoint?) to acquire Motorola. But two possibilities are hinted at in Larry Page's post. For one thing, he has elaborated on what the world already knows: Motorola is an innovations company, with pioneering experience in mobile technology. What, however, will Google do with Motorola's expertise? Will it be involved in or controlling hardware for Android superplrones? That could give them the kind of edge Apple has with its complete control over both the software and hardware. Then, all it needs is to go buy up Wallamart. But somehow it's difficult to see Google as a handset manufacturer - though you never do know what Google will make; if it can make cars... What message would the other 38 manufactures get if Google were to extra-focus hardware innovation with one company?The other factor is of Motorola's 17000-plus patents. Now, the patent game is a tough one for ordinary mortals like me to understand. But it's clear enough that they are playing a tricky and increasing role in the oneupsmanship of tech companies as well as impacting many aspects of business financials, product cycles and competitiveness.Microsoft and Nokia, and Apple and Apple already have their patents in place. With the marriage to Motorola, Google would also have their arsenal of patents. This may even out the playing field somewhat.Whatever happens, Google plus Motorola is definitely bigger than Google, so the Android wave can only be better off than it was – and that will benefit all parties concerned.Meanwhile, we can only amuse ourselves with new baby names: Motoogle... Googerola...Mala Bhargava is a personal technology writer and media professional. Contact her at mala@pobox.com and @malabhargava on Twitter
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Rising inflation and interest rates has not really impacted the consumer confidence when it comes to grooming and personal care. This is can be clearly understood from the fact that the FMCG firms have posted good volume growth in the personal care category thus boosting their revenues.Hindustan Unilever, India's a largest household product and consumer goods maker witnessed a 20 per cent growth in the skincare and personal care products including soaps and detergents.Similary, home-grown firms such as ITC, Dabur and Godrej Consumers have witnessed strong revenue growth in the personal care segment at 17 per cent, 19.4 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.So does this mean that the people are buying more or the growth is just a result of the price hike, that most of the firms took in the last few quarters to maintain margins? However, a few analysts and consultants, that we spoke to, have different take on the strong growth in the personal care category. While some said the growth came on the back of price hikes, few contradicted the fact saying that more products launches across sub-segments such as soaps, shampoos, conditioners, skin care and shower gels, and penetration into newer geographies drove the volumes. "Most of the FMCG firms have further penetrated into new cities and have also acquired more customers in the cities they are already present. This has been through more product launches and introduction of new sub-categories also," said Devangshu Dutta, CEO and Founder of retail and FMCG consulting firm Third Eyesight.HUL, the maker of personal care products like Dove, Sunsilk, Lux, Closeup and the largest consumer products firm, caters to only 60 per cent of the entire Indian market and hence there lies a huge opportunity for the company to enter new markets. This is one strategy the company is focusing on seriously and has been able to grow consumption in the new geographies, basically the smaller towns and tier III citties."As we look ahead the FMCG market will continue to grow," he said, referring to fast moving consumer goods. "However, input cost inflation will continue to remain high."Another important factor that led to the growth in revenues was due to reduction in grammage and package, Dutta said adding that value growth is around 12-18 per cent for most of the companies based on this factor.Commodity inflation continued to remain high and hence the companies were forced to pass on the burden to the consumers to some extent without impacting the consumption story.However, hike in pay-packages and compensation of the people in Asia's third largest economy has also boosted consumption story and is likely to grow only.However, the sector also witnessed some kind of down trading with people, in rural areas and with low income groups, opting for smaller value for money packs, mostly in the personal hygiene segment e.g diapers, sanitary napkins, shampoos, hair oil and even tooth pastes, according to Indiabulls Securities' Vice President, Anand Mour. "Most of the growth this quarter has come from a mix of volume growth and price hikes," he said.Meanwhile, Dutta said that despite the government was worried about the consumption, the consumer confidence level has not been impacted but certainly will worsen if there will be further hike. However, he expects further price hike would lead to 'second thoughts' among the consumers.
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I started my career with Wipro in 1983 recruited straight out of BITS, Pilani. I joined freshers from IIMs, RECs, IITs, and IISc, who Wipro had chosen for its newly formed Information Technology Division. During the next three months of orientation training, I heard many different folks from R&D, Sales, Quality, Manufacturing come and talk to us on different topics. We had an impressive sales training workshop where all of us were put through the hoops on how to talk and interact with customers, through role-playing. The climax was, of course, the address by A. H. Premji where he talked not about revenues or bottom line, but about Wipro's value systems and beliefs, and his vision for the kind of organization he wanted to build where means mattered as much as the ends. The impressions of Wipro that formed in me then, are still fresh in my mind: That of a big company out to change India's IT landscape. An A-class leadership team with impeccable credentials - top-notch engineers and MBAs with experience in blue chip companies including the Tata Administrative Services. A company that wants to do the best for its customers. And, above all, a company that while striving for the greatest heights demanded the highest level of integrity from each of its employees. We had all the bearings and élan of a company that was prepared for the long haul.Looking back, it is obvious that Premji was not thinking short term! He was laying the foundation for what he obviously believed was an opportunity to build a global player in the nascent high growth technology industry. He was choosing each person on the team with care; much like a builder would pick his materials if he were aiming to build a skyscraper. Hats off to Premji and his likes, for honestly, to most of us, the India of that era did not look or feel like it had the potential to be a technology powerhouse. These pioneers had to do a great leap of faith then, but today they stand vindicated many times over.Now, fast forward to today. Unlike that era, the India of today feels like a very different country. During the last couple years, we have seen the Indian economy come out of recession faster than any other country in the world. Employment numbers are up. Consumer confidence is up. In fact we are doing a lot better than where we left off in 2007. For, this time our growth is across sectors and is beginning to be driven by domestic consumption. President Obama visited us to strike deals that would generate jobs for Americans (!) And the French and Chinese leaders closely followed him, for the same reason really. The mood in our country is decidedly upbeat, as we look forward to doing even better in the coming year.While we have had a couple brief periods of 'India Shining' in the past too, this time somehow, things appear to be for real. We seem to have entered a secular period of sustained growth since the last 10 years. Governments have come and gone across the country, but the economy has marched on unabated at 8-9 per cent growth. We are seeing growth across sectors, and across geographies - witness Bihar in the last 5 years! Interestingly, India's growth momentum is accelerating at the same time that the developed world appears headed for a sustained period of slowdown. And this is sending large quantities of much-needed capital our way, which is being used to create physical, social and economic infrastructure at a pace and scale we have only dreamt of hitherto. It does appear that the 'decoupling' of our economy from the west that pundits have been predicting for long, is now underway indeed.Now, add to this all the inherent advantages we have known we possess as a country, and we can see why the world is looking to India as one of the future engines of economic growth. We have one of the biggest talent pools in the world today; especially if we include the Indian Diaspora which is more than ready to pitch in to fill the skill gaps, be that in technology innovation or international marketing. We understand the language of venture capital, start-ups and entrepreneurship intuitively, given our thriving small business culture. We have an independent and functioning judiciary. Our democracy empowers people to demand equal chance at growth. India has an enviable demography wherein more than 50 per cent of our population is below the age of 25, and more than 65 per cent are below the age of 35. Plus our economy is predominantly led by services and domestic consumption very much like the US economy and quite unlike others.Indeed, today, the state of our economy is a lot closer than we realise to that of post World War II USA, when the term 'American Dream' began to imply boundless opportunities to anybody who dared to dream. When the US became the magnet for attracting capital and talent from across the World; When it became the fountainhead for new ideas in finance like private equity, venture capital and sweat equity; When it grew the World's largest enterprises like GE, HP, Walt Disney, WalMart, Apple, Microsoft and set the tone for a sustained economic leadership. The art and science of 'management' evolved and took root during this period with new concepts like strategic thinking, the 4Ps of marketing, assembly line manufacturing, global sourcing, mass merchandising, etc., teaching people how to build successful organisations.Could this then be our time to do the same? Can we dream of creating our model of World-class organisation - like Bharthi did in Telecom? Like Wipro, Infosys did with IT Services? But many times over? Perhaps a new model of retailing, a new banking system that lends itself to the needs of our country and then to the rest of the emerging world. Imagine what it would mean not just in terms of the number of jobs but the quality of jobs. It would mean that our best executives could be in Jeff Immelt's or Indra Nooyi's shoes sitting in India. No more perceived or real glass ceilings, which prevent our best people from reaching the top slot. We would have new management theories originating from here as we learn from our failures and successes. No more waiting for a Facebook to arrive at our campus to dole out jobs. Our elite kids will have the opportunity to take up jobs where they will rewrite entire industries!But for all these dreams to become reality we need the leadership, which comes with a brand new mindset. A leadership, which has the confidence and audacity to believe that we can be the America of tomorrow in our own way. A leadership like Premji's in the 80's, which is thinking very long term and is therefore working to lay a strong foundation. A foundation comprising of the best people; A foundation, which is built on the right values; A foundation, which can support not just an organisation but also the community around it. We need leaders who are thinking transformational and therefore have the patience to do things the right way at a sustainable pace.We are today at the cusp of 'once in a life time opportunity' to create history. This moment comes but once in the economic history of countries and we are very fortunate to be in the midst of it. The dimensions and contour of what we can achieve is truly mind-boggling. This is the time to think long term, think big and think global. It is a time for fundamental transformation when we need to rethink education, finance, infrastructure, technology, the whole works. It is the time to unshackle ourselves from old mindsets when we looked up to the West for all answers. Can we make a start with 2011? Can each of us resolve to think and act on a different scale from the past years?In the end the choice is for each one of us to make. For if we do not somebody else will come and grab the opportunity. Remember East India Company?Wish You All A Very Happy New Year!The writer is CEO, Global Executive Talent. She can be reached atanu at globalexecutivetalent dot com
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Not too many years ago, businesses relied heavily on various media platforms for advertising and communicating with their customers. This required investments in terms of both, time and money with no visible results or data to support the success of their customer outreach campaigns. Customers themselves had to go through cumbersome communication channels to register their complaints and feedback. But this was then.Today, social media platforms — having caught the imagination of young and old alike — are equally popular amongst businesses of all sizes. Networks like Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere reach millions of people every day, making them a valuable tool for organizations all over the world. Most small business owners probably never expected that technology would come to the forefront of their business lives and possibly converge. However, small businesses have come to find that social networking can provide a genuine competitive edge. Social networking helps business owners identify and forge deeper ties with customers and business partners. SMBs have found social media as a convenient, effective and virtually cost free platform to reach their target customer base and simultaneously interact with them to receive feedback/complaints or just to simply connect.Social media brings in benefits for both customers and businesses alike. The levels of customer engagement increases as businesses can quickly receive customer service ratings. Brand mentions on Twitter can provide better online visibility and also ensure greater brand awareness among media and analysts. It also plays a major role in customer acquisition and sales development. Some of the strategies adopted, include active blogging and maintaining dedicated pages aimed at product promotion. Daily updates and comments on the company's home page on Facebook, Twitter etc ensure that interaction with target customer base is regular and continuous.While the visible benefits are for all to see, they bring in newer challenges too. These platforms are also the favorite hunting ground for the cybercriminals who lurk everywhere on the internet prowling for sensitive information that can give them wins, but only spoils to the SMB. Social networks give users an implied sense of security, making them more inclined to click on links without thinking. Sometimes employees may fall for a cleverly orchestrated scam that seeks to deceptively obtain confidential business information. If they thus succeed, cybercriminals can easily access online accounts to steal personal information and content, including personal communication, documents, login credentials and even bank login credentials.However this does not mean that SMBs cannot tackle this threat. Employees can be educated to conduct social networking with care and caution. A few simple measures can ensure that SMBs can be immune to these threats and also effectively exploit the huge potential of social media. Check the social networking site's address and scrutinise a suspicious site's security certificate to ensure you are logging into legitimate websites and also look for "https" in the address. Think twice before entering your real birth date or other sensitive information on social networking sites. Any information however insignificant like the street number of your home, can prove to be dangerous in the hands of a cyber-crook. Periodic checks of your privacy settings is necessary, don't answer yes when prompted to save your password to a computer. Instead, rely on a strong password committed to memory or stored in a dependable password management program. Don't accept "friend" or "follower" requests from individual's you don't know. Don't click on links in messages, even if from a known "friend," that seems strange or out of character. Report any suspicious or potentially malicious activity to the social networking site's administrators. While social media is here to stay and its utility cannot be questioned or ignored, it's also important to raise the security aspects when it comes to the newer challenges this brings into a business network.By following the basic tips as mentioned above, a SMB user can be savvy about being secure while going onto any social networks.The author is, Managing Director, India & SAARC, Symantec
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My husband was running an IT company in the 90s as a first time CEO. One of the interesting decisions he took was to move his HR manager to a field role as the Regional Manager heading sales and support operations in a region. I had seen line managers move to HR roles in companies like Wipro but this was the first time I had seen it happen the other way round. What a foolhardy move was my first reaction. How could an HR person manage a sales force, face customers and handle operations? It is not in their DNA! And why? Why risk pulling your revenues down and losing a good HR manager? My husband had a very convincing and interesting rational for his quirky move. He said he wanted an HR head who understood his business first hand. Someone who had been in the trenches and knew what the challenges were. Otherwise he felt that HR strategies would be driven by theory and would fail. Over the next decade as I watch the Indian economy evolve into a predominantly services economy I feel that there is an urgent need for this approach to become more of a norm and less of an anomaly. A services based economy rests on people especially knowledge workers. In such an economy the role that HR plays is often very different from a capital intensive production driven economy. Here the HR professional is expected to be a business partner working closely with the line managers. The organisation depends on them to plan, source, train and retain a high end talent pool with a pipeline of leaders. This is not just a "nice to have" differentiator but is often a "make or break" parameter for the Genx organisations. Why does an Accenture still command a premium pricing in the high end IT consulting business? It is the distinct quality of its people and the expertise it has built by leveraging such a workforce. And the pivot for building such an organization rests on HR. How does HR equip itself to play such a pivotal role effectively? Currently, we still follow the old model where we ‘train', educate HR executives in Labor institutes and Social Work Schools and land them straight into HR roles from Day 1. They are expected to rise through the ranks to reach the lofty position where they will be drawing up the people strategy for the company. This without ever spending a day in any role which would expose them to the real guts of the business. No wonder then that most CEOs prefer to move their best line managers to the strategic HR roles instead! So, we see a lot of movement especially at the top from operations to HR but very few instances of the reverse. This may also be because of the reluctance of HR professionals to move out of their comfort zone and get into frontline roles. And why take such risks when you can go up nevertheless? But the point which is missed is that as they move up the ladder their lack of hands-on experience is a real handicap which leads to most critical HR decisions being taken by the CEO himself. In a world where new generation companies like Google and Apple succeed purely on the strength of their innovation, HR folks are under tremendous pressure to deliver a workforce that is miles ahead of competition. This when they have to compete globally for talent! They have the difficult job of then keeping them motivated by giving them an environment that will enthuse their creativity. An HR professional who has had the chance to be one of them or has directly managed such a team instantly gets it and can quickly figure out what will make them tick. Is there any reason to hesitate then about the need for HR to not just wet their toes but to deep dive into the pool, when the stakes are so high? By the way the HR manager as the Regional Manager proved to be a great success in my husband's company proving once again that a good professional can do well in multiple roles. It is imperative that we give them that opportunity and not put them in silos with no escape route. This is no altruism but self-interest as great HR folks will not happen unless we give them the right exposure to business. Guess what? Facebook, the social networking site, has a VP(HR) whose last stint was with eBay as head of marketing, advertising, brand management and consumer promotions!The writer is CEO, Global Executive Talent. She can be reached at anu@globalexecutivetalent.com
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