Bridging the gap Driving force for innovation

S Mohini Ratna
Editor 
VARINDIA

As the convergence of Cloud, mobile computing, social media and analytics is nearing completion, it has all the potential of making sea changes in the way businesses operate. Companies that make most of the available technologies to “go digital” will find themselves on a stronger wicket to avail themselves of the rapidly-changing business opportunities. This will enable them to remain a step ahead of the competition. 

Taking aim at the Cloud, the recent launch by the Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) of a national cloud initiative in the form of GI Cloud is a welcome step in the right direction. This will go a long way in the effective deliverance of e-services.  Apart from supporting implementation of the National e-Governance Plan of India (NeGP), this much-vaunted project of the Government of India seeks to create a private cloud environment for the use of government departments and agencies both at the central and state levels. As a corollary, cloud computing environments will be established at the national and state levels, starting with one National Cloud, using new and existing data centres.

Underling the importance of taking preventive measures to curb cyberattacks and frauds in right earnest, the Government is all set to announce Cyber Security Policy that will plug all the loopholes. In the meantime, CERT-In, the computer emergency response team in the country, is keeping a close eye on any suspicious move on the Internet in order to thwart potential cyberattacks from cyber-villains. The Government has promised action if there is any instance of fake calls on mobiles or emails which promise big awards in exchange of personal information of the user. 

So far as the Budget 2013 is concerned, I can say that the Budget is the best in the current scenario. It delivers on the promise of fiscal prudence. The Finance Minister has done well when it comes to economic reforms. He has shown that reforms will be the flavour of the day in the areas of Direct Tax Code, GST, financial markets regulatory authority for the road sector and Tax Administration Reform Commission to bring about a tax regime. Inclusive growth, which has been the mantra and necessity these days, has been highlighted in the Budget. Apart from enhancing the health of every industry including IT, the Budget focusses on infrastructure, education, skills development and incentives for the growth of domestic manufacturing. Some of the other positive areas are support for entrepreneurship and the MSME sector. Overall, the Budget is balanced and realistic.

In the recently concluded VARINDIA Summit held in the Financial Capital of India, Mumbai, the different stakeholders like Solution Partners and CEOs discussed on the constants in the Indian ICT industry. As always, the only constant is change, and this has dawned on the CIOs who are bracing themselves for novel challenges on bandwidth growth, budget constraints and, lastly, innovation. Change is what drives this industry forward and innovation can help us in discovering what opportunities lie in store.

Things will continue like ever with a great hope that man can move mountains.