Success is a journey, not a destination

S. Mohini Ratna,
Editor - VARINDIA

If you will ask how many people are really benefiting from various e-governance projects in operation in the country, it is really a difficult question to answer. Apart from the lack of awareness among some sections of the population and their inaccessibility to Internet, unavailability of the content in the regional languages in many cases is proving to be a barrier in the reaching out of e-governance to the masses.

Every company is working aggressively for protecting every inch of its market share in various segments where it does business. Notwithstanding a ten per cent fall over the previous period, face-to-face networking remains the top business technique. However, the importance of professional social networking sites in business is increasing. This can be gauged from the increasing user base of Facebook, Twitter and Xing, with LinkedIn having reached more than 135 million members.

As desktops and laptops are giving way to smartphones and tablets, the IT departments are scrambling to connect these devices and protect them. The natural corollary of this phenomenon is the exploding of the enterprise mobile device security market. It is incumbent on the IT departments to provide a consistent level of security policy and enforcement for all those devices. 

Spending on network security appliances and software grew 3% in 2011 and we expect an 8% increase in 2012. With the unprecedented growth in data traffic, it is essential that systems not only improve computational abilities, but also enable data to flow faster to support data-hungry applications and increase the bandwidth within the data centre.

With a thrust on accelerating overall GDP growth from 6.9% to 7.6%, the Union Budget is welcoming. Especially the thrust given to areas like infrastructure development, skill development, encouragement of R&D, and the focus on helping SMEs are worth mentioning. 

However, we view with concern the increase in Service Tax and the increase in excise duty on certain items which are traditional consumers of the electronics and components industry in India. Introduction of GST from August 12 is a welcome indication, provided the Government does not slip on this new date like the earlier promises. Similarly, initiatives being announced for the promotion of the domestic Electronics Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) industry, which has a potential to grow to $400 billion by the year 2020, and allocation of Rs.1,000 crore for the National Skill Development Fund will help in bridging the gap in skills.