The 12 Astrological Signs in IT

November 12, 2008 at 12:29 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged ,

Yes, I am fascinated by astrological signs like most of the girls. Sometimes, I even tend to guess people’s zodiac sign with the way they acts. Haha! And how can I not talk about IT…so here I am. With this list, you can identify the twelve signs in the field of IT:

  • “I am sure and confident about this particular technology. I’ll work only on this.” Capricorn.
  • “Work on whatever but let it be foolproof, please!” Virgo.
  • “I know everything that’s ever been made in the IT history. And then some more. Who dares disagree..?” Aries
  • Bragging about all their great knowledge in almost all the latest technologies.  Leo.
  • Trying every new technology and saying, “This is the best technology—- I ever tried hands on.”  Taurus
  • “Well, the new version is good but I can’t just work on it. Gotta try 2 more before I reach the conclusion of what to settle down and work with.”  Sagittarius.
  • “Tell me all your problems in IT and I’ll….well…listen.”  Cancer.
  • “IT is simple. Let’s try to work on one project by merging 2 technologies and 3 versions together. And then let’s try that one too, okay…?” Aquarius.
  • “No, this is not an error. Cannot be. I did this and thus there is no error in the damn thing. You get me?” Scorpio.
  • Fits in like a chameleon with whatever technology they are working on currently. Libra
  • Busy in three languages and sometimes combining all three in one piece of code. Then leaves it mid way and gets involved in something different. Gemini.
  • “ummm…Okay…so I like IT, I really do….. but then again, am I in the right career…?”  Pisces.

Comments (6)

Global Meltdown and IT

October 23, 2008 at 12:07 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , ,

So the markets are down and are falling lower each hour (even as I write this!), and there is a global meltdown. After Jet Airways firing off staff and then taking them back again, there is a certain uncertainity among everyone. “Is my job safe?” is what everyone is wondering. Bad situation. I am particularly concerned about students who are in the middle of no where with their career decisions. Hospitality, Aviation, BPO, Banking and Finance – what is safe and what is worth it? Confusion Confusion Confusion. And obviously I am concerned about IT. I did some online research and let me share a few articles with you here, that I really liked a lot. The basic message is that the IT indstry is considerably safe- various factors considered, of course. The growth has definitely slowed down, but the hiring will not stop. Here are the links:

Reactions are welcome.

Comments (1)

An ode to my Alma Mater :)

September 11, 2008 at 9:34 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

Check this out! NIIT’s latest video. Just found it on YouTube and could’nt wait to share it with you guys.  :)

Comments (5)

Girl Tech

September 11, 2008 at 1:55 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

I am starting a new tag from today – ‘New Found’.   :)

So what I found today is a cooooool website.

Go here and let me know what do you think.

Girl Tech

MTV Style – ENJOYYYYYYY!

=D

Comments (1)

Top IT Trends

August 27, 2008 at 2:04 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , ,

Heyllo People. How are you all doing? I hope great…

My blogging habits are getting erratic and yeah…I realize that I am not keeping my posts consistent, as I promised. But well…there’s a lot of stuff I’d been doing that kept me absolutely tied up to my desk. Work is work is work, after all.

But hey…I promise once again to be regular… I too don’t want to disappoint my readrs, you see… ;)

Well…this time around, I am going to treat you with nuggets of gyan I collected from different articles, while roaming on the internet. Experts around the world huddle together, time and again to predict, analyze and suggest IT Trends to watch for in future. So this post is dedicated to Hot IT Trends in the coming days. I’ve stumbled upon these trends in bits and pieces and I am compiling all of it into a post for you guys.

According to Experts and analysts define a strategic technology as one with the potential for significant impact on the enterprise in the next three years.  Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to IT or the business, the need for a major investment, or the risk of being late to adopt. 

The hottest trends for 2008 include:

 

1. Unified Communications: Today, 20% of the installed base with PBX has migrated to IP telephony, but more than 80% are already doing trials of some form.  Analysts expect the next three years to be the point at which the majority of companies implement this, the first major change in voice communications since the digital PBX and cellular phone changes in the 1970s and 1980s.

 

2. Business Process Modeling: Top-level process services must be defined jointly by a set of roles (which include enterprise architects, senior developers, process architects and/or process analysts).  Some of those roles sit in a service oriented architecture center of excellence, some in a process center of excellence and some in both.  The strategic imperative for 2008 is to bring these groups together.  Analysts expect BPM suites to fill a critical role as a compliment to SOA development.

 

3. Metadata Management: Through 2010, organizations implementing both customer data integration and product integration and product information management will link these master data management initiatives as part of an overall enterprise information management (EIM) strategy.  Metadata management is a critical part of a company’s information infrastructure.  It enables optimization, abstraction and semantic reconciliation of metadata to support reuse, consistency, integrity and shareability…

 

4. Virtualization 2.0: Virtualization technologies can improve IT resource utilization and increase the flexibility needed to adapt to changing requirements and workloads.  However, by themselves, virtualization technologies are simply enablers that help broader improvements in infrastructure cost reduction, flexibility and resiliency.  With the addition of automation technologies – with service-level, policy-based active management – resource efficiency can improve dramatically, flexibility can become automatic based on requirements, and services can be managed holistically, ensuring high levels of resiliency…

 

5. Mashup & Composite Apps : By 2010, Web mashups will be the dominant model (80%) for the creation of composite enterprise applications.  Mashup technologies will evolve significantly over the next five years, and application leaders must take this evolution into account when evaluating the impact of mashups and in formulating an enterprise mashup strategy.

And to end this one, here’s an interesting video:

 

Well well well….here we are. The top 10 IT trends according to the experts. Got any questions?

Leave a comment and I’ll answer. Ciao!

Comments (7)

What is Business Intelligence?

August 20, 2008 at 6:26 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

So, many people asked me what exactly is BI (Business Intelligence), here and on Orkut. I expected this, I must agree.

Obviously, I will now give a brief introduction to BI here. This is info I have gathered from various sources to add to my own knowledge. Here goes

What is Business Intelligence?

According to Wikipedia, Business intelligence (BI) refers to technologies, applications and practices for the collection, integration, analysis, and presentation of business information and sometimes to the information itself. The purpose of business intelligence is to support better business decision making. Hmmm. I trust Wikipedia. Lol

But this does not give us the complete picture. Cuz Business Intelligence is much more than just a set of tools, technologies and practices. Business Intelligence is knowledge, and the value of that knowledge is in how quickly and accurately it can be applied to a business problem or an emerging opportunity. For example, the first company to identify the most profitable of its customers can get to them first – on the flip side, if you can find those who are most likely to defraud you before they actually do, you can take measures to protect yourself. Going a bit deep, Business Intelligence is an integral part of successful business management. Business Intelligence plays a key role in strategic business decision making, empowering managers with appropriate information for critical decision making. The end result of BI should be higher net income, increased performance & growth and efficient decision making. Needless to say, every organization need BI.

Most businesses have similar information needs for effective business management. Some of these could be

•Strategic direction and management of employees, goals, and objectives

•Software capabilities for at-a-glance decision making

•Basic but effective and efficient decision support capabilities, including training, customer support and project management

At the same time, information and knowledge need to be viewed in the context of how you need to use it. And that differs from industry to industry. Telecommunications is concerned with things like network usage or customer churn – while a pharmaceutical company is focused on things like compound discovery and optimizing the development and testing cycle. The front-burner concerns in retail banking include things like credit and operational risk, fraud, customer profitability – and compliance to anti-money laundering laws and regulations. So, you see what I mean when I say that Business intelligence (BI) is about more than just technology! !

Now you may ask where BI is being utilised. According a survey, key adopters of BI include Pharma, IT?ITES, Telecom, Banking & Financial Services, Hospitality and many more….
   

 

 Business Intelligence Roadmap

A BI application that goes through six stages between inception and implementation:

  1. Justification: An assessment is made of a business problem or a business opportunity, which gives rise to the engineering project.
  2. Planning: Strategic and tactical plans are developed, which lay out how the engineering project will be accomplished.
  3. Business Analysis: Detailed analysis of the business problem or business opportunity is performed, which provides a solid understanding of the business requirements for a solution.
  4. Design: A product is conceived, which solves the business problem or enables the business opportunity.
  5. Construction: The conceived product is built, which is expected to provide a return on the development investment within a predefined time frame.
  6. Deployment: The finished product is implemented (or sold) and its effectiveness is measured, which will determine whether the solution meets, exceeds or fails the expected return on investment.

Some more Business intelligence basics:


The term “business intelligence” hasn’t been around forever; Howard Dresner, a BI consultant and author, coined the term in 1992. SearchDataManagement.com sat down with Howard Dresner, the “father of BI” at a Gartner BI Summit in Chicago. Learn why Dresner says he invented the term, find out his take on the BI market and get his recommendations for achieving BI success.Career? – you may ask. Sure. J

Industry estimates suggest a demand-supply gap of over 100,000 professionals globally faced by the current BI market. According to Gartner, in near future, enterprises will need three times as many professionals on their analytic staffs as they need today. The demand for analytic talent today outweighs supply by at least two to one.

 

Ways to begin a business intelligence career :
Some experts may argue that certification and education are the best way to begin a BI career. Others may say that experience is more valuable.

Career opportunities in BI are just as exciting as the growing executive-level interest and technology outlook. As with most professions that require knowledge of various subjects, areas of specialty exist. Within BI, an individual can participate in numerous areas, including planning, design, development, deployment, maintenance and support. The roles range from a business analyst to a technical architect to the project manager. Each of these roles requires a blend of business knowledge, technical expertise and people skills. The various roles can be grouped into three areas of focus: business, technical and a blend of both.

· Business Focus. Individuals who possess business function or process knowledge, such as finance or supply chain, would be well suited for a business analyst role. In addition, industry-specific knowledge may be required, given the subject matter that is being addressed. For example, in health care the terminology and business processes surrounding patient care are unique to that industry. Having command of the appropriate terminology and an understanding of the business processes enables the business analyst to gather requirements and help create the BI strategy. In addition to subject matter knowledge, business analysts must excel in verbal and written communications, possess strong organizational skills and understand data modeling and business process design.

· Technical Focus. There are several roles for technologists in BI, ranging from architects to software specialists. Architects are knowledgeable about DW, BI or data integration frameworks and corresponding software technology. They work with the business analysts to design the approach and configuration of the technology to support the organization’s information needs. Software specialists have a commanding knowledge of a particular software application, such as reporting or data integration software. They understand the capabilities, features, functionalities and limitations of the software. They collaborate with architects and business analysts to implement the software in a manner that supports the objectives of the BI solution.

· Blended Business and Technical Focus. With BI initiatives, the project manager and the data modeler must have an understanding of the subject area and BI/DW principles. The project manager must also demonstrate outstanding organizational and communications skills to lead the team. The data modeler is typically well versed in data modeling principles and has the ability to understand and translate business requirements into a data model.

Employment Options: (Click on the image to enlarge it)

 I hope this looong post will help in the understanding about BI. Trust me, if I were you, I’d never miss this opportunity.  Okay folks, got to rush but let me wrap this post with yet another cartoon strip. J

 

 

 

Comments (7)

IT and Commerce

August 12, 2008 at 3:18 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

Hi there! This one is for Satya who commented on my last blog and asked if he is really missing out on IT by going for Commerce. Well Satya, the reason I replied to your concern in a new post is that I realized it is a question on pretty much every one’s mind who goes for commerce. So here I am.  J

 

When I did the Information Technology/Software program from  NIIT, a lot of people had the same question – is IT and Commerce a mismatch?

Well, first of all IT is important in every field/industry. Very Important infact. And students need not necessarily get into hard core IT, not at all! Because IT can be used to enhance one’s productivity even if one is not a hard core IT professional. The modern collaborative, work environment regardless of industry or sector demands the right IT skills for efficient & smart work.  And so my personal belief is that everyone must be prepared for such a scenario with the right IT skills.

 

Having said that I must point out that IT professionals need not just be engineers or IT graduates as is commonly believed.  You may be surprised to know that a large percentage of knowledge professionals today are graduates in Arts, Commerce and Science! So if you dream of a career in IT, don’t be disheartened if you are studying Commerce cuz you can still be an IT professional!

 

IT professionals work in wide array of industries . For example, both IT related and non IT related like Advertising, Telecom, Management etc require IT professionals. In fact, there are three broad streams that one can work towards: Software Engineering, Infrastructure Management and Information Management. With the latter two, you will not just be restricted to IT companies since other industries like banking, retail, telecom are also big users of IT and require IT professionals.

 

Also, I have some interesting  news to share with you – NIIT is launching a program called the GNIIT Business Systems & Information Management program. This might interest  commerce students like Satya. This program revolves around Business Processes, Information Systems and Business Intelligence Technologies, along with other things. This means what? Well, simply put the key to thriving in a competitive marketplace is staying ahead of the competition. Making sound business decisions based on accurate and current information takes more than intuition. Data analysis, reporting, and query tools can help businesses wade through a sea of data to synthesize valuable information from it – these tools collectively fall into a category called ‘Business Intelligence’. (And I am quoting a Gartner Report here!) - So you see?  This is a catch for all the commerce people who have an interest in and aptitude for IT. What do you say? :)

 

I say IT is a must in todays’ life. Any field you chose, any industry you see, IT is the backbone. Besides, how cool it is to be in a position of a CA and still being able to figure out your laptop and your softwares? There! You got the picture now.   :)

Man, in order to write this, I had to dig a lot of information from my gang, and I realized that in all the hum drum of life and work, I was being a lil’ laid back in catching the latest buzz and interesting updates. Phew! Now I take a blood oath (okay, may be not a blood oath, but a simple promise to myself) that I will be glued on to news like this along with my regular technology interests. Hmph. :)

Moral of the story is IT fits well with almost everything and everyone, unlike dresses. hehe..This reminds me of a cute cartoon I came across on this amazing site. Sharing it with you.

Okay, time to review a company for one of my clients (it is a curse not being able to speak about work in detail, like naming people, client and all, but work is work. And besides, I love my work too much to mix it up with anything.) So I will have to rush. Hope to be more regular. Keep the comments coming in people.

Comments (3)

A hot cup of coffee with IT

August 7, 2008 at 5:58 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , ,

Have you ever met yourself and experience deja vu…or lemme put it in a rather simpler way…have you ever met someone who is in the same situation, you were sometime back in your life…?

 

Well…I did. And I enjoyed walking down the memory lane and refresh memories.

 

Lemme tell you what it is about in detail.

 

The other day, after finishing an exhaustive meeting at my office, I strolled down till the nearest cafeteria for some relaxing time and a soothing cup of coffee…

 

I like this particular place because it is thronged by people of all age and that makes it a place to watch for. There come students who discuss their projects in groups, with thick books and notepads, and there are professionals with their swanky laptops making presentations over cups of steaming coffee and cheese sandwiches. And then there are elderly couples and young love birds…

 

As usual, I went up to my favorite corner table and ordered a nice cappuccino. The place looked extremely busy with waiters running from pillar to post to complete orders and I guessed I will have to wait for my cuppa. But I couldn’t care to complain as I would flip the pages of this paperback.

 

I was almost settling down with the book when I noticed a bunch of students sitting right next to my table. I couldn’t help but overhearing these 4 college kids, discussing vehemently about their ‘future’, which according to them was not so bright, though they dropped big college names, as their alma mater. I didn’t take much time to realize that their problem was not the institutes they were studying from but the lack of direction. These kids were smart, intelligent and were pursuing courses which were up to date but still, there was something missing.

 

I just couldn’t sit there and listen to their conversation, and decided to help them out…because when I started out on my ‘career’, I too had a Good Samaritan to help me out. I invited them over for a coffee. Initially they were surprised and clueless as well on the invitation, but I guess their desperation and a bit of intuition led them to my table. I ordered some cold coffee with dollops of ice-cream for them and lend my ears to their ‘problems’.

 

Ashish and Nisha were design students from a reputed institute while Ravi and Kiran were pursuing their Graduation from Commerce stream. They all looked promising yet disappointed at the same time. In no time, I figured out that here were 4 individuals who were raring to go but had no plans on how to go about it.

 

While Ashish and Nisha were learning the designing basics, Kiran and Ravi were taking down lectures endlessly.      

 

‘So what is it that really bothers you…’, I asked.

 

They retorted, almost in shared voices, ‘don’t know actually…but we feel there has to be something extra, as an added qualification, which may help us get the edge in the much competitive world, we are living in…’

 

‘How about getting into IT…may be the basic course…’, I suggested.

 

‘Yeah…may be…but IT is for engineers and IT professionals, isn’t it…’, they replied in a confused tone.

 

Obviously, these guys were fairly unaware about the IT as a tool and how much it can help them in excelling in their respective fields.

 

‘You know, I am not an engineer. I started out as a Trainee, and today I am an IT consultant with top IT giants…now does that change your opinions…’. I started a new thread.

 

They were amazed and I had prepared my ground to further the conversation.

 

Do you know there are many institutes today that impart basic and advanced level IT ‘training to youngsters like you…’, I asked.

 

They were clueless…they did drop some names but to no use. They never actually tried to probe further about the institutes and courses.

 

‘Look…there are some really good institutes that are really helpful in furthering careers. NIIT is one of them. It has GNIIT course especially for students like you, who want to go an extra mile for their careers. In fact I am an alumni from NIIT…’, I declared.

 

They looked curious. I continued. ‘NIIT is recognized as a pioneer in IT education and its GNIIT program is among the best long term courses offered by the IT institution in India which starts from the scratch and is excellent for beginners like them. Besides, NIIT has world class study material that is prepared by a team of experts. One critical element, which most of the IT institutions miss is updating of the courses. But the GNIIT course curriculum is upgraded regularly to keep the courses industry ready with the changing technology’.

 

I also told them that one of the companies I give consultation to, have recruited 8 GNIITians and all are placed good as their knowledge is in sync with present day tools and technology. Of course it was the efforts of NIIT in getting them placed in a top company. One fantastic thing about GNIIT is that apart from imparting technical education to the candidate the institute also tries to improve the personality of the candidate.

 

They looked skeptical. They certainly didn’t want to leave their respective fields and become Software engineers or programmers. I sensed their inhibition and suggested GNIIT’s Business Systems and Information Management program.

 

‘But what is Business Systems and Information Management and how is it relevant to us?’ Nisha asked.

 

Now that was an interesting question. I took all the pleasure answering that. Actually I can’t resist queries like these and slip into my IT consultant self effortlessly. So I stated…

 

‘The key to thriving in a competitive marketplace is staying ahead of the competition. Making sound business decisions based on accurate and current information takes more than intuition. Data analysis, reporting, and query tools can help business users wade through a sea of data to synthesize valuable information from it – today these tools collectively fall into a category called ‘Business Intelligence’. GNIIT’s Business Systems & Information Management program teaches just that.

 

Guess my efforts paid off. The kids were convinced and they finally asked me how to go about it. I think my job was over. I got the address for the NIIT centre in the city and handed it to them.

 

And you know what…kids had all the praises for me in this world. Well…all’s well that ends well. But our meeting ended on a greater note. Since I invited them for a coffee, I paid the bill for theirs but they bought me my cappuccino and gifted me this cool Tshirt…now how cute is that.

Comments (9)

The prelude

July 11, 2008 at 7:34 pm · Filed under Generic ·Tagged , , , ,

Friends, Romans, countrymen…

Naah.

Hiya…fellas…how you doing?

That’s much betterJ

 

First things first. I’m Preeti Technani, the author of this blog. I work as a technology consultant for an MNC in B’Lore and a freelance writer for journals and newspapers and write mostly on technology issues, with occasional writings on films, music, travel etc.

 

To ride the digital revolution, I am now taking my writings to Internet as a blog where I will be writing extensively on emerging technologies and trends seen as the next big thing, globally. You can expect info and updates on I.T., Software, Careers in I.T., internet and blogging. And come to think of it, I can even consult those who are wondering about a rock solid career (with or without I.T. in mind). Coming from the technology background does help me write on all things technical and I thoroughly enjoy the process of looking for an idea to write – trust me it isn’t that difficult. I’ll also try to address issues plaguing the technology sector and we all would try to come to some solution through healthy discussions…right? I’ll also discuss career prospects in technology field, new courses, job opportunities et al.

 

Bookmark it right now or add the RSS feed into your feedreader, as I am going to post interesting stuff quite often here. Afterall, I how can I not talk about movies, writing and funny stuff? Haha! And if, by any means you are one of those uninitiated ones, who don’t know how to bookmark a page on the Internet or what’s a feedreader, the blog is a must for you. Read On, more coming up soon.

 

Cheers.  J

Comments (5)

Hello world!

July 10, 2008 at 7:24 am · Filed under Uncategorized

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

Comments (2)