My fortnightly column, A Dose of IT that discusses on Healthcare venture funding Kapil Khandelwal QuoteUnquote with KK www.kapilkhandelwal.com

1. cmyk cmyk
13 Bengaluru ● Monday ● 3 January 2011 DC
NTT DoCoMo Facebook Groupon gets
Technomics
to soon tops Google $500 million
launch as most funding from
tablet visited site large
computer. in US. investors.
Virus hits
A dose
of IT
Unified Communications set to Android
phones in
China
2011: Year for see higher levels of adoption
SANGEETHA CHENGAPPA Avaya Aura is a vendor
health venture
KAPIL KHANDELWAL teams in the venture is
DC | BENGALURU
Jan. 2: At a time when busi-
nesses demand higher levels
agnostic platform
enables UC solutions on
that
legacy systems. Aspect Soft-
ware is expecting to grow at
important. This is a value of productivity from its 25 per cent year-on-year
judgment that is established employees, the ability to with its UC Contact Centre Boston: A powerful virus
2
010 had its share of through ongoing diligence communicate with col- solutions for the BPO and targeting smart phones in
hiccups for healthcare meetings, the listed and off- leagues within organizations Enterprise markets. China running Google Inc's
including information listed reference checks and and their customers, beco- “UC will be most relevant Android operating system
communications and tech- background checks. It is mes a key contributor to not just by generically may represent the most
nology (ICT) venture fund- preferred that most of the business performance. improving communications sophisticated bug to target
ing globally. The last 2 management team have Although new age enterpris- but if it is focused on pro- mobile devices to date,
quarters run up to 2011 past start-up experience, es are inundated with the viding effective communi- security researchers said on
have altered the perception however, major industry latest communication tech- cations between organiza- Thursday.
relating to angel invest- players that have left health nologies, which should ide- tions and their customers. Anti-virus firm Lookout
ments, venture capital care companies to run start- ally lead to easier access to For instance, in captive call Mobile Security estimates
(VC), private equity (PE) ups have also proven to be co-workers, employees centres, typically 13 per cent that the number of phones
and bank debt funding for successful, provided they often end up guessing which of all customer calls that have been infected by
ventures in this sector. had P&L and method (eg, desk phone, cell received remain unresolved the virus, dubbed Geinimi,
There are positive signals. marketing/sales responsi- phone, email, IM etc) is best in the first call. The ability ranges from the tens of
Healthcare is going to rep- bility in their corporate for reaching their colleagues to quickly escalate difficult thousands to hundreds of
resent a sizable proportion positions. Thirdly, meticu- at any given time. And with customer enquiries, route thousands.
of India’s GDP by 2020 and lously preparing for due workforces becoming them to the right person and Researchers said that the
is also one of the major diligence and funding deal increasingly mobile every resolve them in one call, virus has yet to wreak
areas of new venture invest- structuring by pre-empting day, collaborating with col- using the appropriate UC havoc, though, and that
ing and favoured by VCs common financial docu- leagues gets even more diffi- tools is becoming key for they were unsure what its
and PEs as they are agnos- ments, contracts, charts, cult. enterprises to enhance cus- authors were seeking to
tic to economic downturns term sheets, and other “First attempts to get in tomer experience of their accomplish.
and upturns. In the coming materials used in the due touch with key decision Cisco’s much-talked-about telepresence solution is part of the wave of Unified Com- products and services” said “It is not clear to us what
years, healthcare ICT, edu- diligence process for fund- makers often fail within munications technologies that vendors expect enterprises will now begin to rapidly Shankar Balu, Director the purpose of it is,” said
cation, biotechnology, ing. If due diligence works most organizations, result- deploy. Sales, for South India & Kevin Mahaffey, chief
medical device, and health- out, valuation is the next ing in missed deadlines or Middle East, Aspect Soft- technology officer for
care service investments likely showstopper. The project delays, which in turn MNCs, BPOs and IT com- customers are demanding Aspect Software, are all ware India. Lookout. “It could be any-
and will represent between main areas considered hits productivity levels. In panies being the early that their business applica- expecting to see large user Meanwhile, the battle for thing from a malicious
20 to 25 percent of all when trying to create a val- such a scenario, Unified adopters, the last 18 months tions be enabled by UC. deployments of their UC UC customers is hotting up advertising network to an
healthcare funding in India uation include market size, Communications, (UC) witnessed a lull in adoption “Customers are asking if solutions in 2011. Cisco has with Avaya already having attempt to create a botnet.”
by 2020. business model, compara- which includes telephony, of UC solutions as discre- they can click and call sold its UC solutions, priced clinched orders for its A botnet is an army of
There is still no clear con- ble rates of adoption, and unified messaging, voice, tionary spend dried up. straight from their e-mail or at `1,000 to `1,500 (average Android based, desktop enslaved computers that its
sensus as to which seg- the anticipated time to exit. video and web conferenc- However, the future looks word document, without user cost per month) to more video device which will be controllers can compromise
ments of the healthcare ad Finally, the healthcare ing, enterprise IM and pres- promising for UC say indus- having to disengage and than 30,000 users over the shipped to Indian enterprise for identity theft, use to
ICT would get a major entrepreneur should not ence, all integrated onto a try observers. Forrester fore- make a call” said Sukhvin- last 8-12 months and customers beginning Janu- launch attacks to shut down
share in 2011. However the hesitate in employing the single IP communications casts that the market for UC der Ahuja, Lead, Unified expects a 50 per cent growth ary 2011. Cisco is shipping websites or turn into spam
direction and consensus is right team of experienced network, is the modern within enterprises in North Communications, Microsoft in business over the next 12 Cius, an Android based, email servers.
clearly vindicated. With all advisors in the whole fund- enterprise’s answer to America, Europe and Asia India. In 2011, there will be months. business tablet that delivers Still, the emergence of
the optimism around 2011, ing process, including enhance business productiv- Pacific will touch $14.5 bil- no more dial tones, as “The UC market is grow- virtual desktop integration Geinimi underlines con-
let me caution the wannabe investment bankers, ity, customer experience and lion in 2015 and according organizations will replace ing at a compounded annual with anytime, anywhere cerns that hackers are shift-
healthcare entrepreneurs lawyers, market research reduce cost of communica- to IDC estimates, the $600 the dial-in telephony servic- growth rate of 35-40 per access to the full range of its ing from focusing on
going in for funding this specialists and so on. Their tions” said Minhaj Zia, million UC market in India es with IP based capabili- cent per annum” said Jan- collaboration and communi- attacking PCs to targeting
year. India and the emerg- expertise is required in the National Sales Manager, will grow annually at a rate ties. In addition to on-prem- goo Dalal, President, Avaya cations applications for mobile devices as sales of
ing markets need quality process of building the Unified Communications, of 25 per cent to touch $1.32 ise UC solutions, customers India. Avaya has had 600 Indian enterprises in Febru- the powerful handheld
healthcare at affordable detailed long-term model Cisco India & SAARC. billion by 2011. will demand UC services on enterprise deployments of ary 2011. And Microsoft has computers take off and
cost and the key enabler is requires a detailed look at While there was a lot of The first wave of UC adop- the Cloud, pointed out its Avaya Aura platform released its latest UC prod- users increasingly put sen-
healthcare ICT. While a lot the business model and its buzz around Unified Com- tion began when organiza- Ahuja. worldwide, and 10 enter- uct, the Lync Server 2010 in sitive data in their pockets.
has been spoken and writ- inherent risks, and is part munications before the eco- tions started migrating to IP UC solution vendors, prise deployments in India the India market from Dec. Phones become contami-
ten about tapping the and parcel to the due dili- nomic downturn, with telephony. However, today, Microsoft, Cisco, Avaya and over the last 12 months. 1, 2010. nated with Geinimi when
opportunity at the bottom gence process to look at users download software
of the pyramid and social pricing strategies, costs, applications that have been
healthcare enterprises. In
one of my previous
columns I had articulated
about the need for a clear
and revenue ramps. The
earlier stage the deal, the
more difficult this is for the
advisors. Many times, not
China to go after internet phone services repackaged to include the
virus, according
researchers from Lookout
and Symantec Corp.
to
business model and the enough budgets or cash is Beijing, Jan. 2: China is China has said only ditional voice services,” said Tainted programs include
value proposition, delivery available to employ most going after Internet phone Kan, who is also a professor versions of the video games
proposition and financial competent team of advi- services such as Skype in a state-owned at the Beijing University of Monkey Jump 2, President
proposition for the venture sors. This does have an move to protect the coun- telecoms China Post and Telecommunica- vs. Aliens, City Defense
to warrant attention from impact in the longer term try's state-owned telephone tions. It’s “obviously a and Baseball Superstars
VCs and PEs. Some of the when the venture goes in companies, causing alarm Telecom and China wrong thing, absolutely 2010, according to Look-
critical issues to funding for future rounds of fund- among consumers who rely Unicom have the wrong.” out.
the healthcare and its allied ing. on cheap Internet calls. The ministry’s move is a Lookout researchers said
sector ventures is playing As we ring in 2011, more A notice by the Ministry of right to offer Internet warning to Skype and simi- that so far they have only
the cards right. Firstly, than billion dollars of fund- Industry and Information phone services for lar companies not to expand found the tainted software
potential to deliver a mini- ing looking to invest at a Technology on its website too much in China, said at third-party apps stores
mum of four to five times point in time immediately this month says it's working calls that link Wang Yuquan, chief consult- targeting the Chinese mar-
the gross cash-on-cash prior to a significant value to fight "illegal Internet telephones and ant for research firm Frost ket. Legitimate versions of
investment returns, and if creation event in these phone services" but doesn't computers and Sullivan in Beijing. the applications in the offi-
everything goes well, up to healthcare ventures. This specify any actions. “If the ministry hadn't cial Android market appear
ten times. In this context, a timing is falling in place for Experts say companies made this announcement, I to be safe, they said.
healthcare venture must different ventures in health- like Skype operate in a legal computers. But few do. The think Skype would have Compromised phones call
grow at a compounded rate care sector that have been gray area and that the notice country’s major telecoms offered its services in a very back to a remote computer
of over 40 percent over a incubated during the down- is a warning to them not to have been offering Internet large scale. Now, with the for instructions on what to
five-year period. This is a turn of 2008 and 2009 and grow too big or to challenge phone services only on a announcement, it can’t,” he do at five-minute intervals.
general statement, but it are now 6-12 months away the state-owned telecoms. trial basis in four cities, said. Skype did not immedi- Then they transmit infor-
drives interest in a deal and from going cash flow posi- China, which on Thursday according to Kan Kaili, a ately respond to a request mation on the device's loca-
its negotiated funding valu- tive for their services and announced its number of director of China VoIP & for comment. Telephones at tion, its hardware ID and
ation from VCs and PEs. products and the healthcare Internet users rose to 450 Digital Telecom Inc., a com- the ministry rang unan- SIM card back to the
Secondly, demonstrated ICT entrepreneurs believe million this year, also has a pany that has offered Inter- swered Thursday evening. remote computer.
competency and expertise that positions them for a strong interest in exercising net phone services. That China’s number of Internet So far the remote comput-
in all of the management great future! tight control over informa- leaves the market to the hun- phone users is not known, ers have been collecting
tion, and Skype has been a freely. The ministry’s move, Telecom and China Unicom dreds of small-scale compa- but a commentary in the data but have not issued any
Kapil Khandelwal is a leading healthcare and popular tool with activists however, also has business have the right to offer Inter- nies have sprung up. Beijing News on Thursday other orders to the infected
ICT expert. Kapil@KapilKhandelwal.com and others who want to in mind. China has said only net phone services for calls “This notice is actually estimated it at 15 million. phones, Mahaffey said.
share information relatively state-owned telecoms China that link telephones and protecting the telecoms’ tra- — AP — Reuters
For airport-stranded, relief in 140 characters
KIM SEVERSON airlines are doing the same Twitter traffic during the lat- sent a stream of complaints would be searching sites and
ATLANTA as a way to help travelers cut est storm, the number of to the Delta Twitter account. whoever hit pay dirt first is
through the confusion of a travelers who use Twitter is Delta officials readily admit the way the family would
Jan. 2: Some travelers storm that has grounded still small. that they cannot solve every- figure out what to do next,”
stranded by the great snow- thousands of flights this Only about 8 percent of one’s problems through he said.
storm of 2010 discovered a week. people who go online use Twitter or Facebook. Even when help is not
new lifeline for help. When But not all travelers, of Twitter, said Lee Rainie, Often, all the people run- forthcoming, the airline
all else fails, Twitter might course. People who could director of the Pew Internet ning the accounts could do Twitter accounts serve as a
be the best way to book a not send a Twitter message and American Life Project, a was apologize. news source. People could
seat home. if their life depended on it nonprofit organization that Sometimes, just connect- share information — and
While the airlines’ reserva- found themselves with that studies the social impact of ing with someone at an air- pain. Brian Devinney, who
tion lines required hours of familiar feeling that often the Internet. line can calm angry passen- used to work in the travel
waiting — if people could comes with air travel — “This is still the domain of gers. industry, is stuck in Jack-
get through at all — savvy being left out of yet another elite activist customers,” Mr “What you constantly hear sonville, Fla., until his flight
travelers were able to book inside track to get the best Rainie said. from airline passengers is, leaves for New York on Sun-
new reservations, get flight information. Of course, an agent with a ‘Just tell me what’s going day. So on Tuesday night he
information and track lost For those in the digital fast Twitter account cannot mag- on. I can adjust my travel spent three hours offering
luggage. And they could lane, however, the online ically make a seat appear. expectations and my person- information to stranded trav-
complain, too. help was a godsend. Blue ticketing agents, busy sage to the airline. She got uation,” said Ms. Heming, More often than not, the al life if I just know what’s elers who were using the air-
Since Monday, nine Delta Danielle Heming spent five signals on the phone and the out her iPhone, did a few 30, a student at New York agent’s role is to listen to going on,’ ” Mr Rainie said. line Twitter accounts.
Air Lines agents with spe- hours Wednesday waiting possibility that she might searches and sent a few mes- University. “It was just the people complain. He also said that stranded “With Twitter, you have
cial Twitter training have for a flight from Fort Myers, not get a seat until New sages. Within an hour, she perfect example of this “@DeltaAssist is worth- families were using their people who were reaching
been rotating shifts to help Fla., back home to New Year’s Day, she remembered had a seat on another airline crazy, fast-forward techno less,” wrote Amy Zopfi, an gadgets in a team approach out looking for something,
travelers wired enough to York. that a friend had rebooked and a refund from JetBlue. world.” event services manager in to getting answers. for a community of people
know how to “dm,” or send a Finally, it was canceled. her flight almost immediate- “It was a much, much bet- Although airlines reported Las Vegas who was stuck for “Mom would be on Twit- stuck in the same situation,”
direct message. Many other Facing overwhelmed Jet- ly by sending a Twitter mes- ter way to deal with this sit- a doubling or tripling of hours in Salt Lake City and ter, Dad on Facebook, Junior Mr. Devinney said. — NYT