Today is QAI's birthday...Dec 03 is when QAI was technically born.
QAI is a teenager, fourteen years old. If we look closely we will find it every bit one. Perhaps, the kind we would like our teenage kids to be.
One that we have ALL, as "parents" of this entity and brand, nurtured so assiduously, closely, personally and emotionally. One where values and prudence have taken priority over expediency and several tempting short-cuts.
QAI is a "trophy child".. which parents so proudly and fondly show off on their in the living room...all the silverware that talks about the child's every achievement in every area it chose to engage in. We can look back and take pride in all that all of us achieved and the foundation that we now stand on. Now the great future beckons.
The teenager is also going through growing pains. Like any teenager this one too now is not an adult neither a child. ....QAI compares itself to the Mckinseys and the KPMGs and beats one good and proper, and yet forgets that they are over 50 years old....and have their strengths. How does one match the success of the past with the teenage fantasies of the future. How can it break through and realize its potential. How well will it do in the large, brutal, but opportunity laden world out there?
We know where are going, are confident and yet seek our identity. One which will surpass even the original vision.
And as several of us in our heady days of youth said "we will change the world". And we are.
How do we let go and have our teenager fly and yet be rooted to the ground?
How do we give it freedom and yet guard it from the dangers that can take it to the wrong path?
We must introspect today and also celebrate.
We "must be careful what we wish since it will surely come true" (Emerson).
Happy wishing.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
The Now Big Thing Not New Big Thing - e-Learning
The basic fact that is driving and will drive the e-Learning market is the positive economics of the e-Learning solutions. The Indian IT industry is a 40 billion dollar industry and e-Learning is the only way to address this growing IT population. As they say "e-Learning is not the next big thing; it is the now big thing", says Navyug Mohnot, the CEO of QAI.
We are a consulting firm with a wide portfolio of learning products. Our knowledge offerings are aimed at providing a complete solution to the client.
Also, our unique advantage lies in the fact that we are not just a training provider. We are not just an e-Learning factory. We are a consulting firm, rooted in making organisational improvements happen and transforming knowledge into learning that is eventually translated into behaviours.
QAI is a leading global consulting organisation addressing 'Operational Excellence' in IT, BPO and Knowledge intensive organisations.
QAI's regional bases across the globe in the US, Singapore, China, Malaysia, UK and India helps to distribute innovatively and manage engagements across multiple locations.
The e-Learning market is sitting at the cusp, waiting to explode. The timing, model and the value proposition is just right. The Indian market is warming up to the concept and very soon, e-Learning would become the answer to all the woes of all IT HR managers
The company was founded in the United States 23 years ago, while QAI India was set up as the regional hub for the Asia Pacific in 1993. EdistaLearning, the core product is targeted at the core problems facing the ICT industry today :Just in time, high quality training and massive attrition. e-Learning is the order of the day,
with intense requirement of on-boarding, deployment and up-skilling
of the thousands of recruits that get hired per quarter. While quoting the popular view on e-Learning, Navyug says, "We need to bring learning to people instead of bringing people to learning" and that is what EdistaLearning does. The competitive advantage of EdistaLearning is the unique synergy of QAI's consulting and training experience and expert content from gurus like Dr. Roger Pressman. Also, companies offering e-Learning on C, C++, Oracle etc. are in plenty, but to provide domains of Software Engineering and Quality Management is unique and unparalleled.
Due to the individual nature of our offerings, we don't face the force of competition. Our services are uniquely positioned in the market.
An organisation such as Infosys has announced to hire 28,000 employees in this year. They would all need to be trained. This is because most companies today are troubled by the growing attrition and feel the need for constant engagement of the employee through various avenues including e-Learning.
In my opinion, the IT and the BPO sectors would consume huge market share of the e-Learning industry in the near future.
The underlying issue that the e-Learning industry faces is that in conventional mindset, e-Learning does not have as much credibility
as classroom training. Also, it doesnot hold the same amount of
weight age as an instructor led programme. This can be overcome by internationally recognised certifications or by a blended learning programme.
The e-Learning market is sitting at the cusp, waiting to explode. The timing, model and the value proposition is just right. The Indian market is warming up to the concept and very soon, e-Learning would become the answer to all the woes of all IT HR managers.
Currently, blended learning is the highlight of the day. With the backing of the experience of having trained over 75,000 professionals in the instructor led mode and expert content from international gurus for our e-Learning courses, we are doing pretty well as a training provider.
QAI facilitates enhanced competitiveness through multi-faceted interventions leading to Business Improvement through Consulting, Training, People, Process and Operational Assessments, Benchmarking, Certification, Conferences, Resource provisioning through Quality Outsourcing and e-Learning through QAI eSchool.
Over the years, my critical learning has been that we as individuals, as an organisation and as an industry, need to have the ability to constantly and relentlessly keep learning because the world around us changes everyday.e-Learning will be an integral element in the training processes of every organisation and it will be the most powerful tool to effectively on-board, induct and train the thousands of people who get hired every quarter.
Our intent is to take Software Engineering and Quality Management education to every desktop and unleash the creation of a massive workforce to meet India's 80 billion target.
We are a consulting firm with a wide portfolio of learning products. Our knowledge offerings are aimed at providing a complete solution to the client.
Also, our unique advantage lies in the fact that we are not just a training provider. We are not just an e-Learning factory. We are a consulting firm, rooted in making organisational improvements happen and transforming knowledge into learning that is eventually translated into behaviours.
QAI is a leading global consulting organisation addressing 'Operational Excellence' in IT, BPO and Knowledge intensive organisations.
QAI's regional bases across the globe in the US, Singapore, China, Malaysia, UK and India helps to distribute innovatively and manage engagements across multiple locations.
The e-Learning market is sitting at the cusp, waiting to explode. The timing, model and the value proposition is just right. The Indian market is warming up to the concept and very soon, e-Learning would become the answer to all the woes of all IT HR managers
The company was founded in the United States 23 years ago, while QAI India was set up as the regional hub for the Asia Pacific in 1993. EdistaLearning, the core product is targeted at the core problems facing the ICT industry today :Just in time, high quality training and massive attrition. e-Learning is the order of the day,
with intense requirement of on-boarding, deployment and up-skilling
of the thousands of recruits that get hired per quarter. While quoting the popular view on e-Learning, Navyug says, "We need to bring learning to people instead of bringing people to learning" and that is what EdistaLearning does. The competitive advantage of EdistaLearning is the unique synergy of QAI's consulting and training experience and expert content from gurus like Dr. Roger Pressman. Also, companies offering e-Learning on C, C++, Oracle etc. are in plenty, but to provide domains of Software Engineering and Quality Management is unique and unparalleled.
Due to the individual nature of our offerings, we don't face the force of competition. Our services are uniquely positioned in the market.
An organisation such as Infosys has announced to hire 28,000 employees in this year. They would all need to be trained. This is because most companies today are troubled by the growing attrition and feel the need for constant engagement of the employee through various avenues including e-Learning.
In my opinion, the IT and the BPO sectors would consume huge market share of the e-Learning industry in the near future.
The underlying issue that the e-Learning industry faces is that in conventional mindset, e-Learning does not have as much credibility
as classroom training. Also, it doesnot hold the same amount of
weight age as an instructor led programme. This can be overcome by internationally recognised certifications or by a blended learning programme.
The e-Learning market is sitting at the cusp, waiting to explode. The timing, model and the value proposition is just right. The Indian market is warming up to the concept and very soon, e-Learning would become the answer to all the woes of all IT HR managers.
Currently, blended learning is the highlight of the day. With the backing of the experience of having trained over 75,000 professionals in the instructor led mode and expert content from international gurus for our e-Learning courses, we are doing pretty well as a training provider.
QAI facilitates enhanced competitiveness through multi-faceted interventions leading to Business Improvement through Consulting, Training, People, Process and Operational Assessments, Benchmarking, Certification, Conferences, Resource provisioning through Quality Outsourcing and e-Learning through QAI eSchool.
Over the years, my critical learning has been that we as individuals, as an organisation and as an industry, need to have the ability to constantly and relentlessly keep learning because the world around us changes everyday.e-Learning will be an integral element in the training processes of every organisation and it will be the most powerful tool to effectively on-board, induct and train the thousands of people who get hired every quarter.
Our intent is to take Software Engineering and Quality Management education to every desktop and unleash the creation of a massive workforce to meet India's 80 billion target.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
The Leader Judges the Leaders: QAI and Indiatimes
Indiatimes (the digital media piece of the Times of India Group) has enlisted QAI to research, design, evaluate a series of Awards for the BPO industry, the first of its kind in India. The awards include:
- Company of the Year
- CEO of the Year
- Emerging Company of the Year
- Most Significant Contributor to BPO Industry
- Operational Excellence and Quality Award
- Most Admired Company to Work for
- Technology Award of the Year
- BPO Innovator of the Year
- Professional Excellence Award
and the NASSCOM-QAI CBTL/CBQA Professional of the Year.
CEO committee, Jury for this includes ( Mr. Pramod Bhasin, President and CEO, Genpact, Mr. Raman Kumar, Chairman and CEO, Cbay systems, Mr. Atul Kunwar, CEO, Transworks, Mr. Dan Sandhu, CEO-Offshore business, Vertex....)
QAI has over the years been recognizing Leadership in the IT industry through the QAIs Best of the Best Awards- In Software Testing and Software Project Management.
The Testing conference starts in five days and we have documented Best Practices from ALL the industry vying for OUR awards. The total number of submissions received: 202! TWO HUNDRED AND TWO>
Look out for all the Economic Times Advertisements for the BPO awards. Pls visit the website www.bpoindustryawards.indiatimes.com. Pls see the great branding we are getting and pls view the great work done by the Team in the design and development of the concept of the awards.(view the app forms and download and read)
While we wait to recognize the Leaders outside a quick mention of the Leaders inside. Although, when we have great people doing great work we don’t make a great fuss. Nevertheless:
Shreekant, Vineet and Biren provided us with inputs and Aditya, Neeti, Chetan and Dibyendu and Aravinda subsequently have managed to put together a high quality set of documents. In Indiatimes words- "the docs are fabulous". Thanks all.
Now the BIG task of evaluating the entries across categories...when the applications come in.
The Leader judges the Leaders.
- Company of the Year
- CEO of the Year
- Emerging Company of the Year
- Most Significant Contributor to BPO Industry
- Operational Excellence and Quality Award
- Most Admired Company to Work for
- Technology Award of the Year
- BPO Innovator of the Year
- Professional Excellence Award
and the NASSCOM-QAI CBTL/CBQA Professional of the Year.
CEO committee, Jury for this includes ( Mr. Pramod Bhasin, President and CEO, Genpact, Mr. Raman Kumar, Chairman and CEO, Cbay systems, Mr. Atul Kunwar, CEO, Transworks, Mr. Dan Sandhu, CEO-Offshore business, Vertex....)
QAI has over the years been recognizing Leadership in the IT industry through the QAIs Best of the Best Awards- In Software Testing and Software Project Management.
The Testing conference starts in five days and we have documented Best Practices from ALL the industry vying for OUR awards. The total number of submissions received: 202! TWO HUNDRED AND TWO>
Look out for all the Economic Times Advertisements for the BPO awards. Pls visit the website www.bpoindustryawards.indiatimes.com. Pls see the great branding we are getting and pls view the great work done by the Team in the design and development of the concept of the awards.(view the app forms and download and read)
While we wait to recognize the Leaders outside a quick mention of the Leaders inside. Although, when we have great people doing great work we don’t make a great fuss. Nevertheless:
Shreekant, Vineet and Biren provided us with inputs and Aditya, Neeti, Chetan and Dibyendu and Aravinda subsequently have managed to put together a high quality set of documents. In Indiatimes words- "the docs are fabulous". Thanks all.
Now the BIG task of evaluating the entries across categories...when the applications come in.
The Leader judges the Leaders.
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
QAI's Highest Asset-Our Team crosses the 100 mark!
Folks, we finally have 100 on the Board! No, not 100 crores (not yet), but a headcount of 108. I think it’s a significant milestone. In the early days I had decided I would be involved with EVERY hire until the first hundred. I would meet and share our Vision with every person who we will be offering a position to. I think I did manage to meet most all. I have spent an order of magnitude more time doing this than meeting customers.
You will agree that we are a great team and we found great people; and when great people found us, we responded.
I write ( wrote the first draft) this note on a plane, on way back from Bangalore, after doing a jam packed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of, guess what?...yes ...interviewing. Looks like I will be continuing to be involved with EVERY hire beyond the first 100? Yes. Of all the stuff I do (and don't) I decided that there are two things that I will not distance myself with...one: hiring... and two: anything that affects the brand.
And so I continue to seek and search for the great folks and try and be really discerning and when they meet QAI standards try and get them over.
The QAI 100 Team is a team to beat. Very few organizations are characterized by such passion and such talent. Such integrity and such simplicity. Such energy and such empathy.
I also believe that there is an invisible set of forces at work, a self selection that goes on; "seek and they shall come phenomenon" ... . The universe is connected. Things are meant to be. People you meet are no accidents.
Look at the early Qaiites....
Many many moons ago, QAI had its humble office in a building in Delhi - SEVEN Community Center. I get a call from a lady, Mrinalini, she says "I have heard that you folks do some CMM stuff", and proudly says "my husband is an authorized Instructor for CMM, the only one in India. He is in USA next few weeks and we have a software business. "Guess where this lady's business was located in this large country called India? In SIX Community Centre, East of Kailash. The very next building. Her husband's name - Ajay Batra.
I am on a business trip to USA and a young MBA, Vishal, is given charge to "run" QAI in my absence. He decides that this young girl called Sudha needs to be fired, and I agree. I come back, and ask Sudha to shortlist people for hiring, her replacement. She finds this five feet BA in English literature graduate, who was selling torches to taxi stands a few weeks ago to earn some pocket money. We see a sparkle in his eyes and pay a handsome amt of Rs 3,000 per month. This boy Samrat Dasgupta, goes on to be an assessment team member in QAIs PCMM assessment with BILL CURTIS! After QAI, a stint at IBM Daksh in Quality, does great....makes it to Accenture, in Quality, and in a space of five years earns enough to make anyone look handsome!
QAIs SEI consultancy is flourishing and we have no Lead Assessor. India has only a couple and IFlex has one and Wipro has one. We wonder what we must do. Rajesh Naik bumps into this..... (One of the few LAs in Bangalore airport), gets him interested, tells me to take it from there, and I do and we introduce sometime in December, to QAI,- Santa, our first LA.. And then with some SEI permitted inbreeding we have several LAs.
We have our eyes on this wonderful (and handsome) Quality Manager, in a company called Eurolink. There’s only one snag. Eurolink is a customer. And our policy and values don’t allow us to hire a person we are interacting with. Rajesh recommends restructuring, in the process Mukul decides to leave, we ask the CEO if its okay to hire Mukul, he has no choice but says yes! (no one dares not follow Rajesh's advise)
Ramaswamy and I meet one day in Bangalore and three years later Rama, remembers this then small co QAI and applies for a position on the QAI web site! Rama's mail is about to get deleted with all the obscene spams. But it doesn't.
At one time QAI had four Aries out of a total of five staff. Rajesh, also an Aries, strongly recommended that I change the hiring criteria, and till today probably doesn't agree that it was mere coincidence that I was an Aries too.
And we make mistakes too. Ajay Kabra--one of QAI's highly competent, highly appreciated, very popular consultant and LA was met by me in Mumbai many years before Ajay chose to go and return from USA and talk to us again. Ajay tells me we didn't make an offer then!
Umesh was running his own firm. Umesh takes on an assignment for QAIs Project: Software Dioxide. Soon Umesh decides that QAI will be his only customer.
While QAI has always chosen tough customers to service, its been a tough customer for its people. That has rattled many and many have chosen to leave. And many of those are the best ambassadors that we will ever have. And there many who have met the standards and sustained. In Pradeep C's words its A League of Extraordinary Men (and women). I totally agree.
Let’s not forget the "woman" I hired, through which we got us QAI. I was a PhD student in USA, had gone there after IIT, was coming back to India for a one year break, and was looking for things to do. I hired my friend’s wife to do research at $5 an hour paying out of my princely sum of $10 an hour that i used to earn as a research associate. There is NO internet at that time, there is NO software industry in India, and there is no India on the map of Americans. She discovers QAI USA in a CD ROM based database of American industries. She gives me a dot matrix printout of QAI amongst 17 other org profiles. I see potential. Steve Bender, then QAI USA, decides to repose trust in us. The rest, as they say, is history.
I can go on and on! I must have missed so many other significant people on-, boarding war stories.
Well, another day, another milestone.....
You will agree that we are a great team and we found great people; and when great people found us, we responded.
I write ( wrote the first draft) this note on a plane, on way back from Bangalore, after doing a jam packed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of, guess what?...yes ...interviewing. Looks like I will be continuing to be involved with EVERY hire beyond the first 100? Yes. Of all the stuff I do (and don't) I decided that there are two things that I will not distance myself with...one: hiring... and two: anything that affects the brand.
And so I continue to seek and search for the great folks and try and be really discerning and when they meet QAI standards try and get them over.
The QAI 100 Team is a team to beat. Very few organizations are characterized by such passion and such talent. Such integrity and such simplicity. Such energy and such empathy.
I also believe that there is an invisible set of forces at work, a self selection that goes on; "seek and they shall come phenomenon" ... . The universe is connected. Things are meant to be. People you meet are no accidents.
Look at the early Qaiites....
Many many moons ago, QAI had its humble office in a building in Delhi - SEVEN Community Center. I get a call from a lady, Mrinalini, she says "I have heard that you folks do some CMM stuff", and proudly says "my husband is an authorized Instructor for CMM, the only one in India. He is in USA next few weeks and we have a software business. "Guess where this lady's business was located in this large country called India? In SIX Community Centre, East of Kailash. The very next building. Her husband's name - Ajay Batra.
I am on a business trip to USA and a young MBA, Vishal, is given charge to "run" QAI in my absence. He decides that this young girl called Sudha needs to be fired, and I agree. I come back, and ask Sudha to shortlist people for hiring, her replacement. She finds this five feet BA in English literature graduate, who was selling torches to taxi stands a few weeks ago to earn some pocket money. We see a sparkle in his eyes and pay a handsome amt of Rs 3,000 per month. This boy Samrat Dasgupta, goes on to be an assessment team member in QAIs PCMM assessment with BILL CURTIS! After QAI, a stint at IBM Daksh in Quality, does great....makes it to Accenture, in Quality, and in a space of five years earns enough to make anyone look handsome!
QAIs SEI consultancy is flourishing and we have no Lead Assessor. India has only a couple and IFlex has one and Wipro has one. We wonder what we must do. Rajesh Naik bumps into this..... (One of the few LAs in Bangalore airport), gets him interested, tells me to take it from there, and I do and we introduce sometime in December, to QAI,- Santa, our first LA.. And then with some SEI permitted inbreeding we have several LAs.
We have our eyes on this wonderful (and handsome) Quality Manager, in a company called Eurolink. There’s only one snag. Eurolink is a customer. And our policy and values don’t allow us to hire a person we are interacting with. Rajesh recommends restructuring, in the process Mukul decides to leave, we ask the CEO if its okay to hire Mukul, he has no choice but says yes! (no one dares not follow Rajesh's advise)
Ramaswamy and I meet one day in Bangalore and three years later Rama, remembers this then small co QAI and applies for a position on the QAI web site! Rama's mail is about to get deleted with all the obscene spams. But it doesn't.
At one time QAI had four Aries out of a total of five staff. Rajesh, also an Aries, strongly recommended that I change the hiring criteria, and till today probably doesn't agree that it was mere coincidence that I was an Aries too.
And we make mistakes too. Ajay Kabra--one of QAI's highly competent, highly appreciated, very popular consultant and LA was met by me in Mumbai many years before Ajay chose to go and return from USA and talk to us again. Ajay tells me we didn't make an offer then!
Umesh was running his own firm. Umesh takes on an assignment for QAIs Project: Software Dioxide. Soon Umesh decides that QAI will be his only customer.
While QAI has always chosen tough customers to service, its been a tough customer for its people. That has rattled many and many have chosen to leave. And many of those are the best ambassadors that we will ever have. And there many who have met the standards and sustained. In Pradeep C's words its A League of Extraordinary Men (and women). I totally agree.
Let’s not forget the "woman" I hired, through which we got us QAI. I was a PhD student in USA, had gone there after IIT, was coming back to India for a one year break, and was looking for things to do. I hired my friend’s wife to do research at $5 an hour paying out of my princely sum of $10 an hour that i used to earn as a research associate. There is NO internet at that time, there is NO software industry in India, and there is no India on the map of Americans. She discovers QAI USA in a CD ROM based database of American industries. She gives me a dot matrix printout of QAI amongst 17 other org profiles. I see potential. Steve Bender, then QAI USA, decides to repose trust in us. The rest, as they say, is history.
I can go on and on! I must have missed so many other significant people on-, boarding war stories.
Well, another day, another milestone.....
Monday, March 28, 2005
We all knew. Now we know. Navyug receives “Outstanding Contribution Award for National Development”
I am happy to announce that on behalf of all of us I will be receiving the following ( mail attached) Award at IIT in delhi.
Its an Award we deserve.
Over the last decade, long before the Indian IT Industry was even an industry ( a few organisations makes not an industry), QAI had the Vision for itself and for our Nation, which is so gloriously being played out today.
Thousands of flights and hotel check ins by the QAIites and QAI is seen as having played a seminal role in the success story called "Indian IT". QAI had the patience and QAI had the conviction.
I have witnessed extraordinary work by a league of extra ordinary people at QAI. QAI always had the talent and the talented. From day one. When it was a two room operation, with no power backup, no internet, manual typewriters, hardly a brand, very little money, loads of confidence and plenty of attitude and even more competence. How much QAI and how far India has come since then. And yet the more things have changed the more they have remained the same.
We believed that we would prosper in a prosperous Ecosystem. Building the Indian software ecosystem was therefore not only a matter of national importance it was good strategy. So we went about building a atypical consulting organisation....one that participates in the building of the industry and not only one that brilliantly and incessantly builds its own organisation.
So QAI the Consulting Organisation also trained, and has already trained about 70,000 people. It evangelized and introduced so many new ideas.
So QAI the Consulting Organisation also organized and brought the Thinkers and Practitioners together in the conferences that it organized, and the Leadership that it recognized through QAI's annual Awards.
So QAI invested and built an online property for the Community called software dioxide, and has now launched a QAI eschool. Building the competencies of a nation of IT professionals.
QAIs Certification programmes have already recognized Individuals and thousands of Indian IT professionals hang a plaque on their walls given by QAI.
QAI then went about showcasing India's best. Over a 100 overseas "gurus" mainly from USA have been hosted by QAI. And its not just The Taj Mahal that we have taken them to...although thats a monument of national pride as well.
I believe when The Story of the Indian IT Industry is written we will have a few prominent leaves in that tome. So many of us have put so much blood, sweat and (yes even) tears into making all this happen, and continue to do so. I thank you for your efforts (and quite unfairly) I get to collect the award. But its on behalf of all of us. And its only the beginning. We have now the Indian BPO industry to make a world beating industry. And the World, lets not forget, the world beckons. Thats a journey that we have already started.
And QAI and all of us will be there and will look back and say " we made a difference".I am convinced we will.
Its an Award we deserve.
Over the last decade, long before the Indian IT Industry was even an industry ( a few organisations makes not an industry), QAI had the Vision for itself and for our Nation, which is so gloriously being played out today.
Thousands of flights and hotel check ins by the QAIites and QAI is seen as having played a seminal role in the success story called "Indian IT". QAI had the patience and QAI had the conviction.
I have witnessed extraordinary work by a league of extra ordinary people at QAI. QAI always had the talent and the talented. From day one. When it was a two room operation, with no power backup, no internet, manual typewriters, hardly a brand, very little money, loads of confidence and plenty of attitude and even more competence. How much QAI and how far India has come since then. And yet the more things have changed the more they have remained the same.
We believed that we would prosper in a prosperous Ecosystem. Building the Indian software ecosystem was therefore not only a matter of national importance it was good strategy. So we went about building a atypical consulting organisation....one that participates in the building of the industry and not only one that brilliantly and incessantly builds its own organisation.
So QAI the Consulting Organisation also trained, and has already trained about 70,000 people. It evangelized and introduced so many new ideas.
So QAI the Consulting Organisation also organized and brought the Thinkers and Practitioners together in the conferences that it organized, and the Leadership that it recognized through QAI's annual Awards.
So QAI invested and built an online property for the Community called software dioxide, and has now launched a QAI eschool. Building the competencies of a nation of IT professionals.
QAIs Certification programmes have already recognized Individuals and thousands of Indian IT professionals hang a plaque on their walls given by QAI.
QAI then went about showcasing India's best. Over a 100 overseas "gurus" mainly from USA have been hosted by QAI. And its not just The Taj Mahal that we have taken them to...although thats a monument of national pride as well.
I believe when The Story of the Indian IT Industry is written we will have a few prominent leaves in that tome. So many of us have put so much blood, sweat and (yes even) tears into making all this happen, and continue to do so. I thank you for your efforts (and quite unfairly) I get to collect the award. But its on behalf of all of us. And its only the beginning. We have now the Indian BPO industry to make a world beating industry. And the World, lets not forget, the world beckons. Thats a journey that we have already started.
And QAI and all of us will be there and will look back and say " we made a difference".I am convinced we will.
Monday, October 27, 2003
Why “India Inside” Spells Quality
Europe, and the need for ISO certification, provided the trigger to the quality movement in India. But the real impetus came after Motorola’s software center at Bangalore became the world’s second CMM Level 5 unit in 1994 (the first was at NASA)
Even for those familiar with India’s software industry, this is a startling number.
There are 80 software centers on the planet that are assessed at CMM Level 5.
Of all those centers, 60 are in India.
CMM is the classic Capability Maturity Model from the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Level 5 is the highest level on the maturity scale.
India’s software industry isn’t surprised: Indian organizations have led the world in quality certification for years. The world’s first PCMM (People-CMM) Level 5 organization is also in India.
And so are all five of the world’s PCMM Level 5 organizations in India. In fact, of the world’s nine CMMI assessments at all levels, eight are in India. (The only non-Indian CMMI-assessed organization is Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems.)
"India is making progress on both Software CMM and People CMM faster than any other nation in the world. The pinnacle will be reached when Americans seek visas so they can learn and work in India," says Bill Curtis, former director of SEI’s process program, author, CMM, and chief architect, PCMM.
In business process management, India already has the largest number of COPC-certified contact centers outside the US and Canada—in under three years of its launch. This is apart from the 200-plus software and BPO (business process outsourcing) companies that are ISO certified.
A Six Sigma wave is now sweeping India’s services community. The quality journey continues. Investments in improvements continue to be made, processes continue to be improved. Senior management really seems to have bought it.
Take a look at the numbers again, and then take a look around. Outside the "First World offices" of the Indian software and BPO firms is a huge and crowded Third World country with all its challenges and limitations. You’d immediately sense and experience the issues and problems of a developing economy.
And yet, surrounded by the sea of "non quality" there are these hundreds of world-class organizations in the software, systems engineering and the BPO space, epitomizing excellence. These are routinely visited by foreign delegations and even country leaders; these are the temples, the Taj Mahals of modern India, proud showpieces for a not-so-otherwise proud population.
These organizations are doing cutting edge work at amazingly low costs.
Inside India’s quality paradox
The paradox is evident once again. As a nation and society, India has amongst the world’s most chaotic environments.
Foreign visitors wonder there aren’t more road accidents. And that people are able to keep body and soul together. The community is largely passionate, volatile, energetic and willing to break rules—some to survive, others to get ahead. All break rules, all the time.
Social and cultural factors: At home, however, these individuals respect tradition and their elders, follow strict family norms, have a deeply inculcated sense of value for education and exhibit a relatively egoless state (within a family, or team), meeting commitments, believing in "duty", and not worrying about the goal or the endgame too much.
Software organizations and customer service agents fortunately and surprisingly seem to emulate the Indian "family values", rather than the society at large. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of the Indian manufacturing sectors or other parts of the economy in general, though things are changing there, especially in the automotive sector.
Says Judy Bamberger, co-author of CMM: "While India’s success can be attributed to the value of cost, the more important factors are the spirit of the Indian people (passion, worth, love, wisdom, bringing heart to the workplace, and openness) as also their problem-solving skills and flat organization structures."
Economic factors: The biggest driver for the Indian quality movement, as is the case anywhere for anything, is simple economics. Senior management understood early on the huge return on investments from creating a process-based organization, from investing in standards, in going in for certifications. It made eminent business sense to engage consultants, to provide adequate confidence to customers through certifications, to enhance the ability to deliver and get repeat business.
Early role models
The trigger to the quality movement was the notion that exports to Europe were unthinkable without an ISO certification. The real impetus came after Motorola’s software center at Bangalore became the world’s second CMM Level 5 unit in 1994 (the first was at NASA). The industry was inspired, the press flocked, the confidence built up and the learning was shared and disseminated.
In BPO, GE was the anchor, pioneering the concept of ‘back office to the world’. Its spectacular success (over $300 million savings annually) made corporations worldwide sit up and take notice. India itself woke up to its latent potential—a large number of educated, English-speaking and misemployed graduates obsessed with continuous improvement. Leaders (with over 5,000 agents) and startups alike are rapidly feeding their appetite for advanced tools like Six Sigma, enabling their workforce to cut across hierarchies. This has created an industry that, like GE, strives to live the ‘Six Sigma way’ every day.
Competence and culture of senior management: Most people believe that it is the large army of English-speaking technical manpower that has been largely responsible for India’s success. Actually, it’s the quality of senior management that has been instrumental. As Curtis notes: "India’s greatest competitive advantage is not merely the large number of talented developers, but even more the large number of senior executives who understand how and why to run a high maturity organization."
Organizational factors and best practices: Recent practices have vastly enhanced people competencies: commitment to training (especially induction-level training); placing star performers in the quality function; rotating and bringing in line managers to head quality; open knowledge sharing at the community level (through improvement networks and conferences) and rapid infusion of practices from the MNC parent.
The paradox and the future
While organizations continue to be and create newer "islands of excellence", is the heady growth and revenues of the software and BPO sectors sustainable? Can the environment at large be transformed to provide the high-quality infrastructure required for these organizations to thrive and compete in global markets? Can the highly competent workforce be effective in stark contrasts? Can India become to services what China is to manufacturing? Can it sustain growth and margins when Indians are famous for complacence? Will we be victims of our own success, with backlashes everywhere?
My personal belief, as was 10 years ago, is that it’s only the beginning. India’s paradoxes can and should be leveraged for its success and not be its weakness. But as Phil Crosby said: "Quality is free, but it is not a gift." Success in the next phase is possible but will not be easy. To be successful, India will need to move from manufacturing excellence to applied research.
From being service providers to owners of products and IP. From quality to design and innovation. The next revolution must begin.
Many believe that an army of English-speaking technical manpower was responsible for India’s success. Actually, it was the quality of senior management that was instrumental, senior executives who could run a high maturity organization
In the process, India is rapidly growing into being the custodian of the world’s knowledge. Every business is fast becoming a software or knowledge-intensive business, and software is but proceduralized knowledge. Therefore, IT was India’s only entry ticket into all other businesses of the world. The next phase will see the "India Inside" every knowledge and service-based system. Business pressure and opportunity are forcing firms to fuse knowledge to do new things in ways not done before—which means innovation. With momentum, this could become a routine.
Even for those familiar with India’s software industry, this is a startling number.
There are 80 software centers on the planet that are assessed at CMM Level 5.
Of all those centers, 60 are in India.
CMM is the classic Capability Maturity Model from the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Level 5 is the highest level on the maturity scale.
India’s software industry isn’t surprised: Indian organizations have led the world in quality certification for years. The world’s first PCMM (People-CMM) Level 5 organization is also in India.
And so are all five of the world’s PCMM Level 5 organizations in India. In fact, of the world’s nine CMMI assessments at all levels, eight are in India. (The only non-Indian CMMI-assessed organization is Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems.)
"India is making progress on both Software CMM and People CMM faster than any other nation in the world. The pinnacle will be reached when Americans seek visas so they can learn and work in India," says Bill Curtis, former director of SEI’s process program, author, CMM, and chief architect, PCMM.
In business process management, India already has the largest number of COPC-certified contact centers outside the US and Canada—in under three years of its launch. This is apart from the 200-plus software and BPO (business process outsourcing) companies that are ISO certified.
A Six Sigma wave is now sweeping India’s services community. The quality journey continues. Investments in improvements continue to be made, processes continue to be improved. Senior management really seems to have bought it.
Take a look at the numbers again, and then take a look around. Outside the "First World offices" of the Indian software and BPO firms is a huge and crowded Third World country with all its challenges and limitations. You’d immediately sense and experience the issues and problems of a developing economy.
And yet, surrounded by the sea of "non quality" there are these hundreds of world-class organizations in the software, systems engineering and the BPO space, epitomizing excellence. These are routinely visited by foreign delegations and even country leaders; these are the temples, the Taj Mahals of modern India, proud showpieces for a not-so-otherwise proud population.
These organizations are doing cutting edge work at amazingly low costs.
Inside India’s quality paradox
The paradox is evident once again. As a nation and society, India has amongst the world’s most chaotic environments.
Foreign visitors wonder there aren’t more road accidents. And that people are able to keep body and soul together. The community is largely passionate, volatile, energetic and willing to break rules—some to survive, others to get ahead. All break rules, all the time.
Social and cultural factors: At home, however, these individuals respect tradition and their elders, follow strict family norms, have a deeply inculcated sense of value for education and exhibit a relatively egoless state (within a family, or team), meeting commitments, believing in "duty", and not worrying about the goal or the endgame too much.
Software organizations and customer service agents fortunately and surprisingly seem to emulate the Indian "family values", rather than the society at large. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of the Indian manufacturing sectors or other parts of the economy in general, though things are changing there, especially in the automotive sector.
Says Judy Bamberger, co-author of CMM: "While India’s success can be attributed to the value of cost, the more important factors are the spirit of the Indian people (passion, worth, love, wisdom, bringing heart to the workplace, and openness) as also their problem-solving skills and flat organization structures."
Economic factors: The biggest driver for the Indian quality movement, as is the case anywhere for anything, is simple economics. Senior management understood early on the huge return on investments from creating a process-based organization, from investing in standards, in going in for certifications. It made eminent business sense to engage consultants, to provide adequate confidence to customers through certifications, to enhance the ability to deliver and get repeat business.
Early role models
The trigger to the quality movement was the notion that exports to Europe were unthinkable without an ISO certification. The real impetus came after Motorola’s software center at Bangalore became the world’s second CMM Level 5 unit in 1994 (the first was at NASA). The industry was inspired, the press flocked, the confidence built up and the learning was shared and disseminated.
In BPO, GE was the anchor, pioneering the concept of ‘back office to the world’. Its spectacular success (over $300 million savings annually) made corporations worldwide sit up and take notice. India itself woke up to its latent potential—a large number of educated, English-speaking and misemployed graduates obsessed with continuous improvement. Leaders (with over 5,000 agents) and startups alike are rapidly feeding their appetite for advanced tools like Six Sigma, enabling their workforce to cut across hierarchies. This has created an industry that, like GE, strives to live the ‘Six Sigma way’ every day.
Competence and culture of senior management: Most people believe that it is the large army of English-speaking technical manpower that has been largely responsible for India’s success. Actually, it’s the quality of senior management that has been instrumental. As Curtis notes: "India’s greatest competitive advantage is not merely the large number of talented developers, but even more the large number of senior executives who understand how and why to run a high maturity organization."
Organizational factors and best practices: Recent practices have vastly enhanced people competencies: commitment to training (especially induction-level training); placing star performers in the quality function; rotating and bringing in line managers to head quality; open knowledge sharing at the community level (through improvement networks and conferences) and rapid infusion of practices from the MNC parent.
The paradox and the future
While organizations continue to be and create newer "islands of excellence", is the heady growth and revenues of the software and BPO sectors sustainable? Can the environment at large be transformed to provide the high-quality infrastructure required for these organizations to thrive and compete in global markets? Can the highly competent workforce be effective in stark contrasts? Can India become to services what China is to manufacturing? Can it sustain growth and margins when Indians are famous for complacence? Will we be victims of our own success, with backlashes everywhere?
My personal belief, as was 10 years ago, is that it’s only the beginning. India’s paradoxes can and should be leveraged for its success and not be its weakness. But as Phil Crosby said: "Quality is free, but it is not a gift." Success in the next phase is possible but will not be easy. To be successful, India will need to move from manufacturing excellence to applied research.
From being service providers to owners of products and IP. From quality to design and innovation. The next revolution must begin.
Many believe that an army of English-speaking technical manpower was responsible for India’s success. Actually, it was the quality of senior management that was instrumental, senior executives who could run a high maturity organization
In the process, India is rapidly growing into being the custodian of the world’s knowledge. Every business is fast becoming a software or knowledge-intensive business, and software is but proceduralized knowledge. Therefore, IT was India’s only entry ticket into all other businesses of the world. The next phase will see the "India Inside" every knowledge and service-based system. Business pressure and opportunity are forcing firms to fuse knowledge to do new things in ways not done before—which means innovation. With momentum, this could become a routine.
Wednesday, May 1, 2002
A Day in The Life of QAI
Folks,
I am back from China. I would like to share a few thoughts.
April 27. Morning: The second and last day of SEPG China.
A bold and admittedly risky event will soon come to an end. An event in which, perhaps we at QAI learnt more than the attendees; no, this isn’t a comment on the quality of the conference content, rather our experiences in China.
China. The world is talking about it. We decided to take it on - unfortunately with no legal status there, no office, no databases, no permanent employee, no knowledge of the language, little idea of the cost structures, no sense of protocol or knowledge of political correctness. Most of all we were unaware of their integrity, or rather the lack of it. All we had were cell phones, email accounts and the temerity, and perhaps a foolish will. As one looks back one feels we were ill equipped, what the heck, it didn’t kill us…not yet. Finally, what was important was that Team QAI just did it. I congratulate ALL of you.
April 27 Afternoon: We read the big coverage that we have received in the Shanghai daily. China is obsessed with India stealing a march over them in software. It is arguably the only area we are better off and they are determined to correct that. Hence the red carpet welcome that QAI gets everywhere. After all this is the company that “facilitated India’s global leadership in software.” Sounds familiar?!
I meet representatives from their largest technical publication company and propose to have Rajesh’s and Swapna’s book in Chinese…
Several phone calls are exchanged with the equivalent of the “Ambanis” of China. Their IT Group Chief is willing to fly anywhere to meet with us. We agree on Beijing. Big opportunity, big risk. Let’s see.
I continue interviewing Chinese people since we want to have local consultants…. Salaries are very affordable and upon asking what they know about QAI….one gets really flattering answers. We have built a brand there. Thanks also largely to all the satisfied customers. (I read a mail from Indradeb who is on this first and whirlwind trip of China. His mail starts “Customers continue to be impressed with me….”! That’s passionate Indradeb as he is!
The last meeting in Shanghai comes to an end…19 of them….5 back to back ones have been fixed for Beijing for the day I am there before the evening flight. (Ashish does not let up…my goodness he has blasted away in the last six months and now he is making the most of my presence there. I ask him for more) Stepping out of the office at Ansal Towers makes a lot of sense.
I call Delhi and believe that the new found QAI water polo team did great (the five players in the pool also did as well as all our cheering team.) The most amazing thing is I heard about how we built brand at the tournament. Keep it up folks!) Special mention of sporting Nina for getting us two points. Nikhil, the new found shark of qai, I believe, was more aggressive than ever. I missed it. I might even trade it for being at SEPG China.
April 27, Evening: The conference is finally over. We get ready to head our own ways…to get on with it. I am to leave for Beijing the next day (for some meetings and to get back to Delhi), Vishal for Shenzen (two very important customers and to proceed to Taiwan and then to Singapore), Vikram to Tianjin (to collect dollars since customer hadn’t been managing to remit our fees) and Ashish to stay back in Shanghai to meet even more customers.
Over a few beers, Vikram tells about the Chinese, to whom we had given one registration free with one paid. During registration, the bloke from this Chinese company, with a straight face and tilted eyes (which they all have) argues about how he is the free person and the paid registrant has sent his regrets and can’t make it. Why should we charge him?
Vikram also tells about how he took the laptop to the loo. To make every moment count. Vikram, lets just keep it at making every day count, huh?
We decide to call some QAI SEPG team members from China. Amrita is elated to get our congratulatory call. Kumar is worried it’s about some fire. Priyanka, predictably bursts into tears (assuming a crying person also sheds tears…we couldn’t see her.) Unable to talk to Rachna. Kunal wants to spend an extra day in Hong Kong) after his harrowing time time the partner in Gz where he ran the tutes to great results. Nina, Arindam, Nikhil, Kumar, Shyam, Sandeep, Dhwnit, Pradeep, Naveen….and so many more… (Please…it’s not an exhaustive list) (Ok Ok Priyanka…also Rocky and Co)
Aril 27 Night: Vishal still hasn’t arrived so we can get on with a small celebration. We can sit and discuss before we part ways. I have a checklist of precisely 53 items…no joking. Vishal who really ran the conference days, calls saying that he wants to spend more time because the Chinese hosts of the conference ( they collected the revenues) are upto abs no good. He decides to stay back, send Ashsish to Shenzen. Wants to discuss strategy…or else we lose lakhs. Every one said you couldn’t trust them. Now we were saying it too.
April 27 Night plus five hours: It still seemed like April 27. We realized that we had worked through the night. Ashish, Vishal and I stand at the huge glass wall of my room at the magnificent hotel Oriental Riverside on the WhampHo River and watched the sky turn from grey to blue to orange. It was dawn. Who would have thought a year ago that here we would be peering at the magnificent skyline of Shanghai, the new center of the world. Who would have thought that we would work through the night the SEPG concluded. Who would have thought that QAI‘s (six years experience) Singapore manager, and (three year experienced) China manager would have brought us this far in the international arena. We wondered what was to come next. Which skyline of which metropolis, where QAI and its team would next do something…where was the next sunrise to be?
April 27 night plus eight hours: Vishal decides to leave the hotel and delight DanRoy by taking him to the airport at 6.30 in the morning. Needless to say Dan Roy is amazed at the service. Funny he should be surprised because the previous day he told me how great a team I had. And Judy as always hugged before going sending a special thanks to Amrita.
One notices that in every other meeting they want a photo with CEO of QAI. Several people, from a leading publisher to a student, to a government dept Center head…took a photo with me. And since I look just as not pretty in photos as in real life it’s only because we have a pretty great company. We all are making it happen folks. Can you imagine what’s in store for next year. I can.
I am back from China. I would like to share a few thoughts.
April 27. Morning: The second and last day of SEPG China.
A bold and admittedly risky event will soon come to an end. An event in which, perhaps we at QAI learnt more than the attendees; no, this isn’t a comment on the quality of the conference content, rather our experiences in China.
China. The world is talking about it. We decided to take it on - unfortunately with no legal status there, no office, no databases, no permanent employee, no knowledge of the language, little idea of the cost structures, no sense of protocol or knowledge of political correctness. Most of all we were unaware of their integrity, or rather the lack of it. All we had were cell phones, email accounts and the temerity, and perhaps a foolish will. As one looks back one feels we were ill equipped, what the heck, it didn’t kill us…not yet. Finally, what was important was that Team QAI just did it. I congratulate ALL of you.
April 27 Afternoon: We read the big coverage that we have received in the Shanghai daily. China is obsessed with India stealing a march over them in software. It is arguably the only area we are better off and they are determined to correct that. Hence the red carpet welcome that QAI gets everywhere. After all this is the company that “facilitated India’s global leadership in software.” Sounds familiar?!
I meet representatives from their largest technical publication company and propose to have Rajesh’s and Swapna’s book in Chinese…
Several phone calls are exchanged with the equivalent of the “Ambanis” of China. Their IT Group Chief is willing to fly anywhere to meet with us. We agree on Beijing. Big opportunity, big risk. Let’s see.
I continue interviewing Chinese people since we want to have local consultants…. Salaries are very affordable and upon asking what they know about QAI….one gets really flattering answers. We have built a brand there. Thanks also largely to all the satisfied customers. (I read a mail from Indradeb who is on this first and whirlwind trip of China. His mail starts “Customers continue to be impressed with me….”! That’s passionate Indradeb as he is!
The last meeting in Shanghai comes to an end…19 of them….5 back to back ones have been fixed for Beijing for the day I am there before the evening flight. (Ashish does not let up…my goodness he has blasted away in the last six months and now he is making the most of my presence there. I ask him for more) Stepping out of the office at Ansal Towers makes a lot of sense.
I call Delhi and believe that the new found QAI water polo team did great (the five players in the pool also did as well as all our cheering team.) The most amazing thing is I heard about how we built brand at the tournament. Keep it up folks!) Special mention of sporting Nina for getting us two points. Nikhil, the new found shark of qai, I believe, was more aggressive than ever. I missed it. I might even trade it for being at SEPG China.
April 27, Evening: The conference is finally over. We get ready to head our own ways…to get on with it. I am to leave for Beijing the next day (for some meetings and to get back to Delhi), Vishal for Shenzen (two very important customers and to proceed to Taiwan and then to Singapore), Vikram to Tianjin (to collect dollars since customer hadn’t been managing to remit our fees) and Ashish to stay back in Shanghai to meet even more customers.
Over a few beers, Vikram tells about the Chinese, to whom we had given one registration free with one paid. During registration, the bloke from this Chinese company, with a straight face and tilted eyes (which they all have) argues about how he is the free person and the paid registrant has sent his regrets and can’t make it. Why should we charge him?
Vikram also tells about how he took the laptop to the loo. To make every moment count. Vikram, lets just keep it at making every day count, huh?
We decide to call some QAI SEPG team members from China. Amrita is elated to get our congratulatory call. Kumar is worried it’s about some fire. Priyanka, predictably bursts into tears (assuming a crying person also sheds tears…we couldn’t see her.) Unable to talk to Rachna. Kunal wants to spend an extra day in Hong Kong) after his harrowing time time the partner in Gz where he ran the tutes to great results. Nina, Arindam, Nikhil, Kumar, Shyam, Sandeep, Dhwnit, Pradeep, Naveen….and so many more… (Please…it’s not an exhaustive list) (Ok Ok Priyanka…also Rocky and Co)
Aril 27 Night: Vishal still hasn’t arrived so we can get on with a small celebration. We can sit and discuss before we part ways. I have a checklist of precisely 53 items…no joking. Vishal who really ran the conference days, calls saying that he wants to spend more time because the Chinese hosts of the conference ( they collected the revenues) are upto abs no good. He decides to stay back, send Ashsish to Shenzen. Wants to discuss strategy…or else we lose lakhs. Every one said you couldn’t trust them. Now we were saying it too.
April 27 Night plus five hours: It still seemed like April 27. We realized that we had worked through the night. Ashish, Vishal and I stand at the huge glass wall of my room at the magnificent hotel Oriental Riverside on the WhampHo River and watched the sky turn from grey to blue to orange. It was dawn. Who would have thought a year ago that here we would be peering at the magnificent skyline of Shanghai, the new center of the world. Who would have thought that we would work through the night the SEPG concluded. Who would have thought that QAI‘s (six years experience) Singapore manager, and (three year experienced) China manager would have brought us this far in the international arena. We wondered what was to come next. Which skyline of which metropolis, where QAI and its team would next do something…where was the next sunrise to be?
April 27 night plus eight hours: Vishal decides to leave the hotel and delight DanRoy by taking him to the airport at 6.30 in the morning. Needless to say Dan Roy is amazed at the service. Funny he should be surprised because the previous day he told me how great a team I had. And Judy as always hugged before going sending a special thanks to Amrita.
One notices that in every other meeting they want a photo with CEO of QAI. Several people, from a leading publisher to a student, to a government dept Center head…took a photo with me. And since I look just as not pretty in photos as in real life it’s only because we have a pretty great company. We all are making it happen folks. Can you imagine what’s in store for next year. I can.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)