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2014-03-05T22:14:00.002-08:00

Disaster recovery and business continuity planning tools: A guide to selecting the best product

2012-11-06T23:25:00.000-08:00

If you're faced with developing a business continuity (BC) plan and/or a disaster recovery (DR) plan, plenty of help is available. You can ask an experienced consultant to develop the plan. You can also use one of dozens of disaster recovery planning software packages or other business continuity planning tools that can facilitate nearly any level of plan development you like.

Products are also available for just about any degree of sophistication, from ready-to-use disaster recovery templates (click here to download SearchDisasterRecovery's free downloadable disaster recovery templates) to powerful, automated business continuity tools that use relational databases and contain multiple functions, such as a risk assessment module, a business impact analysis (BIA) module and an exercising module. Depending on the finished product you desire, your programming skills, your time line and your budget, you can find a solution for nearly any requirement.

DISASTER RECOVERY AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING TOOLS: TABLE OF CONTENTS

>> Disaster recovery planning software
>> Using the Software Development Life Cycle for disaster recovery planning
>> Tips for selecting disaster recovery and business continuity tools
>> Popular business continuity planning software packages

DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING SOFTWARE

Early disaster recovery planning software came in several forms: fill-in-the-blank templates, checklists or automated systems using a common database structure. But many of these templates and checklists provided little guidance and were difficult to use. Today the content and capabilities of disaster recovery plan development tools have been significantly enhanced. Specialized products designed for complex activities like business impact analyses are also available. Some products boast compliance with industry standards, such as the British Standards Institute's BS 25999. At the end of this article, we'll provide a list of products for your review (see "A partial listing of vendors and business continuity planning tools").

USING THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE FOR DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING

When you start the business continuity/disaster recovery process, it's not a bad idea to use the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) model as a guide to all stages of the process. The following table depicts the SDLC with business continuity/disaster recovery as the topic area.

Software Development Life Cycle Phase	Activities
Feasibility	Determine the scope of the requirement, e.g., entire enterprise, individual departments, specific systems, specific locations. Determine if your organization has any regulatory requirements for BC/DR, such as the banking and finance sectors. Determine if you wish to be compliant with one or more of the established BC/DR standards, such as National Fire Protection Associate (NFPA) 1600 or BS 25999. Build a business case for the program.
Requirements	Determine which specific functions (e.g., BIA, plan only, plan plus exercise) are required. Determine the level of user interaction with the plan development system, e.g., point-and-click. Analyze available internal software development staff, as this may be a viable alternative if your firm is large enough to have several developers and can justify the internal development costs. Analyze off-the-shelf products. Determine which approach makes the most sense and offers the best business case.
Design	Establish baseline specifications for primary (e.g., PBX system) and secondary systems (e.g., voice mail, call center). Determine if and how the system should interface with existing systems. Determine who will be using the system and if network assets will be needed. Determine database, security and change control requirements.
Selection	If an off-the-shelf product is desired, develop a request for proposal (RFP), obtain and evaluate proposals and select the most appropriate system.
Development	If the system will be homegrown, begin development of the operational components of the system. Test components of the system frequently. Test the full system. Conduct user acceptance testing. Document all elements of the system.
Configuration	If an off-the-shelf package is selected, configure the system to fit the organization's requirements. Work with the vendor to achieve a smooth installation. Develop interfaces with existing systems as needed.
Implementation	For internally developed or externally acquired systems, establish operation of the system, conduct user acceptance testing and sign-offs as needed. Perform a certification process to validate the effectiveness of the system.
Post-implementation	Once the system has been placed into production, establish a process to periodically assess the system's adequacy, return on investment (ROI), and any lessons learned for future updates.

TIPS FOR SELECTING DISASTER RECOVERY AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY TOOLS

Use the following list of tips as part of your selection process when evaluating a business continuity tool. Many choices are available for you, which is good, but it also means that finding the optimum product will require some legwork.

Determine which BC/DR activity you wish to perform. If it's a basic business continuity/disaster recovery plan for a single location or system, a template-based product may be sufficient. If you want to perform all traditional business continuity/disaster recovery activities (e.g., risk assessment, BIA, plans, exercises, incident response plans, maintenance), a more sophisticated database-oriented product may be advisable.
Build a business case. As the investment in a package may be considerable, it's essential to build a strong benefits-oriented case for a particular product.
Research options carefully. Rothstein Associates Inc. and TAMP Systems have a large selection of software products available, plus books and publications on all aspects of the BC/DR process. Research your options and be well informed before you begin.
Speak to other users. Identify users of software packages through contacts you can make in associations like the Association of Contingency Planners (ACP) or from the vendors themselves. But be careful, many vendors offer their most supportive customers, and you may get a one-sided view of a product.
Evaluate demos and live systems. Most vendors have demonstration versions of their systems, which may focus on the highlights of their systems, instead of on your specific needs. If at all possible, spend time with a live production system so you can see it in its "normal" operation.
Evaluate training options. As the new system will probably be unfamiliar to you and your team, make sure the vendor offers on-site training (preferred), distance learning, or guided instructions using self-help programs embedded within the system. If your team isn't comfortable with the system, they won't use it.
Make sure you have documentation. Most systems will have embedded help functions and possibly also wizards to help understand how the system works. Be sure the vendor has formal documentation about the system, how to set it up, build the database, complete the various templates, produce reports, plan and facilitate exercises, complete plans and maintain them.
Check company's viability. Check the prospective vendor carefully, including its financial status, previous or current litigation, customer base, willingness to adapt their system to your needs, warranties available, maintenance plans, availability of technical support, and support for service-level agreements (SLAs).
Know the product's history. If the product is brand new, decide whether it's in your organization's best interest to be an early adopter. If it's an established product, get information about its history, previous problems, previous releases, vendor plans for future updates, the cost of future updates, and evolution of vendor support (e.g., training, documentation, technical support).

The following chart provides a listing of popular vendors and tools to consider when looking for software for developing your disaster recovery or business continuity plan.

A partial listing of vendors and business continuity planning tools

Vendor	Product	Type of Product
Archer Technologies	Archer BCM	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Avalution Consulting	The Planning Portal	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Brellion Continuity Ltd.	ImpactAware	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Business Protection Systems International	Business Protector	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Contingenz Corp.	IMCD	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Controll-IT, GmbH	Alive-IT	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
COOP Systems	myCOOP	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
eBRP Solutions	Toolkit BCM	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Evergreen Data Continuity	Mitigator, EverSafe	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Flexas Ltd.	Disaster Recovery Manager	Online, subscription-based DR plan management
Global Magnitude	recoverEASE Risk Mitigator	Enterprise risk management and BCM integrated
IBM Corp.	Recovery Express	Data center recovery for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs)
INONI Ltd. (U.K.)	BCM Pro	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities
Logix Corp.	ErLogix BCM System	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Paradigm Solutions	OpsPlanner	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Rothstein Catalog	BCP- A Step-by Step Guide	Templates
Rothstein Catalog	Comprehensive BCM Program	Templates
Rothstein Catalog	BCM Framework	Templates
Rothstein Catalog	School Crisis Continuity Template	Templates designed for educational institutions
Rothstein Catalog	BCP for Manufacturing and Distributing	Templates designed for manufacturing
Rothstein Catalog	Plan AHEAD Exercise Software	Exercise planning software
Rothstein Catalog	Go.Recover Data Center	Data center disaster recovery plan
Rothstein Catalog	Business Impact Analysis Template	Business impact analysis planning tool
Rothstein Catalog	Pandemic Prep and Response Plan	Pandemic plan templates
Strategic BCP	ResilienceONE	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
SunGard Availability Services	LDRPS	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based, PC-based, server-based
TAMP Systems	Disaster Recovery System	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities
Virtual Corp.	Sustainable Planner	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Waypoint Advisory Services	Web Planner Express	Full complement of business continuity/disaster recovery activities, Web-based
Note: If you have a business continuity planning tool and would like to be included in this chart, email the editors at SearchDisasterRecovery.

About this author: Paul Kirvan, CISA, CSSP, FBCI, CBCP, has more than 20 years experience in business continuity management as a consultant, author and educator. He is also secretary of the Business Continuity Institute USA Chapter.

Planning BCP approaches: Stages and guidelines

2012-11-06T23:23:00.001-08:00

First of all, let us be clear that disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity planning (BCP) are totally different concepts. This understanding is critical while planning BCP. DR is the process by which we resume business after a disruptive event. BCP suggests a more comprehensive approach to ensure that we continue 'business as usual'—not only after a technology disruption or a natural calamity, but also in the event of smaller disruptions, including illness or the departure of key staff.

More resources on BCP planning

Business continuity planning on a shoestring budget

Proving the value of business continuity plans -- before disaster hits

Twelve tips for business continuity management in a recession

SMB business continuity planning basics

BCP is more proactive. It focuses on avoiding or mitigating risks and maintaining minimal services while restoring an organization to 'business as usual.' BCP is best implemented on an enterprise level, instead of being a set or subset of equipment or service. Some organizations require a business continuity plan to meet fiduciary demands, while others need it for regulatory and compliance purposes. However, all organizations must have a viable business continuity plan if they expect the organization to survive a disaster and recover in the shortest possible time.

There are five stages, through which planning of BCP takes place.
• Business impact analysis
• Strategy selection
• Detailed plan
• Plan testing
• Plan maintenance

Under the business impact analysis stage of planning BCP, you have to take care of:

• Data collection and fact finding
• Critical functions and recovery timescales
• Resource identification for critical functions
• Threat assessment and risk reduction measures
• Disaster scenarios

Under strategy selection phase of planning BCP, you have to see to:

• Minimum recovery resources
• Recovery locations
• Vital records identification
• Backup strategies
• Recovery strategies with costs

Under the detailed plan part of planning BCP, you have to take care of:

• Plan development
• Identification of a command center
• Business recovery team organization
• Assignment of team personnel
• Team procedures
• Preparation & documentation of the plan

Under the plan testing stage of planning BCP, you have to see to the:

• Selection of testing methodology, whether active or passive
• Briefing of your own personnel or third parties, and then execution of a test

When it comes to planning BCP under the plan maintenance stage, you need to see to the:

• Nomination of a BCP officer
• Monitoring of business and IT strategy
• Periodical review of operational risks
• Updation of all documentation and changes
• Review of third-party contracts
• Review of the adequacy of insurance cover
• Distribution of copies to all concerned
• Conduct of regular drills
• Documentation of all that failed in the drills, and initiation of corrective action

There are certain standards formulated for planning BCP. These include:

• BS 25999-1, which is a code of practice for guidance and recommendations. It establishes the processes, principles and terminology of BCP, as well as provides a basis for understanding, developing and implementing business continuity.
• BS 25999-2, which specifies the process for achieving the certification.

Now, is there a simple mantra to keep in mind while planning BCP? Yes, the mantra is that BCP should be achievable, comprehensive, current and readily available.

About the author: Ashish Dandekar is the CIO of Power Exchange India. He is a certified Business Continuity professional and a Lead Auditor (ISO25999). He is also an ISMS implementer (ISO27001) and has a Quality Management Certification (ISO9001).

Implementing BS 25999 standard for BCP

2012-11-06T23:22:00.002-08:00

There is an increased awareness amongst organizations in relation to their approach towards disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity planning (BCP). A very thin line differentiates these two concepts. While DR is undertaken for systems in the data center, BCP is reserved for business processes.

Pre-requisites for BS 25999 standard

The BS 25999 standard is a code of practice for guidance and recommendations. It establishes the processes, principles and terminologies of BCP. It also provides a basis for understanding, developing and implementing business continuity. There are two approaches (or rather situations), in which this standard could be implemented. The first approach comprises of implementing BS 25999 standard in a stable business environment, where one is aware of different processes. In the second instance, business is new, and one is not aware of how the processes will change.

It is ideal to implement BS 25999 standard for BCP only after some of the business processes have stabilized. Once the processes are in place, only then should you look at their continuity. This is a proven and conventional approach.

When BS 25999 standard is implemented in a new business, one can nominate a person who is an expert on the subject matter and look at stabilizing different processes. Out of ten processes, at least two or three processes would always have to be available, irrespective of anything.

Step-by-step execution

BS 25999 is a BCP standard; hence, it is better to first analyze the business processes in an organization and streamline them. Do not look at isolated silos of processes.

For the successful implementation of BS 25999 standard, it is important to break up activities into smaller functions and induct the right people. BCP involves making certain predictions, based on which norms have to be followed. The success of BS 25999 standard also hinges on the top management and how convinced it is about going forward with the execution

Implementing BS 25999 standard involves cost, strategy, and time. If you look at implementing BCP on day one, it is only going to be a cost implication for the organization without any profit.

Another standard that can be implemented along with BS 25999 is BS 25777. It is a new standard that talks about having internal DR for processes. It can be implemented after the BS 25999 standard to give a holistic IT approach to business.

About the author: Ashish Dandekar has served as the chief information officer of Power Exchange India. He is a certified business continuity professional and a lead auditor (ISO 25999). Dandekar is also an information security management system implementer (ISO 27001) and holds a Quality Management Certification (ISO 9001).

HDFC Bank’s BS 25999 certification journey: An exploration

2012-11-06T23:21:00.004-08:00

At a time when the banking and financial players in India started to warm up to the idea of business continuity, it’s interesting to note that financial major HDFC Bank’s BCP team had been working on a strategy for over five years. This puts the bank far ahead of the curve, according to Vishal Salvi, the CISO at HDFC Bank. A full year ahead of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mandate, HDFC Bank achieved BS 25999 from BSI (in March 2011) for its entire operations. The bank completed its first annual surveillance audit in May 2012.

Post BS 25999 certification, all HDFC Bank processes—technology (DR and infrastructure), business and crisis management processes— are now BS 25999 compliant. These include the operations spread over 3000 branches. HDFC Bank has been working on its IT infrastructure, awareness, policies and frameworks over the last five years, says Salvi. The business continuity office was started under the information security team in 2008. It binds the DR initiative, business continuity, business operations and the crisis management team.

The key players

HDFC Bank’s hierarchy follows a pattern where the program management comes under information security. The IT stack and technology for DR falls under IT’s auspices. HDFC Bank operates three data centers with around 250 applications; nearly 50 of these applications are classed as critical. The primary DR site is located at Bengaluru.

Salvi’s Mumbai-based BCP team is responsible for internally driving the BCP agenda. HDFC Bank’s business continuity management (BCM) office is headed by Asmita Gada, who reports to Salvi. This full-fledged independent position deals only with business continuity management. The office is also in charge of framing guidelines, policies and design for the organization-wide template.

Post design, there are governing processes in the form of steering committees (comprising of the senior management, group heads and business heads). The committees meet every six months to decide strategy and business continuity processes. The bank also has a monthly IT steering committee meeting to address tactical and operational challenges in terms of managing and improving infrastructure.

Paving the way - Risk assessment, BIA

HDFC Bank used the BS 25999 risk framework for risk assessment to develop a tailored risk/threat matrix. Business processes were dissected for determination of linked applications to be included into the BCP’s scope. After identification of applications, different local/wide-spread disaster scenarios were considered.

Beyond technology, HDFC Bank had to look at critical buildings and processes. Plans were formulated for relocating affected departments in case of a disaster, covering the people aspect. On the process side, HDFC Bank put multi-site centralization in place, in which processes working out of different cities serve as hot standbys for each other during disasters.

A typical business impact analysis (BIA) report highlights the applications and processes which have requirements like near site and far site recovery, says Salvi. Based on the designated recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO), the need for hot stand-by systems or high availability systems is determined, in addition to whether the DR requirement is local or far site.

In addition, HDFC Bank performed a business strategic risk assessment exercise via a workshop conducted by BSI auditors with key senior stakeholders. The final step documented all cognizable scenarios before planning their campaign to overcome these difficulties, and put the BCP in place in the shortest timeframe. The final DR requirement was based on risk and criticality.

Implementing BS 25999

The usual practice is to hire a consultant and ensure compliance before going for certification. In HDFC Bank’s case, Salvi and his team took the in-house approach. The bank went for a pre-audit before the certification audit; both performed by BSI.

The pre-audit identified changes needed in the existing setup. According to Salvi, the audit process itself was very comprehensive, involving multiple auditors across different locations. This involved branch visits across India and HDFC Bank’s DR site. The same approach was adopted for the recent surveillance audit.

According to Salvi, employees and stakeholders had a fair level of awareness due to the earlier change management and awareness activities. During the audits, BSI auditors met with various department heads and stakeholders to determine how BS 25999 requirements were met.

With its BS 25999 certification, HDFC Bank claims to have achieved “zero RPO” on certain processes through online replication from the primary site to the DR site. Its RPOs range from 0-15 minutes on an average, with a maximum of 30 minutes.

Though the RTO can stretch into days, it’s a function of how prioritization takes place, explains Salvi. This helps prioritize system need in case of total disruption. Salvi reasons that during a disaster, resources are assumed to be limited. It’s unreasonable to assume that all applications be brought online. A priority (or triage) framework is a must for planning how to invoke recovery.

The road ahead

Salvi sees the certification as a validation of the bank’s efforts. According to Salvi, BSI has attested to the fact that HDFC Bank was the first Indian bank to comply with BS 25999across all its functions, including processes, branches and datacenters. He believes that this milestone gives assurance and confidence about the bank’s robust business continuity measures to stakeholders.

Salvi’s team conducts training programs across HDFC Bank through mediums like video to create awareness towards DR planning, especially for the emergency response teams. The bank’s BCP plan includes tabletop exercises held to simulate disaster scenarios using role play. By exposing people to these situations, Salvi identifies and eliminates inadequacies in the current plan. The bank now conducts unplanned drills, where designated applications are selected for invoking of DR.

Plans are underway at HDFC Bank to conform to the new ISO 22301 business continuity standard (slated to replace BS 25999). Once this is official, the bank intends to undergo compliance validation. The bank has also implemented in-house monitoring tools which will be integrated into the IT GRC project in 2013.

BCM certification roadmap for the data center pro

2012-11-06T23:21:00.001-08:00

As more business gets outsourced to India, organizations that can continue to deliver services at the agreed levels (continuity) and without fail (repeatability) will continue to thrive. This is why many of these companies are now looking for experienced people withbusiness continuity management (BCM) certification.

In India, it is the MNCs which mostly hire such BCM certified professionals, since the parent company demands compliance with standards and customer requirements. "BCM is the solution for organizations that want to continue delivering their key products and services even during a disaster, and survive thereafter. This gives rise to the demand for certified professionals," explains R Vaidhyanathan, the practice head of BCM at Business Continuity Management Institute (BCMI).

Many organizations in India have got themselves certified as BS 25999-compliant. Hence there's demand for professionals who are BS 25999 Lead Auditors and Implementers.
Rajesh Nair
Vice President - Business ContinuityCredit Suisse India

As in any other field, BCM also demands that employers distinguish between different levels of experience and types of specialist skills. "For those who want to make a career in BCM, having a recognized professional qualification in the form of a BCM certification will certainly help," says Arnab Mukherjee, the business continuity planning manager at Colt Technology Services, a Fidelity International group company. Mukherjee is a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), and an Associate Member of the Business Continuity Institute (AMBCI).

Institutes offering BCM certification

At the moment, there are just a couple of options when it comes to BCM certifications. "You need to be associated with the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII) or Business Continuity Institute (BCI) to qualify as a professional in BCM," says Mukherjee. BCMI is yet another option that you can look at. However, Mukherjee points out the fact that BCMI does not have global recognition.

DRII, a US-based organization, offers BCM certifications such as Associate Business Continuity Professional (ABCP), CBCP, and Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP). It also offers a BCM certification for vendors, the Certified Business Continuity Vendor (CBCV). The BCI, a UK-based organization, offers BCM certifications such as AMBCI, Specialist Member of the Business Continuity Institute (SBCI), and Member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI). "Both DRII and BCI cover the same domains, but there is a slight change in the sequencing of activities. Generally, it is seen that DRII certifications are more sought after," says Rajesh R Nair, Vice President, Business Continuity, Credit Suisse India. On the same front, BCMI (headquartered in Singapore), offers BC Certified Planner (BCCP), BC Certified Specialist (BCCS), BC Certified Expert (BCCE), DR Certified Specialist (DRCS), DR Certified Expert (DRCE), BC Certified Auditor (BCCA) and BC Certified Lead Auditor (BCCLA).

How to get a BCM certification

The 10domains covered in a BCM certification are program initiation and management, risk evaluation and control, business impact analysis, business continuity strategies, emergency response and operations, business continuity plans, awareness and training programs, business continuity plan exercises, audit and maintenance, and crisis communications and coordination with external agencies.

A BCM certification from DRII requires eligibility using the following criteria.

ABCP certification requires that you show entry-level proficiency in professional practices with less than two years' experience in the field. This is the entry-level certification. To progress to a higher offering, you must complete an application for certification. An additional exam is not needed.
CBCP necessitates that you demonstrate knowledge and working experience of more than two years. You must be able to demonstrate practical experience in five of the professional practice subject matter areas.
The MBCP is reserved for individuals who have demonstrated knowledge and working experience of more than five years. They must be able to demonstrate practical experience in seven of the professional practice subject matter areas.
For the CBCV you must demonstrate knowledge of professional practices, and have more than two years' experience as a vendor in the field.

To get a BCM certification from the BCI, the following eligibility criteria should be met.

AMBCI requires that you hold a BCI Certificate (CBCI) and demonstrate one year's experience working within BCM.
The SBCI requires that you hold CBCI at 'Pass' or 'Pass with Merit' level, and demonstrate two years' full-time experience as a specialist practitioner either in BCM or a related discipline. You must also be able to prove professional membership of or certification by a relevant professional body in an associated discipline.
For the MBCI, in addition to holding a CBCI at the 'Pass with Merit' level, you need to demonstrate practical application of your knowledge by submitting a further professional application form which will be scored by a panel of peers appointed by the BCI's membership council. You will also have to show three years' full-time experience as a business continuity practitioner.

OtherBCM certifications include the BS 25999 Lead Auditor and BS 25999 Lead Implementer certifications based on the BS 25999 standard which is a British standard for business continuity. The standard is popular since it allows an organization to certify itself to it. "Many organizations in India have already got themselves certified as BS 25999-compliant, hence there's demand for professionals who are BS 25999 Lead Auditors and Implementers. These professionals play a critical role to guide and implement this standard within the organization," says Nair.

Remuneration after getting a BCM certification

The compensation package for a BCM certification holder depends on the person's experience and his role in the organization. For instance, a business continuity planning (BCP) manager who has more than 10 years of experience as well as BCM certifications, will be a real-time crisis manager. He will help the organization to recover from a real incident and co-ordinate with various cross-functional teams. His starting salary is typically in the range between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 25 lakh. A certified BCP team member who plays a role in aspects like documentation and audits will draw starting salaries between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 15 lakh.

IDBI’s unique BS 25999 certified BCM model a first among PSU banks

2012-11-06T23:20:00.002-08:00

A relatively new banking player, Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) strives to segment itself from other domestic players. IDBI’s BS 25999 certified BCM initiative which encompasses key products and services is the latest on that front. According to IDBI, this effort makes it the first Indian public sector bank to get BS 25999 certification.

Initiated in 2007, IDBI’s branch-level BCM project was seen as a strategy for differentiation from competitors says Anirudh Behera, IDBI Bank’s general manager for operational risk. With over 1000 branches, IDBI’s enterprise-wide BCM program faced many challenges. On September 6, 2012 the bank achieved BS 25999 certification for all Indian branches, as well as a majority of its critical business and support functions.

Long road to certification

According to Behera, IDBI’s initial objective was uninterrupted customer service, since branches regularly faced downtime. Apart from branches, external interfaces like IDBI’s trade-finance and credit departments witnessed business disruption.

IDBI’s first BCM policy was drafted in July 2007. A BCP steering committee was formed in September 2007 comprising of the top management, with members from all operational areas. The team determined IDBI’s BCP requirements and benchmarked those against BS 25999. The BCM model is unique to IDBI, asserts Kuntal Biswas, the deputy general manager for IDBI’s operational risk and BCP cell.

IDBI’s BCP plans were approved in March 2010, following which a full-fledged BCM team was formed within the risk department. The core three-member BCM team operates under IDBI’s risk function. The central BCM team drawn from various business functions conceptualized and completed the BCM process. Biswas explains that engaging a consultant would have proved expensive due to the comprehensive scope.

Roll out time

Evaluation of asset/function criticality, business impact analysis (BIA), risk assessment (RA), implementation and testing was performed by respective business units under the BCP cell’s guidance, says Ritesh Kumar, the assistant general manager for IDBI’s operational risk and BCP cell.

BS 25999’s multiple documentation requirements became the BCM team’s focus. The team comprehensively documented BCM plan requirements, starting with separation of IDBI’s various business lines. BCP requirements for each function were extensively documented in consultation with the function. This enabled prioritized grading of plans and processes for function-wise BCP, as well as subsequent BS 25999 certification.

Post documentation, implementation was a straightforward task of defining timelines, personnel, responsibilities, owners and priorities. Recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for critical business applications have been based on BS 25999 standard guidelines. Kumar informs that state-of-the-art DR is in place for data centers. Quarterly DR drills ensure that every critical application (numbering over 100) is covered at least once a year.

The implementation process relied on phase-wise testing. IDBI’s over 1000 branches made this technically impossible to do in one shot, says Biswas. At the time of writing, 200 branches have undergone final BCP testing. Given the unique way in which IDBI’s BCP plan involves branches, each location is tested from another branch. 400 branches have been covered so far, says Kumar.

How it works

Monthly top management meetings discuss and review BCP related issues to evolve BCM in sync with the bank’s needs. Each branch has a well defined BCP hierarchy with a designated BCP invocation authority.

Invoking the BCP involves bringing the business unit’s ‘call tree’ into play. A ‘call tree’ is a layered hierarchical communication model used during a disaster to communicate, coordinate BCP and percolate messages down to all unit layers (See Figure 1). Personnel fall back on prearranged and rehearsed roles as per the unit’s BCP documentation.

Figure 1- Sample call sheet for IDBI's central credit unit

Going the extra mile

According to IDBI, it was the first public sector bank to have its own DR setup (implemented by IBM) in 1991. In its current avatar, IDBI wanted BCM to go beyond IT. Biswas says that innovation was essential to break away from industry standard procedures. In cases where the branch cannot connect to the IDBI’s core banking system due to network failure, deviations from existing systems and procedures (approved by the top management) ensure uninterrupted services.

Biswas asserts that this provision is procedural and not IT related. BCM invokes an alternate location/branch’s services to provide operations. Only critical processes/transactions are expected to run at such times. Each bank has two BCP terminals used by other branches for BCP. The level of additional IT/resource augmentation depends on function and BCP role, says Kumar. For instance, DR for treasury requires subscriptions to wire services and terminals at its designated BCP site.

In addition, certain provisions allow branch staff to work from alternate locations/branches, or workload can be taken up by the alternate branch. IDBI’s each branch/function has a ‘hot standby’ or ‘DR’ at alternate bank locations/branches. IDBI’s treasury has two DR sites equipped with necessary infrastructure in different areas of Mumbai. These sites are located near IDBI’s housing colonies to compensate for transport unavailability during disasters.

Implementation challenges

According to Behera, employee sensitization was the major challenge. The BCP plan’s nitty-gritty had to percolate down to all 16,000 employees. Considerable hand-holding brought branch managers up to par with BCP. “As the first point of interface with customers, branches stood to gain the most. Enthusiastic support followed awareness,” says Behera.

Determining redundancy was a challenge. DR redundancy requirements for functions like treasury and data centers were based on a cost versus criticality valuation, as well as acceptability to the business. A recent power grid failure in north-east India demonstrated the effectiveness of IDBI’s BCP plan – 99% of affected branches continued operations.

Getting BCM certified has brought a great deal of assurance followed by process maturity, says Biswas. He also adds that migration to ISO 22301 maybe a future option.

The Hunt for Innovation: 10 Strategic Insights

2012-11-06T21:10:00.001-08:00

Disruptive technology's potential (Wikipedia)

Ever hear of the dreaded “CEO Disease?”

It was initially diagnosed by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who discovered that the broad power and authority held by CEOs often leads to risk-averse and even truth-averse culture in which employees offer up nothing but “the good news of their perfection and the company’s success, no matter what the warning signs may be.”

Determined to find a treatment for this deadly affliction—sometimes also known as “the peril of the fixed mindset”—The Economist Intelligence Unit earlier this year interviewed 226 senior executives in hopes of discovering why some companies are so good at innovation while others, in spite of the very best intentions, are hopelessly woeful at it. (Survey respondents work at companies across the globe and in a wide range of industries; more than half of the companies have revenue of more than $500 million.

The survey, sponsored by Oracle, generated a range of insights into how companies wittingly or otherwise stifle innovation via obstacles that can be cultural, organizational, hierarchical, or some combination of those.

The results indicated that tech-based products—as well as tech teams—can play vital roles in overcoming those obstacles. Disruptive technologies, including Big Data and also social—were found to be powerful antidotes to this innovation deficiency malady.

At the same time, however, executive-level risk-aversion about deploying new technologies frequently stifles the quest, the Economist research team concluded:

“Although respondents identified several technology trends as catalysts for innovation initiatives, perceptions about security risks linger over cloud computing and mobility. The concerns are common regardless of company size, industry or geographical location,” the study says.

But wait—it gets worse: “Only a handful of executives in our survey (15%) said they are not hindered in adopting any of these technology trends.”

Seems to me that right there we have—with deep apologies to Clayton Christensen for abusing his term—the innovator’s dilemma: most executives who say they want to pursue innovation won’t permit their teams to use some of the tools most capable of delivering innovation!

That short-sighted limitation aside, the study (you can see the full reporthere) offers a wealth of insights and ideas into how innovation can be nurtured more productively, and how the hunt for innovation can include a far bigger percentage of the company’s employee base.

In that context, I’ve extracted from the survey findings 10 insights for helping companies improve their efforts at identifying, nurturing, and generating innovation.

1.) Remember: Like Decline, the Lack of Innovation Is a Choice.Innovation-stifling siloes—cultural, psychological, financial, or organizational—are more likely to be found in large companies, the report says. But this isn’t a law of physics; it doesn’t have to be that way. Rather, big companies have to relentlessly fight the tendency toward innovation in isolation.

2.) IT to the Rescue! IT departments are “underutilized and could be more engaged in educating business leaders about new technology trends, enabling business units to adapt processes rapidly and identify pockets of innovation in the enterprise,” the report says.

3.) Customers *Must* Be Part of the Co-Creation Process. As companies of all sizes and across all industries realize that the co-creation of value and of experiences with customers can be a profound way to boost customer loyalty, they also must recognize that relevant innovation in a customer-free vacuum is impossible. Mid-size and smaller companies ($500 million or less) connect directly with customers in interviews about product design and testing, while companies with revenue above $1 billion or more likely to use social technology and sentiment analysis to uncover customer-focused innovations.

4.) HR Has to Solve the Analytical-Talent Shortage. While disruptive technologies such as Big Data was selected as the favored tool for developing new pricing models (60%), new products or services (38%), and improving business processes (38%), the “lack of analytical talent topped the list of concerns around Big Data.” No successful executive would sit by and let revenue languish and decline due to a lack of sales talent, so why on Earth are many companies not aggressively hammering away at this debilitating “lack of analytical talent”?

5.) The Title “Chief Innovation Officer” Can Be Dangerous. “I always resist the temptation of allowing myself to be called chief innovation officer, because it would send the wrong signal to the rest of the company,” says BT Group managing director Jean-Marc Frangos in the report. “Innovation is not something a special team does—it is something which must be ingrained in the mindsets and behaviors of everyone, and for which, ideally, there should be no special process.”

6.) It’s the Hierarchy, Stupid! When more and more employees are involved in the hunt for innovation, the likelihood of deeper engagements with customers goes up, the report says. At healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente, several “innovation centers” are responsible for improving the care of patients—and the ideas come from all levels of the organization, not just the leaders. “Nurses and even patients initiated and drove three of the healthcare provider’s more-successful projects,” the report says, including text-based reminders for patients; neon-colored uniforms to reduce errors and confusion; and portable clinics.

7.) If Leaders Aren’t Serious about Social, Then They’re Irresponsible. While it might seem painfully obvious that social media offer a great means of customer engagement, executives reported that “a lack of understanding” of social media’s benefits “remained a barrier to creating an innovation culture.” As in #1 above, the lack of innovation is a choice: if social media can help foster the types of deeper customer engagements that often trigger innovation, then executives must be responsible for dropping the Luddite act and becoming fluent with these game-changing tools. How bad is it? Accenture reports that “60% of their clients still consider themselves to be social-media novices,” the report says.

8.) Can Failure Help Foster Innovation? The absence of formal programs to analyze projects that didn’t work “means respondents’ companies invested time, money and other resources in a failed innovation effort without finding out what went wrong.”

9.) Can Innovation Be a Defined Process? At Lojas Renner, Brazil’s second-largest department-store chain, CIO and chief process officer Leandro Balbinot four years ago began collecting retail data as a means of predicting future demand. But he also believed the project could help spur innovation: Lojas Renner views innovation as “a defined process commonly used to achieve measureable objectives,” Balbinot says in the report. “The value of innovation comes from achieving new levels of results that would not be obtained through continuous improvement.” He offers a number of other valuable insights as well on the mildly counterintuitive notion of process-driven innovation.

10.) Small Can Be Big. “Empowering smaller teams to build their own tools to solve business problems helps to give rise to wider innovations,” the report says, citing a compelling involvement from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. In addition, instead of trying to boil the ocean, companies should encourage small, iterative projects that “set up an environment in which repeated experimentation and learning refine winning ideas.”

The full report can be found here.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Oracle’s Secret Sauce: Why Exadata Is Rocking the Tech Industry

The Top 10 Strategic CIO Issues For 2013

Larry Ellison Doesn’t Get the Cloud: The Dumbest Idea of 2013

Career Suicide and the CIO: 4 Deadly New Threats

The Surge of the Strategic CIO

Oracle’s Mark Hurd: What CEOs Want from CIOs

Oracle Execs Tell Wall Street: We Got the Cloud

Mark Hurd on the Customer Revolution: Oracle’s Top 10 Insights

Oracle Disrupts Cloud Industry with End-to-End Approach

Big Data Gets Personal as Healthcare and Life Sciences Converge

Emerging Technologies Can Trigger Business on Steroids, Says Gartner

Create your LAPTOP as WIFI hotspot and SHare LAN / Wired Internet

2012-06-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

What do I need to set a HotSpot?

1. Active Cable Internet

2. Laptop

3. WiFi on Laptop

4. Wired net connection

Once you have all the above things mentioned, you are all set to follow the steps:

How to setup HotSpot on Windows Vista:

1. Got to Control Panel

2. Click on “Network and Sharing Centre”

3. Under Tasks choose “Setup New Connection”

4. Wireless “Ad-hoc network”

5. Now type in a “Network Name”

6. Choose “WEP” password if you don’t want to share the connection with the entire world

7. Click “Internet connection sharing”

8. Done!

Now a WiFi enabled machine will be able to connect to the network you have just setup with the WEP password

Lets setup a HotSpot on a Windows XP machine:

1. Go into Control panel

2. Open “Network Connections”

3. Right click on "Wireless Connection" and click on "Properties"

4. Click on the "Wireless Networks" tab and select the check-box which says “Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings”

5. Under “Prefered networks” click “Add”

6. Type a name in “Network name” text box

7. Select “Shared” from the options under “Network Authentication”

8. Under Data encryption select “WEP” and type in your password in “Network Key” field and now click "OK"

9. Now the new HotSpot should show in the list of preferred networks.

10. Click on the “Advance” button and select “Computer-to-computer (ad hoc) networks only" and press close

11. Hit “OK”, we are done with the wireless connection properties

One more step, we have to change something in the wired connection setting so that it knows that it has to share connection with the computers accessing our HotSpot.

1. Go to local Area Connections, right click it and select properties

2. Go to the “Advanced” tab and under Internet Connection Sharing check the box which says “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection” and make sure the box under that is NOT selected so that no one can disable the network remotely.

3. Hit “OK”

I hope this helps setting up a wireless connection without a WiFi router. Have FuN!

Tomato chicken with brown rice

2012-05-08T22:57:00.001-07:00

Tomato chicken with brown rice is a delightful blend of spices and tangy tomatoes. It is essentially chicken pieces coated with many fragrant spices like turmeric, cardamom and cloves, then simmered in a tomato sauce.

A perfect family meal, and wonderful to serve to guests too, this complete dinner meal will also complete the day's health quotient for any family interested in fitness.

Original recipe yield: 6 servings
- Prep time - 15 mins
- Cooking time - 2 hours

Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 slice fresh ginger root
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 (1 inch) piece cinnamon stick, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 skinless chicken thighs
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed

Directions
- Place onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor and process into a paste. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add onion paste and saute, stirring continuously, for about 10 minutes.

- Stir in the cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and nutmeg. Saute, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Place chicken pieces in skillet and stir them around with the spice mixture until they are well coated.

- Saute for another 4 minutes, then pour in the tomatoes with liquid and stir. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, or until the oil has separated from the liquid. Stir occasionally. (Note: If you simmer uncovered, the sauce will thicken; add water, or keep covered while simmering.)

Serve with brown rice.

Power is as addictive as cocaine

2012-04-30T01:19:00.001-07:00

LONDON: More than a hundred years after noted British historian Baron John Acton coined the phrase 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely' , a scientist has said power really does corrupt as it is as addictive as cocaine.

The Daily Mail reported, the feeling of power has been found to have a similar effect on the brain like cocaine as it increases the levels of testosterone and its byproduct 3-androstanediol in both men and women. This in turn leads to raised levels of dopamine in the brain's nucleus accumbens , which can be very addictive.

A report by Ian Robertson professor of psychology at Trinity College, Dublin - said cocaine works in a similar way, which can have varied effects from increasing alertness, confidence, energy, feelings of well-being and euphoria , but also anxiety, paranoia and restlessness. He has also written a book, 'The Winner Effect: How Power Affects Your Brain' .

Power has almost identical effects to cocaine and too much of it can produce too much dopamine, leading to more negative effects like arrogance and impatience.

"Baboons low down in the dominance hierarchy have lower levels of dopamine in key brain areas, but if they get 'promoted' to a higher position, then dopamine rises accordingly. This makes them more aggressive and sexually active, and in humans similar changes happen when people are given power," Robertson wrote in the Telegraph.

"Conversely, demotion in a hierarchy decreases dopamine levels, increases stress and reduces cognitive function," he said. Power has also been found to make people smarter because dopamine improves the functioning of brain's frontal lobes. Submissiveness and dominance also give similar effects through the same reward circuits of the brain as power and cocaine.

Chilli Chicken

2012-04-29T23:36:00.001-07:00

Ingredients

•	Boneless chicken,cut into fingers	400 grams

•	Green chillies,chopped	6-8

•	Cornflour/ corn starch	2 1/2 tablespoons

•	Salt	to taste

•	Black peppercorns,crushed	1/2 teaspoon

•	Egg	1

•	Dark soy sauce	2 tablespoons

•	Oil plus to deep fry	1 tablespoon

•	Garlic,chopped	8-10 cloves

•	Onion	2 medium

•	Green capsicums,seeded thick strips	2 medium

•	Red chilli sauce	2 tablespoons

•	Chicken stock	1 cup

•	Vinegar	2 tablespoons

Method
Take chicken pieces in a bowl. Add half the cornflour, salt, crushed black peppercorns, egg and mix. Add a little dark soya sauce and mix. Heat sufficient oil in a wok and deep fry the chicken pieces till golden. Take care not to overcook. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in another wok. Add garlic and sauté for half a minute. Add green chillies and continue to sauté. Add onion, green capsicum and sauté. Add the remaining dark soya sauce, red chilli sauce and stir. Add a little chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Blend the remaining cornflour in a little stock. Add fried chicken pieces to the wok and toss. Add blended cornflour and mix. Add salt and cook for a minute. Add vinegar and stir. The starter is ready. If you want gravy add some more stock and let it come to a boil. Serve hot.

Chicken Hazarvi

2012-04-29T23:35:00.002-07:00

Ingredients

•	Boneless chicken breast,2 inch cubes	8

•	Ginger paste	2 tablespoons

•	Garlic paste	2 tablespoons

•	White pepper powder	1 teaspoon

•	Salt	to taste

•	Cheese,grated	1/2 cup

•	Green chillies,finely chopped	4

•	Mace powder	1/4 teaspoon

•	Nutmeg powder	1/4 teaspoon

•	Fresh coriander leaves,chopped	2 tablespoons

•	Egg	1

•	Fresh cream	3/4 cup

•	Butter	for basting

Method
Apply the ginger paste, garlic paste, white pepper powder and salt to the chicken cubes and set aside. Mash the cheese to make it into a smooth paste. Add the green chillies, mace powder, nutmeg powder, coriander leaves and salt. Add the egg and mix well. Add the chicken to the cheese mixture. Add fresh cream and mix gently. Keep in the refrigerator for about two to three hours. Pierce chicken onto skewers and cook in a moderately hot tandoor or a preheated oven (200C) until it is just cooked and lightly coloured. Brush with melted butter and cook for another two minutes till chicken is fully cooked.

Cheese Chicken Kebab

2012-04-29T23:34:00.002-07:00

Ingredients

•	Boneless chicken breast,2 inch cubes	6

•	Egg	1

•	Caraway seeds (shahi jeera)	1/2 tablespoon

•	Green cardamom powder	1/2 teaspoon

•	Green chilli paste	1 teaspoon

•	Ginger paste	1 tablespoon

•	Garlic paste	1 tablespoon

•	Fresh coriander leaves	1 tablespoon

•	Roasted chana dal powder	1/4 cup

•	Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon

•	Cream	1/4 cup

•	Thick yogurt	1 1/2 cups

•	Processed cheese,grated	1 cup

•	Salt	to taste

•	Black peppercorns,crushed	7-8

•	Oil	to shallow fry

Method
Break egg into a bowl. Add caraway seeds, green cardamom powder, green chilli paste, ginger-garlic paste, coriander leaves, roasted chana dal powder, turmeric powder, cream and yogurt and mix well. Add cheese, salt, crushed black peppercorns and mix well. Add the chicken cubes and mix. Set aside to marinate for about half an hour. String the chicken cubes onto skewers. Heat a non stick grill pan. Drizzle some oil and place the skewers on it. Shallow fry, turning the skewers from time to time, till the kebabs are golden on all sides. Cover the pan with aluminium foil to ensure even cooking. Serve hot.

Instant Dhokla Recipe

2012-04-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup gram flour (besan)
2 tsp semolina (suji)
2 tsp eno powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1 lemon (nimbu)
2 green chilly (hari mirch)
8-10 curry leaves (kadi patta)
1 tsp mustard seeds (raai)
1/4 tsp salt (namak)
1 cup water
1 tbsp oil

How to make instant dhokla:

Mix gram flour, semolina and 1 cup water.
Grease a container.
Heat water in a pressure cooker and place sieve (jaali) on it.
Now add eno powder.
Immediately pour this mixture in the greased container.
Place it on jaali and cover the cooker.
Remove the whistle of the cooker.
Let it cook at high flame for 15 minutes.
Then take out the dhoklas out of the container and cut into pieces once it is cooled.
Heat oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds. Then put curry leaves.
Finely chop green chilies.
Pour this on dhoklas.
Put 2 cup water, sugar and lemon juice in a container and put all dhoklas in it.
After 5 minutes take out extra water.
Garnish with finely chopped dhania patti.
Serve with some chutney.

Akhrot Murgh

2012-04-29T22:54:00.001-07:00

Ingredients

•	Walnuts,blanched , peeled and powdered	1/2 cup

•	Boneless chicken,1/2 inch pieces	400 grams

•	Ginger paste	1 tablespoon

•	Garlic paste	1 tablespoon

•	Salt	to taste

•	Cumin powder	1 teaspoon

•	Yogurt	1/4 cup

•	Oil	1 tablespoon

•	Onion ,grated	1 medium

•	Tomato,pureed	1 large

•	Green chillies,chopped	4

•	Coriander powder	1 teaspoon

•	Fresh cream	2 tablespoons

•	Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon

Method
Place chicken in a bowl. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, salt, half teaspoon cumin powder and yogurt and mix well. Marinate the chicken for half an hour. Heat oil in a pan, add onion and sauté till lightly browned. Add tomato puree, mix well and continue to sauté till oil separates. Add green chillies and continue to cook for two minutes. Add coriander powder, remaining cumin powder, mix well and cook for one more minute. Add the marinated chicken, mix well, cover and cook till done. Add walnuts, simmer for two to three minutes. Add fresh cream and garam masala powder and mix well and simmer for two more minutes. Serve hot.

Aamras Ka Gosht

2012-04-29T22:46:00.003-07:00

Ingredients

•	Ripe mango pulp	1 cup

•	Mutton,1 1/2 inch pieces on the bone	750 grams

•	Oil	4 tablespoons

•	Onions	4 medium

•	Almonds,blanched and peeled	15

•	Melon seeds (magaz)	2 tablespoons

•	Salt	to taste

•	Ginger paste	1 tablespoon

•	Garlic paste	1 tablespoon

•	Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon

•	Red chilli powder	1 teaspoon

•	Green chillies	5

•	Water	1 cup

•	Yogurt	1/2 cup

•	Raisins	15

•	Garam masala powder	1 teaspoon

•	Saffron (kesar)	a few strands

Method
Heat 4 tbsps oil in a deep non stick pan. Roughly chop onions and put in a chopper and chop finely. Add to the pan and sauté till lightly browned. Grind together almonds and melon seeds with a little water, to a smooth paste. Set aside. Add mutton to the onions along with salt, ginger paste, garlic paste, mix well and sauté for 1 minute. Add turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Break green chillies and add. Mix everything well. Add 1 cup water and mix. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes. Add almond-melon seed paste and mix. Add mango pulp and mix. Add yogurt and raisins and mix well. Add garam masala powder and saffron and mix. Cook till mutton is completely done. Serve hot.

Kashmiri Gushtaba

2012-04-29T22:45:00.002-07:00

Ingredients

•	Mutton leg,boneless and fat removed	1 kilogram

•	Mutton fat	200 gram

•	Oil to fry

•	Onion ,sliced	2 medium

•	Green cardamom powder	1 teaspoon

•	Salt	to taste

•	Mutton stock	4 cup

•	Yogurt	5 cups

•	Clove	6-8

•	Black cardamom	1-2

•	Green cardamom	6-8

•	Fennel seed (saunf) powder	3 teaspoon

•	Dry ginger powder (soonth)	3 teaspoon

•	Garlic paste	1 1/2 tablespoon

•	Pure ghee	4 tablespoon

•	Dry mint leaves	1/4 teaspoon

Method
Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep fry the onions till brown. Cool and grind into a fine paste. Keep the mutton pieces and fat on a wooden block and pound using a wooden mallet. Preferably you should use a stone base. Add mutton fat and continue to mince. Add green cardamom powder and salt and continue to mince again. Add ice cubes so that the meat does not get heated while mincing. Add some water to ice cubes, dip your hands in it and moisten the mince with wet hands. This way you not only moisten the mince but also keep it cool. Again dip your hands in cold water and shape the mince into koftas either round or oval shaped. Cook the koftas for ten to fifteen minutes in the mutton stock. In another pan mix yogurt with half a cup of water and blend well. Keep a sieve on a pan and place a muslin cloth over it, pour the yogurt mixture and strain. Cook the strained mixture with cloves, green cardamoms, black cardamoms and salt to taste on high heat stirring continuously till the mixture changes its colour. Make a paste of fennel powder and dry ginger powder and add to the yogurt mixture. Add brown onion paste and garlic paste diluted in a little stock. Add ghee and continue to cook. Drain the koftas from the stock and add to the gravy. Do not throw away the remaining stock. You can add it to the gravy or use it for some other dish. Simmer for a while and then add crushed dried mint leaves

Shaam Savera

2012-04-29T22:43:00.002-07:00

Ingredients

•	For koftas

•	Fresh spinach leaves (palak)	5 medium bunches

•	Cottage cheese (paneer),grated	65 grams

•	Salt	to taste

•	Green cardamom powder	a pinch

•	Oil	2 tablespoons + for deep-frying

•	Cumin seeds	1 teaspoon

•	Garlic,finely chopped	10-12 cloves

•	Green chilli,finely chopped	6-7

•	Gram flour (besan)	4 tablespoons

•	Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon

•	Cornflour/ corn starch	1/4 cup

•	Makhani gravy

•	Tomato,roughly chopped	18 large

•	Oil	2 tablespoons

•	Green cardamom	12

•	Mace	1/2 blade

•	Garlic,chopped	20 cloves

•	Salt	to taste

•	Red chilli powder (deghi mirch)	2 1/2 teaspoons

•	Butter	1/2 cup

•	Fenugreek leaves (methi),roasted and powdered	2 teaspoons

•	Honey	3 teaspoons

•	Fresh cream	8 tablespoons

Method
Trim the spinach leaves and blanch them in eight cups of boiling water for two to three minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Squeeze out the excess water, cool and chop finely. Transfer into a deep bowl. In another bowl mash the paneer with a little salt and a pinch of green cardamom powder. Divide into eight equal portions and roll into balls. Heat two tablespoons oil in a non stick shallow pan, add the cumin seeds, garlic and green chillies and sauté. Add the gram flour and continue to sauté for one to two minutes. Add the turmeric powder and stir. Add the spinach and salt sauté, stirring continuously, until the mixture is dry and begins to leave the sides of the pan. Set aside to cool. Divide into eight equal portions. For the makhni gravy puree the tomatoes till smooth. Heat the oil in a deep non stick pan. Add the cardamoms and mace and sauté for one minute or till fragrant. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute. Add the tomato puree and salt and mix well. Add the red chilli powder and cook for fifteen minutes or till the raw flavour of tomatoes disappear. Add the butter and cook for some more time. Take each spinach portion, flatten it on your palm and place a paneer ball in the center. Gather the edges and shape into a ball. Spread the cornstarch in a plate and rolls the stuffed spinach balls in it. Shake off the excess. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Gently slide in the stuffed spinach balls, two at a time, and deep fry on low heat for two to three minutes or till golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper. Add the dried fenugreek leaves and honey to the gravy. Stir and cook for five minutes more. Add the cream and cook for two minutes more. Pour the makhni gravy into a serving bowl, halve the koftas and place on the gravy and serve immediately.

Chef's Tip
Chef's tip: Before frying all the koftas, fry one and check if it is breaking. If it breaks, add some more sautéed gram flour to the spinach mixture and then proceed with the koftas.

THE BENEFITS OF BEING POLITE

2012-04-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

We all believe in the philosophy that the essence of life is talking. Communicating with others is as necessary as food. If we don’t, we tend to fall ill. Today people are rarely talking.

The art of conversation has almost died down. People just usually sit and chat in their office breaks about things that are not even worth thinking about. Let’s face it; we all are going towards doom where each one of us is talking to pass/kill time. The art of using communication is no more existing. People are concerned about others influence in their lives and not about their influence in others life.

It is an unbelievable thing that an effective communication through polite words can have wonderful impact on you and others lives as well. You can win the hearts of many people, climb the corporate ladder, have promotions but not have wonderful relationship with people around you.

The path to a successful life comes thorough the stairs of politeness. An act of politeness can do wonders that no monetary thing can do. Let us go deep in the art of efficient speaking by these methods.

Talking about ideas and not people

It’s truly said, great minds talk about ideas and small minds talk about people. Politeness is an attitude of life. Talking about ideas heightens your politeness towards innovations and stimulates your mind too. This is effective for the speaker and the listener both. To start talking about people you can breathe out all negative energies about anyone: latest crush, which dress she wears, which perfume she uses, her bad attitude. The idea is that everything you talk about people usually comes negative. This develops a feeling of self love and comparison at all means. You do not value your life as much as you do to others.

Using intellect instead of the tongue

Usually people chatter on at length not worrying about the impact it would have on others. Since people are so occupied in themselves they’d rather talk about themselves only. This instigates them to speak rubbish endlessly. Have you ever thought how much of an impact we can have on others by our words? By trying to use our brains before speaking, we will save others sentiments and preserve a healthy relationship between our near ones.

Avoiding gossip

The one who usually starts a gossip or backbiting about someone does not know that he is the one to have the last laugh. People who start commenting and spreading rumors about others usually end up in a muck of politics and bickering about themselves from the other end. Such people should be avoided at arm’s length. Even listening to gossip is as harmful since the listener had the power to listen to negative communication. This unhealthy gossiping could have been stopped if the listener would have ignored the speaker.

Exchange of compliments

We should not limit our compliment intake be restricted to our close relatives. People like our helpers such as servants, cleaners, house maids are those on whom we can count on. Speaking politely to them will ensure that your day is made. They are the ones who offer your services to make your life comfortable. So we should make endeavors to enrich their lives by complimenting and praising them.

Look for positive things in negative people

We all have negative and positive sides. Nobody on this earth has a squeaky clean nature. We all have flaws, however some people are observed negatively by their rude behavior and we become very judgmental about them putting them in the negative category. We should understand that people who are rude have their own weaknesses. They do not choose to be like that. Frustrations at work or domestic front make them act in this behavior. Such people should be offered more help than others comparatively. Talking politely with them will make a difference in their lives and yours too.

Feel positive about you all the time

Quite often we do not realize that we subconsciously become negative. Pent up emotions and unfulfilled desires make us behave rudely towards others and emit negative radiations from the body. Thus we tend to overreact and become rude and harsh to others in some or the other way. This might demolish the social circle that we have. So politeness in the hearts at all means will result in polite attitude.

Whatever is rested in your heart is bound to come out in the open some or the other day. Make sure you have a prosperous life with a polite attitude and selfless love. This will make you immortal in the hearts of millions as people are going to remember for your polite words and not by your status.

A photographer once clicked a photograph of ex-president of India, Dr. Kalam with a shawl placed on his shoulder. After the photo shoot was over, the photographer rudely took off the shawl and walked off. The President smiled. After being asked about his composed behaviouir, he politely answered that maybe the photographer needed the shawl more than he did, and continued his work.

People with big positions come and go but it is only their humble nature that draws millions of people towards them. Their polite words filled to the brim with modesty and love melt the hearts of even the rudest amongst the crowd. By talking politely to all we can make an impact on others lives.

History of Information technology in India

2012-04-18T03:45:00.000-07:00

The Information technology industry in India has gained a brand identity as a knowledge economy due to its IT and ITES sector. The IT–ITES industry has two major components: IT Services and business process outsourcing (BPO).
India's IT Services industry was born in Mumbai in 1967 with the establishment of Tata Group in partnership with Burroughs.
The first software export zone SEEPZ ( Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone) was set up here way back in 1973, the old avatar of the modern day IT park.
The Indian Government acquired the EVS EM computers from the Soviet Union, which were used in large companies and research laboratories
In 1968 Tata Consultancy Services—established in SEEPZ, Mumbai by the Tata Group—were the country's largest software producers during the 1960s. As an outcome of the various policies of Jawaharlal Nehru (office: 15 August 1947 – 27 May 1964) the economically beleaguered country was able to build a large scientific workforce, third in numbers only to that of the United States of America and the Soviet Union. On 18 August 1951 the minister of education Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, inaugurated the Indian Institute of Technologyat Kharagpur in West Bengal. Possibly modeled after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology these institutions were conceived by a 22 member committee of scholars and entrepreneurs under the chairmanship of N. R. Sarkar.
Relaxed immigration laws in the United States of America (1965) attracted a number of skilled Indian professionals aiming for research. By 1960 as many as 10,000 Indians were estimated to have settled in the US. By the 1980s a number of engineers from India were seeking employment in other countries. In response, the Indian companies realigned wages to retain their experienced staff.
The National Informatics Centre was established in March 1975. The inception of The Computer Maintenance Company (CMC) followed in October 1976. During 1977-1980 the country's Information Technology companies Tata Infotech, Patni Computer Systems and Wipro had become visible. The 'microchip revolution' of the 1980s had convinced both Indira Gandhi and her successor Rajiv Gandhi that electronics and telecommunications were vital to India's growth and development. MTNL underwent technological improvements. During 1986-1987, the Indian government embarked upon the creation of three wide-area computer networking schemes: INDONET (intended to serve the IBM mainframes in India), NICNET (the network for India's National Informatics Centre), and the academic research oriented Education and Research Network (ERNET).
Regulated VSAT links became visible in 1985. Desai (2006) describes the steps taken to relax regulations on linking in 1991. In 1991 the Department of Electronics broke this impasse, creating a corporation called Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) that, being owned by the government, could provide VSAT communications without breaching its monopoly. STPI set up software technology parks in different cities, each of which provided satellite links to be used by firms; the local link was a wireless radio link. In 1993 the government began to allow individual companies their own dedicated links, which allowed work done in India to be transmitted abroad directly. Indian firms soon convinced their American customers that a satellite link was as reliable as a team of programmers working in the clients’ office.
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) introduced Gateway Electronic Mail Service in 1991, the 64 kbit/s leased line service in 1992, and commercial Internet access on a visible scale in 1992. Election results were displayed via National Informatics Centre's NICNET.
The Indian economy underwent economic reforms in 1991, leading to a new era of globalization and international economic integration. Economic growth of over 6% annually was seen during 1993-2002. The economic reforms were driven in part by significant the internet usage in the country. The new administration under Atal Bihari Vajpayee—which placed the development of Information Technology among its top five priorities— formed the Indian National Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development.
Wolcott & Goodman (2003) report on the role of the Indian National Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development: Within 90 days of its establishment, the Task Force produced an extensive background report on the state of technology in India and an IT Action Plan with 108 recommendations. The Task Force could act quickly because it built upon the experience and frustrations of state governments, central government agencies, universities, and the software industry. Much of what it proposed was also consistent with the thinking and recommendations of international bodies like the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and World Bank. In addition, the Task Force incorporated the experiences of Singapore and other nations, which implemented similar programs. It was less a task of invention than of sparking action on a consensus that had already evolved within the networking community and government.
The New Telecommunications Policy, 1999 (NTP 1999) helped further liberalize India's telecommunications sector. The Information Technology Act 2000 created legal procedures for electronic transactions and e-commerce.

TCP vs. UDP

2012-04-11T22:10:00.002-07:00

Overview

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is the most commonly used protocol on the Internet. The reason for this is because TCP offers error correction. When the TCP protocol is used there is a "guaranteed delivery." This is due largely in part to a method called "flow control."

Flow control determines when data needs to be re-sent, and stops the flow of data until previous packets are successfully transferred. This works because if a packet of data is sent, a collision may occur. When this happens, the client re-requests the packet from the server until the whole packet is complete and is identical to its original.

UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is anther commonly used protocol on the Internet. However, UDP is never used to send important data such as webpages, database information, etc; UDP is commonly used for streaming audio and video. Streaming media such as Windows Media audio files (.WMA) , Real Player (.RM), and others use UDP because it offers speed! The reason UDP is faster than TCP is because there is no form of flow control or error correction. The data sent over the Internet is affected by collisions, and errors will be present. Remember that UDP is only concerned with speed. This is the main reason why streaming media is not high quality.

On the contrary, UDP has been implemented among some trojan horse viruses. Hackers develop scripts and trojans to run over UDP in order to mask their activities. UDP packets are also used in DoS (Denial of Service) attacks. It is important to know the difference between TCP port 80 and UDP port 80.

Frame Structure

As data moves along a network, various attributes are added to the file to create a frame. This process is called encapsulation. There are different methods of encapsulation depending on which protocol and topology are being used. As a result, the frame structure of these packets differs as well.

The payload field contains the actually data. Notice that TCP has a more complex frame structure. This is largely due to the fact the TCP is a connection-oriented protocol. The extra fields are need to ensure the "guaranteed delivery" offered by TCP.

2012-03-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

What can I do to ensure my success in my team and organization?
How can I keep increasing my contributions to my organization?
How can I align my efforts and energy to what is really relevant for my organization?
Is there a systematic way I can plan for my own career growth?
Why are my promotions delayed though my company is doing well?

The IT services industry is a people based business. In the long run, success and failure are determined by the quality of people in every team and organization. More importantly, how people develop and grow along business, leadership and technology dimensions during the course of their careers is often what determines the growth of the individuals, their respective teams and the organization as a whole. People development is therefore not surprisingly, a key corporate charter in all organizations. However, people development initiatives often face the challenges of scale (in large organizations) or prioritization (in small organizations). An environment that fosters a culture of self-development can play a big role in addressing these challenges. Usually, approaches towards self-development vary across individuals and teams in the organization – with corresponding variations in the results. The need therefore is not only for self-development, but for structured and systematic approaches to the same.

The Four-Second Rule for Improved Communications

2012-03-09T21:59:00.001-08:00

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Chances are you've come across this phrase sometime during your life. This piece of advice has been passed down for generations for a good reason--it's excellent advice.

I'm sure if you think about it--okay, think hard now--you can come up with a few instances when you've said things that you wish you could take back. Whether you spoke during a time when you were stressed, angry, disappointed or frustrated, or you offered up a piece of unsolicited advice during a period of relative calm, thinking about what you said still triggers feelings of discomfort and regret.

Okay, I admit it, in the past, like so many others, I've been a victim of the "open mouth/insert foot" syndrome. Upon occasion I've also been self-diagnosed with the "open mouth/insert leg" syndrome. Yes, there are times when, as a communicator, I've wanted to crawl under a big rock.

If you're prone to saying things that you later regret, here's my best advice: STOP! And, to aid you in this effort, I'd like to share with you the "Four-Second Rule" for better communications.

I hit upon the Four-Second Rule when working with individuals at NASA. During one of my communication workshops, a participant shared that astronauts are trained to make critical decisions in four seconds. So, in the same four seconds that the average person thinks, "Hmmm, do I want a Coke or Pepsi," astronauts are trained to make decisions which may affect whether or not they will successfully return to earth.

So what does the Four-Second Rule have to do with communications? Everything. Throughout the day as communicators we make critical decisions: what we say, the tone we use, who we communicate with, and what non-verbal messages we'll use to accompany our communication. Just think of how much better our relationships will be when, before we start to communicate, we take four seconds to consider the impact that our message will have.

Picture yourself in a stressful scenario where you need to communicate your feelings to someone. Now apply the Four-Second Rule:

Second #1- Take a deep breath and consider what it is that you want to say. Determine the point you want to make and what you'd like for the outcome to be. Realize that some words build up relationships and some words tear them down. Choose your words wisely.

Second #2 - Consider the tone of voice that you'll use. A calm and friendly tone certainly beats a tone that is loud, harsh, condescending, or sewn with sarcasm. If you know that you're "not in the mood" to be talking about something, then DON'T. Similarly, don't deliver messages that you know that you'll be apologizing for later, as doing so puts unnecessary strain on relationships.

Second #3- Make sure you're about to communicate your message to the right person. Misplaced anger or frustration is at the core of many communication problems. If you have an issue with a doctor, communicate that directly to him or her. Don't misdirect your communication to others on the unit, as doing so only contaminates the communications climate.

Second #4 - Consider your non-verbal behavior and how it contributes to or distracts from your message. When delivering your message, face the person, make eye contact and have an open stance. Remember, eye contact is one of the biggest indicators of how a relationship is going. Eliminate huffing, puffing, groaning and eye rolling from your non-verbal vocabulary. By doing so, you are guaranteed to increase the likelihood that positive communication will ensue.

Sometimes we need to "take a step back, to take a step forward." By using this Four Second countdown you'll communicate in a way that will keep others from going into orbit around you. And as those at NASA might say, by using the Four- Second Rule you will successfully complete your mission by keeping your communications down to earth.

Employee Communication: The Secret to Business Success

2012-03-09T21:53:00.002-08:00

Business surveys consistently show us that poor workplace communication could be a major supply of employee dissatisfaction. The repercussions of this include not just low employee morale. Employee productivity suffers, together with a vary of other business performance indicators.

Business Impact of Poor Communication

Have you ever stopped to think about how much unsatisfactory communication practices are costing your business? A number of these costs embody:

? increased employee turnover

? increased absenteeism

? dissatisfied customers from poor customer service

? higher product defect rates

? lack of specialize in business objectives

? stifled innovation

How several of these prices can you recognize in your business? You can flip the situation around. Staff can place in that further "discretionary effort" after they are kept informed brazenly and honestly on aspects of their job and the business and that they feel that they're being listened to with empathy.

Employee Communication Needs

What and how ought to you communicate together with your employees? Communication in your organization should satisfy the three key employee needs before they will be engaged and highly productive. Every and each employee needs to:

1. Apprehend that ...

-included here are facts regarding your organization and their specific job - what business you are in, who your customers are, specific details regarding your product or service, where forms are located, who to determine when there is a downside ...

2. Master that ...

-included here are the sensible skills required to try to to their job well - repairing a machine, filling out an invoice, designing a building, writing a software program ...

3. Feel that ...

-included here are the interactions that provide them a way of belonging and self-price - being listened to, revered, trusted, valued ...

Managers predominantly think about the primary need - grasp that - and pay less attention to the second would like to master skills. The third would like - feel that - is what makes workers distinctly human and what drives them to outstanding achievement in work and outdoors of work. And however it's in this dimension that employee communications are most lacking.

Look closely at the communication happening in your business. Is it satisfying what workers want to be absolutely engaged and operating productively? Contemplate each of the four basic levels of communication in your organization for a solution:

1. Organization wide communication - involving all staff

2. Departmental communication - specific to 1 department or unit

3. Team communication - within one cohesive team or group

4. Individual communication - specific to one employee at any one time

Communications may be working effectively at higher levels, with regular and informative newsletters emanating from Head Office. However, the standard and quantity of communications could fail dismally at the a lot of native level. The interpersonal skills of supervisors, team leaders and native managers are particularly important at levels 3 and 4, as these are the individuals that frontline employees develop operating relationships with most personally and closely. Several exit surveys have shown that workers commonly leave an organization as a result of of a poor operating relationship with a right away supervisor. How are the communication skills of the supervisors in your organization?

Just as necessary is that the communication between and at intervals levels. Gone are the days when departments may stand as silos, isolated from the rest of the organization by impenetrable barriers. Intra-national and international competition is currently so fierce that everyone in the organization desires to collaborate closely on solving organizational challenges and on achieving agreed strategic objectives. What are the communication barriers in your organization?

Where is your organization at in its life-cycle? Is it large or growing rapidly? As more folks are added to an organization, communication needs and stresses increase exponentially. Joe, who used to try and do purchasing, inspection and warehousing on his own now needs to speak to 3 other departments yet as the people in his own growing team. What structures, systems and processes has your organization place in place to encourage and facilitate effective communication flow?

Well-designed organizational culture surveys and employee communication surveys can determine how well your communication systems and practices are contributing to your organization's performance - or how abundant they're hindering performance. This data can then help you in devising a good employee communication strategy. No matter else you do, communication practices impact each facet of your business. Wanting closely at communication in your organization is well price your whereas, as a result of even if you do not, your staff are.

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