Which is why it was an honor when Mr Koulopoulos shared the copy of his upcoming book ‘Cloud Surfing’ with Mr Malhotra and requested him to write a pre-release review for it.

Without much further ado, here’s announcing the launch tomorrow of Tom Koulopoulos’s next book Cloud Surfing!

Ideafarms brings you a snapshot of what to expect.

Truth in the Cloud: How transparency will keep us honest

Innovation in the Cloud: How the way we create will be redefined

Commerce in the Cloud: How we will radically change the notion of value without risk

Reputation in the Cloud: How influence is redefining the economics of business

Learning in the Cloud: How we will go about educating ten billion brains

Community in the Cloud: How we will rely on one another going forward

Mr Malhotra shared the review of the book on his blog. This is what he had to say about the upcoming book – Cloud Surfing.

THE FUTURE AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE. – Yogi Berra

The fact that I have the opportunity of reviewing Cloud Surfing before its launch sitting halfway across the world in India, hints at Tom’s having already made a round trip to the future. Everything in the future is about connections — Machine-Machine + People-Machine + People-People — that will reach from 5 billion today to a staggering 100 billion in 2020. This is likened to the number of neurons in the human brain. Whether or not this means that the world will become intelligent, one thing is certain – our past cannot inform the future of work, life and play.

Tom is a natural at storytelling and you run into pleasant sprinklings of anecdotes that stay with you throughout the book. Each chapter of Cloud Surfing is a revelation; the more I read the more curious I became. Parts of it are science fiction at its best, only it may not turn out to be fiction.

Only one question remains unanswered — “What if it rains?”.

Read the full review here …

Download excerpt of Cloud Surfing

 

Let us know what are your views about IP rights violations and the recent developments of the government backing the SME sector up.

We share this video here to wish all moms a very happy Mother’s Day.

DON’T forget to wish your mom

Happy mother’s day

Quoting the article from Economic Times -

We hope that this move will create more robust IP laws. Let us know what you think about it.

Related articles

• Liberalise visa regime, India tells Germany (Business Standard – 10 May 2012)
• Anand Sharma raises issues of cumbersome VISA process and IPR infringement of Indian Intellectual Property (Press release, Department of Commerce – 10 May 2012)

Excerpts from the original article have been covered here for your views. (Click to  read the full article) -

Since 2007, Continental had been using a software framework of Ideafarms, named InDExT, a general-purpose / generic software framework for storing, retrieving and approving documents and managing business processes through a proprietary Visual Navigation system. This software had been customised for Continental as QMD, Quality Management Documentation by Ideafarms for a separate customization fee and installed in the Germany-based servers of Continental under a click-wrap license. The licence agreement was accepted by Continental and was also available for viewing through the software interface itself.

In 2010, when Continental signed the aforesaid termination agreement, it was liable to pay the license fee for the said software for the year 2010. …

… The matter, however, proceeded to be heard the next day, wherein the Court acted in a manner that did not conform with the idea of fairness or neutrality. Without allowing a trial, it rejected Ideafarms’ counter claim and instead of allowing any argument on Ideafarms’ part as to what might constitute a valid licence/transfer fee, it summarily awarded Continental the rights to the software. …

… Overall, even setting aside the procedural irregularities that the German judge might or might not have indulged in, the decision prima facie appears to contain several laches, such as how could Continental have been awarded the software rights without a trial, when it had never claimed ownership, nor had disputed Ideafarms’ copyright over the same. Even the licensing issue was not settled by the Court.

Read the complete article here.

The post attracted considerable attention and received a string of comments from readers starting a debate.

We would also like to know what do you think about the judgement. Share you views in the comments below.

Demystifying the title for you (its in Hindi …)

Anda = egg

Funda = Concept (we believe it stems from the word Fundamental)
Therefore, by “Ande ka Funda” we literally are trying to depict the concept of organisational innovation using the growing and self-nurturing egg as a metaphor.

An organisation that innovates needs to practice innovation at its core, which means first bringing innovation in its business model, its processes and then innovating its products – this will form the yolk of the egg shaped model. To support this initiative of innovation you need to have a flexible jelly like pool of resources that can keep innovation afloat and act as a cushion. This cushion is then wrapped with a membrane of technology, culture and ecosystem that will provide the necessary energy and resources required to enable innovation at your core. All this is then enclosed in a shell of the brand that will protect the soft and fragile interiors and yet lets it interact with the external world.

We also have for you quick-tips or questions that may help your organisation kick-off its innovation program that you can get by downloading this poster.

(Feel free to blow it up and print it or even share this link with others!)

( P.S: Don’t forget to give us credit for it!)

Egg shaped model for organisational innovation

Download the poster

Get in touch with us if you want to know more or need help with your innovation program.

17th April- A day that is very important to us, as this day Ideafarms was born, and now its been a decade. An important milestone has been achieved successfully.

Our celebrations began way back when we crafted our new year’s greeting card relating with all the moments that we had in our journey (our clients, our parties, our people). Take a look .. Just a click away .

We also revamped our website and launched it on our anniversary. You can check it out here. Any kind of criticism and ‘Aww! thats nice‘ will be wholeheartedly accepted

Our day was special as we had a ceremony at our work-place followed by a small party. The day began with work assigned to everybody – ‘Filling up balloons ‘. Everybody was enjoying that for once they had something new to do at the work place. In no time we had decorated our place with balloons.

You could feel the excitement in the air, the whole office was decorated to reflect the mood that a festival brings every year, which put a big smile on everybody’s faces.

Our CEO Mr. Sunil Malhotra and CFO Mr. Rajeev Malhotra were given a warm welcome, followed by a religious ceremony.

The pooja ceremony was done to seek the blessings of the almighty and bless our souls.

Rangoli in office has always been a part of our celebrations - the Indian way. Ruchi put in her creative hand and made a fantastic one.

After the ceremony, we had another ceremony, the cake eating ceremony . The cake was tempting and yummy-licious so it was hard to get our hands off it.

But the party ain’t stoppin as we had a grand celebration at Chonas, Khan Market. The food was superb and we all loved it.

Sarvesh captured  our 10-year journey into this beautiful poem as we turn 10, and create a landmark in the history.

Oh ! wait its not over yet. We got a  lot of attention from our loved ones on Twitter too. Check it out.

Our dear @Ideafarms turns 10 tomorrow. Quite a journey! I’m sure it’ll get written about someday

— Sunaina Khurana (@sunainak) April 16, 2012

 

— Sivakumar Surampudi (@S_Sivakumar) April 17, 2012

@SunilMalhotra Congratulations! Great initiatives in the years ahead — syamant sandhir (@syamant) April 17, 2012

The journey of @Ideafarms for better or for verse. twitpic.com/9avark Thanks Sarvesh (@partyjaanwar), you’ve captured it beautifully. #FB — Sunil Malhotra (@SunilMalhotra) April 17, 2012

@SunilMalhotra happy 10th! i want treat. — Surekha Pillai (@surekhapillai) April 17, 2012

@SunilMalhotra @ideafarms congratulations! — Mukesh Gupta (@rmukeshgupta) April 17, 2012 Your attention made us stand at ease. Thanks for all your wishes on our 10th Anniversary. — Ideafarms (@Ideafarms) April 18, 2012

Image Reference:http://www.crazyengineers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Tata-Nano-Starter-Motor-Replace-Tata-Motor.jpg

What followed after a status update by Sunil Malhotra was this Facebook battle of wits on 26th March 2012, between Umesh Nevgi and Sunil Malhotra on the relevance of the world’s cheapest car, Tata’s Nano.

We reproduce the great debate for you here and welcome your perspective

Hi Sunil, I have not read any market report or feedback on the Nano. However, I wonder whether is it still not a better & relatively safer option and, hence, an upgrade worthwhile for the numerous families who ride three-up or four-up on a scooter through the busy lanes? I understand this was the vision of Ratan Tata behind it.

Umesh, vision is an outmoded concept IMO. Ratan Tata, no disrespect to his calibre or great achievements, screwed up big time here. The Nano is the outcome of the idea of someone sitting in a customised S-Class Merc and looking at life around him through tinted glasses (all puns intended). How far removed from reality can anyone get? The many plusses in the run up to the launch of the 2000 dollar car are completely overshadowed by the sheer irrelevance to the context of the customer. Sorry, but in my book the only phrase that comes to mind is regressive innovation.

Sunil, product placement – imho – is not an outmoded concept – not yet at the least. There is a place in the marketplace for a Nano to a S-Class Merc and beyond – to suit every pocket, need, want, wish and whim. Admittedly, the Nano may not be an ideal car (I did read some questions raised about its safety levels), however – let’s face it – it is a no-frills car. This itself perhaps should not be the reason for writing off this car altogether. Hopefully, the safety aspect does get improved – within the given cost constraints – for the next upgrade of this car. Finally, as for any product from a toothbrush to a car, striking the right balance between its cost and its quality is always critical. Key q : Is the Nano of today really a more dangerous vehicle on the roads than a scooter ridden – rather perched upon precariously – by a family of four in a busy rush-hour traffic? If not, then would we still call this ‘innovation’ regressive?

I agree with most of what you say but that is a product centric view at best Umesh. From a social relevance perspective, aspiration and image of the target segment have been ignored. Not intentionally maybe, but overlooked at the very least. One is not writing off the car at all — it is a great example of no-frills product engineering. But it has failed the test of the market and the consumer. There are hardly any Nanos on the road 3 years down. That speaks for itself. Hail the market. Hail the intelligent Indian. BTW the starting point imho of the scooter is what I’ve always questioned. My early take even before the launch were published 3-4 years ago in a slightly different context. Car Ke Side Effects
Prophetic or not, you decide.

Download the PDF

Hi Sunil, enjoying this debate … reminds of our hostel years. Read your article – great stuff! I can see where you are coming from – your concerns et al – and I would tend to agree with many of the points/concepts within … corporate social responsibility, the risks of creating a problem while solving another, the legacy of ‘do now, think later’ policy. Social relevance – a key issue indeed. However, I would largely disagree with shifting the entire responsibility for social implications of any product towards the corporate world. The government and – more importantly – we the people shoulder a much MUCH larger responsibility for this. The softer side of this issue – the need for traffic literacy, discipline & fairness on the roads, compliance to law – would need to be met rather through an efficient system of rules & regulations – including extensive monitoring for compliances and severe reprimands/penalties for any non-compliances to such laws. Such an onus for – in your words – a holistic and sustainable approach rests primarily on the lawmakers and the populace alike. Same would hold good for the infrastructure – or, more precisely, the current lack of it. One can not penalise or hold responsible the Tatas for this – beyond their share of responsibility, of course. Secondly, although a climb towards an ideal & disciplined world is the ultimate target, such improvements seldom come in large leaps and often come in baby steps. I reckon the Nano is one such baby step – faltering though it could be. My main support for the Nano rests on the fact that it upgrades the scooter-riding four-up family towards a relatively safer commute. This by itself has a significant social relevance, I hope you agree. If solving a larger problem means living with a new & relatively smaller problem, then so be it. We now then resolve the new smaller problem. One point I would however differ on with the Tatas is that, I think, in the rush towards the world’s cheapest car, the Tatas set themselves super-ultra-low cost and, thus, safety targets. Increasing the cost target to, say, double the current target would have helped to achieve higher safety-levels and, as a byproduct, also control the projected sudden and exponential volume explosion.

Beautiful point about Tatas having set a low target (pun intended), Umesh. That’s what irked me about India’s best brand.

Good pun, Sunil. I better understand your irk now. Not having a direct exposure to the Nano, I am not aware of all the issues related to this car in the field. I do find the original intent of bringing the car to the masses as worthwhile. However, based upon the reports I have read, Tatas seemingly have cut large corners and gone overboard in their zest to come up with such a cost-effective vehicle. Hopefully, they now rectify this and come up with a better balance between the cost and the features – perhaps a Micro than a Nano.

LOL! Now that they have proven the low-cost point, they should perhaps think of repositioning it as a campus vehicle for students in the US. And, yes no excuses for compromising safety.

Sunil, now that we have discussed and decided to evolve the Nano into a Micro – repositioned with better safety features and a slightly higher but relative to the market still a lower price, this executive decision just simply needs to be conveyed to the Tatas.

Hahaha! On a more serious note, corporates (I just made a typo that works even better — corpirates) would be better off moving from business cases to business causes, don’t you think. But they will never get it.

That’s a bit harsh on the corporate world, Sunil – I think. Tatas may have got the balance wrong, but that seems to be just a case of a business strategy gone upside down – can be still rectified at a cost, market forces will ensure that anyway. I reckon the crux of the issue here – the lack of infrastructure / traffic literacy / discipline – boils down to the lack of a strong will from the governments over the years to improve the system in parallel. A willing & empowered governance can literally work wonders to the system and be complimentary to the works of entrepreneurs like Tata – and then the consumer wins. Remember Paan Singh Tomar : bihar mein to sirf baagi rehte hai, asli daaku to sansad mein rehte hai. Perhaps too strong/filmy/exaggerated/​generalised a statement that is, but – unfortunately – not totally opposite from the truth either.

Call me disillusioned. Doing business in India has never been easy especially for those who do not want to bend the rules for their own selfish needs. The Government has been the main culprit, but what sustains Government apathy is the need for greed and power by corporates and our hugely corruptible media. Let me hasten to add that Tata is one of the few companies that has always upheld ethical practices and is a role model for the whole world. It might even be the only Indian Corporate in my book that is incorruptible. But that is the topic of another discussion. But the rest of India Inc. — the less said the better.

Sunil, I fully understand your disillusionment and frustration. I also share your views on Tata (and hence my hesitation to blame them). Tata is perhaps the only visible one, however I am sure there are few more – including one I know in Okhla Phase I, albeit in minority. However, in spite of all the adversities, stay positive – that is the only way to beat the system … eventually. Look at it this way – at the end of the day, not having bent the rules would bring in the inner satisfaction to oneself that having joined the ‘club’ would never ever fetch in. Easier said than done – however this would always remain THE challenge. It is more than a marathon – stay put and stay the course, my friend. I assure you – the distant & faint light at the end of this long tunnel is not of any train.

Read the original debate on Facebook

Download – Car ke Side Effects(PDF),   Innovation 101 – The Jugaad phenomenon,  Car Ke Side Effects

<Disclaimer: There is nothing original about this presentation>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTTwkMv5r9E

Let us know what you think. We would love to hear your views on the topic.

An interview that just started as his feedback on working with Ideafarms, soon grew into something much more insightful. Mr Kluun shared with us his valuable views and opinions about the need for a solution like the Product Selection Guide in the HVAC industry and how it can especially be a useful tool for any user given the current technologies and interfaces. Which is what gave us the idea of sharing it with all of you via this videolog.

The Product Selection Guide is an interactive Sales Configurator we had designed and developed for Waterloo B.V back in 2003. You can read more about the solution here, or jump straight ahead to the interview.

The Interview

Mr Kluun shares with us his need for the Product Selection Guide at Waterloo B.V.

Back then, a solution like PSG, Mr. Kluun says was at least 10 yrs ahead of its time and according to him this solution now has a lot of potential, especially with the advent of multi-touch interface and portable devices like the iPad and Android tablet.

Watch what he has to say about the future of Sales Configurators like the Product Selection Guide.

Mr Kluun also talks about his experience of working with Ideafarms. This one will make you smile for sure

And also have a look at some of the pictures from his visit here