Innovation needs ability to see beyond code

'Innovation needs ability to see beyond code'

Jay Raghavendra Pullur, founder and CEO of Pramati Technologies says the explosion of social media has led to serious interest by marketers, in using it as the main channel to reach out to their target population

Monday, March 29, 2010

Do you think social networking can revolutionize the way global enterprises are functioning? What is the role of Qontext in this context?

Businesses are in constant search of new ways to overcoming the shortcomings of email, intranet, KM and other collaboration systems they use. Collaboration determines problem solving, productivity and innovation abilities of a business. Email has become the defacto collaboration and communication tool despite serious limitations. Lack of sharing, overload and inbox burial, lead to suboptimal use of unstructured information. Intranets and content systems remain static and lack broad participation.

The answer lies in the success of Web 2.0 in the consumer space - getting people to participate. The heightened participation, content sharing, collective discovery and new communication tools, collectively called Enterprise 2.0, are attempting to bring Web 2.0 to corporate use. Enterprise Collaboration is among the top 5 technology trends of 2010.

Qontext (pronounce context, which stands for Contextual Collaboration) is targeted at bringing the benefits of social software and tools to enterprise internal use. Core part of Qontext is a private social network for a company, a walled garden inside which their employees are free to talk, share and connect with security and privacy. While other products in this space offer similar capabilities, Qontext is unique in bringing integrations into other business applications of the enterprise such as CRM, ERP, SCM, etc. Contextual collaboration brings business content into the social stream and there by delivers business value and ROI.

Anyone can go to www.Qontext.com and register for free trial. The product is offered under SAAS model and pricing is kept very low to increase quick adoption.

Which are the major business segments that Qontext is looking at? And how do you look at the potential of India market?

Qontext is targeted at mid-size companies, particularly with employee base in the range of 500 to 10,000. Services sector with high concentration of knowledge workers is a good segment for use of such products. IT companies, BPO, hospitality, R&D institutions, pharma and biotech are areas we are concentrating, in India, as they are well developed and offer great potential.

Could you please say something about the evolution of Pramati over the years and how the concept of Imaginea evolved from that?

Incorporated in 1998, Pramati has grown from a single product startup to a private, profitable, self-sustaining company with 300 people and 4 different locations. We are proud of our brand and our ability to innovate and build products that could succeed in the global competition.

Imaginea is a independent business unit of Pramati that delivers development services with key strengths in cloud computing, SAAS delivery, social apps and Java middleware.

What are your recruitment plans?

We are looking at significant growth in 2010 in both products and services side. We have recently expanded our Hyderabad operations to include a Hitec City office that can accommodate a 20 per cent increase in employee strength. We are also expanding our Chennai center, where User Interface engineering is the focus.

Pramati hires people particularly for their ability to think, articulate and execute. While technical skills are important for producing good software, innovation needs ability to see beyond code, understand users and usage patterns. As part of Pramati experience, our people get a holistic view of product software journey. They work with entrepreneurs and gain the experience to be the potential innovators of the future.

©CyberMedia News

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Rolv Heggenhougen said on 3/29/2010 5:41:07 PM:
100% "Open rate" Email Marketing does not have to mean mass email! Companies invest a great deal in their website which in many cases is their only “store” where they showcase products and services. The challenge is to drive people to the website but as we all know, more people in the store will lead to more sales. Corporate employees send emails every day to clients, prospects, friends and others but these are plain emails that do not generate any traffic to the website. WrapMail – www.wrapmail.com - offers a solution that does not require any installation but that seamlessly adds interactive letterheads (designed by the client) to every outgoing email so that each and every one becomes a promotional piece for the company and when clicked delivers the reader to the website. Furthermore the solution tracks the clicks and reports who is clicking on what and when (also in real time), turning the system into a research tool. This “hidden” advertising medium is probably the most viral available and the least costly, WrapMail only charges $5 per user per month.

to Rolv Heggenhougen