EmTech Spl: Tackling the tech challenges

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Gagandeep Kaur talks to Dr Sanjoy Paul, associate vice president, general manager - Research and head Convergence Technology Lab, Infosys, on the sidelines of EmTech India 2009

What are the technologies that you are working in the mobile applications arena?

We are working on mobile enabling Web applications. We have recently come out with a Middleware, which transforms the user interface based on the type of device being used. This has been used to enable mobile banking on Finnacle, Infosys banking product.

The problem is that when one is using mobile to access the Net, you want direct information and the standard Web interface is usually not the desired format for accessing net on mobile.

Now, we are also expanding this product to support mobile payment as well. We have also started working on a sort of an application factory, where we can roll out many applications which can be later deployed.

We are also working on the arena of mobile entertainment. We are basically working on an application, which would try to render multimedia application differently for different devices. For instance, the interface will be totally different for low-end as well as hi-end devices.

What are the challenges being faced by you?

The biggest challenge is to come out with relevant applications for the bottom of the pyramid customers. In India this segment is mostly non-English speaking and illiterate, so voice has to be the medium. So one has to render information in voice and that too in different languages as well.

Today, there is a plethora of services available, but most of them are text based, which is useless for this segment. A whole gamut of applications will become enabled once voice communication mechanism is in place. We are starting to do some work in this arena and are looking for partnerships.

How do you see this segment evolving in the coming two-to-three years?

There is a lot of interest in technologies and applications for bottom-of-the-pyramid customers and we should see some interesting applications in the coming two-to-three years. However, I must point out that mostly the work should be in partnership with local people. It is very difficult to understand the local and specific needs of the rural customers and it is important to involve them.

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