July 28, 2010, 11:12 am by Deepali
The comparisons between Apple iPad and this $35 ‘still unnamed’ mobile device are so unfair. The online buzz about this new product is almost deafening. Ever since the Indian government announced the launch of the ‘$35 m -device’ (lets call it that, since it does not have a name yet, and this anyway seems to be the most exciting ‘fact’ about it), discussions abound on its viability, price, wasted funds, its not-so-successful predecessors, apps that it can offer and its future. While debate on all of these is justified, some more thoughts:
Why is cost such a big issue?
Continue reading ‘Education at $35… Dreaming big?’ »
July 20, 2010, 9:57 am by Reetika
So I played devil’s advocate, whil
e the rest of the learning world appreciated the leap forward with the Apple iPad. Having carefully evaluated the bad and the ugly (thanks to everyone on Linkedin/this blog who shared), there is definitely a need to look at everything good that’s coming out of the tablet industry, of relevance to the learning community.
A market-ready foolproof device the iPad still is not, but there are plenty of interesting ways it may be leveraged for learning at the workplace / university (or actually, outside of those places). In this post, I want to the cover the actual implementations being made by educators (I’ll cover corporate initiatives next week). A great example is Rutgers University’s iPad marketing course that I blogged about earlier. There’s a lot of talk of how the iPad is a game changer, but how many universities are putting their money where their mouths are, and investing right away?
Continue reading ‘Top 5 University iPad initiatives’ »
July 14, 2010, 12:53 pm by Vivek
A few days ago, I came across an interesting write-up on the top 50 publishers across the world. The list, compiled by Rudiger Wischenbart, provides great insight on how the world’s biggest publishers performed in FY09.
All charts are based on aforementioned list.
Continue reading ‘The top 50 publishers: How they fared in 2009’ »
July 7, 2010, 2:08 pm by Vivek
As a market to sell in or as a destination to outsource to, businesses across the world have been fascinated by China. The Chinese economy has relied heavily on exports – mostly contract manufacturing. Contract manufacturing here is a loosely used term. It encompasses everything from shoes, clothes, books, computer peripherals to machinery, heavy fabrication, automobile parts etc. It would be safe to assume, that every product out in the market has a Chinese contribution. Services might take longer to make a significant contribution to the economy, but once the population overcomes language issues, revenues from services are likely to increase.
This week, I came across an article that mentioned a few numbers about the publishing industry – which I think is indicative at best. While the numbers might be debated upon (and that would be welcome), it does not discount the fact that China is a strong contender – as a destination to outsource printing and as a potential market to sell in.
Continue reading ‘The Paper Dragon’ »
July 5, 2010, 10:10 am by Reetika
In our nationwide survey of ~400 Indian higher education students (for the EDGE report on online assessments), we had some interesting insights w.r.t attitudes about online exams.
Continue reading ‘Do students want to take subjective assessments online?’ »
June 29, 2010, 4:32 pm by Vivek
The iPad is still making the news – a search on Google News for the keyword ‘iPad’ returned close to 19,000 articles for the last month alone. The iPad, since its launch 80 days ago, has already sold three million units and shows no sign of slowing down. Like it’s other products, Apple has managed to create a strong market buzz for the iPad.
Recently, I had the chance to get my hands on an iPad – and I was impressed. The few minutes I had with the device left me appreciating the effort Apple has put into the device. The interface, driven by a touch screen, is remarkably easy to use and it makes it all the easier to access the web or play games. But what really caught my eye was the e-book experience. The book (if I remember correctly, the free copy of Winnie the Pooh), looked great – so great that I can imagine myself using it for all my reading. I can’t help but wonder if more like me are considering the switch?
Continue reading ‘Apple iPad: Loved it!’ »
June 23, 2010, 9:56 am by Reetika
Dear reader,
Firstly, thank you for visiting the ValueNotes Sourcing Practice blog. It’s your contributions and vibrant discussions that keep us going, and help us understand the state of sourcing today!
If you’ve been a regular on our blogs, you would have noticed the many changes to our navigation and content. Until last week, we had separate blogs focusing on e-learning, publishing, research & analytics and legal services outsourcing. As time moved on (it’s been a year now!), we realized the value in cross-linkages, and in communicating with our audiences together.
So while once we were four, we are now on one platform, bringing you, our peers in the outsourcing sector, a consolidated view of the many industry sub-segments. We believe this move will add more value to our discussions, and enable a dynamic cross-industry representation among our readers. To illustrate, while on one end publishers could discuss how e-books can change the market, members from the new media and e-learning segments can also add to the subject and give a more comprehensive view.
Continue reading ‘Coming together to discuss The State of Sourcing!’ »
May 26, 2010, 4:07 pm by Neeraja
- WNS was one of the early BPO entrants in the LPO industry.
- Infosys entered the LPO industry about two years back and currently has a team of 500+ employees in their LPO division.
- Wipro BPO made its presence in the industry around the same time as Infosys and has more than 100 employees in its LPO division.
In addition to these companies, several others such as OfficeTiger (one the early entrants), EXL, Caliber Point have entered the LPO industry. More recently, Accentia Technologies Limited, a BPO provider announced its decision to jump into the LPO industry. The company is scouting for acquisitions to enter the LPO industry.
Continue reading ‘BPOs in the LPO industry?’ »
May 24, 2010, 10:33 am by Deepali
The Union Human Resource Minister, Kapil Sibal has taken it upon himself to completely overhaul the Indian education system… a good and long-awaited move. The Right to Education Act (RTE) was indeed a major development in the scheme of things. This is another move towards making education universal, as primary education, something that many of us take for granted is actually out of bounds for millions others.
Recently the Minister talked about the need to recruit 2 million teachers to achieve the goals set out by the Act. The other requirement would be more schools… schools where students are actually taught, and not just decrepit buildings. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also expressed a desire to build 6500 ‘model’ schools. This is where the private players come in. That the Government will need help from the private sector to successfully implement RTE, hardly needs an intelligent analysis. What is debatable is – Will the PPP work? How will it work? And how long do we have to wait before it makes an impact? The problem, we cannot afford to lose any more time.
Continue reading ‘How long before PPP bridges the education demand supply gap?’ »
May 19, 2010, 4:08 pm by Vivek
From releasing a new Kindle application for Android devices to allowing customers to exchange textbooks for a gift card or announcing Facebook and Twitter support in Kindles – the past few days have been quite eventful for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). While these new developments reflect the inherent dynamism in the book distribution market, the possible launch of Google Editions or DangDang.com planning an IPO are indicative of the competition that the market is witnessing.
But of all the news items, what I found most interesting has been the announcement of AmazonCrossing. AmazonCrossing will use customer feedback and data from other Amazon sites to identify non-English best sellers. Once identified, Amazon will acquire and translate the book for consumption by the global English-speaking audience. The move leverages Amazon’s existing distribution networks that contain multiple channels, formats, stores and partnerships with independent book sellers.
Continue reading ‘Amazon translating into more business’ »
