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Mr. Ravi Pratap Singh
Nucleus Software Exports Ltd. |
1. Can you share with us your thoughts on the Indian IT industry and the software development industry in specific?
We are clearly at the next turning point. We have already established India as a center of excellence as far as IT skills are concerned and have gained a substantial lead on other regional leaders. However, it is critical that we manage to stay ahead. Cost advantages are diminishing and will no longer be our competitive advantage.
It is possible by putting all our skills and experience in building products for the global market. We need to offer solutions to the world and not just skills. You can see this thought emerging in the Indian IT Industry and I do hope we see India emerging as a total solution provider.
2. What is your take on Open Source software in the industry? How important do you think it is for a country like India?
I feel the Open Source “movement” is a revolution of sorts. Imagine the potential of a virtual lab where experts from different corners of the world work together to build innovative pieces of software.
Innovation has always been in abundance within the IT industry. We create new code everyday. Unfortunately, a lot of it is innovated & created repeatedly by different people. That too, probably, across a few cubicles.
The Open Source “movement’ has enabled progressive innovation. Everyone can build on another’s innovation.
This cuts down duplicate efforts and thus cost. By bringing down costs we, as an industry, will be able to take our solutions to the next set of masses. Masses where today’s costs do not make solutions feasible.
3. Does Open Source Software play a role in your organization? If yes, please give us your perspective both as a user and as a contributor.
Nucleus Software has specialized products for Lending and Cash Management businesses. We are committed to making small ticket loans profitable for our customers. While IT is the only way to achieve it, we need to keep costs (both initial as well as recurring) low.
We see Open Source falling in line with this objective. We keep on experimenting with various Open Source components that can help us bring down TCO for our customers.
Our product has been stress tested on Linux and being offered as an option. Monitoring tools is another area where we have been experimenting and offering as an option.
Currently we are focusing on extracting the best from good work done already. Our role as a contributor is limited thus far but this will change in the next few quarters.
4. Has the role of a software developer changed over the years? What advice would you give to developers to move in the right direction in their career path?
I would like to respond to this question in the context of Nucleus Software. At Nucleus this role has seen a drastic change. 10 years back a software developer was expected to know the programming language well and deliver quality code.
Today customers expect him/her to be a solution provider. We are seen more as “problem solvers” than just developers of code. In addition to expertise in technology, I feel, IT professionals should know the business domain, the software product, integration issues, expectation management. Most importantly, an attitude to solve business problems using technology as a tool.
5. What is the role that Indian developers can play in the global landscape given the fact that India is one of the largest developer base in the world and the fastest growing too?
India has proven to be a great collection of brains and IT expertise. The resource bank has been instrumental in putting us on the global map. The potential is much more. We have the potential of moving from being the land of programmers to the land of designs/solutions.
I see India playing a far larger role in bringing IT products and solutions to the global market in the next few years. All we need is what Shah Rukh Khan says in Chak de India (A Bollywood flick), “Neeyat”. We have all the rest it takes.
6. Do you think that the role of a CIO is changing? What are the qualities that a CIO must have in the current industry scenario?
Over the years the CIO has become a far more significant role in the world of business. He is no longer a Chief who is responsible for procuring technology, ensuring servers are up & running, suppliers are managed etc. He is today a Business Manager who responsible for delivering direct value to top & bottom line. Technology provides the key edge to business. Be it service channels, operational support, MIS, integration of distributed operations etc.
Today’s CIO must understand business completely. He should be capable of participating in forming the business strategy. Delivering measurable value in return for the investments made is key.
7. Just as the Internet created multiple levels of change in how the business interacts with its customers (internal and external), what do you see as the next technology /s that will cause disruption in Enterprise Software development?
With regards to business solutions, integration is the most important technology piece. Be it integration of channels, applications, operations-to-analytics etc. Technologies like SOA will play a very important role, coupled with integrating middleware.
The other important technology that should change how business is done is the convergence of channels & mediums. Telephony, web, audio, video etc. Cellular technology will enable taking solutions to the masses.
8. What are the challenges that companies face in managing a major IT project? What role must a project member play in managing a project well?
As they say the only constant is change. I guess change of requirements and change of people are probably the two key challenges of IT projects.
Changes in requirements can only be arrested if IT professionals are as knowledgeable of business as the user group itself, if not more. Movement of IT professionals is a given. Breaking the project into small pieces and documenting each work item well is the critical to projects. Needless to say, IT professionals are not too happy doing either. Quality of talent can be managed by breaking work into smaller specialized activities and training new joinees on specific skills.
9. What trends do you foresee in software development in India and what are the technologies and frameworks that will drive it?
As mentioned earlier, SoA is already a buzzword in enterprise architecture. I feel, it is not as obvious and easy to implement SoA as it seems. Design of apt services is important else it can become an obstacle for scalability and performance of applications.
10. What good books, authorities, or other sources can you recommend that have most influenced your thinking?
The first book that comes to mind is the Toyota Way. It’s quite an impressive implementation of simple principles. It inspired me to try and implement experiences from the automotive industry into software development operations.
Journals like the Banking Technology and research papers from HBR & Gartner are very useful. I find the web a great repository of information.
I feel reading is a critical habit for IT professionals. There is too much happening around and us. I would strongly recommend youngsters to read. In fact, we at Nucleus have started a book club where youngster read books & surf the net for knowledge and share their learnings in a periodic workshop. I personally think fresh IT professionals must start with books like Mythical Manmonth, Code Complete and the Personal Software Management.
11. Nucleus as a company has created amazing line of products and solutions for the industry - what are the innovations and best practices that you believe played a crucial role in the success of Nucleus Software?
I think the first and the foremost thing has been the focus on business benefits. What value does our product provide to our customer? How will it benefit him? This has been achieved by building a team of experts in the Financial Services industry.
Investment into a dedicated team to roll out enhanced versions of the product continuously has been the other key contributor.
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