Besides usual computerization and IT infrastructure deployments, we could see
a lot of other interesting trends in IT usage after doing the Best IT
Implementation Awards story this time. ERP, for instance, is moving beyond its
regular set of industries, and into newer ones that have a completely different
set of challenges and requirements. It's being used in the dairy business for
instance, where the job not only involves milk procurement, but also handling
cattle feed, plant maintenance and collecting animal information. It's being
used in flour mills, where the key challenge is fluctuating grain prices. How
should the mill get the best price from the 'mandi' is a tough call that ERP has
to resolve. It's also being used in the education to automate all processes
right from admission to timetable and courseware management. Poultry business is
another segment that's embracing ERP.
Anil Chopra |
Mobility is also putting IT to creative use. It's being deployed in areas
where it's difficult to use computers and the Internet. In healthcare for
instance, SMS is being used to cut communication time between the hospital,
doctors, and patients. The power and utility sector is integrating GSM with
their meters so that readings can be captured remotely. Another power company is
sending billing and power breakdowns info to customers over interactive TV. A
manufacturing company has integrated their ERP with an SMS based solution to
exchange information with partners in real time. The irrigation department of
Govt. of AP is using SMS to update the status of reservoirs in the state. A
fertilizer company is using PDAs to collect orders from farmers and then use GSM
to directly send them to a central ERP system. A financial services organization
is collecting EMIs from farmers directly from their doorstep by generating a
receipt and updating the central application over a GSM link.
Identity and access management is finding a different usage altogether. Many
corporates are using RFID based identity badges for visitors. This way, visitors
can nly get into pre-defined areas on the company's premises.
These were just a few observations we made from the projects and nominations
we received. We'd like to thank everyone for sending us their nominations. It
not only helps us, but the whole industry out there in understanding how to use
IT better. Presented in this issue are 250 IT projects. Plus, all the key
stories in this issue are based on information from these projects. The strategy
story for instance, takes views from key IT project heads on how to run an IT
project successfully. The tech and trends story analyzes who's doing what kind
of implementations and using what. The Enterprise solutions section covers a lot
of IT projects in detail as well as the key challenges faced while deploying
them.
We hope this issue helps you use IT better for your business. Happy reading!