To determine optimal performance levels Frederick Taylor experimented with shovel design until he settled on one that would allow workers to shovel for several hours straight. Unfortunately , most builders in Chennai do not seem to follow a scientific method of optimizing by simplifying the workload. Take a look at the straight hoes and shovels as a contrast to those our workers use in building sites. They have to bend 25 degrees in the hot sun to scoop up the dug earth.
Those interested in marketing a niche Open Source based Cloud Computing Server product to discerning corporates and individuals alike, do get in touch with me. Screenshots of the server are available at: http://www.apmuthu.com/MnM3.zip
Showcasing of a few applications available and supported is at: http://www.gnuacademy.org/
Current deployments in Chennai include RailTel
(http://www.railtelindia.com/), Chennai and ATI, Chennai
(http://www.atichennai.org.in/).
Paradigm changes have occurred in the last few years in the field of software deployment for clients and the means used to maintain versions of software while in deployment. Open Source Cloud appliances are now available in India, (custom built on available hardware as well) and provided to individuals to make it a business locally in self-support mode.
Cloud Administration Console - screenshots. Some of the codebases I maintain are on GitHub.
I support Data Centers worldwide in helping them maintain templates in shared kernel mode - Joomla, vTigerCRM, FrontAccountingERP, etc - for rapid deployment on the cloud using computing and network resources efficiently with little or no learning curve for commercial administrators.
Only those with some Bash scripting knowledge and any SQL (or will need to pick them up quickly) can become SysAdmins and they must have sufficient aptitude and attitude in serving local clients well. Only local clients will trust local service providers and payment and support issues can be resolved easily - and not by any straight jacket less than humane auto support responses from typical call centers nationwide.
To start with, any applications you have provided to your clients can be migrated to the cloud and served out from there while you remotely support the service sharing revenue with the cloud service provider. When your volume picks up and your self sufficiency confidence and revenue reaches sustainability, you can run cloud services locally. In India a full cloud is available in RailTel - the largest ISP backbone in the nation with over 100 GBps connectivity. I have provided their lone cloud here in their Chennai premises with one SysAdmin trained for over 2 years. Several clouds are supported in Singapore and other countries where redundancy can be mutually leveraged. Physical servers / firewalls run in a few GovtEngg Colleges and the ATI (Defence Training - DGET)
The market for such unrestricted Open Source cloud deployments are typically - 1 CPU / 8GB Soft Cap Storage / 512 MB burstable RAM on Fair Use Policy on best effort uptime> 80% sufficient for most businesses based on affordability (we do not waste resources on 99.99999% uptime claims although in general we achieve 98% most of the time) will be USD 150/- per month - in general electricity, amortisation of hardware, sysadmin salaries and upkeep besides physical premises and watch and ward would be far more than this for typical institutions wanting to run two or three servers (multiple applications can run in each of them). Server redundancy and resource scale up will be minimal as all costs of client support will devolve on the local support company and the rewards thereof. Since the local support company will be responsible for localised and onboard backups, no reliance on expensive RAID, High Availability and Cluster migration are used though the servers are compatible with them. VoIP, SMS and other RF applications are also possible on these servers. Where there is a high throughput in terms of I/O, cloud servers should not be used. Process control industries will certainly benefit from web based control / monitoring of their sensors and operations.
Physical Firewalls and NAS Storage servers (running in RAM and can be switched off while running) apart from Multi Domain Mail / Web / File / DB servers can be deployed using physical hardware where local bandwidth bottlenecks / client security mindsets are issues. Secure Business Computers are available where Live OS (Windows / Linux) are used as they leave no trace in any persistent media on exit. Rapid Image based computer recovery deployments in Schools / Colleges / Corporates / Govts are also available.
If however you would like to invest in dedicated cloud infrastructure, an entry level Mini tower based i3 / 16 GB RAM / 2TB HDD with 3 Port LAN Access and builtin firewall would be at the actual cost of hardware, logistics plus a minimum of USD 12K for basic setup and config costs - you will be provided with generally available shared kernel OS templates and a few select internet application templates (Generic Apache Web Server, Joomla, vTigerCRM, MediaWiki, FrontAccountingERP) to get you started in making money with it. You may not generally require any AMCs since hardware warranties are provided by the respective vendors you buy from. However should you need cloud server support it is available from Singapore (GNUAcademy) @ USD 2K per month which will include template updations or @ USD 600 per month withoutupdations. Your existing applications in any platform can be migrated to the cloud and such assistance can be provided - can quote on request. Training / Certification possibilities too abound. My local branding for non Singapore markets isMnMServe and is not sold by me directly to any end user anywhere. You willneed a set of fixed IP addresses one or more domains you wish to serve from and sufficient bandwidth (Tikona provided 16 IPs @ 5 MBps unlimited traffic @ INR 1.5 Lakhs per year). Ordinarily it will take 6 days and nights to build one Cloud server and test them to be deployable assuming all hardware pass operational tests first time.
You will have to re-assess your current financials vis-a-vis your
a.. Total Cost of Operations (TCO) / Ownership,
b.. Ease of transfer from control from one admin to another
c.. Multi locational deployment, time frame, infrastructure and manpower costs
d.. Admin Time allocated to service client
e.. Frequency of remote visits - time and cost
f.. Recovery, Training and Knowledgebase, Learning Curve
Only when your cloud costs and support methods are acceptable should you venture here.
Regards,
Ap.Muthu
apmuthu@usa.net
The UBER phenomena Thanks to Travis Kalanick who has revolutionized the concept of ridesharing. Started hardly 5 years ago UBER is a mobile application which connects drivers with passengersinstantly.Currently it is the rage in more than 100 countries making the founder a billionaire.
To promote a vacuum cleaner, Ravi Dalchand the brand manager of a company in Canada vacums the floor, spills pasta on it and eats it off straight.
According to Robert L. FitzPatrick president of Pyramid Scheme Alert and co-author of the book, False Profits some " basic facts show that, as a marketing model, MLM is not replacing existing forms of marketing. It does not legitimately compete with other marketing approaches at all. Rather, MLM represents a new investment scheme that uses the language of marketing and sales of products. Its real products are distributorships which are sold with misrepresentation and exaggerated promises of income. People are buying products in order to secure positions on the sales pyramid. The possibility is always held out that you may become rich if not from your own efforts then from some unknown person who might join your 'downline,' the 'big fish' as they are called".
Recently met with a seller of U.S. made Aloe Vera products who zoomed into one of those non-stop monologues on the advantages of using only U.S. made Aloe Vera products at a ridiculously high price. He obviously lacked the soft sell technique of a subtle approach. As he was referred by a close friend, I did buy a can of Aloe Vera Gel for Rs.1200/ imagining myself buying an elixir. After he left I happened to read the dosage information which stated that the whole 1 litre can lasts for 4 days only. I called him up to clarify that the price was too heavy for a 4 day consumption. His instant reply was that I could use it for a month if I want to which was not the authentic instruction by the company. MLM sales concept is the most controversial business model one could have come across.
The price of Gas Secura safety device is advertised by Snapdeal for Rs.1440/ Another guy has advertised for dealers with a price tag of Rs.1999/. A door to door to MLM salesman was quoting Rs.2600/ We can not fully trust all reviews posted on Snapdeal website unlike those 100% genuine ones at Amazon.com Looks like a reject by many customers.
The success behind Idhayam Sesame oil has been attributed to the awareness spread of the company’s message that it preserves oral hygiene. In a recent TV documentary the owner Mr.V.R.Muthustated that he was inspired by an article in the Business Line on an American Heart Association study investigating gum disease control by rinsing the mouth with Sesame oil. The same story has been consistently kept upby newsmen that the said health concept alone was the game changer. But there are also several other factors hard to ignore for Idhayam to become a household name.TraditionallySesame oil has beenthe only choice in Tamil cooking. It was also used for taking oil bath. As time progressed the satchets costing a small price Rs.2 was well timed too to reach “the bottom of the Pyramid.”Thanks to the Tv ads which have moved it towards branding. But all the above reasons would pale by comparison with the single minded commitment of Mr.Muthu to satisfy his customers.
Hundreds of people outside Covent Garden in central London to buy Apple Iphone 6 plus..The power of branding and sustained innovation develops universal product loyalty. Companies must commit themselves to total quality management.
Alibaba has entered the cave (New York Stock Exchange) and found the treasure ! $ 22 bn in a day..! Alibaba the Chinese ecommerce firm notorious for selling fake Rolex watches and all sorts of substandard goods has caused waves in the Newyork stock market. The price jump today from $68 to $96 a share is unfortunately not something your average Joe investor can tap into. Its founder Jack Ma has made history by netting $22 bn in one day...Now the firm is worth $230 bn more than Facebook. Alibaba plans to sell 123 million of those shares itself. Founder Jack Ma is selling 12.75 million shares worth $867 million. That doesn't sound good at all..However, truth to be told, Jack Ma has created history in the online marketing.
Budget concerned product manufacturers try to save on marketing and rely on word of mouth to go viral. Good idea if the product enjoys uniform endorsement and customer satisfaction. Unless proven for quality and fair pricing, the approach does bring negative results. In the field of technology when gadgets breakdown due to unstable power supply situation in Chennai, beyond the warranty period of six months to one year, manufacturers are to known be unresponsive to customers’ calls. It is often an unpleasant experience to get the service staff on time and to fix the problem at reasonable cost. But, Dell has shown the way of extreme customer satisfaction in the case of a Chennai based customer. when his PC brokedown before a warranty period of 1 month, he wrote to the company head explaining his hapless situation of trying to get the job done at the local customer service. The U.S. office immediately dispatched a brand new 4G version costing Rs.1 lakh to him within a week via Malaysia for quality check. This is word of mouth publicity which I am sure would explode though it is unlikely that every disgruntled customer can hope to get a new computer.
While being engaged on a typical amateurish DIY project at home , a small ‘L’ shaped iron flat with screw holes were required but like the proverbial saying ”for want of a nail’ the project was abandoned. None of the hardware shops had stocked such an item as not fast-moving. Later, in the U.S. I found the same stuff in multiple sizes and quality neatly stacked in small plastic bags at reasonable price at the Home Depot. I bought them without hesitation and returned home. Back home I noticed the same basic hardware available on line with free delivery service provided the minimum purchase is $45. To me this was a huge discovery of new avenues in E Commerce.To date there is no such online store in India to deal in specific products. Our Ecommerce trend is still confined to Clothing and luxury goods.
Indsutrial products , tools, nuts and bolts have not yet attracted Snap-deal or Flipcart for the simple reason the market needs are not identified. Returns are not part of the equation in Ecommerce. Companies like Amazon.Com and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., have fired up the trend through letting smaller retailers sell their goods internationally via online marketplaces.If solutions for logistical hold-ups are found , there is huge potential for dedicated online stores.
Outdoor and openair party lovers can have a bustling time if they have The green Egg smoke Grill which works on charcoal (natural charcoal recommended). Reaching high heat level of 700 degrees F , any meat becomes tender and sizzling in 8 minutes. The ceramic pot inside and the 40 pound heavy weight lid is perhaps the design secret. It Can Cook A 20-Pound Turkey, 12 Burgers, 6 Chickens Vertically, 8 Steaks, 7 Racks Of Ribs Vertically/ 262 Sq. In. Cooking Area/ 18.25" Grid Diameter, Molded Ceramics Bonded With A Green Non-Toxic Glaze/ Hinged Band For Easy One-Handed Opening And Closing/ Stainless Steel Draft Door With Mesh Screen/ Cushioned Gaskets/ Heavy-Duty Porcelain-Coated Grid/ Dual Function Daisy-Wheel Metal Top/ Precision Thermometer/ Used For Baking, Roasting Or Smoking/ Green Finish. Ideal for mobile restaraunts in Chennai and Bangalore.
Price ranges from U.s $ 300 to 1150 depending on the size. Can ship it for you from the U.S.