Apple is Still the Most Admired Company

It’s probably no surprise that Apple has once again snagged the top position in Fortune’s recently released list of the Top 50 World’s Most Admired Companies.  This is the sixth year in a row that Apple has managed to grab the top honor.  They managed to top both Google and Amazon, which came in second and third, respectively. The decision is voted on by a group of  3,800 executives and directors.

Apple was the clear choice for the number one position, despite experiencing its share of problems this year, including the failure of its Maps feature and problems with its stock price. Apple’s successes far outweighed any problems they may have weathered. Fortune called the company a “financial juggernaut” and reported that they posted $13 billion in net income last quarter, which made it the most profitable company in the world during that period. They also stated that, “The company has its fanatical customer base, and it still refuses to compete on price, making the iconic iPhone and iPad products that are still widely seen as prestige devices.”
Although the list is an international list of companies, American companies hold the top 13 positions.  Other companies in the top five include both Coca Cola and Starbucks. Some have questioned the list, due to the scarcity of non-American companies in the top positions. Google was rated the second best company due to its being rated the most attractive place to work. Fortune also stated that Google grabbed the second place due to the expectations for Android OS to overtake Apple’s iOS as the number one mobile operating system in both the United States and Canada.  Moreover, they stated that Google Play is also expected to move ahead of the App Store with the total amount of apps for both mobile and tablet.

‘Narayana Murthy and Infosys'

The case study ‘Narayana Murthy and Infosys' describes how Narayana Murthy, set up India's leading software company - Infosys. Narayana Murthy turned a small software development venture that he had set up with his friends in 1981, into one of the leading companies of the country. Infosys grew rapidly throughout the 1990s Narayana Murthy distributed the company's profits among the employees through a stock-option program, and adopted the best corporate governance practices. All this earned him praise and respect. In 1999, the company became the first Indian firm to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In 2000, Infosys was poised to become a true global company.By 2000, Infosys' market capitalization reached Rs.11 billion and by 2001, Infosys was one of the biggest exporters of software from India. Narayana Murthy had built an organization that was respected across the country, with very strong systems, high ethical values and a nurturing working atmosphere.In February 2001, Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Infosys) was voted as the Best Managed Company in Asia in the Information Technology sector, in leading financial magazine Euromoney's Fifth Annual Survey of Best Managed Companies in Asia.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
With his sound management skills, Narayana Murthy seemed to have taken Infosys to the pinnacle of success with the following key success factors :
 1. Leadership team : The leadership team needs to balance vision with practical experience. In most cases, a technology start-up will have a visionary and/or a technical genius (most often, these are the founders) in place from day one. However, all to often, the leadership team is not rounded out by people who actually know how to run a business and how to drive sales. Building a strong balanced team can be one of the trickier aspects of creating a successful start-up because it necessarily requires the visionary and the technical genius (founders) to admit their practical shortcomings and give up some of the control of the business. The idea behind a start-up is often somebody's "baby" and, quite naturally, they want to control every aspect of its development. Once you move these people away from micromanaging the business, the start-up begins to have a chance.

2. Well-conceived business plan :  This is an area where the practical experience of a well-rounded leadership team gives the start-up a leg up. The business plan needs to be practical and detailed. The business plan provides the blueprint for the growth of the company. Perhaps more importantly, the business plan is how you demonstrate the viability of the business to third party investors.

3. A strong product : It is a given that the product needs to be special – something that will differentiate itself from the universe of competing products - but there are other important factors. Ideally, the product will be one that can be protected by patent. If the products cannot be protected by a patent, then the start-up has to be positioned to capitalize on being the first to market. Absent patent protection, being the first to market and capturing as much market share as you can before the copy-cats arrive is the next best thing. The product needs to have a ready market meaning that there is a market for it and that either there is no real competition or that the product allows the company to differentiate itself from the competition.

4. Scalability : The scalability of the business may not be critical to the success of every business, but it is critical to drive a start-up to a large scale business. In other words, if the goal is to become a large, valuable company, scalability is key. However, if the goal is a little less lofty, then scalability is a little less important.

5. Adequate capital :. Without adequate capital, the business will struggle. Perhaps the business will have phenomenal sales, but be unable to deliver the product. Or, the business may build the product, but lack the cash to adequately market it. Or the business will be unable to attract the leadership team it needs and the team it has is diluted to ineffectiveness. Or, the business is unable to capitalize on its "first-to-market" status. While it is true that the management team for a start-up has to be versatile and willing to wear different hats, a capital-starved start-up can force the dilution of the management team to the point of everything being done poorly. Quite obviously, in many cases, the luxury of having adequate capital does not exist from day one. Finding the capital in a timely way can be very difficult. The more that can be done to address the other four points, the easier it will be to find capital.

Launch of Infosys
Narayana Murthy obtained his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Mysore in 1967 and his Master's degree in Technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1969. He started his career as head of the computer centre at IIM, Ahmedabad.In 1972, he went to Paris where he was part of the team that designed a 400-terminal, real-time operating system for handling air cargo for Charles De Gaulle airport. Narayana Murthy was a left-wing activist and mingled with French communists during his stay in Paris but his outlook changed while traveling around Europe. He believed that the only way to pull India out of poverty was to create more jobs, by setting up new companies.In 1975, he returned to India and joined Systems Research Institute, Pune,(Maharashtra). He then headed Patni Computer Systems Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, (Maharashtra) before founding Infosys in 1981, along with six other professionals.


The Strategist

From the beginning, Narayana Murthy focused on the world's most challenging market - the US. He had two reasons for this. First, there was no market for software in India at the time. He believed that Indian software companies should export products in which they had a competitive advantage.In 1987, Infosys entered into a joint venture with Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA), a leading global management consultancy firm. KSA-Infosys was the first Indo-American joint venture in the US.


People Management

Analysts felt that one factor which helped Infosys to grow at a faster pace than others was the low employee turnover.The turnover rate at Infosys was around 11% as opposed to industry average for software companies' of over 25% during the 1990s.Infosys' retention capability was a function both of its rigorous selection procedures as well as proactive HRD practices. About 80% of the middle and senior level executives were promoted from within the organization...
    
Corporate Governance and Infosys

Analysts felt that Infosys became one of the most respected companies in India, through its corporate governance practices, which were better than those of many other companies in India. Narayana Murthy's move to adhere to the best global practices was driven by his vision to become a global player. Infosys adopted the stringent US Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) many years before other companies in India did...


Leaders in the Making
 Narayana Murthy set up a Leadership Institute in Mysore, India, to manage the future growth of Infosys. The institute aimed at preparing Infosys employees to face the complexities of a rapidly changing marketplace and to bring about a change in work culture by instilling leadership qualities.
I would like to end with a comment from Sri Narayana Murthy: He said, “It is our vision at Infosys, to create world-class leaders who will be at the forefront of business and technology in today's competitive marketplace...
This has been at the forefront of their corporate culture !!!

How to Be More Productive with Your Smartphone

People often state that you only use 10 percent of your brain.  While that may or may not be true, it is definitely possible that you only use 10 percent of your smartphone.  You should ask yourself if you are getting the most out of your smartphone. Often, people use their smartphones to waste time.  However, a smartphone can be a great tool for actually saving time and increasing your productivity.  If you want to be more productive with your smartphone, you may want to consider making sure that you have the right apps to help you with your goals.

In order to be more productive with your smartphone, you need to prioritize.  What is most important to you?  There are a multitude of types of productivity apps, for both iPhone and Android phones.  The most important thing to do is to find the app that best suits your specific needs.  There are mobile scanning apps, such as JotNot Scanner, which could help you to keep your books in order.  Or if you procrastinate listening to your voicemail, you can use an app like Google Voice.  Their visual voice mail would allow you to quickly read through a message.  Use your smartphone to link to the cloud.  Cloud based computing can save you time by allowing you to access your files with your smartphone, so that you can continue to work even while on the go.
Even simple changes can help you to get the most out of your smartphone. One simple thing you can do is to make sure you are using your calendar and notification options to the fullest.  However, make sure that you only use notifications for things that are truly important, so that your phone isn’t constantly interrupting you and thereby decreasing your productivity.  Another simple thing you can do is to use your camera to take photos, rather than taking the time to type out notes.  You can then email yourself the picture of the information you need.  These steps are easy, fast, and free, and they allow you to be more productive with your smartphone.

Google’s Autonomous Vehicles Could Be A Game Changer

While Apple and Google continue their patent wars in the smartphone space, it may be Google’s autonomous (driverless) vehicles that propel the search giant to the head of the technology pack.

“The driverless car has broad implications for society, for the economy and for individual businesses. Just in the U.S., the car puts up for grab some $2 trillion a year in revenue and even more market cap. It creates business opportunities that dwarf Google’s current search-based business and unleashes existential challenges to market leaders across numerous industries, including car makers, auto insurers, energy companies and others that share in car-related revenue.”

But it is not just about driving. Google is and will always be a software-centric company and it is focused on drawing attention to its product. If Google can take a drivers eyes off the road it could mean longer times spent browsing the internet. Mobile data continues to increase in use and a customer using a Google driven vehicle with Google connectivity will be more likely to connect to Google service.  Imaging sitting in traffic for your 90 minutes commute to work and instead of staring at the cars in front of your vehicle you power up your smartphone and surf the web, watch YouTube videos and use other Google based internet platforms and other services.

Google autonomous vehicles could also save lives. Google has already claimed that it can greatly reduce the 34,000 deaths and 240,000 hospitalizations that occur every year. And while we would never recommend a drunk driver getting behind the wheel, Google’s new technology could provide a safer way for those drinkers to get home if they refuse a cab or other help.

The team at Mother Jones also notes that Google’s autonomous vehicles could lead to more carpooling because of their efficiency which would mean a big environmental impact could be on the horizon. By allowing a drivers vehicle to handle the driving better gas mileage and less wear and tear on vehicles could also be witnessed.

With $2 trillion in annual sales Google’s Autonomous vehicles could be a game changer for the company and in terms of technological advances the search giant is killing its competitors.

Asus Offers Windows 8 Android Jelly Bean Hybrid

Imagine a PC that runs Android and Windows 8, and you can switch between them by the flick of a switch. Asus not only created this hybrid, they made sure it was a powerhouse. The Asus Transformer All-in-One contains plenty of features that PC or Android could not have supported alone; the transformer has been dubbed as having a split personality and will be available in the market within the first quarter of 2013, which is to say in a couple of months.

The Asus Transformer All-in-One has the following features:

1. Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad-Core Processor
2. 3rd generation Intel Core (i3, i5, and i7 will all be available in different versions of the product)
3. 18.5″ IPS 1080p display (maximum resolution 1920 x 1080)
4. 10 Point Multi-Touch Support
5. Undockable Tablet with a battery life of about 5 hours
6. PC Base Station
7. Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
8. Secondary Display Support

Those are just the features that make this hybrid stand apart. The Asus Transformer All-in-One is a commendable attempt by Asus to bring the best of both worlds together on a single platform. Asus announced this hybrid at CES 2013, and has successfully invoked curiosity in several circles.
While the 18.5 inch tablet is mounted on the PC base station, you can switch between Android and Windows 8, place your wireless keyboard and mouse under the monitor, and use it as any other PC. The display is slick, and the powerful processors ensure this system could handle anything. The Windows 8 has a touch friendly interface, so even docked; the touch screen factor comes into play.
You can undock the tablet from the PC base, and it automatically turns into a Tablet running on Android. If you are near the PC base, you could still switch to Windows 8 mode, as the base will connect with the Tablet through WiFi. The size and weight of the Tablet can be a bit of problem, as most people are not used to carry 18 inch Tablets with them.
For people that do a lot of travelling and are consistently using their Tablets while in transition, this may not be the best option. However, people that need a powerful PC and the occasional tablet need to look no further.
The Asus Transformer All-in-One is announced at a time when Nvidia introduced Tegra 4. Considering how powerful Tegra 4 processor is, maybe Asus would look into replacing Tegra 3 with Tegra 4 in their next batch of hybrids to make it lighter and smaller.
Since this is the first of its kind in what we can hope to be a long line of hybrids, this can be considered as a technology of the future. There are talks of possible future hybrids that may be able to run both operating systems simultaneously, but it all depends on how Asus Transformer functions and how it is received in the market. Gamers might want to look into this device once it hits the stands.