Everyone was waiting to hear Sir Tim Berners-Lee on the second day of Lotusphere 2012 at Orlando, Florida. We wondered about the expected announcement on Web standards. And IBM got Sir Berners-Lee to break the news at a keynote at Lotusphere 2012.  He spoke of link data and how it was becoming increasingly important in socially connected communities. Very recently, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which is led by Berners-Lee, made some recommendations in a report  on how standards around social networking could lead to innovation in business.

“We are moving from a Web of documents, which people do not understand, to things like calendars and address cards, which are understandable. When you pack all this together you can get to a person and to their friends, and go through the music they like and find other important things like which town they were born in. You can do all these things using all the data you had access to,” said Berners-Lee.

This concept will allow you to link across and compare data from different applications, added Berners-Lee. So an address book and another application might be able to share some of the fields. Because the data is stored separately from the applications, it will become easier to move data sets from one application to another.
The inventor of the Web also made references to the W3C’s Social Business Community Group. W3C is an international community where member organizations and the public work together to develop Web standards.

In a recently published report the W3C outlines how the Social Business Community Group will evolve social networking standards around customer-driven use cases. This report is the outcome of the Social Business Jam, an online event that occurred last November. The event, which used IBM’s Collaboration Jam platform, explored how standards around social networking, such as those developed by the Federated Social Web XG, could lead to increased innovation throughout the business cycle.
Later in the day, Angel Diaz, VP, Software Standards and the Cloud, IBM offered more details.

“For the Social Standards Business Jam we got thousands of people from across the world to talk about the use cases where the standards need to work together. The output led to the formation of the W3C’s Social Business Community, that was launched this week. It will define use cases for evolving standards; the W3C will take those standards to the different standards bodies to make sure that they work well together. IBM will contribute its use cases,” said Diaz.

Standards like OAuth, OpenSocial, Activity Stream, Open ID and HTML 5 will make it easier for businesses to adopt social applications.
“The thing that I am excited about is the way social business is arising and how people are collaborating through this new power of linked data,” said Berners-Lee.

IBM Docs allows organizations, both inside and outside the firewall, to simultaneously collaborate on word processing, spreadsheet and presentation documents in the cloud to improve productivity. Authors will be able to store and share documents in IBM SmartCloud, co-edit documents in real time or assign users sections of the document so they can work privately easing the management of  multiple revisions from multiple authors in team-based documents. But haven’t we seen that in some product before? What’s the differentiator?

During an exclusive preview of IBM Docs, Jeanette Barlow, Product Manager, IBM said, “We are socially enabling the document process. We did not want to build just an editor. We wanted to create a solution that tackled the problems that arise when teams work together and collaborate on documents.”

We observed co-editing in real-time, the ability to assign sections in a document to different people and a more meaningful way to track versions and audit changes attributed to different users. IBM has a strong foothold in the enterprise space and Google Docs (which has been favoured by many organizations) may have some real competition soon! But we’ll have to watch out for IBM’s pricing details, and Google may have an advantage here. Google also has an established enterprise base for its Google Docs offering in India with organizations like India Infoline and Zensar Technologies using it extensively.

The desktop client has a Lotus Symphony codebase which is based on Apache OpenOffice. Barlow informed that IBM will eventually merge the Symphony code back into OpenOffice core. “But we are also building from the ground up, a browser-based Web solution,” said Barlow.

By the end of this year IBM will have both a rich client and also a cloud based solution for office productivity. The latter will be a Web-based solution based on HTML 5, and will not require browser plug-ins. So it would definitely be a draw for enterprises that just need basic editing and do not want to incur huge costs on client licenses. Collaboration and social features would be the big draw! That’s in line with IBM’s theme at Lotusphere 2012 — “Business. Made Social.”

So at the start of 2012, everyone’s wondering what’s the next big thing? the next killer app or product?

Human beings are making decisions sub-consciously and consciously all the time. And for this we need accurate, relevant and updated information — in real-time.

The key words here are: “in real-time”.

So I think the next big app would be some kind of news or information subscription services that pushes information from our preferred channels, to our devices (mobiles, TV, Tablets etc).

Suppose you are called to make a presentation with no advanced notice, chances are you’d have little time to research the topic on the Internet.

But if this information can be pushed to your device, and if it is well structured, you could be informed — just in time!

So the next big thing, in my opinion, is just-in-time, real-time and updated information that’s of high relevance to you.

Happy 2011!

The Cisco Cius running a telepresence session

When IT majors like HP are struggling to sell tablets, can Cisco succeed? The answer was obvious in the first five minutes of the exclusive Cius tablet demo at the Cisco Telepresence room in Mumbai. Firstly, the Cius, pronounced “See Us” does not compete with the likes of iPad and Galaxy, although it is an Android-based (Froyo) tablet. Cisco calls it an “Enterprise-class tablet” and it’s designed for video or visual communications (See us – get it?)  Cisco wants you to believe that this is not an end-point solution – rather it is a “converged device”. Secondly, the tablet is designed for enterprise/business use, and largely depends on Wi-fi connectivity and a desktop dock/handset (sold separately) for extended connectivity. It also has enterprise-grade security features akin to what you get on a Blackberry device. Thirdly, Cius can act as thin client for desktop virtualization/VDI. Fourthly, Cius is a part of a “system” of collaboration tools; though it can be used as a standalone Android tablet, the real utility of the tablet comes when it is hooked up to the Cisco system of Telepresence, Unified Communications, IP Telephony, various collaboration applications and the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CallManager) in the data center. That means you need to have a backend and all this IT infrastructure in place to fully appreciate the benefits of the Cius. So Cisco is really doing what Apple does best  – selling not just a product but a complete system of intricately linked components that collectively offer a lot of possibilities. A Cisco spokesperson sums it up saying, “Cius does collaboration, communication and compute.”

CONNECTIVITY & DOCK

The Cius depends largely on Wi-Fi for connectivity and it supports IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n standards. Cisco says it will add 3G and 4G data service options in the near future.
So if you want to take your Cius tablet on the road, you’ll need to find a Wi-Fi hotspot. But remote connectivity should become easier next year — we have learnt that Cisco is working with service providers to make its visual communication services and IP Telephony available over their networks. So perhaps in a year’s time you can be on the road and still participate in a telepresence session or answer an IP call using a Cius tablet.
Let’s talk about connectivity options. The tablet itself has a Micro SD slot, Micro USB, and Micro HDMI. For extended connectivity place it in the HD Media Station — its desktop dock cum handset. The dock has ports for USB (3), Ethernet (up to 1000 Gbps), and HDMI. It also charges the tablet through its 29-pin connector. In addition, the dock has hi-grade audio speakers and also a 3.5 mm headset connector.

APP STORE

No discussion on tablet is complete with deliberating on the number of apps and the type of apps available for it. In this case we were obviously looking for enterprise-grade apps. Being an Andriod device, you have access to over 100,000 apps in the Andriod Market. But Cisco also offers its own store for enterprise applications, called Cisco AppHQ.
Since this is an enterprise device, security is a consequential concern. Through policies the administrator can lock access to Android apps or prevent downloading of specific categories of apps. Cisco claims there are more than 2,000 enterprise applications, and each of these has been tested and validated by an internal team at Cisco.
AppHQ looks similar to other Android app stores on the Web. But there is a distinguishing feature called AppHQ Manager, which allows companies to establish customized, branded storefronts, featuring a subset of its own AppHQ apps, for employees. That’s great for customizing and standardizing collaboration apps and enterprise apps.

VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS & COLLABORATION

Cius has native telepresence capability

They say 85 percent of communication is visual. But for truly immersive visual communications you need high definition. That’s why Cisco fitted two high definition 720p cameras (front and rear facing) into the Cius; it has native telepresence capability. We “immersed” ourselves in a telepresence session on giant LCD screens with the Cisco media team in Bangalore. That session was instantly relayed to the Cius tablet. What’s more, we could walk around the room and watch colleagues on the tablet in high-definition video. PowerPoint and whiteboarding (done remotely) can also be beamed across to the tablet (during a WebEx session). So you can move into a meeting room and continue your Webex or telepresence session.
Further, collaboration tools such as email (Cisco Inbox), Social Media  (Cisco Quad), instant messaging and presence (Cisco Jabber) are also available on the Cius, as witnessed during the demo.
Mounted in its desktop dock, the tablet can also be used for multi-way audio conferencing (without video).

COMPUTE / VIRTUAL DESKTOP

The Cius has compute capability and offers desktop virtualization too. One could use the QuickOffice suite and save documents on the server. The Cisco spokesperson said it could be used as a desktop replacement, though I can’t image myself doing serious work on Spreadsheets on the tablet’s 7-inch screen; I’ll probably end up attaching a larger monitor to it. The compute power comes from an Intel Atom Z615 Processor (512-KB cache, 1.6 GHz). The device has 1GB RAM and no hard disk; it relies on its expandable 32-GB eMMC flash memory for storage.
The device also has enterprise enterprise-grade security features such as secure credential for storage, secure boot, image authentication and encryption, certificate management, network and wireless security, media and data security, an AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, remote wipe, policy management features, and a hardware security foundation layer.

——-

I’ve been an ardent fan and read everything I come across about Apple and Steve Jobs. When I bought an iPod Nano, I compared it to other digital music players in the market, and could see a vast difference. In 2007, how many music players had a hi-res color screen, track pad, multiple equalization, an alarm clock, games, notes/tasks, playlists, album art, and play modes – all packed into a form factor as sleek as the iPod Nano?

Jobs is truly a trendsetter and first mover, pushing the limits of product design and setting new standards for others to follow. He created products that were ‘disrupters’ across three industries: music, movies and mobile. And these products changed the lifestyles of millions of people.

But this sheer genius did not come without failure both at Apple and Next (the company that Jobs founded when he was ousted from Apple in 1985). Some of his failures were the Next machines, Apple Newton (its first attempt at tablets), Apple Lisa (1983), iMac USB Mouse, iPod Hi-Fi, Apple TV (first generation), and the button-less iPod Shuffle.

But then, failure is a stepping stone to success. With the acquisition of Next Software (1996), Apple got a great OS X.

So, will Apple be the same without Jobs overseeing day-to-day operations? Can the new man (Cook) fit in Job’s well-worn boots?

I am no expert on Apple and cannot answer these accurately. But what I can say is that Jobs will be missed in his little kingdom – the throngs of Apple fans who camp outside the Moscone Center in San Francisco every year for Mac World — or outside Apple stores to buy the latest Apple product.

Jobs will be missed for his marketing genius, his passion & enthusiasm, his penchant for details/perfection and yes, even his business shrewdness and temperament — because it took a combination of all this to make Apple one of the most valuable companies in the world.

So, I want to wish you all the best, Steve (I’ll still hope for that interview!)

And Apple – I’ll be watching you.

The way users access, create, store and consume content is changing. And the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) at HP has kept a sharp eye on this transformation over the years.  The Group is now responding by introducing a new range of Web-enabled printers and managed printing services, for which it sees a USD 292 billion market opportunity by 2013. Currently, there is a market for three million units in India, and HP has 55 percent market share; it leads in the large format category with 90 percent market share.

Using internal studies the IPG identified four key trends: Firstly, there is a content explosion; digital content is growing 10-fold every year and the number of printable documents is increasing by a factor of 3x. Secondly, mobile devices like smart phones and tablets are becoming the preferred devices for accessing the Web; HP IPG predicts that by 2013, 26 billion incremental pages will be printed from mobile devices and 85 percent of smart phone users will want to print. Thirdly, content such as photos, newspapers, magazines, documents are moving from analog to digital; over 200 billion pages are moving to digital every year. And fourthly, the industry and consumers are moving from a device or hardware centric model to service-based business models. HP IPG predicts that the opportunity for managed printing services will grow from USD 18 bn in 2010 to USD 25 bn by 2010. Retailing publishing services will soar from USD 5 bn in 2010 to USD 12 bn by 2013.

In this scenario, workers and consumers would need to print from any device, at any location, on-demand. Responding to this transformation HP IPG believes the printer needs to be “Web-enabled” and “cloud-ware.”

Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on July 7, Vyomesh Joshi, Executive Vice-President, HP IPG said, “We decided that above a certain price point, every printer will be connected to the Web. It will be cloud-aware, and it will have an email address. So if I take a picture on my smart phone, I can send the picture to the email address of that printer, it goes to the cloud and gets printed.”

In a short demo Joshi printed documents on his smart phone and on Google Docs to a printer on stage, wirelessly, via the cloud. This was done in a few minutes via a service called ePrint. To do this one has first register their HP Web-enabled printer (support for ePrint) at the ePrint center (www.hp.com/go/eprint). The printer will then be assigned a unique email address. And to print documents one has to simply send it to the printer’s email address.

Speaking to me after the press conference, Neeraj Sharma, Vice-President, HP IPG India said, “We have been shipping printers with the ePrint function since the past one year.  These printers cost Rs 8,000 onwards. Apart from AirPrint [wireless printing from Apple devices] we’ve got ePrint even in enterprises. Wireless printing will complement printing from wired devices.”

When asked about the security aspects, Sharma said the ePrint Center (HP’s cloud printing service) allows you to define people who will be able to use your printer. Sharma also informed that much of the innovation on ePrint was done at HP’s R&D labs in India.

“We want to focus beyond the metros, in places where there is faster urbanization happening. We see a lot of potential for this service in the education sector in these (tier-2 and tier-3 cities),” said Sharma.

 Web Press

With media increasingly moving from analog to digital, HP IPG also wants to play an important role in the digital or Web press.

“Just like photos, we are transforming book publishing. The same thing will happen to magazines. Digital lets you print what you need and where you need,” said Joshi.

Joshi whipped out a novel titled Kate, which is a detailed account about the royal wedding in UK. He said a publisher in Paris produced 5,000 copies of the book in just four days.

The technology that enables this is HP Web Press, an enhanced version of its digital press that it introduced a few years ago.  The Web press can print 25 – 50 million pages a month; over one billion pages were printed on HP Web Press in 2010, informed Joshi.

Some publishers in India have evoked a keen interest in the Web Press, he said.
We believe that if there is indeed a market for this technology, the day is not far when we could get our customised newspapers and magazines, all with our favourite topics and articles!

The writer was hosted in New Delhi by HP-IPG India.