The Information Differentiator

Here

in our offices in the bustling metropolis of the National Capital Region, I

usually  find myself writing the

year's first editorial on a foggy January morning (with flights delayed or

canceled at Delhi). There's often clouds, with a hint of sunshine later if

we're lucky. That's also the frequent metaphor as we cross the year. From

January 2002's shadow of war, to 2005, right after Tsunami Sunday.

This

year's scattered clouds spanned the country, all the way to Bangalore. After a

terrible rape and murder of a young BPO employee at HP, then a horrific shooting

of an IIT Delhi professor at the top-rung IISc, all in India's most famous

tech city. And then a foiled attack on Hyderabad's Hitec City IT hub.

There's

nothing tech-specific about a crime or a terror attack. The larger the services

industries get, and the more critical to the economy, the more they're likely

to reflect society (from credit card fraud to rape to terrorism) or draw the

attention of all, from politicians looking for causes, to trade unions.

Yet

every cloud has a (silver) learning, and the tech industry learns fast. It can

also be a role model. Security is its expertise area, a good reason why it's

not easy to carry through an attack on a tech firm. Other industries and even

governments and law-enforcement agencies can learn from our tech companies:

security, access control, and activity audit trails.

But

Bangalore's BPO rape gives the industry the chance to fix a yawning gap area

that doesn't help its public image any. That's transportation, and the

threat posed by the notorious call center taxis, not just to employee security

but to traffic. Too many accidents in the metros now involve these white UVs....crying

out for tougher specs, controls and SLAs with suppliers. And better information

systems, including GPS based trip and event recorders, with drivers being paid

according to recorded system scores based on their driving. From being the

source of terror on the roads, the BPO industry could become a role model for

technology use in traffic management.

Take

the mess airlines are in every winter in Delhi. Chaos, flights delayed,

cancelled, irate passengers assaulting staff. Whatever do they want?

Information. Why don't they get it? Because the IS is in a mess. The staff has

varying and inconsistent flight status reports, the SMS and IVRS disagree, the

Website packs up. Leaving passengers stranded, or waiting 10 hours-and still

missing the flight. Give clear, consistent, updated, timely information through

all access channels and you can keep customers happier-and build a big

differentiator just with IT. Strategic IT.

Strategic

IT. Information systems as differentiator. That will be the realization, and the

holy grail, for many enterprises in 2006. And for government departments, and

state governments vying for investment. Clear, transparent, quick information.

Accessible anytime, anywhere. A competitive edge.