Cloud Computing and its opportunities in Rural India

Deepak Mitra
Department of Computer Applications(MCA)
Gaya College Gaya, Gaya-823001
Ph: +91-09472663820
Email-id : d_mitra123@yahoo.com

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a new computing
technology refers to the on-demand provision of
computational

resources

via a computer

network, rather than from a local computer. Users or clients can submit a task to the
service provider, without actually possessing the software or hardware. The consumer's
computer may contain very little software or data (a minimal operating system and web
browser only), serving as a basic display terminal connected to the Internet. Since the
cloud is the underlying delivery mechanism, cloud-based applications and services may
support any type of software application or service in use today. Cloud computing
service in short is called "The Cloud".
Previously both data and software had to be stored and processed on the
computer. The development of Local Area Networks allowed for a system could be
organized

to

increase

the

performance

of

the

entire

system.

In

an

extension to that concept, cloud computing fundamentally allows for a functional

separation between the resources used and the user's computer, usually residing outside
the local network Consumers now routinely use data-intensive applications driven by
cloud technology that were previously unavailable due to cost and deployment
complexity.
In cloud computing, any computer connected to the Internet is connected to the
same pool of computing power, applications, and files. Users can store and access
personal files such as music, pictures, videos, and bookmarks or play games on a remote
server rather than physically carrying around a storage medium such as a, pen drive or
DVD Even those using web-based email such as Gmail, , Yahoo! or Outlook are

making use of cloud email servers. Hence, desktop applications that connect to internethost email providers can also be considered cloud applications.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST )provides a concise
and specific definition: Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, ondemand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g.,
networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned
and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. . Cloud
computing provides computation, software, data access, and storage services that do not
require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that
delivers the services
Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted
services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories:
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-aService (SaaS). The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often
used to represent the Internet in flowcharts and diagrams.
A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from
traditional hosting. It is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour; it is elastic
-- a user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and the
service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal
computer and Internet access). Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed
computing, as well as improved access to high-speed Internet and a weak economy, have
accelerated interest in cloud computing.
A cloud can be private or public. A public cloud sells services to anyone on the
Internet. (Currently, Amazon Web Services is the largest public cloud provider.)
A private cloud is a proprietary network or a data center that supplies hosted services to
a limited number of people. When a service provider uses public cloud resources to create
their private cloud, the result is called a virtual private cloud. Private or public, the goal
of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to computing resources and IT
services.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service like Amazon Web Services provides virtual server
instance API) to start, stop, access and configure their virtual servers and storage. In the

enterprise, cloud computing allows a company to pay for only as much capacity as is
needed, and bring more online as soon as required. Because this pay-for-what-you-use
model resembles the way electricity, fuel and water are consumed, it's sometimes referred
to as utility computing.
Platform-as-a-service in the cloud is defined as a set of software and product
development tools hosted on the provider's infrastructure. Developers create applications
on the provider's platform over the Internet. PaaS providers may use APIs,
website portals or gateway software installed on the customer's computer. Force.com, (an
outgrowth of Salesforce.com) and GoogleApps are examples of PaaS. Developers need to
know that currently, there are not standards for interoperability or data portability in the
cloud. Some providers will not allow software created by their customers to be moved off
the provider's platform.
In the software-as-a-service cloud model, the vendor supplies the hardware
infrastructure, the software product and interacts with the user through a front-end portal.
SaaS is a very broad market. Services can be anything from Web-based email to
inventory control and database processing. Because the service provider hosts both the
application and the data, the end user is free to use the service from anywhere.
Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud is a composition of at least one private cloud and at least
one public cloud. A hybrid cloud is typically offered in one of two ways: a vendor has a
private cloud and forms a partnership with a public cloud provider, or a public cloud
provider forms a partnership with a vendor that provides private cloud platforms.
A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment in which an organization
provides and manages some resources in-house and has others provided externally. For
example, an organization might use a public cloud service, such as Amazon Simple
Storage Service (Amazon S3) for archived data but continue to maintain in-house storage
for operational customer data. Ideally, the hybrid approach allows a business to take
advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness that a public cloud computing
environment offers without exposing mission-critical applications and data to third-party
vulnerabilities. This type of hybrid cloud is also referred to as hybrid IT.
Cloud Backup (Online Backup)

E-mailThis
Print
A
AA
AAA
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Share
Reprints
RSS
3

Cloud backup, also known as online backup, is a strategy for backing up data that
involves sending a copy of the data over a proprietary or public network to an off-site
server. The server is usually hosted by a third-party service provider, who charges the
backup customer a fee based on capacity, bandwidth or number of users. In the
enterprise, the off-site server might be proprietary, but the chargeback method would be
similar.
Online backup systems are typically built around a client software application that
runs on a schedule determined by the level of service the customer has purchased. If the
customer has contracted for daily backups, for instance, then the application collects,
compresses, encrypts and transfers data to the service provider's servers every 24 hours.
To reduce the amount of bandwidth consumed and the time it takes to transfer files, the
service provider might only provide incremental backups after the initial full backup.
Third-party cloud backup has gained popularity with small offices and home users
because of its convenience. Capital expenditures for additional hardware are not required
and backups can be run dark, which means they can be run automatically without manual
intervention.
In

the

enterprise,

cloud

backup

services

are

primarily

being

used

for archiving non-critical data only. Traditional backup is a better solution for critical data
that requires a short recovery time objective (RTO) because there are physical limits for
how much data can be moved in a given amount of time over a network. When a large
amount of data needs to be recovered, it may need to be shipped on tape or some other
portable storage media.
Russ Fellows, Senior Analyst with the Evaluator Group, has put together the
following chart to illustrate when cloud backups should be considered as a viable option.

Backup
factor

Cloud storage

Traditional backup

Amount Best when the total amount to protect is

of data less than 100 GB per 1 Mb of network

For large amounts of data, or for

environments with limited network

bandwidth. For example, 100 GB can be connectivity, traditional backup

supported by a 1 Mb WAN connection
techniques are more appropriate.
(such as DSL)
Rate of
change

Best when the rate of change is less than For data that changes frequently,
10% of the total data per month.
traditional backup methods that use
local disk and tape, with tape
transport off-site are more
appropriate

Cloud Drive
E-mail
Print
AA
AAA
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Share
Thisdrive is a Web-based service that provides storage space on a remote
Reprints
RSS
A
cloud

server.
Cloud drives, which are accessed over the Internet with client-side software, are
useful for backing up files. A cloud drive provider may offer a limited amount of online
storage space for free and additional storage space for a monthly or yearly fee.
Cloud drives make it possible for a small business or individual to store and sync
documents and other electronic media without having to purchase or maintain external
hard drives or file servers. Cloud drive services are recommended for backups of 1
terabyte (TB) or less. The service provider is responsible for maintaining the servers,
ensuring availability and providing easy access to the stored data.
Federated Cloud (Cloud Federation)
inShare
Email
Comment
RSS
Print
AA
A
AAA
federated cloud (also called cloud federation) is the deployment and

management of multiple external and internal cloud computing services to match

business needs. A federation is the union of several smaller parts that perform a common
action.

Cloud Computing Architecture

When talking about a cloud
computing system, it's helpful to

divide it into two sections: the front endand the back end. They connect to each other
through a network, usually the Internet. The front end is the side the computer user, or
client, sees. The back end is the "cloud" section of the system.
The front end includes the client's computer (or computer network) and the
application required to access the cloud computing system. Not all cloud computing
systems have the same user interface. Services like Web-based e-mail programs leverage
existing Web browsers like Internet Explorer or Firefox. Other systems have unique
applications that provide network access to clients.
On the back end of the system are the various computers, servers and data storage
systems that create the "cloud" of computing services. In theory, a cloud computing
system could include practically any computer program you can imagine, from data
processing to video games. Usually, each application will have its own dedicated server.
A central server administers the system, monitoring traffic and client demands to
ensure everything runs smoothly. It follows a set of rules called protocols and uses a
special kind of software called middleware. Middleware allows networked computers to
communicate with each other. Most of the time, servers don't run at full capacity. That
means there's unused processing power going to waste. It's possible to fool a physical
server into thinking it's actually multiple servers, each running with its own independent
operating system. The technique is called server virtualization. By maximizing the output
of individual servers, server virtualization reduces the need for more physical machines.
If a cloud computing company has a lot of clients, there's likely to be a high
demand for a lot of storage space. Some companies require hundreds of digital storage
devices. Cloud computing systems need at least twice the number of storage devices it
requires to keep all its clients' information stored. That's because these devices, like all
computers, occasionally break down. A cloud computing system must make a copy of all
its clients' information and store it on other devices. The copies enable the central server
to access backup machines to retrieve data that otherwise would be unreachable. Making
copies of data as a backup is called redundancy.
Cloud Computing Applications
The applications of cloud computing are practically limitless. With the right
middleware, a cloud computing system could execute all the programs a

normal computer could run. Potentially, everything from generic word processing
software to customized computer programs designed for a specific company could work
on a cloud computing system.
Clients would be able to access their applications and data from anywhere at any
time. They could access the cloud computing system using any computer linked to
the Internet. Data wouldn't be confined to a hard drive on one user's computer or even a
corporation's internal network.
It could bring hardware costs down. Cloud computing systems would reduce the
need for advanced hardware on the client side. There in no need to buy the fastest
computer with the most memory, because the cloud system would take care of those
needs. An inexpensive computer terminal would serve the full computing need. The
terminal could include a monitor, input devices like a keyboard and mouse and just
enough processing power to run the middleware necessary to connect to the cloud
system. No requirement of a large hard drive because all information shall be stored on a
remote computer.
Corporations that rely on computers have to make sure they have the right
software in place to achieve goals. Cloud computing systems give these organizations
company-wide access to computer applications. The companies don't have to buy a set of
software or software licenses for every employee. Instead, the company could pay a
metered fee to a cloud computing company.
Servers and digital storage devices take up space. Some companies rent physical
space to store servers and databases because they don't have it available on site. Cloud
computing gives these companies the option of storing data on someone else's hardware,
removing the need for physical space on the front end.
Corporations might save money on IT support. Streamlined hardware would, in
theory, have fewer problems than a network of heterogeneous machines and operating
systems.
If the cloud computing system's back end is a grid computing system, then the
client could take advantage of the entire network's processing power. Often, scientists and
researchers work with calculations so complex that it would take years for individual
computers to complete them. On a grid computing system, the client could send the

calculation to the cloud for processing. The cloud system would tap into the processing
power of all available computers on the back end, significantly speeding up the
calculation.
Cloud Computing Concerns
Perhaps the biggest concerns about cloud computing are security and privacy.
The idea of handing over important data to another company worries some people.
Corporate executives might hesitate to take advantage of a cloud computing system
because they can't keep their company's information under lock and key.
The counter argument to this position is that the companies offering cloud
computing services live and die by their reputations. It benefits these companies to have
reliable security measures in place. Otherwise, the service would lose all its clients. It's in
their interest to employ the most advanced techniques to protect their clients' data.
Privacy is another matter. If a client can log in from any location to access data
and applications, it's possible the client's privacy could be compromised. Cloud
computing companies will need to find ways to protect client privacy. One way is to
use authentication techniques such as user names and passwords. Another is to employ
an authorization format -- each user can access only the data and applications relevant to
his or her job.
Some questions regarding cloud computing are more philosophical. Does the user
or company subscribing to the cloud computing service own the data? Does the cloud
computing system, which provides the actual storage space, own it? Is it possible for a
cloud computing company to deny a client access to that client's data? Several
companies, law firms and universities are debating these and other questions about the
nature of cloud computing.
How will cloud computing affect other industries? There's a growing concern in
the IT industry about how cloud computing could impact the business of computer
maintenance and repair. If companies switch to using streamlined computer systems,
they'll have fewer IT needs. Some industry experts believe that the need for IT jobs will
migrate to the back end of the cloud computing system.
Another area of research in the computer science community is autonomic
computing. An autonomic computing system is self-managing, which means the system

monitors itself and takes measures to prevent or repair problems. Currently, autonomic
computing is mostly theoretical. But, if autonomic computing becomes a reality, it could
eliminate the need for many IT maintenance jobs.
Cloud Computing Issues
Cloud computing issues span models (IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS) and types (public,
private, or hybrid). Computing on the cloud requires vigilance about security,
manageability, standards, governance, and compliance:

Cloud security. The same security principles that apply to on-site computing apply to
cloud computing security.

Identity management. Managing personal identity information so that access to

computer resources, applications, data, and services is controlled properly.

Detection and forensics. Separating legitimate from illegitimate activity.

Encryption. Coding to protect your information assets.

Cloud manageability. Consistent view across both on-premises and cloud-based

environments are needed. This includes managing the assets provisioning as well as
the quality of service (QOS) received from the service provider.

Cloud standards. A standard is an agreed-upon approach for doing something. Cloud

standards ensure interoperability, so tools, applications, virtual images, and more can
be taken and use them in another cloud environment without having to do any
rework. Portability lets take one application or instance running on one vendors
implementation and deploy it on another vendors implementation.

Cloud governance and compliance. Governance defines whos responsible for what
and the policies and procedures that your people or groups need to follow. Cloud
governance requires governing own infrastructure as well as infrastructure that is not
totally control. Cloud governance has two key components: understanding
compliance and risk and business performance goals.

Data in the cloud. Managing data in the cloud requires data security and privacy,
including controls for moving data from point A to point B. It also includes managing
data storage and the resources for large-scale data processing.

Merrill Lynch Estimates "Cloud Computing" To Be $100 Billion Market

What do the following companies all have in common: Amazon, Microsoft,

Google, EMC, VMware, IBM, Sun, Dell, Akamai, SalesForce.com, NetSuite, and
Activision. Answer: Cloud Computing. Merrill Lynch analysts reckon that by 2012 the
volume of cloud computing market opportunity will amount to more than $160BN,
including $95N in business and productivity apps (e-mail, office, CRM, etc.) and $65BN
in online advertising.

Is India the emerging cloud computing capital of the world?

For a country like India, the importance of a technology like cloud computing is
manifold as a majority of small and medium enterprises who cannot afford technology in
the current form can now afford to adopt the latest technologiesBy Srikanth RP,
InformationWeek, April 23, 2012
Consider these statistics: A study by Nasscom and Deloitte estimates the Indian
cloud computing market will reach USD 16 billion by 2020. Similarly, a report by
consulting firm Zinnov Management Consulting estimates that the cloud computing
market will grow from USD 400 million (currently) to USD 4.5 billion by 2015. A recent
Microsoft-IDC study says that cloud computing will generate over 2 million jobs in India
by 2015.
While these numbers are impressive, they indicate just a glimpse of the immense
potential and transformation that is possible from adoption of cloud computing
technologies. For a country like India, the importance of a technology like cloud
computing is manifold as a majority of small and medium enterprises who cannot afford
technology in the current form can now afford to adopt the latest technologies and

10

compete effectively in the marketplace similar to how most Indians skipped the landline
to adopt the cellphone a decade back.
Cloud computing market in India
The public cloud computing market in India is estimated to touch Rs 2,434 crore
by 2014 after growing at a CAGR of 53% between 2010-2014 according to market
intelligence and advisory firm CyberMedia Research's India. The overall Indian software
as service market is expected to touch Rs 465 crore by end 2011, a growth of 50 per cent
over 2010. CyberMedia Research's India Cloud Computing Market Review 2011, a
survey of 'users' and 'non-users' of cloud computing showed that penetration amongst
Indian enterprises was 4% in 2010. This is expected to rise to 6.8% for all large and midsize enterprises in the country by 2012.
Indian cloud market to grow by 70% this year: IDC
Press Trust Of India / New Delhi Aug 28, 2012, 00:18 IST

The Indian cloud computing market, which was estimated at $535 million in
2011, is likely to grow by more than 70 per cent in the current year, according to research
firm IDC.
IDC estimates the Indian cloud market to be in the region of $535 million in
2011, with a growth of more than 70 per cent expected for 2012 and almost 50 per cent
growth forecast for the next three years, IDC said in its India Cloud Market Overview,
2011-2016.
Cloud computing refers to pay-per-use model of computing where applications
and softwares are accessed over the internet and not owned by users. Companies can save
huge costs on these products as they would not have to invest in purchasing them,
resulting in reduced IT costs.
We have definitely seen cloud cross the inflexion point in end 2011. With proper
messaging from key vendors and due diligence of opportunities which exist in the cloud
delivery models, the market will grow much faster in the coming years, IDC India
Research Manager (Software and IT Services) Nirupam Chaudhuri said in a statement.
IDC said for seamless integration of the IT infrastructure into the cloud
environment, it is essential that cloud providers help organisations in assessing their
cloud readiness, and recommend a cloud adoption roadmap accordingly.

11

This would provide a boost to cloud consulting services in the coming 12-24
months. A direct corollary is that vendors need to have robust cloud consulting
capabilities in place for making a foray into this space, IDC India Senior Market Analyst
(IT Services) Sandeep Kumar Sharma said.
How big cloud computing?
Projected cloud spending

Worldwide IT Cloud Spending 2012

Cloud reaches rural India

Indias 73% of population lives in the rural areas and villages. This rural segment,
commonly referred to as the bottom of the pyramid showing a huge opportunity for
companies. Even for the people, who can afford a computer become a headache to
maintain, upgrade and buy licenses for the software on regular basis. Also, they need to
carry their computer everywhere they go. If a personal computer can be made available

12

on cloud, accessible from any where, that too free or minimal charges (pay-as-you-use)
rural people can afford and grow their personnel life. The Cloud Computing can help the
rural population in overcoming the huge costs incurred on infrastructure, software etc.,
hurdles and it can lead to rural area development and an overall economic progress of the
nation. Using cloud computing to reduce price will create a world without poverty.
The space between rural sectors
Rural India has seen impressive growth in the past few years. Substantial
improvement in purchasing power, increasing brand consciousness, changing
consumption patterns and rapid spread of communication networks in rural areas has
presented a growing potential for the corporate sector.
According to a National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) study,
the consuming class households in rural areas equals the number in urban. For a number
of Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies and service industry in the country,
more than half their annual sales come from the rural market.
A rising trend has also been observed in terms of rural networking. For instance
the rural share was only around 25 per cent of the total market in the 1980s has been
growing rapidly and exceeds 50 per cent today.
The gaps to develop rural sector
Rural areas are small pockets which hinder major companies to operate efficiently
alone. Providing single services in rural areas cost more for the companies or the
consumers. In case of urban areas where more consumers are present the companies can
provide cost effective services. There is a need to create a platform to provide services
cost effectively at rural areas.
The rising importance of the rural markets reflects not only the saturation in urban
markets, but also the huge potential, which rural markets have to offer, both in terms of
the emerging middle class and the impressive growth rates of the rural consumer market.
Rural Opportunities
India has more than 0.6 million villages, housing two third of its people, earning
one-third of the national income. The steep rise in size of the rural market has been the
most important marketing phenomenon of the nineties, providing volume growth to all
the leading consumer goods, services as well as agro-input companies. Higher rural

13

incomes and increasing penetration of television and other mass media, have induced
propensity to consume branded and value added products and services in rural areas.
According to NCAER the rural consumers represent more than 50 percent of
Indias Consuming Classes and have become the prime target market for consumer
durable and non-durable, food, construction, electrical, electronics, automobiles, banks
and other sectors.
According to the NCAER Indian Market Demographics Report 2001, the
consuming class households (annual income between Rs 45,001 and Rs 215,000) in rural
areas equal the number in urban areas, which means more disposable incomes in rural
areas, as the cost of food, shelter, primary education and health is much lower.
Research also shows that today around 68% of the rural market lies untapped due
to various reasons ranging from inaccessibility to lack of awareness to high cost of reach.
New-age technologies like cloud are now being deployed in the rural hinterland of
India too. German enterprise software maker SAP lays a lot of emphasis on the public
sector globally and wants to do the same in India. A couple of months ago, it launched a
unique project in a small desert village called Soda in Tonk district, Rajasthan. The
project seeks to link residents with the best that technology has to offer: faster access to
records and services, a stronger system of governance, and a virtual classroom in the
centre of town. The German software major has now deployed a cloud based governance
solution for a village panchayat in Shillong, Meghalaya.
Without computerised records, leaders of Indias rural villages must rely on a
bureaucracy that can be slow, onerous and lacking in transparency. In addition, with little
access to education and training, many residentsincluding the young people who are
needed to fuel a healthy local economyare unemployed or unable to read and write.
In this backdrop, the German software vendors efforts to take e-governance to
Indian villages and its various initiatives to improve efficiencies in the countrys
government agencies are praise worthy.
Peter Gartenberg, managing director, SAP India says, Cloud is still starting to
develop in the public sector and is a relatively new thing for the government to adopt. We
are trying to solve extreme cases in the rural areas of India by providing them cloud
solutions. One such example is the work that we do for panchayats in handling land

14

records. I agree that it is easier to reach a village in Punjab probably, but we want to reach
the rural areas which are difficult to approach and want to help the panchayats
administrate better. Going forward, he stresses that SAP will be going to even smaller
and backward villages and will be helping them to govern better.
First, a look at the work so far. SAP has partnered with Soda village in Rajasthan
to help it marshal technology to support its 10,000 residents. Specifically, SAP has
worked with the sarpanch, or leader, of the village to create an intranet and internet
portal, as well as a technology education lab. Company executives reckon the portals
make answers to critical questions accessible with only a few clicksleaders can now
see how much funding is allocated to the village for such services as a community center
or eye care. Land records are posted online, and birth and death certificates have become
computerized. Whats more, the village portal is linked to state government websites,
connecting residents to vital information.
Beyond this access, the e-lablocated in the centre of the village where people
can easily walkoffers basic computer training and eventually will expand to offer
courses in a range of subjects. The goal: a virtual education system that is accessible to
all.
The impact: Soda village has become a model for a blending of the old and the
new. The villages sarpanch, Chhavi Rajawat, aims to make government more
accountable and seeks to tackle her regions unemployment and illiteracy rates.
Computerisation, she says, is really about creating opportunity and equity. For SAP, such
opportunities translate to a more educated workforce, as well as healthier local economies
that may drive demand for the companys software services.
Moot point is that SAP is striving to make village administration more effective,
transparent and accountable in delivering citizen services. In the near future, SAP intends
to effectively use its expertise in the North East region and create a scalable model to go
to 600,000 similar villages across India. As a part of the project, SAP will automate
several operational areas in the village administration including tracking and control of
funds, budget and expense management, accounting, management of local assets, project
and scheme implementation and citizen services. SAP will also facilitate trained
resources to operate the solution, and provide its expertise during the course of the

15

project. As a partner, Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management-Shillong (RGIIM-S)

will provide SAP with the necessary advisory support to gain understanding of the local
environment, help identify project sites and liaison with local administration bodies
where required.
Mawlai is a census town in East Khasi Hills district in the state of Meghalaya and
this destination is the initial step of SAP to penetrate into the North East region. SAPs
project for the Mawlai area will provide the local headman and citizens reliable access to
records and services, better insight into budgeting and spending, and support quicker
decision making, without a complex and cumbersome IT infrastructure, says Keya
Sengupta, director, RGIIM-S.
Explains Mathew Thomas,vice presidentstrategic industries, SAP India, We
need to develop citizen facing technology in rural India and mobiles will help us do so.
SAP India MD agrees that there is a necessity for every citizen in the rural areas to have a
back account and the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of India will help in doing
this.
NeGP takes a holistic view of e-governance initiatives across the country,
integrating them into a collective vision, a shared cause. Around this idea, a massive
countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages is evolving and
large-scale digitisation of records is taking place to enable easy, reliable access over the
internet. The ultimate objective is to bring public services closer home to citizens, as
articulated in the vision statement of NeGP. The government approved the National eGovernance Plan (NeGP), comprising of 27 mission mode projects (MMPs) and 8
components, on May 18, 2006.
The opportunity Mathew claims that SAP is one of the very few global companies
that is doing work specifically for India with localised solutions. In India, there is huge
interest by the government to adopt technology. Our solutions in Hindi are an invention
particularly for this market because 49% of the population in India is Hindi speaking.
There is a need in the market for localised solutions.
SAP recently announced the availability of its flagship ERP product in Hindi.
SAP ERP in Hindi will address areas such as logistics including India taxation,
accounting, employee data, provident fund; payroll including pay-slip, loans, claims and

16

employee self services. The localised solution will help unlock the huge domain
knowledge and expertise that exists at different employee and management levels in
government organisations.
SAP India executives believe that the file management in the Indian government
too needs to automated for better functioning. For the same, the company has come with
a solution in Hindi for file procurement system. We will be reaching out to different
ministries with this solution and will be helping them in automation. This is a part of the
bigger e-governance plan, informs Peter.
In the larger picture too, public sector is an important segment for SAPglobally
and in India. Talking of PSUs in India, Peter says that oil and power companies are
established and large clients of SAP. Then comes mining and utilities sectors.
Probed on what SAP will be betting on in the coming future, Peter says, The
dairy industry is a potential market and we want to help companies with a better supply
chain management so that less food is wasted. Though we are very strong in healthcare
globally, we have not done that much work in India for healthcare. We realise that there
are key issues like vaccination which need attention in this country.
Going forward, SAP is keen to replicate the Soda and North East model in other
villages. With the cloud hovering, the German tech giant is geared up to transform Indian
villages.

NiqotinA Cloud based ERP solution for Indian Rural market

Chennai based Niqotin is a cloud based ERP solutiuon targeted towards rural
market right from ERP solutions to SCM/CRM, HRM etc. The products target various
verticals like manufacturing, services, real estate, education, publishing, software &
hardware, FMCG etc and can be integrated with existing systems in any Indian
languages.
CREW: A Cloud based Revenue model for Rural Entrepreneurial Women in India
The new paradigm Cloud Computing is the next logical step in distributed
systems, which supports the sharing and coordinated use of resources, independent of its
location and type. Cloud computing allows you to unite pools of servers, storage systems

17

and networks into a single enormous virtual resource pool so that you can use it for single
resource-intensive task. This technology has the potential to address the unmet needs of
Indian villagers from education to market access. In India, Self Help Groups (SHGs)
represents a unique group of poor women who have volunteered to organize themselves
into a group for eradication of poverty of its members. The main objective of this
research paper is to exploit the Cloud technology as a profit making model for the SHGs
of the country. This paper explores and discusses in detail the need for the proposed
model, its benefits, its various components, their responsibilities, the trading process,
requirements for feasibility and other initiatives that work towards the economic growth
of entrepreneurial rural women in India. The proposed model CREW will certainly
provide a strong sustainable economical grip to transform the economically
disadvantaged women to be Self Reliant.
Cloud computing in Indian education system
The Indian school system is the worlds largest school system with over 1.12
million schools and the second largest sector globally. Cloud computing and related
business models provide answers to many of the challenges faced by the Indian
educational sector. IT in general has proven to be a catalyst in making the experience of
learning more enjoyable and effective and cloud computing could provide answers to
many of the challenges faced by the education sector in India. The cloud refers to widearea networks, generally the internet, from which remote computing resources are shared.
Google and others, already offer various productivity applications, and Microsoft has
announced that it will offer Microsoft Office 2010 online next year.
The cloud computing reduces costs and complexity and provides scalability. The
biggest advantage that the cloud brings is to reduce costs and improve efficiency. An
institution can rely on the the pay-as-you-go characteristic of the three pillars of cloud:
IaaS, PaaS and Saas..
Cloud computing solutions can be used for teacher-training courses and rapidly
train a larger number of teachers. In the rural areas, where career choices are limited,
cloud online tutoring can play a major role in helping a person earn his bread and butter.
At peak times, online tutoring vendors like Tutor Vistas teachers coach 2,500 American
students in one to-one sessions. Cloud can help bring mass awareness among the rural

18

population through interactive applications delivered using newer means of delivering

education through mobile phones and televisions.
Lighter parts of Cloud Computing

19

Sources :

Bogatin, Donna. "Google CEO's new paradigm: 'cloud computing and advertising go hand-in-hand.'"

Brodkin, Jon. "IBM unveils 'cloud computing.'" Network World

Carr, Nicholas. "'World Wide Computer' is on horizon."

Hickins, Michael. "Cloud Computing Gets Down to Earth."

"IBM Introduces Ready-to-Use Cloud Computing."

Naone, Erica. "Computer in the Cloud." Technology Review

Examining and Defining Cloud Computing From Daniel Nations

20

Cloud Computing Journal

The Three Levels of Cloud Computing

Thorsten von Eicken's RightScale Blog

Cloud Computing: It's the Future of Enterprise IT BY SAMUEL CHARRINGTON

www.cloudcomputingexpo.com

CIO Survey: Cloud Computing in India Ignores Self Service, Chargeback Added 25th Jul 2012 Varsha
Chidambaram

www.microsoft.com

21