Summer Internship Report

On

MARKETING STRATEGY TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

THROUGH e-LEARNING

By

POOJA SONI

A0101908654

MBA Class of 2010

Under the Supervision of

Dr. R.S. RAI

Programme Leader

In Partial Fulfillment of Award of Master of Business Administration

AMITY BUSINESS SCHOOL

AMITY UNIVERSITY UTTAR PRADESH

SECTOR 125, NOIDA - 201303, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

2009

1
 AUTHORIZATION

JULY , 2009

This is to certify that Ms. Pooja Soni has successfully completed the project work assigned to
her at ‘iDes Solutions’, as a part of the requirement in the MBA curriculum at Amity Business
School, Noida, under our guidance and supervision.

She has worked on the project titled “Marketing strategy to Revolutionize the education
system through e-Learning”, during the project period extending from April 28th 2009 to 10th
July 2009.

This project is done in partial fulfillment of the MBA programme from the aforesaid Institute.

We wish her all the best in her future endeavors and career.

Mr. Monty S Alagh Dr. R.S. RAI

CEO Programme Leader

iDes Solutions ABS, NOIDA

2
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project entitled “Marketing strategy to revolutionize the education
system through e-Learning”, undertaken at ‘iDes Solutions.’ is a record of independent study
carried out by me during the academic year 2009 under the guidance of my faculty guide DR.
R.S. RAI of Amity Business School, Noida and my project guide Mr Monty Singh, CEO, iDes
Solutions.

I also declare that this project is a result of my effort and has not been submitted to any other
University or Institution for the award of any degree or personal favor whatsoever. All strategies
provided in the report hold true to the best of my knowledge.

Place: Noida Submitted By:

Date: POOJA SONI

A0101908654

Signature
Signature
(Faculty Guide)
(Student)

3
 LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With profound sense of regards and gratitude, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all
those who placed their trust in me to complete this project. At the outset, I would like to thank
iDes for giving me the opportunity to do my internship with them.

I would like to extend a sincere gratitude to my Industry guide Mr. Monty Singh, CEO, iDes
Solutions who guided me with his inputs all along and whose help, stimulating suggestions and
encouragement helped me in successful completion of my project.

I owe my sincere acknowledgement to my faculty guide DR. R. S. RAI for all his support and
guidance without which my project would not have been successfully completed.

I duly acknowledge the help and support received from the entire team at iDes and AMITY
BUSINESS SCHOOL. Lastly, I would like to thank all Company Executives who could provide
their valuable time and share information for successful completion of the project.

4
 TABLE OF CONTENT

S No Topic Page No
1 Authorization 2
2 Declaration 3
3 Letter of Acknowledgement 4
4 Abstract 6
5 Introduction 7
6 Literature Review 10
7 The Indian Software Industry Scenario 21
8 About iDes Solutions 26
9 Solutions Offered 31
10 Products and Services 41
11 Processes, Infrastructure and Clients 43
12 E-Learning 47
13 Future of E-learning 49
14 iVLE 50
15 The Case 60
16 The Services Marketing Matrix 64
17 Swot Analysis 74
18 The 5 Forces Model 80
19 The Framework 82
20 Implementation of iVLE 92
21 Result 93
22 References 94

ABSTRACT

This project revolves around the marketing strategy of a software company. The tremendous
success in the software sector has provided immense opportunities to iDes Solutions to expand
its clientele base in India.

5
The objectives of the study were to follow a strategy in order to bring about an e-learning
revolution in the education institutes in India and to recognize the specific requirements of
the institutes and design software that would cater to their needs. Currently there is a shortage
of reputed Universities in India that provides quality education. iDes through the launch of
iVLE in India wants to close this gap between these reputed institutes and students from all
over India.

This is a form of distant education learning but in a different way. It will be done by the use
of the technological break through that has come with the widespread use of internet in India
where the students will be able to attend classes from anywhere in the world sitting at their
place through Video Conferencing. These videos will be recorded and saved on the
Universities Website and the students will have access to them all day at their convenience.

The iVLE which is an e-learning solution provides a huge untapped market in India which
should rightly be targeted by iDes. And in the research that was conducted over the phone of 180
Universities in Delhi and NCR it was found that only Indian Institute of Management, Indian
Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and Amity University was using this. .

On the whole it was concluded that in order to penetrate deep into the market iDes should
undertake large scale promotional measures using the internet , reaching out to the Universities
by meeting the Directors personally and educating them about the advantages of the iVLE and
the revolution it can bring in the education system of India.

6
 INTRODUCTION

iDes is a web development firm based out of Fremont, California. With a co-sourced
development model, having our development centers at Gurgaon, India, they keep their pricing
affordable, ensure the highest quality of work, and eliminate all the operational hurdles that
usually arise from leveraging a 100% off-shore team. They build sophisticated web services that
look beautiful, and work seamlessly.

The products and services offered at iDes Solutions include

-Custom Web Design Company
- DOMAIN REGISTRATION
- e-commerce
- e-commerce solutions
- E-commerce Web Design
- High Quality Web Design
- Internet Marketing
- MySql
- PHP
- Search Engine Optimization
- Web Design
- Web Design And Development Company
- Web Development Company
- Web Development Services
- Web Hosting

The project deals with the marketing strategy to revolutionize the education system through e-
Learning. E-learning or electronic learning in India is gaining prominence slowly, but indeed
steadily. This is due to the fact that more than half the population of India today is below 25
years of age and the number of Internet users are growing continuously. The tremendous growth
of the economy in the recent past has also helped in the growth of online education in India.

7
E-learning in India is especially popular with the young professionals who have joined the work
force quite early but still would like to continue their education that may help them move up their
career ladder quickly and safely. They find online education in India very convenient, as the
nature of the course work does not require them to attend regular classes. Moreover reputed
institutes like Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of
Foreign Trade are today offering e-learning courses. Thus e-learning in India makes it possible
for the learners to pursue their education from reputed institutes without much hassle.

Online Education Scope in India

The scope of online education in India is actually much wider. Apart from proper course works,
some E-learning portals in India are also conducting mock tests for various competitive
examinations like engineering, medical, management etc. For example, the IndiaTimes
Group has introduced the Mindscape test center where one can appear for mock IIT JEE
Exams online for making self-assessment. The Gurukul online Solutions, apart from
providing various courses, set up a Jobs and Careers Centre (JCC), which, not only
provides job-oriented vocational education in a variety of domains, but also provides career
enriching courses via eLearning. They also offer Live Virtual Classroom connectivity to
over 175 cities across India. Some E-learning portals in India are also providing tutorials
for school students. Thus the reach of E-learning in India has expanded from adults to
teenagers.

The future of E-learning industry seems to be very bright in India as number of Internet users is
growing in the country at quite a satisfactory pace and more and more reputed players are
showing their interest in the e-learning business. In fact, if prices of computers become
affordable and Internet speed becomes tolerable, e- learning can work wonders for the
country.

8
Strategies

The marketing strategy followed includes:

Services marketing matrix (the 7P’s) which is a combination of the marketing activities that was
conducted in order to be able to best meet the needs of our targeted market for iVLE.
Today marketing is far more customer oriented than ever before. The 3 extra P’s – People ,
Physical evidence and Processes are particularly relevant to the marketing industry.

Swot analysis was conducted in order to evaluate the Strengths , Weaknesses , Opportunities and
Threats of the iVLE project. The objectives of the project were specified and then the internal
and external factors were identified which could be favorable and unfavorable for the project.
Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for
achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs.First, the decision
makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective
is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated.The SWOT
analysis is often used in academia to highlight and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats. It is particularly helpful in identifying areas for development.

The porters 5 forces model was conducted to deal with the factors outside the industry that could
influence the nature of competition within it, the forces inside the industry
(microenvironment) that influence the way in which firms compete, and so the industry’s
likely profitability is conducted in Porter’s five forces model. A business has to understand
the dynamics of its industries and markets in order to compete effectively in the
marketplace. Porter (1980a) defined the forces which drive competition, contending that
the competitive environment is created by the interaction of five different forces acting on
a business. In addition to rivalry among existing firms and the threat of new entrants into
the market, there are also the forces of supplier power, the power of the buyers, and the
threat of substitute products or services. Porter suggested that the intensity of competition
is determined by the relative strengths of these forces.

9
10
 LITERATURE REVIEW

Electronic learning (or E-Learning or eLearning) is a term for all types of technology-
enhanced learning (TEL), where technology is used to support the learning process. Often the
medium of instruction is through computer technology, particularly involving digital
technologies. E-learning has been defined as "pedagogy empowered by digital technology". In
some instances, no face- to- face interaction takes place. E-learning is used interchangeably in a
wide variety of contexts. In companies, it refers to the strategies that use the company network to
deliver training courses to employees. In the United States, it is defined as a planned
teaching/learning experience that uses a wide spectrum of technologies, mainly Internet or
computer-based, to reach learners. Lately in most Universities, e-learning is used to define a
specific mode to attend a course or programmes of study where the students rarely, if ever, attend
face-to-face for on-campus access to educational facilities, because they study online.

Goals and benefits of e-learning

E-Learning lessons are generally designed to guide students through information or to help
students perform in specific tasks. Information based e-Learning content communicates
information to the student. Examples include content that distributes the history or facts related
to a service, company, or product. In information-based content, there is no specific skill to be
learned. In performance-based content, the lessons build off of a procedural skill in which the
student is expected to increase proficiency.

E-Learning can provide four major benefits for the organizations and individuals involved.

1. Access to quality education: The fact that instructors of the highest caliber can share
their knowledge across borders allows students to attend courses across physical,
political, and social boundaries. Recognized experts have the opportunity of distributing
information internationally at minimum costs.

11
 2. Affordable education: E-learning can drastically reduce the costs of higher education,
making it much more affordable and accessible to the masses. An internet connection, a
computer, and a projector would allow an entire classroom in a third world university to
benefit from the knowledge of a distant instructor.
3. Convenience and flexibility to learners: in many contexts, eLearning is self-paced and
the learning sessions are available 24x7. Learners are not bound to a specific day/time to
physically attend classes. They can also pause learning sessions at their convenience.
4. Reducing environmental impact: eLearning allows people to avoid travel, thus
reducing the overall carbon output. The fact that it takes place in a virtual environment
also allows some reduction of paper usage. With virtual notes instead of paper notes and
online assessments instead of paper assessments, eLearning is a more environmentally
friendly solution.

Growth of e-learning

e-learning is capturing a large portion of learning activities both in academics and in industry.

Industry

The use of self-paced (asynchronous) e-learning in training continuously grew till 2007 reaching
20% of consumed learning. In 2008 there was a first drop in synchronous e-learning to 16%. The
use of virtual class(synchronous) e-learning in training is dropping year-by-year from 16% of
learning consumption in 2005 to 8% in 2008.

High Education

By 2006, nearly 3.5 million students were participating in on-line learning at institutions of
higher education in the United States. Many higher education, for-profit institutions, now offer
on-line classes. By contrast, only about half of private, non-profit schools offer them. The Sloan
report, based on a poll of academic leaders, says that students generally appear to be at least as
satisfied with their on-line classes as they are with traditional ones. Private institutions may
become more involved with on-line presentations as the cost of instituting such a system
decreases. Properly trained staff must also be hired to work with students on-line. These staff

12
members need to understand the content area, and also be highly trained in the use of the
computer and Internet. Online education is rapidly increasing, and online doctoral programs have
even developed at leading research universities

Content Issues

Content is a core component of e-learning and includes issues such as pedagogy and learning
object re-use.

Pedagogical elements

Pedagogical elements are an attempt to define structures or units of educational material. For
example, this could be a lesson, an assignment, a multiple choice question, a quiz, a discussion
group or a case study. These units should be format independent, so although it may be
implemented in any of the following methods, pedagogical structures would not include a
textbook, a web page, a video conference or Podcast.

When beginning to create e-Learning content, the pedagogical approaches need to be evaluated.
Simple pedagogical approaches make it easy to create content, but lack flexibility, richness and
downstream functionality. On the other hand, complex pedagogical approaches can be difficult to
set up and slow to develop, though they have the potential to provide more engaging learning
experiences for students. Somewhere between these extremes is an ideal pedagogy that allows a
particular educator to effectively create educational materials while simultaneously providing the
most engaging educational experiences for students.

Pedagogical approaches or perspectives

It is possible to use various pedagogical approaches for eLearning which include:

• instructional design - the traditional pedagogy of instruction which is curriculum

focused, and is developed by a centralized educating group or a single teacher.

• social-constructivist - this pedagogy is particularly well afforded by the use of

discussion forums, blogs, wiki and on-line collaborative activities. It is a collaborative

13
 approach that opens educational content creation to a wider group including the students
themselves. The One Laptop Per Child Foundation attempted to use a constructivist
approach in its project.

• Laurillard's Conversational Model is also particularly relevant to eLearning, and Gilly

Salmon's Five-Stage Model is a pedagogical approach to the use of discussion boards [9].

• Cognitive perspective focuses on the cognitive processes involved in learning as well as

how the brain works

• Emotional perspective focuses on the emotional aspects of learning, like motivation,

engagement, fun, etc

• Behavioural perspective focuses on the skills and behavioural outcomes of the learning
process. Role-playing and application to on-the-job settings.

• Contextual perspective focuses on the environmental and social aspects which can
stimulate learning. Interaction with other people, collaborative discovery and the
importance of peer support as well as pressure.

Reusability, standards and learning objects

Much effort has been put into the technical reuse of electronically-based teaching materials and
in particular creating or re-using Learning Objects. These are self contained units that are
properly tagged with keywords, or other metadata, and often stored in an XML file format.
Creating a course requires putting together a sequence of learning objects. There are both
proprietary and open, non-commercial and commercial, peer-reviewed repositories of learning
objects such as the Merlot repository.

A common standard format for e-learning content is SCORM whilst other specifications allow
for the transporting of "learning objects" (Schools Interoperability Framework) or categorizing
metadata (LOM).

14
These standards themselves are early in the maturity process with the oldest being 8 years old.
They are also relatively vertical specific: SIF is primarily pK-12, LOM is primarily Corp,
Military and Higher Ed, and SCORM is primarily Military and Corp with some Higher Ed.
PESC- the Post-Secondary Education Standards Council- is also making headway in developing
standards and learning objects for the Higher Ed space, while SIF is beginning to seriously turn
towards Instructional and Curriculum learning objects.

In the US pK12 space there are a host of content standards that are critical as well- the NCES
data standards are a prime example. Each state government's content standards and achievement
benchmarks are critical metadata for linking e-learning objects in that space.

An excellent example of e-learning that relates to knowledge management and reusability is

Navy E-Learning, which is available to Active Duty, Retired, or Disable Military members. This
on-line tool provides certificate courses to enrich the user in various subjects related to military
training and civilian skill sets. The e-learning system not only provides learning objectives, but
also evaluates the progress of the student and credit can be earned toward higher learning
institutions. This reuse is an excellent example of knowledge retention and the cyclical process
of knowledge transfer and use of data and records.

Technology Issues

As early as 1993, Graziadei, W. D. described an online computer-delivered lecture, tutorial and

assessment project using electronic Mail, two VAX Notes conferences and Gopher/Lynx.
together with several software programs that allowed students and instructor to create a Virtual
Instructional Classroom Environment in Science (VICES) in Research, Education, Service &
Teaching (REST). In 1997 Graziadei, W.D., et al., published an article entitled "Building
Asynchronous and Synchronous Teaching-Learning Environments: Exploring a
Course/Classroom Management System Solution". They described a process at the State
University of New York (SUNY) of evaluating products and developing an overall strategy for
technology-based course development and management in teaching-learning. The product(s) had
to be easy to use and maintain, portable, replicable, scalable, and immediately affordable, and
they had to have a high probability of success with long-term cost-effectiveness. Today many

15
technologies can be, and are, used in e-Learning, from blogs to collaborative software,
ePortfolios, and virtual classrooms. Most eLearning situations use combinations of these
techniques.

Along with the terms learning technology, instructional technology, and Educational
Technology, the term is generally used to refer to the use of technology in learning in a much
broader sense than the computer-based training or Computer Aided Instruction of the 1980s. It is
also broader than the terms Online Learning or Online Education which generally refer to purely
web-based learning. In cases where mobile technologies are used, the term M-learning has
become more common. E-learning, however, also has implications beyond just the technology
and refers to the actual learning that takes place using these systems.

E-learning is naturally suited to distance learning and flexible learning, but can also be used in
conjunction with face-to-face teaching, in which case the term Blended learning is commonly
used. E-Learning pioneer Bernard Luskin argues that the "E" must be understood to have broad
meaning if e-Learning is to be effective. Luskin says that the "e" should be interpreted to mean
exciting, energetic, enthusiastic, emotional, extended, excellent, and educational in addition to
"electronic" that is a traditional national interpretation. This broader interpretation allows for 21st
century applications and brings learning and media psychology into the equation.

In higher education especially, the increasing tendency is to create a Virtual Learning

Environment (VLE) (which is sometimes combined with a Management Information System
(MIS) to create a Managed Learning Environment) in which all aspects of a course are handled
through a consistent user interface standard throughout the institution. A growing number of
physical universities, as well as newer online-only colleges, have begun to offer a select set of
academic degree and certificate programs via the Internet at a wide range of levels and in a wide
range of disciplines. While some programs require students to attend some campus classes or
orientations, many are delivered completely online. In addition, several universities offer online
student support services, such as online advising and registration, e-counseling, online textbook
purchase, student governments and student newspapers.

16
e-Learning can also refer to educational web sites such as those offering learning scenarios,
worksheets and interactive exercises for children. The term is also used extensively in the
business sector where it generally refers to cost-effective online training.

The recent trend in the e-Learning sector is screencasting. There are many screencasting tools
available but the latest buzz is all about the web based screencasting tools which allow the users
to create screencasts directly from their browser and make the video available online so that the
viewers can stream the video directly. The advantage of such tools is that it gives the presenter
the ability to show his ideas and flow of thoughts rather than simply explain them, which may be
more confusing when delivered via simple text instructions. With the combination of video and
audio, the expert can mimic the one on one experience of the classroom and deliver clear,
complete instructions. From the learners point of view this provides the ability to pause and
rewind and gives the learner the advantage to move at their own pace, something a classroom
cannot always offer. One such example of e-Learning platform based on screencasts is
YoHelpOnline.

Communication technologies used in e-learning

Communication technologies are generally categorized as asynchronous or synchronous.

Asynchronous activities use technologies such as blogs, wikis, and discussion boards. The idea
here is that participants may engage in the exchange of ideas or information without the
dependency of other participants involvement at the same time. Electronic mail (Email) is also
asynchronous in that mail can be sent or received without having both the participants’
involvement at the same time.

Synchronous activities involve the exchange of ideas and information with one or more
participants during the same period of time. A face to face discussion is an example of
synchronous communications. Synchronous activities occur with all participants joining in at
once, as with an online chat session or a virtual classroom or meeting.

Virtual classrooms and meetings can often use a mix of communication technologies.

17
In many models, the writing community and the communication channels relate with the E-
learning and the M-learning communities. Both the communities provide a general overview of
the basic learning models and the activities required for the participants to join the learning
sessions across the virtual classroom or even across standard classrooms enabled by technology.
Many activities, essential for the learners in these environments, require frequent chat sessions in
the form of virtual classrooms and/or blog meetings. Lately context-aware ubiquitous technology
has been providing an innovative way for written and oral communications by using a mobile
device with sensors and RFID readers and tags (Liu & Hwang, 2009).

E-Learning 2.0

The term e-Learning 2.0 is used to refer to new ways of thinking about e-learning inspired by the
emergence of Web 2.0. From an e-Learning 2.0 perspective, conventional e-learning systems
were based on instructional packets that were delivered to students using Internet technologies.
The role of the student consisted in learning from the readings and preparing assignments.
Assignments were evaluated by the teacher. In contrast, the new e-learning places increased
emphasis on social learning and use of social software such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and virtual
worlds such as Second Life. This phenomenon has also been referred to as Long Tail Learning
See also, "Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0" by John Seely
Brown and Richard P. Adler, 2008.

The first 10 years of e-learning (e-learning 1.0) was focused on using the internet to replicate the
instructor-led experience. Content was designed to lead a learner through the content, providing a
wide and ever-increasing set of interactions, experiences, assessments, and simulations. E-
learning 2.0, by contrast (patterned after Web 2.0) is built around collaboration. E-learning 2.0
assumes that knowledge (as meaning and understanding) is socially constructed. Learning takes
place through conversations about content and grounded interaction about problems and actions.
Advocates of social learning claim that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to
others.

There is also an increased use of virtual classrooms (online presentations delivered live) as an
online learning platform and classroom for a diverse set of education providers such as Fox

18
School of Business for Temple University, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and
Sachem School District.

In addition to virtual classroom environments, social networks have become an important part of
E-learning 2.0. Social networks have been used to foster online learning communities around
subjects as diverse as test preparation and language education. Mobile Assisted Language
Learning (MALL) is a term used to describe using handheld computers or cell phones to assist in
language learning.

3D Virtual Learning Environments

As another example, Second Life has recently become one of the virtual classroom environments
used in colleges and universities, including University of Edinburgh (UK), Harvard University
(USA), and the Open University (UK), Language learning in virtual worlds is the most
widespread type of education in 3D virtual spaces, with many universities, mainstream language
institutes and private language schools using 3D virtual environments to support language
learning.

Services

E-learning services have evolved since computers were first used in education. There is a trend to
move toward blended learning services, where computer-based activities are integrated with
practical or classroom-based situations.

Computer-based learning

Computer Based Learning, sometimes abbreviated to CBL, refers to the use of computers as a
key component of the educational environment. While this can refer to the use of computers in a
classroom, the term more broadly refers to a structured environment in which computers are used
for teaching purposes. The concept is generally seen as being distinct from the use of computers
in ways where learning is at least a peripheral element of the experience (e.g. computer games
and web browsing).

19
Computer-based training

Computer-based training (CBT) services are where a student learns by executing special training
programs on a computer relating to their occupation. CBT is especially effective for training
people to use computer applications because the CBT program can be integrated with the
applications so that students can practice using the application as they learn. Historically, CBTs
growth has been hampered by the enormous resources required: human resources to create a
CBT program, and hardware resources needed to run it. However, the increase in PC computing
power, and especially the growing prevalence of computers equipped with CD-ROMs, is making
CBT a more viable option for corporations and individuals alike. Many PC applications now
come with some modest form of CBT, often called a tutorial. Web-based training (WBT) is a
type of training that is similar to CBT; however, it is delivered over the Internet using a web
browser. Web-based training frequently includes interactive methods, such as bulletin boards,
chat rooms, instant messaging, videoconferencing, and discussion threads. Web based training is
usually a self-paced learning medium though some systems allow for online testing and
evaluation at specific times. Recent years have seen an explosion in online training for educators
by content providers such as Knowledge Delivery Systems.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL)

"Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is one of the most promising innovations to

improve teaching and learning with the help of modern information and communication
technology. Collaborative or group learning refers to instructional methods whereby students are
encouraged or required to work together on learning tasks. It is widely agreed to distinguish
collaborative learning from the traditional 'direct transfer' model in which the instructor is
assumed to be the distributor of knowledge and skills. “ Lehtinen et al.

20
Technology-enhanced Learning (TEL)

Technology enhanced learning (TEL) has the goal to provide socio-technical innovations (also
improving efficiency and cost effectiveness) for e-learning practices, regarding individuals and
organizations, independent of time, place and pace. The field of TEL therefore applies to the
support of any learning activity through technology.

Computer-aided assessment

Computer-aided Assessment (also but less commonly referred to as E-assessment), ranging from
automated multiple-choice tests to more sophisticated systems is becoming increasingly
common. With some systems, feedback can be geared towards a student's specific mistakes or
the computer can navigate the student through a series of questions adapting to what the student
appears to have learned or not learned.

The best examples follow a Formative Assessment structure and are called "Online Formative
Assessment". This involves making an initial formative assessment by sifting out the incorrect
answers. The author/teacher will then explain what the pupil should have done with each
question. It will then give the pupil at least one practice at each slight variation of sifted out
questions. This is the formative learning stage. The next stage is to make a Summative
Assessment by a new set of questions only covering the topics previously taught. Some will take
this even further and repeat the cycle such as BOFA which is aimed at the Eleven plus exam set
in the UK.

The term learning design has sometimes come to refer to the type of activity enabled by software
such as the open-source system LAMS which supports sequences of activities that can be both
adaptive and collaborative. The IMS Learning Design specification is intended as a standard
format for learning designs, and IMS LD Level A is supported in LAMS V2.e-learning has been
replacing the traditional settings due to its cost effectiveness.

21
 THE INDIAN SOFTWARE INDUSTRY SCENARIO

Technological revolutions sometimes bring unexpected opportunities for countries. India, a

relative laggard among developing countries in terms of economic growth, seems to have found
such an opportunity in the IT revolution as an increasingly favored location for customized
software development. India’s success at software has led to speculation about whether other
developing countries can emulate its example, as well as whether this constitutes a competitive
challenge to software industries in the developed world. Software development can be broadly
categorized into custom developed software and packages or generic software products. Software
companies providing customized software concentrate on particular vertical market segments or
domain areas, like retail, banking, and manufacturing.

Software products may be targeted to a vertical segment or may cut across segments, but rarely
to a specific user. Software development involves a number of stages: Conceptualization,
requirement analysis, high-level design, low-level design, coding, testing and support. The value
added is typically greater in earlier stages of development – namely requirement analysis and
high level design. As we discuss Indian software firms largely provide services rather than
products. Further, Indian software exports consist largely of low-level design, coding, and
maintenance services. The Indian software industry consists of a large and growing number of
firms.

The early entrants into the industry had close links with computer hardware development. Heeks
(1996, p. 69) notes that Tata Consultancy Services, (TCS) was the first firm to agree to export
software in return for being able to import hardware, in 1974. TCS, currently the largest Indian
software firm, employs around 9000 people. Entry barriers were low because firms could start
small, since initial investments required were fairly small, little more than office space and
communication facilities.

22
The industry is not concentrated in Bangalore, although Bangalore is certainly a very prominent
location for firms in the industry. With the exception of the region around Delhi, there are no
noticeable clusters in the northern or the eastern regions of India. The distribution of engineering
colleges, concentrated in the western and southern regions.

The India Software Industry has brought about a tremendous success for the emerging economy.
The software industry is the main component of the Information technology in India. India's pool
of young aged manpower is the key behind this success story. Presently there are more than 500
software firms in the country which shows the monumental advancement that the India Software
Industry has experienced.

The Indian Software Industry has grown from a mere US $ 150 million in 1991-92 to a
staggering US $ 5.7 billion in 2006-07. No other Indian industry has performed so well against
the global competition. According to statistics, India's software exports reached total revenues of
Rs. 46100 crores. The total share of India's exports in the global market rose form 4.9 per cent in
1997 to 30.4 percent in 2007-08.

It is expected that the India Software Industry will generate a total employment of around four
million people, which accounts for 7 per cent of India's total GDP, in the year 2008. Today, the
Software Industry in India exports software and services to nearly 95 countries around the world.
The share of North America (U.S. & Canada) in India?s software exports is about 61 per cent. In
2007-08, more than one third of Fortune 500 companies outsourced their software requirements
to India.

The Government has also played a vital role in the development of the India Software Industry.
In 1986, the Indian government announced a new software policy which was designed to serve as
a catalyst for the software industry. This was followed in 1988 with the World Market Policy and

23
the establishment of the Software Technology Parks of India (STP) scheme. In addition, to attract
foreign direct investment, the Indian Government permitted foreign equity of up to 100 percent
and duty free import on all inputs and products.

Software exports has major share in India's total exports. As of the year 2006-07, both software
and services revenue grew by 32 percent to $ 22 billions and $ 28.5 billions in 2007-08.

According to NASSCOM, India's domestic market, grew by 24 per cent. Presently Indian
companies have concentrated on only two largest IT service markets. They are USA and the UK.
Even Canada, Japan, Germany and France represent huge growth potential in the industry.

PROGRESS OF IT INDUSTRY

(In terms of US $ billion)

Year 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08*

IT software and
service exports 9.2 12.0 15.2
ITE-BPO exports 3.6 5.2 7.3
Domestic market 3.9 4.8 6.0
Total 16.7 22.0 28.5
*Estimated

(Source: Ministry of Communications and IT)

OVERVIEW ON INDIA'S SOFTWARE INDUSTRY

24
According to statistics, country's software exports reached total revenues of Rs 46100 crores. The
share of total Indian exports forms 4.9 per cent in 1997 to 30.4 percent in 2007-08. It is expected
that the industry will generate a total employment of around four millions peoples, which
accounts for 7 per cent of India's total GDP as in the year 2008. The year 1995-96 was a boom
for the industry. The performance of the industry over the years is as follows:

(In terms of US $ millions)

1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01*

Domestic
software
Market 490 670 920 1250 1700 2450
Software
Exports 734 1085 1750 2650 4000 6300
Indian
Software
Industry 1224 1755 2670 3900 5700 8750
(* Source: NASSCOM)

25
COMPANY PROFILE

26
 iDes SOLUTIONS

iDes is a web development firm based out of Fremont, California. With a co-sourced
development model, having their development centers at Gurgaon, India. It is well established in
delivering web development services of varying complexities to their clients worldwide. They
work with clients of all sizes, ranging from bootstrapped ventures, early-stage startups, to large
enterprises.

They keep their pricing affordable, ensure the highest quality of work, and eliminate all the
operational hurdles that usually arise from leveraging a 100% off-shore team. They build
sophisticated web services that look beautiful, and work seamlessly. iDes was formed as an
answer to what was missing in the market: a firm that was technical enough to implement
complex systems, but creative enough to make the systems beautiful and easy to use.

Their areas of success have typically involved being able to provide professional internet
solutions to generate revenue streams, establish communication channels or streamline business
operations. They deliver a comprehensive suite of web services, ranging from custom website
design to development of complex Internet systems. Their offerings are based on building an in-
depth understanding of each clients business requirements, before providing them with
dependable solutions.

They work around your business. They strive to make technology integrate seamlessly with your
business so your business can grow. As your technology partner, when your business grows
theirs will grow with you, therefore, they will work hand in hand with you to support your
growth.

27
They are very easy to work with, because they simplify communication, establish transparency,
and give you full visibility on everything that they do for you. They believe in building on-
demand services. To be able to build lasting and efficient relationships with their clients, they
offer a full-featured Client servicing area, where you are able to log in and stay 100% in tune
with progress on your project. In real time.

iDes combines industry-leading technology with user-centered creative to deliver the next, new
things in web development, digital marketing and brand experience. Some clients come to them
for a website and leave with a brand. Others need an application to do some heavy back-end
lifting and they throw in a rich user experience.

The convergence of brand and technology at iDes allows them to view each client challenge with
a bigger picture in mind and offer strategic solutions based on that visibility. Yes, everybody
talks strategy but they think their deep roots in technology, combined with brand and digital
marketing acumen, boots new life into the word. It's their commitment to intense, creative
thinking before, during, and, even after that creates sustainable solutions for their clients.

Web Development, Digital Marketing, Brand Experience. These are their practices and their
passions. Three key, often interwoven, areas that describe and define the way business,
communities, and customers interact today. They help clients design and develop for that
interaction. They live it, breathe it and they have the right people to help you profit and grow
from it. Thinkers and solutions are standing by.

28
 The iDes Advantage

“Their mantra is to provide solutions as unique as your business.”

They are different because they help you stay competitive as a small business. As former small
business owners, they understand your hurdles well. By thoughtfully assessing your individual
business situation and core objectives, they are able to uniquely blend your strategic objectives
with their technology model, to produce effective solutions that make you stand out. iDes is a
growing internet consulting business. Their client list includes top companies and organizations
across the world. You might be just who they need to join their team.

iDes pays careful attention to your objectives, placing then in the context of your current
operation. Their goal is to ensure that not only do their Solutions work, but they work for
YOU. Learn more about them, how they are different, and why they are right for you.

29
 THE COMPANY

iDes is an established web Services company delivering web development services of varying
complexities to their clients worldwide. They work with clients of all sizes, ranging from
bootstrapped ventures, early-stage startups, to large enterprises. Their success areas have
typically involved being able to provide professional internet solutions to generate revenue
streams, establish communication channels or streamline business operations.

They deliver a comprehensive suite of web services, ranging from custom website design to
development of complex Internet systems. Their offerings are based on building an in-depth
understanding of each clients business requirements, before providing them with dependable
solutions.

THEIR TEAM

They are here to work for you. Their success today is directly dependent on how they can help
you thrive, so come meet (y)their team and learn more about what each of them help you
with.

DIFFERENTIATION

Their core differentiator is their extensive domain expertise. Over the last decade, they have
solved a few hundred problems, of different shapes and sizes, for their clients. They know
what works, they know how to make it work, and they know how to make it work in a
cost-efficient way.

30
 TOP MANAGEMENT

iDes is a company promoted by highly qualified professionals. The top management comprises
of executives with substantial business and Technology experience.

• Monty S Alagh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Monty is an experienced executive, with over a decade spent in building brands. Formerly,
Monty served as VP-Business Development at SiliconStreaming Corporation, Bay Area
California, growing the company from zero revenues, to $1.5 mm in sales, in less than a year. He
is also a former partner at AcroForza Consulting, an IT consulting firm based out of San Jose,
CA and has consulted with numerous early-stage startups as well has handled projects for the
State Of California in business modeling and change management.

• Preetam Mukherjee, Vice President- Technology

Preetam brings to iDes a deep understanding of web technologies and web based
applications. A former researcher at the Center for New Media & at Garage Cinema Research,
UC Berkeley, Preetam has spent a little under five years exploring the frontiers of new media,
understanding successful community building, and creating models for rapid adoption and usage
in social networks. Preetam is also the co-founder of a (thus far) stealth mode Internet video
startup: Marcellus.

31
 SOLUTIONS

Solutions should solve problems. It´s a key business principle they adopt, to ensure that they stay
true to their vision. They solve problems in four distinct areas. Their goal is to offer you a single
stop where you can take your web initiatives to new heights, reliably.

Web Development

The Internet is changing the way they do business. Information is transmitted within seconds,
and transactions need to take place instantly, simultaneously, and frequently, for your business to
succeed. They build secure web applications that run fast, are accessible to your customers and
partners across the world, and make you look very good. After all, the simpler you make it for
people to do business with you, the faster your business grows.

Online marketing and monetization

From search engine optimization, to blog marketing, they create and execute upon strategies that
help you promote your web site or service. And here´s something not a lot of people do: help you
make money. They help your site ready itself to serve relevant contextual advertising, and then
plug you into the Google Ad network

Identity Design

Your brand is the bond between you, and your audience. It is a critical piece of all your business
initiatives, and building an effective brand takes more than simply designing a logo. They work
with you to conceptualize, design and build your brand across all your messaging and
communications. So that the engagement is deep, and the bond is instantaneous.

32
Web Hosting

Identifying the right hosting environment for serving your web site is a challenge. From
managing your domain information, to setting up the technical platform to serve your
complex services, there are many considerations that lie in front of you. iDes solves all of
them with a combination of standards-based deployment (LAMP) and strategic
partnerships, to make sure you get the right environment, at unbeatable prices.

33
 WEB DEVELOPMENT

From the latest AJAX solutions to extensible data-driven frameworks to community platforms,
they think it, create it, build it. The relevance of the web has evolved far beyond just the browser.
They design and develop for the new role of the web: the interface between company,
community and customer. Where and however that might be. Their web development practice
includes the following key solutions and services.

Website Design

Some people call their websites their web properties, or their web real estate. They´re ready to
help you stake your claim to cyberspace, and they do it with thoughtful construction. Other guys
might rig together a skyscraper without realizing what you really need is a cozy cottage, without
realizing that they´re building on swamp land. They take the time to make sure they´re giving
you what you and your users want and need. They look at the landscape. And then they design
and build as little or as much as it takes. A cottage if it takes a cottage. A skyscraper if it takes a
skyscraper.

User Experience

One of their core competencies is understanding how users prefer to interact online and with
technology. This vision encompasses information architecture, wire-framing, and application
user-interface development. Knowing how users prefer to interact allows them to tailor and
create a rich web or application experience for them.

Technical Development

iDes combines your requirements, audience, budget, and time line with a firm understanding of a
wide range of platforms and products. They customize and integrate dynamic solutions with
existing systems. They also build entire custom applications from the ground up. They can guide
you to Content Management Systems, Membership/Email list management, E-commerce and
shopping cart-applications, and community development solutions.

34
Community building

iDes can help you implement an online community, make it relevant for your employees,
partners and, of course, customers, and make it make sense for your business. They can also help
you further capitalize on your community through highly targeted ad/marketing campaigns,
community metric management, and partner monetization programs.

E-learning Applications

iDes support carefully-selected open source applications for higher education institutes and
corporate. They know open source. They know Sakai. They know the performance, reliability,
and cost savings it delivers. And better than anyone else, they can use this technology to deploy
complete, cost-effective applications for the education enterprise.

You require comprehensive technology integration. All the pieces need to fit. That's where they
come in. They deploy, integrate, update, manage, train, and support. When colleges and
universities look to Sakai, they look to them. They package and support Sakai in way that allows
all colleges, universities and institutions to reap the benefits of open source software.

They are dedicated to facilitate the implementation of open source software for education. From
concept to deployment, to management—educational institutions can rely on iDes expertise at
every step. They offer a full range of Sakai solutions, backed by comprehensive support and
professional services.

E-commerce Solutions

A big part of doing business on the Internet sometimes involves actually doing business on the
Internet. They help you sell your goods on the web with integrated solutions that only need you
to specify what you’re selling, and for how much. They have great expertise and solutions in the
following areas.

35
 • Shopping carts

• Merchant accounts

•Payment gateways

•Affiliate management systems

E-commerce is a fantastic way of capitalizing on the capabilities of the Internet. Sitting right at
your office or home office, you can sell goods or services to your clients on the other end of the
world or across the block without moving from your chair. They are proficient at setting up
shopping carts, and integrating them with your web site and products. Having interacted with a
number of payment gateways, they can help you identify the right solutions for your business.
They do all the thinking for you, so you never get shortchanged when working with your e-
commerce provider.

36
 MARKETING AND MONETIZATION

Can Technology Help Marketing Become More Creative?

Consider content. Not a very sexy or glamorous word. But in many ways, content is the never-
ending mandate of marketing these days. Advertising content. Business content. User-generated
content. Rich content. How do companies create it? Manage it? Deliver it? Receive it? And, most
importantly, how do they transform it into relevant, engaging interactions with their audience?
That's the opportunity and that's where they come in. They have a considerable background in
web and user-experience technologies. But they're also marketing and creative professionals with
considerable backgrounds in those disciplines. This convergence means they can take something
like content and create conversations and experiences with it. Or build a community around it. Or
launch a viral campaign around it. SEO, SEM, blogs, podcasts, online campaigns, video, social
networking, emails and more. You name it, they're thinking about it. The strategic and creative
plan for it and the technology that will liberate it.

Marketing Innovation

The choices out there are many and multi-channel. Their familiarity with the latest technologies
and digital tools is a key asset and helps keep their clients innovative and up-to-date in their
marketing approach.

Planning

Their strategic services combine your business objectives, research, and brand positioning with
creative thinking to meet your marketing goals. Through their collaborative process, they'll
develop recommendations around media buying, marketing strategy, creative strategy,
appropriate technology solutions, and metric and measurement approaches. Once the strategy is

37
set, their multi-discipline team works with you on the process of tactical planning and execution
of your campaign or program.

Measurement

Every campaign and program created by iDes is set up to provide actionable intelligence. With a
set of customized reports, you'll get the most meaningful measurements of your campaign to
quickly gauge current effectiveness and to optimize campaigns and programs in the future.

Advertising Revenues

iDes integrates your web platforms with Google AdSense, enabling you to start earning
advertisement revenues from the day your site goes live. Their services include effective ad
placement, display, and contextualization. Rather than simply including code blocks to serve
advertisements, they make sure that your ads appear where they are most likely to be clicked, and
that they are relevant to the content on your page. They help you create granular targeting
mechanisms based on geography, demographic, and many other factors.

38
 DESIGN

Whether it's developing a new brand or producing creative and programs for your current one,
iDes offers a relevant approach to your brand building efforts. Call them old fashioned, but they
very much believe in the power of a relevant brand promise. But they also think brands need to
keep up with ever-changing audience behavior, so they leverage the latest thinking, creative and
technologies to help brands connect with a mobile, self-selecting, i-centered audience. Their
brand solutions combine award-winning creative with strategic research and planning to bridge
the following areas of client need.

Brand Development

The web and technology have fundamentally changed audience behavior. Creating and
positioning a relevant brand in this user-driven landscape requires as thorough understanding of
the media streams your audience swims in and the technological tools they use to navigate.

Brand Identity

You need a look. Or a visual shot in the arm for the old one. Or you need to extend your identity
into other materials or products. Their design capabilities are top-notch and spark a wide range of
corporate identity, business systems, environmental, and collateral solutions.

Brand Communications

The buttons that trigger brand experience with your audience come in all shapes and sizes and
mediums. iDes offers a full range of advertising, design and interactive creative to support your
marketing and brand-building efforts. From concept to print to code, they create materials and
experiences to engage your audience where, when, and how they prefer.

39
 WEB HOSTING

Infrastructure defines your ability to scale.

How your infrastructure is set up is critical to the success of your business. They have seen
clients pay through their nose for infrastructure they don´t need, and they have also seen clients
unable to scale up their infrastructure on time to meet their growing needs. Having seen a
diversity of problems related to scale, configuration and management, iDes offers low-cost,
continuously available web hosting services so you can rest assured that you web services will
always be up, available, and ready to grow.

Hosting setup and migration

Let´s start at the beginning. From registering a domain name, to finding the right hosting
solution, to migrating your name server information, iDes manages the entire process for you, to
ensure a completely hassle free experience for you. In addition, they have partnered up with
leading hosting solution providers, to bring to you these services at prices you will not find in the
market.

E-mail

In an age where business happens at the speed of thought, you need to be in touch wherever you
are. iDes helps you build and configure e-mail systems that fit in with how your company needs
to operate. So you are able to access your e-mail from you mail client, Blackberry or other
mobile devices, or on the web. And so that no matter where you access your e-mail from, it is
always completely synchronized to give you access to any information you need, wherever you
are, whenever you want it.

40
Server configuration

More often than not, your web applications require you to create special configurations on your
server, including the set up of various 3rd party tools and services. Typically, your web host will
take care of all of these for you, but at exorbitant service charges. Their in-house systems team is
present to solve these very problems for you, at no additional charge. They install, configure and
manage all components of your server needed to run your web service effectively, including
database installation, PHP configuration and customization, and a lot else.

41
 PRODUCT AND SERVICES

• e commerce solutions

• e commerce web design

• Custom web design company

• Domain registration

• High quality web design

• Internet marketing

• My Sql

• PHP

• Search engine optimization

• Web design

• Web development company

• Web development services

• Web hosting

42
 iDes SERVICES

 Custom Application Services

They understand technology and its impact on business. They take pride in being able to
engineer the right solutions for the customer to face business challenges, that is what our mantra
is “Solutions as Unique as your BUSINESS”. They offers customized low cost solutions based
on open standards, contemporary technologies and maintenance support.

They can help you

• Increase productivity by upgrading your old APPLICATIONS

• Design and develop Custom Database and Intranet applications

• Design and develop Web-based applications and e-commerce solutions

• Web Design and Prototype Hosting

 Onsite services

They can augment the customer’s resources on a contract staffing mode. They have
successfully deployed resources as business analysts and as test specialists who have a functional
domain background at our client sites.

 Consulting

They offer consulting and functional training for IT companies especially to banking
solutions companies. This practice is directly headed by our CEO. They approach every software
assignment with a view to identify and provide solutions to the challenges confronting the
business.

43
 iDes PROCESSES

iDes follows Professional Project Management and Software Engineering practices. Good
project management is essential for the success of any IT Project. They follow well-accepted
project management practices. They also lay great emphasis on Quality and Processes. They
have a well-defined methodology for their software development and processes that are at least at
SEI/CMM level 3.

iDes INFRASTRUCTURE:

With a office in the US and two in India, they have a good infrastructure and ample space and
infrastructure and also the advantage of having best of both worlds. They have an excellent
network with external connectivity to allow us to be in touch with their customers and their
people all 24 X 7. They Provide, “not just software, but total business solutions.”

44
 iDes CLIENTS

1. Judicial Council of California

The internet-based employment recruitment software solution and maintenance services was
procured from ides by the Judicial Council of California, Administrative office of the Courts on
behalf of the 58 Superior Courts of California

The Human Resources departments of the Superior Courts of California are responsible for
providing recruiting services for the individual courts. The courts were in need of an internet-
based employment recruitment software solution as a means of publicizing job openings and
receiving, storing and processing qualified applications.

Ides successfully developed a robust system for The Judicial Council of California,
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) which has automated all functions of their recruiting
process such as:

A. Recruitment

B. Selection

C. Applicant Tracking

D. Reporting and Analysis

E. Internal Human Resource Automation

F. Software Solution Upgrades

G. Implementation

45
H. Technical Requirements

I. Customer Support

J. Training

K. Security

2. BigAdda.com – a venture of Reliance Entertainment

Services : Community modeling and technical execution.

Reference : Ramkumar Ramamurthy, CTO, Reliance Entertainment/Adlabs Films

3. Microsoft SaaS Sales portal

Services : Software development for SaaS leads, opportunities and sales portal

46
 Reference : Gaurav Saran, Enterprise Sales Manager, Microsoft Corp.

4. Mahindra & Mahindra Group

Services : Image and Video publishing SaaS platform

Reference : Zarina Hodiwalla, Manager, Corporate Communications

5. RealtyU

RealtyU Group Inc, is a California corporation, We have been successfully building

complex training and e-learning software for them to keep up with then position #1 in
their industry.

47
 6. US Department Of The Interior Bureau of Land Management.

E-LEARNING

Electronic learning (or E-Learning or eLearning) is the Education offered using electronic
delivery methods such as CD-ROMs, video conferencing, websites and e-mail. Often used in
distance-learning programmes. It is a term for all types of technology-enhanced learning (TEL),
where technology is used to support the learning process. Often the medium of instruction is
through computer technology, particularly involving digital technologies. E-learning has been
defined as "pedagogy empowered by digital technology" . In some instances, no face- to- face
interaction takes place. E-learning is used interchangeably in a wide variety of contexts. In
companies, it refers to the strategies that use the company network to deliver training courses to
employees. In the United States, it is defined as a planned teaching/learning experience that uses
a wide spectrum of technologies, mainly Internet or computer-based, to reach learners. Lately in
most Universities, e-learning is used to define a specific mode to attend a course or programmes
of study where the students rarely, if ever, attend face-to-face for on-campus access to
educational facilities, because they study online.

48
The focus of much e-learning activity is upon the development of courses and their resources.
Successful e-learning takes place within a complex system involving the student experience of
learning, teachers’ strategies, teachers’ planning and thinking, and the teaching/learning context.
Staff development for e-learning focuses around the level of technological delivery strategies
when other issues such as the teachers’ conception of learning has a major influence on the
planning of courses, development of teaching strategies and what students learn. This article
proposes a more comprehensive framework for the design, development and implementation of
e-learning systems in higher education.

WHY E-LEARNING?

 E-learning can help counter most of the challenges faced by the education systems world
wide. Prominent among them are faculty shortage, lack of infrastructures, low ratios
(number of institutes : number of students), poor quality of education, offering curricula
that is not to the day’s needs. The answer lies in e-learning, as it can provide high quality,
cost effective, and quick solutions to all of these and many other challenges faced by
education systems.

 It’s not just cost and convenience that makes e-learning an attractive option for students
and institutes. E-learning has also made education much more accessible to and far
reaching. Sitting in India, you can register with an online university in the UK or the US,
and have access to the same content as a student from these countries would have. E-
learning also provides students with the flexibility to participate in discussions on the

49
 discussion board at any time, and interact with their online classmates scattered across the
globe.

 Moreover e-learning has evolved over the years from CD-Rom-based learning to surgical
simulations (for medical students) and war games (designed for the armed forces),
making learning much more engaging and immersive, as opposed to the passive learning
experience of a lecture-based classroom.

FUTURE OF E-LEARNING

 With PC penetration, Internet access and bandwidth increasing by leaps and bounds, the
future of e-learning looks very promising. E-learning delivery modes are also becoming
more flexible, thanks to laptops and internet-enabled mobile phones. Also, with more and
more young people logging on to G-Talk, Facebook, Orkut and You Tube, technology is
no longer seen as an impediment but as supportive and indispensable. As the number of
such users increases, e-learning will continue to make strides.

 iDes believes that e-learning can equip young people to seize opportunities in the global
economy. We are living in a knowledge economy, where the most important asset of any
country is the skill level of its people. To meet this challenge, we cannot persist with the
old ways of education. The future of education and of our countries lies in e-learning.

50
 Although e-learning has potential in India, adoption has been slow and will need a major
marketing and awareness effort. According to IDC, the revenue earned worldwide from
e-learning was $6 billion in 2003. That’s expected to rise to $21 billion by 2008.
Nasscom reports that Indian companies will get revenues of $7 million to $9 million by
end-2005.As is apparent from the above figures, the Indian e-learning market is still at a
nascent stage. But thanks to an increasing emphasis on honing individual skills, e-
learning is slowly becoming popular in India.

 Countries without university education can access universities in other countries via the
Web, a solution much cheaper than building university infrastructure. In underdeveloped
countries, e-learning can raise the level of education, literacy and economic development.
This is especially true for countries where technical education is expensive, opportunities
are limited, and economic disparities exist.

51
 WHAT DOES iDES OFFER?

 iDes Virtual Learning Environment (iVLE). It has become very popular among educators
around the world as a tool for creating online dynamic web sites for their students. This
Technological breakthroughs has made sharing knowledge on the web a convenient and
popular option.

 We will help you set the best applications to meet your needs, provide comprehensive
support for your project, train staff and users, host your application, develop new features
and provide on-going assessment and support. Our comprehensive support solutions
include:

• Project planning

• Installation & configuration of iVLE

• Training and documentation

• Hosting and remote management

• Management services for local installations

• Troubleshooting, upgrades, security, backups

• Data migration and integration with systems

• Performance monitoring and assessment services

52
 WHAT IS iVLE?

It is an online courseware management system designed for bringing students and teachers
together in a virtual learning environment and provides the tools, resources and techniques for
communication, group interaction and interactive support.

Users can find an array of web based educational tools and resources all under the IVLE. These
include online courses, discussion forums, chat rooms, quizzes, library resources, assistance
schemes, video-on-demand, network TV and computer-based training materials.

 The focus of the iVLE project is always on giving educators the best tools to manage and
promote learning, but there are many ways to use it.

 iVLE has features that allow it to scale to very large deployments and hundreds of
thousands of students, yet it can also be used for a primary school or an education
hobbyist.

 Many institutions use it as their platform to conduct fully online courses, while some use
it simply to augment face-to-face courses (known as blended learning).

 Many of our users love to use the many activity modules (such as Forums, Wikis,
Databases and so on) to build richly collaborative communities of learning around their
subject matter (in the social constructionist tradition), while others prefer to use iVLE as
a way to deliver content to students (such as standard SCORM packages) and assess
learning using assignments or quizzes.

53
54
 HOW DOES iVLE FIT IN?

Becoming an integral part of the campus services

55
 FEATURES OF iVLE

Overall Design

 Suitable for 100% online classes as well as supplementing face-to-face learning

 Simple, lightweight, efficient, compatible, low-tech browser interface

 Full database abstraction supports all major brands of database (except for initial table
definition)

 Shows descriptions for every course on the server, including accessibility to guests

 Courses can be categorized and searched - one iVLE site can support thousands of
courses

 Emphasis on strong security throughout.

 Most text entry areas (resources, forum postings etc) can be edited using an embedded
WYSIWYG HTML editor

Overview

 Goals are to reduce admin involvement to a minimum, while retaining high security

 Standard email method: students can create their own login accounts. Email addresses are
verified by confirmation.

 IMAP, POP3, NNTP: account logins are checked against a mail or news server. SSL,
certificates and TLS are supported.

 Students are encouraged to build an online profile including photos, description.

56
  Every user can choose the language used for the iVLE interface (English, French,
German, Spanish, Portuguese etc)

Site Management

 Site is managed by an administrator user

 Site can be modified by a robust Site Admin block

 Plug-in language packs allow full localization to any language. Currently there are
language packs for over 70 languages

Enrolment

 Teachers can add an “enrolment key” to their courses to keep out non-students. They can
give out this key face-to-face or via personal email etc

 Teachers can enroll students manually if desired

 Each person requires only one account for the whole server - each account can have
different access

Assignment Module

 Students can upload their assignments(any file format) to the server -they are date-
stamped.

 Late assignments are allowed, but the amount of lateness is shown clearly to the teacher.

 For each particular assignment, the whole class can be assessed on one page in one form.

57
Chat Module

 Allows smooth, synchronous text interaction

 Includes profile pictures in the chat window

 Supports URLs, smiles, embedded HTML, images etc

Course Management Overview

 Choice of course formats such as by week, by topic or a discussion-focused social format

 Flexible array of course activities - Forums, Quizzes, Glossaries, Resources, Choices,

Surveys, Assignments, Chats, Workshops

 Recent changes to the course since the last login can be displayed on the course home
page - helps give sense of community

 Most text entry areas (resources, forum postings etc) can be edited using an embedded
WYSIWYG HTML editor

 All grades for Forums, Quizzes and Assignments can be viewed on one page (and
downloaded as a spreadsheet file)

 Full user logging and tracking - activity reports for each student are available with graphs
and details about each module (last access, number of times read) as well as a detailed
"story" of each students involvement including postings etc on one page.

 Mail integration - copies of forum posts, teacher feedback etc can be mailed in HTML or
plain text.

58
  Custom scales - teachers can define their own scales to be used for grading forums and
assignments

Lesson Module

 A lesson is a series of pages which can be presented in a linear fashion, like a slide show,
or in a non-linear, branching manner, or in a combination of the two.

 Question pages include Multiple choice, Multi-answer, T/F, numeric, short answer and
essay.

 Pages can be imported either as questions in a variety of formats

 Student attempts, time limits, minimum score and retakes can be set.

Choice Module

 Like a poll. Can either be used to vote on something, or to get feedback from every
student (eg research consent)

 Teacher sees intuitive table view of who chose what

 Students can optionally be allowed to see an up-to-date graph of results

Forum Module

 Different types of forums are available, such as teacher-only, course news, open-to-all,
announcements-only forum and one-thread-per-user.

 Discussions can be viewed nested, flat or threaded, oldest or newest first.

 Discussion threads can be easily moved between forums by the teacher

59
  If forum ratings are being used, these can be restricted to a range of dates

Glossary Module

 Allows participants to create and maintain a list of definitions, like a dictionary

 Student entries can be previewed by instructors before publishing

 Entries can be searched or browsed using alphabet, category, date, and author

Survey Module

 Built-in surveys (COLLES, ATTLS) have been proven as instruments for analyzing
online classes

 Online survey reports always available, including many graphs. Data is downloadable as
an Excel spreadsheet or CSV text file.

 Feedback is provided to the student of their results compared to the class averages

Wiki Module

 Wiki is a web page that anyone can add to or edit

 It enables documents to be authored collectively and supports collaborative learning

 Old versions are not deleted and may be restored if required

Workshop Module

 Allows peer assessment of documents, and the teacher can manage and grade the
assessment.

 Supports a wide range of possible grading scales

 Teacher can provide sample documents for students to practice grading

60
  Very flexible with many options.

Quiz Module

 Teachers can define a database of questions for re-use in different quizzes

 Quizzes are automatically graded, and can be re-graded if questions are modified.

 Quizzes can have a limited time window outside of which they are not available

 Quiz questions and quiz answers can be shuffled (randomized) to reduce cheating

 Questions can be imported from external text files

Resource Module

 Supports display of any electronic content, Word, Power point, Flash, Video, Sounds etc.
that are stored locally or remotely

 Files can be uploaded and managed (zipped, unzipped, renamed, moved, etc..) on the
server

 Internal web pages (html formatted) can be created with WYSIWYG editor and linked to

 External content on the web can be linked to or seamlessly included within the course
interface

 Linked MP3 audio files will display with elegant flash player

61
HOW DOES iVLE WORK?

Components of iVLE

62
THE CASE

63
How iVLE launch can help counter most of the challenges faced by the education systems
world wide?

Background

iDes Solutions is a multinational Co-Sourced IT Services company based in The Bay area
California and our Development Centers in Delhi & Gurgaon. It was established in the year 2006
with the objective of providing consultancy and information technology services to clients
worldwide. With a young and highly skilled, qualified, experienced and dedicated team of IT
professionals they have been successful in providing Software solutions which enables their
clients to control cost, drive revenue, achieve capital efficiency and lead with confidence. It has
an extensive track record in the E-learning management.

Its mission for its iVLE project is to make the benefits of the E-learning management software
available to organizations worldwide. Privately funded, iVLE Software is focusing on institutes
and organizations all over the world. iVLE Software was introduced to iDes Solutions by their
CEO Mr Monty Singh. iDes Solutions has a long-standing relationship with Judicial Council Of
California, Microsoft, Bigadda.com, Mahindra & Mahindra Group and RealtyU.

The Challenge

iDES CEO Monty Singh said, “We could immediately see that iVLE Software had incredible
potential, but like most tech start-ups, faced several major challenges.”

These included:

• Little market visibility or track record

• Operating in a relatively unknown market area

• Lack of internal resources (time, PR expertise etc)

• Limited budget

• Unawareness of the importance of iVLE in the Indian market

64
The objective

The objective is to make sense of the changes in the trend of the software industry and according
plan their software business model, product strategy, software sales and marketing to maximise
their potential. The objective also included making the Indian Universities aware about the
existence of iVLE software first, its importance and then designing a strategy for its marketing.

The Solution

They have developed a range of launch packages especially for tech start-ups. It enables them to
make an impact on a market, and have access to a range of activities and their consultants’
extensive expertise, for a one-off discounted and fixed price.

“This means that start-up clients can be assured that they are getting their usual high level of
service, but without any long-term commitment or risk of unseen costs. Of course, from their
point of view, the intention is that start-ups are so pleased with their service that they become one
of their long-term clients.”

iDES put together a launch package of activities for iVLE Software to take the company from
where it was, to where it wanted to be. Designed to create an immediate impact, the strategy
centred on building iVLE Software’s credibility in the eyes of target audiences, so that it was
more likely to be taken seriously by media, analysts and investors and of course, partners and
customers.

iDES built electronic-education programme because this software is predicted to be a huge

opportunity, and it is currently little known. Wherever possible, existing resources were re-
worked to minimise additional costs or delays. iDES also focused on priority activities most
likely to reap rapid results.

65
Strategy

In the service oriented world today marketing strategy has become very important for software
company than it has ever been. The software industry is going under some major changes which
has an impact on the software companies business models as well as their marketing and the
sales tactics.

Lets see what are the current trends in the market that can impact the software businesses and
their marketing efforts :

1. Software as a service

2. Cloud computing

3. Open source software

4. Software as a service

5. Outsourcing of IT

6. Enterprises running IT as a service

7. Last but not the least – the Global Recession

66
 THE SERVICES MARKETING MIX (7P’S)

The services marketing mix comprises of the 7P’s:

1. Product

2. Price

3. Place

4. Promotion

5. People

6. Process

7. Physical Evidence

Traditional 4Ps are extended to encompass growth of service industry. One has to take into
consideration the 4P’s of the product marketing mix plus the 3 additional P’s of the marketing
areas and use them as an advantage over its competitors. These are the tools available to a
business to gain the reaction it is seeking from its target market in relation to its marketing
objectives.

Blend of the mix depends upon:

• Marketing objectives

• Type of product

• Target market

67
• Market structure

• Rivals’ behaviour

• Global issues – culture/religion, etc.

• Marketing position

• Product portfolio

1. PRODUCT

Product is one of the components of the 4P’s of marketing. A company or an individual must
have product to market and to offer to the people. A product is define as anything that can be
offered to a market for attention, use, or consumption, and that might satisfy a want or need
(Armstrong and Kotler 278). Also, according to Armstrong and Kotler, a company’s offer to
the market place often includes both tangible goods and services.

The product that we offered at iDes is a software called iVLE (Integrated Virtual Learning
Environment), which is a service in the form of a product. It is an intangible product and a
product purely of the service industry. This product is designed for the educational
institutions. This Technological breakthroughs has made sharing knowledge on the web a
convenient and popular option. It will help the customers set the best applications to meet
their needs, provide comprehensive support for their project, train staff and users, host your
application, develop new features and provide on-going assessment and support.

A product must take care of:

• Design

• Technology

• Usefulness

• Convenience

• Value

68
 • Quality

• Packaging

• Branding

• Accessories

• Warranties

Different methods are used to differentiate and improve the product and increase sales or target
sales more effectively in order to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors.

The different strategies can be:

• Specialised versions

• Extension strategies

• New additions

• Improvements – real or otherwise

• Changed packaging

• Technology

2. PRICE

Price is another component of the four Ps of the market mix. Price is defined as “The amount of
money charged for a product or service or the sum of the values that consumers exchange for the
benefits of having or using the product or service” (Armstrong, Gary and Philip Kotler 353). It is
extremely important for marketers to remember that individuals in a market are highly receptive
not only to the price of an item, but also to the value offered by the product.

69
Software companies have to take into special consideration of the different parts involved in
setting its prices. Item such as list price, discounts, allowances, payment periods and credit terms
are items that work together to set the price.

The various pricing strategies available are :

• Skimming
• Penetration
• Psychological
• Cost plus
• Loss leader

The pricing strategy followed at ides for iVLE was of price penetration. Seeing the demand curve
for the software’s which is elastic in the long run market equilibrium will be achieved by changes
in the quantity rather than change in the prices. Therefore penetration pricing is a suitable
strategy in this case as the price changes by any one firm will be matched by other firms resulting
in a rapid growth in industry volume. The dominant market share will be obtained by the low
cost producer Swho would follow the penetration strategy.

Penetration pricing is the pricing technique of setting a relatively low initial entry price, often
lower than the eventual market price, to attract new customers. The strategy works on the
expectation that customers will switch to the new brand because of the lower price. Penetration
pricing is most commonly associated with a marketing objective of increasing market share or
sales volume, rather than to make profit in the short term.

The advantages of penetration pricing to the firm are:

• It can result in fast diffusion and adoption. This can achieve high market penetration rates
quickly. This can take the competition by surprise, not giving them time to react.
• It can create goodwill among the early adopters segment. This can create more trade
through word of mouth.

70
 • It creates cost control and cost reduction pressures from the start, leading to greater
efficiency.
• It discourages the entry of competitors. Low prices act as a barrier to entry (see: porter 5
forces analysis).
• It can create high stock turnover throughout the distribution channel. This can create
critically important enthusiasm and support in the channel.
• It can be based on marginal cost pricing, which is economically efficient.

The main disadvantage with penetration pricing is that it establishes long term price expectations
for the product, and image preconceptions for the brand and company. This makes it difficult to
eventually raise prices. Some commentators claim that penetration pricing attracts only the
switchers (bargain hunters), and that they will switch away as soon as the price rises. There is
much controversy over whether it is better to raise prices gradually over a period of years (so that
consumers don’t notice), or employ a single large price increase. A common solution to this
problem is to set the initial price at the long term market price, but include an initial discount
coupon (see sales promotion). In this way, the perceived price points remain high even though
the actual selling price is low.

Another potential disadvantage is that the low profit margins may not be sustainable long enough
for the strategy to be effective.

Price Penetration is most appropriate where:

• Product demand is highly price elastic.

• Substantial economies of scale are available.
• The product is suitable for a mass market (i.e. enough demand).
• The product will face stiff competition soon after introduction.
• There is not enough demand amongst consumers to make price skimming work.
• In industries where standardization is important. The product that achieves high market
penetration often becomes the industry standard (eg Microsoft Windows) and other
products, whatever their merits, become marginalized. Standards carry heavy momentum.

71
Taken to the extreme, penetration pricing becomes predatory pricing, when a firm initially sells a
product or service at unsustainably low prices to eliminate competition and establish a monopoly.
In most countries, predatory pricing is illegal, although it can be difficult to differentiate illegal
predatory pricing from legal penetration pricing.

In sum, price is also an important tool within the 4 P’s of the marketing mix, yet it is important to
remember that consumers are also interested in the products value. In many instances if the
product does not deliver value the product will be doomed for failure, regardless of its price.
Software companies like iDes have to take into consideration list price, discounts, allowance,
payment period and credit terms as relevant elements to consider when setting the price.

3. PLACE

An important decision when trying to determine the overall competitive marketing

strategy is place. Place includes company activities that make the product available to
target consumers. iVLE’s place are the UNIVERSITIES all around the World. Internet
plays an important role in reaching out to these target customers who are placed around
the world. iDes has to place itself at the top of the top search engines such as google , so
that when its customer search for an integrated virtual learning environment software they
are at the top of the search in order to compete with its customers.

When we talk of place one has to consider the following :

• Retail
• Wholesale
• Mail order
• Internet
• Direct sales
• Peer to peer

72
 • Multichannel

iDes for iVLE tries to reach its places through the mail order , internet, direct sales by
personally meeting its target clients by visiting the various universities where its executives
would go and give the demo of iVLE to its clients in India and for the universities abroad it
would arrange a video conferencing where they would give them a demo and take the
feedback there and then and being a software the exchange of the service was through the
internet , it has done the same for many of its clients in India as well.

4. PROMOTION

Promotions are activities such as advertising, personal selling, and sales promotion which
communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it
(Armstrong and Kotler 63).

While carrying out the promotion activities one can follow the following strategies:

• Special offers

• Advertising

• Endorsements

• User trials

• Direct mailing

• Leaflets

73
 • Posters

• Free gifts

• Competitions

• Joint ventures

At iDes we used the free user trials , special offers and the direct mailing method for the
promotion of iVLE for all universities. With these strategies we tried to make the consumers
aware of the existence of this software and it was not just an advertising activity.

5. PEOPLE

• People represent the business

– The image they present can be important

– First contact often human – it can provide a lasting image to the customer

74
 – Extent of training and knowledge of the product/service concerned

– Mission statement

– The staff represents the desired culture of the business

• The people include the following :

– Employee

– Mangement

– Culture

– Customer service

iDes is a company promoted by highly qualified professionals. The top management

comprises of executives with substantial business and Technology experience.

6. PROCESS

75
This strategy is especially relevant to the service industry , which talks about how the
services are consumed , the processes the consumers have to go through to acquire the
services and where they can find the availability of the services.

One has to take care of the following :

– Contact

– Reminders

– Registration

– Subscription

– Form filling

– Degree of technology

At iDes the registration for any of their products could be done online at their website :
www.idessolutions.com and whenever a customer gets to know of any of their services they
could easily be contacted as they had all their contact information updated with all the
leading telephone directory services be it on the internet such as asklaila.com,
yellowpages.com, alibaba.com etc as well as on the telephone directory services such as
justdial, mtnl etc. The delivery of their services was usually via the internet as the iVLE is a
software which can be easily exchanged over the internet and they could also visit their office
and personally collect their copy of this software.

7. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

76
 It is the ambience, mood or physical presentation of the environment which could be:

– Smart/shabby

– Trendy/retro/modern/old fashioned

– Light/dark/bright/subdued

– Romantic/chic/loud

– Clean/dirty/unkempt/neat

– Music

– Smell

Physical evidence includes:

– Smart

– Run down

– Interface

– Comfort

– Facilities

In case of the iVLE project the physical evidence did not play an important role as the consumer
interaction for the software service was not to be provided at the iDes itself , therefore the quality
and the design of the software were to play the most important role in selling of iVLE as its high
quality and convenience would lead to their customer retention.

77
 SWOT ANALYSIS

A SWOT analysis must first start with defining a desired end state or objective. A SWOT
analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model. An example of a strategic
planning technique that incorporates an objective-driven SWOT analysis is Strategic Creative
Analysis (SCAN). Strategic Planning, including SWOT and SCAN analysis, has been the subject
of much research.

• Strengths: attributes of the person or company that are helpful to achieving

the objective.
• Weaknesses: attributes of the person or company that are harmful to
achieving the objective.
• Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the
objective.
• Threats: external conditions which could do damage to the business's
performance.

Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for
achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs.

The decision makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If
the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated.

The SWOT analysis is often used in academia to highlight and identify strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. It is particularly helpful in identifying areas for development.

78
A. POSITIVE INTERNAL STRENGTHS

• iVLE is one of the best tools to manage and promote learning.

• It is an alternative avenues for peer-peer interaction and communication

• Promote independent learning and reduce administrative teaching load

• Suit university size, institutional culture and integrate with existing network, student
admin. and legacy systems

• Systems today are unable to meet all of the desired criteria. Lack of suitable off-the-shelf
solution has lead to a need for an in-house developed platform, thus the birth of IVLE

• It is an E-learning management system that supports Staff-Student and Student-Student

interaction

• Enables collaborative teaching and learning over the Internet through a rich set of easy-
to-use tools

• 100% web-based courseware management

• Dual mode support

- Staff mode

- Student mode

- Single sign-on

- Supports both asynchronous & synchronous T&L

• Web-based and designed to meet diverse T&L pedagogical styles. New components can
be added as needed Multilingual Support and Web access statistics analysis.

• It is an award-winning product which comprises of purely web-based set of tools and

resources that faculty members use to supplement the classroom experience. Unlike

79
 commercial off the shelf products, IVLE captures uniquely how lecturers and students
want to interact online.

• It is built on a robust infrastructure with a relational database that has the ability to grow.

• It is built on common student information schemes used in post secondary institutions

80
 B. NEGATIVE INTERNAL WEAKNESSES

• How the main page is focused is most important. While news and events are conveniently
located on the front page the user has to “fish” for certain information. The first question a user
will ask is “what is the product?” This is not answered on the first page. You need to click from
the front page, which is supposed to entice you/lead you into the website but may instead annoy
the user.

• The top and bottom navigation is too far away. On long pages I would have to scroll down to
try to find out how to contact them and their FAQ page. If one uses two navigation bars one
should be used at the top and the second of the side.

• Their product doesn’t allow for access to its source code. If the source code is accessible the
user will be able to push the products capability to their unique needs.

Other negative internal weaknesses would include the complex nature of respective iVLE’s set
up in the organisations which would be complex for the employees to understand. Also, cost
could be a big factor in deciding whether the organisation goes in for a complete technological
overhaul or installs a lower version of the same software. Lack of course content, especially
outside the mainstream focus areas of IT education, English-language content, and tutorial-like
courses. There will be high demand for people who can develop multi-lingual courseware that
addresses various topics.

81
 C. EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES

• There has been a technology explosion in most post-secondary institutions. This would include
the development of distance education, technology content courses and supplemental e-learning
resources used within a physical classroom.

• Some of the trends they should be aware of include development of open source products and
unconventional use of modern technologies in education. This would include the use of Blogs,
Blogfolios, and Wiki pages.

• They could add training viewlet movies, and perhaps live chat for support.

• Users will take designed software and find new uses for it beyond what the creators intended.
Trends to watch for would include the monitoring of the use of their own software and others and
see what people will do with it.

Ipod did a marketing experiment by giving a free ipod to every first year student at one
university to see what the students would do with them outside of their designed purpose: Let the
consumer do the research for you!

Other external opportunities would entail the use of upgraded and updated iVLE in various
upcoming MNC’s in India as well as Indian Corporate houses setting up bases abroad. An iVLE
designed by iDes would help ease the stress involved in internal employee relationship dealings
and propagate a healthy interaction and highly sophisticated working environment.

82
 D. EXTERNAL THREATS

• Competition from open source software is a major threat.

• The open source software kind of thinking – it should be free and we should be able to push the
development of the product as we see fit.

• The competition is allowing access to the source code for development by the user. Examples
of content management systems include Plone and Movable Type. Movable Type content
management software was originally designed for self-publishing Blogs but now is being
developed for other uses. For example, About.com, which is an informational site that uses e-
articles, tutorials and e-mail courses, uses Movable Type.

• The drawback of open source software is the absence of support. This is where software such as
WebCT and Blackboard excel. However, websites and blogs dedicated to tutorials and teaching
aids for open source software are increasing and are of good quality. The decrease in sales of
print manuals for software is reflected in the quality and availability of online e-resources.

83
MICHAEL PORTER’S 5 FORCES MODEL

84
85
FRAMEWORK

THE THREAT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS

86
The existence of close substitute products increases the propensity of customers to switch to
alternatives in response to price increases (high elasticity of demand).

 Buyer propensity to substitute

 Software can be developed easily and is not very costly to do so; hence, buyers
tend to go for locally developed software with better features and lower costs.

 The product has high price elasticity and buyers tend to substitute branded
products with custom made software which have most of the desired features.

 Relative price performance of substitutes

 There is a considerable price difference between custom made and branded

products in the market.

 Custom made software are quite low priced, their reliability is however quite low.

 On the other hand, their reliability is somewhat overcome by their custom features
which cover all user requirements.

 Buyer switching costs

 Data transfer etc in small and medium sized businesses can be done very easily
and in a cost effective way and does not consume too much time either.

 This reduces the switching cost especially if the benefits of the new software are
considerably better.

 Switching costs are on the higher side for some businesses which have high
dependency on sensitive data and cannot switch easily. (For e.g. banks, insurance
companies, mutual funds etc.)

 Perceived level of product differentiation

87
 Software can be differentiated on 3 major bases: cost, features and brand
reputation.

 Perception of differentiation entirely depends on every individual customer.

 Custom software have an edge on two fronts: cost and features (which are added
or removed as peer customer needs)

 Whereas branded software have an edge in brand reputation and are much more
reliable.

THE THREAT OF THE ENTRY OF NEW COMPETITORS

88
Profitable markets that yield high returns will draw firms. This results in many new entrants,
which will effectively decrease profitability. Unless the entry of new firms can be blocked by
incumbents, the profit rate will fall towards a competitive level (perfect competition).

 The existence of barriers to entry (patents, rights, etc.)

 Many large firms have a lot of copyrights and patents which need to be considered
while developing a new program to avoid legal conflicts.

 Economies of scale

 Software development does not require a very high investment and hence it does
not pose a high barrier.

 However, when large firms enter a market segment, they have better economies of
scale even than old small players.

 Brand equity

 Large sized firms such as Adobe, Microsoft etc have high brand equity which is
not easy to match.

 Capital requirements

 Software industry in not highly capital intensive which increases the threat of new
entrants

 Access to distribution

 Existing players have established markets as well as networks which are not easy
to penetrate for new players.

 Hence, a strong distribution channel reduces the risk of new entrants.

 Expected retaliation by incumbents

89
  Entry of a new player especially a large firm in a new segment may provoke
retaliation and result in price wars or advertisement battles etc.

 Government policies

 Policies and laws governing data security and cyber crimes have to be followed
while entering the market.

THE INTENSITY OF COMPETITIVE RIVALRY

90
For most industries, this is the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry.
Sometimes rivals compete aggressively and sometimes rivals compete in non-price dimensions
such as innovation, marketing, etc.

 Number of competitors

 Software industry is highly competitive and there are several developers for
various kinds of software.

 E-learning software are however very comprehensive and complex in nature and
do not have too many players in the market especially in the branded segment
where Adobe and Sun Microsystems are the major players.

 Rate of industry growth

 India has witnessed tremendous growth in the software industry (over 50% annual
growth) as well as the education industry (over 12% annual growth).

 With more emphasis on rural education, e-learning can provide a crucial

breakthrough in education and hence holds immense opportunities.

 Exit barriers

 Software development is not very capital intensive on a small and medium scale.
Also it does not involve any heavy machinery.

 Due to these factors, exit barriers are very low and players do not have too much
at stake in case of an exit decision.

 Diversity of competitors

 Competitors are highly diverse in terms of scale of production, brand equity and
products & services offered.

91
 Level of advertising expense

 Software industry relies very less on media advertisement which is also the most
expensive form of advertisement. It is more dependent on creating brand name
through continuous performance, word of mouth and customer relationship
management.

 Sustainable competitive advantage through improvisation

 Scope for improvisation is very high in this industry. Programs can be easily
modified as per market needs and trends to get an edge over competitors.

 Such a competitive advantage is however short-lived. Such modifications can be

copied easily unless patented and become outdated within months or at times even
weeks. Hence, such advantage is not sustainable.

THE BARGAINING POWER OF CUSTOMERS

92
Also described as the market of outputs. The ability of customers to put the firm under pressure
and it also affects the customer's sensitivity to price changes.

 Buyer concentration to firm concentration ratio

 Most of the new firms come up in areas with high untapped demands.

 Transportation and distribution of software is not difficult. Software can be

transported to virtually any part of the world through internet at negligible costs
and thus gives a lot of power to the buyers to bargain over prices.

 Degree of dependency upon existing channels of distribution

 Software can be distributed both physically on portable hardware as well as

through wire transfer.

 Hence, producers have a lot of options for distribution with low degree of
dependency.

 Buyer volume

 High volumes are mostly involved in B2B transactions where prices can be
negotiated with high volumes.

 B2C transactions usually involve very low volumes and there is not much scope
for bargaining.

 Buyer switching costs

 Switching costs are usually not very high except for industries handling very high
volumes of data or extremely sensitive data.

 Buyer information availability

93
  Information regarding software is easily available over the internet and buyers are
usually well educated regarding these products.

 Ability to backward integrate

 Backward integration is not usually feasible in this industry since software

development requires a lot of expertise which most of the customers do not have.

 Availability of existing substitute products

 There are a large number of substitutes available for nearly every type of
software, both in terms of functions as well as price. Hence, it gives a lot of power
to the buyers.

 Buyer price sensitivity

 Price sensitivity in this industry is usually quite high. Buyers are willing to save
money while compromising on quality, features and brand name as well.

 Differential advantage (uniqueness) of industry products

 Products in this industry are not usually unique unless there is a phenomenal
breakthrough. Even if a unique product is available it becomes outdated quite
soon and needs to be improved continuously.

 However, uniqueness is lost in a short span of time and only competitive

advantage can be maintained.

THE BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS

94
Also described as market of inputs. Suppliers of raw materials, components, labour, and services
(such as expertise) to the firm can be a source of power over the firm. Suppliers may refuse to
work with the firm, or e.g. charge excessively high prices for unique resources.

 Supplier switching costs

 Suppliers have high switching costs since it is very difficult to create new
customers. It is instead easier to update the software and retain the old customers.

 Switching to a new customer may involve modifying the entire software as per the
different needs of the new customer.

 Degree of differentiation

 Differentiation is usually in terms of services and warranties since every customer

usually wants only the core benefit from the products.

 Presence of substitute

 There are a large number of substitutes available for nearly every type of
software, both in terms of functions as well as price. Hence, it dilutes the
bargaining power of suppliers.

 Cost of inputs relative to selling price of the product.

 The major cost associated with software is its development cost. This is however a
onetime expense and the same software can be sold throughout the masses.

This five forces analysis is just one part of the complete Porter strategic models. The other
elements are the value chain and the generic strategies.

IMPLEMENTATION

95
Activities within the launch package included:

• Message development – creating a set of key messages for each target audience

• Key words – identifying and applying key words for verbal, written and website/SEO use

• Web site audit/advice & rewriting home page - to support SEO terms and launch

• Analyst & media relations – proactively outreach to over a 100 targets, arranging interviews

• Creation and distribution of launch press release and press kit

RESULT

96
iVLE was launched in June, 2009 and was reported extensively, including media outlets that
reach straight to the heart of iVLEs potential customer base: the Universities in India. As a result,
it gained popularity among these universities and was installed in 11 of them by July.

As a direct result of the PR launch, high-profile potential customers for iVLE contacted iDes
Solutions to find out more and arrange meetings.

Results have included:

• Six major customer opportunities

• Enthusiastic response from leading industry analysts

“The market response owes much to the strength of their team who ensured that it gets the
widespread and – most importantly, positive – visibility that it deserves.”

The success of iVLE has helped iDes to make a respectable and impressive foray into the Indian
Software market with an aim of grabbing the maximum market share over the minimum time
possible. Although, there is stiff competition as big market players like Infosys, Microsoft, IBM
already exist, iDes already has its work cut out as it would primarily be focusing on unventured
markets of India and South Asian Countries, which thus provides it with a justification of setting
up centre’s in India and the Sub-Continent.

Concludingly, iDes has taken an irreversible step in the form of launching its iVLE into the
Indian markets which considerably and adverently involves a certain risk but the risk is worth
taking and iDes has nothing to lose. With a solid managerial back up environment and full proff
planning before every managerial venture, the path forward is the only path for iDes Solutions.

REFERENCES

97
1. The Competitive Advantage of Nations, 1990, page 97-100

2. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, 1980

Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, 1985

3. Karrer, T (2006) what is eLearning2.0?

(http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2006/02/what-is-elearning-20.htm)

4. Karrer, T (2007) Understanding eLearning 2.0

(http://www.learningcircuits.org/2007/0707karrer.html)

5. Nichols, M. (2008). E-Learning in context.

(http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/sites/default/files/ng/group-661/n877-1---e-learning-in-
context.pdf)

6. EC (2000). Communication from the Commission: E-Learning - Designing "Tejas at

Niit" tomorrow’s education. Brussels: European Commission

7. Nagy, A. (2005). The Impact of E-Learning, in: Bruck, P.A.; Buchholz, A.; Karssen, Z.;
Zerfass, A. (Eds). E-Content: Technologies and Perspectives for the European Market.
Berlin: Springer-Verlag, pp.79-90

98
8. http://www.idessolutions.com

9. iDes Company Annual Reports (2007-2008)

10. iDes Market Analysis Report 2007

11. iVLE Brand Awareness Promotion Campaign Brochure

12. Marketing Management , Reading material , Fore School Of management , Faculty: Dr

Jayant Bose.

99