Vaidyanathan (Vinod) V. • Very well said Subram.

Anjali G. • Hi Subram - Enjoyed reading your post on the next era of IT. Would like to hear more... is India ready for this new and smarter computing model?

Subram N. • Surprisingly yes... The problems that I have outlined earlier, plagues many companies in India as well. Perhaps the degree of severity varies. That said, the solution to these problems is multi step process. So, it is quite logical that the companies in India, look into their own setup and key roadblocks to success and adopt the right 'smarter computing' step to take on the journey. In fact, IBM has a prescribed methodology for this. We can engage with any company (in India and outside) and help customers take on this journey, wherever they may be in the maturity ladder.

Yaw A. • Hi Subram--- thanks for the invitation to this group. For me the most important issue will be how we use the platform of smarter computing to drive growth in Skills training for the youth in Ghana and Africa at large and to also enhance applications at making valuable research information available to drive innovation in Agriculture to boost socio-economic development. All these while keeping cost at a reasonable reach.

VC J. • Subram... what a delight to hear from you. Thanks for the invite... on the outset I must appreciate that post. Its as real as the nose on my face and you have called it as it stands. Having said that, I must add that i believe the Cloud is the proof that IT and ITES is moving to the industrialized phase. Its no longer sensible... and borders, often on the untenable to have large, unwieldy infrastructure related Capex-Opex drags that slow down organisations that want to be increasingly "flex-ponsive". So here is the deal... if smarter computing is going to be the juice that the industrialization where it will essentially change the nuts and bolts of how infra-solutions are conceived, built, delivered, supported and used. While a lot of the aura around the CLOUD is beginning to crystallize and people are beginning to converge around various nuances of what the their favorite interpretation of the Cloud is... its still the player who can prove the business benefit of the Cloud paradigm by being able to pitch the computing at the optimal levels and deliver seamless automation in the IT team manages resource allocation, scale forecasts all while ensuring business continuity... it is also exciting because the potential for smarter computing is so massive that it can do everything from enrich the education experience in our schools, streamline retail value chains and even enable us to plan colonies on the moon! Am delighted to be alive at such a time as this... as I straddle the outgoing era of tangled screens and boxes alongside the incoming era of wide open spaces with mind-blowing possibilities!

Hari R. • Thanks Subram for the invitation and a informative article... this is exactly what I was speaking, while interacting with the students at the university... we are all amazed at the way things are shaping up... The "I" in "IT" now refers to not only "Information", but also "Intelligent Information"...

Udayabhanu D. • True. People have started adapting to smarter computing, the market is becoming smarter day by day.
By 2020 it is predicted to be close to 160B $ business. Only smart people will get a share of it. :))

Nagarajan K. • Hi Subram, It's a great definition and knowledge sharing. Yes, our computing terminology will move into the different directions like "Health care Analytics" (more volume of patent data & optimized search methodology) - http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2011-06-02/a_healthy_dose_of_analytics_from_ibm_watson_to_tricorders.html , "Business Analytics ( with live streaming of data & predictive analysis) , " - http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2011-09-02/ibm_acquires_algorithmics_to_accelerate_business_analytics_into_financial_risk_management.html, "Data mining / analytics" (storage performance in terms of IO operation per sec) - http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2011-07-22/ibm_researchers_demonstrate_breakthrough_storage_performance_for_big_data.html etc.
So, the 'traditional dimension of compute' definition become smarter now ... :-)

Channa D. • Hey Subram, I understand this requires a paradigm shift…
Question : What’s the least painful path to move from “Not So Smart” computing to Smarter Computing ?

John P. • I observe that the Indian SMEs lack planning; Enterprise Architecture, deployment etc. Its interesting to note that companies do not get 'business value' even after the procurement of the systems (Hardware and Software). As a culture, the market views systems & storage as commodity. How many companies in India will spend atleast 5% of the capex on consulting & expertise?

Subram N. • Channa, Identifying those areas that are deemed 'Not so smart' is the first step. IBM's assessment workshops are great tool that can help identify these areas. Once the issues (could be server, storage, network, application process etc) are articulated, then the organization can decide which areas to focus on and drive specific actions to derive immediate benefits.
The question of whether it is painful or not is mostly due to resistance to change.
This reminds me of the old adage 'No Pain, No Gain'

Subram N. • Greetings Yaw!!!. I am glad to see your continued focus on skills development.
I will admit that Smarter Computing in itself may not be the direct platform for skills development on the applications side - except for the quite obvious benefits that one intrinsically gets out of optimization at various levels.
What is important is that smarter computing brings about accessibility of IT to society at an affordable cost. I opine that 'Computing for the masses' can only be meaningful if Computing is smarter.
My greetings to you and all my friends in Kumasi and rest of Ghana.

Denny J. • this is 'only' thing that matters now and in the future..

Yaw A. • Thanks for the response Subram. Yes, I have remained focused on skills development as I see it a relevant issue in creating opportunities for the youth.

Subram N. • John, I have seen in most cases, where customers end up not getting enough value, there can be 2 reasons (a) the decision factors are driven primarily from a financial/budget perspective (b) time to market drove the customer to make 'buy' decisions for specific hardware as against a 'solution to a business problem'. I don’t have the exact statistic on how many companies will spend their time/money on consulting, but I can bet that those companies for who EA is important will be willing to do the right way. If that means getting the expertise from vendors like IBM, chances are that they will be keen.

Rahul K. • Hi Subram - how does this link into smarter cities... and communities? Are there any smarter community initiatives that local RWAs can adopt?

Youvraj C. • Hi Subram, always good to read your article..

very apt descriptions on the how our future solution would become smarter. as our planet as well as solutions are becoming smarter, semiconductors plays a lot bigger role. we at" Infineon" also beleive and work towards smart solutions. one such intiativies is via smart grid solution http://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/applications/Smart_Grid/index.html

This is how cities will become smarters and greeener, whether it is smart metering, transmission, charging, consumption and re-generations....

Subram N. • Rahul, fundamentally, Smarter Computing is power behind the smarter planet: you can think of it like the engine in an automobile, I hope you will agree with me when I say, starting to develop solutions for a smarter community ro smarter city, initially draws a lot of focus on the Software, ananlytics, instrumentation, etc, Many a times, we find that the infrastructure becomes an after thought - well almost. Through smarter computing what we are saying is that there are solutions and models that are available that will complement the overall solution nicely in such a manner, you get to benefit from the cost, performance and efficiency advantage.