IBM expands footprints in Goa, India

Expansion demonstrates continued commitment to reach out to SMB clients in 14 cities



Panjim, Goa, India - April 19, 2007: IBM India today announced its operations in Goa, as part of its expansion plans to enter 14 new cities in the country. This would enable IBM to cater specially to the unique requirements of the various SMB clients spread in the state of Goa and neighboring markets.
"Until recently small-to-medium size businesses have been relatively ignored in smaller cities throughout India. There is an untapped market here to help these businesses gain a competitive edge and catch up to their larger counterparts," said Ramesh Narasimhan, Director – GSMB, IBM India. "Opening operations in Goa is an example of IBM's continued commitment to working closely with SMBs throughout India to provide them with products, solutions and value added offerings that will give them the boost to get ahead and succeed."
IBM's portfolio of clients in Goa includes, Sesa Goa, Chowgule Industries, Government of Goa, Pentair Water among others. IBM plans to work hand-in-hand with local ISVs to provide new and existing clients with additional value-added solutions that are specifically tailored to the local market.......

Extract of Mr. Narayana Murthy's Speech during Mentor Session

I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more.Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary.

Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I don't know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long.Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace.

Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over the long term is harmful to the person and to the organization. There are things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit.

Being in the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential errors. My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue. Correcting these mistakes requires their time as well as the time and energy of others. I have seen people work. Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday.

Another problem is that people who are in the office long hours are not pleasant company. They often complain about other people (who aren't working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them. Such behavior poses problems, where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding one another.

As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the office. First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves. I work with a manager who chides people for working long hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group e-mails with a time-stamp of 2 AM , Sunday.

Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives. For instance, here are step wise guidelines I find helpful :

1. Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
   
   
2. Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
   
   
3. Go home.
   
   
4. Read the comics, watch a funny movie, dig in the dirt, play with your kids, etc.
   
   
5. Eat well and sleep well.

This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2.Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts. They are hard for some of us because that requires personal change.

They are possible since we all have the power to choose to do them. In considering the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my oldest son. When he was a toddler, if people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep no matter how long the visit, and no matter what time of day it was.!

He would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid that he would miss something. Once our visitors' left, he would go to sleep.By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for his fear of missing out.

Perhaps some people put in such long hours because they don't want to miss anything when they leave the office. The trouble with this is that events will never stop happening. That is life ! Things happen 24 hours a day. Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical. So, take a nap. Things will happen while you're asleep, but you will have the energy to catch up when you wake.

Hence "LOVE YOUR JOB BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY" - Dr. Narayana Murthy

What powers superbrand search engine Google?

California: Massages, films and mouthwatering food- it's all in a day's work if you're lucky enough to work for Google.

According to Fortune Magazine, Google is the best company to work for in the United States.

And one can witness it in Googleplex in Mountain View, California. The staff working there gets a lot of perks including a well-equipped gym, on site massages and medical care.

Transport, ranging from company provided scooters and pushbikes, to a massive fleet of shuttle buses and free food, are all part of a plan to attract the best and the brightest.

“I hear there are great benefits at work that will help me be more productive during the day and have more of a life when I get home,” says an employee, Stacy Savades Sullivan.

And theformula is working. Google gets over 3, 000 job applications a day from people wanting to join the company.

And to keep the staff happy, there seems almost no restriction. Another perk they get is what is called 20 per cent time- a chance to spend a day a week working on independent projects.

This has spawned some of Google's most successful spin-offs, including Gmail.

And at the office, apart from some funky designs that include white tents for colleagues to meet, Googlers appear free to do their work anywhere, an environment designed to encourage employees to be 'Googly'.

‘It allows you to do everything from bringing your dogs to work and question authority and work on the type of projects that interest you,” says an employee, Brett Cosby.

So with all the food and all those other benefits, could one even think of leaving the company?

“That is a great question, I don't know if I can work anywhere after Google. I think after Google, you either have to retire or go into a start up on your own,” says Crosby.

Can Your Machine Be Hacked? Test Yourself with These 12 Resources

You’re wifi is encrypted and a trial version of McAfee came with that new HP the kid at BestBuy sold you, so no need to worry about computer security, right? Unfortunately, security is a whole lot more complex than your average computer user might imagine.

There are literally hundreds of ways that malware and hackers can compromise your system security, most of which you’ve never heard of. Thankfully, however, there are a number of online tools available which will help you identify (and sometimes fix) the vulnerabilities in your system. In this article we’ve selected 12 basic tests you can run on your machine to identify its weaknesses.

1. Audit My PC: Audit My PC is a terrific site for finding all kinds of security tests to run on your computer. The Firewall test makes sure your present firewall is configured correctly; the Anonymous surfing and privacy check finds out how much of your personal information is available to online hackers; and the free Web site monitoring system will “find out if your ISP is having problems” or if “unauthorized ports have been opened on your firewall.” Each tool is completely free.
2. Qualys FreeScan: Large networks should be given this free test, which “allows you to quickly and accurately scan your server for thousands of vulnerabilities that could be exploited by an attacker.” After the scan, the security system will even send you information on how to bolster up your computer’s protection by patching up weak spots.
3. Proxy Way: This online test evaluates your computer’s privacy settings. Passwords and firewalls can be hacked more easily than you might think, but this test “shows how much of your private information can be collected by Web sites when you visit them - your current IP Address, browser and computer information.”
4. Test My Firewall: This site gives basic advice about maximizing Web security, as well as specific tips on how to test your Firewall, bandwith, and broadband connection.
5. Hijack This: Downloading the Hijack This program will help you get into the mind of a hijacker. Automatic updates constantly search your system for potential hackers, but let you decide whether or not you want to delete anything.
6. GFI Email Security Testing Zone: If you think you’re safe from e-mail viruses just because you have a Spam filter, think again. Many sophisticated worms and viruses are designed to circumvent spam filters for maximum destruction. The above link will connect you to a site that allows you to register for thorough e-mail security checks, like the attachment with no file name vulnerability test and the fragmented message vulnerability test.
7. WindowSecurity.com: This site sponsors another valuable security test for evaluating e-mail vulnerability. Detailed descriptions let you know exactly how each test works and why you need to run it. The site also comes with a guarantee that the “tests are very safe and do not do anything dangerous” to your computer.
8. The PCman Website Virus Test: This free virus scanner test plants a “harmless” fake virus — the Eicar Virus test string — to gauge your computer’s ability to notice real viruses. In other words, “if your virus scanner is set up and working properly it should intercept the downloading of these [fake] files.” It’s an easy, risk-free way of testing your computer’s security.
9. Sophos Threat Detection Test: Downloading this program will test your current anti-virus software to make sure it’s effectively protecting your computer. The free scan runs along with your current anti-virus software and is automatically updated; however, you get to choose when you want Sophos to run the test. Sophos is compatible with Windows 2000, XP, 2003, and Vista, and “checks performance of Symantec, McAfee, Trend, CA, Kaspersky and F-Secure.”
10. Symantec Security Check: Symantec has long been regarded as a professional, trustworthy resource in anti-virus protection. Run the security scan and virus detection test to find out if your computer is vulnerable to any threats. Both are free.
11. Nmap: Nmap, or Network Mapper, has the capability to audit the security systems on huge networks. It’s free to download, and “most operating systems are supported, including Linux, Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, IRIX, Mac OS X, HP-UX, NetBSD, Sun OS, Amiga, and more.”
12. PC Security Test 2007: This comprehensive security test scans Windows operating systems for viruses, spyware, and hacking threats. Once the scan is finished, “PC Securtiy computes a security index and provides tips on improving PC security.” The best part? The download is completely free.

The 12 resources in this article are designed to make you aware of the many potential weak spots in your system’s security. Information is power, so now that you know where you need to upgrade, we encourage you to go out and repair some of the chinks you’ve discovered in your computor’s armor.