Month: April 2020

SAP stands for Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing. SAP, by definition, is also the name of the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software as well as the name of the company. SAP Software is a European multinational, founded in 1972 by Wellenreuther, Hopp, Hector, Plattner, and Tschira. They develop software solutions for managing business operations and customer relationships.

SAP system consists of a number of fully integrated modules, which covers virtually every aspect of business management.

Basically, SAP is a German software company whose products enable businesses to track customer and business interactions. SAP is especially renowned for its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and data management programs. An ERP is basically a rational representation of the business, thus an ERP helps in making the significant transactions and real-time reporting.

But how does SAP helps in managing the enterprise SAP environments? Well, the SAP application services are the processes and methodologies in order to maintain and enhance the enterprise environments. The SAP application services include development, integration, testing, implementation, maintenance and support and also help the desk devices. It also comprises of application monitoring as well as back-up and recovery of applications and interfaces.

To conclude, SAP provides a planning ability and a company can produce valuable data in order to make a forecast. This forecast can then be further fed into SAP. Then SAP automatically generates the purchase orders to buyers with quantity and specifications. SAP can also be used in tracking and monitoring when the money is due to be paid to vendors and whenever it is due to be taken from the customers.

Other Competitive products of SAP Software in the market are  Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.

History of SAP

The product of five ex-IBM employees, SAP started in 1972 as a small software company in Germany with just one customer. The company’s name stands for Systems, Applications & Products. Its founders had a vision of producing software that could process data when a user wanted it, rather than in overnight batches as earlier software did. Their first product was a modification of IBM’s punch-card data storage, which stored data mechanically and required overnight processing. For their client, the German branch of Imperial Chemical Industries, SAP developed a real-time payroll and punch-card system in 1972.

SAP’s ERP started as R/2, named for its real-time architecture and two servers. In later years it was called R/3, for three servers: the application server, production server, and database server. In 2006, SAP released the latest version, ECC 6.0, and in 2013 an Enhancement Package (EHP7) was released.

SAP Functions

SAP is the world’s largest enterprise applications software company – as measured by software and service-related revenue – with 172,000 customers around the globe. Unlike many of its competitors, SAP has mostly grown organically and has just a few significant acquisitions under its belt. Much of SAP’s customer base consists of very large enterprise accounts. However, they have made significant gains in the small and medium enterprise (SME) market with their Business All-in-One, Business ByDesign and Business One product lines.

SAP offers a wide range of enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications including customer relationship management (CRM), financial management, human capital management, product lifecycle management, and supply chain management. They also have a large network of partners (i.e. the SAP Ecosystem) that provide unique integration and customization offerings for specific markets. For example, Et Alia has developed CREW All-in-One for the construction industry, which is built on SAP Business All-in-One.

In addition to its ERP products, SAP offers several business analytics applications as part of its Business Objects product line. Business Objects is one of SAP’s more notable acquisitions which was announced back in 2007. This acquisition pushed SAP into the business intelligence (BI) leaders circle with IBM, Oracle and Microsoft. They are reinforcing their position with recent innovations such as SAP HANA, their in-memory technology that allows organizations to run queries from multiple data sources in real time. Click on one of the links below to learn more about a specific SAP product, application or industry solution.

Business Intelligence (BI) refers to the technologies, processes, and strategies that organizations use to analyze and transform raw data into actionable insights and valuable knowledge. The goal of BI is to empower decision-makers at all levels of an organization with data-driven information, enabling them to make informed decisions, identify opportunities, and address challenges effectively. BI encompasses a range of tools, methodologies, and practices to extract meaningful information from data and present it in a comprehensible and visually appealing manner.

Components of Business Intelligence:

Data Sources:

BI relies on data from various sources, including internal systems (Transaction Processing Systems, ERP, CRM), external data feeds, cloud-based applications, social media, and more. Data is often collected, integrated, and stored in data warehouses or data lakes for further analysis.

Data Warehousing:

Data warehousing involves the process of consolidating and organizing data from disparate sources into a central repository. The data warehouse enables quick and efficient access to historical and current data for reporting and analysis.

Data Transformation and ETL:

Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes are used to extract data from various sources, transform it into a standardized format, and load it into the data warehouse. This ensures that data is cleansed, consistent, and ready for analysis.

Data Analysis:

BI tools employ various analytical techniques to explore and interpret data. Common methods include querying, reporting, data mining, statistical analysis, and predictive modeling. These analyses help identify patterns, trends, and insights hidden within the data.

Reporting and Dashboards:

BI platforms offer interactive dashboards and reports that present data visually in the form of charts, graphs, and tables. Users can customize these views to focus on specific metrics or KPIs, making it easy to monitor performance and track progress.

Data Visualization:

Data visualization plays a crucial role in BI, as it helps transform complex data into easy-to-understand visuals. Interactive charts, graphs, and infographics enhance data comprehension and aid decision-making.

Business Intelligence implementation

Implementing Business Intelligence (BI) requires careful planning, a clear strategy, and the right technology to ensure success. Here are the key steps and considerations for implementing a Business Intelligence initiative:

Define Objectives and Requirements:

Start by clearly defining the objectives of the BI implementation. Identify the key business goals and the specific questions you want to answer with data analysis. Engage with stakeholders from various departments to gather their requirements and understand their needs for data and insights.

Select the Right BI Tools and Technology:

Research and choose the appropriate BI tools and technology that align with your organization’s needs and budget. Consider factors such as data integration capabilities, scalability, ease of use, data visualization options, and support for various data sources.

Data Collection and Integration:

Ensure that your data is accurate, clean, and integrated into a central repository. Set up Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes to extract data from different sources, transform it into a consistent format, and load it into a data warehouse or data lake.

Design Data Models and Architecture:

Design the data models and architecture that will support your BI needs. Create data marts or data cubes to optimize data storage and query performance. Define the relationships between different data elements to facilitate analysis.

Develop Dashboards and Reports:

Work with business analysts, data scientists, and end-users to create interactive dashboards and reports. These should visualize the data in a way that supports decision-making and provides actionable insights. Ensure that the dashboards are user-friendly and customizable.

Provide Training and Support:

Offer training to users who will interact with the BI system. Train them on how to use the BI tools effectively, interpret data, and generate reports. Additionally, provide ongoing support to address any issues or questions that arise during the implementation and usage phases.

Foster a Data-Driven Culture:

Promote a data-driven culture within the organization. Encourage employees to use data and BI insights to support decision-making. Emphasize the value of data-driven approaches and celebrate successful outcomes driven by BI.

Secure Data and Ensure Compliance:

Implement robust security measures to protect sensitive data. Define access controls and user permissions to limit data access based on roles and responsibilities. Comply with relevant data protection and privacy regulations.

Monitor and Optimize Performance:

Regularly monitor the BI system’s performance and usage. Identify any bottlenecks, data quality issues, or user adoption challenges. Use this feedback to optimize and fine-tune the BI implementation to better align with business needs.

Continuously Improve and Evolve:

Business Intelligence is an ongoing process, not a one-time project. Continuously gather feedback from users, stakeholders, and executives to improve the BI system’s effectiveness. Stay abreast of new BI trends, technologies, and best practices to evolve and stay competitive.

Communicate Results and Success:

Regularly communicate the successes and benefits of the BI implementation to the entire organization. Share stories of how data-driven insights have positively impacted decision-making and improved business outcomes. This communication reinforces the value of BI and encourages broader adoption.

Benefits of Business Intelligence:

Informed Decision-Making:

BI provides decision-makers with timely and accurate information, reducing reliance on intuition and gut feelings. Data-driven decisions lead to better outcomes and improved organizational performance.

Improved Efficiency:

BI automates data processing and report generation, saving time and effort. Users can access real-time data and analyze information on-demand, enabling them to respond quickly to changing business conditions.

Identification of Opportunities and Trends:

By analyzing historical and current data, BI helps identify emerging trends, market opportunities, and customer preferences. These insights enable organizations to capitalize on new opportunities and stay ahead of competitors.

Enhanced Performance Monitoring:

BI dashboards and scorecards allow organizations to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and assess progress toward goals. By monitoring performance in real-time, businesses can proactively address issues and optimize processes.

Data Integration and Accessibility:

BI integrates data from multiple sources, providing a holistic view of the organization. This integration allows users to access relevant information easily, leading to more comprehensive analysis and decision-making.

Better Customer Understanding:

BI enables businesses to gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ behaviors, preferences, and needs. This knowledge helps in tailoring products, services, and marketing efforts to meet customer expectations.

Predictive Analytics:

BI tools can incorporate predictive modeling to forecast future trends and outcomes based on historical data. This capability aids in proactive planning and risk management.

Disadvantage of Business intelligence System

While Business Intelligence (BI) systems offer numerous benefits, they also come with some potential disadvantages. It’s essential for organizations to be aware of these drawbacks to make informed decisions about implementing BI solutions. Some of the disadvantages of BI systems include:

Cost and Complexity:

Implementing a BI system can be a significant investment in terms of both financial resources and time. The cost includes purchasing BI software licenses, hardware infrastructure, data storage, data integration, and ongoing maintenance. Additionally, setting up a complex BI environment and integrating data from various sources can be a challenging and time-consuming process.

Data Quality Issues:

BI systems heavily rely on data quality for accurate analysis and decision-making. If the underlying data is incomplete, inaccurate, or inconsistent, it can lead to incorrect conclusions and unreliable insights. Ensuring data quality requires diligent data cleansing, data governance, and regular monitoring.

Dependency on IT Support:

BI systems often require technical expertise to maintain and support. Non-technical users may face challenges in creating complex reports or navigating through the BI tools. This dependence on IT support can lead to delays in obtaining critical information, hindering real-time decision-making.

Data Security and Privacy Risks:

Centralizing data in a data warehouse or data lake for BI purposes can pose security risks. The more accessible the data is, the higher the chances of unauthorized access or data breaches. Organizations must implement robust security measures to protect sensitive data and comply with data protection regulations.

Need for Skilled Analysts:

To derive meaningful insights from BI systems, organizations need skilled analysts who can interpret data correctly and extract relevant information. Hiring and retaining skilled BI analysts may be challenging, especially in industries facing a talent shortage.

Overemphasis on Historical Data:

BI systems often rely on historical data for analysis, making them more suited for understanding past performance rather than predicting future trends. While predictive analytics is a part of BI, it may not always be accurate in dynamic and rapidly changing business environments.

Limited Contextual Understanding:

BI tools present data in a structured format, but they may lack the context necessary for complete understanding. Users may need to combine BI insights with other domain knowledge to make well-informed decisions.

Lack of Real-time Data:

Some BI systems may not provide real-time or near-real-time data updates. When data is not up-to-date, decision-makers might be working with stale information, leading to suboptimal decisions in rapidly changing situations.

Resistance to Change:

Implementing a BI system may encounter resistance from employees who are accustomed to traditional decision-making methods. Overcoming this resistance and fostering a data-driven culture within the organization can be a significant challenge.

Potential Information Overload:

BI systems can generate vast amounts of data and reports, leading to information overload. Users may struggle to identify the most critical insights amidst the flood of information.

Trends in Business Intelligence

As technology and data continue to evolve, several trends are shaping the field of Business Intelligence (BI). These trends reflect the growing importance of data-driven decision-making and the need for advanced analytics to gain a competitive edge. Here are some prominent trends in Business Intelligence:

Augmented Analytics:

Augmented analytics combines machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and AI algorithms with traditional BI tools to automate data preparation, analysis, and insights generation. This trend simplifies the BI process, making it accessible to non-technical users by automating tasks like data cleansing, pattern recognition, and anomaly detection.

Data Democratization:

Data democratization involves making data and analytics accessible to a broader audience within the organization, rather than restricting it to specialized teams or IT departments. Modern BI tools focus on user-friendly interfaces, self-service capabilities, and intuitive data visualization, empowering business users to explore and analyze data independently.

Embedded Analytics:

Embedded analytics integrates BI capabilities directly into existing applications and workflows, making insights and reports readily available within the context of users’ daily tasks. This trend helps organizations improve decision-making by providing relevant data at the right time and place without the need to switch between different applications.

Real-Time Analytics:

Real-time analytics enables businesses to analyze data as it is generated, allowing for instant decision-making and quicker responses to changing market conditions. BI tools are incorporating real-time data integration and processing capabilities to provide up-to-the-minute insights.

Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics:

While descriptive analytics (historical data analysis) remains crucial, there is an increasing focus on predictive and prescriptive analytics. Predictive analytics uses historical data and machine learning algorithms to forecast future trends and outcomes. Prescriptive analytics takes it a step further by recommending actions based on predictive insights.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Conversational BI:

NLP allows users to interact with BI systems using natural language queries and commands, making it easier for non-technical users to access data and insights. Conversational BI interfaces, such as chatbots and voice-activated assistants, are becoming more prevalent, enabling users to ask questions and receive instant responses.

Mobile BI:

Mobile BI empowers users to access critical data and insights on their smartphones and tablets, enabling on-the-go decision-making. BI vendors are focusing on responsive and mobile-friendly designs to optimize the user experience across different devices.

Data Governance and Security:

As data becomes more accessible, data governance and security become increasingly important. Organizations are implementing stringent measures to protect data privacy, comply with regulations, and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Multi-Cloud and Hybrid BI:

With the increasing adoption of cloud computing, organizations are leveraging multi-cloud and hybrid BI solutions. This approach allows them to combine on-premises data with cloud-based data sources, ensuring flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

Edge Analytics:

Edge analytics involves processing and analyzing data at the edge of the network, closer to the data source. This trend is gaining traction as it reduces latency and bandwidth requirements, making real-time insights possible in IoT and remote environments.

Examples of Business Intelligence System used in Practice

Retail Industry:

Retailers use BI systems to track sales data, analyze customer behavior, and optimize inventory management. BI tools can provide insights into which products are selling well, identify customer preferences and buying patterns, and forecast demand to ensure the right products are available at the right time.

Financial Services:

Banks and financial institutions use BI systems for risk management, fraud detection, and customer analytics. BI helps in assessing credit risk, monitoring transaction patterns for suspicious activities, and understanding customer behavior to offer personalized financial products and services.

Healthcare:

In the healthcare industry, BI systems are used for patient care optimization, resource allocation, and clinical decision support. BI tools can analyze patient data to identify trends and patterns, assess treatment outcomes, and optimize hospital workflows for better patient outcomes.

Manufacturing:

Manufacturers leverage BI systems for supply chain optimization, production monitoring, and quality control. BI tools can track inventory levels, identify bottlenecks in production processes, and analyze product defects to improve overall efficiency and reduce costs.

E-commerce and Online Retail:

E-commerce companies use BI systems to analyze website traffic, monitor customer engagement, and optimize marketing campaigns. BI tools can help e-commerce businesses understand customer preferences, recommend personalized products, and track the success of marketing efforts.

Human Resources:

BI systems are employed in HR departments to manage workforce analytics, performance evaluations, and talent management. BI tools can track employee performance, analyze attrition rates, and support strategic workforce planning.

Travel and Hospitality:

In the travel and hospitality industry, BI systems are used for revenue management, customer segmentation, and marketing optimization. BI tools can help hotels and airlines adjust pricing based on demand, target specific customer segments with personalized offers, and track customer satisfaction levels.

Government and Public Sector:

Government agencies utilize BI systems for data-driven decision-making, performance measurement, and policy analysis. BI tools can help in tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) for various government programs, identify areas for improvement, and assess the impact of policy changes.

Energy and Utilities:

BI systems assist energy and utility companies in analyzing energy consumption patterns, predicting demand, and optimizing resource allocation. BI tools can help identify energy-saving opportunities, track energy usage, and forecast demand fluctuations.

Education:

In the education sector, BI systems are used for student performance analysis, enrollment management, and institutional planning. BI tools can help educators track student progress, identify at-risk students, and optimize course offerings based on demand.

Although the growth of e-commerce continues to provide businesses with more opportunities, the e-commerce industry faces many of the same ethical issues as traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. A key advantage of conducting e-business is that it gives small businesses access to a broader consumer market so they can compete with larger businesses. However, it’s up to the business owner to let customers know that a site is a safe and secure place for them to shop.

1. Establish Core Values

As a major component of a company’s guiding principles, core values help a small business set priorities and plan for the future. These are the rules that govern how your company is run. Values give a company direction while a company code of ethics defines the behavior you expect your business to exemplify. Identifying a set of business values tells your customers that you are committed to providing quality service and that you take responsibility for the business decisions you make. Some companies publish their business principles on their websites for visitors trafficking the site to view.

2. Post Your Business Policies

Do you accept returns? Under what conditions? Do you give cash returns or store credit? Are shipments insured? Where are you physically located? Do you offer customer support and service? 24/7?

Your business policies should be carefully laid out for all to see. There should be a large link off your home page to a page or two of your company’s policies. If you guarantee customer satisfaction, tell each customer. If there are conditions on returns, lay them out clearly. Skip the 6-point text on the back page (the fine print). Be straight with your customers right from the start.

3. Gain Consumer Trust

Customers are more likely to view your business as legitimate if your website looks official. For instance, when customers see the Better Business Bureau seal displayed on your website, they know your business is making a commitment to meet their needs. A small business owner looking for accreditation can use the BBB seal to convey the message to consumers that the business is trustworthy. Consumers can identify if a business is a member of the Better Business Bureau by looking for the online BBB seal on the website.

4. Secure Customer Data

Security of information is a major concern even for a small e-commerce website. It is the responsibility of e-commerce businesses to protect sensitive consumer data such as addresses, customer account numbers and bank and credit card information. Secure Socket Layer, more commonly referred to as SSL, is a system that encrypts information that is transmitted between the customer and Web server. Data encryption prevents hackers from gaining access to a customer’s personal and billing information. Business owners must purchase a SSL certificate for their website’s server.

5. Create Ethical Web Content

Pay special attention to the marketing materials you include on your website. Avoid publishing misleading statements that could give consumers the wrong idea about the products you offer. For example, don’t exaggerate claims about the quality of a product. If you fail to deliver what you promise, the Internet can work against you as dissatisfied customers may spread the word to others via social networking sites. Keep the content on your site current so you continue to offer consumers reliable information. An additional factor to consider is that while search engine optimization can bring more traffic to your website, it’s your responsibility to supply useful and original content. According to SEO Workers, a group of Internet marketing consultants, websites that fail to offer valuable information are sometimes viewed as spam, which consumers usually don’t like.

Security is an essential part of any transaction that takes place over the internet. Customers will lose his/her faith in e-business if its security is compromised. Following are the essential requirements for safe e-payments/transactions −

• Confidentiality: Information should not be accessible to an unauthorized person. It should not be intercepted during the transmission.
• Integrity: Information should not be altered during its transmission over the network.
• Availability: Information should be available wherever and whenever required within a time limit specified.
• Authenticity: There should be a mechanism to authenticate a user before giving him/her an access to the required information.
• Non-Repudiability: It is the protection against the denial of order or denial of payment. Once a sender sends a message, the sender should not be able to deny sending the message. Similarly, the recipient of message should not be able to deny the receipt.
• Encryption: Information should be encrypted and decrypted only by an authorized user.
• Auditability: Data should be recorded in such a way that it can be audited for integrity requirements.

Measures to ensure Security

Major security measures are following:

• Encryption: It is a very effective and practical way to safeguard the data being transmitted over the network. Sender of the information encrypts the data using a secret code and only the specified receiver can decrypt the data using the same or a different secret code.
• Digital Signature: Digital signature ensures the authenticity of the information. A digital signature is an e-signature authenticated through encryption and password.
• Security Certificates: Security certificate is a unique digital id used to verify the identity of an individual website or user.

Security Protocols in Internet

We will discuss here some of the popular protocols used over the internet to ensure secured online transactions.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL)

It is the most commonly used protocol and is widely used across the industry. It meets following security requirements:

• Authentication
• Encryption
• Integrity
• Non-reputability

“https://” is to be used for HTTP urls with SSL, where as “http:/” is to be used for HTTP urls without SSL.

Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (SHTTP)

SHTTP extends the HTTP internet protocol with public key encryption, authentication, and digital signature over the internet. Secure HTTP supports multiple security mechanism, providing security to the end-users. SHTTP works by negotiating encryption scheme types used between the client and the server.

Secure Electronic Transaction

It is a secure protocol developed by MasterCard and Visa in collaboration. Theoretically, it is the best security protocol. It has the following components:

• Card Holder’s Digital Wallet Software: Digital Wallet allows the card holder to make secure purchases online via point and click interface.
• Merchant Software: This software helps merchants to communicate with potential customers and financial institutions in a secure manner.
• Payment Gateway Server Software: Payment gateway provides automatic and standard payment process. It supports the process for merchant’s certificate request.
• Certificate Authority Software: This software is used by financial institutions to issue digital certificates to card holders and merchants, and to enable them to register their account agreements for secure electronic commerce.

Electronic governance or e-governance is the application of information and communication technology (ICT) for delivering government services, exchange of information, communication transactions, integration of various stand-alone systems and services between government-to-citizen (G2C), government-to-business (G2B), government-to-government (G2G), government-to-employees (G2E) as well as back-office processes and interactions within the entire government framework. Through e-governance, government services are made available to citizens in a convenient, efficient, and transparent manner. The three main target groups that can be distinguished in governance concepts are government, citizens, and businesses/interest groups. In e-governance, there are no distinct boundaries.

Benefits of E-governance

• Reduced corruption
• High transparency
• Increased convenience
• Growth in GDP
• Direct participation of constituents
• Reduction in overall cost.
• Expanded reach of government

Through e-governance, the government plans to raise the coverage and quality of information and services provided to the general public, by the use of ICT in an easy, economical and effective manner. The process is extremely complicated which requires, the proper arrangement of hardware, software, networking and indeed re-engineering of all the processes to facilitate better delivery of services.

Types of Interactions in E-Governance

1. G2G (Government to Government)

When the exchange of information and services is within the periphery of the government, is termed as G2G interaction. This can be both horizontal, i.e. among various government entities and vertical, i.e. between national, state and local government entities and within different levels of the entity.

2. G2C (Government to Citizen)

The interaction amidst the government and general public is G2C interaction. Here an interface is set up between government and citizens, which enables citizens to get access to wide variety of public services. The citizens has the freedom to share their views and grievances on government policies anytime, anywhere.

3. G2B (Government to Business)

In this case, the e-governance helps the business class to interact with the government seamlessly. It aims at eliminating red-tapism, saving time, cost and establish transparency in the business environment, while interacting with government.

4. G2E (Government to Employees)

The government of any country is the biggest employer and so it also deals with employees on a regular basis, as other employers do. ICT helps in making the interaction between government and employees fast and efficient, along with raising their level of satisfaction by providing perquisites and add-on benefits.

E-governance can only be possible if the government is ready for it. It is not a one day task, and so the government has to make plans and implement them before switching to it. Some of the measures include Investment in telecommunication infrastructure, budget resources, ensure security, monitor assessment, internet connectivity speed, promote awareness among public regarding the importance, support from all government departments and so forth

E-governance has a great role to play, that improves and supports all tasks performed by the government department and agencies, because it simplifies the task on the one hand and increases the quality of work on the other.

Wipro Technologies, is one of the largest software companies in india and Azime Hashim Premji chairman of Wipro limited ranks among the Greatest entrepreneur of all times in the list compiled by leading business magazine.He is a well known Indian business leader whose values and ethics are renowned amongst business circles.

Azim premji was the person who made Wipro shift from soap to software. He want to bring company within 100 technology companies in the world. Azimeji Leadership is a paradoxical blend of quiet dynamism with an understand drive for excellence. Under his leadership WIPRO has not only spread in india but also globally because of his humility and commitment toward his work.

According to azimji successful leaders must be able to articulate clear,stated,committed vision for the company. Success has to be built on a foundation of value. According to him leaders must have self confidence which comes from positive attitude.They need extraordinary physical and someway spiritual energy to remain on the top of the demand . Leader must keep improving their standards for excellence in quality. They must be always be on the side of optimism and they should always play to win which gives a new sense of direction and energy.

“If people are not laughing at your goals , your goals are too small…”

– Azim Premji

According to Azimji there are  steps to successful leadership which goes as below

•  Leader must develop powerful personal credibility.
• Great Leaders tell people clearly what they expect from them.
• Great leader are great teachers and coaches.
• Successful leaders need to have energy and be able to energies others.
• Leaders do not always have to be in the limelight.
• Leaders play to win.
• Leaders have the ability to preserve when all odds are against them.
• Leaders surround themselves with people who are on the side of optimism.

Commonly known as Indian steel magnate with Net Worth $12 Billion in 2016, Lakshmi Mittal is the Chairman and CEO of the world’s largest steelmaking company, ArcelorMittal. Here are his top 10 rules for germinating startups:

Knowledge is the key: He personally believes that if you have knowledge, ambition, focus and if you are determined use it to grow. Knowledge is power in simple words knowledge is the key to success.

Take bold decisions: It’s your decisions that differs you from others. The decisions that you take need to be very transformative and it has to succeed. Bold decisions are not easy and free from risk so before taking them you have to apply your full experience, see and analyse through the situation and risk. One can only make a step change in their career by taking such big, bold decisions.

Be responsible: A company’s long term success directly depends up on being responsible. Being responsible not only provides you with more opportunities but it also builds a good reputation and a sense of belongingness towards the company.

Don’t set high goals: Laxmi never sets high goals for himself. He believes to work in present and try to achieve that very target. His goals keeps on changing as he proceeds in life. One should not set high goals to avoid disappointment rather should focus on small targets and its completion ultimately leading to big milestone as a whole.

Seize the opportunities: Opportunities don’t come everyday. For being successful one should make and derive the maximum out of the present opportunities available in front. Opportunities serves as challenges, which are very important for the growth and diversification of any firm.

Prove your critics wrong: Critics are the people who shows the reality and tells you about the mistakes. In this competitive world only those firm achieves milestones who learns from their mistakes and take critics in positive sense.

Dont lose focus: The most important rule for success is to maintain your focus. Being focus on what you desire will only lead to your growth as an individual and startup as a whole. Being focus here means taking any sort of steps small or big but towards the path of success.

Get experience: Nothing is more beneficial than the experience one poses. Experience does not come by education but it can only be acquired by continuously working, sharing and learning from others experience.

Lead by example: For motivating and inspiring everyone, it’s your duty to lead by example. True leader never gives commands to his team but lead by doing things what he wants others to do.

Do things differently: For survival, stability, growth and diversification one should always do things in one’s own manner or differently from others. In such competition a firm’s growth directly depends there focus on core activities, doing the same work,task, activities but in different manner that what makes the difference.

Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy (born 20 August 1946) is an Indian billionaire businessman, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder of Infosys, and has been chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief mentor, before retiring and taking the title chairman emeritus.

Murthy was born and raised in Shidlaghatta, Karnataka. He graduated from National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysore with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

Before starting Infosys, Murthy worked with Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad as chief systems programmer, and Patni Computer Systems in Pune (Maharashtra). He started Infosys in 1981 and was its CEO from 1981 to 2002, and chairman from 2002 to 2011. In 2011, he stepped down from the board and became chairman emeritus. In June 2013, Murthy was appointed as executive chairman for a period of five years.

Murthy has been listed among the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time by Fortune magazine. He has been described as the “father of the Indian IT sector” by Time magazine due to his contribution to outsourcing in India. Murthy has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awards. He is the father-in-law of Rishi Sunak, the British MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Some of them are mentioned below:

1-You might fail, but get started Learn from mistakes and move on.

In 1976, Murthy founded Softronics, a company that lasted a year and a half. When he realised that his first venture wasn’t taking off, he moved on.

2-Think Big. Don’t Hesitate to Start Small

In 1981, a determined Murthy started Infosys with Rs 10,000 he borrowed from his wife. In few years, Infosys went on to become one of the largest wealth creators in the country.

3-Sharing is Caring

After the IPO, Infosys decided to share a portion of its equity with employees. This helped them retain talent and gave employees a sense of ownership. Murthy is proud of having given away stocks worth over Rs 50,000 crore to employees.

4-Make hay While the Sun Shines

In late 90′s, India’s tech companies made use of the Y2K opportunity to make them known in the global market. For Infosys, it was a great opportunity to enter into long-term relationships with their customers.

5-Founders Keepers, but Not Forever

Murthy’s decision to not allow founders to continue with the company after the age of 65 set another standard for the company. This way, younger leaders at Infosys had a greater chance at the top positions.

6-Get Rich. Honestly

Rich businesses were considered to be dirty in the days when the country had a socialist bent. Infy was a company which got rid of this sentiment. Murthy, with his ‘no compromise’ policy on greasing palms and doing ethical business, set the standards.

7-Do Good, Look Good

Murthy knew the importance of creating an image for Infosys. He invested in creating a sprawling, world class campuses early on, bigger than any other company’s headquarters in the country, that would make his global customers feel like they were in a global office.

For a business to excel, leadership is vital. What makes great leaders? Is it their courage? Their business acumen? Their expert knowledge? Their ability to organize?  Truly great leaders have a specific blend of skills. But they also possess something else; certain characteristics which are harder to define.

A leader is somebody who sets the direction and inspires other people. A leader is able to influence others in meetings or when making decisions. This helps to achieve the goals of the organization. Enterprise has leaders at all levels of its business, not just senior management.

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the founder, chairman and group CEO of Bharti Enterprises. The USD 8.3 billion turnover company runs India’s largest GSM-based mobile phone service and world’s fifth largest wireless company with over 190 million customers across 19 countries in Asia and Africa.

He is a game-changer who dared to redefine the age-old telecom model and emerged as a winner. His new approach of co-partnership and virtual integration are unique approaches in the telecom sector which has seen great success. The quantum growth that Bharti AirTel has witnessed in little more than a decade has been possible only because of the high passion and round-the-clock alertness of Sunil Mittal to take advantage of every opportunity that came his way.

A brief history:

After graduating, Mittal borrowed $1,500 from his father and set up a bicycle parts business in Ludhiana in his native Punjab. Aware of its limited potential, he moved to Delhi in the 1980s and spotting a potential market, started selling imported generators, with profit margins of up to 100 per cent. As the Indian government began to lift trading restrictions in 1991, Mittal moved into the nascent telecommunications market, supplying handsets. He was one of the first Indian entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom business as a major growth area. His plans were finally approved by the Government in 1994 and he launched services in Delhi in 1995, when Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer cellular services under the brand name AirTel. Within a few years Bharti became the first telecom company to cross the 2-million mobile subscriber mark.

A dreamer, an achiever

He has the knack to strike at the right place at the right time. His contribution in shaping

the modern telecom industry in India earned him the sixth place in the Forbes list of ‘India’s 40 Richest’. He is very passionate about his work. He is highly transparent, sometimes even at the cost of having setbacks because of that.  His ability to take decision at the time of uncertainties and keeping the organizational objectives & employees’ aspirations as much as possible distinguishes him from others. He had a strong and wide vision; he knew that the Indian economy was at the threshold of becoming one of the largest emerging economies in the world. The Bharti group launched the “AirTel” brand of mobile telephone service in Delhi in 1995. Today, the AirTel brand is the biggest mobile phone brand in the country. Truly, his vision has transformed the lives of millions across India.

These are the true qualities of a leader which I really admire. But the path that he adopted was not a bed of roses.

The initial years of the cellular business were not as rosy as they are today. The role-out of telecom services required a lot of initial investments and the returns were not adequate due to the low subscriber base. With the help of private equity investors and foreign partner Singapore Telecommunications Limited, Singapore’s largest telecommunications company, he successfully met the challenges of capital intensive role-out, cut throat competition and policy changes. He once said “Having a positive frame of mind can help overcome extremely bad situations.”  A leader must always remain calm and should not take decisions under stress.

His Leadership Style

He strongly believed in giving the best in whatever we do and having faith in oneself.  He adopted a leadership style which develops its people to the level they need not have leaders to guide them. This helped him establishing a strong connect with his employees.

Bharti’s “Professionally Managed, Entrepreneur Supported” model

Responsibility towards employees

Employees are one of the most important drivers of growth and success for any organization is its people. Sunil Mittal’s mantra for employee is delight focus on 5P’s.

• People
• Pride
• Passion
• Processes and
• Performance

According to Sunil Mittal essentials to build a strong place in competitive market are:

• Ability to take decisions amidst uncertainties
• Reading customer mind and predicting the future consumption trend.
• Keep your speed double to the change in market.
• Alignment of organizational objectives & employees’ aspirations.
• Quickly respond to changes in macro environment.
• Build a learning organization.
• Retaining talent
• Building a team by recruiting talent

Sunil Mittal strives to imbibe the Level 5 leadership model in his firm. Level 5 leadership is an empirical finding, not an ideological one.

 His Achievements

• Conferred with the ‘Global Vision’ award by US-India Business Council, a business advocacy organization jointly formed by the United States and India.
• Becomes First Entrepreneur from India to join Elite Ranks of Babson’s Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.
• Chosen as one of the top entrepreneurs in the world for the year 2000.
• IT Man of the Year Award 2002 from Dataquest and CEO Of the Year, 2002 Award (World HRD Congress).
• Heads  a succesful empire with a market capitalization of approximately $ 2 billion.
• Bharti Foundation has funded over 50 schools in Madhya Pradesh.
• Member of National Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Chairman, Indo-US Joint Business Council, Member, Advisory Committee constituted by ministry of IT.

When talking about India’s greatest leaders, one name just cannot be skipped J.R.D. TATA. For decades the sole Indian businessman, global leaders had ever heard of, was Tata.

It’s different today the Sunday Times, Forbes and even the hallowed Harvard Business Review now carries articles written by Indian mgt. gurus on Indian case studies. But for years the world passed India by. Only J.R.D. Tata made an impact.

When J.R.D. became chairman of Tatas in 1938, British firms dominated the environment, but the House of Tata towered above all others. It had 14 companies with sales of Rs. 280 crores.

The year he died, 1993, it was still India’s biggest business house. Sales had mushroomed to Rs. 15000 crores and there were over 50 large manufacturing companies besides innumerable holdings and concerns. He was a distinguished and respected industrialist who was also awarded the “BHARAT RATNA”, remarkable achievement.

What sort of value system made the great man achieve his greatness?
Following is an analysis of some of the virtues & vices, which J. R. D. displayed through the course of his eventful life:

Virtues:

• Approachable: J.R.D. had no problems making friends easily. He had one of the most comfortable personalities that was probably his benchmark of becoming a successful individual.
• Diplomatic: One of the most difficult talents is to say ‘no’ in a nice manner. But Diplomacy was never a problem for J.R.D. Even when he was angry at Nehru for going against industrialists, he was never rude but made his point diplomatically and walked away friends.
• Realistic: J.R.D. never plunged into unviable projects, howsoever exciting they might be. He briefly flirted with the idea of making bombers with “Tata Aircraft”—but despite his love for flying, he shot down the project himself when it became clear that there was no money to be made.
• Charismatic: When J.R.D. was elected chairman of the group, there was no question about the selection. There was no one else who could have been chosen by the board. J.R.D. by then was a hero. The daring pilot, the shrewd businessman. He was already outstanding.
• Courageous: J.R.D. had always supported Nehru’s views on socialism. Something that the board of Tata sons did not agree with. But J.R.D. refused to sign the manifesto against socialism. It must have required considerable courage for a 30- something to stand up for views, which differed so widely from those of the old guard.
• Compassionate: People talk of Russi Mody but he manipulated people. J.R.D. genuinely felt for workers. His approach to labor was that of Fabian socialism. After J.R.D.’s entry, the management of Tisco changed its policy of confrontation. The trade union became not only acceptable but also an association which was vital to the interests of the workers.
• Supportive towards innovation: Apart from his supportive attitude towards Tisco’s lab technicians, perhaps Tata chemicals provides the best demonstration of J.R.D.’s willingness to support innovation in his business and among his managers.
• Aware of a sense of responsibility: There were opportunities for J.R.D. where he was tempted to joined politics. But he rationalized to himself by concluding that he could do more for the country in business and industry than in politics. He says, “I had no doubt that freedom was on its way. But who knows, I might one day have an opportunity to serve in more useful ways than by going to jail today!
• Committed to values: J.R.D. never believed in paying under the table for getting a license approved. He never believed in exploiting the workers, society and earning more profits. It was believed that wealth and respect are disjoint. J.R.D. was considered to be an exception to this rule
• A visionary: J.R.D. was the only director on the board of the Tata group who supported Ratan Tata’s plan to enter high investment high risk industries like oil manufacturing & computers. He believed, that being that stalwart business house of India, such investments were a responsibility.

Vices:

• Conservative: J.R.D. always preferred the more conservative approach. His conservativeness left Tisco unprepared for the outbreak of the second world war and the license-permit raj of free India.
• Aloof: Unlike G.D. Birla, J.R.D. had kept aloof from the congress leadership. For a group that depends as much as the Tatas did on government patronage, this was a major lacuna.
• Bad tempered: Instead of trying to patch up the differences, J.R.D. withdrew into himself. He rejected Nehru’s invitations to the UN session in Paris, and the invitation to lead Indian Rare Earths, one of the first PSU’s. J.R.D. forgot the Public Relations implications of these prestigious invitations and the signals his refusal emitted.